051017Intellasia Finance Vietnam - HKBAV · HCM City Taxi Association proposes suspending...

5 October 2017

finance & business news

FINANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Reference exchange rate revised down 221-22pct credit growth target hard to achieve 2Three banks being acquired at zero dong: still facing heavy losses 3Monetary policy should not be used for too many goals:

SSI experts 3More than 70pct inward remittances in HCM City poured into

production 4Vietnamese bond market needs enlarging 4Remittance to HCM City reaches $3.38b in 9 months 6VPBank breaks HoSE record by individual stock sales 6Bao Viet Insurance introduces cancer and heart coverage 7WB report: Vietnam's economy continues to show

fundamental strength 7Vietnam tops Asean with September PMI at 53.3 8Vietnam makes good use of Japan's ODA: FEC deputy chief 9GDP growth snowballs in 3rd 9PM: government could meet all 13 NA targets 10HCM City's growth target hard to achieve 11HCM City urged to achieve higher growth by end of the year 12Slow disbursement a worry: PM 12Massive surge in exports possible, official says 14Rubber exports to EU encounter difficulties 15Ceramics exports regain growth 17Vietnam remains world's No 1 exporter of cashews 17Government to establish agency to manage State assets 18MPI pens legal framework for start-up funding 18'Better' alternatives to tax hikes 19Numerous product lines to have zero tax in coming time 20Further fee cuts needed to support firms 21Vietnam attracts foreign investment, but technology

transfer remains low 22HCM City Taxi Association proposes suspending ride-hailing

service 22Vietnam ranks 8th among world furniture manufacturers 23Luxury condotels: new and attractive investment channel! 23Hanoi & HCM City retail see no new supply in Q3 24Thua Thien Hue: registered capital of new firms doubles 25Tien Giang shifts to growing fruit trees with high value 25Mekong Delta seeks investors for 57 projects 26HSBC: More Thai firms to tap Vietnam market 26Vietnam welcomes Japanese investment: PM 27

Vietnam, German share experience to develop agricultural value chains 27

Vietnam, Malaysia discuss ways to increase farm produce value 28India-Vietnam trade is aiming toward $15bn target 28

BIZ NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Business Briefs 05 October, 2017 30Why are foreign investment funds divesting? 30VN Index bounces on blue chips 31VN Index dips to below 800 points 3240 foreign investors join race for IDICO shares 33Screw manufacturer plans HOSE listing 33TTF completes subsidiary divestment 33Song Da Corp modifies IPO plan 34Gemadept sells majority stake in two subsidiary firms 34Time for real estate market to get exciting 35Simultaneous launches in apartment market 36Private sector invests in Apec infrastructure 37HCM City exchanges 16 land lots for Thu Thiem 4 Bridge 37Waste from thermal power plants increasingly affects the

environment 38Ministries want to recycle coal power waste 38HCM City strictly handles case of sedated pigs 39Sugar processors not keen on bagasse-based electricity

generation 40Optimal conditions pledged for ADB-funded urban project 40Vietnam a good option to optimise global supply chains 41Japanese-style farms for Can Tho 42Vietnam Airlines urges police investigation after customer

information leaked to taxi companies 43Pinaco plans strategic partnership with Furukawa Battery 43Mercedes-Benz go on sale in Vinh City 44Tetra Pak builds packaging factory in Binh Duong 44Japanese firm to build 10 million-USD factory in Vinh Phuc's IP 44Film studio equitisation under scrutiny 45Mekong Capital wins private equity international award 45Invest Danang 2017 Forum to kick off in mid-October 47Printing and packaging expo attracts 300 companies 47Vietnam Cycle 2017 to open in Hanoi 47Tra fish fair to take place this week in Hanoi 48Can Tho hosts events to attract Japanese investors 48Soc Trang to host business trade link conference 49

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FINANCEReference exchange rate revised down

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA

The State Bank of Vietnam adjusted the daily reference exchange rate for VND/USD to 22,468 VND on October 5, down 5 VND from the previous day.With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 23,141 VND and the floor rate 21,875 VND per USD.The rates listed at major commercial banks in the morning of October 5 continued to stay stable.Both Vietcombank and Vietinbank listed their buying rate at 22,690 VND and selling rate

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Vietnam finance & business 5 October 2017

22,760 VND per USD, unchanged from October 4.At BIDV, the greenback is being bought at 22,695 VND and sold at 22,765 VND, the same as on October 4.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-revised-down/119000.vnp

21-22pct credit growth target hard to achieve

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| BAO TIN TUC

According to the objective of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the credit growth in 2017 must reach 21-22%. However, statistics of the General Statistical Office (GSO) showed that the credit growth of the economy was only 11.02 percent as of September 20th. Thus, to complete the goal, from now until the end of the year, banks should de-velop credit by 10-11%, equivalent to injecting about 600 trillion dong to the market.Economist, lawyer DrBui Quang Tin, member of the Hochiminh city Bar Association, founding director of the BizLight Business School said that in the past years, in order to boost lending in the last three months of the year, banks often increased lending by an addition of 6%. If this rate is applied, banks can only reach about 17-18 percent cred-it growth by the end of the year. "Meanwhile, since the credit growth room this year is expanded to 21-22%, banks will have to boost lending at full speed", added DrTin.The total outstanding credit in Hochiminh city as of late September was estimated at over 1,670 trillion dong, up by 13.5 percent compared to late 2016, and increased by 19.58 percent compared to the same period of 2016. According to SBV Hochiminh city branch, this rate is nearly 3 percent higher than the average national credit growth. Most of the loans focus on production and business areas, and supporting enterprises.However, many opinions said that although the policy to stimulate lending of SBV has boosted credit and directed the capital flows into production and business, the absorp-tion of enterprises remain limited.According to Pham Hong Hai, general director of HSBC Vietnam, the reason is due to the slow bad debt settlement process and low credit quality. On the other hand, the capital absorption of the economy is currently not good because the majority of small and medium enterprises still face difficulties in accessing bank loans or have limited access, while they account for over 95 percent of the total enterprises in Vietnam.Hai shared that fastening the credit growth without strict control of credit quality will lead to the same problem in the past which is the rise in bad debts, particularly if the new loans are allocated to inefficient industries, including real estate.Therefore, to achieve the annual growth target, Dr Tin offered six recommendations. Firstly, commercial banks should maintain or lower lending rates by 0.2-0.5 percent per annum, especially for medium and long-term loans. If so, the demand for capital will increase, facilitating the achievement of credit growth target.Secondly, banks should support enterprises with good business history, efficient busi-ness plans, and good cash flows, etc. via disbursement, granting more credit to enter-prises, or extending debt maturity and restructuring debts if these enterprises are having difficulties in the production and business cycle, etc.Thirdly, the credit growth limits for commercial banks with effective operation, low bad debt ratio and less risks should be raised, such as Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, VIB, and ACB, etc.Currently, banks have almost used up their limits to develop credit, and some have even reached the ceiling limit, while they are still having many good customers to offer loans. Therefore, raising credit growth limits will help banks continue granting loans, at the same time contributing to realise the credit growth target of the entire banking system.Fourthly, competing by increasing deposit rates and promotions in the end of the year should be strictly limited, otherwise it will be difficult to create favourable conditions to lower lending rates in the end of the year.Fifthly, SBV should continue to offer liquidity support on the Open Market Operation (OMO) and refinance when necessary for commercial banks with good lending, low risks and good management.Lastly, banks should further look for good customers to lend out, especially support-ing small and medium enterprises. Many of them currently have good business oper-ations and good credit history but they do not have sufficient secured assets to borrow more capital, or their financial statements and financial documents are not as sufficient as other large enterprises.

Intellasia 5 October 2017 2 / 49

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Three banks being acquired at zero dong: still facing heavy losses

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET

At the meeting with National Assembly Chair Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on October 3, State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) said, after being acquired at zero dong by the State Bank of Vietnam, three banks still face big losses and negative Equity is increasing.Specifically, the SAV's report on the restructuring results of three commercial banks being acquired at zero dong by the cental bank (including Construction Bank, Ocean Bank and Global Petroleum Commercial Joint Stock Bank (GPBank), shows that after two years of acquisition, the financial status of these three banks has not improved."The business performance of these three banks continues to suffer big losses, the neg-ative equity is increasing and if there is not effective measures, the losses will be big-ger", SAV warned.Also according to SAV, in 2016, the SAV proposed to deal with 38.776 trillion dong, the highest figure during the 22 years of operation of SAV.

Monetary policy should not be used for too many goals: SSI experts

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAM FINANCE

The banking sector or monetary policy can not be used for too many goals, but it is nec-essary to spread the task of stimulating growth for all agencies with an aim to stimu-late demand instead of stimulating supply", according to Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) experts.SSI's September macro report showed, Q3/2017 recorded a remarkable growth of 7.64 percent (it was 5.15 percent in Q1 and 6.28 percent in Q2) thanks to the strong improve-ment of the processing industry sector with superior products namely electronic prod-ucts.Thanks to the launch of Galaxy Note 8 in late August, the industrial index of electronic sector surged 44.5 percent in September in comparison with the same period last year, marking the highest growth in the last 32 months. Therefore, the electronic industrial index in Jan-Sep was boosted to 25.1 percent (while it was 13.4 percent in the same pe-riod last year).In addition to phones, other electronic products contributed $18.4 billion to the export value in Jan-Sep, accounting for 12 percent of total exports and a sharp increase of 41 percent year-on-year(in the same period last year, the rise was 13.1%).Another prominent FDI project namely Formosa, has started working since late Q2 and expects to produce 1.5 million tonnes of steel with expected revenue of 16.8 trillion dong in 2017, making a significant contribution to GDP growth.According to SSI, growth in Q3/2017 again confirms the importance of FDI and the need for special mechanisms to attract large-scaled FDI projects.Crude oil output in September reached 1.06 million tonnes, down 9.9 percent over the same period. Other mineral mining enjoyed a high growth rate of 9.2 percent (7.7 per-cent in Q2/2017). Therefore, despite a decline of 8.08 percent year-on-year in the min-ing GDP, this fall was the lowest in the three quarters (the fall was 10 percent and 8.2 percent in Q1 and Q2).Without the mining sector, the 2017 economic growth would reach 7.5%, the highest level in many years. This is an encouraging number and it is premise to believe that 2018 GDP growth will be over 7 percent when the mining sector recovers" SSI experts said.In the first nine months of 2017, the GDP of the financial, banking and insurance sec-tors increased by 7.89%, the highest level in the past seven years, with the most impor-tant factor namely the process of dealing with bad debt and the growth of the stock market.SSI believes that the economy is moving on the right track and this is the result of great internal efforts such as FDI attraction or the restructuring of the banking system that have taken place many years ago."Achieving the growth target of 6.7 percent in 2017 is no longer too important because macro-balances are in good shape and growing above 7 percent by 2018 is reachable," SSI concluded.


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More than 70pct inward remittances in HCM City poured into production

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| BAO HAI QUAN

Since the beginning of 2017, the amount of inward remittances sent to HCM City has been relatively stable, mostly flowing into production instead of pouring into real es-tate sector as before, Nguyen Hoang Minh, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s HCM City branch deputy director, said.In particular, till the end of September 2017, the total amount of inward remittances transferred to HCM City reached $3.375 billion, rising 12.5 percent from the end of Au-gust and 6 percent against the same period last year. Of which, the amount of remit-tances transferred to HCM City from the US market still accounted for the highest proportion with about 60%, followed by Europe with about 19%.Minh said that remittance structure is increasingly flowing into business and produc-tion activities rather than investing in real estate or savings as before. Specifically, 72 percent of remittances were spent on business and production operations, 22 percent on real estate and 6 percent on personal spendings.The satisfactory remittance results were thanks to the stable macro economy together with the development of remittance attraction services.With this positive increase, the amount of inward remittance to HCM City would reach $5.7-5.8 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%, SBV's HCM City branch said.In 2016, the amount of inward remittance transferred to HCM City reached $5 billion, accounting for 57 percent of the country's total amount of inward remittances.

Vietnamese bond market needs enlarging

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS

Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a roadmap for bond market devel-opment in the next three years, with a vision to 2030, under which the ratio of out-standing bonds to Gross Domesrtic Product (GDP) is expected to be 45 per cent of in 2020 and 65 per cent in 2030.Vietnam News Agency speaks to Phan Thi Thu Hien, director of the Department of Banking and Financial Institutions under the Ministry of Finance, about difficulties in implementation and solutions to achieve this goal.The government has approved a roadmap for bond market development for 2017-20, with a vision to 2030. Could you tell readers what's new in this plan?The new points of this route originate from the target set. Accordingly, the objective is to synchronise the development of the bond market and other markets, including the money and capital markets.Solutions to problems such as the development of market makers and the investor sys-tem, the restructuring of intermediary institutions and information technology are also more detailed.An important part of this roadmap is enhancing international cooperation so that the Vietnamese bond market can integrate into the region and the world.In your opinion, are there any restrictions on Vietnam's bond market that mean we have to come up with a long-term development strategy?For a long time, we have realised the biggest weakness of the bond market is its small size.By the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, total outstanding debts on the market made up about 35 per cent of GDP. Most debts were formed through the purchase of government bonds. In recent years, the government has focused on implementing many solutions to develop the bond market.However, in comparison with other regional countries, the size of the bond market in Vietnam is still small. In other countries, the ratio of outstanding bonds to the GDP is 60-70 per cent. In Japan, this figure is up to around 200 per cent.Secondly, the liquidity of the bond market in Vietnam is not high, with trading value ranging from VND8 trillion (US$355 million) per session to VND10 trillion. Compared to other countries in the region and the world, this figure is also relatively small.Regarding the investor base, in foreign countries most investors are long-term, but in Vietnam, despite market reform, the market often sees the participation of short-term


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investors. This has also hindered the development of the bond market.Because of these issues, the government has set a long-term goal to ensure that the market will become the medium and long-term capital mobilisation channel of the economy.Could you elaborate the role of corporate bonds in the bond market? Is this an effective step to improve the quality of the capital market and reduce the dependence on short-term loans from banks?Looking at the development of the Vietnamese financial market, we see the strong growth of the banking system. As a result, the banking channel is a major source of funds for the economy.In fact, from 60 per cent to 80 per cent of deposits in the banking system is short-term capital. Therefore, when banks provide medium and long-term loans, it leads to the risk of maturity mismatch to the banking system.Doing a comparison exercise, the outstanding debt of the corporate bond market ac-counted for about 5 per cent of GDP in the first six months of the year, while the ratio of outstanding debt from banks to the country's GDP is about 130 per cent.This is a huge gap between the amount of debt provided by the corporate bond market and that supplied by the banking system. For this reason, solutions to reach the target set on the roadmap will also focus on developing the corporate bond market.The development of this market is also one of the factors to encourage information dis-closure and enhance the transparency of businesses.This is not a simple matter. It requires an improvement in the legal framework and the trading infrastructure for the market.However, we have to harmonise policies to develop the corporate bond market and those to facilitate banking credit to ensure capital security for the entire financial sys-tem.This roadmap has set a target, for example, the size of corporate bond will reach 7 per cent of GDP by 2020 and 20 per cent by 2030. What will the Ministry of Finance do to realise these goals?To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Finance has provided legal framework solutions such as issuing directive decrees and circulars.The ministry also focuses on developing the primary market to create a good supply for the secondary market. We will also develop the market's demand side, including calling for the participation of long-term investors, addressing market organisation is-sues, as well as encourage intermediary institutions to enter the market.Related to market organisation, we will focus on modernising the trading system and depository system to shorten time for payment, registration and deposit. It will help to improve the liquidity of the market.Intermediary institutions, including banks, financial companies, securities companies, are required to restructure under the plans of the stock market and credit institution restructuring to improve their governance and financial capacity.The ministry will cooperate with the State Bank of Vietnam, market members and the Vietnam Bond Market Association as well as other related agencies to carry out these solutions.http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/394929/vietnamese-bond-market-needs-enlarg-ing.html

Remittance to HCM City reaches $3.38b in 9 months


Overseas remittance flowing into HCM City until the end of September rose 12.5 per cent month-on-month to nearly $3.38 billion.The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s HCM City branch reported that the capital flow in-creased 6 per cent year-on-year.Most of the remittance came from the United States, accounting for some 60 per cent of the total, followed by the Europe with roughly 19 per cent.Deputy director of SBV's HCM City branch Nguyen Hoang Minh said 72 per cent of the remittance was poured into production and business, 22 per cent into real estate


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and 6 per cent went into individual spending.Minh attributed the positive result to domestic macroeconomic stability and the devel-opment of remittance transfer services.Besides this, remittance recipients also preferred to exchange foreign currency into dong thanks to local foreign exchange policies, including the zero per cent interest rate applicable on dollar deposits.SBV's HCM City branch estimated that remittance to the city in 2017 will reach $5.7-5.8 billion, up 5.6 per cent against last year.Last year, the city received remittance worth $5 billion, accounting for some 57 per cent of Vit Nam's total remittance.http://bizhub.vn/banking/remittance-to-hcmc-reaches-338b-in-9-months_289301.html

VPBank breaks HoSE record by individual stock sales

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR

Thanks to investors' interest in its shares, Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has completed the sale of 165 million individual stocks at the price of VND39,000 ($1.71) apiece and earned more than VND6.4 trillion ($280.7 million).After the sale, VPBank's chartered capital increased to VND15.7 trillion ($688.7 mil-lion) from VND14.1 trillion ($618.5 million).According to a representative of VPBank, the bank will spend VND500 billion ($21.9 million) upgrading the information technology (IT) system as well as expand its oper-ations in 2017, VND100 billion ($43.8 million) will bee added as chartered capital to its subsidiary VPBank Assets Management Company (AMC), and another VND100 bil-lion ($43.8 million) will be spent purchasing stakes in companies specialising in insur-ance and fund management.More than VND5.7 trillion ($250.04 million) out of the VND6.4 trillion ($280.7 million) will be added to the medium- and long-term capital serving for the bank's credit ex-tension activities under its credit growth plan.Earlier in late August, State Bank of Vietnam allowed VPBank to raise its credit growth limit to 20 per cent from the previous 16 per cent. Thus, the added capital from its in-dividual stock offering is considered an advantage for its credit activities until the end of the year.Previously, on August 17, VPBank officially listed 1.33 billion shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange (HoSE), with the starting price of VND39,000 ($1.71). The move at-tracted the attention of numerous investors, especially foreign investors. Notably, the capital volume registered by foreign investors reached a record $1.2 billion, marking it the largest transaction on the stock exchange to date.The registered share volume far exceeds the shares put on sale, thus the board of di-rectors has convinced existing shareholders to decrease their holdings in the bank.According to the financial report published on its website, as of July 31, VPBank's eq-uity reached VND20.25 trillion ($888.3 million), up VND3 trillion ($131.6 million), up 17.9 per cent since the beginning of the year.In July alone, VPBank earned a consolidated pre-tax profit of VND903 billion ($39.6 million), increasing its cumulative consolidated profit in the first seven months to VND4.17 trillion ($182.9 million).http://www.vir.com.vn/vpbank-breaks-hose-record-by-individual-stock-sales.html

Bao Viet Insurance introduces cancer and heart coverage

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES

New product includes global-standard treatment at US hospitals.Bao Viet Insurance officially launched its "Outstanding Insurance for Cancer and Heart-related Diseases" in Hanoi on September 28 and HCM City on September 29.The product from Bao Viet Insurance, the number one non-life insurer in Vietnam, is released in partnership with global firm PGH and French tier-one reinsurer Societe Commerciale de Reassurancere (SCOR).Policyholders receive many benefits that are currently non-existent in Vietnam, in-cluding treatment plans conducted by leading global health experts and treatment at leading US medical centers and hospitals, with direct guarantees and coverage of up


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to $2 million in treatment costs per year.The entire treatment process is coordinated by a personal care manager that commu-nicates in Vietnamese. The programme provides up to $20,000 for travelling and living expenses of patients and one companion per treatment. The product covers nearly the entire life of customers, from one to 74 years old, and can be renewed until they are 99 years old.Speaking at the product launch, deputy CEO of Bao Viet Insurance, Nguyen Quang Hung, said that based on the increasing number of cancer and heart-related diseases in Vietnam, together with the importance of financial solutions for patients and their families to comfortably pursue treatment, it is launching its Outstanding Insurance for Cancer and Heart-related Diseases, which is also a first in Vietnam.The product is designed for businesses, organisations, and associations, helping them to take care of themselves and protect their most valuable assets. Through its launch, Bao Viet Insurance believes it will share the burden of costly treatment with patients, giving them the chance to win against these dangerous diseases.The launch is the result of a tight partnership between Bao Viet Insurance and its part-ners, mobilising the strengths of each party to allow customers to approach a new standard in comprehensive healthcare. The combination of the number one non-life in-surer in Vietnam, Bao Viet Insurance, and PGH promises to provide many solutions to customers so they are protected from such sudden health risks.In 2015, officials said that chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart conditions are increasing at "alarming" rates in Vietnam, now causing 75 per cent of all fatalities. With the diagnostic system falling behind and many people reluctant to change their habits, the diseases kill 375,000 people in the country every year, with cancer, heart problems, high blood pressure, and diabetes at the top of the list.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/bao-viet-insurance-introduces-cancer-and-heart-coverage

WB report: Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength


Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength, according to the East Asia-Pacific Economic Update released by the World Bank via a teleconference con-necting regional countries, including Vietnam, on October 4.The report said Vietnam's medium-term outlook remains positive. Real gross domes-tic product growth is projected to accelerate slightly to 6.3 percent in 2017, under-pinned by buoyant domestic demand, rebounding agricultural production, and strong export-oriented manufacturing, aided by a recovery in external demand, which will be partially offset by declining oil production.The current account is expected to remain in surplus, albeit at a lower level as stronger import growth resumes. Over the medium term, growth is projected to stabilise at around 6.4 percent in 2018-2019, accompanied by broad macroeconomic stability. Bar-ring extreme weather-relate shocks, poverty is expected to fall further.It added that domestic and external risks call for continued macro-economic prudence. In view of resilient growth momentum, solidifying macro-economic stability and re-building policy buffers should remain the foremost priority. Lowering the fiscal deficit will help to contain rising risks to fiscal sustainability and provide fiscal space to ac-commodate future shocks.WB vice President for the East Asia-Pacific Victoria Kwakwa said challenges to coun-tries are how to achieve goals of short-term growth and reduced medium-term risks to lay solid foundation for sustained and inclusive growth.Authors of the report called for removing short-term growth measures and addressing financial risks. They underscored the importance of developing tourism and strength-ening regional integration to minimise risks brought about by protectionism.In order to achieve the goal of sustained and inclusive growth, they suggested abolish-ing extreme poverty, providing quality services and strengthening social security to minimise shocks' impacts.


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Vietnam tops Asean with September PMI at 53.3


Latest Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing managers' Index puts Vietnam well ahead of its Asean peers.The headline Nikkei Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing managers' Index (PMI) strengthened to 53.3 in September from 51.8 in August, driven by faster rises in output, new orders, and employment on the back of stronger customer demand.The end of the third quarter saw an improvement in growth momentum at Vietnamese manufacturing firms, with the reading putting Vietnam at the top among its Asean peers, leaving the runners-up far behind with indicators standing at below 51.Anecdotal evidence highlighted an improvement in customer demand over the month.This resulted in a sharp and accelerated increase in new business, the most marked in five months, with the rate of expansion in new export orders also quickening in Sep-tember, the report noted.Manufacturing output increased for the eleventh successive month, with the latest rise the most marked since April.All three broad sectors saw production increase, led by consumer goods firms.Higher new orders contributed to capacity pressures, as signaled by a further rise in backlogs of work.Some panelists also reportedly mentioned that staff shortages contributed to the build-up of outstanding business.Firms responded to greater workloads by increasing their staffing levels. Moreover, the rate of job creation quickened to a six-month high.Manufacturers also used inventories to help fulfill new orders in September.As a result, stocks of finished goods decreased for the third month running and to the greatest extent since July 2016.A marked acceleration in the rate of input cost inflation was recorded, linked to higher prices for raw materials, including those sourced from China.The increase in input costs was the strongest since May 2011.Rising input prices led firms to increase their output charges in September for the first time in five months.That said, the rate of inflation was modest amid reports of competitive pressures.Higher new orders, and a subsequent rise in production requirements, encouraged firms to increase their purchasing activity at the end of the third quarter.Manufacturers remained optimistic that output will increase over the coming year, with positive sentiment linked to predictions of new order growth and business ex-pansion plans, according to the report."The third quarter of the year ended on a positive note for Vietnamese manufacturers as improving client demand breathed fresh life into the sector," said Andrew Harker, Associate director at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey."New orders rose markedly, feeding through to faster expansion of output, employ-ment, and purchasing activity. Manufacturers are, therefore, well placed to record fur-ther growth during the final quarter.""A cautionary note, though, is signaled by a reemergence of inflationary pressures," he added."Cost inflation was the strongest in over six years amid pressure on the supply of raw materials."http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/187692/vietnam-tops-asean-with-septem-ber-pmi-at-53-3.html

Vietnam makes good use of Japan's ODA: FEC deputy chief


Vietnam has effectively used Japan's official development assistance in building infra-structure, said vice President of the Japanese International Friendship Exchange Coun-cil (FEC) Yoshihiko Nakagaki.Nakagaki, who has led FEC delegations to visit Vietnam several times over the past 7 years, made the comment at a meeting with deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung


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in Hanoi on October 4.He said the good use of the ODA has contributed significantly to the country's socio-economic development, but noted that as the Vietnamese economy expands, adjust-ments to the current usage are needed for better outcomes.Deputy PM Dung said he welcomes FEC member businesses making annual visits to Vietnam to learn about local policies to attract Japanese investors and discuss meas-ures to boost Vietnam Japan economic ties.Highlighting robust growth of the Vietnam Japan extensive strategic partnership, Dung said Japan is the top ODA provider and 4th biggest trade partner of Vietnam.Japanese investors have made good reputation in Vietnam and contributed to the local development, the official added.He underscored the commitment by the Vietnamese government to complete policies and legal framework that improve business climate and facilitate foreign investors, in-cluding those from Japan.Both host and guest agreed on untapped potential for Vietnam Japan trade coopera-tion thanks to prospects brought about by the formation of Asean Community and progressive negotiation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).Established in 1983 as a non-profit international exchange organisation, FEC works on promoting friendship and cooperation between Japan and foreign countries.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-makes-good-use-of-japans-oda-fec-deputy-chief/118986.vnp

GDP growth snowballs in 3rd


Despite a continued downturn in the mining sector, nine-month figures show Viet-nam's economy is on a good growth trajectory.The General Statistical Office (GSO) reported that the economy grew by 6.41 per cent in this year's first nine months, higher than the 5.99 per cent of last year's correspond-ing period. The economy grew by a record 7.46 per cent in the third quarter, up from 6.28 per cent in the second quarter, and 5.15 per cent in the first quarter."These figures reflect that the economy is flourishing, showing a strong rise in the economy's manufacturing and consumption. The economy has also been buoyed by further increases in foreign direct investment and exports, domestic credit growth, and a further recovery in agriculture from the 2016 drought, as well as accelerating dis-bursement of capitalexpenditure on national infrastructure programmes," Aaron Batten, country econo-mist from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), told VIR.According to GSO's head Nguyen Bich Lam, the economy has been strongly recover-ing. It shows in the difference in growth rates of 1.18 per cent between the third and second quarters, and 1.13 per cent between the second and first quarters. These differ-ences are the biggest between the quarters of a year since 2010.In this year's first nine months, 17 out of the economy's 21 key economic sectors, ex-cluding the mineral sector, witnessed increases.For example, the nine-month industrial index for production (IIP) rose by 7.9 per cent year-on-year, higher than the 7.1 per cent increase seen last year. IIP in September was 13.2 per cent higher year-on-year.The processing and manufacturing sector, which contributes up to 80 per cent of the industrial sector's growth, expanded by 12.8 per cent, compared to 11.7 per cent in the same period last year. It was "also the highest ascension of this sector over the past many years, responsible for 9 per cent of the economy's nine-month growth," accord-ing to GSO."Despite the drop in mining and oil output, Vietnam's economy continues to perform well, driven by its twin engines of export-oriented manufacturing and rising domestic consumption," said Eric Sidgwick, ADB country director for Vietnam.In this year's first nine months, the mineral sector shrunk 8.1 per cent year-on-year, compared to 7.1 per cent in last year's corresponding period, and caused a 0.57 per cent


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decrease in the economy's nine-month growth.According to a GSO survey on manufacturing and processing firms in Vietnam re-leased last week, 41.5 per cent of respondents reported that their business was better in the third quarter than in the previous quarters. 52.6 per cent expected even better business in the last quarter, with 54.2 per cent forecasting an increase in production.ADB last week set its new forecast for Vietnam's economic growth in 2017 at 6.3 per cent, followed by growth of 6.5 per cent in 2018. "I think the 6.3 per cent is rather high, compared to many other Southeast Asian nations," ADB's Batten said.Under ADB's Development Outlook Update 2017 released last week, the growth rate of many nations in the region is expected to be lower than that of Vietnam this year and in 2018. Examples include Indonesia (5.1 and 5.3 per cent, respectively), Malaysia (5.4 and 5.4 per cent), Singapore (2.7 and 2.7 per cent), and Thailand (3.5 and 3.6 per cent)."Vietnam has firmly established itself as a premier destination for foreign investment. It has a very large domestic market, a middle class that is growing quickly, a good la-bour force and an improved regulatory system. Enterprises are showing optimism about Vietnam's prospects," Batten said. "If the mineral sector had grown like in pre-vious years, Vietnam's economy could have grown by 7 per cent this year."

PM: government could meet all 13 NA targets

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

The government could realise all the 13 targets assigned by the National Assembly this year due to favourable economic growth, said prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a regular government meeting yesterday.Having taken official statistics and reports of ministries and sectors into account, the PM said 2017 would possibly become the first after several years that the government could achieve all the 13 targets endorsed by the National Assembly.Cabinet members at the meeting also agreed the socio-economic performance in the January-September period is very positive.The gross domestic product (GDP) growth has improved significantly. Especially, the rate in the third quarter reached a record high of 7.46%, above expectations. Overall, the GDP growth in the year to September rose by 6.41%, higher than the year-ago pe-riod at 5.99%. Therefore, the all-year target of 6.7 percent looks more feasible now.The nine-month economic growth is mainly driven by manufacturing, services, and export and import sectors instead of being heavily dependent on natural resources.The prime minister stressed over 5,000 administrative procedures have already been relinquished, with some ministries even cutting down 600-700.He also highlighted some positive outcomes in the country's socio-economic perform-ance in the nine-month period. The macro-economy remained stable while the infla-tion and core inflation rates only rose by 1.83 percent and 1.45 percent respectively.The major balances of the economy were sustainable. Budget revenue have picked up 14%, and the credit increased by around 12 percent to date.Notably, the VN Index on the stock market reached 800 points, the highest since 2008 while the trade deficit has reduced to only some $442 million.Direct and indirect foreign investments amounted to $25.5 billion in the nine months, increasing by 34.3 percent year-on-year. Especially, the country had around 94,000 startups.According to the government leader, these results are owing to the drastic shift of the growth model which attaches importance to the quality and competitiveness of the economy. Besides, the government has made every effort to create a favourable busi-ness and investment environment.Notably, he said, there has been innovation in working methods, removing obstacles to production and trade activities."If we are complacent about the results in the nine months but neglect the heavy task in the fourth quarter, we still have the possibility to fail targets, especially the GDP growth. In an effort to achieve the all-year growth of 6.7%, the fourth quarter GDP should rise by 7.4-7.5 percent this is not an easy figure," he warned.


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HCM City's growth target hard to achieve


Although HCM City's economic growth rate in the period of January-September was higher than the same period last year, it will not meet the full-year target of 8.4-8.7 per-cent unless the growth rate in the fourth quarter reaches 9-9.5%.At the 14th meeting of the 10th Party Committee of HCM City yesterday, Party secre-tary Nguyen Thien Nhan said this target would be hard to achieve.According to a report of the HCM City People's Committee, the city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in January-September reached more than VND775.8 trillion (US$34.13 billion), up 7.79 percent year-on-year, or three basis points higher than the rate of 7.76 percent recorded in the year-ago period.Particularly, the service sector increased by 7.7 percent year-on-year, industry and construction up 7.7 percent year-on-year, and agriculture 6.2%.The service sector still accounted for the largest part of the city's GRDP with 57.2%, while industry and construction contributed 25.1%, agriculture 0.7 percent and excise taxes less subsidies on products 17%.Party deputy secretary of HCM City Tat Thanh Cang said the city's economic growth rates in recent quarters were slowing down versus the country's GDP growth rate ac-celeration, which seems abnormal.According to Cang, the city's economic growth depends mainly on trade and manu-facturing. However, these two sectors' growth rates in the first nine months of 2017 were lower than in the same period last year."To boost economic development and meet the full-year target, the trade and manu-facturing sectors must achieve two-digit growth rates in the year's last quarter," Cang added.Su Ngoc Anh, head of the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment, said some segments reporting weak growth in January-September included rubber, phar-maceutical chemistry and leather industries.Segments achieving high growth rates included finance, science and technology, healthcare, and education. Anh said these are the city's key segments that need special treatment to maintain the overall growth rate.To achieve the 9-9,5 percent growth target in the last quarter, the city should focus on helping businesses ride out difficulties and developing supporting industries, said di-rector of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade Pham Thanh Kien at the meeting.For services and trade, Kien suggested the city carry out price stabilisation pro-grammes and ensure sufficient supply of goods for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan said the city's trade deficit this year might reach over $6 billion. The city needs to promote exports to nar-row the trade deficit, or else its economic development will be significantly affected.In addition, Nhan suggested HCM City take specific measures to offer land rental rates competitive against those in nearby localities like Binh Duong and Dong Nai to attract more business investment into the city.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56441/HCM City%E2%80%99s-growth-target-hard-to-achieve.html

HCM City urged to achieve higher growth by end of the year


HCM City needs to continue mobilising all resources to achieve sustainable growth in productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness for the rest of the year, a local of-ficial has said.Speaking at a conference of the HCM City Party Committee on October 3, its secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan said that HCM City continued playing a leading role as the coun-try's socio-economic, cultural, education, and science and technology hub.He urged the city to closely follow the Party's resolutions and State strategies in imple-menting its action plans and to take serious measures to achieve its targets.The meeting discussed a range of socio-economic issues in the first nine months as well


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as the public investment plan for 2017-2020.It also focused on assessment of major infrastructure projects that are expected to re-duce congestion as well as administrative reform and Party resolutions regarding Par-ty building work, among others.Tran Vinh Tuyen, vice chair of the city People's Committee, reported on socio-econom-ic development in the first nine months, as well as tasks and solutions needed to be car-ried out for the rest of the year.According to Tuyen, the city's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) reached 775.874 trillion VND (34.14 billion USD) or 7.97 percent in the first nine months, com-pared to 7.76 percent in the same period last year.Total export turnover of the city reached more than 26.3 billion USD, a rise of 15.7 per-cent over the same period last year, while import turnover reached 31.58 billion USD, up 16.9 percent over the same period last year, Tuyen said.The number of international visitors to the city reached 4.2 million, a rise of 16 percent compared to the same period last year or 70 percent of the year's target of 6 million, he added.Speaking at the closing session, Nhan, who is also a Politburo member, spoke highly of the city's efforts in socio-economic development in the first nine months, which de-livered outstanding results, including economic growth of 7.97 percent.However, the city's economy also had to deal with long-term constraints, as the busi-ness environment and competitiveness had not seen much improvement, Nhan said.In addition, the city should continue implementing innovative programmes set by city authorities.Nhan also urged the city to continue its emphasis on a one-stop shop for issuance of certificates for investment registration and business registration, and study one-stop mechanisms for construction permits.Regarding the mid-term investment plan, the city has achieved certain results, espe-cially for various forms of capital mobilisation, according to Nhan.However, for the 2016-2020 period, the city needs to generate investment and mobilise resources for public investment and create a favourable, effective investment environ-ment.In addition, secretary Nhan emphasized the need to improve infrastructure planning for the city, as most of the plans no longer meet the current situation. The plans must ensure efficiency, with a particular focus on transportation, water supply and drain-age, waste treatment, and river bank erosion, he said.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-urged-to-achieve-higher-growth-by-yearend/118947.vnp

Slow disbursement a worry: PM


Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a meeting of government yesterday he was worried about the slow disbursement of public investment capital.The PM made the comment while chairing the government's regular meeting in Hanoi, noting that only 55 per cent of the year's investment plan had been spent so far. Urging sectors and localities to speed up, he ordered that capital that could not be disbursed as scheduled should be used for other urgent issues.The government leader also expressed dissatisfaction at the slow pace in equitisation of State-owned enterprises, noting that just 18 out of 44 targeted SOEs had been in-volved so far. He added that divestment of State capital amounted to only VND11.8 trillion out of the planned VND60 trillion.Reviewing the nation's socio-economic performance, the PM praised the breakthrough economic growth of 7.46 per cent in the third quarter. This was higher than the 5.15 per cent in the first quarter and 6.28 per cent in the second.He said with such momentum and provided that there were no major natural disas-ters, the government could fulfill targets assigned by the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly. He underlined the remarkable fact that growth was mostly driven by production and services instead of credit and mining.


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The government leader said the World Economic Forum recently raised Vietnam po-sition five places in the competitiveness index. Compared to five years ago, Vietnam had climbed 50 places in the index. The country also earned 53 points in the Purchas-ing managers' Index released by the Nikkei, the highest among Asean member states. Exports were also expected to achieve 20-21 per cent growth.The PM said that with the involvement of the entire political system, more than 5,000 administrative procedures had been cut, making it easier for production and trade.He said the macro-economy continued to be stable with inflation at 3.79 per cent in the first nine months. The State budget collection and credit surged 14 and 12 per cent, re-spectively. The major index of the stock market topped 800 points, the highest since 2008. Foreign currency reserves surpassed $44 billion while foreign direct investment soared 34 per cent to about $26 billion.The PM said that about 94,000 new businesses had also been established nationwide.Despite the positive signs, the PM warned ministries and sectors not to forget that the growth rate must hit 7.4-7.5 per cent in the fourth quarter if it was to achieve a 6.7 per cent goal for this year. The focus was on manufacturing and processing. The PM asked ministries and agencies to discuss measures to facilitate production, trade and exports while making preparations for the coming fifth session of the 14th National Assembly.Priority sectors needPriority sectors like high-tech agriculture, exports, small and medium-sized enterpris-es (SMEs) and start-ups should receive preferential credit, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at the meeting."This is a key task for completing the 2017 socio-economic development plan," he said.He also called for lower lending rates and drastic measures to restructure ineffective credit institutions and settle bad debts by the end of 2018.The PM asked ministries and agencies to keep a close watch on prices of petroleum and services, as well as the foreign exchange market, both at home and abroad, from now until the end of this year, so as to enable timely, suitable policies.He underlined the need to review and closely control State budget spending, and called for efforts to fulfill collection targets for the State coffers.Meanwhile, more favourable conditions should be created to encourage private in-vestment, he said, pointing out weaknesses in the restructuring of State-owned enter-prises.Promoting exports and trade promotion, simplifying procedures, especially customs clearance procedures and licensing, are also important tasks, the PM said.He asked concerned agencies to pay attention to trade barriers being erected in the US market against Vietnamese tra fish (pangasius) and shrimp.Hanoi and HCM City should boost the domestic market as part of efforts to balance exports and imports, he said.While trying to ensure its growth rate, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Develop-ment should pay due attention to dealing with natural disasters, including flooding, from now until the end of this year, the PM said.He suggested a shift from rice cultivation into other ventures like shrimp breeding, and said new markets should be scouted for Vietnamese farm produce. Fishing activ-ities need better policy protection, he told the ministry.Tourism promotion should be stepped up during the upcoming Apec 2017 events and the remaining months of the year, he said, adding there were huge opportunities to reach the yearly target of serving over 13-15 million international visitors.Thorough preparations should be made right now for carrying out the 2018 socio-eco-nomic development plan, the PM stressed.Reviewing national socio-economic progress over the past nine months, he attributed achievements to orienting the growth model towards higher quality and competitive-ness in major production sectors, a more favourable business environment, and im-proved professionalism among public sector employees.Firm on corruptionThe Party, the government and political apparatus as a whole is committed and deter-


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mined to fight corruption, minister and Chair of the government's Office, Mai Tien Dung said at the following press conference, responding to questions raised about sev-eral economic mismanagement trials involving high-ranking officials and executives as well as leading bankers over the last two years."It's not just the serious and high profile cases, cases in remote areas are also investi-gated thoroughly and punishments handed out under the law in a transparent man-ner," Dung said.He said the government has been guiding continued investigations into huge loss-making projects and businesses.In the context of the high-level Apec meeting set to take place in Da Nang next month, Dung stressed that the proposed disciplinary action against two key city leaders, Chair of the People's Committee and the Party Secretary, would not impact the event, noting that the National Apec Committee was led by deputy PM and Foreign Affairs minister Pham Binh Minh and Vietnam would do its best to fulfill the role of the host country."Currently, ministerial level conferences and preparations for the summit are all going as planned," Dung said.On the controversial issue of new development plan proposed for the Hanoi Railway Station and its vicinity, deputy Transport minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said city au-thorities were seeking opinions from ministries and sectors. The prime minister him-self had advised caution, he noted.Concerning the traffic aspect of the new plan that envisages more high-rise buildings, the transport ministry would study it and announce its findings later, Dong said.He said that the two economic hubs of the country, Hanoi and HCM City, were suffer-ing from overcrowding and traffic congestion, requiring sensible management of ur-ban space.A general rule of the thumb is that traffic infrastructure takes up 20 per cent of total urban space, but this was just seven to eight per cent in the two cities, he said.http://bizhub.vn/news/slow-disbursement-a-worry-pm_289281.html

Massive surge in exports possible, official says


Vietnam can achieve a whopping 56 per cent annual rise in export turnover this year to reach $275 billion, a senior official has said.Minister and Chair of the government's Office, Mai Tien Dung, said at a press confer-ence on Tuesday that this achievement is possible with concerted efforts by all stake-holders including businesses, ministries and agencies.If this target is achieved, it would far exceed the target of $188 billion set for the year. The target was later revised to $202 billion.Dung, who based his statement on a new report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), said exports had already posted an impressive 19.8 per cent year-on-year in-crease in the first nine months of the year.According to the General Statistical Office (GSO), exports by the domestic sector in the first nine months touched $43.2 billion, a 16.8 per cent increase, while those of the for-eign-invested sector was $110.8 billion, an increase of 21 per cent.The United States remained the largest consumer of Vietnamese goods at $31.2 billion, followed by the EU and China at $28.4 billion and $21.9 billion, respectively.Import turnover during the first nine months jumped 23.1 per cent year-on-year to $154.5 billion, with imports by the domestic sector touching $61.3 billion, an 18.7 per cent increase, and that of the foreign-invested sector rising 26.1 per cent to $93.2 billion.China continued to be the largest importer of Vietnamese goods at $41.6 billion, a year-on-year surge of 15.6 per cent. The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Asean came second and third with $33.9 billion and $20.6 billion, respectively.Vietnam's trade deficit for the periods is estimated at $500 million.The trade deficit incurred by the domestic sector totalled $18.08 billion, and that of the foreign-invested sector was $17.64 billion.Potentials, challengesExperts have said that the growth potential for exports is very high, with Vietnamese


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goods and commodities present in nearly 200 countries and territories.Along with the focus on exports to key markets with high purchasing power like the US, the EU, Japan, RoK, China and Asean, Vietnamese goods have also expanded to Africa and Latin America.However, the country is expected to face many obstacles and challenges ahead, includ-ing competition from other countries dealing in similar commodities and goods, pres-sure from anti-dumping lawsuits, and other trade barriers arising out of increasing protectionism in importing countries.Moreover, Vietnamese exports are still focused on scale and quantity rather than qual-ity and value, the experts said.Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the MOIT's Export Department told the Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam (Vietnam Economic Times) newspaper that although Vietnam had joined the global supply chain, its role remains modest.The country's export turnover was still heavily dependent on exports of FDI enterpris-es, with their contribution much higher than that of domestic firms.Besides, Hai said, FDI firms have not supported local businesses in strengthening their presence in the global supply chain.The under-developed supporting industry is also hindering domestic firms by forcing them to import a large quantity of components, he said.Hai also stressed that most Vietnamese enterprises have not fully grasped and updat-ed their knowledge of FTA provisions, and this restricts their ability to make proper business plans before exporting.He said domestic firms need to increase their competitiveness by improving corporate governance and applying technological innovations.In the processing and manufacturing sectors, enterprises will find it difficult to sustain their exports if they ignore development of the supporting industry, Hai said, adding this task must be accorded top priority.He said it was very important that the localisation rate in key industries like mechan-ical products, electronic components and devices, textiles and footwear increases sig-nificantly in the near future.http://bizhub.vn/news/massive-surge-in-exports-possible-official-says_289306.html

Rubber exports to EU encounter difficulties

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV

Vietnam's rubber exports to the European Union market are set to encounter difficul-ties as the EU adds natural rubber to the Critical Raw Material List.Rubber export prices increaseVietnam exported 174,000 tonnes of rubber in September, earning $279 million, an in-crease of 1.7 percent in volume and 6.4 percent in value, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).The average export price surged 4.6 percent to over $1,603 per tonne over the previous month.The first nine months of the year saw the country grossing $1.66 billion from exporting 979,000 tonnes of rubber. This is up a considerable 13.3 percent in volume and an im-pressive 52.7 percent in value. The average export price increased 34.7 percent to $1,695 per tonne against the same period last year.The domestic market also saw a rise in the price of rubber latex with an average price of VND 12,500 per kilo in the southern province of Dong Nai.The production of natural rubber is falling further behind demand; as a result rubber export prices are predicted to increase even further in 2017.According to August's report by the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Coun-tries, there is forecast to be a 500,000 tonne deficit of natural rubber in the first eight months of the year. Meanwhile, the rubber output reached only 8,038 million of tonnes, far short of the 8,544 million tonnes consumed in the same period.Other factors such as fluctuations in the oil industry in regional markets, the relative strength of currencies and geopolitical tensions will impact on the increase in the rub-ber price in the time ahead.


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In the first eight months of the year, Vietnam's rubber was mainly exported to China, with 509,500 tonnes valued at $867 million and accounting for 69%. These figures rep-resent an increase of 25.82 percent in volume and 73.05 percent in value.Other key markets for Vietnam's rubber exports are Malaysia (making up 7%) and the Republic of Korea (4%) in addition to other markets as the US, the Netherlands, and Sweden.Notably, rubber exports to the Singaporean market marked an impressive growth, quadrupling in quantity and over 5.2 times in value. The average export price surged 18.8 percent to more than $1,503.Rubber exports to EU face difficultiesAlthough Vietnam earned $111 million from exporting 62,400 tonnes to the EU in the eight months of the year, it is said to encounter difficulties when exporting to the de-manding market in the future.The EU officially announced that it has added natural rubber to the Critical Raw Ma-terial List, underlining the need for a secure, sustainable and affordable supply for the EU manufacturing industry in the future.Natural rubber is the only biotic raw material to be included in the 27 strong list. The list is comprised of raw materials that are proposed to the EU for assessment and ap-proval, according to the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers' Association (ETRMA).Fazilet Cinaralp, general Secretary of the ETRMA, said that natural rubber would re-ceive proper political attention and consequent support when dealing with issues re-lated to the supply of natural rubber.The introduction of natural rubber to the List will help enhance the competitive edge of the rubber industry and promote the production of natural rubber. It will also in-crease awareness of the potential risks of raw material supply and support the Euro-pean Commission in negotiating trade agreements.The list will into force effect within three years, as of September 13, and serve a plat-form for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development goals.Therefore,Vietnamese rubber exports to the global market are up against rival produc-ers such as Thailand (the world's largest producer and exporter of natural rubber), In-donesia and India.The EU considers Vietnam as the world's fourth largest producer of natural rubber, making up 8 percent of total supplies.Moreover, the EU also emphasized that Indonesia is the largest source of natural rub-ber for European users, accounting for 32 percent of total supplies in the EU market, trailed by Malaysia (20%), the Ivory Coast (12%) and Thailand (7%).For Vietnam to gain a greater standing in the global rubber market and enhance the competitive edge of Vietnamese rubber, local rubber production companies will need to adjust to the new guidelines for supply chains, ensuring that input materials to meet the strict requirements in terms of the rule of origin.If they are successful in this, they will be able to take full advantage of the preferential tariffs afforded to them when the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.Economic experts also advised local businesses to learn about the requirements and characteristics of each prospective market to ensure efficient exports and to avoid in-vestigations into the origin and application of trade defence measures.http://english.vov.vn/economy/rubber-exports-to-eu-encounter-difficulties-359647.vov

Ceramics exports regain growth


Ceramics exports began rising in August after two consecutive months seeing a de-cline, according to the general Department of Vietnam Customs.ceramics exports regain growth hinh 0 The export revenue hit $40.9 million in August (up 17.3 percent compared to July), bringing the total value in the first eight months of


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this year to $299.4 million, up 6.63 percent against the same period last year.Japan is the key consumer of Vietnam ceramic products with $48.1 million (up 16%), trailed by the US with $42.5 million (up 35.01%), and Taiwan with $31.6 million (down 8.22%). Meanwhile, the Vietnam products have also been shipped to Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands and the Philippines.In general, 67.7 percent of export markets enjoyed growth in the period, particularly Hong Kong and Iraq saw the highest growth of 116.13 percent and 113.64%, respec-tively.http://english.vov.vn/trade/ceramics-exports-regain-growth-359715.vov

Vietnam remains world's No 1 exporter of cashews


Though it is the world's top cashew exporter, Vietnam imports 1 million tonnes of cashew nuts out of 1.4 million tonnes of raw materials every year for processing.The country has been relying heavily on the world's material market. If the material prices fluctuate, Vietnamese enterprises may fail to fulfill export contracts or deliver products on schedule, and their products may not meet requirements on food hygiene.In 2016, Vietnam exported 347,000 tonnes of cashew nuts worth $2.84 billion, increas-ing by 5.6 percent in quantity and 18.4 percent in value compared with 2015. In that year, the world's total cashew nut output was 3 million tonnes, while Vietnam import-ed 1.1 million tonnes.In the first eight months of 2017, Vietnam exported 223,000 tonnes worth $2.2 billion, which represented the 1.1 percent decrease in volume, but the 24.9 percent increase in value compared with the same period of 2016. The average export price was $9,842.5 per tonne in the first seven months, or 27.2 percent higher.According to Vinacas, Vietnam plans to obtain $3 billion from cashew nut exports in 2017, or $160 million higher than 2016. Meanwhile, due to the bad weather, the output is modest, just 300,000 tonnes and the amount of cashew nuts for processing is 250,000 tonnes only.As such, to fulfill the export plan, Vietnam would have to import 200,000 tonnes more in 2017 than the last year.According to Nguyen Duc Thanh, chair of Vinacas, most markets which import proc-essed cashew products from Vietnam set high requirements on quality and food hy-giene. This means that Vietnamese processors need to be sure that the input materials have high quality. Therefore, Vinacas believes that Vietnam needs to expand the cash-ew growing area.Do Ha Nam, chair of Intimex Group, said Vietnam is No 1 in the world in cashew nut processing technology and it has the best products in the world. Therefore, Vietnam needs to boost exports to earn more money. He thinks now is the right time for farmers to expand the cashew growing area again as raw cashew nuts now can go for good prices.In 1996, Vietnam began importing raw cashew nuts from Africa. In 2016, Vietnam sur-passed India to become the biggest cashew nut exporter. Vietnam's products are con-sumed in more than 100 markets.By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 300,000 hectares of cashew growing area, mostly in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Ba Ria Vung Tau. The raw material price increased from 10,000-12,000 per kilo some years ago to VND40,000 per kilo.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/187522/vietnam-remains-world-s-no-1-ex-porter-of-cashews.html

Government to establish agency to manage State assets


The government plans to establish a special agency to act as the ownership represent-ative of State capital at State-owned enterprises by 2018.This was the solution highlighted in the government's recent action plan to carry out Resolution No 12/ NQ/TW, dated June 3, of the fifth plenary meeting of the 12th Com-munist Party Central Committee on restructuring, renovating and improving efficien-cy of State-owned enterprises (SOEs).


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The action plan raised a number of measures to fulfill the goals of restructuring and renovating SOEs in the 2017-20 period, including equitising 137 SOEs and completing divestment following the prime minister's directive.The focus would be on comprehensively handling inefficient SOEs and loss-making projects, particularly 12 projects under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.The model of managing State capital at SOEs must be completed, especially with the foundation of a specialised agency to represent ownership of State capital at SOEs in 2018.Statistics of the Ministry of Finance revealed that State capital at SOEs was estimated at VND1.3 quadrillion (US$57 billion), but the lack of separation between ownership and management functions was causing inefficiency in using State capital, requiring the establishment of an agency specialising in representing ownership of State capital.By 2030, Vietnam planned to develop SOEs -- with most being joint stock companies and some reaching regional and international competitiveness in key economic sec-tors.Decree No 91/2015/ND-CP, dated October 13, 2015, on investing, managing and using State capital would be amended, particularly regulations on divestment, which would raise new capital withdrawal methods suitable with the actual situation.Under the action programme, the government would continue to reduce holdings at SOEs during equitisation and accelerate listing on securities exchanges.SOEs must be listed on exchanges within one year from their equitisation, according to current regulations.Capital collected from equitisation and divestment would only be spent for the pur-pose of boosting investment, not for regular spending, with an estimated sum of VND250 trillion planned to be added to the State budget for the medium-term invest-ment fund in the 2016-20 period.For loss-making projects, the government was determined to clarify accountability and handle these projects thoroughly.http://bizhub.vn/news/govt-to-establish-agency-to-manage-state-assets_289276.html

MPI pens legal framework for start-up funding


In an effort to fuel a start-up boom, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is drafting a decree to create a legal framework for funding start-ups.The ministry said that raising funds is prerequisite for start-ups' success. Due to their high risk of failure, these fledgling companies often face difficulty in accessing bank capital.Currently, Vietnam only has a legal framework for securities investment funds, which by law must be founded with a large amount of capital, and are not often equipped or prepared to invest in start-ups. Thus, it is important to create a legal framework for funding start-ups as well as policies to promote this activity, the ministry said.In the draft decree, the ministry proposed two models for accredited investors, includ-ing venture capital corporations and venture capital funds. The venture capital corpo-rations and funds would be provided with tax incentives, the draft said.However, investors must meet financial requirements for founding venture capital corporations and funds. They must have had an average annual income of VND200 million (US$8,800) in the two most recent years and minimum total assets of VND500 million for individual investors and VND1 billion for organisational investors.The draft is now open for public comments on the MPI's website mpi.gov.vn.Vietnam is witnessing an increasing presence of foreign venture capital funds, such as CyberAgent, 500 Start-ups and Golden Gate Ventures, as well as growing interest in funding start-ups from big companies and private investors. Nevertheless, these com-panies have yet to establish a concrete legal framework or a defined fund raising mech-anism, and so do not possess any legal status in the eyes of administrative agencies.There were also local investment funds, such as VCBFa joint venture between Viet-combank and Franklin Templeton Investment, but they nearly did not invest in early stages of start-ups because they perceive it as too risky. FPT Venture is the only local


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fund that is active in funding start-ups from day one, assuming the heavy risk this en-tails.Despite the existence of venture capital funding for Vietnamese start-ups, the MPI re-ports that most Vietnamese start-ups raise capital from investors and organisations, in-cluding venture capital firms, in modest sums, from $5,000 to $50,000.The MPI hopes the new legal framework will spur greater lending from existing ven-ture capital firms.The government of Vietnam is working to promote a start-up wave in the country, with a national project of building a start-up ecosystem by 2025.A circular on venture capital fund was also being drafted.http://bizhub.vn/news/mpi-pens-legal-framework-for-start-up-funding_289309.html

'Better' alternatives to tax hikes


With a recent tax reform proposal coming from the Ministry of Finance, HSBC Econo-mist Noelan Arbis tells VET that raising taxes, particularly VAT, is not a bad idea on the surface but the problem lies with its potential effect on growth.With public spending issues and high public debt, the Vietnamese government plans to boost revenues and achieve financial security by revising the laws on value-added tax (VAT), special consumption tax, corporate income tax, personal income taxes, and royalties. What is your opinion on the use of domestic taxes as a way to balance the State budget?We believe the government has two main priorities at the moment: to raise GDP growth and to curtail its debt-to-GDP ratio. Obviously, these two things are not mutu-ally exclusive, as faster GDP growth vis-a-vis debt growth would lead to a lower debt-to-GDP ratio. However, the country's economic growth has been sub-par compared to the government's target of 6.7 per cent, which makes slowing the pace of debt growth of greater importance. So, on the surface, raising taxes, particularly VAT, is not a bad idea. Private consumption is becoming a larger part of the Vietnamese economy, pro-viding the government with an opportunity to raise additional revenue to pay for its debt.However, the problem lies with the VAT's potential effects on growth. Raising taxes may lead to lower private consumption and to lower growth in the short-term, which is counterproductive to the government's immediate goals. It also takes away from people's disposable income, potentially lowering savings to finance future invest-ments. It is true that the government needs to raise revenues, but it may perhaps do so through other means, such as reforming its foreign direct investment (FDI) incentives.After all, Vietnam's generous FDI incentives are only a part of the reason why inves-tors are attracted to the country. It has many other advantages, including its cheap la-bour, geography, political stability, and potential for economies of scale, just to name a few. A higher "sin tax" and/or higher property taxes are also things to be considered. Land and housing taxes only accounted for 0.2 per cent of total government revenues in 2014 and were planned to contribute only 0.1 per cent in 2017. That said, raising VAT should not be out of the discussion, but there are other ways to raise revenue as well, particularly as VAT already accounts for a majority of government revenues, at around 27.5 per cent.Perhaps the most sustainable way to cut the debt-to-GDP ratio is to curtail government spending and its outsized role in the economy, but this may not be a short-term fix. For example, State-owned enterprise (SOE) equitisation has become a bigger priority now that the government budget is under pressure, but there remain many challenges that suggest that this may be more of a medium-term solution. Nevertheless, additional ef-forts to cut government spending should be seen as a positive sign, including reform-ing healthcare subsidies.The finance ministry also plans to increase the VAT rate for the first time since the re-gime was introduced in 1999. Is it a good time for Vietnam to raise VAT?The government appears to be targeting the VAT increase for 2019, which is prudent given the lower-than-forecasted GDP growth this year. It also gives ample time to both


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consumers and producers to adjust their expectations and practices to accommodate for the impending VAT increase. However, much will depend on global growth as well given the country's reliance on exports.Based on international practice, what would the consequences of the tax hikes, partic-ularly on VAT, be on the overall macroeconomic context and economic growth?We should expect higher consumption leading up to the VAT increase, as consumers take advantage of temporarily lower prices. All being equal, this should lead to a brief uptick in GDP growth. However, we can also expect consumption to slow following the implementation of a higher VAT. I believe this would only be temporary as in-creases in income and labour productivity should keep consumption robust in Viet-nam, especially as the country's middle-income earners continue to grow. This is unlike the experience in Japan, for instance, where a higher VAT in 2014 caused con-sumption to slump and the economy to fall into a deflationary cycle, partly due to stag-nant wage growth. Vietnam is in a strong position to take the rise in VAT in its stride.What key areas should Vietnam be looking at to overcome its long-standing budget deficit issue? Do you think the budget deficit is more important and crucial for the gov-ernment than the country's economic growth, given that the VAT hike will likely cause a slowdown in GDP growth and the government's special interest in achieving high GDP?SOE equitisation, public service reforms, and better cost recovery of public services are some ways that the government could overcome its budget deficit issue. It seems that the government is aware of this, but the pace of reforms has been somewhat sluggish. However, lowering the government deficit should not come at any cost, especially growth. government spending, if efficient, may lead to greater private sector invest-ments that is good for a developing economy, even if it is being funded by increasing public debt in the short term. As such, increasing the country's self-imposed limit of a 65 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio, even temporarily, should not be taken out of consider-ation. There is no hard and fast rule on an appropriate level of debt-to-GDP level for any country. Moreover, the government is incrementally funding more of its debt do-mestically rather than externally, which should help it avoid the currency mismatch problems that dogged many countries during the Asian Financial Crisis.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/op-eds/better-alternatives-to-tax-hikes

Numerous product lines to have zero tax in coming time


Import duties on a large number of products will be slashed sharply in the near future, even to zero, owing to bilateral and multilateral trade agreements due to take effect, the Ministry of Finance said in draft decrees on preferential import tariffs put forth for public comments.In such drafts, the ministry noted that tariffs are to fall sharply due to several trade pacts. These include the Asean-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement, the Asean-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-operation, the Agreement Establishing the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA), the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (AT-IGA).In order to carry out these agreements that will take effect between next year and 2023, Vietnam will offer preferential duties for products imported from countries participat-ing in the agreements. The duties may be cut to zero next year or gradually reduced over the years.For example, import taxes levied on oil products from South Korea and Asean will be cut to 0 percent next year while duties on petrol imports will be kept unchanged in the next three years and reduced to 8 percent in 2021.Similarly, aquatic products from Asean markets will be tax-exempted, except for proc-essed products which will enjoy a tax rate of 5 percent from 2018 to 2020.In fact, import taxes have been reduced over the past few years, depending on the timelines of the agreements.


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As a result, imported products have been sold at lower prices and the volume of goods from markets with preferential tax policies has surged compared to others. For in-stance, Vietnam has suffered the biggest trade deficit with South Korea although Chi-na has remained as the largest supplier.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56442/Numerous-product-lines-to-have-zero-tax-in-coming-time.html

Further fee cuts needed to support firms


The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that the Ministry of Fi-nance's proposed fee cuts was a positive move, but stronger cuts or even abolishments were needed to support businesses.The VCCI said that many kinds of fees were unnecessary, such as the fee for certifying business information, which was VND20,000 (US$0.9). Although the fee was low, it was unnecessary, VCCI said, adding that it was compulsory for firms to publish their information on the national portal about business registry.So, paying fees to get this information is unreasonable, it said.Regarding the fee for verifying the origin of fishery raw materials, the finance ministry proposed a cut by 10 per cent from VND700,000 to VND630,000, which was still high and burdened businesses, the VCCI noted.The VCCI said that a small-sized fishery processing company must have around 220 certificates about the origin of materials for exporting to the European markets per year, which would cost the firm VND154 million overall.The fee remained a burden to businesses, especially exporting firms, the VCCI said, adding that the firms proposed to cut the fee to around VND100,000 to VND350,000 per certificate.Dau Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI's Legal Department, expected the Ministry of Fi-nance to carry out more fee cuts. "In the short term, fee collection might drop, but in the long term, the fee cuts will promote the development of businesses, and as a result, tax collection will improve and jobs will be created for the sustainable development of the economy," Tuan said.It was estimated that the collection of fees and charges accounted for 3 per cent to 5 per cent of the total budget revenue.The Vietnamese government has targeted the year 2017 to reduce the costs of business-es.However, the ministry has proposed to increase the value-added tax from 10 per cent to 12 per cent to cope with the shrinking budget revenue and public overspending.http://bizhub.vn/news/further-fee-cuts-needed-to-support-firms_289303.html

Vietnam attracts foreign investment, but technology transfer remains low


One of the major purposes of Vietnam attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last 30 years is to receive technology to be transferred by foreign investors.However, according to the 2016 World Economic Forum, the efficiency of technology transfer from foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in Vietnam is surprisingly low. Viet-nam ranked 57th in the world in 2009, while it ranked 103rd in 2014, falling by 46 grades after five years, much lower than other regional countries, including Malaysia (13th) Thailand (36th), Indonesia (39th) and Cambodia (44th).The analysis of other criteria also gives unsatisfactory results.In 2015, of five business fields which made up 49 percent of the added value of the whole industry, three were low technology fields, including the processing industry, textiles & garments, and footwear. The other two fields, mining and steel manufactur-ing, had medium technology.The industry which made up 12.2 percent in added value was electronics, computer and optical products. Though it is considered 'hi-tech industry', the works implement-ed in Vietnam are simply assembling.The labour productivity in Vietnam industries increased very slightly, just 2.4 percent per annum in 2006-2015, or 3.9 percent lower than the country's GDP growth rate.


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Analysts, when comparing the number of FDI projects and technology transfer con-tracts, found there were only 600 technology transfer contracts out of 14,000 FDI projects, or 4.28 percent.Regarding the quality of transferred technology, a report from MPI showed that more than 80 percent of FIEs use medium level technology, 14 percent low technology and only 5-6 percent use high technology.Analysts commented that the policies and business environment do not stimulate technology transfer.Under decentralisation, provincial authorities have the right to grant investment li-censes to foreign investors. As localities try to attract more FDI, they rush to build in-dustrial zones and offer very high investment incentives, which, in many cases, go beyond the national incentive frame.Some projects could not satisfy the requirements in some localities, but were still wel-comed in other provinces.Meanwhile, FIEs don't have power to transfer modern technology if they invest mostly in labour and capital intensive industries. Electronics and computer manufacturing are considered 'high technology industries', but the factories foreign investors have in Vietnam only assemble components, the work with the lowest value in the global pro-duction chain.A technology transfer cycle is considered complete when the transferee can master the technology and develop the technology. It is still unclear when the technology transfer cycle will be completed in Vietnam.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/187521/vietnam-attracts-foreign-invest-ment--but-technology-transfer-remains-low.html

HCM City Taxi Association proposes suspending ride-hailing service


The HCM City Taxi Association has sent a document to the Ministry of Transport, say-ing it fully supports the Hanoi Taxi Association's petition to urgently suspend the op-erations of ride-hailing firms Uber and Grab in Vietnam.According to the HCM City Taxi Association, State management agencies have been incapable of managing ride-hailing service as most vehicles used for ride-hailing pur-poses do not have logos to tell them from normal vehicles.The association said Uber and Grab are carrying out numerous promotional pro-grammes and offering extraordinarily low fares to eliminate the traditional taxi serv-ice. However, there is no way to ensure that ride-hailing firms will keep fares low after they have monopolised the market.The Hanoi Taxi Association last week asked the Ministry of Transport to suspend ride-hailing service before the scheme for piloting this service expires on December 31, 2017.The association said due to loose management, the number of vehicles used for ride-hailing purposes has amounted to 50,000. The association suggested relevant agencies issue specific regulations to manage ride-hailing firms in terms of the number of li-censed vehicles and service quality, and require ride-hailing vehicles to have logos and identity.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56445/HCM City-Taxi-Association-proposes-sus-pending-ride-hailing-service.html

Vietnam ranks 8th among world furniture manufacturers


Vietnam currently ranks eighth among furniture producers in the world, accounting for 2 percent of global production, according to a survey conducted by Italian Centre for Industrial Studies (CSIL).China is the world's largest producer of furniture, followed by the US, Germany, Italy, India, Poland and Japan. The country is also the biggest exporter. However, its exports dropped last year while Vietnam obtained the highest export growth in the world.CSIL reported that global furniture production value was around $420 billion and the US, Germany, the UK, France and Canada are major importers.


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Luxury condotels: new and attractive investment channel!


The imminent launch of a luxury condotel project in Hanoi has drawn a lot of attention in the real estate sector. Many expect the project to signal the beginning of a race in the high-end rental condotel segment.Low value of traditional rental apartmentsAccording to real estate investors, leasing apartment is a narrow, but attractive seg-ment in the property market, holding great potential.Data from Savills Vietnam has shown that Hanoi is leading the rental apartment seg-ment.Profits generated by leasing apartments in Hanoi reach 7.4 per cent, exceeding the 5.8 per cent of HCM City. It is also higher than the figures for other Southeast Asian cities, such as Jakarta (5.2 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (4.8 per cent), Manila (4.3 per cent), Bang-kok (4.0 per cent), and Singapore (3.7 per cent).This makes Hanoi's rental apartment market more attractive than other provinces in the country or even other regional countries.However, this potential market presents many controversial issues.According to commercial real estate services firm CBRE, despite having great demand, traditional rental apartments still show limitations, such as the lack of utility services and living space, thus tending to lose value.The rental price of a traditional apartment in Hanoi is $10 per square metre per month, while a luxury rental condotel usually fetches about $24-34.CBRE's Real Estate Market Survey for the first quarter of this year showed that a grade A rental apartment cost $31.84 per sq.m, up 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter and up 1 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, the rental price of a grade B apartment fell slightly by 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter.Throne of high-end rental propertyTaking advantage of the trend of high-end rental condotel, Lan Anh, an experienced real estate investor, chose to buy a condotel of the unique 5 Seasons project, which was newly introduced by TNR Gold Season in Thanh Xuan district.According to Lan Anh, the real estate market in Hanoi has been transformed by the abundance of newly developed areas, but central areas like Thanh Xuan district re-main attractive. Apartment rental prices in this area are among the highest in Hanoi.Moreover, the supply in this segment is scarce because of the limited height of build-ings in the inner-city districts. The number of apartments for sale or lease in Thanh Xuan district remains modest.In addition, most of the projects here are offered for sale. After purchasing the apart-ments, buyers lease them out to other renters. Other landlords then self-construct and self-manage their houses, offering them to foreigners.Therefore, although there are many projects on offer to customers, very few of them are well-equipped with adequate utilities, services or are professionally managed un-der international standards.Lan Anh said that high-end condotel projects such as 5 Seasons can overcome the lim-itations of traditional apartments.Located at 47 Nguyen Tuan Street, residents can easily reach the city centre and the suburbs through main arterial roads, such as Nguyen Trai, Le Van Luong, and Ring Road 3 Khuat Duy Tien -- Noi Bai, as well as Cat Linh -- Hadong Highway.Not only is it a centrally-located high-end condotel project, but it also provides a wide range of exclusive and free amenities for life, such as a tropical swimming pool, gym, yoga, sauna, jacuzzi, a community recreation room with billiards table, table tennis fa-cility, a library, and a conference room.In addition, 5 Seasons also offers five-star services to each household, including luxu-rious lounges, storage areas, and Wifi service in addition to the abundant home-relat-ed services, such as housekeeping, food services, and laundry."With these special offers, investors will hardly find another project with the same quality," said Lan Anh.


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Hanoi & HCM City retail see no new supply in Q3


Retail market in both cities have no completed projects during third quarter, latest JLL report reveals.No new shopping centers were completed in Hanoi's retail market during the third quarter of this year, according to the latest report from JLL.Total stock remained unchanged, at nearly 970,000 sq m in 24 projects. In terms of lo-cation, Thanh Xuan, Hai Ba Trung and Long Bien districts accounted for 70.9 per cent of the total.More than 16,700 sq m of retail space was taken up in the third quarter. The overall oc-cupancy rate continued to increase, from 80.3 per cent in the second quarter to 82 per cent in the third quarter, thanks to promotional programmes in new shopping centers and lower rentals in older malls.In terms of pricing, the overall gross rental was $28.7 per sq m per month as at the end of the third quarter, a marginal decline of 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter, as many pro-motions and attractive rentals were offered to attract tenants.Trang Tien Plaza still achieves the highest rentals, due to its prime location.Convenience stores continued to boom in Hanoi's retail market, with an increasing presence by both international and local brands. The average size of these stores was approximately 40 to 50 sq m in the non-CBD sub-market.Total supply in Hanoi's retail market is likely to increase significantly in 2018, with 322,000 sq m to enter the market. Until the end of 2017, only 2,000 sq m of premium retail space is expected to be put into operation.Some international brands will enter the market. In particular, Zara Vietnam will open its first Hanoi store later this year, and two huge projectsAEON Mall Ha Dong and Ciputra Mall Hanoiexpected to enter the market in 2019 and 2020.The expected lower-than-average rents in new projects and the abundant supply are likely to result in downward pressure on market rentals in the future.Similarly, in the third quarter of 2017, retail supply in HCM City was relatively con-stant, as there were also no new completions.The occupancy rate was down slightly, by around 35 basis points quarter-on-quarter. Occupancy levels at CBD shopping centers were flat, at 87 per cent, while in non-CBD projects they reached 92.8 per cent, down just 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter.Overall, the gross rental of city malls averaged around $47 per sq m per month, up 2.4 per cent compared to the previous quarter. In the CBD sub-market, rents in prime shopping centers grew notably thanks to the presence of experienced brands such as Zara, H&M, and Old Navy, helping to boost foot traffic.Premium retail supply is expected to welcome more than 75,000 sq m, mostly from the non-CBD sub-market, over the remainder of the year. F&B, entertainment, and expe-rience-oriented retailers will be the main drivers of leasing demand.Rents will likely move upwards until the end of the year, especially in the CBD, with major advantages from healthy foot traffic driven by anchor tenants.The occupancy rate in new suburban projects is projected to face challenges in achiev-ing expected performance, due to the weight of new supply against demand.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/hanoi-hcmc-retail-see-no-new-supply-in-q3

Thua Thien Hue: registered capital of new firms doubles


As many as 491 enterprises were established with total chapter capital of 4.8 trillion VND (211.2 million USD) in the central province of Thua Thien Hue in the first nine months of the year.This was a two-fold increase in registered capital.In addition, the province lured 50 domestic investment projects, worth 5,671 billion VND (249.5 million USD) and three foreign investment projects.The provincial Department of Planning and Investment has launched its public serv-ices portal. One-stop administrative procedure services have benefited local firms.In the same period, the provincial industrial production index (IPI) climbed 15.2 per-


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cent year-on-year. In which, the processing and manufacturing sector surged 11.19 percent; water supply and waste collection up 3.56 percent; electricity production and distribution up 66.75 percent.An increasing trend was also witnessed in aquatic product processing, paper and pa-per products, and pharmaceuticals.According to director of the Department Nguyen Thanh, the IPI increase was buoyed by the local power production and enhanced capacity of aluminium factories, and the operation of the Vitto Phu Loc Tile Company.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/thua-thien-hue-registered-capital-of-new-firms-doubles/118989.vnp

Tien Giang shifts to growing fruit trees with high value


The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has replaced rice by fruit trees in over 2,300ha of land since the start of the year, said Cao Van Hoa, Acting director of the pro-vincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.The cultivation of fruit trees with high economic value is part of the province's efforts to restructure agricultural production toward improving products' quality and values.Tien Giang has zoned off more than 7,000ha in Cai Lay district, Cai Lay town and sur-rounding areas for growing durians. Over 5,000ha of dragon fruit trees have been grown in the districts of Cho Gao, Go Cong Tay and Tan Phuoc.Durian and dragon fruits have become major products of Tien Giang with high export values. Local farmers earned between 800 million and 1 billion VND (35,200-44,000 USD) per hectare in the recent crop.Cho Gao dragon fruits and Ngu Hiep durians of the province have recently been reg-istered for the collective trademark.Ngo Van Cung, a farmer in Long Tien commune of Cai Lay district, grows durians on an area of 5,000 sq.m. He harvests about 13 tonnes of the fruit each year, raking in around 400 million VND.To date, Tien Giang has expanded its orchard area to nearly 74,000ha, or 98 percent of the annual plan and a rise of 1.3 percent year-on-year.According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the locality reaped more than 1.2 million tonnes of fruits since the beginning of 2017, reaching 86 percent of this year's plan and up 4.7 percent compared to the previous year.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/tien-giang-shifts-to-growing-fruit-trees-with-high-value/118973.vnp

Mekong Delta seeks investors for 57 projects


The Mekong Delta will introduce 57 projects requiring more than VND183 trillion (US$8.05 billion) that are awaiting investors at an investment promotion conference scheduled to take place in Can Tho City on October 25.Speaking at a press conference introducing the third Vietnam-Japan culture and trade exchange and the fifth conference on investment promotion for the Mekong Delta in Can Tho City yesterday, the organiser said 24 of these projects are for tourism devel-opment and require total investment of VND7.8 trillion. The other 33 projects costing VND176 trillion are for real estate and infrastructure development.Nguyen Phuong Lam, deputy director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry's (VCCI) Can Tho branch the organiser of the event, said this year's conference will focus on calling for more investment into infrastructure projects that serve tour-ism development.According to Lam, Vietnam has gained outstanding achievements in developing tour-ism. In 2016, the country attracted more than 10 million international tourist arrivals with total tourism revenue of more than VND400 trillion.The Mekong Delta alone welcomed over 28 million visitors, including 2.5 million for-eigners, in 2016, and over 21 million visitors in the first half of 2017, up 17 percent year-on-year.


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However, Lam said the delta's tourism growth has not matched its potentials. "We or-ganise this conference with an aim to call for more investment to the delta, especially to projects facilitating tourism development by creating more tourism products and upgrading tourism infrastructure," Lam added.In regard to the delta's foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, Lam said the delta had attracted nearly 1,400 FDI projects worth $19.65 billion as of late August, 2017. Up to 159 of them are developed by Japanese investors with total registered capital of more than $6 billion.In addition to the investment promotion conference, Can Tho City will host the third Vietnam-Japan culture and trade exchange from November 3 to 5, 2017.According to Lam, the event will feature over 120 booths, including a special booth showcasing Japanese technologies.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56439/Mekong-Delta-seeks-investors-for-57-projects.html

HSBC: More Thai firms to tap Vietnam market


Many Thai enterprises are interested in the Vietnam market and they will strengthen investment in the country to catch new opportunities in various fields, said Kelvin Tan, CEO of HSBC Thailand Bank.Speaking to local reporters at a conference in HCM City yesterday, Tan said Thai firms would raise investment via direct investment and merger and acquisition deals.In recent time, the nation has seen many mergers between Thai and Vietnamese firms, among which HSBC Vietnam has participated in large transactions between BJC and Metro's Cash & Carry, Central Group's PowerBuy and Nguyen Kim shopping centre.Thai investors pay much intention to the retail market, focusing on the food and bev-erage and consumer goods sectors. In addition, they have plans to invest in other fields such as building materials, power plants and feed production.Thai firms favour investment in Vietnam as the two countries are in close proximity and have many similarities in culture, Tan added.In addition, Vietnam has turned attractive to international investors due to its active participation numerous in free trade agreements (FTAs) and the Asean Economic Community. When tariffs are removed, Thai firms will eye Vietnam as a transit point to enhance exports to other countries.When 16 FTAs Vietnam has participated become effective in 2020, Vietnam will join a network with 59 partners, including 15 G20 member countries. Meanwhile, Thailand does not have as many FTAs as Vietnam.Besides, Vietnam has advantages of macro-economic and political stability, low labour cost and the government's incentives.According to Pham Hong Hai, general director of HSBC Vietnam, the lender has vis-ited some Asean countries to call for investment into Vietnam over the past three years. In Thailand, many investors said Vietnam was their top priority.As HSBC concentrates on Asia, especially Asean markets, HSBC Vietnam has devel-oped business in nations with large investment in Vietnam.According to the General Statistical Office, Thailand had invested $8.13 billion in 458 active projects in Vietnam, ranking 10th among 115 nations and territories with largest investment in the country by March. It had ranked third in the Asean region after Sin-gapore and Malaysia.Between January and June, Thai enterprises poured $146.4 million in 20 projects in the country.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56440/HSBC-More-Thai-firms-to-tap-Vietnam-mar-ket.html

Vietnam welcomes Japanese investment: PM


Vietnam is committed to create favourable conditions for Japanese businesses to invest in the country, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated while receiving Kanji Haya-ma, former President of the Japanese construction contractor Taisei Corp., in Hanoi on


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October 4.Recalling the company's efforts in handling the collapse of Can Tho Bridge 10 years ago, Phuc lauded Taisei's contributions to Vietnam's socio-economic growth via its construction of many large-scale infrastructure projects.He said Vietnam highly values its extensive strategic partnership with Japan, which is the country's leading ODA provider and 4th biggest trade partner. Japan is also the second biggest foreign investor in Vietnam.The government leader stressed his hope that Taisei continues its good performance in Vietnam in contribution to Vietnam Japan ties.For his part, Kanji Hayama expressed his gratitude for support from the Vietnamese government toward his company's operation in the country, particularly in dealing with the past collapse of Can Tho Bridge.He said he visited Vietnam every year to pay tribute to victims of the accident.Kanji Hayama said he believes in Taisei's commitment to support future development of Vietnam.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-welcomes-japanese-investment-pm/118992.vnp

Vietnam, German share experience to develop agricultural value chains


The Vietnam Farmers' Union (VFU) and German Farmers' Association (DBV) held a workshop in Hanoi on October 4 to share experience in developing value chains in ag-ricultural production.Vice Chair of the VFU Leu Vu Dieu said Vietnam is modernising agriculture and rural areas while actively promoting integration in the global economy, and the formation of value chains in agriculture will be the key for success in this task.The country has implemented the "New Vision for Agriculture" initiative from 2010 with a view to developing comprehensive and sustainable agricultural value chains in line with global value chains and climate change response, he added.So far over 10,000 farmers have joined technical demonstration models and applied sustainable standards for some agricultural products with the cooperation of multina-tional groups, according to Dieu.Many cooperative groups and cooperatives have been formed, helping farmers con-nect with each other and with the market, he noted.However, the VFU made it clear that the formation of value chains in agriculture has faced many difficulties, the greatest of which is capital shortage, hence the few number of value chains in the country.Former Secretary of the DBV Helmut Born stressed that in a value chain, the customer has the decisive voice, so farmers must understand better customers' needs in order to meet demand.Based on opinions raised at the workshop, the VFU will make recommendations to the Party, State and government to improve policies and mechanisms encouraging farm-ers to set up cooperative groups and cooperatives, and businesses to invest in agricul-tural production value chains.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-german-share-experience-to-develop-agricultur-al-value-chains/118980.vnp

Vietnam, Malaysia discuss ways to increase farm produce value


Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and Malaysia's minister of Plantation, Industries and Commodities Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong dis-cussed how to tap the bilateral cooperation potential in promoting farm produce at their meeting on October 4 in Hanoi.Minister Cuong hailed the important role of agriculture in both countries' economy and job generation for farmers and asked the two sides to work together to increase the value of products.Currently, agriculture contributes 11 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Malaysia, and creates jobs for 16 percent of the workforce.Meanwhile, the sector accounts for 18 percent of Vietnam's GDP and 70 percent of Vi-


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etnamese population are living in rural areas.Cuong said he hopes the agricultural trade between Vietnam and Malaysia will in-crease by $1 billion by 2020 towards the goal of $15 billion in bilateral trade value in 2020.Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong for his part said his nation is importing rubber from Vietnam to produce medical gloves, noting that many Malaysian rubber and pepper businesses are eyeing the Vietnamese market.He invited Vietnam to attend the upcoming International Rubber Tripartite Confer-ence in Kuala Lumpur.In regard to pepper products, the minister said Vietnam now produces five times as much pepper than Malaysia.Vietnam is the biggest pepper manufacturer in the world while Malaysia is taking the lead in processed pepper products.He also affirmed Malaysian businesses' readiness to cooperate with Vietnam cooper-ate in processing pepper products.http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-malaysia-discuss-ways-to-increase-farm-produce-value-359744.vov

India-Vietnam trade is aiming toward $15bn target


On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic relations, and the 10th anniversary of the two countries' strategic partnership, India's Ambassador to Vi-etnam P. Harish told VIR's Thanh Tung that the two countries are entering their eco-nomic primes, and that Indian firms are starting to consider Vietnam a good target for their investments.Vietnam and India forged their strategic partnership in July 2007. What achievements, especially in trade and investment ties, have been made since?India and Vietnam have a strong historic relationship which has weathered the tests of time. Full diplomatic relations were established in 1972, and ever since, the ties be-tween the two countries have been marked by mutual trust and a convergence of views on major international issues. The strategic partnership between the two nations was established in 2007, and our bilateral relations have greatly improved since then.The partnership was elevated to the 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' during the official visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Vietnam in September 2016, covering cooperation in defence and security, economic engagement, cultural out-reach, high level exchanges, and people-to-people linkages.Regarding trade, we have shown a 10-fold increase in our bilateral trade, from $1.15 billion in the fiscal year 2006-2007 to $10.1 billion in the fiscal year 2016-2017. Our lead-ers have established a trade target of $15 billion by 2020 and both counties are deter-mined to achieve it. India is one of Vietnam's top 10 trading partners, whereas Vietnam is India's fifth-largest trading partner in Asean. The importance of Vietnam as an eco-nomic partner for India cannot be underestimated.In terms of investment, India's investment in Vietnam totals about $1.28 billion in 136 projects, including those routed through third countries. Major sectors of investment include oil and gas, renewable energy, mineral exploration, agri-processing, sugar manufacturing, agri-chemicals, IT, and auto components. The latest addition is the $63 million freeze-dried coffee project of Tata Coffee in Binh Duong province. Tata Power is also working to set up the Long Phu II $2.2 billion, 1,320-megawatt thermal power plant in Soc Trang province. We believe that the successful implementation of this project will go a long way in encouraging further Indian investments in Vietnam.Vietnam and India have agreed to explore measures to achieve the trade target of $15 billion by 2020. What has been done to achieve this target so far?In order to realise this target, we need to actively collaborate to enhance exchange of trade delegations, reach out to business and industry, and encourage mutual invest-ments which will boost trade.Tariff and non-tariff barriers, including some technical barriers to trade, remain signif-icant impediments to development of bilateral trade, and they are being addressed by both sides. India and Vietnam have agreed to facilitate bilateral trade flows by mini-


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mising the application of trade barriers, and step-by-step removal of trade barriers in accordance with the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Coopera-tion between Asean and India. We believe that bilateral trade will receive a strong boost when tariffs for many commodities are eliminated or significantly reduced un-der this agreement.Over the past few years, the oil and gas sector has become one of the cooperational pil-lars in the two countries' economic relations. What is your expectation for this cooper-ation's prospects in the future?India's interest in the energy sector, especially in oil and gas exploration, is nearly three decades old, and ONGC Videsh Limited has had a strong presence in Vietnam contrib-uting to its energy security. Over the years, many Indian firms have also implemented some hydroelectric power projects in Vietnam.We look forward to investments in Vietnam from Indian companies not only in the re-newable energy sector but also in energy conservation. Energy Efficiency Services Limited from India is already collaborating with some provinces in Vietnam to drasti-cally reduce their electricity consumption especially in the areas of street lighting through use of LED bulbs thereby contributing to the overall sustainable development of Vietnam by reducing its reliance on hydrocarbons.Vietnam and India have had a strategic partnership for 10 years. What are your thoughts on the partnership's outlook for the next 10 years?The elevation of the strategic partnership between the two countries to that of a com-prehensive strategic partnership is a clear indication of the goodwill, trust, and impor-tance the two countries place on their relationship. It is also an acknowledgment of the existing strong bilateral defence and security ties, and our mutual desires to contribute to regional peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity.An action plan to operationalise this partnership in all our areas of engagement has also been signed by India's External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Vietnam's deputy prime minister and Foreign minister Pham Binh Minh during his official visit to India in July 2017.The two countries would benefit immensely by having direct flight and shipping con-nectivity. It is encouraging that in late 2017, Vietjet will open direct flights to India. The banking and financial sector links are being enhanced to facilitate more intensive eco-nomic engagement. 2016 witnessed the opening of a branch of Bank of India in HCM City.India has an active portfolio of human resource development and capacity building in Vietnam in IT, entrepreneurship development, English-language training, high- per-formance computing, and other areas of science and technology.It is only with such a multi-pronged approach that we can actualise the Comprehen-sive Strategic Partnership between the two countries and harness the true potential of our countries and peoples.http://www.vir.com.vn/india-vietnam-trade-is-aiming-toward-15bn-target.html

BUSINESSZ NEWSBusiness Briefs 05 October, 2017

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA |

* Dry Cell and Storage Battery Company (PAC) will seek shareholder suggestions to pick Japan's Furukawa Battery as its trategic partner. Theinvestor currently owns a 10.54 percent stake at PAC. If both sides reach the deal, Fu-rukawa Battery will give technical and sales assistance and buy more shares of PAC.* Mekong Enterprise Fund II has registered to sell one million shares of Mobile World Investment Group (MWG), reducing its ownership from 2.6 percent to 2.28%. The fund is expected to raise D1l7 billion from the share sales.* Electronics Communications Technology Investment Development Corporation (ELC) has issued over 3.3 million shares to pay a 2016 share dividends to its sharehold-ers. After the additional issue, the company has raised its outstanding volume to 50.9 million shares, according to Viet Capital Securities Company.* Dragon Capital shareholder group including Balestrand Limited, Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited, orges Bank and DC Developing Markets Strategies Public Lim-


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SVietnam finance & business 5 October 2017

ited Company has sold 550,000 shares of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) to cut its ownership from 5 percent to 4.8%.* Vuong Van Ba, chair ofKSQ Investment Company 'Q), has bought two million KSQ shares to secure a 6.67 percent stake in the enterprise. According to vietstock.vn, KSQ market price is around VND 2,400 a share, surging 41 percent over the past month, with matching volume averaging out at 180,000 shares per session.* United Overseas Bank (UOB) has launched its business banking service dedicated to boost small business growth as 97 percent of Vietnamese companies are smal-and me-dium-sized. so 0e a e '0 'ietnarn's approval for establishing UOB's foreign-owned sub-sidiary. Besides, UOB has put together a range of financial olutions to meet the need of local small firms.

Why are foreign investment funds divesting?

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| NHA QUAN LY

Since the beginning of the year, large investment funds such as Mekong Capital and Dragon Capital have continuously withdrawn capital from many large Vietnamese companies. Why?The latest information from Mekong Capital said that Vietnam Azalea Fund (VAF) un-der Mekong Capital has completed its withdrawal of 100 percent capital from Loc Troi Group at a price of 68,000 dong/share, raising the total capital divestment value to more than $12 million.With the latest capital withdrawal from Loc Troi Group, Mekong Capital's funds have earned total $79 million from its capital divestments in the first three quarters of 2017.Earlier, in the first three quarters of 2017, Mekong Capital's funds had completed its fully capital withdrawals from Vietnam-Australia International School (VAS) and par-tial capital withdrawal from Mobile World Investment Joint Stock Co.Particularly, Mekong Enterprise Fund II divested 100 percent capital from VAS in April at a total value of $25 million, yielding a gross return of 4.5 times and an IRR of about 25,8 percent for its 6 year investment at VAS.Then, Mekong Enterprise Fund II also continued to sell its stake in Mobile World JSC (coded: MWG). This partial capital mdivestment in September of this year generated over $18 million in revenue for Mekong, recording an IRR of 62.6 percent and a gross margin of over 133 times for the total number of sold shares.Last year, the fund also made four capital divestments from Phu Nhuan Jewellery Co, FPT Group, Intresco, Nam Long Group and some other saperate capital withdrawals from Mobile World JSC.Formed in June 2007, VAF is managing $64 million pledged capital, mainly in invest-ments and unlisted companies. The fund has made seven investments including PNJ, FPT Corp, Intresco, Nam Long, Masan Consumer, Loc Troi and Traphaco. After the di-vestment from Traphaco, Traphaco will be the sole remaining investment of the Fund.Another investment fund namely Dragon Capital, has also continuously made similar moves. Recently, VietNam Enterprise Investments Limited has sold a total of 146,300 shares of PetroVietnam Technical Services Joint Stock Co (PVX), equivalent to 0.03 per-cent of charter capital. Grinling International Limited also sold 403,700 shares, reduc-ing its holdings from 4,058,350 shares (0.91%) to 3,654,650 shares (0.81%).These are the investment funds in the Dragon Capital Group. Thus, these investors have sold 550,000 shares, reducing ownership from 22.43 million shares to 21.88 mil-lion shares, corresponding to 4.88 percent and are no longer a major shareholder of PVS since September 21, 2017.Apart from PVS, these investors have also offloaded 470,000 KBC-coded shares of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corp thereby reducing the holding in KBC from 5.04 percent to 4.94 percent and are no longer majority sharesholder since September 25, 2017.Reportedly, since early September so far, Dragon Capital has offloaded 200,000 shares of Hoa Phat Group Joint Stock Co (coded HPG), reducing the holding from 42.2 mil-lion shares to 42 million units, equalling to a ratio of 4.98 percent stake.In early June, Dragon Capital Fund also offloaded 940,000 sharesof SSI Securities Co,


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reducing the holding rate to 4.9 percent stake and is no longer a majority shareholder. Earlier, in early May, DC Developing Markets Strategies PLC under Dragon Capital also sold 1.5 million SSI-coded share of the total holding of 2.75 million units, reducing the holding to 0.26%.Commenting on the selling trend of investment funds, some securities experts said that the market is now in the peak so the funds tend to offload to take profit and this is quite common. However, it is worth noting that many investment funds, strategic shareholders, which have been in strong attachement to enterprises for decades, the current capital withdrawal is noteworthy. It is possible that the development of these businesses has reached the saturation, and they are looking for new businesses in the early stage of development with better profitability expectations.Earlier, a fund manager said that some businesses seemed to be moving away from their core business. Meanwhile, the development strategy, investment expansion into other areas are always more risky, while profit potential is not very clear. This is the point forcing investment funds to ponder always.

VN Index bounces on blue chips


Shares rebounded strongly on the HCM Stock Exchange on Wednesday as large-cap stocks returned to positive territory following the index's three-day decline.The benchmark VN Index rose nearly 0.96 per cent to close at 805.66 points. It had fall-en total 0.84 per cent in the previous three sessions.More than 118.4 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND2.47 trillion (US$109.8 million).Wednesday's trading figures declined by 27 per cent in volume and nearly 25 per cent in value from the previous session.Market trading condition was positive with 169 advancing stocks, 92 losing ones and 53 stocks closing flat.Large-cap stocks performed well as 22 of the top 30 companies by market capitalisa-tion and trading liquidity saw share prices gain, lifting the VN30 Index up 1.11 per cent to 795.96 points.Among the leading sectors, shares of banks, property developers and brokerages were the best gainers with those industry indices rising 2.3 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.The three bank stocks MBBank (MBB), Vietcombank (VCB) and Vietinbank (CTG) ad-vanced between 3.9 per cent and 2.2 per cent and they were also among the four best-performing stocks in the VN30 Index.Those bank stocks were followed by steel producer Hoa Phat Group (HPG), which jumped 3.2 per cent, and Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar Co (SBT) and property developer Vingroup (VIC), each of which gained 1.8 per cent.According to Bao Viet Securities Co (BVSC), the VN Index has entirely recouped its three-day loss but concerns remained over a sharp drop of trading liquidity compared to the previous session.The Hanoi-based securities firm wrote in its daily report that trading liquidity on Wednesday was much lower than the average of the previous 21 sessions, proving that investors were still cautious with the market conditions."The VN Index might increase to the range of 808-812 points on Thursday," BVSC said. "However, the market rebound did not remove the chance of further decline for the benchmark index.""The VN Index might decline again when it returns to the range of 808-812 points, in which the benchmark is expected to suffer from strong selling pressure."On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index increased by 0.84 per cent to end Wednesday at 107.43 points after having lost total 1 per cent in the previous two days.Nearly 36 million shares were exchanged on the northern market, worth VND397.5 billion a decline of about 31 per cent in both trading volume and value compared to Tuesday.http://bizhub.vn/markets/vn-index-bounces-on-blue-chips_289305.html


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VN Index dips to below 800 points


The local stock market declined further yesterday as investors continued offloading shares, pushing the VN Index down 4.23 points, or 0.53%, at 798.Among large caps, SAB was among the biggest drag as the leading brewery stock dropped 0.5 percent at VND256,800 a share. Meanwhile, lender BID increased 0.8 per-cent at VND19,850 per share while property giant VIC gained 0.2 percent at VND51,000 each.Turnover on the HCM City exchange improved strongly given high selling pressure, with volume and value gaining 35.8 percent and 17.9 percent to 162.2 million shares worth VND3.2 trillion. There were 41 stocks reporting matching volume over one mil-lion shares, in which only five stocks managed to advance.FLC, a real estate company, took the lead for liquidity with over 13 million shares ex-changed. However, the stock lost 0.8 percent at VND7,200 a share.Having plunged to the floor price for six sessions in a row, FIT saw better demand yes-terday. The financial investment firm still closed at a 5.6 percent loss, standing at VND7,800 a share on volume of 11.1 million shares.HAR bucked the trend to hit the upper limit with 660,000 shares changing hands. Ear-lier, the property trading firm had announced to divest capital out of some companies.The Hanoi market narrowed its downtrend at the end of the day as some pillar stocks slightly recovered. The HNX-Index closed the session at 106.53, down 0.91 percent against the previous day.Bank stock ACB declined sharply early before bouncing back thanks to bottom fishers. It lost 0.1 percent at VND30,300 a share at the close and reported matching volume of 1.36 million shares.There were 52.1 million shares worth VND581 billion traded on the northern bourse, up 2.7 percent and 26.4 percent versus Monday respectively, including over VND5.2 billion worth of shares transacted via bloc deals. Notably, none of the 10 volume lead-ers on the northern bourse advanced.KLF was the most actively traded stock with over 10 million shares exchanged. After five consecutive days plunging to the floor prices, the trading and food service firm lost an additional 0.2 percent at VND3,700 a share.Construction firm PVX and lender SHB ranked next for liquidity with 8.7 million shares and 6.4 million shares respectively. Two stocks still decreased despite better de-mand in the afternoon phase.Foreigners stayed on the selling sides on both exchanges, net selling VND5.9 billion on the southern market and VND15.6 billion on the northern bourse.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56428/VN Index-dips-to-below-800-points.html

40 foreign investors join race for IDICO shares


Forty foreign institutional investors have joined the race for shares of the Vietnam Ur-ban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (IDICO) at the firm's initial public offering (IPO).IDICO will auction more than 55.3 million shares or 18.44 per cent of the firm's charter capital at the IPO for the starting price of VND18,000 (80 US cents) per share. The IPO is scheduled for October 5.The number of shares that the 40 foreign institutional investors have registered to buy at the IPO is more than 89 million, 1.6 times the number of shares offered by IDICO, according to the HCM Stock Exchange.Beside the 40 foreign institutional investors, nine foreign individuals, 25 Vietnamese institutional investors and 582 domestic individual investors, will also participate in the IPO, raising the number of investors to 656.The total number of shares registered by the investors is more than 269.2 million, five times the number of shares offered by IDICO.IDICO would receive at least VND1 trillion ($44.4 million) from the auction if the com-pany succeeds in selling all the shares offered at the IPO.Under the equitisation plan for IDICO, the company would have VND3 trillion in its


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post-equitisation charter capital, equal to 300 million shares.The 300 million shares include 55.3 million shares that will be offered at the IPO, 108 million shares or 36 per cent of charter capital will be held by the government, 135 mil-lion shares or 45 per cent will be possessed by the strategic investor, and the remainder will be sold to the firm's employees.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/187684/40-foreign-investors-join-race-for-idico-shares.html

Screw manufacturer plans HOSE listing


Seoul Metal Vietnam Joint Stock Company (SMVC) is completing essential documents to seek a listing on the HCM Stock Exchange, expected to start trading this October, the company has announced.Founded in 2008, the company has a charter capital of VND145 billion (US$6.4 mil-lion), equivalent to 14.5 million shares. China-based Seoul Metal (H.K) Co Ltd, a sub-sidiary of Global SM Tech Ltd, is the biggest stakeholder with a 30.98 per cent, while its parent company holds 14.41 per cent.State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) and EVN Finance own 10.65 per cent and 6.37 per cent, respectively.SMVC manufactures nails and micro screws for production of mobile phones, printers and cameras. Its largest client is Samsung, which accounts for 75 per cent of its reve-nue, followed by another Korean company, LG, with 11 per cent.SMVC's CEO Cha Gyun Young said during a roadshow on Monday that the listing is designed to help the company increase the localisation rate in production and mobilise capital for its expansion plan, including buying machines and enlarging business scale.http://bizhub.vn/markets/screw-manufacturer-plans-hose-listing_289310.html

TTF completes subsidiary divestment


Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TTF) announced that it has completed divest-ment from its subsidiary company, Truong Thanh Wood Industry JSC (TTI).According to a filing to the HCM Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Truong Thanh Furni-ture sold its entire holding of nearly 1.26 million shares, an equivalent of 68.52 per cent of TTI's charter capital. The identity of the buyer has not been disclosed.The divestment is part of the company's streamlining plan with the aim of downsizing its subsidiary and affiliate companies. According to the company's second-quarter re-port, it has 12 subsidiaries with ownership of over 50 per cent in each company and two indirect subsidiary firms.Late in September, the State Securities Commission approved the company's plan for a private placement of 100 million shares at the price of VND10,000 a share. After the issue, expected this month, its charter capital will reach nearly VND2.45 trillion.As of the end of June, Truong Thanh Furniture reported cumulative losses of over VND1.4 trillion.http://bizhub.vn/markets/ttf-completes-subsidiary-divestment_289308.html

Song Da Corp modifies IPO plan


The Song Da Corporation will sell nearly 200 million shares worth 48.82 per cent of its charter capital in its initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for 2019.Announcing its latest plan, the corporation said the new one incorporated some changes made in accordance with the prime minister's instruction on assessing the company's value and adjusting initial public offerings.In mid-June this year, Song Da Corporation secured the prime minister approval to sell 30 per cent of its capital to strategic investors and 18.82 per cent to the public in 2019.The reasons for the corporation's cancellation of offerings to strategic investors have not been disclosed.The 56-year-old corporation is one of Vietnam's leading infrastructure companies with a charter capital of VND4.5 trillion (US$198.2 million).


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Under the equitisation plan, the government will retain 51 per cent stake in the firm until the end of 2019, then reduce it to under 50 per cent the following year.The Ministry of Construction has been assigned to decide the IPO prices, the criteria for selecting strategic investors as well as the amount of shares offered to them.The corporation is set to finalise its equitisation plan by the end of this year.According to the company's audited 2016 financial report, it had total assets of VND31.9 trillion by the end of last year. Its owner's equity was VND7.83 trillion and total debts amounted to nearly VND24.1 trillion, with short and long term loans amounting to VND17.7 trillion.The infrastructure company posted consolidated revenues of VND9.97 trillion in 2016 and net profit of the parent company was VND359 billion in 2016, down 37 per cent from the previous year.Song Da Corporation is the main contractor for most hydropower projects in Vietnam. It is also involved in some major infrastructure projects including tunnels, highways and factories. It plans to divest from several hydroelectricity companies in October this year, including the Ho Bon Hydropower Joint Stock Company, Nam Muc Hydropow-er JSC and Southern Power Investment & Development JSC.http://bizhub.vn/markets/song-da-corp-modifies-ipo-plan_289307.html

Gemadept sells majority stake in two subsidiary firms


Gemadept Corporation (GMD) has completed the transfer of capital in its two subsid-iary firms to Korean CJ Logistics Corporation, the Vietnamese company has an-nounced.In a filing with the HCM Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Gemadept said it sold a 50.9 per cent stake in Gemadept Shipping Holding Co Ltd and 50.9 per cent of its shares in Ge-madept Logistics Holding Co Ltd to CJ Logistics on October 1.After the sales, its holdings in these two companies shrank to 49.1 per cent each.This divestment is part of Gemadept's restructuring plan, approved at its annual shareholders' meeting in May, following which Gemadept will sell capital of its affili-ate companies to strategic partners.Proceeds from divestments will be used to pay dividends to shareholders.Meanwhile, CJ Logistics, previously known as CJ Korea Express Corp, is looking for opportunities to acquire logistics firms in Southeast Asia, aiming to be one of five larg-est logistics firms globally. In the past two years, it has purchased major stakes in lo-gistics firms in Malaysia, China, Dubai and India.Gemadept's CEO Do Van Minh said the company would pay a special dividend rate of 85 per cent this year if it completed the share sales in Gemadept Shipping and Ge-madept Logistics.The value of the deals has not been disclosed, but HCM Securities Co (HSC) has esti-mated that a 51 per cent stake in these two companies is valued around $125 million altogether.After paying 85-per-cent dividends, HSC estimated Gemadept could earn cumulative earnings of VND2.4 trillion ($105.7 million) from the two divestments.The capital transfers in the two firms do not include Gemadept's stakes in seven other companies, including Saigon Cargo Service Corp (SCSC), K Line-Gemadept Logistics Co Ltd (KGL), Lien uoc Vietnam Transport Co Ltd (YJC), OOCL Logistics, ISS-Ge-madept, VNM general Transportation Service Co Ltd and Pacific Shipping Agency Co Ltd, Gemadept said.In a separate filing to the HCM Stock Exchange, Gemadept said it transferred 15 per cent of its capital in CJ Vietnam to CJ O Shopping Co LtdGemadept is considered Vietnam's biggest logistics firm with consolidated revenues of VND3.74 trillion in 2016, of which 57 per cent came from logistics and 43 per cent from port services.In the second half of this year, Gemadept reported net revenues of VND1.87 trillion, up 3.7 per cent year-on-year, while its net profit reached VND196 billion, up 4.3 per cent year-on-year.


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Time for real estate market to get exciting

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DAU TU BAT DONG SAN

Real estate firms are getting prepared to enter the peak business season of the year. This is the time when firms not only have to find ways to liquidate inventory but also make the best sale of the new products to create momentum for the first quarter of next year, because the first three months of the year is always the slowest selling time of the year.Thus, although the fourth quarter has just begun, dozens of small and large projects have been urgently launched into the market with many preferential programmes. Not only giving valuable gifts such as cars, motorbikes, travel tours, or home furniture, etc., investors are competing via significant discounts from several million dong to hundreds of million dong on each apartment. Along with that, there are also pro-grammes offered by banks with preferential interests rates.Firms' confidence in the end of the year business season, according to representative of an investor, is based on a regular view that salaries and bonus are often paid into people's accounts in the end of the year. Along with the psychology of "buying house to welcome Tet festival", customers are also easier to spend more money for the new houses.Not only that, the real estate market in the end of this year continues to be supported by the stable inflation and interest rates. Meanwhile, the foreign capital flows are pos-itive, of which a large proportion has been poured in real estate and this number is in-creasing.Nevertheless, although the demand is forecasted to strongly rise in the last quarter of the year and may be higher than last year, the market this year will have to face a very huge pressure in terms of supply.According to the latest forecast of CBRE Vietnam, in Hanoi, the supply by the end of the year will reach 35,000 apartments, the highest level in the past five years. In Hochiminh city, CBRE estimated that there will be about 21,000 mid-end and high-end apartments will be put into operation in 2017, not to mention the segment of affordable apartments.Meanwhile, JLL's forecast stated that the apartment supply by the end of 2017 in Hochiminh city will reach about 25,000-27,000 units.These numbers may not be completely accurate, but they show that supply is over-whelming demand.Thus, promotions have never been launched as massively as this year in terms of both quantity and value. Even large investors with strong brand names and network cov-erage have also offered discount programmes and huge promotions for their projects.With the standstill of the market in the first nine months of the year and the large sup-ply source waiting to be launched into the market, the main business season of this year will witness a very fierce competition among investors. Certainly, customers will be the beneficiary.

Simultaneous launches in apartment market

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAM FINANCE

After a relatively gloomy period due to the psychology to not doing business in July of the Lunar calendar, the real estate market has again been exciting as a series of projects have introduced or launched their products.In mid-September in Hanoi, Infrastructure Investment And Transportations Construc-tion Joint Stock Company (Intracom) launched the Intracom Riverside project in Vinh Ngoc commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi. Consisting of three 39-storey towers with over 1,000 apartments, Intracom Riverside is the first building projects to be construct-ed in the north of Nhat Tan Bridge. Its total investment is over one trillion dong. The project is currently under construction and expected to be open for sale in the near fu-ture.Also following the trend of preparing to open the same, in the Southwest region, Bi-texco is completing the final steps to offer the products of The Manor Central Part project. This is the biggest project of Bitexco in Hanoi with an area of 90 hectares. Ac-cording to information, in the first phase, the investor will construct 240 low-rise apart-


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ments and two towers with 1,036 apartments. The total investment of the project is about 290 million USD.Meanwhile, the segment of affordable apartments will welcome a new supply from Samora Premier project at 105 Chu Van An. Located on an area of 6,000 hectares, in-cluding commercial centre, service offices, and apartments. The expected price is rang-ing from 15-20 million dong per square metre.In addition to the above projects, the market has received more supply from a series of old projects which have been opened for additional sale, namely Sky Central 176 Dinh Cong (over 400 apartments in Apartment building B), Startup Tower (312 apartments), Dream centre Home (62 apartments), etc.Projects such as Booyoung Vina, Petrowaco Lang Ha, or Apartment Building 16 Pham Hung have also been resumed. Their construction is being accelerated and they are ex-pected to be launched for sale in the end of the year.In Hochiminh city, the market has seen slight reduction in supply over the past two months. However, from the end of July of Lunar calendar, the apartment segment has started to become vibrant. The first move was made by LDG Investment Joint Stock Company with an announcement about 1,068 apartments of the Saigon Intela Condo-minium.Following LDG, Rio Land Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company has also offi-cially launched the project Thu Thiem Dragon (Thanh My Loi ward, District 2). Locat-ed on an area of nearly 5,200 square meters, the project consists of 23 floors with total of 328 apartments and office-tel. The selling price is ranging from 1.5-2.2 billion dong.In the early days of October, Khang Dien Housing Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company has held a ceremony to launch Block B of Jamila project with nearly 200 apartments. Saigon Housing Company Limited is also urgently implementing the foundation of the Saigonhomes apartment and commercial centre project, of which the sample apartments are expected to be introduced in October.In the coming time, the real estate market in Hochiminh city will welcome many lux-ury products, such as Sunwah Pearl (Binh Thanh district), Hausneo (District 9), Calla Garden Nguyen Van Linh, or Masteri M-One in Go Vap district.

Private sector invests in Apec infrastructure


Several private companies have invested in building infrastructure for the 2017 Apec forum.The Ariyana Da Nang Convention and Exhibition Centre has got investment of VND35 billion (US$1.5 million), mobilised from the socialised fund. The three-story building has a main convention hall which can accomodate more than 2000 people. It is just one of the many event venues to hold events under the framework of the Apec Economic Leaders' Week.Matthias Wiesmann, director-general of Furama Resort Da Nang which is the main in-vestor of this project, said construction would be completed prior to the start of the 2017 Apec Economic Leaders' Week."A momentous event like Apec is a tremendous opportunity for Furama as well as the Ariyana Da Nang Convention and Exhibition Centre to create a new image. Ariyana considers itself the event venue of Da Nang City, and not only of Furama," Wiesmann said.Answering the call for private funding for Da Nang City, many enterprises and com-panies have invested billions of ng in building convention halls and hotels.The project of Da Nang Airport's International Terminal has attracted more than VND3,500 billion ($154 million) from the Da Nang International Airport Investment and Exploitation Joint Stock Company (AHT). It is the first socialised project in the avi-ation sector to serve Apec.According to Ho The Anh, vice director of AHT, the international terminal is not only the first destination of visitors to Da Nang City, but is also a key construction project of the city."We fully guarantee the project's schedule, quality and aesthetics. The project has en-


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joyed generous support from the city's authority as well as the Ministry of Transport," Anh said.The Apec Economic Leaders' Week will take place in November with the participation of leaders from 21 member-economies. The main construction facilities serving this event have been completed.Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, deputy head of Da Nang City People's Committee, highly appre-ciated the contribution of the private sector to the Apec Economic Leaders' Week."The reception has to be both professional and economical. On the one hand, the city has mobilised capital from the State budget. On the other hand, it has raised funds from the society. This is Da Nang City's responsibility and opportunity to promote its image," Tuan said.http://bizhub.vn/news/private-sector-invests-in-apec-infrastructure_289302.html

HCM City exchanges 16 land lots for Thu Thiem 4 Bridge


The HCM City government plans to allocate 16 land lots to an investor in exchange for the construction of Thu Thiem 4 Bridge connecting District 2 and District 7 whose con-struction cost is estimated at VND5.2 trillion, or nearly $230 million.The HCM City government last week sent a document to the Ministry of Planning and Investment to give further explanations on the project to be executed under the build-operate (BT) format.Accordingly, the city will hand over 11 land lots in Thu Thiem New Urban Area's di-visions No. 3 and 4 with a combined area of 100,000 square meters to the investor, who will be responsible for constructing the bridge and other auxiliary facilities at an esti-mated cost of VND3.2 trillion.To have costs for site clearance, the city will give four other land lots to the investor. These include a land lot measuring 1,200 square meters at 462-464 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 1, another of 5,300 square meters at 1310 Kha Van Can Street in Thu Duc District, an area of 11,700 square meters at 11 Linh Trung Street, a 7,000-square-metre land lot at 540/21 Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in District 3 and a land lot at the premises of Tan Thuan Port.The city authorities said the 2.16-kilometer bridge would help connect Saigon South and Thu Thiem New Urban Areas, thus reducing traffic congestion on the roads from Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts to districts 7, 8, Binh Chanh and Nha Be as well as in the city centre.The city plans to have four bridges connecting Thu Thiem with districts 1, 4 and 7 by 2020. Thu Thiem 1 Bridge is now in use while the second is under construction. Thu Thiem 3 and 4 and a pedestrian bridge connecting District 1 and Thu Thiem have not got off the ground.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56438/HCM City-exchanges-16-land-lots-for-Thu-Thiem-4-Bridge.html

Waste from thermal power plants increasingly affects the environment


Waste from thermal power plants across the country is having more damaging effects on the environment, so workable treatment solutions should be sought, heard a semi-nar in Can Tho City yesterday on the use of coal ash and gypsum from such plants.Pham Van Bac, head of the Building Materials Department under the Construction Ministry, said the country has 21 operational thermal power plants, with 13 ones using pulverised-coal combustion and the remainder using circulating fluidising bed.Bac referred to the prime minister's Decision 428/QD-TTg, saying the government plans to raise the number of thermal power plants to 57 by 2030.Therefore, he said, the amount of untreated coal ash is expected to reach 61 million tonnes by 2018, 109 million tonnes by 2020, up to 248 million tonnes by 2025, and 422 million tonnes by 2030.He added three plants in the Mekong Delta namely Duyen Hai, Long Phu and Song Hau which have combined capacity of 1,445 MW and emit 1.8 million tonnes of coal ash are using pulverised-coal combustion.


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According to the decision, thermal power plants Long Phu 1 and 2, Song Hau 1 and 2, and extended Duyen Hai 3 will be up and running by 2020, raising the capacity to 5,505 MW. As such, they discharge around 16.52 million tonnes of coal ash and 4.13 million tonnes of gypsum each year."Between 2020 and 2030, nine new plants will come in service, increasing the total power-generating capacity to 18,225 MW. (They) are expected to discharge 54.68 mil-lion tonnes of coal ash and 13.67 million tonnes of gypsum," he said.Dinh Quoc Dan, deputy director of Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Tech-nology, noted in a report delivered at the seminar that one kWh of electricity generated will produce 0.9-1.5 kilograms of coal ash, and one MW of electricity requires four tonnes of coal, and therefore discharge around one tonne of coal ash."As such, a 1,200- MW thermal power plant which runs for five years will emit five mil-lion tonnes of coal ash, and thus will need around 30 hectares to bury such waste," he estimated.According to the report, landfills of active thermal power plants cover 709 hectares. The total area will expand to 1,895 hectares after 2020. The amount of waste is exerting mounting pressure on the environment and occupying a large area of land.Many participants at the seminar suggested coal ash should be recycled into building material for ground leveling and road construction among others.However, the recycle of coal ash is not common, and it is unsure whether these usages will affect the environment or not.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56437/Waste-from-thermal-power-plants-increas-ingly-affects-the-environment.html

Ministries want to recycle coal power waste

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction hold a confer-ence about recycling ash and slag waste from coal power plants as construction mate-rials for the Mekong Delta on October 3.Vietnam has 21 coal power plants and it will have 57 plants by 2030 in accordance with the electric planning approved by the prime minister on March 18, 2016.The plants are discharging over 15 million tonnes of ash and slag waste each year. By the end of 2017, Vietnam will have about 40 million tonnes of waste. If more coal pow-er plants are built Vietnam will amass 61 million tonnes of waste in 2018 and 109 mil-lion tonnes in 2020.There are three thermal power plants in the Mekong Delta, five plants will be built by 2020, and nine more will be built by 2030, producing 18,225MW and 13.67 million tonnes of waste. A huge plot of land must be reserved to store the waste which is a threat to the environment.Ash and slag waste from thermal power plants in Quang Ninh Province is also con-taminating the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay.According to the laws, all economic activities that pollute heritage sites must be relo-cated. However, the waste dumping site is some hundreds of metres away from the residential area and adjacent to the Bai Tu Long Bay. Moreover, the dumping site is being overloaded. The highest dumping location is three metres higher than the sea embankment.Pham Van Cuong, deputy director of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environ-ment, said there was no technical standards and guidance from the central agencies about recycling waste and its use by the construction industry.In order to deal with the waste, the Ministry of Construction consulted to the prime minister to issue Decision 1696 to recycle waste as construction material and gained good results after two years. In April, the prime minister approved Decision 452 to ex-pand the project during 2017-2020 period.The Ministry of Industry and Trade asked the power plants to upgrade technology to be more environmentally-friendly, especially plants with out-dated technology. The data from monitoring system must be transferred to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and local authorities.


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Director of the Department of Science Technology and Environment of the Ministry of Construction Le Trung Thanh said the project can help deal with 30 percent to 45 per-cent of the waste. However, criteria and standards for the project must be built in 2017-2018.According to Vietnam Electricity, seven partners signed contracts to buy 2.9 million tonnes of waste from Duyen Hai 1 and 2 thermal power plants in the Mekong Delta to be additive in cement production.The Genco 1 company is trying to build air piping to transport the ash to the port and save transport costs.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/021/53122/ministries-want-to-recycle-coal-power-waste.html

HCM City strictly handles case of sedated pigs


The HCM City government will strictly handle any one involved in the injection of sedative drugs into pigs, said Nguyen Phuoc Trung, director of the city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, at a conference yesterday, reffering to a scan-dal of thousands of sedated pigs found out last week.Competent agencies caught red-handed two merchants injecting the pigs with a seda-tive solution right before having them slaughtered at the Xuyen A Slaughterhouse in the city's outskirt district of Cu Chi, following a tip-off last Thursday. At the time of the inspection, more than 3,700 pigs had been sedated.This is an illegal act that has adverse effects on the health of consumers, so city leaders have asked relevant departments and agencies to sternly discuss the issue at the con-ference.The agriculture director said as of yesterday morning, the department had already de-stroyed 1,995 sedated pigs. Besides, the remaining pigs will be buried at Dong Thanh landfill in Cu Chi District.He stressed the act is regarded as a serious crime, adding any State officials found to be involved in similar scandals may be sacked.He said the department asked the municipal Veterinary Agency to suspend its director and two deputy directors, as well as 17 relevant officials from work.Le Minh Hai, deputy head of the HCM City Food Safety Management Board, said the board has yet to obtain any evidence to calculate the number of sedated pigs for sale on the market. The agency will be closely inspecting production, farming and distribu-tion procedures in the near future.Pham Thanh Kien, director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said his department has teamed up with pork suppliers like Vissan in a bid to meet the peo-ple's demand for pork.Xuyen A is the largest slaughterhouse in HCM City, capable of slaughtering over 5,000 pigs every night to supply local markets and supermarkets the next morning.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56427/HCM City-strictly-handles-case-of-sedated-pigs.html

Sugar processors not keen on bagasse-based electricity generation


Sugar processors are cautious about producing electricity from bagasse, as the pur-chase price of this kind of electricity is low, making it less appealing to potential inves-tors, experts said at a seminar in Hanoi yesterday.Elsewhere in the world, the generation of electricity from the byproducts of sugarcane like bagasse is regarded as a way out for sugar processors to create added value.German international cooperation agency GIZ, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and relevant agencies yesterday released pre-feasibility studies at five local sugar plants as part of a project that seeks optimal solutions in the production process whose aim is to generate additional revenue.The designed capacity of bagasse-based electricity generation projects at 11 sugar plants across the country is estimated at 351.6 MW, with 99.9 MW for the national electric grid at a selling price of 5.8 cents per kWh so far this year.


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The current electricity output of the sugar industry is estimated at 2.35 billion kWh equal to the annual electricity consumption volume of around 450,000 Vietnamese families, according to a GIZ study.The GIZ aims to help increase the volume of biomass-fired power plants by improving their effectiveness. The project is to encourage sugar processors to use alternative bio-mass byproducts beyond their sugar-producing seasons.Pham Quoc Doanh, chair of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA), said the price of bagasse-based electricity is lower than that of straw and rice husk-based counterpart, 5.8 cents versus over 8 cents per kWh.He added the low selling price of electricity may not offset incurring costs, discourag-ing sugar processors from producing power.Many experts also shared the view, saying that the selling price at 5.8 cent makes ba-gasse-fired power projects less appealing.Some enterprises such as KCP Vietnam Industries Limited, Thanh Thanh Cong Gia Lai Co Ltd and Khanh Hoa Sugar Co Ltd have embarked on projects of this kind to gener-ate 39 MW, 34.6 MW and 60 MW respectively.Vietnam sets a modest target of making biomass-based electricity account for a mere 2 percent of the total energy consumption by 2030. This can be achievable soon if the Vi-etnam Electricity Group (EVN) raises its purchase price with the aim of giving inves-tors a profit.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56425/Sugar-processors-not-keen-on-bagasse-based-electricity-generation.html

Optimal conditions pledged for ADB-funded urban project


Vice Chair of the People's Committee of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue Nguy-en Van Phuong received a working group from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on October 3, during which he pledged that the province will create optimal condi-tions for a ADB-funded resilient and sustainable urban development project.The project aims to help the Ministry of Construction complete a strategy for national urban development, while supporting the realisation of national targets on urban sys-tem development through action plans on urban development.It also gives guidelines for improving national urban planning in tandem with climate change response, while applying pilot models and action plans for climate change adaption for some localities.In Thua Thien-Hue, the group asked for the province's support in site surveying and data collection for the project.Phuong lauded the objectives of the project and promised to provide all necessary in-formation to the group.He also expressed his hope that the group will help the province tackle problems in traffic, climate change warning, as well as preserving and promoting heritage.The four-year project was approved at a cost of 2.755 million USD.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/optimal-conditions-pledged-for-adbfunded-urban-project-in-thua-thienhue/118956.vnp

Vietnam a good option to optimise global supply chains


Udo Lange, FedEx Trade Networks' Executive vice President and COO, tells VET about the business activities of the newly-established company and the potential in Vi-etnam's freight forwarding market.What is FedEx Trade Networks (FTN)? Why do you want to launch FTN in Vietnam?As the international freight forwarding arm of the FedEx Corporation, FTN connects 95 per cent of the world's GDP with its comprehensive suite of solutions. FTN is an in-ternational, integrated freight forwarder. We specialise in air and ocean freight for-warding, customs brokerage, and other trade facilitation services, using advanced data and technology solutions backed by a higher level of service to optimise our cus-tomers' experience, improve their supply chain management, and help drive success-ful global commerce.


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FTN APAC network now has 23 offices in a total of eight countries with nearly 500 members. The opening of FTN in Vietnam marks another significant milestone in our global growth strategy. These efforts are part of an ongoing global expansion initiative designed to provide customers with freight forwarding solutions wherever they do business.This new presence in Vietnam will allow us to continue to offer customers tailored so-lutions designed to help reduce their costs and add value to their businesses. The Vi-etnamese market now has a FedEx option for freight forwarding to optimise their international supply chain. By opening in Vietnam, we are bringing the strong local market presence, intelligence, global capabilities, brand recognition, service quality, and innovation of FedEx to the country's freight forwarding market.How would you comment on the freight forwarding market in Vietnam over recent years? What is Vietnam's position in FTN's global business compared to other markets in the region?Vietnam is an important market for FTN and we are proud to launch our first wholly-owned freight forwarding office in HCM City. Vietnam is a growing trading partner in Asia and is experiencing phenomenal economic growth. The Asian Development Bank is predicting 6.2 per cent economic growth in 2017 for Vietnam, aided in part by growing investment in the manufacturing sector. The establishment of wholly-owned operations demonstrates the significance and potential FTN recognises in Vietnam.After serving Vietnam via a representative office since 2009, the investment in a whol-ly-owned subsidiary marks a decisive step in our continued expansion, in a country with a stable economic environment, a vigorous workforce, and relatively low produc-tion costs. With our global reach and local expertise, we will be able to serve our cus-tomers in Vietnam even more efficiently and support them in simplifying the complexities of international shipping.Freight forwarding is on the rise in Vietnam and expected to grow to $1.4 billion by 2019. This projected growth provides tremendous opportunities for FTN and our cus-tomers seeking to conduct business in Vietnam. HCM City, one of the gateways for Vi-etnam's imports and exports, is the ideal location for our Vietnam operations, which will deliver expertise in the ocean and air forwarding industry and a suite of custom-isable solutions for customers.What FTN services are to be provided in Vietnam? Who are your target customers?FTN offers a full product and service range of ocean and air freight forwarding, ware-housing, and customs brokerage as well as specific solutions for industry sectors prev-alent in Vietnam, including retail and high-tech. In addition, the company offers a wide range of value-added services, including My Global Trade Data, its online suite of information management tools.Customers can utilise FTN's services as part of a total end-to-end solution, or take ad-vantage of individual services to meet specified needs. For example, the Vietnam office connects customers with industry-specific solutions, as illustrated by our services for one of Vietnam's largest garment manufacturers. The solution for this customer in-cludes integrated air freight forwarding with Garment-on-Hanger services from Viet-nam to the UK, supported with value-added services, such as supply chain visibility and online reporting via My Global Trade Data.M&A has become popular in recent years for foreign enterprises to effectively expand their business operations in Vietnam. Has there been any thought given to acquiring a logistics company in Vietnam? What are the challenges when investing in Vietnam?FedEx Trade Networks is always looking for ways to better serve our customers, as ev-idenced by the opening of our HCM City office. Today we are focused on celebrating the office's opening and the opportunities our expanded presence provides to our cus-tomers.Vietnam is experiencing incredible growth, and with that comes the need for increased infrastructure development. While this can present potential challenges when com-pared to neighbouring economies like Thailand and Malaysia, Vietnam recognises the need for improvement and continues to make progress in this area. As an example, the


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infrastructure improvements over the last 10-15 yearsincluding expressways and deep sea portshave laid a good foundation for continued development.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/op-eds/vietnam-a-good-option-to-optimise-glo-bal-supply-chains

Japanese-style farms for Can Tho


Mekong Delta city to build farms with produce "Made by Japanese in Vietnam".A Japanese-style farm will be built in the Mekong Delta's Can Tho city with the goal of creating fresh, safe vegetables, fruit, meat, and eggs, and be managed by Japanese peo-ple, which is expected to open up bright new prospects for Vietnam and Japan.Chair of the Can Tho City People's Committee Vo Thanh Thong met with Abe Masa-yuki, director of the Human Resources Research Institute and director of the Vietnam Agricultural Information Centre (VAIO), on October 3 to discuss what ideal farm mod-els would be implemented in the city in the near future.The focus is to build a system of agricultural engineering training centers and establish a basis for the rapid deployment of integrated farming systems being implemented by Japanese agribusinesses.Such systems include organic farming methods, refrigeration systems, frozen preser-vation techniques, stable harvesting techniques, and improved product quality. Masayuki said that the model farm would be built with the slogan "Made by Japanese in Vietnam". It's believed that with the cooperation of the two governments, the project will create a new brand in agriculture.Initially, the project will cover about 2 ha on the campus of the Can Tho College of Economy and Technology, using capital from the Japanese government and private enterprises from both countries. The Japanese side will help train Vietnamese agricul-tural experts in Japan.Products harvested at the model farm will be available in Vietnam and exported to other Southeast Asian countries and Japan.Japan has been always one of the important partners of the Mekong Delta. Investment promotion and trade links with the country are major targets for cities and provinces in the region, especially Can Tho.In addition to nearly ten Japanese projects, the city is also preparing for upcoming in-vestment promotions, such as inviting Japanese partners and enterprises to come to the city and organising conferences, seminars, and fairs promoting the Delta's prod-ucts.Can Tho is focusing on inviting investment from Japan in high-tech agriculture and lo-gistics. This is a strength of Japan but a limitation in Can Tho and elsewhere in the Del-ta. In addition to policies in accordance with the government, Can Tho will apply many other policies to support Japanese investors.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/japanese-style-farms-for-can-tho

Vietnam Airlines urges police investigation after customer information leaked to taxi companies

05/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

Upon landing, passengers have been receiving calls and text messages from taxi com-panies they've never used before.Vietnam Airlines has called for a police investigation after many of its customers re-ported their flight and contact information had been leaked, according to a represent-ative of the national airline.The Ministry of Transport has also instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to look into the issue.The airline cited customer complaints as saying they had received text messages and phone calls inviting them to use certain taxi services upon their arrival at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport.Having never been contacted by these taxi companies before, most of these passengers said they found it unusual for the companies to have their personal and flight informa-tion.Nguyen Huy Duong, deputy director of Noi Bai airport, told local media that keeping


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passengers' flight and personal information secure is the airline's responsibility, not the airport's.However, a representative of budget airline VietJet Air said the airline is not the only party with access to customer information, which is by regulations also available to booking offices, booking agents and ground services at the airports.In a recent investigation into the case, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper interviewed some of the taxi drivers involved. They claimed they received passenger information either directly from booking offices or from third-party companies.https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-airlines-urges-police-investigation-af-ter-customer-information-leaked-to-taxi-companies-3650471.html

Pinaco plans strategic partnership with Furukawa Battery


Dry Cell and Storage Battery JSC (Pinaco) is seeking shareholders' approval to choose Japan's Furukawa Battery Co Ltd as its strategic investor.After becoming Pinaco's strategic partner, Furukawa Battery will provide technical support and assistance in sales, while Pinaco will produce products as required by its Japanese partner.The two sides will foster cooperation through capital contributions by Furukawa Bat-tery in Pinaco. The Japanese firm is entitled to buy additional shares if Pinaco conducts additional share issues and has the right to nominate a member to Pinaco's manage-ment board.The agreement has a five-year term from the effective date, expected to be inked in the last quarter of this year. The two companies will sign a strategic partnership contract and technology transfer contract by early 2018.Furukawa Battery became the second-largest stakeholder in Pinaco after the purchase of 4.9 million shares, an equivalent of 10.54 per cent of Pinaco's capital, in October 2016.Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) is still the biggest shareholder with a 51 per cent stake.Pinaco is trading shares on the HCM Stock Exchange with a value around VND53,000 (US$2.33) a share.

Mercedes-Benz go on sale in Vinh City


Mercedes-Benz Vietnam (MBV) has invested in a $7 million showroom and service centre with its latest dealer, Vinamotor Nghe An Ltd, in the central province of Nghe An's Vinh City.Located near Vinh airport gateway, the showroom is expected to open in April next year. It will be the 14th Mercedes-Benz sales and service centre in Vietnam.On September 30, MBV introduced Vinamotor Nghe An Company to the public, bringing the number of dealers to four.To be called the Autohaus 300 outlet, Vinamotor Nghe An will be the first premium car dealer authorised for North Central Vietnam.To meet the immediate need for products and services, Vinamotor Nghe An will serve customers at a temporary centre in Mai Hac De Street, Vinh City, from now until April.With the establishment of the new service centre in April, customers in Nghe An prov-ince and neighbouring areas will no longer have to travel to authorised services cen-tres in Hanoi or Hai Phong for attention.The centre will cover a total area of 11,000 square metres. It will be able to display 14 cars and provide maintenance for up to 40 cars per day."A presence in Vinh City is a milestone for Mercedes-Benz," said Choi Duk Jun, man-aging director of Mercedes-Benz Cars Vietnam"Vinamotor will be the place for customers in the North Central area to choose Mer-cedes-Benz products as well as services," he said.With 14 sales and service centres nationwide, MBV will have the largest distribution network for cars in Vietnam.By 2020, MBV plans to open four more centres throughout the country.http://bizhub.vn/wheels/mercedes-benz-go-on-sale-in-vinh-city_289300.html


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Tetra Pak builds packaging factory in Binh Duong


Sweden-based food packaging and processing company Tetra Pak started the con-struction of its plant worth 110 million USD at the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park II in the southern province of Binh Duong on October 4.This is the first factory in Vietnam that will produce packaging for liquid food and will produce 20 billion units per year to serve domestic and export demand.The plant will sit on an area of 100,000 sq.m and is scheduled for completion in early 2019.Tetra Pak President for South Asia, East Asia and Oceania Chiris Kenneally said the Binh Duong facility will be the company's fourth packaging factory in the region to meet rising demand for dairy and beverage packaging in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacif-ic.He noted that with a sustainable development strategy, the factory in Vietnam will be the greenest in the Tetra Pak factory system and will use the world's most advanced technology and equipment, therefore meeting the highest environmental standards.Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu said with an invest-ment of 110 million USD, Tetra Pak's factory is the biggest among 54 projects under-taken by Swedish investors in Vietnam, and pledged all possible support to the project.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/tetra-pak-builds-packaging-factory-in-binh-duong/118988.vnp

Japanese firm to build 10 million-USD factory in Vinh Phuc's IP


Tsuchiya TSCO Vietnam Co., Ltd has entered a land lease contract with Thang Long Industrial Park (TLIP III) in the northern province of Vinh Phuc to set up a 10 million-USD facility.Tsuchiya TSCO, a member of the Japan-based Tsuchiya TSCO Group, is among first companies signing a lease with the industrial park, according to the provincial Peo-ple's Committee.Founded in 1990, the group manufactures home appliances, electronic and automotive parts. It now has 11 subsidies at home and 14 others overseas.Its 4-ha factory in the TLIP III will produce automotive parts and industrial products.Construction on the TLIP III started on September 21 this year, covering 213 hectares in Thien Ke and Tam Hop communes, Binh Xuyen district. It is expected to draw about 80 FDI projects from Japan and create jobs for thousands of labourers once put into service.The industrial park gives priority to hi-tech and environmentally-friendly projects, support industries, and spare parts production in service of the auto-motorcycle and precision engineering sectors.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/japanese-firm-to-build-10mlnusd-factory-in-vinh-phucs-ip/118990.vnp

Film studio equitisation under scrutiny


Deputy prime minister Truong Hoa Binh has directed the government inspectorate to begin a two-month inspection of the privatisation process of State-owned Vietnam Feature Film (VFS) studio.The results of the inspection must be reported to the government before December 1.The request was made after the government received petitions from employees of the Vietnam Feature Film Development and Investment JSCthe name of the studio post-equitisationand from the Vietnam Cinema Association about VFS's problematic equi-tisation process.Equitisation of VFS was completed in June this year, with 20 percent of its stake being held by the state, 65 percent by investor Waterway Transport Corporation JSC (VIVA-SO), five percent by its employees and the remaining 15 percent by other investors.However, just over two months since equitisation, many employees complained they had only received part of their salaries or had not yet been paid.They also claimed that their offices and studios had been leased to shops and business-


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es and were worried that the new management board, which was focusing on exploit-ing the company's property instead of making films, would kill the company.Previously, on September 21, deputy prime minister Vu Duc Dam held a meeting with leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and representatives of the Vi-etnam Cinema Association, Waterway Transport Corporation JSC (VIVASO) and VFS to discuss the issue.Dam said it was necessary to make the equitisation process transparent, adding that he would report the situation to the prime minister and ask him on whether to inves-tigate the equitisation process at the studio.The Vietnam Feature Film Studio was established in 1953 and has produced some 400 featured films and documentaries.In 2010, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved the plan to equitise the studio.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/film-studio-equitisation-under-scrutiny/118961.vnp

Mekong Capital wins private equity international award


Mekong Capital has been awarded the 2017 Private Equity International Award for Operational Excellence for a small cap investment in Asia, based on the performance of Mobile World.This is the fifth year in a row of Mekong Capital winning an award by Private Equity International, after having won the Operational Improvement Firm of the year for the Asian Small Cap category in 2013 and 2015, Frontier Market Firm of the year for 2014 and 2016.Mekong Capital is well-known for its 'Vision Driven Investing' formula the secret sauce for its series of consistently successful investments. Mobile World has applied most of the framework and is one of the best performers of Mekong Capital's investee companies.The 'Vision Driven Investing' framework seeks to align stakeholders with investee companies to achieve big breakthrough goals. Vision Driven Investing was first intro-duced in 2009 and includes 14 components which are the key success drivers of Me-kong Capital's ability to add value to investee companies.Mekong Capital has supported Mobile World to carry out the framework via different initiative from creating a vision, improving management team, building corporate cul-ture and involving outside experts.For example, Mekong Capital inspired Mobile World to create and launch its first vi-sion in 2008 and then revised visions in 2011 and 2015. With a clear vision, Mobile World's team aligned around common goals, and successfully achieved their shared vision. Since 2008, Mekong Capital recruited for Mobile World key senior managers and executives who tremendously contributed to the success of the company. Many of them are still with the company and playing critical leadership roles.Furthermore, Mekong encouraged and assisted Mobile World to build a strong corpo-rate culture by inviting the retailer's 35 top people to participate in a nine-month break-through leadership programme as well as some follow-on programmes.Once the new culture took root in the top several hundred people, they cascaded it down to others in the company.Besides, Mekong Capital has also fostered connections between Mobile World and sec-tor experts and international industry leaders, transformed the company's incentive system and supported its management in expanding into new business areas such as consumer electronics and grocery sectors.As a result, Mobile World has grown into the market leader in Vietnam's mobile device sector and consumer electronics sector while made a successful start in grocery sector.By September 2017, Mobile World operated with 1,057+ mobile phone stores across the nation, controlling more than 42 per cent of the national market share. The company is also operating 535+ electronics stores, controlling more than 22 per cent of the national market share and a small format grocery chain with 190+ stores.Since 2013, Mekong Capital has made 18 partial divestments of Mobile World includ-


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ing the most recent one in September 2017 in which it sold shares worth more than $18 million and realised gross IRR of 62.6%+ and gross return multiple of more than 133 times on the shares sold.The Vision Driven Investing framework has proven itself as a secret sauce of Mekong's successful investments over time after effectively adding value to other investee firms that applied the initiative.Mekong Capital is a Vietnam-focused private equity firm, specialising in consumer driven businesses. Mekong Capital's funds have completed 32 private equity invest-ments in Vietnam, of which 22 have been fully exited and one have been partially ex-ited. Mekong Capital manages four funds, with a team of 25+ full-time people in our offices in HCM City and Hanoi.The funds invest in fast-growing companies, with ambitious expansion plans, and a commitment to building management teams that will successfully execute on those ex-pansion plans. These companies are typically well-established companies in consum-er-driven sectors which operate in fragmented and fast growing markets which provide attractive growth opportunities.Mekong Enterprise Fund III has currently made seven investments in pawn firm F88, logistics companies Nhat Tin and ABA, restaurant chain Chao Do, Ben Thanh Jewel-lery, Yola test prep centres. All investee firms in MEF III are implementing Vision Driven Investing framework.http://www.vir.com.vn/mekong-capital-wins-private-equity-international-award.html

Invest Danang 2017 Forum to kick off in mid-October


The People's Committee of Danang City will organise the Invest Danang 2017 Forum to promote the city's potentials, opportunities and the local government's supporting policies for domestic and foreign investors.Scheduled to take place at Ariyana Convention Centre on Vo Nguyen Giap Street in Ngu Hanh Son District on October 14 and 15, the forum will comprise of various ac-tivities, including a plenary session and parallel sessions, field trips, and other activi-ties on the sidelines.The Plenary Seminar Session of the forum aims to brief investors on Danang's devel-opment orientation, investment environment, the city's role in the socio-economic de-velopment of the Central and Western Highlands Region, and its future development prospects, the organiser said in a press statement.The session will also provide an opportunity for businesses to understand strategic guidance by the leaders of the Central and local government, and find strategic part-nerships and investment opportunities, contributing to the development of the city.Invest Danang 2017 Forum is expected to welcome the prime minister, leaders of min-istries and agencies, leaders of international organisations, foreign ambassadors and consuls general in Vietnam, and representatives of more than 500 international and domestic associations and companies.For registration for participation, fill in the online registration form at www.investdan-ang.gov.vn or send a copy to the Danang Investment Promotion Agency, the 18th floor, Danang Administration Centre, 24 Tran Phu Street, Danang City, before October 8, 2017.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56444/Invest-Danang-2017-Forum-to-kick-off-in-mid-October.html

Printing and packaging expo attracts 300 companies


Some 300 enterprises will participate in an international exhibition on printing and packaging industries (Vietnam Print Pack 2017) scheduled to kick off in HCM City's District 7 tomorrow.The 17th expo is jointly organised by the Vietnam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad) and Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service Co Ltd with the sup-port from relevant government agencies and associations.


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According to the organisers, participating businesses from 11 countries and territories, namely Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Viet-nam, Taiwan, Thailand and China, will showcase their production lines, and the latest machines and equipment in the fields of packaging, printing and food processing at 480 booths.Visitors will be briefed on numerous products such as printing machinery and acces-sories, inks, printing materials, cutting disks, packaging machinery, raw materials, and coding and marking systems, among others.The expo held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention centre (SECC) until October 8 is expected to help enterprises and guests explore innovative technologies and ma-chines, and quality raw materials supplied by famous enterprises worldwide.The printing and packaging sectors have developed significantly in Vietnam in recent years with an average annual expansion of 15-20 percent in terms of production value.In addition, special-theme seminars will be held on October 6 on the sidelines of the expo focusing on management and technology application in the printing industry.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56443/Printing-and-packaging-expo-attracts-300-companies.html

Vietnam Cycle 2017 to open in Hanoi


The Vietnam Cycle 2017 expo will take place at the Hanoi International Exhibition Centre from November 16-19.The 150-booth exhibition is expected to attract 50 major manufacturers from France, It-aly, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and Vietnam.Organisers noted that the event will give a boost to the trend of riding bicycles and promoting green energy in big cities today.It is also an opportunity for Vietnamese manufacturers to promote trade linkages and seek domestic and international partners and distributors while enhancing brand identification and connecting enterprises and Vietnamese consumers.A seminar on bikes and a cycle fashion show will be organised. Visitors can also expe-rience new lines of bicycles during the exhibition.Vietnam Cycle 2017 is organised by Vinexad and the Vietnam Auto Motorcycle and Bi-cycle Association (VAMOBA), under the patronage of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the National Traffic Safety Committee.Last year, the event drew 10,000 foreign and domestic visitors. Over 400 bicycles were sold and 47 contracts were signed during the exhibition.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-cycle-2017-to-open-in-hanoi/118987.vnp

Tra fish fair to take place this week in Hanoi


The Vietnamese tra fish (pangasius) and seafood fair is scheduled to take place at the Hanoi-based Agricultural Exhibition Centre from October 6-8.The fair is expected to attract more than 100 booths of domestic and foreign enterpris-es, according to the directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Ru-ral Development (MARD).Within the framework of the event, there will be a seminar on tra fish production and consumption, and a food court introducing dishes made from tra fish.Tra fish is a popular choice of housewives thanks to its high nutritious values, espe-cially its fat which comprises up to 80 percent of polyunsaturated fatty acids and no cholesterol.Tran Thi Hoa, from Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi, said she buys tra fish because this kind of fish is good for health and it is already processed, helping her save cooking time.Vietnamese tra fish has been shipped to 150 countries and territories nationwide, in-cluding choosy markets like the US and the Europe. Vietnam's tra fish export to China, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the Mideast, Brazil and Mexico has also increased recently.The Vietnamese government has listed tra fish in the National Product Development Programme by 2020.


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Tran Dinh Luan, deputy head of the directorate of Fisheries, said the MARD has as-signed the directorate to establish a public-private partnership group in fisheries, which will coordinate with the Vietnam Pangasius Association, the Vietnam Fisheries Societies, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, and a number of non-governmental organisations, to organise a club of tra fish businesses.The group will also connect with supermarkets and restaurants to promote tra fish consumption, he said.Apart from 60 kinds of tra fish products, there are oil and collagen extracted from tra fish./.

Can Tho hosts events to attract Japanese investors


Two important events will be held in the southern city of Can Tho, this month and next month, with the aim of luring more investment from Japan.This was announced by Trng Quang Hoai Nam, vice chair of the Can Tho City's Peo-ple's Committee, at a press conference on Tuesday.Accordingly, the committee will cooperate with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (VCCI) Can Tho branch to organise the Vietnam-Japan Trade and Cul-tural Exchange Programme and the fifth annual conference on investment promotion in the Mekong Delta region.Nam said that the 5th investment conference in the Mekong Delta and the third Viet-nam-Japan Trade and Cultural Exchange Programme have been taking place in Can Tho City in the past few years and have achieved results.These are just two events in a series of activities aimed at enhancing the understand-ing, exchanging, promoting of cooperation between Vietnam and Japan, and attracting investment in trade and tourism from Japanese enterprises in Can Tho City, in partic-ular, and the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta), in general.Nguyen Phuong Lam, deputy director of VCCI's Can Tho branch, the third Vietnam-Japan Trade and Cultural Exchange Programme will take place from November 3-5. This year, the programme has a larger scale, with 120 booths, 30 booths more, as com-pared to the last time, with an area reserved to introduce Japan's new technology.The technology centre will have 10 Japanese companies participating in introducing smart technologies, automation and artificial intelligence.This year's programme, for the first time, will see the participation of the Japanese na-tional tourism promotion centre, which will introduce Japan's tourism sites and pro-mote tourism cooperation between the Mekong Delta region and Japan.There are about 40 art and cultural performances that will be staged during the pro-gramme, with famous Japanese singers participating in the show.Within the framework of the programme will be a conference calling for investment in agriculture, and another specialising in Asian culture and trade. These two meetings will attract around 40 Japanese businesses.Relating to the fifth investment conference in the Mekong Delta region to be held on October 25, theme of this year's conference is "Attracting Infrastructure Investment-Mekong Tourism Development Platform", with an aim to call for investment in infra-structure development, commercial services, hotels restaurants and entertainment areas to help tourism development.At this conference, 13 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region will introduce and call for investment in 24 tourism development projects, with a total capital of VND7.8 trillion (US$346 million) and 33 real estate projects, with a total capital of VND176 trillion.In the first six months of 2017, tourism in the Mekong Delta attracted nearly 21 million visitors, increasing 17 per cent, bringing a revenue of VND6.5 trillion, up 22 per cent over the same period last year.According to Lam, by the end of August 2017, the Mekong Delta region attracted 1,398 FDI projects with a total capital of $19.85 billion. Japan has 159 investment projects with a capital of $2.1 billion, focusing mainly on manufacturing, processing, coal, sci-ence and technology and waste water treatment.


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Soc Trang to host business trade link conference


Representatives of businesses from across Vietnam will gather at the "2017 Trade Links Conference VACODSoc Trang" in the southern province of Soc Trang on October 14 and 15.The two-day event, themed "Promoting corporate strength in the regional linkage", is organised by the Vietnam Association for Consumer Development (VACOD) in col-laboration with Soc Trang Provincial People's Committee at the Soc Trang Cultural Centre, to celebrate the 13th anniversary of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Day, which falls on October 13.The event is expected to welcome more than 300 delegates representing ministries, or-ganisations and business associations from 11 provinces and cities, and businesspeo-ple from the north, central and south regions.The event will include a business experience exchange themed "Connecting to suc-ceed", discussions between firms on solutions to promote the strength of enterprises in the Mekong Delta and discussions on trade exchange between local and foreign busi-nesses. On the sidelines of the conference, there will also be exhibitions of commodities and specialities and services of Soc Trang and other neighbouring provinces and cities, introducing their development potential, tourist sites and historical relics.Le Thanh Thanh, deputy director of Soc Trang's Department of Industry and Trade, said the event is expected to have 16 booths, four of which will be managed by Soc Trang province and 12 others by other provinces and cities.Soc Trang's booths will showcase provincial cuisine like banh pia, a Vietnamese cake filled with durian, shredded lard, salted egg yolk, sweetened bean paste and coconut, Thanh said.The conference is set to be an opportunity for businesspeople in the three regions to exchange experiences, seek partners, and establish regional links across the country, he added.The event is taking place in Soc Trang province for the first time, providing opportu-nities for the province to call for investment and learn the needs and desires of enter-prises that invest in the province, Thanh said.Chair of Soc Trang Provincial People's Committee Tran Van Chuyen said that the province is urgently preparing for the event, aiming to showcase commodities to in-troduce its strengths, he said.http://bizhub.vn/news/soc-trang-to-host-business-trade-link-conference_289297.html End


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