Vietnam Overseas

20:30′ 19/01/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Private truck maker Xuan Kien (Vinaxuki) will increase its localization rate from 40 to 60% this year in a bid to cut production costs. According to Vinaxuki general director Bui Van Huyen, raising the localization rate is the only way to limit price escalation as materials become more expensive. He said the move will help Vinaxuki to cope with the Government’s aim of increasing locally made parts in truck manufacturing to 80% by 2010. A ban on run-down and self-modified trucks took effect on January 1 which creates great conditions for local truck makers like Vinaxuki.

“The truck market as whole is expected to grow by some 30% this year,” he added.

Vinaxuki hopes to sell 13,000 trucks this year by focusing on the increasingly popular light truck segment. The company plans to complete its equitisation in the first quarter of this year and will also inject VND 930 billion (US $58 million) into a new manufacturing plant in Hanoi. Vinaxuki, which invested a total of VND 450 billion in manufacturing and distribution in 2007, sold 7,358 vehicles last year, a 207% increase on the previous year.

(Source: VNA)

11:51′ 17/01/2008 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – The sales of light trucks have been increasing recently, especially when nearly 10,000 out-of-date self-modified trucks need to be replaced as requested by the Government.

The demand for light trucks has been increasing considerably in the Mekong River Delta, where the demand for vehicles to carry goods (farm produce and seafood) is always very high. Meanwhile, local residents have to replace the self-modified trucks (the vehicles manufactured under the simple technologies by farmers themselves) which have become too old.

Can Tho City now has 15 sales agents and branches of well known truck manufacturers, including Vietnamese Vinaxuki, and Japanese Isuzu or Mitsubishi. Analysts said that it is now the golden opportunity for the sales agents as the number of truck buyers has increased sharply, especially since the end of 2007.

According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA), the sales of trucks of different kinds have increased considerably over the last two or three months. While sedan manufacturers have to compete fiercely with each other, the truck market proves to be large enough for all manufacturers. Vinaxuki, Thaco and Vinamotor are the most well known truck manufacturers’ names as their products have really ’soft’ prices if compared to imported products.

Le Dinh Dung, the salesman of Cameco Can Tho, said that the sales of Mitsubishi brand name trucks in the last three months of 2007 were triple that of the same period of the last year. He said that Cameco is trying to cooperate with several local banks to run the programme on selling trucks under the deferred payment plan.

Vinaxuki’s trucks are the best sellers in Can Tho City. The factory here churns out five types of light trucks with the tonnage of 470 to 990 kg, suitable to carry goods in the inner of the city as well as in rural areas.

Bui Ngoc Huyen, General Director of Vinaxuki, said that Vinaxuki is trying to provide different types of trucks at reasonable prices. It is expected that the demand for trucks will increase this year, but the company has been ready for the plan to increase production.

People fear that the truck prices may go up in 2008 due to the higher prices of steel and other materials, especially sets of truck parts, and higher labour cost. Representative from Truong Hai Automobile Company said that the retail prices may increase in 2008, but confirmed that the prices will not go up sharply.

(Source: Dan tri)

Updated:4/12/2006

Update statistics from the General Department of Viet Nam Customs showed that by the end of 24 November 2006, the official fisheries export value has surpassed a milestone of of US$3 billion to reach US$30006 million or 107% of the planned for 2006.

Japan was the biggest importer of Viet Nam’s fisheries products with a total value of almost US$747 million and market share of 24.84%, following by the US (US$576 million, 19.16%), South Korea (US$179 million, 5.96%), Australia (US$110.9 million, 3.69%), Russia (US$109.9 million, 3,66%). EU imported US$638.9 million worth of fisheries products from Viet Nam, holding a market share of 21.25% with Germany ranking the first (US$90 million), followed by Netherlands (US$89.5 million), Italy (US$87.1 million), Spain (US$87.1 million), and Belgium (US$83.7 million).

There has been almost no change in the ranking order of the export product groups from last year. Shrimp still topped the list of exported fisheries products, holding a market share of 42.51% or US$1 billion in value. It was followed by frozen fish (nearly US$815 million, 27.1%); frozen squid and cuttlefish (US$114.5 million, 3.81%); tuna (US$91.5 million, 3.04%).

However, the increase in shrimp exports has been slowed down comparing to the previous years and it is unlikely that the export value of this species would reach US$1.4 billion. Meanwhile, “tra” and “basa” (pangasius) catfish exports rose to US$632.7 million, making up 21% of the total export value.

It is expected that with this growth rate, the official export value of the year 2006 would be between US$3.15 billion and US$3.2 billion.

Updated:2/8/2007

In another nod to Viet Nam’s runaway seafood industry, Navifishco, the country’s biggest fillet processing company, is gearing up to be listed on the stock exchange by the end of this month.

Located in the Mekong delta province of An Giang, the Nam Viet Corporation has a chartered capital of 660 billion VND (41.2 million USD) and five factories that process around 2,000 tonnes of fish per day.

Expansion plans are underfoot for the company as it in the midst of rolling out a 500-ha aquaculture zone and a 35,000 tonne cold storage facility.

Navifishco’s “tra” and “basa” catfish have been exported to 65 countries and territories worldwide.

According to the latest statistics, the company’s export revenues fetched around 120 million USD in the first six months of the year, making up 30 percent of the total seafood export turnover of An Giang province which boasts the largest catfish output in the Mekong delta.

Chairman of Navifishco’s Management Board Doan Toi said his company plans to build another catfish processing plant with a capacity of processing 750 tonnes of catfish per day and a fish feed factory with a capacity of between 300,000 and 500,000 tonnes per year.

(VNA)