The discussion of “Vietnam’s Financial Sector Assessment Program - Necessities and Conditions”

On Jan 6, 2012, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hue, PhD, held a discussion of “Vietnam’s Financial Sector Assessment Program(FSAP) - Necessities and Conditions” at VDF office. The participants included VDF researchers, experts from National Financial Supervisory Commission – NFSC, Deposit Insurance of Vietnam and a group of NEU’s students. In the discussion, Ms. Hue, researchers and experts analyzed, discussed about necessities, requisite as well as steps for implementation of FSAP in Vietnam. Besides, participants discussed methods for implementing a pilot study of financial soundness indicators in Vietnam banking sector.

Brainstorming on industrial parks

On December 22, 2011, VDF hosted a brainstorming meeting on possibility for local industrial parks as receivers of Japanese SMEs and supporting industry firms. Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thuy, a VDF researcher, reviewed different concepts of industrial parks and their corresponding investment incentives, providing basic information about FDI absorption in potential provinces, infrastructure conditions and occupancy rates of their industrial parks. A checklist of essential conditions for an industrial park to be attractive to Japanese SMEs was also discussed at the meeting.

Prof. Ohno’s lecture for NEU’s PhD students

On December 18, 2011, Prof. Ohno (VDF/GRIPS) gave a lecture for PhD students on “Avoiding a Middle Income Trap: From Given Growth to Policy-aided Value Creation” at the Graduate School of NEU. The three-hour lecture included the concept and data of a middle income trap and how it can be avoided. Growth based on FDI, natural resources, locational advantages, etc. will eventually end. The true source of development is value creation by humans--knowledge, skills and technology. To promote this, policy capacity must be improved as free markets do not automatically achieve it. International best policy practices from Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, etc. were compared as materials for Vietnam to study and create its own policy mechanism. Discussion with PhD students covered concrete ways to absorb technology, reasons why Vietnamese who study abroad cannot contribute to the country effectively after coming home, and how to cope with an inactive private sector. SlidesE

Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Exchange Center

From 15 to 17 Decemer 2011, VDF’s researcher delegation led by Prof. Kenichi Ohno visited Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Exchange Center (BCEC) and investigated current status of coffee market in Dak Lak Province. BCEC is a pilot exchange under DOIT of Daklak Province. It started spot trading in end 2008 and futures trading in March 2011. It has a big building, modern facilities, one coffee processing factory and five warehouses. But trading is very limited because few use BCEC. 80% of coffee is sold through traditional channels, with small farmers selling their products to nearby brokers without market information, business strategy or quality standard. Without competitive players or appropriate transport & processing technology, building BCEC alone will not improve the situation. The coffee strategy should set vision and targets, and implement safety & quality standards, logistics and transport, packaging, branding, farmer training, etc. from the international buyers' point of view.

Working sessions with Ba Ria - Vung Tau

On December 15, 2011, Prof. Ohno (VDF/GRIPS)had a working session with PC Chairman Sanh, and key provincial officials, JICA, Prof. Tsuboi (Waseda), Tran Dinh Thien (Inst. Econ.).  The previous day, he had a meeting with Vice Chairman Nien and Ms. Huong, DOIT Director. Ba Ria -Vung Tau has high per capita income thanks to gas and oil, but farmers and fishermen, accounting for 50% of population, produce only 5% of provincial GDP. In order to solve this problem, Ba Ria - Vung Tau approaches Japan. The province's two priorities are to become an internationally competitive logistic hub and improve human resources to move people from agriculture to industry.

Prof. Ohno receives the Medal "For Education"

Study Vietnamese economy since 1995, Prof. Kenichi Ohno has produced a number of practical policy-oriented research on Vietnam's development. By establishment of Vietnam Development Forum (VDF) in 2004, he has made greater contributions to training for young Vietnamese researchers. His efforts and achievements in the field of training and research have been acknowledged by the governments of Vietnam and Japan. This year, he is honored to receive a medal "For Education" awarded by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. On November 28, 2011, an award ceremony took place at National Economics University (NEU), the Vietnamese counterpart of VDF. Prof. Tran Tho Dat, Vice Rector of NEU, presented the award and expressed his appreciations for Prof. Ohno's significant contributions to education and training.

Vietnam Industrialization Strategy

Bilateral industrial initiative between Vietnam and Japan, started in Sep. 2011 by Japanese ambassador HE Mr. Tanizaki (see below), is progressing. This initiative, aiming to create new industries in Vietnam through concentrated policy effort,  was officially agreed in the joint statement of two prime ministers on Oct. 30. Three working group meetings, co-chaired by Dr. Ba (CIEM) and Prof. Ohno (VDF/GRIPS), have been held, and a high-level committee headed by a deputy prime minister will soon be organized. A JICA consultant team was selected to support this work. The initiative is currently working on a short list of target sectors or areas based on the agreed criteria. After in-depth study of each selected industry, action plans will be drafted and implementation will begin in 2012.

Workshop on “Financial Risk Management with VAR method”

On 28 Oct 2011, Ms. Tsuzuri Sakamaki, a JICA’s expert in Banking and Finance, made a presentation on “Financial Risk Management with VAR method” at VDF. The participants were from commercial banks, including Vietinbank, BIDV, researchers and lecturers from  universities. Ms. Tsuzuri presented a new look on the financial risk management, especially in the case of commercial banks. Three approaching methods of Value-at-risk (VAR) tool were also introduced in the presentation.