SGGP lists top ten most important economic events of 2011 in Vietnam

Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper on Wednesday announced the top ten most important economic events of the year in Vietnam.

1. Opening of first tunnel under a river
Ho Chi Minh City hosted an elaborate ceremony at the opening of the Thu Thiem Tunnel, built under the Saigon River, on November 20. The tunnel is the most important feature of the 22km East West Highway, running through eight districts of the city including districts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, Binh Tan and Binh Chanh.
This 1,490m tunnel is the first ever to be built under a river in Vietnam, and has adopted the latest technology to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.

2. Export turnover reaches record high

Total export turnover in 2011 exceeded US$200 billion, double the gross domestic product in 2010. Vietnam has outstripped the Philippines to rank at 5th position in exports in the Southeast Asian region after Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Agricultural sector alone contributed an export turnover of $25 billion, up by 29 percent since 2010. The industry’s trade surplus was estimated at $9.2 billion, easing much of the country trade deficit.

3. Merger of three Vietnamese banks

Ficombank, TinNghiaBank and Saigon Commercial Bank merged on November 6 to be renamed Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB). This was a very definitive move made by the State Bank of Vietnam to restructure the banking system in the country.

Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has been assigned a comprehensive role in the merger of the three banks, that now have a chartered capital of VND10.6 trillion (US$504 million).

4. Vietnam welcomes its sixth million international visitor

Vietnam’s tourism industry continued to show astounding growth in 2011 with the arrival of its sixth million international visitor. Also the year saw Ha Long Bay being listed as the New Seventh Natural Wonder in the World.

Famous world figures visited Vietnam like the Jolie-Pitt family, who stayed in Con Dao Island recently; and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg who chose Ha Long as his year-end holiday destination.

5- Vietnam launches first locally manufactured 90m jack-up rig
On September 10, Vietnam launched its first domestically made jack-up rig, after 26 months of execution. The 90m jack-up rig was funded by the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and built by Petro Vietnam Marine Shipyard.

The construction of the jack-up rig has placed Vietnam amongst the top 10 nations of the world having one of the largest and most modern jack-up rigs. A jack-up rig is a type of mobile platform that is able to stand still on the sea floor, resting on a number of supporting legs.

6- Massive drop in real estate market

The real estate market witnessed a huge price drop by end October when Petroleum Real Estate Joint Stock Company announced a whopping discount on 85 of its apartments. The price was slashed from VND21.36 million to only 15.5 million per square meter.

Three days after this announcement, Saigon Mekong Company offered a 20 percent discount on 516 apartments in the Gold House project, at only VND 14.4 million a square meter.

According to property experts, the above events might create a ripple effect and cool down the property market.

7- Stock market falls

HNX index dropped to its lowest level ever in Vietnam’s stock market history with only 58.04 points on December 15. Several stocks lost 80-90 percent of their value since beginning of 2011.

For the first time, investors saw a new stock priced below VND1,000, known as the VKP stock. 65 stock companies suffered losses and 71 others suffered accumulated losses. Market capitalization accounted for only 20 percent of the gross domestic product.

8- Gold price peaks at VND49 million per tael

The world gold price increased by US$40 to top $1,886 per ounce on August 22, which led the domestic SJC brand price to skyrocket to VND47.89 per tael, an increase of VND800,000 over the previous day.

Not over yet, the price of SJC brand gold continued a rising trend and crossed VND48 million to approach VND49 million by early afternoon of the same day. Gold price thus rebounded by VND1.5 million per tael within a day.

9- Petrol prices fluctuate four times

Petrol prices saw a record hike of VND2,900 a liter on February 24, taking the A92 gasoline price to VND19,300 per liter. It then continued to climb up by VND2,000-2,800 a liter on March 29, raising the price to VND21,300.

The Ministry of Finance on August 26 decided to reduce the petrol retail price by VND500, bringing a slight drop in A92 gasoline to VND20,800 a liter. Prices of diesel and kerosene on October 10 were cut down by VND400 and VND300 a liter respectively.

10- HCMC revokes license of environment polluting companies for the first time

According to a Government Decree 117 issued in 2009, businesses violating environmental regulations would be penalized up to VND500 million (US$24,000) and risk suspension.

However, only in 2011 did the Ho Chi Minh City environment inspectorate for the first time revoke licenses of four businesses who were repeatedly ignoring notices and continuing to release untreated wastewater and carbon exhaust fumes into the environment. – Stoxplus

Tags: Vietnam economic, Vietnam economic growth, Vietnam economy, Vietnam economy 2011