SCB signs deal with three Hong Kong banks Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) and three Hong Kong banks on Monday signed a co-operation agreement on syndicated credit financing. Under the agreement, SCB, Hang Seng Bank Limited, Chong Hing Bank Limited and The Bank of East Asia Limited committed to support financial investment and ensure a stable financing source for Union Square Company Limited, which operates in the field of real estate. The signing was made within the framework of an investment development co-operation event held by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in co-ordination with Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in HCM City on Monday. Also at the event, the four banks signed a strategic agreement for comprehensive and long-term co-operation in exchanging experience on investment and financial management, increasing business relations, conducting research and investment, and especially providing credit to local and foreign … [Read more...] about BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 26/8
Bangladesh investment development authority
Fast fashion, fair wages: Vietnam’s lesson to Bangladesh
From factory fires to slave labour, the growth of mass manufacturing in South East Asia has not been problem-free, but having shed its "sweatshop" reputation, the region could have lessons for Bangladesh. Workers wrap up shirts at a garment factory in Hanoi The deaths of at least 550 people in the building collapse near Dhaka last week has unleashed global consternation over conditions in the factories that produce fast fashion -- cheap, catwalk-inspired clothes -- for top global brands. Amid talk of consumer boycotts, Bangladesh needs to reform its industry before people wonder "if they should be wearing blood-stained dresses", Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity told AFP. Vietnam -- which produces clothes for fashion industry giants Zara, Mango and H&M -- shows it is possible to have "extremely strong" labour laws, fair wages and a healthy garment industry, experts say. "It is not a race to the bottom here," Tara Rangarajan, program manager of … [Read more...] about Fast fashion, fair wages: Vietnam’s lesson to Bangladesh
More investment worries local government
More investment worries local governmentBy Quoc Hung An exhibition of textile and garment machinery in HCMC. Aside from environmental pollution, some localities are also afraid of textile and garment projects because they are labor-intensive ones which require large armies of migrant workers – PHOTO: THANH HOA Conclusions of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), bilateral and multilateral alike, plus the accompanying shift of garment and textile projects from overseas to Vietnam, have become a source of concern for some local authorities as they are afraid of possible pollution, particularly in the dyeing process Propelled by bilateral and multilateral FTAs signed recently, Vietnam is now emerging as one of the top spots in the world for investors in the garment and textile industry. In reality, several garment and textile projects have been being relocated from foreign countries to Vietnam. This remark was from Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, secretary general cum chief representative of … [Read more...] about More investment worries local government
FDI textile-garment projects on the rise
FDI textile-garment projects on the riseBy Le Hoang Local authorities hesitate to develop dying projects due to concerns over environmental pollution - PHOTO: LE HOANG HCMC - The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) have helped Vietnam attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) in textile-garment projects in the country, officials said. At a press conference held on June 18 to introduce the third Denims & Jeans Exhibition, which will be held in HCMC late this month, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, general secretary and head of the representative office in HCMC of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), noted that Vietnam is one of the most attractive markets for those keen on the apparel sector. Early last year, when the United States, the largest buyer of Vietnam's textiles and garments, withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the FDI capital injected into the local … [Read more...] about FDI textile-garment projects on the rise
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/6
VN garment sector to boost export growth The domestic textile and garment industry is expected to sustain growth in exports in the coming months, according to the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). Truong Van Cam, VITAS vice chairman and general secretary, said many textile and garment companies had signed contracts to produce export products in the third quarter of this year. Many Vietnamese garment firms had also sustained high growth this year in traditional markets such as the United States, the Republic of Korea, the European Union, and member-states of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Cam said a series of recently-signed free trade agreements (FTAs) was expected to boost the sector. Since 2001, Viet Nam had signed bilateral trade agreements with the US, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and India, and joined the World Trade Organisation. However, global demand for textiles … [Read more...] about BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/6