Vietnam builds first pharmaceutical factory in Myanmar

A Vietnamese pharmaceutical company, the ASV Pharma, has built the first Myanmar-Vietnam joint venture pharmaceutical factory in Myanmar, a local weekly said in this week's issue.

The factory was established in Mingaladon industrial park in the commercial city of Yangon with the cooperation of Myanmar Entrepreneurs Integrated Group, the Pyi Myanmar News said.

ASV Pharma, a member of ASV Holdings, opened a booth at the Vietnam Commodities Fair held in Myanmar in early 2010 to introduce its pharmaceutical products.

The establishment, supported by the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), was initiated by a working visit to Myanmar by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in April 2010.

According to official statistics, Vietnam-Myanmar bilateral trade amounted to 82 million U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2009-10.

Vietnam stands the 16th among Myanmar's exporting countries. Myanmar mainly exported its forestry products to Vietnam, followed by agricultural produces, seafood and electrical goods, spare parts, while it imported from Vietnam steel, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, medicines, industrial products, chemical products, computer and accessories, plastic, cosmetics and engine oil.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's investment in Myanmar hit 23.4 million U.S. dollars as of February this year since the country opened to such investment in late 1988.

Steel exports double in 10 months

Viet Nam exported about 1.5 million tonnes of steel during the first 10 months of the year, which is almost twice as much steel that was exported during the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Steel manufacturers increased their production capacity and upped investments this year.

Manufacturers invested in upgrading their infrastructure and exported steel to new markets in Brazil, the US, Japan and Cambodia.

Consumption in the domestic market during the final days of October surged. Analysts estimate that about 390,000 tonnes would be purchased domestically, which is more than 100,000 tonnes over figures from September.

The price of steel also increased by VND100,000 per tonne against the last week of October to VND13.2 million (US$670) per tonne.

The price of steel ingots on the world market increased slightly, said Dinh Huy Tam, general secretary of the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA).

The depreciation of the Vietnamese dong directly affected steel prices because raw materials used to create the commodity were imported, said Tam.

Production expenses, including the price of electricity, coal and petrol, increased in October. Tam predicted that steel prices would continue to increase for the remainder of the year.

The VSA also affirmed that there were no steel shortages on the domestic market. Steel manufacturers nationwide have stocked about 270,000 tonnes of steel.