Viet Nam may allow private companies to invest in developing telecommunications infrastructure, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Le Nam Thang said.
The government will seek final approval for a draft regulation from the National Assembly, which is scheduled to meet in May, Thang said in a telephone interview from Hanoi Thursday.
Vietnam’s private companies may not be interested in the market as the spending may be high with rates of return lower than other service-based businesses, said Nguyen Thanh Ha, a Hanoi-based consultant with Vietbid, a company that advises on investments in telecommunications projects.
Viet Nam has delayed the entry of private companies in developing telecommunications infrastructure on concern security will be compromised and foreign providers will edge out domestic operators, Ha said.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Vietnam may allow private investments in telecom infrastructure
Foreign investment in HCM City increases sharply
The foreign direct investment (FDI) in HCM City increased sharply in 2008, with more than 680 newly-licensed and increased capital projects worth nearly US$8.7 billion, up over 3.3 times compared to 2007.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, 480 enterprises owned by overseas Vietnamese were established in 2008 with a combined investment capital of around VND2,000 billion.
Currently, the total number of valid FDI projects in HCM City is more than 3,140 with a total registered capital of US$25.68 billion.
Dung Quat EZ aims to lure more investment
The Dung Quat Economic Zone (EZ) in the central province of Quang Ngai is expected to attract between VND4,000-5,000 billion in 2009.
To achieve the goal, the economic zone will focus on developing infrastructure, simplifying administrative procedures and accelerating land acquisition and compensation.
So far, the EZ has 153 projects, including 44 on-going projects, with total registered investment of more than US$10 billion.
In 2008, the EZ’s industrial value reached over VND2,600 billion, contributing more than VND700 billion to the State budget and accounting for 50 percent of Quang Ngai’s total budget collection.
Central Highlands flex economic muscle, natural resources might
The Central Highlands region is capitalising on its hydro-electric resources and border economic zones to become a dynamic economic hub.
It has five provinces – Gia Lai, Dak-Lak, Kon Tum, Dak Nong, and Lam Dong – that share borders with Laos and Cambodia.
They have managed to effectively tap their economic potential to benefit residents, including millions of ethnic minority people.
Blessed with a network of rivers and streams, the region has enormous hydro-power potential.
It plans to harness its major rivers – Se San, Poco, and Serepok that flow into the Mekong River, and Dong Nai and Song Ba Rivers into the East Sea – to build power plants with investment from both domestic and foreign sources.
Dozens of large hydro-power projects have already received approval from the Government. They are expected to generate 5,000 MW by 2010, accounting for 30 per cent of the country’s total output.
On the Se San River alone, seven power projects with a total capacity of 2,000 MW have either been built or are being built.
Of them, the 720 MW Ia Ly project, 270 MW Sesan 3, 108 MW Se San 3A, and 270 MW SeSan 4 in Gia Lai Province are already operational.
The three others are under construction in Kon Tum Province now.
On the Serepok River in Dak Lak Province, six plants will be built with a total capacity of 750 MW.
On the Ba River, 10 will be built with a capacity of 669 MW.
The region is also focused on developing small and medium-sized plants with domestic investment.
In Gia Lai Province, more than 30 with a total capacity of 200 MW have been built, with 83 others in the pipeline.
Dak Lak Province has identified more than 100 convenient locations for building the small and medium-sized plants.
Border trade
To promote trade, the Gia Lai and Kon Tum authorities have established two border economic zones with Laos and Cambodia.
The Le Thanh border economic zone in Gia Lai has become a trade and economic hub for not only the province but also for the entire region.
There are now plans to build a trading centre at a cost of hundreds of billions of dong and infrastructure like roads, business complexes, and a 600-ha resettlement area.
Kon Tum’s 71,000ha Bo Y border economic zone has become a vital economic triangle between Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.
It has a major trade centre, a large supermarket, and road network.
In just three years since being built, the zone has attracted 52 projects with a total investment of thousands of billions of dong.
Planned projects include a US$1.5 billion international airport, a $1 billion urban centre, an $800 million entertainment and hotel complex, and a $500 million power plant.—
It’s all systems go for Vietnam’s first oil refinery
With its glittering bright lights and surrounded by pine forests that whistle in the dark night, Dung Quat Oil Refinery in the central province of Quang Ngai looks like a small but beautiful city.
It is Vietnam’s first oil refinery and has a capacity of 6.5 million tons of crude oil a year initially. It hopes to increase this to 10 million tons in a few years.
SGGP spoke to the deputy director of the Vietnam Petrol and Oil Group (PetroVietnam), Truong Van Tuyen, about how the plant took shape.
Reeling off figures without referring to any notes, he said the factory began its trial run on July 25. Up to now, most technical processes have been tested thoroughly.
Around 52,500 tons of diesel have been processed during the test run and the refinery’s readiness has been estimated at 99 percent.
Tuyen agreed to let the media visit the plant but said “you should come in the evening and also visit Cay Sau hill, which will be used as a vantage point to view the factory.”
Cay Sau hill is not too high but with a seven-kilometer road still under construction, conditions very muddy and difficult. At the top of the hill flies the national flag.
From the top, the refinery looked a picture in the afternoon sunlight. We could see a crude oil tank that can contain 390,000 cubic meters (around 210,000 tons) and the actual refinery with its huge distilling towers where petrol products, LPG, and propylene are produced.
To build this giant refinery, there were sometimes 15,000 people and 500 foreign experts, working.
The engineers and workers who built it would surely do better when they work on future refinery projects, he said.
On November 30 it received its first batch of 80,000 tons of crude oil from Bach Ho (white tiger) oil field for a test run.
Tuyen said 25 days after Tet, the first Vietnamese-made petroleum products will come to the market.
