Bye bye banana? Hopefully not in Việt Nam

New frontier for fruit: Tropic Biosciences meeting with the 3T Banana Company, one of the largest banana exporters of Việt Nam, in Hưng Yên Province. Pictured from right to left: The Managing Director of 3T, Phạm Năng Thành; CEO of Tropic Biosciences Gilad Gershon, CTO Dr Ofir Meir, Trang Nghiêm of the Israel Trade and Economic Mission in Hà Nội. — VNS Photo Ruth Sinai

By Ruth Sinai

In late 2015, scientific publications and mainstream media sources reported alarming news for the 400 million people in the world who depend on bananas for their basic sustenance, as well as the hundreds of millions of others who love the mushy texture and sweet taste of this tropical fruit.

The news was best captured in the alliterative headline of a Washington Post report that read “Bye Bye Banana”.

It was the latest episode in an agricultural saga that began with the extinction of the world’s most popular banana some 60 years ago, and the looming threat currently faced by the world’s banana crop from a more resilient version of the same disease.

The fungus, known as Panama Disease, is believed to originate from Australia in the 1800s, and it virtually wiped out the Gros Michel banana in the mid-1950s and 60s. Some 99 per cent of today’s market – dominated by brands like Chiquita and Monsanto – consists of its successor, the Cavendish banana, which is exactly why it is vulnerable to the same kind of deadly fate that befell the Gros Michel.

“You basically have only one kind of banana on the market, what is known as a monoculture. There was no genetic variety with the Gros Michel, and that’s why it disappeared. We’re afraid the same could happen to the Cavendish. We have to develop a species that is resistant,” explains Dr Ofir Meir, chief technology officer at Tropic Biosciences, a UK-based start-up founded last year to develop high-yielding and disease-tolerant commercial varieties of crops, specifically in the US$50 billion global coffee and banana industries.

Meir, with experience in R&D at seed giant Monsanto, and his colleagues, including the former head of plant R&D at Nestlé, are hoping to pioneer the application of their innovative genomic project in Việt Nam, a major grower of both coffee and bananas.

“We started thinking where would be a good target market to spearhead our technology,” says the company’s CEO Gilad Gershon, a biotech entrepreneur and retired major in the Israeli navy. “In a way, it was a no-brainer. Việt Nam is the second largest producer of Robusta coffee in the world (after Brazil), and the Cavendish bananas actually originated in Việt Nam.”

Splicing and dicing

What Tropic Biosciences is doing is known as genetic editing, the latest frontier in the world of genomic science, which holds tremendous promise for treating human and plant-based disease.

While still in its infancy, this latest chapter in science-nonfiction is a technique used to modify DNA with extreme precision. Unlike the process of genetically modified organisms (GMO), which involves introducing foreign genetic matter into organisms to modify their DNA, genetic editing makes cuts to specific DNA sequences in a plant or human cell, using enzymes called “engineered nucleases”.

Genome editing can be used to add, remove, or alter DNA in the genome and thus change the characteristics of a cell.

“To my understanding, genetic editing is a modern technology for new varieties promising high yields, high quality and tolerance or resistance to drought, particularly for coffee which is the main cash crop in Việt Nam,” says Trương Hồng who heads the Western Highlands Agro-forestry Scientific and Technical Institute (WASI).

Hồng, who met with the Tropic Biosciences team at the institute in Đắk Lắk Province earlier this month, said it was his first introduction to the world of genetic editing. “I would be very happy to work with them on problems faced by coffee growers, such as nematode causing root rot disease and the effects of drought in the dry season. I think growers will also like this new approach.”

The company is currently developing several prototypes of products at its labs in Norwich, which were presented to Hồng and his team, most notably high-yield and low-caffeine varieties of Robusta coffee.

“We want to involve the growers in the research and development stage because we want to be sure of obtaining the best results,” says Gershon. 

The R&D team also met in Hà Nội with the Agriculture Genetics Institute to introduce the technology and their plans.

“We are happy to explore the different alternatives for collaboration with local research institutions,” says Gershon. “One interesting candidate is AGI which has shown real interest in such collaboration.”

Shining eyes

The growers with whom they met appear enthusiastic about testing the proposed coffee products.

“We aim to come back in a few months and choose one or two leading growers to run the pilots with,” says Gershon.

“We’re hoping to introduce these species here in cooperation with the institute and others,” he adds. “Everyone we met seems to want to try, to do. You talk to people and you see their eyes shining. They’re go-getters.”

The Government, scientists and growers are indeed thirsty for this kind of innovation in both coffee and banana growing, to enhance sustainable exports – 94 per cent of the coffee grown is exported — and to build up expertise in this highly competitive, burgeoning field of genetic editing.

According to Nguyễn Mạnh Dũng of the Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production, although Việt Nam produces about 1.4 million tonnes of bananas annually, it cannot satisfy all its export demand.

Việt Nam’s preservation technologies have yet to meet international requirements, making it impossible to always keep the fruit looking good. Thus, relatively few Vietnamese products have been licensed to penetrate high-end markets.

"In the long term, studies and research on banana cultivation have to focus on generating banana varieties that are high-yield, high quality, are of better appearance and are also resistant to several dangerous diseases," Dũng tells Việt Nam News.

Banana growers with whom the team met along with Phạm Năng Thành, the head of 3T, one of the country’s largest banana exporters, appeared excited, the visitors say.

The enticing horizon being offered by the genetic editing technique would also extend the green phase of the bananas, so that the fruit could be transported and stored for longer periods before ripening for sale.

The developers promise that the hot-out-the-lab prototype would not only protect bananas from the dreaded Panama Disease, it would also make them resistant to Black Sigatoka, a disease that damages the plant leaves and requires extensive use of fungicide to control. The resistant species would thus reduce losses and costs to growers and protect their health. Tropic Biosciences argues that this could result in a saving of $4-10 per tree annually on fungicides, translating to savings of as much as 25 per cent, not to mention a cleaner environment.

Growers could then use some of the savings to buy the disease-resistant, genetically edited plants, with the proprietary traits developed by the company.

The same business model would apply to the coffee crops, with the company promising that the new species would increase coffee extraction yields by between 5 and 15 per cent, reduce disease that results in annual losses of as much as 15 per cent of the coffee crop – and improve taste.

“We started trying to develop a higher-performing plant. If you reduce the need for chemicals and enable more delicate cultivation, the taste also improves,” says plant scientist Meir.

The gene editing community, which conducts much of its work under a tight shield of secrecy for fear its methods will leak, is careful to stress that its output is not the highly controversial engineering known as GMO.

“Although there was no proof of any health threat from that, people felt uncomfortable about GMO because it introduced foreign DNA and cross-cropped species, so that regulators in different countries greatly limited its use,” Gershon explains.

Gene editing appears more palatable, although the Food and Drug Administration is still conducting a review of its possible impacts. While bio-ethicists warn of slippery slopes of interfering with DNA, for example to “edit” embryo genes, scientists are forging ahead in the labs and plantations.

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Where there’s no monkey business with primates

Chư Mom Ray National Park, Kon Tum Province in the Central Highlands of Việt Nam is home to a rehabilitation centre for many endangered species of monkeys and gibbons. The forest boasts many mysteries, waiting to be uncovered by scientists.


by Phạm Anh


Wild animals are human, too.


Ironically, this is the feeling one gets on observing the gratitude and affection that creatures of the wild display for humans that have saved their lives and nurtured them back to health.


Ample instances of such “humanity” are on display at the Chư Mom Ray National Park, Kon Tum Province.


The Central Highlands park is home to a rehabilitation centre for many endangered species of monkeys and gibbons.


Most of the primates, which are listed in the Vietnamese and global Red Book of endangered species, have been found in critical condition. Once they are saved and healed, they return to the wild. Well, almost all of them. Some hang around.


“The strange thing about the forest is that it is a domesticated space for its inhabitants. Just like humans, monkeys also get ‘married’ when they grow up then live as separate families,” said Trần Quốc Tuấn, vice director of the park’s Centre for Rescue and Conservation.


“‘Native inhabitants’ is what we call the herds of monkeys living by the Khỉ (Monkey) Stream. Every noon, about 30 or 40 monkeys gather by the stream to bathe and play.


“At first glance, all the monkeys seem to belong to one troop, however after being ‘friends’ with them for years, we’ve learned that they are members of different troops, each of which includes between four to six members living together like a family. They also define their own borders, compete against each other for food and there is always one leader for each troop.”


Tuấn, 32, has spent nearly eight years in the shade of the national park. His passion for the forest and the injured primates that he and his colleagues have rescued and taken care of is obvious.


He took us to visit the area where the animals were recuperating after treatment. Reticulated pythons, iguanas, grey-shanked doucs: most were trapped, caught and transported illegally by poachers before being rescued.


On seeing us, one baby monkey jumped out from his cage. It made whimpering noises and clung to Tuấn like a baby. It had been taken care of by Tuấn and his colleagues for over a year. Though it has healed and its cage is always kept open, it has not returned to the forest, preferring to stay with its rescuers.


“When it was brought here, it was weak and needed special attention like a newborn. Its mother is said to have been killed in a trap. It needed to be fed with milk, carried in our arms and caressed. It is lucky to have survived until now,” Tuấn said.

Dangerous work: Forest wardens dismantle illegal traps in Chư Mom Ray Forest. On average, they collect thousands of illegal traps every year. VNS Photo Phạm Anh

The monkey in a nearby cage tells another story. A member of a highly endangered species, it was found severely injured in a poacher’s trap. As an adult primate, it was very difficult to approach the animal for treatment, so it had to be anaesthetised first, and its wounds cleaned and sutured. After some time, the wounds healed but the monkey kept scratching the itchy pellicle, forcing Tuấn and his colleagues to apply antiseptic to the open wound and prevent it from scratching the place until it was totally healed.


Tuấn said this was one of thousands of cases that his centre has to deal with every year. They have been able to save most of the injured animals, but some are found in such bad condition that despite all the efforts taken at the centre, they don’t survive.


In one such case, a grown-up primate recently rescued from an illegal wildlife trader was so exhausted by the time it was brought to the centre that it refused to eat or drink water. It kept screaming painfully and scratching itself until it died.


“Monkeys are clever and cunning, but they are also full of affection, as we’ve seen that when we take care of them,” Tuấn said.


He told us about a gray-shanked douc that was brought from Tu Mơ Rông District to the centre. Everyone was moved to tears as it cried, refusing to leave its rescuer. It had been found in a field up a mountain, clinging to its dead mother, crying out weakly in hunger and thirst. It was taken home and raised like a small baby, surrounded by human affection, and had no desire to leave those who saved and nurtured it to health.


Forest mysteries


Đào Xuân Thủy, vice director of the Chư Mom Ray National Park, said young officials of its department of science and international cooperation have become “gibbon specialists”.


They can even remember the number of times the animals howl in the forest, he said.


We met some of the young staff the day we visited the park: Phạm Hồng Thái, Võ Hồng Tín and Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hằng, aged 26 to 30, were preparing for a one-week research and patrol trip.


“At first we listened to tape recordings of the howls. Over several field trips with researchers, we learnt how to find the animals’ shelter and to distinguish their distinct sounds,” Tín said.


While this sounds simple, it takes a lot of time and effort to cross streams and rivers in the forest to get near the monkeys’ shelters. They prefer to live in damp areas that human beings will find difficult to access.


Spending more time in the forest than even their own homes, the young staff are used to the habits of the primates. At five every morning in summer, the yellow-cheeked gibbons start to howl melodiously, waking up the whole forest. They are followed by a string of chants by other primates. Then the howls fade away, as the animals move about to find food.


“The longest distance that the sound of the gibbon can be heard is about 1.5km. It can be heard most clearly from about 400 or 500 metres away. However, it cannot be located with precision in a vast forest, so we still need to use the GPS (global positioning system). Then we divide ourselves into two groups and go separate ways for about one kilometre to listen,” Thái said.


“After nearly two years of surveying the Chư Mom Ray Forest, we estimate that there are about 20 to 30 rare species of gibbon,” Tín added.


Despite working in the forest for over 20 years, vice director Thủy has not yet visited every corner of the forest.


“It still conceals many mysteries that are waiting to be discovered,” he said.


The mysteries lie in the area between three mountains that face each other: the rear side of Chư Mom Ray Mountain, the south of Ngọc Tơ Num Mountain and the south of Nhọn Mountain. The area is very difficult for humans to access.


It is said that there is a tiger’s den on top of Nhọn Mountain, and in order to reach it, the Xê Đăng ethnic minority residents have to cross the “the garden of God”, about which the locals tell many mysterious stories.


Thủy believes that the longer scientists study the Chư Mom Ray National Park, the more hidden stories they will encounter.


ASEAN Heritage


According to Deputy Director Đào Xuân Thủy, the Chư Mom Ray National Park, spanning the three districts of Sa Thầy, Ngọc Hồi and Ia Hdrai, was recognised as an ASEAN heritage site in 2004. With a total area of over 56,000 hectares, the park is home to over 1,500 species of flora and over 700 species of fauna, many of which have been designated threatened and listed in international and national Red Books. In 2010, three new species were found in the park: Cyrtodactylus pseudoquadrivirgatus (a new species of karst-dwelling bent-toed gecko), Amphiesma leucomystax (white-lipped keelback) and Opisthotropis cucae (Cuc’s Mountain Snake).


(The Vietnamese version of the story was published in the Thanh Niên newspaper on May 1, 2017)

Getting help: An injured gibbon is brought to Chư Mom Ray National Park’s Centre for Rescue and Conservation for treatment. VNS Photo Phạm Anh

Safe and sound: The monkeys are being treated in Chư Mom Ray National Park’s Centre for Rescue and Conservation. VNS Photo Phạm Anh

Dense greenery: A troop of gibbons living in Chư Mom Ray Forest. VNS Photo Phạm Anh

Dedicated staff: A forest warden dismantles an illegal trap in Chư Mom Ray Forest. VNS Photo Phạm Anh

vietnamnews.vn

Property sector to see many mergers, acquisitions

The real estate market is expected to see more M&A deals this year. - Photo tapchitaichinh.vn

The real estate market is busy with mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which are forecast to touch a record high this year, driven by the sector’s steady recovery.

M&A have become popular among developers who have the financial capacity as it is a quick way to acquire clean land funds for property development and catch the opportunities on time in a fast-recovering market.

Fresh capital inflows from M&A have helped revive a number of long-delayed projects, reducing inventories and bad debts in the sector, said property expert Đặng Hùng Võ.

One of the major M&A deals this year was developer Quốc Cường Gia Lai selling the Phước Kiển project in HCM City’s Nhà Bè District to Sunny Island Investment for an undisclosed amount. However, Quốc Cường Gia Lai is known to have received US$50 million, which went into paying off a VNĐ1.35 trillion ($59 million) debt to the Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BIDV).

Recently, Phát Đạt Real Estate Development Corporation announced that it has found a partner to transfer a part of EverRich 3 project in HCM City, into which the developer had poured in VNĐ1.58 trillion in 2016 and planned to spend another VNĐ642 billion in 2017. Phát Đạt is expected to sell off the entire project for VNĐ2.5 to VNĐ3 trillion, which will be used to repay debts.

In March, An Gia Real Estate Development and Investment Company saw investment from Japan’s Creed Group and acquired seven blocks of the Lacasa project in HCM City’s District No 7 from Vạn Phát Hưng. Previously, An Gia had bought several stagnant projects; it expects more M&A deals in the future.

M&A has become a strategy for real estate companies such as Hưng Thịnh Real Estate, which has acquired some 20 long-delayed projects. It has resumed construction in 10 of these projects and sales have begun, such as Moonlight Park View, Tân Hương Tower, Sky Centre and Mekody Residences.

Other realty firms such as Novaland, Greenland, Thủ Đức House have also hopped onto the M&A bandwagon.

Lê Hoàng Châu, president of HCM City Real Estate Association, said M&A deals have become the buzz word in the property sector during the past two years as investors see significant opportunities in the recovering market. It is also the fastest way to acquire clean land with the legal work done, as available land dries up in major cities such as Hà Nội, HCM City and Đà Nẵng.

According to Châu, there is scope for more M&A deals in the southern city, which has around 500 delayed projects. Investors are cooperating with each other and seeking partners with funds to implement projects as credit policies for property development get tougher.

There is a growing interest in the Vietnamese property market among foreign investors from Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore, JLL Việt Nam said. Stephen Wyatt, general director of JLL Việt Nam, was quoted by cafef.vn as saying that several foreign investment funds are looking to expand their presence in Việt Nam through M&A deals.

Previously, Wyatt had forecast a record year for M&A deals in the real estate sector, driven by an improved economy.

Property services firm Savills Việt Nam also expects a rise in property M&A deals this year.

Nguyễn Văn Đông, M&A consultancy director of Rồng Việt Securities Company, has also said that M&A deals in the realty market would dominate this year, in an interview with Đầu Tư Chứng Khoán (Securities Investment).

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PM suggests Google open office in Việt Nam

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (R) receives Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of the US’s Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company, in Hà Nội yesterday. – VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc suggested tech giant Google open an official representative office in Việt Nam to handle any issues that may arise while receiving Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of the US’s Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company, in Hà Nội yesterday.

He welcomed the Alphabet Executive Chairman’s visit, saying Google is doing well in Việt Nam with many of its products popular among Vietnamese people and businesses.

The PM affirmed the policy of the Vietnamese Government to make it easy for foreign businesses to invest and do business successfully in the country.

"The two countries have huge potential for cooperation, and the upcoming official visit to the US by a high-ranking Vietnamese governmental delegation will seek to step up economic, trade and investment ties for mutual benefit," the Government leader said.

He asked Google to work closely with the Vietnamese side to tackle incorrect and damaging information posted online, that violated Vietnamese law.

He spoke highly of Google’s assistance to the Việt Nam Farmers’ Association to help improve digital literacy for thousands of farmers.

Alphabet’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt affirmed his company’s support for cooperation between Việt Nam and the US.

He said he was impressed with Vietnamese people using YouTube for educational purpose, noting that Viet Nam ranks second globally in using the website.

He said he just attended the inaugural ceremony of the Google-sponsored project to train Vietnamese farmers to access digital resources. The project will enable those living in remote and rural areas to use information to serve their daily life and work.

Eric Schmidt said his company would work closely with Việt Nam to remove information that infringes upon Vietnamese law and would study the possibility of opening a representative office in the country.

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Law on Planning under scrunity

A part of the Phu My Hung new urban area in District 7 of HCM City. The master plan of the area was selected by the American Institute of Architects as the best in Asia in 1997. — VNA/VNS Photo An Hieu

The National Assembly yesterday expressed concerns about the transition of regulations on planning and the handling of current regulations when discussed the draft Law on Planning.

Deputy Hoàng Văn Cường from Hà Nội, said that while planning must be adjusted to fit changes in society, he was worried that these adjustment might be conducted due to the subjective will of leaders.

“The Law provides six bases for revising the plan but the rules are very general. For example, according to the draft law, changes will be made when there is an adjustment of objectives of the socio-economic development strategy or abnormal changes of the socio-economic situation. However, in the current socio-economic environment, such regulations could be very easily used as an excuse for changes if those in charge of a specific sector want to adjust," he said.

He suggested the drafting body clarify the criteria for adjusting the plan more specifically so that adjustments don’t depend on the subjective will of experts or managers.

Regarding construction planning, NA deputies said that it needs to be integrated into the national master planning law based on current regulations to avoid unnecessary disturbances.

As explained by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, for construction planning and planning of specific functional areas, the current provisions of the Law on Construction include four areas: regional planning, urban planning, specialised area planning and rural planning.

The report presented by Vũ Hồng Thanh, Chairman of the NA Economic Committee, said that after consulting with ministries to ensure the consistency of regulations, the Government would let the specialised management body (the Ministry of Construction) integrate regulations on urban planning and rural planning to national master planning.

NA Deputy Nguyễn Sỹ Hội, from Nghệ An Province, said the draft law ignored maritime planning.

"Maritime planning has a very important role in national security, but the law hardly touched upon it and no specific body has been assigned for this matter," he said.

“The task of building a strong maritime defence system should be done properly, and I think maritime planning must be a major part,” he said, adding that there must be a body assigned with maritime space planning.

In terms of airspace planning, Thanh from the NA Economic Committee, said no country had developed its own plan for airspace.

“Current planning deals only with the allocation and arrangement of space including on the ground, underground and in the air to a certain height in accordance with international treaties,” he said.

“But we have included a provision on this matter, the “Guidance on the exploitation and management of airspace”. The Government will have to guide this regulation in detail", Thanh said.

Meanwhile, deputy Tô Văn Tám from Kon Tum Province, said the draft law needed to make sure it has tight principles so that interest groups don’t influence planning.

Deputy Lê Công Đỉnh from Long An Province agreed with this, saying that the draft law must be specific on acts of corruption as stipulated in the Law on Corruption Prevention and Fighting.

A total of 32 current laws are to be amended once the Planning Law is passed, of which only four have to be overhauled while the rest need small changes. Therefore, the Ministry of Planning and Investment suggested promulgating an omnibus law to amend 178 articles and clauses of the 28 laws concurrently with the Planning Law.

The other laws could be revised one after another to ensure enforcement of the Planning Law in early 2019.

Tackling bad debts

On the same day, deputies discussed the draft resolution on handling bad debts of credit institutions; the draft amended Law on Credit Institutions.

Deputy Đặng Ngọc Nghĩa from Thừa Thiên – Huế Province, suggested reviewing the exact total of bad debt and find the cause of the bad debts.

Deputy Cấn Văn Lực, also a financial and banking expert, said that there should be a law on bad debt management.

Deputy Lê Xuân Nghĩa, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said that the longer it took to sort out bad debts, the more damage is caused to the economy.

Nguyễn Văn Bình, former governor of the State Bank of Việt Nam, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs, said the banking system and the law made significant progress over the past 10 years, but legal foundations were not consistent, making handling bad debt difficult.

"I remember NA deputies saying bad debt is like a blood clot, that image is very accurate: if it is a mild case, we can cure it; but if it’s a serious one, we will die. We can’t let bad debts accumulate but have to tackle them continuously,” he said.

Regarding the resolution, Bình said as a banker, he was surprised that the draft resolution was only applicable to bad debts incurred by December 2016.

"Any bad debt is bad debt. Whenever they arise, yesterday, today or tomorrow, they are still bad debt. If we make such a regulation, does that mean we’re doing a favour to old bad debts?” he asked.

Bình said there should not be regulations on any specific date for tackling bad debt.

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Dung Quất Refinery plans for IPO

An overview of Dung Quất Oil Refinery in the central Quảng Ngãi Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Đăng Lâm

Việt Nam’s first oil refinery operator Bình Sơn Refinery and Petrochemical Co Ltd (BSR) has planned its domestic initial public offering (IPO) with 5-6 per cent of its capital in the fourth quarter of the year.


The information was announced on Thursday. BSR, which owns the US$3-billion Dung Quất Oil Refinery, added that the remaining shares would be offered to strategic investors.


Trần Ngọc Nguyên, BSR’s general director, said it has selected a consultancy firm to implement divestment plans at the three capital contribution units of PV Building, PMS and PVOS to prepare for the IPO.


Answering a question on the modest rate of the IPO, Nguyên said BSR had carefully considered the number of offered shares and taken note of recommendations from the consultancy firm.


Nguyên added that all information on business value and offered price would be announced next week after receiving approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.


The IPO will be divided into two periods. During the first period, BSR will be transferred into a privatisation model, offering shares to its staff and an IPO which is set to be completed in 2017. It will complete the offering to strategic investors in the next 12 months.


He expected BSR to sell up to 36 per cent of its shares to strategic investors with strong financial resources and experience in the refinery sector.


Sharing the idea, Nguyễn Hoài Giang, BSR’s chairman, said the privatisation model had been under consideration since 2013.


Giang affirmed the determination for privatisation despite the unfavourable conditions of the financial market and decreasing oil prices, which had affected investors’ confidence.


He expected BSR would be privatised at the earliest to attract strategic investors to participate in the refinery’s expansion and development in the future.


Since its operations in 2009, the refinery’s total revenue is VNĐ834 trillion and profit is VNĐ13 trillion. In the first five months of the year, its revenue reached VNĐ35 trillion, representing an increase of 18 per cent from the set target.


Temporarily closed for overall maintenance


Dung Quất Oil Refinery in central Quảng Ngãi Province will be temporarily closed to undergo a nearly two-month full maintenance process.


The general director said the third overall maintenance will start on June 5 and continue for 52 days.


“Some 4,000 specialists, architects and workers, with special equipment and thousands of machines will participate in the maintenance. The maintenance aims to help the refinery run stably and safely and extend its operation time after 3-4 years,” he said.


The maintenance will be divided into seven main packages. Three foreign contractors from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea will participate in the maintenance.


However, BSR will take measures to shorten the scheduled time of 5-7 days. It is estimated that the refinery could increase revenue by VNĐ250 billion and contribute VNĐ30 billion per day if the maintenance time is shortened, he added.


Dung Quất, the first-ever oil refinery of Việt Nam, opened in 2009 with capacity of 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually, or 140 thousand barrels per day. The refinery was put into official operation in 2009 and has undergone overall maintenance twice -- in 2011 and 2014.
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APEC trade ministers seek deeper cooperation

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc make his opening remark in the APEC 23rd Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT23) on Saturday in Hà Nội. - VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

Trade ministers from the 21 Pacific Rim countries gathered during a major trade meeting on Saturday in Hà Nội to discuss future plans for regional trade co-operation amid growing fears of protectionism, as well as changes in politics, economies and technology.

As one of APEC’s most prominent ministerial gatherings, the 23^rd Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT23) kicked off in the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.

In his opening remarks, PM Phúc highlighted APEC’s three decades of growth and endorsed its important role as the economic driver and growth engine of the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

With a combined population of over 2.8 billion people, about 40 per cent of the world population, APEC member economies have significantly expanded and account for roughly 60 per cent of the world GDP and 49 per cent of global trade.

Of note, the average regional tariff has been reduced from 17 per cent since its inception in 1989 to 5.5 per cent in 2016, as incomes and living standards have been improved for a large proportion of the region’s population.

“These outcomes have provided testament to the efforts of the region for trade liberalisation, trade and investment facilitation, as well as shared regional stability, development and prosperity,” PM Phúc said.

He also raised concerns over multiple evolutions in politics, economies and technology, especially the fourth industrial revolution and the emergence of the digital economy, which have brought substantial economic, cultural and social changes.

APEC is aiming for a truly connected Asia-Pacific, in terms of its people, infrastructure, technology and information, in order to expand economic growth, trade and investment and oversee comprehensive institutional reform in each member country.

PM Phúc called on the regional member economies to step up economic and technical co-operation, experience and information sharing during the process of policy-making and implementation of co-operation programmes.

“However, co-operation plans and their fine goals might still fail to turn into reality when we lack trust, political determination and co-ordination to safeguard a peaceful environment, ensure security and safety for investment and the flows of goods in the region,” he noted.

Việt Nam’s active participation

Việt Nam officially joined APEC in 1998. Since then, APEC has played an increasingly important role in the country’s economic development.

APEC member economies have contributed about 78 per cent of the total FDI inflows to Việt Nam, 75 per cent of total merchandise trade and 79 per cent of the total number of tourists to the country. Additionally, 13 APEC members have become Việt Nam’s strategic and comprehensive partners.

“With its strong determination and efforts to deepen reform and international integration, Việt Nam has made significant contributions to APEC’s co-operation,” PM Phúc said.

In the first day of the meeting, ministers exchanged and discussed ongoing initiatives related to sustainable, inclusive and innovative growth in APEC, especially initiatives in promoting competitiveness of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Việt Nam has provided updates on the progress of the Action Agenda on promoting economic, financial and social inclusion in the APEC region, as well as progress on the APEC framework for developing human resources in the digital age.

Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Roberto Azevedo reported progress by WTO in preparation for the 11^th  WTO ministerial meeting in Argentina at the end of this year.

The meeting highlighted WTO’s recent achievements in promoting free trade, including endorsement of Bali and Nairobi outcomes, the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the Protocol amending the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This is an important basis for the WTO to advance negotiations on the remaining Doha Development Agenda.

Trade officials have exchanged views on current regional and global economic trends, challenges and outlooks, including trade agreement negotiations and implementation. They discussed how to accelerate progress in fulfilling the Bogor Goals and initiatives to advance regional economic integration.

Most APEC members agreed to support free and open trade and committed to continue building a strong, transparent and rule-based multilateral trading system.

The meeting closes on Sunday after discussion about the APEC post-2020 vision.

High ranking officials meetings

On Saturday, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc met US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who is in Việt Nam for the APEC 23^rd Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT23).

PM Phúc highlighted the United States’ crucial role in the Asia-Pacific region’s economic co-operation, hoping the two countries would continue promoting its co-operation activities, particularly in economy and trade, to contribute to regional and global prosperity.

Việt Nam and the United States have enjoyed sound trade relations, and have witnessed significant achievements. The PM confirmed that Việt Nam supports free trade, on the basis of fairness and mutual benefits, and values economic relations with the United States.

For his part, Lighthizer underlined that Việt Nam is his first destination as US Trade Representative, adding that the US always attaches importance to trade and economic development with the Southeast Asian country.

He also promised to cooperate with Vietnamese authorities to expand cooperation projects, helping develop bilateral trade and economic ties.

On the same day, PM Phúc greeted Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko. He said the Vietnamese Government would assist Japanese enterprises seeking to invest in Việt Nam and called upon the two countries to flesh out new co-operation understandings to elevate bilateral trade to a new high.

He also asked organisations from both sides to discuss solutions to promoting farm produce imports and exports and contributing to increasing two-way trade, which remains below the two countries’ potential.

Meanwhile, Minister Hiroshige Seko said Việt Nam played a significant role in fostering co-operation mechanisms in Asia-Pacific and the world. He said that the Japanese Government and people hope the Prime Minister will pay an official visit to the country and pledged that his ministry will contribute to the success of the Vietnamese leader’s visit.

vietnamnews.vn