Vietnam Opens Embassy in Sri Lanka after 30 Years

27th April 2011, www.dailymirror.lk, By Dianne Silva

The Ambassador designate from Vietnam Ton Sinh Thanh handed over his credentials to President Mahinda Rajapaksa last morning. The Embassy has been reopened in Sri Lanka after a lapse of almost 30 years.

“We had an embassy in Sri Lanka in the 70’s, but had to close it down due to the terrorist situation. But we have reopened the Embassy since both Sri Lanka and Vietnam are in a new era—where the war is over in Sri Lanka and Vietnam has developed rapidly,” Ton Sinh Thanh told the Daily Mirror.

The Ambassador extended support towards Sri Lanka in the wake of the release of the report by the Panel of Experts appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. “The international community should support Sri Lanka in the reconstruction and reconciliation of the country. Further the post war issues of Sri Lanka should be solved by the Sri Lankan people themselves without interference from other countries. The UN can play an active role in this process of reconstruction and reconciliation,” he said.

“Vietnam and Sri Lanka have always supported each other in the international arena and we will continue this support,” he added.

He further said he hoped to increase interaction between the two countries in the areas of trade, investment, tourism and culture.

“Trade between the two countries is growing very fast and in the past year it had increased by more than 50 per cent, from 60 million USD to 90 million and I hope to increase this figure very soon,” he said.

He added that the two countries could share experiences on attracting investment into their countries. “There is over 190 billion USD invested in Vietnam in over 120 projects and this expertise of drawing in investment can be shared with Sri Lanka. Vietnam can also invest in Sri Lanka in the areas of fisheries, oil and gas exploration and construction,” he said.

These areas had been discussed during Ton Sinh Thanh’s meeting with the President. “The President welcomed these areas of cooperation between the two countries and said he would extend fullest support towards the activities of the Embassy,” he explained.

Speaking on the cultural integration between the two countries he said the many similarities would be an opening for cultural exchange. “We are both Buddhist countries and therefore can have joint religious activities. Further, we can enrich our cultural connection through exhibitions in each other’s countries thus creating greater understanding,” he said.

Image: The Ambassador designate from Vietnam Ton Sinh Thanh meets with members of the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Business Council at a reception following his handing over of credentials to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Pic by Nisal Baduge

Sovereign Bond Investors Should Turn to Sri Lanka over Vietnam Says Nomura

06th October 2010, www.bloomberg.com

Sovereign bond investors should buy debt of Sri Lanka over Vietnam as the island nation progresses in setting aside three decades of war to record economic growth that outpaces its rival, according to Nomura Holdings Inc.

“Sri Lanka has become the new darling of the Asian emerging-market space,” credit analysts led by Hong Kong-based Pradeep Mohinani wrote in an Oct. 5 note to clients. The nation is the “the sovereign story in Asia to dislodge Vietnam, which has lost its allure,” he said.

The island nation south of India, recovering from civil unrest, last month attracted more than $6.3 billion of orders for a $1 billion global bond sale. The October 2020 notes were sold to yield 6.25 percent, or 373 basis points more than similar-maturity U.S. Treasuries. The spread has since narrowed 15 basis points to 358 basis points, according to Nomura. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. Narrowing spreads indicate rising bond prices.

Sri Lanka’s $42 billion economy expanded 8.5 percent in the three months to June 30 from a year earlier, the most since 2002, its statistics department said Sept. 16. The economy may grow as much as 8 percent this year, more than a previous forecast of 7 percent, the central bank said last month.

“The country clearly has the tailwinds behind it,” Mohinani wrote. “We expect the entire Sri Lanka curve to converge to the Vietnam curve in due course,” he said, referring to movements in benchmark yields.

Vietnam Rates

In Vietnam, banks were asked this week to cut deposit rates to no more than 11 percent in an effort to spur growth in the $92 billion economy. The nation’s gross domestic product may expand 6.7 percent this year, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, chairman of theGovernment Office said on Sept. 30.

The $1 billion of January 2020 bonds sold by Vietnam’s government in January pay a coupon of 6.75 percent and were issued at a spread of 332.7 basis points more than similar- maturity Treasuries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They’re now trading at a spread of 292 basis points, having narrowed 41 basis points, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc prices on Bloomberg show.

Dollar bonds in Vietnam returned 7 percent last quarter compared with 6 percent for dollar debt in Sri Lanka, JPMorgan Chase & Co. indexes show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katrina Nicholas in Singapore at knicholas2@bloomberg.net