Japanese investor delay won't impact on oil refinery

HA NOI (VNS)— Construction of Viet Nam's largest oil refinery complex will start as planned, despite a decision-making delay from Japanese investor Idemitsu.

An official of PetroVietnam, the complex manager and also an investor, moved quickly to assuage fears after it emerged that a final investment decision on the complex had yet to be taken by Idemitsu, which holds a 35 per cent stake in the project.

Do Van Hau, PetroVietnam general director, said last Thursday that Idemitsu would still invest in the project but had delayed its investment so that action could not affect the start of construction on the complex, according to the VnExpress, an online newspaper.

Hau said investors of the project would sign a contract by the end of the year as planned, marking an important step towards the commencement of construction.

On Tuesday, Reuters quoted Shunichi Kito, Idemitsu's executive officer in charge of accounting, as saying that Idemitsu Kosan Co, Japanese investor of the Nghi Son refinery, was delaying a final investment decision on the Nghi Son refinery.

The company hoped to make a final investment decision soon on the Nghi Son refinery, without being more specific, he said.

Idemitsu said in August it was in the last stages of talks on the investment decision to build the refinery.

While last month, PetroVietnam's chairman Phung Dinh Thuc said construction of the complex was expect to start this quarter. 

Preparation work for the construction is virtually completed and only a few details remain to be discussed among investors including PetroVietnam (holding 25.1 per cent of the refinery's total shares), Kuwait Petroleum International (35.1 per cent), Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co (35.1 per cent) and Mitsui Chemicals (4.7 per cent).

Total capital investment for the refinery project is worth nearly US$8 billion. It will be built in the central province of Thanh Hoa, 215km south of Ha Noi and will initially have a production capacity of 10 million tonnes per year.

Dung Quat refinery, built in the country's central coast to process 130,500 barrels of crude oil per day, is now Viet Nam's sole operating facility. Together with Dung Quat refinery, Nghi Son plant is expected to meet roughly 50 per cent of Viet Nam's gasoline demands.

Source: VNS

Finland to include Da Nang in innovation programme

DA NANG — The central city will be included as a partner in the second phase of the Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP) in Viet Nam between 2012-16, the Finish ambassador to Viet Nam, Kimmo Lahdevirta, told the city's administration.

IPP, which is an Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme financed by the governments of Viet Nam and Finland, aims to strengthen Viet Nam's National Innovation System (NIS).

The first phase of the programme was launched in 2009 in the eight cities and provinces of Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue, HCM City, Can Tho, Lam Dong and An Giang.

The ambassador also said many hi-tech businesses from Finland have been seeking investment opportunities in Viet Nam, and Da Nang was seen as a potential location for investment. 

Source: VNS

Vietnam Gains $200 Million in World Bank Funding for Clean Water

Vietnam secured $200 million in financing to help fund the government’s rural clean water and sanitation program in eight provinces in the Red River delta, the World Bank said.

The International Development Association credit approved by the World Bank’s board of executive directors in Washington, D.C., will aid in plans to provide safer potable water for 1.7 million people and improved sanitation for 650,000 residents in the provinces over the 2013-2017 period, it said.

The funds will be disbursed via a new type of financing called Program for Results that links the aid to demonstrable results, the bank said. It will be the first in the rural water and improved sewage sector, it said. 

Source: Bloomberg

European Council delighted with pace of Viet Nam trade relations

President Truong Tan Sang (right) receives EC President Herman Van Rompuy yesterday in Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang

HA NOI (VNS)— Both Viet Nam and the European Council (EC) have declared themselves pleased with the rapid and positive development of bilateral relations in the areas of trade, politics and co-operation over recent years.

The remarks were made in speeches delivered by President Truong Tan Sang and the EC President Herman Van Rompuy in Ha Noi yesterday.

During the talks the two sides agreed to exchange delegations more regularly, and discussed ways of creating and encouraging more favourable conditions for Vietnamese and EU businesses to make long-time investment in each other's markets.

The EU pledged to provide Viet Nam with technical assistance and to step up negotiations to complete the signing of their Free Trade Agreement. They also agreed to formally recognise the status of Viet Nam's market economy as soon as possible.

Viet Nam asked the EU to maintain the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for the country in the 2013-2015 period, and prioritise the implementation of the Mutual Recognition Agreement.

It also thanked the EU and its member countries for providing Viet Nam with official development assistance over many years. The two sides agreed to closely co-ordinate in the near future to effectively implement ODA programmes which will focus on poverty reduction, sustainable development, environmental protection and climate change adaptation.

They reached a consensus on intensifying dialogue and co-operation at regional and international forums, especially those within the framework of the United Nations and the Asia-Europe Meeting.

Viet Nam praised the EU's contributions to the establishment of the ASEAN Community, and its commitment to helping ASEAN become an important core in East Asia.

With its role as a co-ordinator for ASEAN-EU relations in the 2012-2015 period, Viet Nam will try its best to promote this relationship, Sang said.

The two sides also supported efforts to build Southeast Asia into a region of peace, stability, co-operation and friendship, stressing the need to ensure maritime security, safety and freedom in the East Sea.

A contract was signed worth 150-million-EUR (US$195 million), funded by the European Investment Bank, to finance investments fighting climate change, and a statement was made on the signing of the EU Multilateral Trade Assistance Project.

Party, Gov't leaders

The same day, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also met with the visiting European Council President.

During the meeting, Party leader Trong spoke highly of the effectiveness of EU's co-operation and assistance to Viet Nam as well as its pledge for further assistance to the country until 2020.

Viet Nam hopes the EU will intensify and expand multifaceted co-operation in the fields where the two sides share strengths, Trong said.

For his part, Rompuy said the EU will maintain its assistance to Viet Nam as well as support the country's sustainable development, institutional reform and human resources development, and encourage European businesses to increase investment in Viet Nam.

The EU hopes to be a partner of Viet Nam not only in economics and trade but also in politics, he said, adding that the union also supports the settlement of marine disputes through peaceful measures on the basis of the international law.

At his reception for President Rompuy, Prime Minister Dung said that there is huge potential for co-operation between the two sides.

He also suggested both sides further enhance economic, trade, investment and tourism co-operation.

Viet Nam is improving its business environment and always welcomes and creates favourable conditions for EU investors in the country, he said.

Dung added that the two sides should continue to work closely during the first round of negotiations of the Free Trade Agreement, and for implementing the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement.

While asking the EU for early recognition of Viet Nam's market economy status, Dung expressed his hope that the union will keep providing ODA to Viet Nam in building infrastructure, human resources training and coping with the impact of climate change and rising sea levels. — VNS

Source: Việt Nam News