20 years

ST25 , a high-end rice variety produced in Vietnam, is said to have been registered for trademark protection in the U.S., a trade promotion office told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday evening.

Vu Ba Phu, director of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that he had heard about the ST25 rice protection registration by some U.S. companies.

But Phu has yet to be able to confirm the accuracy of the information, he added.

Unconfirmed report

If such registration is confirmed to be true, it will be hard for Vietnamese businesses to directly export the ST25 rice to the U.S., Phu claimed.

This case gives a warning to Vietnamese enterprises about protecting their brands abroad, he remarked.

Enterprises should proceed with necessary steps on trademark protection when they ship goods overseas, especially in their key markets, he said.

Nguyen Trung Kien, vice-president of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), also said he had yet to receive official information about American enterprises having registered for the protection of the ST25 rice trademark in the U.S. market.

The VFA had contacted the group that created the ST25 rice variety as well as some rice businesses for clarification but it has not received any official reply, Kien said.

“We have also kept in touch with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is said to be the origin of this information, but the ministry said such information is not clear,” said Phu.

“This issue still needs verification before any response is taken by concerned parties, so it is necessary to avoid causing confusion.”

This striking report has drawn great attention since the Vietnamese premium fragrant rice ST25 was honored as the best rice variety in the world at the 2019 World’s Best Rice contest.

In last year’s contest, the rice was named the world’s runner-up after its Thai rival.

Commenting on this matter, a director of a company specializing in exporting farm produce to the U.S. said that it is not uncommon for Vietnamese products to be registered by foreign enterprises for trademark protection in the U.S..

In the U.S., there are companies or importers that specialize in identifying the best-selling or promising brands of goods exported to the U.S. from other countries, the director said, adding that they will then carry out procedures to register for the protection of such trademarks in the U.S. market to gain a advantage in trade.

“Such registration is not unlawful but it must satisfy many relevant regulations before it is approved,” the director said.

“So there are still ways for Vietnamese businesses involved to struggle to reclaim their brands.”

“Businesses should register their trademarks in their potential export markets to avoid possible disadvantages or disputes.”

ST24 on the horizon

Meanwhile, Lao Dong (Labor) online newspaper reported on Wednesday that both Vietnamese varieties of ST25 and ST24 have been filed for trademark protection in the U.S by four American enterprises.

That means the exportation of these rice varieties from Vietnam to the U.S. would have to be subject to the approval of the American owners of ST25 and ST24 brands; otherwise, Vietnamese exporters would violate intellectual property (IP) rights over the two products, Lao Dong claimed.

“When exporting any products to any markets, Vietnamese enterprises must register for IP protection of their goods in those markets,” Lao Dong quoted Hoang Minh Chien, deputy director of the Trade Promotion Agency, as saying in an interview.

Currently, the ST24 and ST25 have been registered for IP protection in Vietnam only, Chien said.

In the event that the four U.S. businesses are granted protection over the two rice varieties, Vietnamese exporters must get a nod from these foreign enterprises for shipping such rice to the American market, the official told Lao Dong .

“Or Vietnamese exporters must change the names of such rice,” he said.

“Foreign enterprises act very fast.

“When we still focus on exporting new goods, they may have proceeded with registration of such commodities.”

Speaking to Lao Dong about whether a Vietnamese company may be the fifth registrant for IP protection for the two rice varieties, Chien said this requires a careful review of the records and the relevant provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property.

“Currently, the enterprise that owns the ST24 and ST25 rice brands in Vietnam has yet to contact us, so the progress of the IP registration by the American enterprises remains unknown,” Chien said.

“If they contact us, we may give them more specific consultancy.”

Local agricultural engineer Ho Quang Cua has bred and improved Vietnam’s ST rice varieties for over 20 years.

In 2017, the ST24 rice won second prize at the World’s Best Rice contest in Macau, China.

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Vietnam is offering opportunities for investors by creating a stable, friendly business environment

According to the report, Vietnam’s attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) from CPTPP member countries was modest in the first year of the agreement’s implementation. Data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that in 2019, the number of newly licensed foreign investment projects increased more than 13 percent compared to 2018.

While the 2019 investment of almost US$9.5 billion from CPTPP countries was nearly 36 percent lower than the previous year’s, this was due to the surge of 2018 foreign capital from Japan for Sumitomo Corporation’s US$4.1 billion Smart City project in the capital Hanoi. That investment alone accounted for almost 30 percent of all FDI Vietnam attracted from CPTPP countries in the same year.

As a result, new capital registered a comparative decline in 2019, with the average value of a new FDI project from CPTPP countries decreasing 56.9 percent, from nearly US$11 million in 2018 to US$4.7 million per project in 2019. CPTPP-related institutional and market opening commitments apply to the long term and do not have an immediate impact on FDI inflows.

Although FDI from CPTPP countries decreased 36 percent, total FDI capital attracted by Vietnam in 2019 increased over seven percent.

According to the report, FDI attraction from CPTPP countries increased in 2020, reaching US$11.8 billion, up 24.4 percent from 2019. In all, Vietnam attracted US$28.5 billion in FDI capital last year, down almost 25 percent compared to 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

David Gottlieb, Counselor for Economic and Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, gave a speech at a recent conference reviewing two years of CPTPP implementation

Surge in Q1 foreign investment

According to data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency, in the first quarter of 2021, Vietnam attracted US$10.13 billion in FDI capital, up 18.5 percent from the same period last year. Two CPTPP countries, Singapore and Japan, topped the list of foreign investors in the first quarter, with Singapore investing US$4.6 billion (accounting for 45.6 percent of the total) and Japan US$2.1 billion (20.8 percent of the total).

Economists say Vietnam is offering opportunities for investors by creating a stable, friendly business environment.

David Gottlieb, Counselor for Economic and Development Cooperation at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, underscored the importance of utilizing digital technology in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. He recommended that Vietnam seek to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the CPTPP to increase digitalization.

According to Gottlieb, the Covid-19 pandemic presented a range of unprecedented challenges to the principles of free trade and market openness. Fortunately, CPTPP members such as Australia and Vietnam responded well to the pandemic and were still able to fulfill their commitments to rules-based trade whilst maintaining open supply chains which provide positive and transparent information.

Nguyen Hoa

The city People’s Council at a meeting Thursday approved the investment policy for two projects, one to develop An Phu Intersection in Thu Duc City to tackle chronic traffic jams in the area, and the other to renovate Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Nuoc Len Canal to mitigate urban flooding and improve waterway transport.

As approved, the two projects would be carried out using the state budget allocated by the government and counter capital of the city.

Estimated to cost VND3.926 trillion ($170.4 million), An Phu Intersection will be developed using VND1.8 trillion from the central budget, and the rest from the city to stop frequent traffic jams at the intersection, which connects Mai Chi Tho Street in District 2 and HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, a major link between the city and neighboring Dong Nai Province.

The intersection, as designed, will have three levels – a tunnel linking the expressway with Mai Chi Tho Street and two overpasses. Once complete, it is also expected to boost connectivity to the expressway, which the Transport Ministry would widen from the current four to eight or 10 lanes.

Renovation of the Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Nuoc Len canal system is calculated to cost VND8.2 trillion ($356 million), including VND6.4 trillion for dredging and upgrades, VND718 billion for acquiring and clearing land and the rest for incidental expenses.

The central state budget will offer VND4 trillion for the canal project and HCMC the rest.

Upgrades will include items to build concrete embankments and roads that run 33 kilometers (20.5 miles) along the canal, dredging the entire water body, rebuilding or repairing sewer systems, and building 12 docks.

It would improve drainage and prevent flooding in the seven districts of 12, Binh Tan, Tan Phu, Tan Binh, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, and Binh Chanh, and would also help improve waterway transport between HCMC and the Mekong Delta as well as two of its neighboring provinces, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, easing traffic jams on a number of highways.

Both projects will be carried out in the 2021-2025 period.

The city’s executive body, or People’s Committee, had last year written to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, asking for the state fund to support the two projects, the government having recently given the nod.

HCMC, home to 13 million people, has struggled with heavy traffic congestion and severe flooding for decades.

The project investor, HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), said Thursday that the two three-car trains would be shipped from Japan’s railway system factory Kasado Works on May 1 and reach HCMC in nine days.

Three to four days later, the trains would be delivered to the Long Binh Depot in Thu Duc City.

Two of the four six-car trains would be shipped by June and the remaining two by July. The exact delivery dates may change due to variables like weather conditions or congestion at the port, the investor said.

After the trains are delivered to the Long Binh Depot, Japanese contractor Hitachi would install five of them on the T1 railway, while the sixth one will be installed on a different track, the MAUR said, without elaborating.

The first three-car train arrived in HCMC last October and has been installed on the T1 railway.

As originally planned, trial runs for the trains should begin in this year’s fourth quarter. Within the same time frame, other tasks like operations, personnel training and technology transfer would also be in progress.

Hoang Mai Tung, coordinating engineer for the Metro Line 1 project, said train operations in the future would be handled automatically with a communications-based train control (CBTC) system. The system would help locate the exact location of the trains better than traditional signal systems, he said. It would automatically adjust the trains’ speed, opening and closing doors, as well as the amount of time trains stop at stations.

“This technology will help manage and operate the metro line more effectively and safely than several other methods. However, in the first years of operation, the trains should still have a driver to respond to various situations in order to maintain safety at the highest level,” Tung said.

HCMC’s first metro line, running from Ben Thanh Market in District 1 to the Suoi Tien theme park in Thu Duc, will have a total of 17 trains, starting with three-car trains before moving onto the six-car ones. Each three-car train would be 61.5 meters long with a capacity of 930 passengers. The trains are expected to run at an average speed of 40 kph.

The first metro line has a total investment cost of over VND43.7 trillion ($1.89 billion). It runs nearly 20 km with three underground and 11 elevated stations. The project is 83 percent complete, and is expected to be launched next year.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors, including those from ASEAN states, to invest in advanced medical equipment, according to trade counsellor Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng at the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany.

At a virtual conference held by Ernst & Young (EY) Global Limited on Tuesday, Hùng said ASEAN has produced a wide range of medical equipment, and 5-7 per cent of global equipment exports are sourced from ASEAN countries.

Việt Nam has a huge demand for medical equipment due to its rapidly ageing population, he stressed, adding that a network between ASEAN member states should be established to enhance information exchange as well as co-operation in the field to ensure timely supply of medical equipment and pharmaceutical products.

At the event, which also aimed to promote trade and investment in consumer goods within the bloc, he highlighted the important role of the country’s garment and footwear sector in both the domestic and export markets.

Despite the adverse impacts of COVID-19, Việt Nam’s exports of consumer products topped US$100.3 billion in 2020, a year-on-year rise of 2.4 per cent. Shipments of garment and footwear products accounted for 20 per cent of the nation’s total export revenue in 2019.

Currently, Việt Nam is the fourth-largest garment and textile exporter, and the second-biggest source market of footwear. However, 80 per cent of the leather shoes come from the foreign direct investment sector, he said.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the supply of materials for the two production sectors, while global demand has declined sharply, the country is working to diversify its material supplies to reduce risks.

In a bid to enjoy tax preferences from free trade deals such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Europe-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), brands and suppliers in Việt Nam are using domestic materials.

According to Hùng, with robust economic growth, ASEAN is both a large supplier of consumer products and a big market.

Due to their increasing income, ASEAN consumers prefer high-quality products, including garments and leather shoes, so Việt Nam hopes to branch out the two sectors by developing transport and logistics infrastructure, he added. — VNS