07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| NHIP SONG KINH TE - … · The 14 members of the PM's economic advisory...

7 August 2017

finance & business news

FINANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Reference exchange rate up 6 dong 1Roadmap for raising US dollar interest rate needs to be considered 2Fees to make up more bank revenue 3Bancassurance to become new trend for insurers and

commercial banks 3Increasing M&A for financial institutions 4Opportunities for bank shares in H2 2017 5VN banks hired more in H1 7VPBank allowed to set up 5 new branches 8BIDV launches $444.4 million credit package 8Eximbank reorganises leadership roles 9SCB reports H1 profit at 90 billion dong, bad debt ratio at 0.6pct 10PM Phuc urges ministers to take action to achieve growth targets 10British newspaper forecasts Vietnam GDP growth at just 6.3pct 11AEC a catalyst for reform in Vietnam 11Prime minister urges flexibility to spur ODA disbursement 13Vietnam expects foreign investment to hit record $16

billion this year: report 14Seven-month state budget collection up 11.6pct 15Effective policies from August 15The 14 members of the PM's economic advisory group 16Petrol prices up nearly 600 VND per litre 17Vietnam expands fruit and vegetable export market 17Vietnam targets export increase of farm products to

developed nations 18Tuna export revenue surges 21pct 19Public capital disbursement in HCM City reaches 50.5pct of plan 19Taxman says will remove barriers for enterprises 20Vietnam to ban antibiotics in livestock farming 20Southern trade promotion pushes clean agriculture 21HSBC: Asean enterprises continues strong investment in Vietnam 22Foreigners rush to contribute capital to local enterprises 22Vietnam third in attracting international acquirers 23FDI firms to get unexpected inspections 24Specialised management burdens enterprises 24PM gets impatient with over 5,000 'small' licenses 25Businesses race for forwarding services in online world 25Money flows into real estate market as prices rise 27HCM City sets land prices far lower than market value 28Social housing must look nice: construction official 29Growth of hotels, resorts destroying swiftlet natural habitat 30Stiff import competition an opportunity for the fresh fruit

segment 31Vietnamese cinema market worth more than $100 million 32Dubai billionaires and billion-dollar promises 33Hau Giang province works to attract Korean investment 33Dak Lak attractive destination for RoK investors 34

BIZ NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Business Briefs August 07, 2017 35Penny stocks hit ceiling prices 35Shares fail to breach 790 points 36Businesses rush to list shares after government threatens

sanctions 37Foreign shareholders in Vietnamese firms raking in the profits 37SCIC to sell over 48 million Vinamilk shares 38Vincom Retail plans $600 million IPO 39Early floods damage paddy crop in Mekong Delta 39Heat, urbanisation hit capital's farms 40Construction ministry to revaluate unlicensed buildings 41Entrepreneurs are the pillar of the Vietnam economy 42Workers over 30 face grave unemployment crisis 42Only 15 foreigners, Viet Kieu own houses in HCM City 45Imported fruit increasingly preferred by Vietnamese consumers 46CAAV proposes solutions to ease overload at Tan Son Nhat

airport 46NA to consider feasibility study of Long Thanh Airport in October 47VRN proposes suspending project encroaching on Dong Nai River 48VinGroup plans to go places 48First international standard cold storage debut in central region 49Firm to develop $1b solar power plant 49Tata Power and ACWA Power set on renewable energy

projects in Vietnam 49PetroVietnam produces 9.23 million tonnes of oil in seven months 50Mobile World finishes electronics chain purchase negotiations 51Digiworld, B2X form new joint venture 52BSR wants guaranteed loan for oil refinery upgrade 52FLC to develop urban complex in Thai Binh 53llegal Uber, Grab taxi operation rampant in Danang 53Electrical substation fire disrupts Samsung operations

until August 10 54Viettel made contributions to Asean community 54Mitsubishi recalls 4,200 SUV units 56Vinachem leaders facing disciplinary actions 56Vietjet named Asia's Best Employer Brand 58Madam Nga sees bright prospects for the nation 58VIET NAM'S BUSINESS PIONEERSVinamilk 59VIET NAM'S BUSINESS PIONEERSVietjet 60Innovation programme kicks off 60Workshop connects overseas Vietnamese students,

Japanese businesses 61Hanoi to showcase products and trade opportunities

from Thailand 61Mobile Marketing Association Forum 2017 approaching 62Vietnam represented at Asean-India Expo and Forum 2017 63

Intellasia Tel: +844 2213 2244

FINANCEReference exchange rate up 6 dong

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETBAO

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced its reference dong/US dollar exchange rate

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Vietnam finance & business 7 August 2017

set for August 7 at 22,440 dong/US dollar, up six dong from the session at the end of last week.With the current +/- 3 percent dong/US dollar trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,113 dong per US dollar and the floor rate is 21,767 dong per US dollar.Major commercial banks' opening hour rates saw slight fluctuations.Vietcombank offered 22,695 dong (buying) and 22,765 dong (selling), per US dollar, down five dong each.BIDV also posted the same rates as Vietcombank's, with 22,695 dong (buying) and 22,765 dong (selling), per US dollar.Techcombank listed its buying and selling rates at 22,680 dong and 22,780 dong, per US dollar.

Roadmap for raising US dollar interest rate needs to be considered

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| NHIP SONG KINH TE

Recently, one of my colleagues said her nephew from overseas transferred her several thousands of US dollars. When coming to bank to withdraw the money, the teller told her that she needed to convert it into dong.Considering that it will be disadvantageous if she withdrew the amount immediately, so she came home to discuss with her family members. So, either the teller would have explained thoroughly but she did not understand or the teller was not enthusiastic enough to explain her clearly and carefully.Specifically, in this case, if she withdrew money immediately, she would be charged rather high level of fee by the bank. So, instead of withdrawing US dollar, she would be more beneficial if converting it into dong. If she did not need money immediately, she would receive US dollar after leaving it there for about 10-15 days (depending on banks) or converting into dong following the bank's exchange rate at the time of with-drawal without any fee."So, just leaving the US dollar there following the bank's regulations, then I would withdraw the US dollars and leave them at home", she said.In fact, keeping US dollars at home is quite normal in Vietnam now. A bank leader who, apart from Vietnamese nationality, also has another nationality from a devel-oped country said "I still put US dollars in the safe at home. Whenever I need to go somewhere, I can take it out quickly, no matter what time I go, and it will cause no trouble". Hoai Giang in Cau Giay District said "His family has several thousands of US dollars. Previously when savings in US dollar was high, money is left in banks. But, since de-posit rates in US dollars went down to zero percent, I brought them home. For several times, the bank where I deposited in dong invited me to deposit in US dollars and promised to give gifts. Even sometimes, this bank invited me to deposit in US dollars with interest rates, but I hesitated to go there".Since the US dollar interest rate was brought to zero percent per year, it is not uncom-mon for the people to transfer foreign currency which is US dollars from banks home and the amount of foreign currency among the people has also gradually increased.Nguyen Hoang Minhdeputy director of the State Bank, HCM City branch shared a re-markable information with the local newswire Dau Tu Chung Khoan that in the next two days, there will have official data on remittance situation as of the end of July but generally, it still increased in the context that the current number as of the end of June 2017 reached $2.1 billion, up one percent year-on-year.Dr Nguyen Tri Hieu, economic expert said about 10 years ago, the unofficial US dollar was accepted equally with dong in almost all high value transactions.However, in several recent years, the government has had anti-dollarisation policy, applying zero percent interest rate. Especially, with a stable economy, the people have been more confident in the local currency. But, if we continue to maintain the current level of zero percent per year, we need to reconsider because with such policy, over-seas Vietnamese will not be willing to transfer money home while this source of money has large contribution to the economic and social security development over the last period."Ending the July meeting taking place on July 25-26, 2017, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the US Federal Reserve decided to continue maintaining policy interest rates at 1-1.25%/year if Vietnam still maintains the zero percent/year interest rate. In September, Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 0.25%, therefore, the "for-eign currency" bleeding is something that can be seen", said Hieu.As per the World Bank, Vietnam has dropped out of the top 10 countries having the highest inward remittance, ranking No.11 in 2015 and declining further in 2016 and

Intellasia 7 August 2017 2 / 63

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2017 due to slowing overseas remittances.CEO of a joint stock bank said "the US dollar amount floating in the free market is very huge. If not being used for economic plans, it will be very wasteful, easy to create "wave" in the foreign currency market when the international financial market fluctu-ates".Dr Nguyen Tri Hieu recommends that the most important thing now is to calculate the roadmap to raise US dollar interest rate so that the floating US dollar returned to banks and most importantly, pulling back remittances. Besides, the issuance of US dollar bonds can also be considered.Nevertheless, it is advisable to maintain zero percent interest rate at this moment until Fed raises interest rates, maybe in September or December, to calculate more accurate-ly the suitable application of US dollar.Emphasising this issue, Dr Hieu said "Raising US dollar does not mean going back-ward, going against the US dollarisation policy because the floating foreign currency among the people increased the dollarisation. Therefore, attracting the floating amount of currency from the free market means effectively controlling the flow of for-eign currency, minimising the dollarisation in the economy".

Fees to make up more bank revenue

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS

The income from service fees will contribute roughly 20 per cent to the total revenue of the entire banking system by 2020, doubling the current rate.This was stated in the project on restructuring credit institutions in the period between 2016 and 2020, released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) recently.Compared with the rates in other regional countries, Vietnam's proportion is currently equal to Indonesia's but is much lower than Malaysia's (20 per cent) and Thailand's (30 per cent).According to experts, the target is challenging because it requires banks to prioritise resources in product development, which can help firms get funding but not through bank loans as currently. The products are derivatives, which are the combination of the stock market and the monetary market. At that time, banks will only play the role of intermediary to bring the capital of people directly to the firms.However, it is a must as it will help banks avoid risks from too much lending. The country experienced the negative consequence in the period between 2006 and 2011, when credit growth was at 30 per cent, causing banks to suffer a large amount of bad debts that have yet to be settled.To meet the target, the SBV states in the project that it will take measures to force banks to meet the credit growth quota assigned by the SBV. The SBV has allocated credit growth limit for credit institutions based on their health and performance in the pre-vious years since 2012 to control the lending. The institutions will be classified into four groups, with well-performing lenders clubbed in the A group and weaker lenders in the D group.Under the new project, governance to manage risks is also detailed with all credit in-stitutions having to build the risky governance system.Commercial banks have performed well in the first half of this year, and business re-sults show that many have already met more than half their annual profit targets. However, most of their profits come from lending. According to statistics from the SBV, credit growth in the first half of this year was 9.06 per cent, the highest level com-pared with the same period in the last five years.Experts are concerned that the high credit growth can cause potential risks for banks in the next two or three years like in the period between 2006 and 2011.http://bizhub.vn/banking/fees-to-make-up-more-bank-revenue_288076.html

Bancassurance to become new trend for insurers and commercial banks

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR

The first half of 2017 has witnessed many bancassurance deals in Vietnam and the sec-ond may also see heightened cooperation among insurers and commercial banks, which promises to heat up the bancassurance sector.


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In the first six months of 2017, there have been at least five bancassurance deals among insurance companies and commercial banks so that insurers can sell their products through the banking channel.Two more bancassurance deals are expected in August. It seems that insurance com-panies are in a hurry to find an appropriate banking partner so that they can catch up with the bancassurance trend."Bancassurance accounts for more than 10 per cent of AIA (Vietnam) Life Insurance Co., Ltd (AIA Vietnam)'s total revenue, and it is forecasted that this number will rise in the future. To develop business in the bancassurance sector, our strategy is to care-fully select domestic and foreign commercial banks for partnership. Our partners can share with us technology-based customer services," Wayne Besant, general director of AIA Vietnam, said at the ceremony to announce partnership with HSBC Bank (Viet-nam) Ltd (HSBC Vietnam) in the middle of May 2017. This was one of five bancassur-ance deals in the first half of 2017.AIA Vietnam is one of the rapidly developing insurers in the bancassurance sector. Af-ter teaming up with HSBC Vietnam, it entered into cooperation with the South Korean Shinhan Bank to provide clients with the newest technology at the event "Fuel custom-er experience with digital capabilities."Recently, in early August, AIA Vietnam has officially announced a cooperation deal with DongA Joint Stock Commercial Bank (DongA Bank). Accordingly, all insurance counsellors of AIA Vietnam in DongA Bank will be equipped with iPoS on their iPads to facilitate their support to customers, such as quickly recording customer informa-tion and establishing an illustration table that shows customers' benefits.Nearly at the same time with AIA's cooperation with DongA Bank, FWD Vietnam Life Insurance Company Limited also published its partnership with Nam A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Nam A Bank). In particular, this will be an exclusive cooperation which will last for 15 years, with the aim of providing Nam A Bank's customers with comprehensive and diverse life insurance products.Anantharaman Sridharan, FWD Vietnam's general director, said that the company's outstanding growth in the last six months derived from the significant contribution of its bancassurance business. Right from entering the Vietnamese market, bancassur-ance was considered one of the most important strategies of FWD Vietnam.Earlier, FWD Vietnam stroke an exclusive bancassurance contract with the maturity of 15 years with An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank).As a partner of a big commercial bank in Vietnam, Gaurav Sharma, general director of BIDV MetLife Life Insurance Limited Liability Company (BIDV MetLife), said that he really believes in the development potential of the bancassurance sector in Vietnam.With the advantage of teaming up with Bank for Investment and Development of Vi-etnam (BIDV), one of the four biggest commercial banks in the country, the New York City-headquartered life insurer MetLife is always ready to supply capital to its joint venture in Vietnam so that BIDV MetLife can take the leading position in the Vietnam-ese bancassurance sector in the coming period.The increasing bancassurance deals have demonstrated that the competition in the sec-tor is heating up. The representative of an insurance company said, "Not only big in-surers with large market share, but smaller ones are also hurrying up to find a banking partner."This month, two insurance companies with large market shares will announce their co-operation with banks.With the advantage of various branches all over the world, modern facilities, and ex-perienced staff, commercial banks are now hunted by insurers. Competition in bancas-surance is getting fiercer, as most local insurers have joined or tried to join this sector.Nevertheless, the number of commercial banks is limited, and some have signed ex-clusive contracts with other insurers. Thus, if they do not act in time, some insurers will not find appropriate banking partners and may lose in the bancassurance race.http://www.vir.com.vn/bancassurance-to-become-new-trend-for-insurers-and-com-mercial-banks.html


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Increasing M&A for financial institutions


Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for financial institutions are luring in numerous do-mestic and international investors due to the attractiveness of the rapidly developing, $26.55 billion consumer finance market.Foreign investors show interestAccording to a source of VIR, after the takeover of ANZ Vietnam's retail business, South Korean Shinhan Bank is planning to acquire a financial institution in Vietnam. This plan is aimed at expanding its business in the Vietnamese retail banking sector.In addition, the source revealed that not only Shinhan Bank, but two other Japanese investors are also negotiating to purchase 49 per cent of the stakes in two different Vi-etnamese financial institutions.At the end of last year, Shinsei Bank from Japan purchased a 49 per cent stake in Mcredit, the consumer finance arm of Military Bank. Afterwards, MCredit was re-named MB Shinsei Consumer Finance Limited Liability Company.Earlier, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) allowed HCM City Development Bank (HD-Bank) to transfer 49 per cent of its capital in consumer finance company HDFinance to Japanese Credit Saison Co., LtdAfter the completion of this sale, HDBank retains 50 per cent of HDFinance. With 49 per cent now belonging to Credit Saison Co., Ltd, and the last 1 per cent to HCM City Securities Corporation (HSC), subsequently, HDFinance was renamed HD Saison Fi-nance.Foreign investors' interest in domestic financial institutions show that they highly ap-preciate the potential growth of Vietnamese consumer finance. The statistics of Stox-Plus, a leading financial and business information corporation in Vietnam, demonstrates that in 2016 the Vietnamese consumer finance market was valued at $26.55 billion.Especially, in recent years, the market has seen a very high annual growth rate of 30-40 per cent. Economist Dinh The Hien said an overseas wave of investment is poised to hit domestic financial institutions in 2017 and some M&A deals would be imple-mented soon.Notably, many M&A deals in the consumer finance market were implemented by var-ious enterprises from Japan. Besides common cultural traits, it is believed that Japa-nese firms' experience in the retail sector and their cautiousness are necessary for the future development of Vietnamese financial institutions, which are very young and lacking in experience.Domestics banks to follow trendThe increasing wave of domestic investment in financial institutions mainly derives from the restructuring policy for financial institutions of SBV. Up till now, there have been six M&A deals among domestic commercial banks and Vietnamese financial in-stitutions.However, most commercial banks' M&A deals were with domestic enterprises, except for MBBank, which dealt with Japan partners, and HDBank, which acquired a French-invested company in Vietnam. Thus, commercial banks are now looking for foreign strategic shareholders and the amount of stakes sold may be up to 49 per cent.Regarding FE Credit, VPBank does not have any plans to sell its stake in this financial institution as it has generated significant profit so far.Also, the number of commercial banks aiming to develop consumer finance services seems to increase. In early 2017, Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) asked its shareholders about establishing a new financial enterprise or purchasing an existing one. Meanwhile, Asian Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) has expressed interest in purchasing Post and Telecommunication Finance Company Limited (PTFinance).Currently, the four biggest commercial banks in VietnamBIDV, Agribank, Vietcom-bank, and VietinBankhave yet to establish or conduct any M&A deal with financial in-stitutions. In the past, BIDV did schedule purchasing a company in the consumer finance field, but the final decision was not made due to worries that the company may not be good enough. Regarding VietinBank, after the failure in merging with PGBank,


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it does not show any interest in establishing or purchasing another financial company.Economist Can Van Luc said that many commercial banks can develop their consumer finance business without establishing or acquiring any financial institutions.http://www.vir.com.vn/increasing-ma-for-financial-institutions.html

Opportunities for bank shares in H2 2017

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH

Opening the report on banking sector earlier this year, Viet Dragon Securities Compa-ny (VCSC) questioned that "as the legendary Warren Buffet said: "Greedy when others are fearful", is it the time to get greedy for bank shares?" In fact, the developments of bank shares have somewhat satisfied investors.The increase of the group of "king shares" has largely been a two-digit numbers, espe-cially the growth of NVB shares of Nam Viet Commercial Joint Stock Bank which was counted in times. The price of ACB shares of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank has reached 26,000 dong per share, the highest in the recent years. Meanwhile, BID share price of the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has exceeded 22,000 dong per share, and STB share (of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank) and EIB shares (of Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank) have also grown by respectively 36.5 percent and 57 percent in price com-pared to the beginning of the year.In addition to the excitement coming from the market in general, the positive move-ments of bank stocks have been supported by numerous factors.The first is the settlement of bad debts, which is considered a huge barrier hindering the growth of many banks. Banks' bad debt burden been piled up from the economic crisis and the hot credit growth in 2010-2011 period.Handling bad debts in the near future will no longer be a story on paper but will be real actions. The Directive 32/CT-TTg of the prime minister dated July 19th requested the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to ensure the implementation and improvement of the legal system to prepare for the Resolution on piloting the bad debt settlement which officially takes effects on August 15th. If the bad debt settlement via the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) in the past was time-consum-ing and costly, with the special mechanism of the Resolution, the bad debt handling will be cheaper and faster.According to SBV's Governor Le Minh Hung, the issuance of this Resolution will help control bad debts thereby lowering financial costs and interest rates and increasing the capital adequacy ratio (CAR).Under the perspective of an analysis unit, SSI Research believed that this Resolution will give banks more options for dealing with secured assets such as selling them at market prices (may be lower than book values).The second factor for the prosperity of bank stocks is the expectation of business activ-ities and profits. As of June 20th 2017, the credit growth reached 7.54%, the highest lev-el in the past six years. By the end of the second quarter of 2017, this number rose to 9.06%. Thanks to the growth of lending, the net interest income (NII) has increased, thereby supporting the profit growth.Preliminary consideration among 10 banks shows that the NII in the first six months of 2017 reached approximately 64.704 trillion dong, up by 26.4%. The pre-tax profit of these banks also increased by 35.4 percent to over 18.040 trillion dong.The business results in the first half of 2017 also witnessed a change in ranking when Vietnam Prosperity Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VPBank) surpassed Military Com-mercial Joint Stock Bank (MBBank) and Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) to become the bank having the largest pre-tax profit among the group of private banks. It is also one of the fastest growing banks with Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) currently being at high levels of respective-ly 25.75 percent and 1.86%.The third factor is the participation of new banks which are about to be listed. The new member banks on the stock market are expected to create a push to bank stocks, such


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as VPBank and Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank (LienVietPostBank) which are planned to get listed in the third quarter of 2017, and there probably be the listings of Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank), Techcombank, and Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), etc. in 2017. According to NDH's own source of information, VPBank expected to do the listing in mid-August.After information about the listing or trading registration preparation was released, these stocks have been widely sought by investors. The stock prices have risen sharply in a short time and there has always been a scarcity of goods on the Over-the-counter (OTC) market.Before the date of finalising securities depository, VPBank share price was 36,000 dong per share, equivalent to 47,000 dong per share before distributing the shares. Although the reference price on the first trading date of VPBank has not yet been disclosed, it may be slightly higher than the trading price on the OTC.With Earnings per Share (EPS) in 2016 being 4,485 dong per share, the share price of VPBank (calculated based on the undistributed share price of 47,000 dong per share), the Price per earnings (P/E) ratio of the bank reaches approximately 10.48 times, still lower than the average P/E of six major banks (including ACB, BID, CTG, STB, and VCB) by 14.1 times as of July 27th.Similarly, while TCB shares of Techcombank more than a year ago were traded at only 12,000-13,000 dong per share, its price has now reached nearly 40,000 dong per share.The market demand is still very large although the stock price of these two banks have increased by several times.According to experts, investors seeking bank stocks on the OTC market because these stock prices are still cheap compared to the overall level of the trading and listed stocks. In addition, banks with great growth potential are also expected to continue making major changes.What opportunities in the second half (H2) of 2017?An expert when referring to the market trends said that the stock market is like a flow and we cannot forever look at a wave. The importance is to find the driving factor at each phase.When the supporting factors have almost been reflected in prices and the business re-sults in the first half of 2017 have partly been supported by investors, the question is whether bank shares have room to shine in the last six months of 2017?The answer is yes. The fast credit growth has made many banks such as Vietcombank, MBBank, and BIDV to run out of room for develop lending, but they can propose for expansion.Lending growth will continue to be the driving force for the banking sector in H2 2017, said Nguyen The Minh, vice director cum Head of the Capital Market Analysis Group at SSI.VDSC also said that the credit growth in 2017 is likely to be higher than the target of 18 percent set in the beginning of the year, because the government is still steadily pur-suing the economic growth goal of 6.7%. At the same time, the capital absorption ca-pacity of the economy in the first half of the year is showing positive signs. The capital flows are focusing on production and business areas while the risky areas are under controlled.According to Minh, from now until the end of the year, the group of consumer and re-tail bank stocks is the motivation for the banking sector, especially the participation of VPBank the leading retail bank, which expects to list the stock on Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) instead of the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) like some banks in the recent time.Although there are risks when consumer lending is growing hot and may exceed the mobilisation capacity, Minh also commented that retail banks will retain the growth potential as the income per capita of Vietnam is expected to rise further by 6-10 percent in 2017-2020 period.According to Minh, in addition to drastically resolve bad debts from policy into action, the story of bank stocks in the end of 2017 will have a positive support from the plan


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to sell equity capital in state-owned banks and the plan to issue shares to increase eq-uity in order to raise CAR, or the participation of new members.

VN banks hired more in H1


Together with high profits of trillions dong in the first half of this year, domestic com-mercial banks reportedly recruited thousands of employees in the period to boost de-velopment.Statistics on labour from financial statements of VPBank showed that the bank recruit-ed 1,482 employees in H1, raising its total to 10,191 personnel by the end of the second quarter.Though having a large number of employees after the merge with SouthernBank, Sa-combank still recruited 650 new positions in the second quarter and 865 employees in H1. Regardless of subsidiaries, the personnel number at Sacombank by the end of the second quarter reached 16,893 people.TPBank's financial report also showed that at the end of Q2, this bank had more than 4,100 employees, an increase of nearly 1,000 people compared to a year ago.In the first six months of the year, Vietcombank also hired 190 personnel to total 15,354. VIB, ACB and MBBank also increased the number by 376, 186 and 111, respectively.Most of the positions that bankers recruited for in the first half of this year were per-sonal customer specialists, corporate customer specialists, consultants, transactors and debtors.Some other banks, in spite of not publicising financial statements, have also an-nounced that they intend to recruit a large number of staff in H1. Nam A Bank, for ex-ample, announced they would recruit 500 people for various positions from senior level to management level working in the head office and business units across the country in order to realise the goal of network expansion and business development.Apart from the official staff, banks also hired a larger number of talented students as interns who would be an important source for banks to select official employees.In the second half of this year, banks have continuously increased their requirement for different positions.Vietcombank now wants to recruit 404 staff members for 94 branches nationwide while VietinBank have also announced plans to recruit 77 people for its branches in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang in the third quarter of this year.Meanwhile, after changing many of the key positions recently, Sacombank will recruit nearly 1,000 people for its different division in the rest months of the year. Nam A Bank also needs to find 500 qualified candidates for its offices nationwide.http://bizhub.vn/banking/vn-banks-hired-more-in-h1_288054.html

VPBank allowed to set up 5 new branches

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH

On August 2, 2017, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued document No. 6116/NHNN-TTGSNH approving the establishment of five branches of Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank).Accordingly, the SBV Governor approved for VPBank to set up five branches in Ha Nam, Ninh Binh, Lang Son, Ca Mau and Hung Yen.They are VPBank's Lang Son branch at No.201 Le Loi, Vinh Trai ward, Lang Son City, Lang Son province; VPBank's Hung Yen branch at No.224 Dien Bien, Quang Trung ward, Hung Yen city, Hung Yen province; VPBank's Ha Nam branch at No.103 Quy Luu, No.6 Minh Khai, Phu Ly city, Ha Nam province; VPBank's Ninh Binh tan at No.45, Luong Van Thang, Dong Thanh ward, Ninh Binh city, Ninh Binh province.In the South, VPBank established VPBank's Ca Mau branch at No. 29, Tran Hung Dao, ward No. 5, Ca Mau city, Ca Mau province.The State Bank asked VPBank to be responsible for implementing procedures on op-eration inauguration, registration and publication for the aforementioned branches following regulations in Circular No.21/2013/TT-NHNN dated September 9, 2013 by the Governor on operational network of commercial banks and relevant provisions of current law.


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Within 12 months from the date of signing this document, VPBank must inaugurate operations for approved branches. Over this time limit, the approval document of the State Bank will automatically expire.

BIDV launches $444.4 million credit package


The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) on Thursday launched the VND10 trillion (US$444.4 million) credit package with preferential interest rate for small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).The launch was held under the comprehensive cooperation agreement between BIDV and the Vietnam Association of SMEs (VINASME), signed in Hanoi on Thursday with an aim to provide support to SMEs.Under the agreement, BIDV would provide the best banking products and services to VINASME's members.The bank would also support VINASME in building plans related to development of SMEs, assigned by the government in Directive No 26/CT-TTg on June 6, 2017.The two sides would cooperate to organise consultancy activities, improving SMEs' ability towards building a firm, transparent and healthy SME community.Speaking at the signing ceremony, Phan Duc Tu, BIDV's general director, said BIDV has provided support for the SMEs segment, including simplifying procedures to help SMEs get easier access to bank loans, organising consultancy programmes on financial solutions and providing preferential credit packages for SMEs, startups and micro businesses."BIDV expects the cooperation would contribute to establishing a one million business community by 2020 according to government's Resolution No 35 and building a mod-ern, dynamic and sustainable economy," Tu added.Nguyen Van Than, VINASME's chair, said the cooperation would help better meet with capital demands of SMEs, thus contributing to the country's economic develop-ment.By the end of June, BIDV had total assets worth VND1.1 quadrillion and more than 200,000 SMEs customers with debt balance of VND200 trillion. This accounted for 23 per cent of BIDV's total debt balance and 16 per cent of the country's total debt balance.http://bizhub.vn/banking/bidv-launches-4444 million-credit-package_288065.html

Eximbank reorganises leadership roles

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Bank undergoing major restructuring as part of the "New Eximbank" plan.As part of the mid- and long-term strategic initiatives in its "New Eximbank" project, Eximbank is restructuring its head office to streamline the organisation and improve efficiency in the decision-making process.It has reorganised its existing nine divisions and centers/departments at the head office into seven divisions: corporate banking, retail banking, treasury, risk management, IT & operations, support, and strategic planning.Meanwhile, its new Board of Management now comprises Chair and CEO Le Van Quyet together with six deputy CEOs: Tran Tan Loc, Dao Hong Chau, Dinh Thi Thu Thao, Van Thai Bao Nhi, Nguyen Ho Hoang Vu, and Vo Quang Hien.Eximbank has also initiated an important new position to support the Board, that of Senior director. Responsible for executing the bank's business strategy, the Senior di-rectors are Bui Van Dao, Nguyen Van Hao, Le Anh Tu, and Masashi Mochizuki, as well as Head of the New Eximbank plan, Yutaka Moriwaki.Eximbank has embarked on a new restructuring and strategic plan since the beginning of this year, called New Eximbank. Having restructured the Board, this is set to fulfill Eximbank's mission of generating value for all stakeholders: clients, shareholders, em-ployees, and communities, through the continuous growth of Eximbank's business.Through this restructuring, every Board member and each division will have clearer missions and functions and will take full responsibility in fulfilling tasks to support the branch network.Like most other Vietnamese banks, Eximbank last year focused on recovering and re-


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solving substantial non-performing loans (NPLs) under the guidance of the State Bank of Vietnam. According to its 2016 consolidated financial statement, NPLs rose from 1.86 per cent at end-2015 to as high as 5.3 per cent at end-June before falling to 2.95 per cent at end-December, thanks to the conversion of bad debts to bonds from the Viet-nam Asset Management Company (VAMC).On the profitability front, the bank saw better-than-expected business performance during the first half of this year, with the first quarter seeing VND170 billion ($7.48 mil-lion) in pre-tax profit and VND136 billion ($5.98 million) in after-tax profit, while net profit in the second quarter jumped 5.2-fold year-on-year to VND190 billion ($8.4 mil-lion).In an interview with VET, Moriwaki said the absence of a sound business strategy and low staff morale caused by frequent leadership changes are unresolved issues facing Eximbank. This, though, will be dealt with by the "establishment of a fair and trans-parent human resources system, including setting key performance indicators (KPI) and performance evaluation processes (PEP) to motivate staff," he said, adding that the restructuring plan will reorganise the decision-making process so that the responsibil-ity of every manager and staff will be made clear.Building the New Eximbank also relies on leveraging its wide distribution network, consisting of 209 locations and 265 ATMs, to expand its retail banking business, while also focusing on trade financing via the establishment of a wholesale banking division and short-term working capital loans to strengthen the bank's traditional small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business."At the same time, the bank's credit risk management and NPL collection will be strengthened," Moriwaki said, revealing that Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Cor-poration (SMBC), a major shareholder, has already sent a trade finance expert to lead the wholesale banking division.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/eximbank-reorganises-leader-ship-roles

SCB reports H1 profit at 90 billion dong, bad debt ratio at 0.6pct

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| TRI THUC TRE

According to the consolidated financial statement for the second half (H2) 2017 of the Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), as of June 30th 2017, the total assets of the bank reached 411 trillion dong, up by 13.8%, being one of the banks having the fastest growth in total assets in the banking system in H1.The bank's lending to customers reached 253 trillion dong, up by nearly 14%, while de-posits of customers reached 336 trillion dong, up by 13.8%.In terms of lending quality, the bank's bad debt ratio fell from 0.68 percent to 0.6%. SCB is currently having the lowest bad debt ratio in the system. SCB is holding about 15.228 trillion dong of special bonds issued by the Vietnam Asset Management Company, up by 36%, in which SCB has provisioned at about 3.706 trillion dong.In the second quarter of 2017, the net interest income of SCB was 830 billion dong, down by nearly 30 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Some other activities of the bank have not shown signs of improvement. Closing the second quarter of 2017, SCB recorded 78 billion dong of pre-tax profit, down by 3.7 percent compare to the same period of 2016.From the beginning of the year, revenue from services of SCB increased by 53%, reach-ing 405 billion dong. Meanwhile, the bank's net interest from securities trading was 568 billion dong, accounting for 34 percent of the total operating income of the entire bank, up by 22 percent compared to the same period of 2016. However, the bank's net inter-est income dropped by 35 percent to 1.353 trillion dong.In H1, the total pre-tax profit of SCB was valued at 100 billion dong, and after-tax profit was 90 billion dong, slightly down compared to the same period of 2016, completing 60 percent of the annual plan.


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PM Phuc urges ministers to take action to achieve growth targets

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged ministers to take specific and drastic meas-ures in the last five months of 2017 to achieve the nation's socio-economic growth tar-gets, heard the government's regular meeting on August 3.The government leader and Cabinet members discussed ways to solve shortcomings in administrative procedures, equitisation and divestment of State-owned enterprises, slow disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) and high production costs and administrative fees.The prime minister stressed that capital disbursement for public projects must be ac-celerated and total investment capital in the economy should account for 34-35 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).Heads of ministries, departments and localities were asked to complete their assigned tasks to obtain the country's growth targetThe government leader underlined responsibilities of ministers and leaders of cities and provinces for identifying weaknesses and shortcomings in their management and adopting appropriate solutions to improve management capacity.Phuc pointed out some programmes moving at a slow pace, including the programme to turn household businesses into companies and equitisation of State-owned enter-prises.There were still numerous difficulties and shortcomings in economic development, in-cluding the attenuation of the mining industry, high logistics and transport costs, and slow capital disbursement.According to the prime minister, dengue, which has made 50,000 people hospitalised and killed 17 people since the beginning of this year, was not effectively controlled. Fires, explosions and traffic accidents have caused great damages. Notably, a recent fire killed eight people in Hanoi's Hoai Duc District.At the meeting, Phuc asked the minister of Health to better control and prevent dengue and asked the minister of Natural Resources and Environment to more strictly deal with deforestation and illegal exploitation of natural resources, especially sand and pebbles from rivers.However, according to the prime minister, social and economic development in July and in the first seven months of 2017 has seen some positive changes. Notably, interest rates at banks were cut by 0.5 percent and the stock market soared to its highest level in nine years. Foreign trade in January-July increased by 19 percent year-on-year to over $115 billion.Fresh foreign investment approvals in the first seven months reached $12.92 billion, up 48.7 percent compared to the same period last year. There were 73,000 newly-estab-lished enterprises and 17,000 others resuming their operations.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55407/PM-Phuc-urges-ministers-to-take-action-to-achieve-growth-targets.html

British newspaper forecasts Vietnam GDP growth at just 6.3pct

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV

The Economic Intelligence Unit of the Economist has forecast the GDP economic growth of Vietnam to be far below expectations for the five-year period 2017-2021.The EIU projected just a 6.3 percent growth rate for Vietnam this year and 6.5 percent for next year far below the government targets and much lower than what is needed to move the country forward in meeting its desired long-term growth targets.On the brighter side, the EIU said thanks to more foreign direct investment inflows and more streamlined governmental administrative procedures export growth will ex-pand 9.1 percent this year.http://english.vov.vn/economy/british-newspaper-forecasts-vietnam-gdp-growth-at-just-63-355955.vov

AEC a catalyst for reform in Vietnam

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZHUB

The year 2017 marks an important milestone for the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean): the 50th anniversary of its establishment. For half a century, Asean


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has being growing strongly, recording significant achievements on the way.Economically, Asean has moved from a less developed region to a much more pros-perous and dynamic region and become a global trade and investment hub. This is re-flected in the establishment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) at the end of 2015 as one of three key pillars of the grouping.The AEC is an initiative to transform Asean into a single market and production base, allowing free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and a freer flow of capital. It will help promote member nations' presence in the global production and value chain, and allow them to enjoy more benefits from regional trade and invest-ment.In general, the implementation of commitments to build the AEC has brought about many benefits to the Vietnamese economy.OpportunitiesThe creation of a single market of 630 million consumershalf of them under 30, presents a huge economic opportunity. Asean general Secretary Le Luong Minh said that the group has a combined gross domestic product of nearly $2.6 trillion, which makes it the sixth largest economy in the world and the third in Asia, only after China and India.Since Vietnam signed the Asean Free Trade Agreement (Afta), Asean has become Vi-etnam's second trading partner, with an average growth rate of 14.5 per cent over the past decade. Two-way trade between Vietnam and Asean has grown from about $19 billion in 2006 to $41.36 billion in 2016.As a result, Asean is Vietnam's third largest market and also the third largest supplier of goods and raw materials for production of Vietnamese businesses.Asean is also an important source of FDI in Vietnam with total registered capital rising by 116 per cent in the 2006-2016 period to $64 billion, accounting for 18 per cent of total FDI inflow. Asean is also the bridge for many investments from multinational compa-nies located in the region.Still, the opportunity brought by the AEC is not just the ability to access Asean mar-kets, but also the markets outside the grouping, like China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, through separate free trade agreements (FTAs) between Asean and each of these partners. The market will be much larger and more attractive when the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), under negotiation now, is established in near future. Trade and investment flows between Asean and EU and the United States are also crucial for both sides.The removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers under the free trade agreements will en-able businesses to cut cost of imports, lower production costs, increase competitive-ness, and boost exports.In addition, with the advent of the AEC, the grouping, including Vietnam, has become an attractive destination for foreign direct investment. Vietnamese businesses with large financial capacities also have a chance to expand their investment to other Asean member states. Over the past few years, Vietnam has witnessed large national corpo-rations venturing abroad, like Viettel, Vinamilk, BIDV and FPT.ChallengesHowever, it should be noted that the establishment of the AEC at the end of 2015 does not mark an end to the Asean integration process. Asean's AEC Blueprint 2025 sets out broad, extensive economic directions and strategic measures to be taken over the next decade, with a focus on economic integration. It won't be an easy task. Deeper and wider integration into the AEC in the coming period means more challenges for Viet-nam. It means more work needs to be done.Challenges first come from the awareness of Vietnamese business communities. In a recent conference on the AEC and opportunities for Vietnamese businesses, a repre-sentative of Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) said that some surveys showed that only about 16 per cent of enterprises actually understood the AEC.Businesses can only take advantage of the AEC when they actually join the Asean mar-


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ket and become real players, according to the representative. Businesses are not just beneficiaries but also participants who set the rules and take the initiative to play a greater role in shaping Asean and the AEC for their own benefit.More importantly, Vietnamese firms may lose their competitiveness against rivals in the bloc in terms of product quality and market size due to the economy being based on cheap labour, exploitation of natural resources and low technology.A single market and production base means that other Asean companies also have the same opportunities to access the huge market, not to mention the fact that Asean coun-tries have comparative advantages similar to those of Vietnam, leading to similarities in the export structure of many Asean members.Therefore, without investment in human resources and innovation to produce high-quality products and services, Vietnamese firms will lag behind in competition with regional rivals in not only the domestic market, but also in the markets of fellow Asean members.In fact, only 25 per cent of Vietnamese exports to Asean market can get the important certificate of origin (C/O) under Afta requirements, which leads to low utilisation of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (Cept) regime. The percentage has increased from 8 per cent in 2007, but remains low. The Cept is the mechanism by which tariffs on goods traded within the Asean region, which meet a 40 per cent of Asean content requirement, will be reduced to 0-5 per cent.Looking forwardTo adopt a positive perspective, the pressures mentioned will force the Vietnamese government and businesses to change their mindsets and enhance their performance.Vietnamese firms should shift from "price competition" to "non-price competition", taking into serious account factors like quality, brand name and supporting services to produce more value-added complementary goods and differentiated goods.They should increase awareness of international agreements and commitments as well as government's policies so that they can make timely adjustments to production and business plans.Asean commitments demand Vietnam to improve its own market institutions in com-pliance with international economic integration, minimise adjustment costs, macr-oeconomic instability and social risks during integration process.Integration is more than just eliminating all barriers. As it eventually seeks to enhance socio-economic development, the integration process should incorporate adjustment in a way that improves people's participation.Asean has proved its vital importance to Vietnam and the AEC is a work-in-progress. Still, Vietnam also has to confront several common issues in the region to further eco-nomic integration while addressing its own problems as a low middle-income econo-my. These problems have persisted for quite some time. In this regard, the successful integration experience over the past several years is just a start. The country has room for more meaningful integration.Vietnam is at a decisive point in time when it comes to transforming its development patterns and accelerating its transition to a market-oriented economy. Completing AEC tasks can be seen as a catalyst for needed reforms. VNS* Vo Tri Thanh is a senior economist at the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Coun-cil. A doctorate holder in economics from the Australian National University, Thanh mainly undertakes research and provides consultation on issues related to macroeco-nomic policies, trade liberalisation and international economic integration. Other areas of interest include institutional reforms and financial systems.http://bizhub.vn/news/aec-a-catalyst-for-reform-in-viet-nam_288057.html

Prime minister urges flexibility to spur ODA disbursement


Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, speaking at a meeting on ODA-funded projects in Hanoi on Tuesday, urged ministries and localities to take a flexible approach to accel-erate disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans.


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According to a report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the total ODA and concessional loans ready for use in 2017 are about $4.6 billion. In the first half, howev-er, only $1.5 billion was disbursed, 32.6 percent of the year's plan.The government leader stressed all of the signed ODA and concessional loans for the 2017-2020 period must be disbursed on schedule, so ODA will be transferred from projects with slow disbursement to those moving on a faster pace to make the most of this source of preferential funding.The prime minister said project owners must review their capacity and responsibility and withdraw from the country's ODA plan when realising that their projects have be-come infeasible, or seek other funding sources, instead of relying on ODA. Otherwise, the disbursement process will get stuck.Many shortcomings that have led to slow ODA disbursement were pointed out at the meeting, including contractors' poor capacity, slow site clearance, complicated invest-ment and construction procedures, weakness in project management, and cost over-runs.To solve these shortcomings, the prime minister asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to review each and every project, accelerate capital disbursement for projects able to be finished in 2017, and adjust or suspend projects that are unviable.Ministries and localities were asked to closely manage ODA-funded projects to ensure that the projects will not be extended and investment cost will not rise due to subjec-tive factors, and work with the project funders to review disbursement and funding plans and report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.The Ministry of Finance was assigned to work with related agencies and creditors to adjust lending conditions and avoid selecting incompetent contractors like the cases of Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway project in Hanoi and Hung Yen water project.The Ministry of Finance will have to promote the application of information technolo-gy to simplify procedures so as to facilitate capital disbursement for ODA projects.The Ministry of Transport was asked to complete legal documents for projects requir-ing complicated technology like urban railways, while the Ministry of Natural Re-sources and Environment takes responsibility for speeding up site clearance and resettlement work for projects financed by ODA and concessional loans.The PM also asked ministries to build plans on attraction, management and use of ODA and concessional loans for 2018.According to data of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, from 1993, when Viet-nam resumed relations with international donors, to June 2017, the country had inked aid agreements totalling some $82.61 billion.As of the end of June 2017, there had been 810 ODA-funded programmes and projects implemented, but the amount of ODA funds yet to be disbursed is still high, at nearly $21.2 billion, which is set to be disbursed from now until the end of 2026.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55366/Prime-Minister-urges-flexibility-to-spur-ODA-disbursement.html

Vietnam expects foreign investment to hit record $16 billion this year: report

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

Cheap labour continues to be a magnet for foreign investors.Actual foreign direct investment flowing into Vietnam is forecast to rise to a record high this year as the country continues its efforts to improve the economic climate, an official has said.Dang Huy Dong, deputy minister of Planning and Investment, was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg report that disbursed FDI will exceed $16 billion this year, and pledged investment will reach $28 billion."FDI growth is very impressive so far this year and we expect it to continue," he said. The country received $15.8 billion of actual investment last year, which was up 9 per-cent from 2015, according to the ministry.Dong said the government would continue to improve the business environment as it aims to draw more investment into areas including exports, energy and high-technol-ogy.


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The fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the biggest trade deal Vietnam has ever en-gaged in, is hanging in the balance following the US withdrawal.But Vietnam is shrugging off the uncertainty as its low wages and young workforce continue to play an effective investment magnet, Bloomberg said.FDI inflow into Vietnam rose 6.5 percent in the first half of this year to $7.72 billion, according to figures from the ministry.Pledges for new projects and additional investment were up nearly 55 percent on-year at $19.22 billion, with nearly half heading to the manufacturing and processing indus-tries.Vietnam's prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has established a board of experts, in-cluding economists from France, Japan, Singapore and the US, who will advise him on economic matters.He also expressed support on Wednesday for a draft law that aims to double foreign-ers' home ownership terms in Vietnam to 99 years in special economic zones.The government has set an economic growth target of 6.7 percent for this year, one considered ambitious by many experts, especially after a relatively sluggish first six months. The IMF and HSBC have revised their growth forecasts for Vietnam down to 6.3 and 6 percent, respectively.The central bank cut key policy interest rates for the first time in three years last month to spur growth.http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/vietnam-expects-foreign-investment-to-hit-record-16 billion-this-year-report-3622935.html

Seven-month state budget collection up 11.6pct

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA

The State budget total collection in the first seven months of this year was estimated at 666.68 trillion VND (about 29.36 billion USD), an increase of 11.6 percent over the same period last year.The amount is equivalent to 55 percent of the whole year's estimates, according to the Ministry of Finance.In the reviewed period, the domestic collection reached 532.5 trillion VND (23.45 bil-lion USD), up 9.4 percent, accounting for 53.8 percent of the year's estimates.The budget's revenues from crude oil and import-export activities were over 27 trillion VND (1.18 billion USD) and 165 trillion VND (7.26 billion USD), up 16 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.According to the ministry, 43 out of 63 provinces and cities collected 56 percent of their estimates upwards.Meanwhile, the total budget spending was 695.16 trillion VND (30.62 billion USD), up 8.7 percent year-on-year. Of which, the budget investment for development was 119.36 trillion VND (5.25 billion USD) in the reviewed period, up 15.1 percent year-on-year.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/sevenmonth-state-budget-collection-up-116-percent/115861.vnp

Effective policies from August

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VGP

Higher pension and social insurance subsidy, social insurance payment level, and ad-justment of the average electricity retail sales come into effect since August, 2017.Corporate governance for public companiesThe government's Decree 71/2017/ND-CP (Decree 71) dealing with the principles of corporate governance for public companies will help them manage their businesses better.Decree 71, an upgrade of Circular 121/2012/TT_BTC (Circular 121) issued by the fi-nance ministry on July 26, 2012, will take effect on August 1.It has eight chapters and 38 articles on the company's shareholders, shareholder meet-ings, board managers, and the board of supervisors.The new regulation separates the obligations and duties of the chair and the general director, improving business management of the firm.Management of natural resource and environment information


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Decree 73/2017/ND-CP on the collection, management, exploitation and use of natural resource and environment information and data to regulate the collection, manage-ment, exploitation and use of information and data on natural resources and environ-ment was issued on June 14 and took effect since August 1, 2017.The natural resource and environment data includes land, water, geology and mineral, environment, hydrometeorology, climate change, geodesy and cartography, remote sensing, sea and islands.Information and data on natural resources and environment also include results of in-spection, settlement of disputes, complaints, denunciations, settlement of compensa-tion for damages which have been settled by competent state agencies; legal normative documents, standards, technical regulations, technical guidelines, technical and eco-nomic norms on natural resources and environment; files, results of strategies, plans, programmes, projects, research projects on science and technology on natural resourc-es and environment; other information and data on natural resources and environ-ment in accordance with the law.Higher pension and social insurance allowancesDecree No. 76/2017/ND-CP adjusts the monthly pensions, social insurance allowances and social allowances, which are increased by 7.44 percent since July 1, 2017 for eight groups of objects.The Decree shall take effect since August 15, 2017.Security at seaport border gatesDecree 77/2017/ND-CP, dated July 3, 2017 stipulates regulation on the security and or-der at seaport border gates. The document shall come into force since August 20, 2017.Deposit insurance limitDecision No. 21/2017/QD-TTg, dated June 15, 2017 on deposit insurance limit shall come into force since August 5. Accordingly, the maximum insurance payable to a de-positor for all deposits at an insured organisation will be VND 75 million (around $ 3,300) from the current VND 50 million.Adjustment of average retail electricity priceDecision 24/2017/QD-TTg dated June 30, 2017 stipulates a mechanism for adjustment of average retail electricity price. Since August 15, the Electricity of Vietnam shall be able to raise the average retail price of electricity by 3 percent to less than 5 percent without asking for permission from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).The hike can be done when there are fluctuations in input prices, such as the price of coal and gas, or changes in foreign exchange rates, which result in increases to produc-tion costs.The duration of each hike must last at least six months.In case of an increase from 5 percent to less than 10 percent but still within the allowed price range, EVN must ask permission from MoIT.http://www.vir.com.vn/effective-policies-from-august.html

The 14 members of the PM's economic advisory group

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET

The PM's economic advisory group which was established under a PM's decision in-cludes 14 members, headed by Dr Vu Viet Ngoan, former chair of the National Finance Supervisory Council.1. Prof Dr Tran Ngoc Anh from Indiana UniversityAnh received a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of New South Wales in Australia in 1999 and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University in the US in 2009. He has experience in advising on various projects and research works of the WB, UN and the government of Vietnam.Anh is researching and teaching at the School of Public Policy and Environment and is the director of the Vietnam Initiative at Indiana University.2. Dr Vu Thanh Tu Anh Research director of FETP (Fulbright Economics Teaching Pro-gramme)Anh, PhD in economics from Boston College, is a Senior Research Fellow at the Har-vard Kennedy School of government.


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His main areas of research are economic development, industrial policy, and institu-tional economics.He is a member of the group of economic experts belonging to NA's Economics Com-mittee. He is also a member of the Science Council of the HCM City National Univer-sity.3. Vu Bang former chair of SSC (State Securities Commission)Bang, PhD in economics, has been with the Vietnamese stock market since the early days. He was one of the persons who built the foundation of the stock market 20 years ago.4. Nguyen Dinh Cung head of CIEM (Central Institute of Economic Management)Cung graduated from Prague Economics University majoring in foreign trade in 1982, obtained a master's degree from Manchester University and then a doctorate from CIEM, Vietnam.He is well known in Vietnam as the compiler of Enterprise Law's versions, pro-grammes related to economic restructuring and institutional reform.5. Tran Tho Dat president of Hanoi Economics University6. Nguyen Duc Khuong from the IPAG Business SchoolHe received a doctorate from the University of Grenoble at the age of 27. He taught at the Lyon Business School, Grenoble Institute of Business Administration.He is currently the deputy director and Finance Dean at IPAG Business School in Paris. He also participates in researching and teaching at Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne Univer-sity, and many universities in Vietnam. Khuong was among 200 leading economists selected by RePEc.7. Vu Minh Khuong Singaporean National UniversityKhuong started working at Lee Kwan Yeu Public Policy School as an associate profes-sor in 2006.His research focuses on economic growth, productivity, competitiveness and issues re-lated to the impact of IT, e-government and economic integration. He has had numer-ous articles published in international journals such as the Scandinavian Journal of Economics, the German Economics Review, the Energy Policy, and the Journal of Pol-icy Modelling.He holds a Ph.D. in public policy and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University and a BA in mathematics from the University of Hanoi.8. Tran Du Lich PhD in economics, former head of the HCM City Economics Institute9. Truong Van Phuoc acting chair of the National Financial Supervisory CouncilPhuoc, a PhD in economics, held important positions at commercial banks and he was director of the forex management department of SBV.He is known as one of the persons who laid the foundatioon for foreign currency trad-ing in Vietnam when he was in charge of the business at Vietcombank HCM City.10. Nguyen Xuan Thang, director of the Ho Chi Minh National Political Academy11. Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Vietnam Economics Institute12. Prof Dr Tran Van Tho from Waseda University13. Nguyen Quang Thuan, President of the Academy of Social Sciences of Vietnam14. Bui Quang Vinh, former minister of MPI (Ministry of Planning and Investment)http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183074/the-14-members-of-the-pm-s-eco-nomic-advisory-group.html

Petrol prices up nearly 600 VND per litre


The ministries of industry and trade and finance decided to raise retail petrol prices as from 3 p.m on August 4.Accordingly, the price of RON 92 increased by 599 VND per litre, E5 bio-petrol by 572 VND per litre, diesel 0.05S by 466 VND per litre, and kerosene by 462 VND per litre.The ministries said RON 92 is sold at no more than 17,025 VND per litre, while the ceil-ing price of E5 bio-petrol is 16,823 VND per litre. Diesel 0.05S and kerosene are sold at maximum process of 13,795 VND and 12,398 VND per litre, respectively.The average global price of RON 92 during the last 15 days prior to August 4 was


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61.693 USD per barrel, while the figures for diesel 0.05S and kerosene were 63.289 USD and 62.146 USD per barrel, respectively.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/petrol-prices-up-nearly-600-vnd-per-litre/115844.vnp

Vietnam expands fruit and vegetable export market

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5

Vietnam earned $3.11 billion from exports of agro-forestry-aquatic products in July alone, bringing the total export value to $20.45 billion so far this year.Key farm produce has raked in almost $11 billion, up 18 percent against last year. Cof-fee and cashew nut exports showed stable growth in the period, while vegetable and fruit exports moved up to the third ranking behind aquatic products and forestry products.By mid-July, fruit and vegetable exports totalled more than $1.8 billion, of which fruit exports made up a majority. Blue dragon exports topped the list making up half of the total fruit export value.Litchi exports recorded a remarkable growth. Bac Giang province, a centre of litchi production, has improved the quality of the local specialty to penetrate demanding markets like the US, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Australia.Truong Van Thai, deputy Chair of Bac Giang's People's Committee, says:"To avoid a common problem falling prices when farmers produce a bumper cropBac Giang has zoned litchi-growing areas covering between 29,000 and 30,000 hectares. It has also increased the application of technology and safe production techniques, im-proved product quality, and studied consumer markets. Bac Giang has stepped up trade promotion, sought new markets, and linked processing and distribution to sta-bilise output and prices."So far this year, Vietnam has shipped nearly 15,000 tonnes of fresh litchi to China and another 13 tonnes were exported to Australia.Since early July, Luc Ngan litchi has been available in supermarkets in Thailand, one of the 5 largest fruit exporters in the world.Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Import-Export Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said "Businesses need to pay more attention to promotion and brand building, the key to market growth. Nobody, including the state, can do this task for enterprises. What the state can do is to provide guidance, direction, and support for businesses. They should learn, build their own brands, and develop markets by themselves. But the point is that Vietnamese enterprises should link with each other to find a way forward and grow together."Of the major markets importing Vietnamese fruits and vegetables, China still tops the list, accounting for nearly 75 percent of Vietnam's total fruit and vegetable export rev-enue. Other key export markets are Japan, the US, the Republic of Korea, and the Neth-erlands.In the first half of this year, Vietnamese farm produce exports to traditional markets enjoyed stable growth. At the present growth rate, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable ex-port value will exceed $3 billion this year.http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-expands-fruit-and-vegetable-export-market-355935.vov

Vietnam targets export increase of farm products to developed nations

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS

Vietnam has set a target of increasing the export ratio of agricultural and seafood prod-ucts to developed economies such as EU nations, Japan and South Korea, according to a project on improving the competitiveness of Vietnam's export products by 2020.The project approved by the PM hopes to raise the added value of major export prod-ucts by 20 percent compared to the current number and strive for cargo export growth rate of 8 percent a year in the phase of 2016-2020.Priority will be given to improving the competitiveness of products earning the most money, comprising agricultural and seafood items such as rice, coffee, rubber and pep-percorn; industrial products namely garment and textile, footwear, wooden items, phones and accessories, computes, electronic items and components.


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Products that will have export strength such as garment and textile materials, leather and shoes, plastics and plastic products, fertilisers and chemicals are also among com-modities that will be given the priority of the competitiveness improvement.Major solutions to carry out the project include production reorganisation through transforming production and export modes. Of these, agricultural production will change from small into large scale while quality management will range from farming to transport, processing, preservation and consumption. Industrial production will convert from doing outwork into higher added value phases with goods value chains.In addition, the project will improve national competitiveness, production ability of export firms especially small and medium ones, goods and industry associations and facilitate businesses' operation and reduce costs for them.http://sggpnews.org.vn/business/economy/vietnam-targets-export-increase-of-farm-products-to-developed-nations-68264.html

Tuna export revenue surges 21pct


Vietnam's tuna export turnover has risen 21 per cent year-on-year to hit $271 million in the first half of 2017.Sharing export details, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that tuna fillet brought in the most revenue, accounting for around 48 per cent of total tuna exports, followed by canned tuna (30 per cent) and other proc-essed tuna (15 per cent).The country exports tuna to 97 countries and territories, with the United States, the Eu-ropean Union (EU), Israel, Japan, Canada, China, Mexico and the Asean being its key markets. Collectively, these countries accounted for 88 per cent of Vietnam's total tuna export value in the first six months of this year.Notably, tuna shipments to Mexico rose 125 per cent, with the country overtaking Can-ada and China to become Vietnam's sixth largest tuna importer.However, despite this impressive growth, tuna exports are encountering difficulties related to raw materials and import duties in some of the key markets.The VASEP has proposed to the directorate of Fisheries, under the Ministry of Agri-culture and Rural Development, to promote and develop purse seine fishing.The association has also suggested that the ministry and the directorate work together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to finalise an agreement with the EU on a quota for tuna exports to the market.The VASEP has requested the MoIT to consider eliminating tariff on tuna exports to Japan as Thailand and the Philippines have done, to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.http://bizhub.vn/news/tuna-export-revenue-surges-21_288064.html

Public capital disbursement in HCM City reaches 50.5pct of plan


Capital disbursed for public projects in HCM City in the first seven months of 2017 reached only 50.5 percent of the year's plan, lower than targeted, announced the city's Department of Planning and Investment at a meeting on August 3.According to the department, the city is allocated nearly VND26.2 trillion (about $1.152 billion) for 2017 from the State budget, official development assistance (ODA) and the city's own budget, for public projects.As of the end of July, over VND13.2 trillion had been disbursed, 50.5 percent of the plan. In particular, VND722 billion from the central State budget was disbursed, only 22 percent of the full-year plan, VND2.9 trillion from ODA, 71.9%, and VND9.59 tril-lion from the city's budget, 50.8%.The pace of capital disbursement was slower than expected due to many reasons.For capital from the State budget, the city was allocated VND3.2 trillion to build Chil-dren's Hospital and Oncology Hospital 2. The investor, the Works Construction and Management Authority under the city's Department of Health, only began to disburse capital for the projects after the financial management agency finished paperwork.ODA required for the city's public projects in 2017 was estimated at VND7.7 trillion


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but the city was allocated only VND4 trillion. Therefore, the city could not complete the projects on schedule and had to pay interest and fines due to slow payments for contractors.The HCM City People's Committee earlier proposed the government provide an addi-tional VND3.65 trillion from ODA for the city's Metro Line No.1 project and the second phase of the water environment improvement project.However, at a conference on solutions to accelerate disbursement of ODA and conces-sional loans on August 1, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said the National Assembly has not approved the metro project's cost adjustment from VND17.39 tril-lion to VND47.3 trillion. Therefore, the city's proposal to have an additional VND3 tril-lion for the project is not yet approved at the moment.At a working session on July 25, minister and Chair of the government Office Mai Tien Dung criticised leaders of 13 provinces, ministries and agencies, including HCM City, over delayed disbursements for public projects.According to the Ministry of Finance, the city had disbursed only 26 percent of financ-es from the central State budget required for public projects by June 17.At the conference on August 3, HCM City vice Chair Tran Vinh Tuyen urged depart-ments and districts to accelerate capital disbursement for public projects and asked the leaders to take responsibility before the city government if slow disbursements contin-ue.The HCM City People's Council in early July passed the medium-term public invest-ment plan for the 2016-2020 period with a total budget of about VND172 trillion (US$7.56 billion), including about VND22 trillion from the central State budget and the remaining VND150 trillion from the city's budget.Priority will be given to urgent infrastructure projects and the city will take measures to promote public private partnership (PPP) which is seen as a key capital-raising channel.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55406/Public-capital-disbursement-in-HCM City-reaches-505-of-plan.html

Taxman says will remove barriers for enterprises


The tax sector will this year propose the Ministry of Finance to revise policies to re-move barriers and difficulties to facilitate enterprises' development, Bui Van Nam, general director of the general Department of Taxation, said on August 3.The laws to be proposed for revision by the sector include the VAT Law, Corporate In-come Tax Law, Personal Income Tax Law and Natural Resource Tax Law, Nam said at a ceremony held in HCM City on August 3 to honor outstanding taxpayers. The aim is to remove hindrances to business development.The general Department of Taxation will manage to finish the issuance of a new decree on invoice by the end of the year, replacing Decree 51/2010/ND-CP with an important revision on e-invoices. The new decree will make changes in managing invoices local-ly, thereby building up the national database.The HCM City Tax Department has trialed e-invoices authenticated by tax authorities on 200 enterprises and has got positive feedback.In addition to the revision on management policies, the general director said the tax sector will reform its procedures for electronic tax payment in accordance with the de-velopment of e-government. Electronic tax refunds will also be applied nationwide in the time to come.Besides, the sector will apply high tech methods to lower operating cost, modernise management and adapt to the fourth industrial revolution.Meanwhile, the tax authority will closely examine technology-based businesses like Uber, Grab, Facebook and Zalo to ensure tax fairness among enterprises, and prevent tax losses and transfer pricing.The general director also guaranteed to have many reasonable solutions for large en-terprises as well as suitable policies for small and micro ones to comply.


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Vietnam to ban antibiotics in livestock farming


Vietnam will impose a ban on all kinds of antibiotics in livestock farming after 2020, and those currently used in animal feed are only allowed until the end of this year, said Hoang Huong Giang from the Livestock Production Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Thanh Nien reported.Only 15 among 43 types of antibiotics approved for animal feed can be used until the end of the year. The rampant use of antibiotics in farming has caused immunity among bacteria and damaged the health of consumers due to higher-than-allowed residues.According to a recent survey on 208 poultry farms in Tien Giang Province, the level of antibiotics used in farming has been detected to be six times higher than Europe's standards. Some 84 percent of them are used for disease prevention, said Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Department of Animal Health under the agriculture min-istry.In addition to using animal feed with high antibiotic levels, about 72 percent of farm owners use at least one type of antibiotics directly in the livestock's lifetime to prevent disease or to stimulate growth. In pig farming, antibiotics are also intensively used.According to the department's statistics on the antibiotics immunity among 202 sam-ples of Campylobacter bacteria (which can cause diseases for humans and other ani-mals) from 343 livestock farms in the Mekong Delta, 100 percent of samples are immune to Erythromycin, 99 percent immune to Sulfamethoxazole Trimethoprim and 92 percent immune to Nalidixic acid.The same statistics among 318 samples of Salmonella bacteria (which can cause food poisoning) from markets in the north of Vietnam show 58.5 percent are immune to Tet-racyline, 58.1 percent immune to Sulphonamides, 47.3 percent immune to Streptomy-cin and 39.8 percent immune to Ampicillin.In addition to bad effects on human health, the excessive use of antibiotics has caused direct damage to exporters.Authorities are now facing many difficulties in controlling the use of antibiotics be-cause farmers can easily buy those drugs without veterinarian's prescription, said Thuy of the Department of Animal Health.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55395/Vietnam-to-ban-antibiotics-in-livestock-farm-ing.html

Southern trade promotion pushes clean agriculture


Trade promotion activities in the southern region this year have focused on monitor-ing start ups and promoting clean agricultural and industrial production, officials said at a conference on Thursday.Training and enhancement of stakeholders' managerial skills was another focus area, said Do Thi Minh Tram, deputy head of the Agency for Regional Industry Develop-ment (ARID).The eighth annual conference on trade promotion in southern cities and provinces was organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), ARID and HCM City's De-partment of Industry and Trade (DoIT).It took note of numerous successes and discussed solutions to remaining problems.The conference noted that a training workshop held recently had more than 730 par-ticipants gain insights into business management, quality control, accessing distribu-tion networks, eCommerce and the use of technology in trade promotion.The HCM City DoIT also reported a number of support activities for technology trans-fer, with 48 rural areas receiving modern machinery worth VND6.7 billion ($298,653) for use in agricultural production.Several deficiencies were also highlighted at the meeting, including the low rate of dis-bursement of State capital at just 18.8 per cent of the annual target.The provinces of Ba Ria Vung Tau and Soc Trang have yet to begin the disbursement process, while others like Tay Ninh, Tien Giang and Hau Giang have only achieved one to six per cent of the yearly goal, the meeting heard.Tram said trade promotion and industrial support for businesses in the region had


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seen certain setbacks with many officials not performing at maximum efficiency.Tran Quoc Tuan, director of the Tra Vinh Department of Industry and Trade, said trade promotion activities should focus more on supporting regional imperatives like facilitating agricultural production and distribution in the Mekong Delta.Tuan said this can be done by changing several administrative procedures, improving cold storage equipment, water supply, input supply and upgrading production chains.The need to use regional strengths in order to create a value chain between provinces and cities was emphasized at the conference.http://bizhub.vn/news/southern-trade-promotion-pushes-clean-agriculture_288080.html

HSBC: Asean enterprises continues strong investment in Vietnam


Enterprises from other Asean countries have invested massively in Vietnam over the last three years and the trend is expected to continue in at least five more years, said Pham Hong Hai, chief executive officer of HSBC Vietnam.Speaking to the media just ahead of the Asean anniversary celebration which will be heldin the Philippines next Tuesday, Hai said investors in Asean consider Vietnam not only a consumption market but also a production base.For the last three years, HSBC Vietnam has held road shows in some Asean nations to call for investment in Vietnam. Particularly, Thai companies claimed that Vietnam is the top priority in their investment plans.There will be massive investments from Asean firms in Vietnam for at least the next five years, Hai said, and many of them are now waiting for opportunities from the eq-uitisation of many Vietnamese state-own firms.This investment trend is helped by Vietnam's political and macroeconomic stability, low-cost labour and government incentives. Besides, Vietnam is right next to China, so Asean firms can get supplies from this country easily.Considering Vietnam a consumption market, companies from Thailand have invested heavily in the domestic retail market and production of consumer goods, said Winfield K Wong, head of wholesale banking of HSBC Vietnam.According to data of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Plan-ning and Investment, total investments from Asean firms in Vietnam in quarter one reached $1.14 billion, accounting for 14.81 percent of the total in the period.In January-March, there were 50 new investment projects from Asean countries ap-proved with new investments of $605 million, and 30 operational projects with extra investments of $367.3 million. Besides, there were 116 deals by Asean enterprises to ac-quire stakes in Vietnamese firms with a total value of $169.66 million.As of March 20, there had been 3,219 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects from Asean countries in Vietnam, with total investments of $61.65 billion.Most investment projects from Asean are in the processing and manufacturing indus-try, accounting for 50 percent of the total. The top Asean investors in Vietnam are Sin-gapore, Thailand and Brunei.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55398/HSBC-Asean-enterprises-continues-strong-in-vestment-in-Vietnam.html

Foreigners rush to contribute capital to local enterprises


Many foreign investors are contributing capital or buying stakes in Vietnamese enter-prises.Sekisui Chemical from Japan in early July signed a comprehensive cooperation agree-ment with Vietnam's Thieu Nien Tien Phong Plastics. With a 25.3 percent stake, Sekis-ui will have a representative on the board of the directors of the company.Sekisui chose Thieu Nien Tien Phong because of its large distribution network throughout Vietnam.Industry observers said Sekisui will not only offer its products in the distribution net-


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work run by the Vietnamese partner, but will also 'sell' technology to the enterprise.In other deals, a number of Vietnamese enterprises targeted foreign investors. These includ Cau Tre Food, VCM (building material manufacturer), Vinamilk (dairy produc-er) and Sabeco (brewer).According to MPI, in the first half of the year, 2,500 deals of capital contribution or stake transfer were made with total value of $2.24 billion, almost double the same pe-riod of last year.In HCM City, according to the city's planning department, 915 cases of foreign inves-tors registering to make capital contributions and buying stakes in Vietnamese enter-prises were reported in the first half of the year, valued at $1.4 billion in total. The figure is almost double the $720 million in FDI from more than 430 new projects regis-tered during the same time.Analysts commented that there are two kinds of investments. Investors either make short-term investments and try to transfer the stakes later for profit, or make long-term investments.In general, the investors who 'surf for investment' are mostly individuals or short-term investment funds, while institutional investors mostly target long-term investments for upgrading technology, expanding production and developing markets.Siam City Cement (SCCC), for example, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire a 65 percent stake of Holcim Vietnam and it plans to pour $30-50 million in the next 6-12 months to upgrade the production capacity in Kien Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, HCM City and Dong Nai.Meanwhile, SCG, after buying a 100 percent stake of VCM, can increase its cement pro-duction capacity to 33.5 million tonnes.An analyst said that the 2014 Investment Law, plus favourable conditions created by local authorities, all have helped boost capital contribution and stake transfer transac-tions.The investors who want to contribute capital or buy stakes need to register deals with state management agencies.In HCM City, the registration is allowed to be carried out via the internet. However, he warned that the increase in portfolio investment may lead to a decrease in direct in-vestments through the development of new projects.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183014/foreigners-rush-to-contribute-capi-tal-to-local-enterprises.html

Vietnam third in attracting international acquirers


Rich with investment opportunities and positive demographics, Asean continues to at-tract international acquirers according to the latest edition of Spotlight Asia, Kroll's quarterly M&A newsletter, produced in association with Mergermarket.With 30 deals worth $4.5 billion, Vietnam was the third hottest target jurisdiction by value from 2014 to the first quarter of 2017.The country continues to seek emerging market status, which would put it on the map of major international asset managers.While companies listed on its stock exchange continue to face restrictions in gaining additional foreign ownership, the government is reportedly planning for foreign in-volvement in the country's infrastructure projects, which are expected to require $400 billion in funding over the next ten years.The country is also leading the pack as frontier CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) sees fresh, albeit uncertain, interest as they strive to open their doors to cross-border trade.In 2016, the Asean region recorded 534 M&A transactions valued at $57.9 billion, while the first quarter of 2017 sustained momentum with 118 deals worth $14.7 billion.This was a year-on-year increase of 8 per cent in value and 7 per cent in volume over the same period in 2016.For foreign inbound M&A, Asean saw 223 deals worth $23.7 billion in 2016, a 10 per cent rise in volume but a 16 per cent fall in value from $28.1 billion in 202 deals in 2015.


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In 2017, volumes have remained relatively steady while values have shot up, with the first quarter registering as much as 45 per cent of 2016's annual total.However, a greater harbinger of M&A trends may come from cross-border activity among Asean's core members. In 2016, intra-regional M&A witnessed a surge in value along with a recovery from 2015's dip in volume, as Asean corporates began expand-ing into neighbouring geographies as they searched out new markets for growth.Whether 2017 will put on a similar performance remains to be seen, with the year be-ginning on a slower note with 18 deals worth $1.5 billion in the first quarter amid mac-roeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.Nonetheless, the remainder of the year holds promise for a repeat of 2016's trend, as Asean governments strive to strengthen trade and diplomatic relations and regional corporates take to cross-border M&A as an accelerated pathway to resilient, sustaina-ble, and innovative growth.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183266/vietnam-third-in-attracting-inter-national-acquirers.html

FDI firms to get unexpected inspections


Firms operating in Vietnam with foreign direct investment (FDI) will be subjected to regular and sudden examinations by appropriate Vietnamese authorities of their fi-nancial assets, according to the recently issued Decision 1381/QD-BTC by the Ministry of Finance (MoF).The decision regulates joint inspections of FDI businesses, regarding asset values of land and real estate, machinery and other tangible assets, as well as intangible corpo-rate assets (i.e. licensing, lease, franchise agreements or employment contracts).This is considered a step up from the usual treatment of regulated annual examina-tions and notifications from Vietnamese authorities towards FDI firms. This is intend-ed to expose and stop perceived malpractice by FDI firms,State agencies may conduct regular or sudden examinations and oversight of the im-plementation of FDI projects by foreign investors, covering the legal compliance of FDI enterprises, their commitments to the Vietnamese government, and the firms' actual implementation and achievements.Decision 1381 states that annual examinations should take place in October, while the Agency of Corporate Finance under the MoF will join forces with the MoF's Inspector-ate to compose next year's inspection plan, which will then be submitted to the MoF and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) before November 30 of the same year.Vietnamese authorities will now also be able to examine the use and purpose of im-ported goods under tangible assets owned by those exempt from import tax, the dis-bursement of commercial bank loans and corporate bonds, or devaluation of tangible assets based on exchange rate fluctuations.Some other areas in need of inspection include FDI firms' implementation of capital transfer between stakeholders within the same firm and division of turnover from State capital.Further investigations are included for other corporate responsibilities such as envi-ronmental protection, labour rights and social insurance, as well as safe and sustaina-ble use of land and resources in accordance with the national legal framework.Effective use and commitment to agreed technological transfer will also be included to ensure that the FDI firm in question may continue to receive the preferential treatment given under the projects' contract.The Foreign Investment Agency reported that as of July 20, up to $21.93 billion in FDI has flown into Vietnam, up by 52 per cent against the same period last year.The FDI sector is a key exporter for the country, as during the last seven months over-seas shipments from the sector have been valued at $83.05 billion, representing a year-on-year surge of 20.3 per cent and accounting for 72 per cent of total export turnover.http://bizhub.vn/news/fdi-firms-to-get-unexpected-inspections_288079.html


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Specialised management burdens enterprises


Vietnamese enterprises now have to spend a total of 28.6 million working days and a cost of VND14.3 trillion a year to comply with procedures on specialised management, which now covers a total of 100,000 product types, according to a report from the Cen-tral Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).There are 414 documents related to specialised management, including 30 laws, 97 de-crees, and 287 circulars, according to CIEM's report.Specialised management covers a vast array, from plant and animal quarantine, qual-ity assurance, and energy efficiency to food safety inspection and export-import licens-ing.In terms of cost for specialised management, export-import licensing accounts for 41.2 percent of the total of VND14.3 trillion, quality assurance and energy efficiency proce-dures 25.3%, food safety inspections 19.1%, animal quarantine 14.3 percent and plant quarantine 0.1%.According to CIEM, products with the possibility of causing danger must have quality assured, including 478 product lines and thousands of product types. Besides, many more products categorised as "Others" have posed a lot of difficulties for enterprises during the compliance process.CIEM has proposed cutting down on the 100,000 product types that must undergo checks. Specifically, a 30 percent reduction will save 8.6 million working days and VND4.3 trillion, while a 50 percent cut will save 14.3 million working days and VND7.1 trillion.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55408/Specialised-management-burdens-enterpris-es.html

PM gets impatient with over 5,000 'small' licenses

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| VGP

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked ministries to examine their working performance as businesses are in the long queue to have their affairs done.PM Phuc made the request yesterday while chairing the government's regular meeting in July on August 3 on measures to cut income expenditures for businesses.Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung reported that a document on cutting fees and in-come expenditures for enterprises was submitted to the PM on July 31.Nevertheless, minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha and minister-Chair of the Of-fice of the government Mai Tien Dung complained that the document has yet present-ed an overview of business expenditures. They also proposed the government make fundamental direction.Minister Dung stressed the need to focus on other costs in construction licenses, la-bour, market and capital access.The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry reported that out of 243 conditional business lines, there are 5,719 business conditions (usually so-called small licenses).The Ministry of Industry and Trade regulates 27 conditional business lines, the largest of this kind with 1,220 small business licenses. The Ministry of Construction required the least conditional business lines (17) and 106 small licenses.Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue stressed that businesses are suffering high expenditures from customs clearance. So far, the proportion of imported shipments subject to spe-cialised inspections during the customs clearance period was 35%. However, the erro-neous rate was only 0.06%. Thus, the proportion was set to cut to only 15%.Cutting business costsPM Phuc hailed the interest cuts and practical contribution of the MoF for the business circle.However, business costs remained high especially capital, social insurance, and trade union fund. So far, in Vietnam, the rate of social insurance payment was at the highest level in Asean at 32.5 percent of total monthly wage (of which businesses pay 22 per-cent and labourers 10.5%).In addition, transport and logistics costs were also high, while costs relating to busi-ness, brand name and tax registration, and customs were streamlined but at low rate.


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PM Phuc also emphasized costs on small business licenses for conditional business lines.He highlighted the determination to turn 2017 into a year of cutting business costs.http://www.vir.com.vn/pm-gets-impatient-with-over-5000-small-licenses.html

Businesses race for forwarding services in online world

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| TBVTSG

German Freight Forwarder DHL on July 17 launched domestic distribution service in Vietnam. DHL's e-commerce service is said to be like a "shoemaker" along with the rapid development of e-commerce in this 100 million population market.Thomas Harris, Managing director of DHL e-commerce Vietnam, expressed his hope that the company's services will support small and medium businesses trading online to increase their market share in Vietnam's e-commerce segment.In fact, in the last three years, not only technology start-ups but also large corporations are competing fiercely to gain market share in the fast delivery segment for e-com-merce sector.*Potential land for starting a businessIn November 2015, ShipS launched forwarding service in Hanoi. One month later, the company had more than 1,000 members and more than 200 stores joining the network. Nguyen Tuan Minh, founder and CEO of ShipS, holds Master Degree in Business In-telligence from the University of La Vallee (France) and used to work for a number of domestic technology companies such as VC Corp., FPT, Viettel, etc.The foundation for Nguyen Tuan Minh to start ShipS is the concern about solutions to help buyers receive the goods and shop owners receive money on the same day. The most common delivery process is that the owner transfers the goods to the provider of shipping service. Goods will be delivered to customers within one day (24 hours) in the inner city and longer if customers live in other provinces. In about a week or two, the shop owner will receive sales money from shipping service providers.In fact, shop owners always want to receive sales money following traditional business habits, but this is not appropriate in the world of e-commerce. ShipS has made the dif-ference. When the orders are issued, shippers will go to stores and advance 100 percent of the order value to the store owner. After that, they will deliver the goods to the cus-tomer and receive the sales money and shipping fee.Since the shipper has paid for the store owner, he/she will certainly have professional attitude in delivering as well as working with customers. Otherwise, the order may be returned. At the same time, he/she will also work with great efforts to quickly recover capital.In this process, ShipS plays the role of connecting the shipper and the store owner. Through ShipS, the store owner will know which shipper is closest to his store, as well as assess his professionalism. According to statistics from the ShipS's system, the per-centage of orders being returned is under five percent and the company is trying to re-duce this rate.Currently, ShipS is still the first forwarder in the market in the direction of not appro-priating capital of shop owners. The transfer of benefits to shopkeepers and shippers is an important factor that helps ShipS to be accepted and popularised fairly quickly. As of July 2016, ShipS began charging 1,000 dong per order from shippers. Minh said, for professional shipper, this is an acceptable fee.ShipS is just one of many new start-up projects in the field of delivery in Vietnam in the last three years, among names such as Giao Hang Nhanh (Fast Delivery), Giao Hang Gia Re (Cheap Delivery), AhaMove or Bagasus, etc.Not only start-up businesses, some large businesses in different sectors also expand their revenues in this segment. The fast delivery market, which had only 5-6 partici-pating companies in 2013, now has more than 50 large and small businesses.Specifically, VNPost, ViettelPost in recent years have provided specific services to e-commerce segment. In 2014, based on the operating system to all wards and com-munes along with 18,000 postman and commune-level delivery staff, VNPost offers comprehensive solution for online stores, from advertising, delivery, fee collection to


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after sale service.The foreign start-up Grab also offers GrabExpress delivery service in Vietnam. Grab's service has competitive delivery fee of 15,000 dong for the first two kilometres and 5,000 dong for the following kilometres. However, GrabExpress did not participate in the cash-on-delivery (COD) segment.Meanwhile, Lazada, in October 2015, separated LazadaExpress into a separate seg-ment with the ambition of taking the delivery of goods not only for Lazada but also for other e-commerce sites.Currently, with the strong support from Alibaba, Lazada has more resources to ex-pand forwarding services in the emerging e-commerce market like Vietnam.And DHL eCommerce Vietnam cannot be ignored with the assertion that it will con-tinue investing to win market share in the country with 100 million people. Currently, the company has had 300 employees after six months entering the market.DHL said its services will shift goods to locations in HCM City, Hanoi and other cen-tral provinces in 1-2 days, including services such as Cash-on-Delivery, Open-Box-De-livery, etc.*And technology competitionCharles Brewer, CEO of DHL eCommerce, said that the company is working on a day-to-day delivery plan in Vietnam. In addition, with the advantage of being a multina-tional company, DHL also plans to transport cargo across the border, meaning that it will transport goods from overseas to Vietnam and help local businesses deliver goods to overseas customers.To fulfil its commitment on environmental protection, the company started using elec-tric scooters to deliver domestic goods and will strengthen its fleet of electric vehicles in the near future. Under the plan, by 2050, the company will bring the amount of gas caused by shipping operations to zero.Meanwhile, in the world, many corporations are entering the race to use drone aircraft for delivery. The US's UPS delivery company said it is considering a future price in-crease under pressures to increase profits, especially from delivery cost to e-commerce customers. UPS conducted self-propelled cargo delivery in Lithia, Florida, the first step in the auto delivery with lower cost in remote areas of the United States.Since the beginning of this year, UPS has been experiencing a low profit margin due to e-commerce booming, resulting in unexpected revenue results. Basically, businesses send more items to transhipment points than directly to individual customers, making it more expensive to deliver from these states to each customer's home.Self-propelled airplanes can be a way to solve this problem. In the test, the plane de-parts from the top of the UPS and automatically flies to the destination, releasing goods and returning while the driver continues the shipping route.In addition, UPS is also looking for other technological solutions for inventory control, which help investigate aircrafts and vehicles inside storehouses and warehouses. However, the corporation has not had a specific time frame for the wider usage of un-manned aircraft, partly because federal authorities are still reviewing regulations re-lating to this device.Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant Amazon has also successfully launched deliveries by unmanned aircrafts, which are part of "Amazon prime Air". According to CEO Jeff Bezos, this programme has great preparation and investment from Amazon. The com-pany also asserted that in the near future, their unmanned aircrafts would be as pop-ular as trucks going on the road.According to the description, Amazon says prime Air is "a delivery system developed to deliver packages to consumers in 30 minutes or less by using unmanned aircrafts".Amazon expects that prime Air brings significant potential to the carrier to provide de-livery services to millions of customers with the advantages of faster, more reliable and more efficient delivery than traditional delivery modes".It is known that aircrafts in the prime Air system operate independently and automat-ically based on predefined software and coordinates. Through the video introducing the operating method of delivery system, consumers can also see that there is no one


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controlling the aircraft.Prior to both Amazon and UPS, the 7-Eleven convenience store said it carried out 77 self-propelled delivery service in the state of Nevada since November 2016. However, that was thanks to the cooperation with Flirtey, a company specialising in self-pro-pelled airplane, known through the pizza delivery deal for Domino in New Zealand and books in Australia. More than that, Flirtey is also the first self-propelled aircraft delivery service licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Money flows into real estate market as prices rise


Experts have urged state management agencies to take necessary measures to drive the current strong cash flow into real estate out of the market as prices are increasing, depriving low-income earners of the opportunity of owning houses.Dinh Tuan Minh, a financial expert, commented that in Vietnam, like other developing countries which are in transitional period, the real estate price has been on the rise.People are not only buying houses in Vietnam, but also pouring money into properties overseas, including the US. An NAR report showed that in 2016 Vietnamese spent more than $3 billion to buy houses in the country.Tran Hung from VFM, a fund management company, also commented that real estate has always been the favourite investment channel for Vietnamese for many years. The real estate market heats up every time the economy recovers.However, he pointed out that this is not good for the national economy as resources are concentrated in real estate, pushing prices high up.Bui Trinh, a respected economist, also warned that the cash flow to the real estate sec-tor may lead to high bad debts and other risks."The surplus in the construction industry is high with the big gap between the cost price and selling price. Real estate in Vietnam is mainly formed on relationships and groups of interests, with a lack of transparency. The money flow here does not help the economy develop sustainably," he said.In fact, there are many investment channels in Vietnam. There are 30 securities invest-ment funds, including 18 open-end ones.The total assets of domestic open funds by May 31, 2017 had reached VND5 trillion and most of them saw stable net asset value growth with growth rates higher than bank deposit interest rates."The government has been focusing on increasing the size of the finance market. If the market is large enough and there are good commodities in it, it will automatically at-tract cash flow," Hung said.A report from the State Bank of Vietnam shows that in the first six months of the year, lending grew by 9%, while mobilised capital grew by 5.9 percent only, which meant a higher growth rate of outstanding loans over mobilised capital.Where has the money gone? According to Hieu, the money has been poured into stocks and real estate. He warned that if this continues to happen, banks may meet problems in liquidity.Some international financial institutions, including the World Bank and IMF, have is-sued warnings about the high credit growth rate.http://english.vov.vn/economy/money-flows-into-real-estate-market-as-prices-rise-355867.vov

HCM City sets land prices far lower than market value


The HCM City People's Committee has just approved a new list of land prices which are well below market levels along some streets of 15 districts.The municipal government has issued Decision No. 30/2017 on adjustment of the land price list that had earlier been provided for in Decision No. 51/2014 dated December 31, 2014 on land prices in the city, effective from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019.The city has adjusted land prices along many streets in districts 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, Thu Duc, Phu Nhuan, Binh Tan, Tan Phu, Go Vap, Hoc Mon, Can Gio, Binh Chanh, Cu Chi and Nha Be.


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Notably, plots of land along some roads have their nominal prices far lower than mar-ket value, according to the updated land price list.For example, land prices along District 2's Nguyen Thi Dinh Street range from VND7.5 million to VND9.8 million per square metre while land along a parallel road from Tran Nao to Mai Chi Tho is priced at VND15 million per square metre.Meanwhile, according to a survey of Gach Vang Land Valuation Company, these areas have market value of at least VND70 million per square metre.Similarly, land along a section of Vo Chi Cong Street from Ba Cua to Phu Huu streets in District 9 is priced at VND4.2 million per square metre, well below the market level of VND15-20 million.According to the Land Law, the government issues a new land price list every five years. In case the actual land prices on the market are over 20 percent higher or lower than the minimum or maximum list prices, the government will update the price list. Then, authorities in centrally-run provinces and cities will also adjust their own land price lists.Centrally-governed provinces and cities are allowed to set higher prices of land which does not exceed 30 percent of the maximum prices. Otherwise, they are required to seek the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's approval.Neither the central nor local governments have amended their land price lists since July 2014, despite significant changes in prices, according to Le Hoang Chau, chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association.He said the city's 2015 land price list which was issued in line with the government's land price list prescribed the prices of local land plots equal to only 30 percent of mar-ket value. As such, land prices should be changed to suit the real situation.That land plots are priced lower than market value has become one of the main factors that has made site clearance and compensation slow, thus causing economic losses in the investment process, damaging the investment environment, and increasing the number of land price-related complaints.Besides, that land prices on transfer contracts are far lower than market value also re-sults in a large amount of lost tax revenue.Therefore, the association has proposed the government allow provincial and munic-ipal governments to draw up their land price lists and make them match market value.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55401/HCM City-sets-land-prices-far-lower-than-market-value.html

Social housing must look nice: construction official


HCM City should build social housing priced at up to VND1 billion (US$44,000) rather than VND200-300 million to ensure a reasonable quality of life for their occupants, the city's top construction official has said.Tran Trong Tuan, director of the Department of Construction, told a conference on Fri-day that building affordable apartments has been part of the city's agenda for decades.It has built tens of thousands of apartments for poor people and workers and plans to build 20,000 more from now through 2020, he said.But he was not keen on super-cheap apartments, saying the quality of life of their oc-cupants should be a priority.Earlier he had talked to the media about three requirements for a cheap social housing project: land given for free to developers, infrastructure and a minimum size of each unit of at least 25sq.m.Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of property developer Dat Lanh, who had designed cheap housing in the city many years ago, told the conference it is feasible to build apartments priced at VND200-300 million in outlying districts like 12, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh, and Nha Be.He said the department should encourage and guide property developers in building such apartments so that poor people could afford to buy them.But Tuan rejected the idea of VND200-300 million units saying though it was feasible "an apartment is not just a place to live but reflects the quality of its occupants' life and


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needs infrastructure."A better solution is to build apartments priced at VND350 million-1 billion, he said.But VND100 million apartments could be built in industrial parks for workers, he said.In February the department had urged companies based in Hiep Phuoc and Linh Trung industrial parks in Nha Be and Thu Duc districts to build residential clusters with 25sq.m apartments priced at VND100 million for their workers.The city administration recently instructed the construction apartment and architec-ture association to organise a social housing design contest.Tuan said the aim of the competition is to come up with social housing models which are not only affordable and have decent infrastructure but also look "nice" to buyers and put paid to the negative perception of workers' apartments.Asked about concerns that the contest could end up as a waste of time and money if the winning designs are not used to build social housing, Tuan said he would apply the lessons from past contests to ensure the designs entered are practicable.Online applicationLe Huu Nghia, director of real estate firm Le Thanh Co Ltd, said his was one of the first companies to apply for a construction permit online under a programme that is being piloted now and expects to get it from the construction department by August 8."I find that the service is very helpful and the department should soon launch it offi-cially. Before this, property companies had to go to various agencies and sometimes wait for half a year to get a construction licence. Now it is only 12 days."The electronic service, whose trial began last month, is expected to reduce the time tak-en for approval from the current 133 days to 42.Applicants do not have to go to government offices and can apply by submitting doc-uments online.Incomplete or ineligible applications will be returned for changes. Information can be sent via text message or email. Individuals and companies have to visit the construc-tion department only once to pay the fee and get the permit.Duc said that besides this the department should also allow developers to start build-ing the foundation as soon as their 1:500-scale construction plan is approved.Tuan replied that he had considered this but some concerns remain in terms of legis-lation that cannot be resolved yet.Besides, one of the main objectives of administrative reforms this year is to reduce the time taken to issue permits and licences, and so the focus now is on the online service first."By the end of this year the department will review the electronic service and improve it."http://bizhub.vn/property/social-housing-must-look-nice-construction-official_288075.html

Growth of hotels, resorts destroying swiftlet natural habitat


The only decree regulating swiftlet farming in Vietnam went into force in 2013 and im-posed conditions on the location of farms, their cleanliness and maintenance among other things.At a meeting recently called to order by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Devel-opment in HCM City, business leaders in the niche market voiced their concern that more regulatory guidance is needed.Mandatory and more precise statutes would ensure consistent and effective compli-ance with rules and regulations, the business leaders told Nguyen Duc Trong, deputy head of the Department of Livestock Production at MARD.More clearly enunciated rules, they noted, are a crucial factor in creating a well-func-tioning sustainable industry.They are also a key element in safeguarding health and safety, protecting the environ-ment, securing stable government tax revenue and delivering other essential societal goals.This is critically important, the leaders added, for laying the foundation for continued


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future economic growth of the swiftlet industry, which emerged around 2007 in south-ern Vietnam, and achieving the best possible outcomes over the long term.The 2013 decree lacked teeth mandating compliance by businesses in the industry and more often than naught simply made optional recommendations that dealt with mat-ters such as location, use of sounds to lure the birds, hygiene and disease control.For instance, the 2013 legislation, they said, simply recommended in general that birds nest farms be located away from residential areas, hospitals, schools and markets, in-stead of making this a clearly spelled out mandatory requirement.The leaders also suggested that new legislation make it compulsory for those in the in-dustry to comply with all local zoning plans and obtain appropriate approval from au-thorities on a basis consistent with any other business.They proposed legislation making it mandatory that the sounds used to lure the birds should not exceed 70dBA between the hours of 6 am and 9pm, or 55dBA in the remain-ing hours.Only a few disagreed with this provision, saying the condition should only apply to the overnight hours 9pm-6am as there is no need to regulate the sound during day-time.In addition, the business leaders expressed concern that the development of hotels and resorts along the coast is destroying the swiftlet natural habitat along with the popu-lations of insects upon which the birds feed, thereby undermining the industry.The three largest concentrations of swiftlet farms are in Cham Island in Quang Nam Province, the Phuong Mai Peninsula in Binh Dinh and the swift islands in Khanh Hoa Province.All the areas are hard hit by new hospitality industry development, most notably new hotels and resorts, which is cutting into production, sales and earnings.Current estimates put the number of birdhouses at 5,800 throughout the country as of the end of last year, for a total of 6.1 million birds producing nearly 50 tonnes of edible product each year.This compares to the industry in Indonesia, which with 200,000 houses, is nearly 35 times larger producing 2,100 tonnes annually and Malaysia, at 60,000 houses, roughly 10 times larger at an annual output of 800 tonnes.The business leaders implored MARD representatives to act to frame new regulations for management of sanitation of swiftlet farms and make zoning changes a priority to create more favourable conditions for the niche industry.http://english.vov.vn/economy/growth-of-hotels-resorts-destroying-swiftlet-natural-habitat-354884.vov

Stiff import competition an opportunity for the fresh fruit segment


Fresh fruit imports into the major metropolitan areas of Vietnam have been growing rapidly since the beginning of the year, thanks in part to the country's growing middle income population, experts have said.This new-found class is spawning the emergence of a new generation of Vietnamese consumers willing to spend more on healthy food and the trend has huge economic implications for fruit-exporting countries worldwide.The comments came after the Vietnam Fruit & Vegetables Association reported that foreign fresh fruit consignments into the Southeast Asian country surged more than 40 percent in the early months of 2017 and could likely hit $1 billion by year's end.The Association report noted that a survey of supermarkets in the HCM City districts of Thu Duc and Hoc Mon reported that approximately one-fourth of their fresh fruit sales were imported.This shows unequivocally, said the responding supermarkets, that the potential for the foreign fruit segment has yet to be fully realised, given the enormous potential nation-wide demand.The report noted that more than 50 percent of imported fruit is sourced from Thailand followed by China, Australia, the Republic of Korea, the US and Myanmar in descend-ing order of magnitude.


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Mangos and custard apples from Thailand along with oranges from China are the most popular imports. Other well-liked imports are apples, oranges, pears, kiwi, cher-ries and grapes from New Zealand and Australia.Changing trendWhat is happening is that the trends in Vietnam are moving toward health. And much of that is happening in the food segment, said Le Quoc Phuong, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Information Centre.Increasingly we see an uptake in more expensive imported products and produce due to the rise of incomes, e-commerce, and the fact that delivery is not a challenge for met-ropolitan areas of Vietnam anymore, Phuong said.He said he doesn't have a problem with imports of fruit that farmers in the country can't produce but wants protectionist barriers erected by the government to prevent imports that compete with local farmers.However, he readily admits that the segment needs to invest more in high-tech agri-culture to produce cleaner products and seize the initiative to prove to domestic con-sumers through better marketing that the country's produce is high quality and safe to eat.Competition is good for the fruit segmentNguyen Huu Dat, general secretary of Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, has a different take on the situation.Growers, traders and producers in the fruit segment must learn how to generate high-er-quality goods and market those items to be competitive in the domestic as well as international markets, said Dat.Tougher import competition, he said, should lead farmers and others in the segment to make better decisions and upgrade the quality of their goods and improve their marketing skills.Vietnam today finds itself moving into the middle-income class. As a rule, higher-per-capita-income countries produce and export first-class products and that is the chal-lenge that the fruit segment faces.Contrary to widespread belief in Vietnam, lower tariffs on exports for countries that produce low quality goods discourages quality upgrading. Quality upgrading of pro-duce like any product only results from open markets and stiff competition.Stiff import competition, said Dat, should be viewed as an opportunity by the fresh fruit segment that could lead to better produce, higher domestic and export sales, im-proved earnings and to a better quality of life.http://english.vov.vn/economy/stiff-import-competition-an-opportunity-for-the-fresh-fruit-segment-355827.vov

Vietnamese cinema market worth more than $100 million


Sixty percent of the cinema market in Vietnam is being held by foreign investors, with CGV and Lotte from South Korea the main players.According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there were less than 100 projection rooms in Vietnam in 2009, including 26 in Hanoi and 65 in HCM City. By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 138 theatres and cinema complexes with 510 projection rooms and 86,500 seats.CGV of CJ Group was leading the market by December 2016 with 38 cinema complex-es, followed by Lotte Cinema with 29 complexes.The two big foreign players alone make up 2/3 of the cinema market. Two Vietnamese players Galaxy and BHD have seven complexes.Analysts said that once the revenue of the cinema market grows by 20-25 percent per annum and the entertainment demand from youth is on the rise, the development of cinemas in Vietnam is very promising.Hollywood Reporter magazine lists Vietnam among the cinema markets worth more than $100 million.However, according to Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, CEO of Binh Hanh Dan, which runs BHD cinema complex, said the business requires huge investment, while the revenue hardly


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covers expenses.One cinema complex needs initial investment capital of $3-8 million (VND60-180 bil-lion) and it takes 3-5 years or longer to take back the capital.She said that it is getting more and more difficult to find premises for cinemas because the premises have to satisfy many technical requirements. It is also difficult to negoti-ate with landlords to get reasonable rent.According to CBRE Vietnam, the rent in Vietnam is among the highest in SE Asia. The retail rent in large cities like HCM City increased by 15 percent in the last year.In general, cinemas' revenue comes from three major sources ticket sales, popcorn sales and ads."Ticket sales prove to be the most important source of revenue. However, you won't make profits if you rely on this. You need to get money from other sources. Successful cinemas are the ones which sell popcorn and drinks well," Hanh said.Selling food at cinemas brings considerable revenue to investors, together with ticket sales and ads.All cinemas have popcorn and juice counters. On average, two people going to the cin-ema would spend VND100,000-150,000 on two glasses of soft drinks and one pack of popcorn, nearly equal to the expense on tickets. It is estimated that food sales at cine-mas brings is 40-50 percent of the profit from cinema ticket sales.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/182918/vietnamese-cinema-market-worth-more-than--100 million.html

Dubai billionaires and billion-dollar promises


Dubai-based billionaires are well-known for their billion-dollar investments in luxury real estate projects in Dubai, but many of them have not been successful in the Viet-namese property market.Bitexco, a big Vietnamese real estate developer, has confirmed that Emaar Properties PJSC, of Emaar Group has officially withdrawn from the Binh Quoi Thanh Da urban area project in HCM City. The group decided to join forces with Bitexco in a contract signed in 2015.The Thanh Da Binh Quoi urban area is an ambitious project of the two real estate de-velopers which was initially planned to have investment capital of $1.3 billion. A huge amount of money was planned to pay for major infrastructure items of the project and compensate for site clearance.According to Bitexco, Emaar decided to quit the project because it wanted investment incentives which went beyond the current legal framework. It also requested the exact costs for the compensation for site clearance, asked for land use fee remissions and asked for appropriate agencies' commitments on the time to deliver cleared land to the investor. It said it would not develop the project unless the factors became clear.Many real estate developers from Dubai have visited Vietnam to learn about invest-ment opportunities and many committed to pour billions of dollars into projects. However, the projects have not been implemented.Not only Emaar, but Dubai ICD, Sama Dubai, Magnum Group and Global Sphere all came to Vietnam with big promises. However, unlike Lotte and Keangnam from South Korea, Indochina Land from the US, Capitaland and Keppel Land from Singapore, all of which have built large construction works, the projects from Dubai remain on pa-per.In 2003, Magnum Group started the construction of a $24 million resort in Son Tra Pe-ninsula in the central city of Da Nang. However, the group later sold the project to Kingdom Hotel Investment.In 2014, it was the group which initiated the Nui Truong Le ecological urban area project in cooperation with Dong A Real Estate Corporation. However, no further move has been taken.In 2008, Sama Dubai, a big real estate developer, expressed its willingness to invest in Phu Yen province with a $250 billion offer. However, the investment is no longer men-tioned.


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In 2014, Dubai ICD, believed to have assets worth $120 billion, said it wanted to pour billions of dollars into Vietnam, especially Quang Ninh province.In 2013, The Gulf Today reported that Global Sphere wanted to develop a super project called Wall Street Hanoi, worth $30 billion. However, it is only on paper.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183209/dubai billionaires-and billion-dol-lar-promises.html

Hau Giang province works to attract Korean investment


The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang held a workshop in Gwangju city, the Re-public of Korea (RoK) on August 4 to call for the Northeast Asian country's investment in the fields it is prioristing.Chair of the Hau Giang People's Committee Lu Van Hung highlighted his province's natural and social advantages, noting that aside from the government's incentives for foreign investment, Hau Giang pledges to create more favourable conditions for for-eign investors, especially those from the RoK.The RoK is an important partner of Vietnam as well as Hau Giang since it is an agri-cultural products importer and also a supplier of production, processing and preser-vation technologies and machinery for the province.Officials from the Vietnamese province introduced prioritised projects that need in-vestment, including those in high technology, agriculture using bio-technology, and tourism.As both Hau Giang and Gwangju boast strength in agriculture and processing, the two sides can easily have a common voice in cooperation activities in the time ahead, they said.At the workshop, representatives of RoK businesses raised questions to learn more about Hau Giang's incentives and natural conditions. They valued the province's hu-man factor in investment attraction efforts.The two sides affirmed that they will keep contact to step up investment and cooper-ation in the near future.During their trip to the RoK, the Hau Giang delegation signed a cooperation agree-ment on enhancing the province's relations with the Vietnamese people association in Gwangju, where about 15,000 of the 150,000 Vietnamese in the RoK are living.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hau-giang-province-works-to-attract-korean-investment/115883.vnp

Dak Lak attractive destination for RoK investors


The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak has attracted many official development assistance (ODA) and foreign direct investment (FDI) projects as well as non-govern-mental assistance, including funds from the Republic of Korea (RoK).The provincial Department of Planning and Investment reported that Dak Lak now houses three ODA projects valued at a total 12.5 million USD funded by the Korea In-ternational Cooperation Agency.Two other projects worth 47.3 million USD cover food, cosmetics and medicine pro-duction and solar power.Dak Lak recently held an investment promotion seminar in the RoK's Joellabuk prov-ince with more than 40 businesses participating.During the seminar, Solarpark Global I&D of the RoK inked a memorandum of under-standing with Dak Lak on a solar power project, and asked for the province's licence to carry out another project worth 45 million USD.RoK firms have also invested in education, water supply and waste collection and treatment in Dak Lak.Such projects have helped the locality improve its infrastructure and reduce poverty, especially in remote, far-flung and ethnic minority-inhabited areas.The province wants RoK investments in high-tech agriculture, with priority given to projects in Ea Kpam commune and Ea Pok town in Cu Mgar district, and Ea Tu and Hoa Xuan communes in Buon Ma Thuot city.


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SVietnam finance & business 7 August 2017

In the first six months of this year, Dak Lak lured 29 investment projects, with total reg-istered capital exceeding 1.47 trillion VND (64.68 million USD), five more projects and 2.8 times the value year-on-year.The province also attracted one FDI project worth 45 million USD in the period, raising its total FDI projects to 12.The FDI projects came from the UK, Singapore, Japan, the Netherlands, France, Thai-land and the RoK.The province has called for more foreign and domestic investment in hi-tech agricul-ture, processing industry, post-harvest agro-forestry-fishery preservation and large-scale livestock farms in tandem with food processing, renewable energy development and support industry.Dak Lak has offered tax and land incentives for investors, particularly those investing in agriculture and rural areas.It has also continued to complete administrative reform to create a favourable invest-ment climate.

BUSINESSBusiness Briefs August 07, 2017

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA |

* Viet Capital Bank has launched a loan programme in which small and micro busi-nesses that have been operational for less than three years can take out loans equiva-lent to 75-90 percent of the value of mortgaged assets. Meanwhile, those enterprises having been active for three years or longer may apply for credit up to 100 percent of collateral value.* Licogi 16 Company (LeG) made a net profit ofVN028 billion in the second quarter of 2017, up nearly three-fold year-on-year, while i revenue jumped 42 percent at VN0287.7 billion. In the first half, LCG made a net profit of VN041 billion from revenue of 'D511 billion, up two- fold and 52.2 percent year-on-year re pectively.Earlier, LCG forecast its construction revenue from in the remaining six months of 2017 at over '01 trillion. It said domestic shareholders have registered to buy 22 million LCG shares in a private placement. Besides, Lucerne Enterprise Limited has expressed interest in buying more LCG shares to maintain its ownership percentage and intro-tuced an Indonesian firm that is interested in the company. The parties will discuss this share sale in midAugust.* Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation (TIF) has asked for approval from the HCM City stock market watchdog to extend the deadline for submitting a second-quarter fi-nancial report until September 15. It said it is restructuring business and financial op-erations. According to TIF's consolidated financial report in thefirst quarter, the firm's total short-term debt has reached VN0933.7 billion at the end of March.* Thanh Thanh Cong Tay inh Company (SBT) said its consolidated net profit climbed 15 percent year-on-year to VN0338 billion in its fi cal year beginning June 1, 2016. Its revenue rose 12 percent to VN04.5 trillion in the year. The full-year earnings per share were VNOl,176. In the fourth quarter, SBT earned a consolidated net profit of 080billion from revenue of VND 1.28 trillion, down. 0.9 percent and up 25.6 percent year-on-year respectively. Its cash and cash equivalents slumped 76.3 percent from the end of June 2016 to VN0202.4 billion at the end of June 2017, said Viet Capital Securities Company.* Le Thai Hung, board member and general director of Que Phong Hydropower Com-pany (QPH), has bought over 1.2 million QPH shares to raise his ownership from 0.35 percent to 6.9%.

Penny stocks hit ceiling prices


Up to 38 penny stocks on both exchanges shot up to their ceiling prices on August 3, led by strong cash flow, and the stock indexes rose after one session of correction.On the HCM City market, many small and speculative stocks such as property firm HAR, agricultural chemical producer HAI and financial investment group OGC did well. The prices of most stocks in the mining sector such as KSA, LCM and DHM also


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hit their upper limits.The VN Index added a slight 0.29 percent at 788.49. Trading volume on the southern exchange dropped 4.6 percent to nearly 209 million shares but value rose 3.5 percent from the previous day to over VND4.2 trillion.The put-through market saw 13.5 million shares worth VND539.4 billion traded, in-cluding 2.5 million shares worth VND107.5 billion of consumer goods producer MSN, 1.9 million shares worth VND103.4 billion of technology firm FPT and 1.5 million shares valued at VND93.6 billion of securities company VCI.In the banking sector, BID gained 2 percent and VCB increased 0.5 percent while CTG and MBB closed at their reference prices, and STB lost nearly 2%. Among large caps, dairy firm VNM contributed most to the main index as it added 1 percent to VND154,000 a share with matching volume of over 700,000 shares.The Hanoi market made better gains as some pillar stocks advanced, lifting the HNX-Index up 0.46 percent at 101.44. Turnover improved strongly with trading volume and value jumping 1.6 percent and 12 percent to 76.4 million shares worth around VND707 billion exchanged.Among bank stocks, NVB climbed 3.9 percent and took the lead by liquidity with 12.9 million shares changing hands. Meanwhile, SHB closed unchanged with trading vol-ume of 9.2 million shares and ACB declined 0.4%.KLF, which is active in trading and food service, ranked third on the northern bourse by liquidity with 4.2 million shares, rising 3.2 percent at VND3,200 a share.Foreigners net bought over VND162 billion of shares on the HCM City bourse and net sold VND900 million of shares on the Hanoi exchange.According to experts from vietstock.vn, the market may face some challenges as the VN Index is approaching strong resistance levels. However, cash is expected to keep flowing into small stocks.Maritime Bank Securities Company, meanwhile, expects the main index to fluctuate between 780 and 790 points in the near term before rising further.The VN Index may decline slightly today. Therefore, investors should take the chance to buy stocks having good business results in the second quarter, the brokerage pro-posed.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55387/Penny-stocks-hit-ceiling-prices.html

Shares fail to breach 790 points


The benchmark VN Index failed to conquer the short-term resistance point of 790 for a second day on Friday, dragged down by bank stocks, while growth of many large-cap stocks supported the market.The key index on the HCM Stock Exchange inched up just 0.02 per cent to close at 788.68 points. It has risen 1.5 per cent for the week.On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index increased 0.49 per cent to end at 101.94 points. The northern market index expanded 1.4 per cent this week.Shares of securities and energy firms pushed the market up.Most brokerage companies gained value, of which Sai Gon-Hanoi Securities Co (SHS) and Vietinbank Securities Co (CTS) were the biggest gainers with growth of 7.8 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.The biggest listed securities firm Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) picked up over 1.7 per cent.Positive performers also included big businesses in the oil and gas sector, including PetroVietnam Drilling Wells Service (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical Service (PVS) and PetroVietnam Drilling Mud (PVC) climbing between 5.6 per cent and 3 per cent each.However, bank stocks which were the driving force of the previous rally were on the defensive and restrained the market's uptrend.Only Sacombank (STB) recovered from a three-day slump after the bank's two ex-bankers were arrested, up 3.3 per cent to settle at VND12,700 (56 US cents). Others in-cluding the four biggest listed lenders by market value, Vietcombank (VCB), Viet-inbank (CTG), BIDV (BID) and Military Bank (MBB) slipped between 0.7-2.2 per cent each.


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Market analysts at Sai Gon-Hanoi Securities Co said rising selling pressure at the high price ranges would continue to cause difficulties for a sustainable rally."The VN Index will continue to fluctuate and move sideways in the range of 784-791 points and it needs a strong push for the index to break out of the 791 points to confirm the short-term uptrend," they said.Liquidity continued to rise with total 267.5 million shares worth VND4.7 trillion ($207 million), down 6.3 per cent in volume and nearly 13 per cent in value compared to the previous session.Foreign traders recorded a 12th consecutive buying session on the HCM Stock Ex-change for a net value of VND82.5 billion, down 49 per cent from the previous session. However, foreign investors extended the net selling streak on the Hanoi Stock Ex-change for a value of nearly VND6 billion.http://bizhub.vn/markets/shares-fail-to-breach-790-points_288074.html

Businesses rush to list shares after government threatens sanctions


The government's threat to dismiss CEOs of public companies which deliberately de-lay share listing is expected to contribute to a 'whirlwind' of shares offered in the last six months of the year.Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue on July 14 requested MOF and the government Office to make public the list of 730 equitised businesses which have not registered to list shares on the bourse.The equitised enterprises with state capital of 36 percent of charter capital or more will be forced to list shares on the bourse.The listing of enterprises with state capital of less than 36 percent will be determined by the enterprises' board of directors, as stipulated in the Securities Law.The government has threatened to impose heavy sanctions on enterprises which delib-erately delay the listing, including a fine of up to VND300-400 million and the dismiss-al of CEOs.From July 17-21, 14 stock items with 500 million shares debuted on HOSE, HNX and UpCom marketsThese included 150 million BWE shares of Biwase, a water supply & environment serv-ice company, and 21 million TVT shares of Viet Thang Corporation (VND35,000 per share), to be listed on the HCM City bourse.It is expected that at least 10 equitised state-owned enterprises and 15 companies in which the state holds controlling stakes will enter the bourse in the last five months of the year with 1.5 billion shares to be put into transactions.These include VEAM Corporation, a machine manufacturer with charter capital of VND13.288 trillion, MIE (Machine and Industrial Equipment Corporation) with char-ter capital of VND1.42 trillion and Vinaincon VND1.5 trillion.PV Power's shares are expected to be a 'blockbuster' when the company's IPO is held in late August. It will list shares by the end of the year.The government is looking for strategic investors for PV Power, and is considering re-ducing the ownership ratio to below 50 percent.The equitisation process of PV Power will include the IPO of 3-4 percent of stakes, while 45 percent of shares would be reserved for strategic investors. The figure could be up to 60 percent, depending on the government's decision.PV Power now runs four gas power plants, three hydropower plants and one thermal power plant with total designed capacity of 4,208 MW.As for the banking sector, all commercial banks, public or not, must put their shares into transactions either on unofficial and official bourses to improve their transparen-cy.In the last five months of 2017, at least 10 banks will list shares on UpCom market with total charter capital of VND95 trillion.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183012/businesses-rush-to-list-shares-af-ter-gov-t-threatens-sanctions.html


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Foreign shareholders in Vietnamese firms raking in the profits


Thai, Japanese and Danish investors are earning trillions of dong from the shares of profitable Vietnamese enterprises they are holding.Vinamilk, the nation's leading dairy producer, has announced an advance on the 2017 dividend payment of 20 percent, or VND2,000 per share. With the decision, Vinamilk's big shareholders will pocket big money.F&N Dairy Investments, belonging to Singapore F&N where Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi holds the controlling stakes will receive VND460 billion. This is the biggest foreign shareholder in Vinamilk with 16 percent of charter capital. Meanwhile, the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will receive VND1.1 trillion.Beginning investing in Vinamilk in 2005, F&N Dairy Investments in late 2016, together with F&N Bev Manufacturing, spent $500 million to buy 60 percent of the shares of-fered by SCIC in a plan to divest state capital from Vinamilk.Petrolimex Vietnam, which is now controlling 60 percent of the petrleum distribution market, has also announced the payment of VND3,224 per share in dividends. MOIT, the biggest shareholder, will pocket the majority of the dividends.However, the public's attention has been drawn to a foreign shareholder in PetrolimexJX Nippon Oil & Energy (JX). The Japanese giant in 2016 spent VND4 tril-lion to acquire 8 percent of capital and become the strategic shareholder of Petrolimex. It's clear that JX has made a fat profit as Petrolimex share price has increased by 50 per-cent this year.Dozens of foreign investors, individual and institutional, have also reaped fruit as ACV shares of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam have increased by four times in price, from VND14,000 per share in late 2015 when ACV held its IPO to VND50,000.Vietcombank and VietinBank have fixed the plan to pay a dividend of 7 percent in cash. Mizuho, a Japanese bank, with 15 percent of Vietcombank shares, is the strategic shareholder of the bank. In late 2011, Mizuho spent VND11.8 trillion, or $567 million, to acquire the shares.The huge dividends and the satisfactory business performance of Vietnamese enter-prises have prompted foreign investors to hunt for shares of profitable companies.Foreign investors continue to seek Vinamilk shares despite five to six failures this year.On July 25, the public was stirred up by the news that foreign investors had collected 25 percent of PGD shares, worth VND1.3 trilion.The investors paid VND56,600 per share to collect 22.4 million shares of the gas com-pany, a price much higher than the market price of VND50,800 per share.The recent announcement by MOIT that it would complete the divestment within 2017 has caused Sabeco's and Habeco's share prices to skyrocket. These are shares that for-eign investors, including Carlsberg, which now holds a 17 percent stake in Habeco, are interested in.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183208/foreign-shareholders-in-vietnam-ese-firms-raking-in-the-profits.html

SCIC to sell over 48 million Vinamilk shares


The State Capital Investment Company (SCIC) will further sell over 48 million shares in Vietnam's top listed firm by market value, Vinamilk, this October.At the press meeting on Friday in Hanoi, Nguyen Duc Chi, Chair of SCIC, announced the State capital divestment itinerary of the sale of Vinamilk shares, which is coded as VNM on the HCM Stock Exchange.Chi stated that the government has allowed SCIC to carry out the further stake sale, which is equal to 3.33 per cent of Vinamilk's charter capital in 2017.He explained that this 3.33 per cent stake is part of the 3.6 per cent of the company's charter capital that was not sold during a previous sale at the end of 2016. In the 2016 sale, SCIC planned to sell 9 per cent of Vinamilk's charter capital, but only 5.4 per cent was successfully sold due to highly restrictive investment caps and unfavourable mar-ket conditions.Chi added that detailed information related to the upcoming sale, such as initial price,


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trading mode and minimum volume, will be made public in September to assure po-tential investors.While organising the sale, SCIC will work closely with Vinamilk to highlight potential investment opportunities for domestic and foreign investors, Chi further added.Chi also stressed that the sale will be transparent and SCIC would try to remove all "limitations" that were put in place last year to assure investors.Last year, SCIC sold 5.4 per cent of Vinamilk to the Singapore-listed, Fraser and Neave Ltd, the second largest investor in the company after SCIC, which owns 39.34 per cent.It is estimated that the stake sale would fetch VND6.5-7.0 trillion (US$285.9-$307.9 mil-lion), Chi said.Vinamilk is seen as one of the country's most attractive company as it commands around half of the domestic market for dairy goods and has seen steady earnings growth. The company posted after-tax profit of VND5.85 trillion in the first half of this year, up 17 per cent year-on-year.Vinamilk shares closed flat at VND154,000 on Friday.http://bizhub.vn/markets/scic-to-sell-over-48 million-vinamilk-shares_288073.html

Vincom Retail plans $600 million IPO


Vincom Retail, the Vietnamese mall operator under the property and retail conglom-erate Vingroup JSC, plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) this year, according to Bloomberg.The company aims to mobilise about $600 million through the sale, which may include a sale of existing shares as well as new stock, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.Vincom Retail is preparing to raise funds as economic growth in Vietnam raises living standards and increases shoppers' disposable incomes. The benchmark VN Index this month hit its highest level since 2008, while the Asian Development Bank forecasts the nation's economy will grow 6.3 per cent this year.The $600 million offering of Vincom Retail is expected to become the country's second largest IPO in a decade, trailing only the 2007 share sale from Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam when it was selected for a government pilot pro-gramme for equitisation in the banking sector.The last IPO that topped $100 million came from local airline VietJet Aviation JSC, whose shares are up 48 per cent since they started trading in February.The exact size of the Vincom Retail offering hasn't been set yet, and the timetable for the listing could slip, the people told Bloomberg.Vietnam News contacted Vingroup representatives for confirmation, but they de-clined to comment.The global private equity investment fund Warburg Pincus bought a 20 per cent stake in Vincom Retail in 2013. It completed another $100 million investment two years later.Vincom Retail, considered the largest shopping mall operator in Vietnam, has 20 malls in operation or under development in prime locations nationwide.The existing prime assets of Vincom Retail include Vincom Dong Khoi and Vincom Thu Duc in HCM City, Vincom Ha Long in Quang Ninh Province, Vincom Ngo Quyen in Da Nang City, and Vincom Ba Trieu, Vincom Long Bien, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City and Vincom Mega Mall Times City in Hanoi.Since Warburg Pincus's initial investment, Vincom Retail has expanded its portfolio from fewer than five properties to around 40 malls totalling 1.1 million square metres. It accounts for more than 60 per cent market share in the country's modern retail in-dustry, Bloomberg reports.http://bizhub.vn/markets/vincom-retail-plans-600 million-ipo_288066.html

Early floods damage paddy crop in Mekong Delta


The early floods have damaged thousands of hectares of paddy (unhusked rice) in the Mekong Delta in the current summer-autumn crop, said local authorities.Floodwaters in the upstream provinces of the delta are forecast to continue rising rap-


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idly in the coming days, according to the weather centre for the southern region.In particular, water levels on the Tien River will hit 3.09 meters in Tan Chau Station and 2.32 meters in the Hau River at Chau Doc Station on Sunday.Ngo Van Dai, a farmer in Long An Province's Tan Hung District, told the Daily that the current flooding which has hit the delta around one month earlier than in previous years is more likely to soar to the 2011 peak when vast areas of paddy were devastated.He added the current water levels, which are more than 40 centimeters higher than last year, have almost touched the 2016 peak.As a result, thousands of hectares of paddy which is about to be harvested is suffering from widespread damage.According to Long An Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, floodwaters have put around 3,500 hectares of paddy at stake in three upstream dis-tricts, namely Tan Hung, Vinh Hung and Moc Hoa. Notably, more than 125 hectares has been devastated.Meanwhile, Phan Thanh Xuan, deputy head of the Office of Agriculture and Rural De-velopment in Tan Hong District, Dong Thap Province, told the Daily that local farmers have so far harvested around 16,000 hectares out of 24,900 hectares of rice.Many farmers said they may suffer hefty losses due to rising production costs and harmful impacts of floods.Nguyen Van Dat, chair of Moc Hoa District's People's Council, said his district has about 22,000 hectares under rice farming. Farmers in some communes have started to harvest their crops while vast areas of paddy in the other localities have yet to enter the harvest time.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55400/Early-floods-damage-paddy-crop-in-Me-kong-Delta.html

Heat, urbanisation hit capital's farms


Hanoi's agricultural sector has faced many challenges due to climate change and a re-duction in agricultural land.In Chuong My district's Nam Phuong Tien commune, about 20 ha of vegetables have been planted this season, but prolonged torrential rains and hot weather recently se-verely damaged the vegetables, said Chair of the commune People's Committee Nguy-en Chien Thang.Dang Huu Hung, a local farmer, said he was worried about his pomelo garden after the historically hot weather hit the city in June, the time his pomelo trees were about to blossom.He said he was deeply concerned about his pomelo crop this year.In Dan Phuong district's Ha Mo commune, dozens of hectares of flowers were also af-fected by hot weather and prolonged torrential rains, Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi) news-paper reported.Nguyen Dang Tien, a lily grower said he earned hundreds of millions of dong from his lily field in previous years. But this year, there was no profit.Head of the Cultivation Office under the Hanoi Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Thoa said besides the weather, the city's cultivation sector also suffered from a reduction in agricultural land due to rapid urbanisation.Data from the department found that there 2,550 ha of agricultural land in the city was lost since this spring crop season due to urbanisation, she added.Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, said local agen-cies should closely watch weather forecasts to issue warnings to local farmers about the right time to plant.This would help minimise damages on crops caused by weather, he said.For example, farmers should be advised to plant their flowers every 5-7 days instead of planting them all at the same time. This method will protect them from losing all their flowers due to bad weather, he said.Additionally, the local agricultural sector was told to carefully select rice seedlings for higher productivity in the context of urbanisation reducing farm land, he said.


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Hanoi should use hi-tech technology to develop its agricultural sector, he said.Agreeing with Cuong, Do Duc Trung, vice Chair of the People's Committee of Hoai Duc district said hi-tech agriculture was believed to be the best choice to help farmers adapt to climate change.The district applies hi-tech to 55ha of vegetables in Tien Yen commune. It has also en-couraged local farmers to apply hi-tech in growing Canh orange and Dien pomelo in the future, he said.Statistics from the agricultural department showed that the city has run 38 hi-tech ag-riculture models. Thanks to the models, famers could earn between 400 million VND (17,600 USD) and billions of dong per ha each harvest season.Chu Phu My, head of the city's agriculture and rural development department said constructing large-scale hi-tech agricultural areas was another solution to the situation the city administration should consider.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/heat-urbanisation-hit-capitals-farms/115851.vnp

Construction ministry to revaluate unlicensed buildings


Unlicensed buildings could be revaluated and might not be demolished, provided they can meet the required standards with further planning and development, said Le Quang Hung, deputy construction minister.Hung also stressed, at a press meeting in Hanoi on Thursday, that the country is esti-mated to have around 60,000 types of licences for both small and large-scale real estate projects, and the number of construction projects that violate regulations on licensing permissions have decreased annually. In the past five years, this rate went down by around 10 to 20 per cent, he added."However, cases of construction projects without permissions and violations of busi-ness licences have been seen nationwide. The plan is to suspend all illegal construc-tions," he stated, adding that unlicensed buildings will be demolished.The legal framework for construction management and licensing has been gradually improved, he further added.Bui Trung Dung, director of the ministry's Construction Department, said that the law on building and architectural planning management is the legal basis for licensing in the sector.Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, chief inspector at the ministry, said that potentially illegal con-struction projects must ensure that they do not violate the boundaries of private land, and there must not be any legal disputes or people still living on the site if they want to continue.The owners of illegal buildings will also be fined up to 50 per cent of the value of their building, he added.He further added that in 2010-2011, the legal framework for licensing construction projects has not been formalised, which resulted in an "ask-and-give" policy at provin-cial level.Therefore, the ministry has acted to resolve these violations, he concluded.Controlling property market reportsWhile answering the issue of too many property reports with different market figures, Nguyen Trong Ninh, director of the ministry's Department of Housing and Real Estate Management, said that their information system has become extremely important, as it assists government agencies to review the requirements of businesses in terms of purchasing.Ninh added that current regulations do not forbid businesses from exchanging infor-mation. Companies and individuals should therefore look at relevant information, as the available reports are not the same and are not exact, he further added.The ministry receives official information from communes, wards, cities and provinc-es, as well as departments of construction. Other information from associations and consulting firms should be considered as reference only."The ministry has directed our information centre to create a property database, with a total investment of VND10 billion. It will take a long time to process the real estate


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information of all 63 localities, but we will establish teams to do the work at these lo-calities," he said.The ministry has also completed a draft decree on building, managing and using in-formation systems on housing and the real estate market, to submit to the government for review. The information will include all projects, real estate transactions and yearly inventories.http://bizhub.vn/property/construction-ministry-to-revaluate-unlicensed-buildings_288070.html

Entrepreneurs are the pillar of the Vietnam economy


The domestic private sector in Vietnam is still relatively underdeveloped and faces major challenges, said speakers from the Ministry of Planning and Investment at a re-cent economic forum in Hanoi.In a keynote address, minister Bui Quang Vinh told the audience that since Doi Moi reforms began in the 1980s and governmental leaders opened the country to interna-tional trade and investment, the country has experienced marked economic growth.But it has largely been the strong response from foreign multinationals that has trans-formed the economy into a dynamic market-oriented one without a corresponding an-swer from the domestic private sector.Though this economic growth has contributed to lifting tens of millions out of poverty, this prosperity has not been broadly shared among the population and just as many citizens have received little to no benefit at all.The country now finds itself at a crossroads, said minister Vinh, with economic growth slowing down compared to that of the past decade to well below 7 percent and lower than what is needed to transition the country as a whole to middle income status.Vietnam now must turn to entrepreneurship and the domestic private sector to shoul-der more of the load to continue down the path to improved prosperity and a higher standard of living for all its citizens.Simply stated, entrepreneurship is about innovation and managing a business venture in a competitive global marketplace that is constantly evolving with the overarching objective of benefiting the entire Vietnamese society.Entrepreneurs are a special brand of people who buck tradition, innovate, invent and actively lead and build small companies and then turn them into larger ones and even-tually into multinationals.They are, said Vinh, in essence the engine for the growth of the Vietnam economy of tomorrow.To support entrepreneurship the government is rolling out new draft laws in support of small-and medium-sized businesses with the goal of promoting some one million start-ups.The objective is to create a level playing field for state-owned and domestic private sec-tor businesses giving the latter better access to debt and equity capital so they can re-tool and become more competitive with their foreign peers.This should allow entrepreneurs to position themselves to take better advantage of op-portunities presented by free trade agreements for expanded trade in overseas mar-kets, which in turn will create higher paying jobs for Vietnamese workers.The new laws will also speed up the resolution of bad debts in the banking segment, which in and of itself will provide more long-term capital for small businesses. In ad-dition, it will help develop the bond, securities, pensions and insurance markets, which are additional sources of financing.Vietnam has a bright future, said Vinh, if it can find the financial resources and unleash its entrepreneurs and fully capitalise upon the innovativeness and creativity of the do-mestic private sector.With entrepreneurs as the pillar, the economic success of the country will grow and tens of millions more Vietnamese citizens will have a better chance of finding good paying jobs and sharing in the country's growing prosperity.


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Workers over 30 face grave unemployment crisis


Vu Thi Lan had worked for 10 years at an electronic assembly factory in the Quang Minh Industrial Zone (IZ) when she received her pink slip in mid-April.There was no notice given, whatsoever. The reason given was that the company was facilitating technical innovations, but Lan is not buying it."Actually, it is just an excuse, since they are recruiting hundreds of new workers. The main reason is that we are over 30."I went to the Bac Thang Long IZ, trying to find work in some foreign company, but they only accept people between 18 and 30. Now, there is just no more chance for me," she said sadly.This shocking information of workers being sacked just because they have turned 30 appears to be backed by figures from the Hanoi Centre of Employment Service (HC-ES). It says that in the first four months of 2017, 10,441 workers over 35 years registered their unemployment status, accounting for about 90 per cent of the total.Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, Head of Unemployment Insurance Department under HCES said that job layoffs of over-30 workers were occurring mostly in foreign-invested fac-tories in Quang Minh, Soc Son, Thang Long and other industrial zones.Thirty-year-old Dinh Thi Huong of Ninh Binh Province, who works for a Japanese electronics company, is worried."In my assembly line, there is only one leader at 39, other workers are mostly under 30. I have been working here for three years, but I haven't had a permanent contract yet. I don't know if I can sign it next year."Dinh Van Hai, an employee of Panasonic Vietnam, said he was not thinking too much ahead. "In our twenties, our priorities are a job and a salary to raise kids."A survey result released in late May by the Institute for Workers and Trade Unions un-der Vietnam general Confederation of Labour showed that the average age of workers in IZs across the country was 35.It also found that some industries prefer young labour, with averages reading 27 years old for electronics, 29 for textiles or 34 chemicals.'Forever young'"Five or 10 years ago, we noticed that workers at IZs were very young. Now, they are still 25 to 30 years old. Where did the older ones go, then? Three years later, when we return, we'll find that worker are forever young," said Vu Minh Tien, deputy Head of Institute for Workers and Trade Unions.Data compiled by HCES shows that companies do not conduct massive jobs cuts, but dismiss roughly 100 workers a month.At the second or third salary increase period, companies start screening and ousting older employees.Nguyen Xuan Duong, Head of Hung Yen Province Textile Union, said keeping long-time workers will increase wages and insurance payments while productivity doesn't improve.Companies use examinations, increasingly demanding criteria or position changes as tactics to weed out older workers.With these methods, they can force employees to give up their jobs, without violating labour law themselves.Explaining this situation, Vu Quang Th, Head of Institute for Workers and Trade Un-ions, said that workers currently aged 30 to 40 were the first generation to work in for-eign- invested industrial zones.After 10 to 15 years, companies started to replace them with younger, stronger and ba-sically trained workers.He said companies are not fond of those who fully comprehend the union system and labour laws."The leaders of some companies told me they prefer young employees since they are obedient. Long-time workers pose the threat of strikes."Illness risksHigh work pressure and a hazardous working environment in manual labour jobs can


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lead to occupational diseases.Dinh Thi Hien of the central province Ha Tinh quit her job two months ago."I had worked for a textile company at Quang Minh IZ for ten years and started suf-fering from allergic rhinitis some years ago. Because of poor health, I was regularly ab-sent for check-ups, then the company dismissed me," she said.Hien is one among thousands of workers with health problems.Mai Duc Chinh, deputy Head of the labour confederation, said assembly line workers can only work for five to seven years before having to quit because of occupational dis-eases.According to Nguyen Ngc Nga of the Vietnam Nam Association of Medicine and La-bour, most workers are young and physically fit when they start working.To earn more money, they sacrifice their time and health for work, leaving barely any time (or desire) for entertainment or sport activities, which is crucial for restoring la-bour power.While this does not look like much of a problem immediately, the consequences can are evident over the next five years or so."The longer they work at factories, the more they suffer from toxicity in the working environment. Money and time, additionally, are burdens for married workers, bring-ing about neuropathy or endocrine diseases," Nga said.Struggling to find workMost workers in the IZs are those who have migrated from rural areas and are bread-winners of their families.When they are dismissed, they find it very difficult to find other jobs.After leaving a wood processing factory in Binh Duong Province, Ta Huu Son and his wife returned home to the northern province of Nam Dinh."We used to get food and transportation allowances. After we were dismissed, we wanted to continue to stay there but had no money. Back home, we cannot make ends meet. So we plan to take out a loan for my wife to go to Taiwan as an exported labour-er," he said.Similarly, Nguyen Thi Nguyet from the central province of Thanh Hoa faces unem-ployment after leaving the Bac Thang Long IZ.Nguyet said: "My husband stays in the city, working as a guard. It is difficult to find a job since I'm not young, even if I am not old."Some of her colleagues are working as waitresses in restaurants or selling water, clothes, etc. at night markets after being dismissed from workHoang Duc Khang, deputy Head of Kim Chung Commune People's Committee, Dong Anh District, Hanoi, said: "Several dismissed workers stay in industrial zones to serve employees and local people."He said workers do not have basic knowledge of labour law. Local authorities have recommended that the city conducts courses to equip workers with knowledge of their legal rights under labour laws, but their proposal has not yet been approved.Nguyen Toan Phong, director of HCES, said it is next to impossible for over-35 work-ers to find a job. At this age, only engineers and managers can find work."We are struggling with unemployment of workers over 30," he said.Legal protection neededTh said Revolution 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, was a threat for over-30 workers. "Now, we are not seeing that many people (in the 30+ age group) seeking jobs. In the near future, there will be a wave of unemployment," he said.He said that without proper forecasts and protective policies for workers, employees will continue to be dismissed easily.Khang also said that workers should keep abreast of new developments and continue to improve their skills so that companies cannot fire them.Pham Minh Huan, former deputy Labour minister, said that in other countries, differ-ent vocations are available for workers who can switch if needed.The Labour Ministry estimates that there are 6 million workers aged 18 to 30 working in the nation's industrial zones. It also expects two to three million workers over the


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next ten years.Huan said that, at present, Vietnam's legal system cannot prohibit companies from cutting jobs."All we can do is to encourage their social responsibility to not abandon their workers," he said.To protect labourers, amendments are needed to the 2012 Labour Law, said Nguyen Dinh Thang, deputy Head of Hanoi Industrial zone Trade Unions.Bui Van Cuong, Chair of the Vietnam general Confederation of Labour, said they were taking this problem seriously."We are promoting an educational programme for workers so that they can fully un-derstand challenges posed by Industrial Revolution 4.0. We are also conducting sur-veys and analyses of job layoffs at IZs. It is not enough that we encourage companies to protect older workers, this has to be written into law."

Only 15 foreigners, Viet Kieu own houses in HCM City

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS

Vague regulations on foreign property ownership continue to put off non-resident homebuyersOnly 15 foreigners and Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) were granted certificates of house ownership in HCM City as of May 15, according to statistics from the municipal Department of Construction.The reality is in stark contrast with a government decree and new housing laws enact-ed in 2015, which relaxed requirements for foreigners to own properties in Vietnam.Tran Vinh Tuyen, deputy chair of HCM City, recently issued a dispatch to the city's departments, police and military command demanding that the bodies work toward further facilitating the issuance of house ownership certificates to foreign individuals and organisations.The dispatch rapped the relevant bodies for their inertia in implementing a previous directive from the municipal administration, in which it requested the urgent determi-nation of zones off-limits to foreigners due to national defense and security reasons.The lack of clear guidelines on the restricted areas had slowed the processing of house ownership applications by foreigners in the city, the dispatch noted."The Department of Construction must take responsibility for this delay as the body is in charge of coordinating the determination of national defense and security zones," the deputy chair said."In most cases, foreigners who apply for house ownership are looking for long-term settlement rather than making a profit from re-selling their property," said Hoang Manh Thang, head of a notary office in HCM City. "However, they often change their minds upon learning that they would have to wait for a conclusion on which areas were off-limits to foreigners."According to statistics provided by the municipal Department of Construction, only 15 foreigners and Vietnamese living abroad were granted certificates of house owner-ship in HCM City as of May 15.Deputy chair Tuyen has urged relevant authorities to speed up their determination of restricted zones in the city as well as publish a complete list of realty projects that for-eigners are not allowed to own.In 2015, a government decree and new housing laws came into effect, granting foreign organisations and individuals the right to own at most 30 percent of the apartments in a condo building.For individual properties in an area with a population equivalent to that in a ward-lev-el administrative unit, foreigners are allowed to own a maximum of 250 houses under 50-year leases.After the 50-year period, foreign individuals can extend the ownership once, but not for more than 50 years.The old law allowed them to own only one piece of property for a maximum time frame of 50 years.Zones considered sensitive to national defense and security are off-limits to foreign buyers.


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Imported fruit increasingly preferred by Vietnamese consumers

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS

Foreign fruits are becoming a threat to their Vietnamese counterpartsMore and more people in Vietnam have favoured imported fruits over domestic ones due to the assumption that foreign products are better in terms of quality and safety.Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed that Viet-nam spent $659 million importing vegetables and fruit in January-July, up over 50 per-cent year-on-year.At Thi Nghe and Ba Chieu Markets in Binh Thanh District, HCM City, a wide variety of imported fruits is on sale to Vietnamese consumers.Apples from Thailand are sold at VND55,000 ($2.43) to VND70,000 ($3) per kilogram, while Thai mangosteens are offered at VND75,000 ($3.3) a kilogram.Nguyet Anh, a local resident, said she often purchases apples, pears, kiwi fruit, and grapes sourced from foreign countries, explaining that domestic fruits could contain harmful preservatives.At Binh Dien Market in District 8, about 220 metric tonnes of fruit is brought to the ven-ue on a daily basis, most of which are imported products, a manager said, adding that the majority of these fruits are shipped from China and Thailand.Some 30 percent of the fruits sold at a wholesale market in Thu Duc District are also imported from other countries.According to an official of a Vietnamese supermarket chain, many types of fruit of-fered at their supermarkets come from South Korea, Thailand, and Australia."Despite high cost, the products are still favoured by local consumers. Cherry selling at VND500,000 [$22] per kilo can be out of stock in just a short time" the representative said.It is understandable that temperate fruits such as apples, grapes, and pears, which are not favourably grown in Vietnam, are imported into the country, said Le Xuan Hoang, director of Vuon Xanh, an agricultural cooperative in the southern province of Dong Nai.However, several types of tropical fruit that are widely sold in the country have recent-ly entered the local market, Hoang added.Products including mango, rambutan, mangosteen, and durian from Thailand have posed threats to their Vietnamese counterparts, Dung Dong Quy, owner of Quy Dong Farm in southern Binh Phuoc Province, stated.According to local insiders, Thailand has prevailed against its Vietnamese rivals in its capacity to breed new fruits with high quality.The tax reduction for agricultural products within Southeast Asia has also provided an advantage for Thai fruit.Imported fruits have created lucrative business opportunities for local sellers in the past two years, a director of a Vietnamese company said.These fruits tend to fetch higher prices due to transportation fees, tariffs, and preser-vation costs, he elaborated.Given the fierce competition, some businesses lower their prices to attract more buy-ers, the expert said, adding that the quality of these affordable foreign fruits is not guaranteed.http://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20170806/imported-fruit-increasingly-pre-ferred-by-vietnamese-consumers/40902.html

CAAV proposes solutions to ease overload at Tan Son Nhat airport


The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed solutions to ease the serious overload at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in a correspondence just for-warded to the Ministry of Transport.For short-term solutions in 2017-2018, the CAAV proposed speeding up the construc-tion of the northern apron for completion in the second or third quarter next year in-stead of the first quarter of 2019. According to the correspondence, effective measures are urgently needed to improve the capacity of the nation's busiest airport with aver-age annual growth of 10-15 percent in passengers.


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Besides, the area for parking planes overnight on nearly 20 hectares of military-con-trolled land should be developed right this month. The project should be divided into phases, completed within six to eight months and put into use in the first quarter next year.In addition, the authority suggested that carriers should be allowed to use apron areas and check-in desks at terminals in a flexible manner, and this should start right in this quarter.The authority proposed maximising landing and takeoff slots to facilitate carriers in peak hours.Regarding long-term solutions, the CAAV proposed building terminal T4 with a ca-pacity of 15-20 million passengers a year, and a road traffic system connecting Cong Hoa, Hoang Hoa Tham streets and an internal road to the terminal.The domestic passenger terminal T1 is planned to be upgraded with one more floor to serve passengers better. These solutions should be achieved before 2020.In related news, Nguyen Dinh Trung, chair of Hung Thinh Real Estate Business Invest-ment Corporation, has sent the HCM City Department of Transport solutions to redi-rect traffic on roads leading to the airport.The company proposed expanding Tran Quoc Hoan Street by removing the current road divider to create one more lane.Phan Dinh Giot Street should be widened by 14 meters towards Hoang Van Thu Park including nine meters in the road surface and five meters in the sidewalk. The street will become two-way for vehicles travelling between the city centre and the airport. Vehicles will not be allowed on Phan Thuc Duyen section passing through the park.Hoang Van Thu Street is proposed to be widened by four meters to the park and be-come two-way. Tran Quoc Hoan Street section leading to Hoang Van Thu Street should be blocked.Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the municipal Department of Transport, said the road di-vider on Tran Quoc Hoan Street has been removed and the department will carry out other proposals if they are seen as feasible.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55396/CAAV-proposes-solutions-to-ease-overload-at-Tan-Son-Nhat-airport.html

NA to consider feasibility study of Long Thanh Airport in October


The feasibility study report of a component project of the Long Thanh International Airport project in the southern province of Dong Nai, which is a magnet to many in-ternational investors, is likely to be submitted to the National Assembly in October 2017.The Ministry of Transport (MoT) chaired a meeting on August 4 to review the prepa-ration process of the project, including land revocation, compensation, and support for resettlement of the affected local residents.According to a report by MoT's Department of Planning and Investment, in June 2017, the National Assembly approved Resolution No.38/2017/QH14 on separating the land revocation, compensation, and support for resettlement into a different component project in which the government asked Dong Nai and relevant ministries to do a fea-sibility study and submit it to the National Assembly for approval in October 2017.The minister of Transport raised concerns that the biggest problem in the feasibility re-port is the source of money.The NA Standing Committee said that based on the obtained information and the lat-est updated prices from the Dong Nai People's Committee, the total estimated cost for site clearance, including the construction of resettlement and cemetery areas, is about VND23 trillion ($1 billion).The government agreed to provide the Long Thanh project with VND5 trillion ($220 million) for the medium- and long-term plans on site clearance. However, this amount accounts for only 21.7 per cent of the actual funds necessary.http://www.vir.com.vn/na-to-consider-feasibility-study-of-long-thanh-airport-in-oc-tober.html


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VRN proposes suspending project encroaching on Dong Nai River


The Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN) on August 2 proposed the prime minister imme-diately cancel an urban development project that aims to encroach on a section of the Dong Nai River due to numerous potential consequences.The government in 2015 ordered that the project be put on hold as scientists said that it would affect negatively the environment and socio-economic development in the re-gion. However, the government has empowered the chair of Dong Nai to make deci-sions on the implementation of the project.The VRN said that Dong Nai River is the lifeblood of the key economic region with the largest population in the country. However, water resources in the river are consid-ered limited with the lowest level of water per capita. It is one of four rivers in the country suffering a severe shortage of water in dry season.In addition, many hydropower plants and water pollution caused by riverside indus-trial zones and urban areas also put pressure on the Dong Nai River. Therefore, the project that wants to reclaim land along a part of the river will aggravate the situation. The project also violates the laws on water resources, environmental protection and in-land waterway traffic, according to VRN. Moreover, the project's environmental im-pact assessment report fails to specify characteristics of the flow of the Dong Nai River.The project covers over 8.4 hectares of which 7.2 hectares of water surface on the Dong Nai River will be filled up to build two 25-floor buildings, 34 villas and a commercial centre.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/55388/VRN-proposes-suspending-project-encroach-ing-on-Dong-Nai-River.html

VinGroup plans to go places


Pham Nhat Vuong is the founder and chair of VinGroup, one of Vietnam's largest pri-vate business groups with a market capitalisation of nearly $5 billion based on the company's share price on the HCM Stock Exchange on July 28, 2017.Vuong was a rare Vietnamese entry in the Forbes list of the world's billionaire in 2013 with total assets valued at $1.5 billion. His net assets were estimated at $2.4 billion on Forbes' website as of July 28, 2017. With a stake of around 65 per cent in VinGroup, di-rectly and indirectly through the Vietnam Investment Group, Vuong has been in the list of 10 richest people on the Vietnamese stock market for eight consecutive years.Born in 1968 in Hanoi, Vuong studied in Moscow but started his business Technocom Group by making fast food in Ukraine, building a popular brand, 'Mivina' with annual sales of $150 million. He returned to Vietnam in early 2000s and began investing in real estate at the time of 'hot land fever'.In 2009, he sold his food company in Ukraine to Nestle and relocated his entire busi-ness to Vietnam. He founded Vinpearl Land, focusing on hospitality and leisure in Nha Trang in 2001, and began developing commercial real estate under the brand name Vincom in Hanoi in 2002.The Vincom Joint Stock Company (VinGroup) was established in May 2002 with an in-itial charter capital of just VND196 billion (US$9 million). The company has emerged as a prominent player in retail, office and commercial real estate with many famous Vincom projects, including the Vincom Mega Mall Royal City in Hanoi, which is said to be Asia's largest underground retail and entertainment complex.In January 2012, Vinpearl JSC merged into Vincom JSC to form VinGroup JSC with a charter capital of over VND7 trillion. The group has positioned itself as the leading multi-industry corporation in Vietnam. Its revenues rose to VND57.7 trillion ($2.6 bil-lion) in 2016 along with its rapid expansion into retail, healthcare, education and agri-culture industries, with popular brand names including VinHomes, Vinpearl and Vinpearl Land, Vincom Retail, VinCommerce, VinMec, VinSchool, and VinEco.VinGroup has been planning to place itself on the global economic map. VinEco, the group's foray into the agriculture sector, aiming to provide safe and clean food, plans to export some of Vietnam's dominant agricultural products to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and Dubai. In the healthcare industry, the company is collaborating


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with partners in the United States, Japan, France and Singapore to provide quality treatment for serious diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.http://bizhub.vn/news/vingroup-plans-to-go-places_288082.html

First international standard cold storage debut in central region


The Transimex Joint Stock Corporation, listed in the HCM City Securities Exchange as TMS, officially put into operation its first international-standard cold/chilled storage unit at its logistics centre in Hoa Cam Industrial Zone (IZ) on Thursday.General director of Transimex Le Duy Hiep said the frozen storage, which covers a 1,500sq.m area with a capacity cargo load of 2,000 tonnes, aims to provide local and foreign direct investment (FDI) operatives in the central and Central Highlands region a high quality warehouse service for worldwide exports.Hiep said the number of international standard cold/chilled storage remains deficient compared with the volume of farm produce and seafood shipments in the central and Central Highlands region.The tailor-made SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) storage, which was built with an investment of VND20 billion (US$885,000), will also provide various logistics serv-ices, including air and sea freight, bulk cargo and trucks in connection with trading route in the East-West Economic Corridor and a system of deep sea ports at Tien Sa and Lien Chieu, as well as airports.In 2015, Transimex introduced its first logistics centre in the park on total 16,200sq.m including a 9,300sq.m general warehouse with an automatic cargo forklift and loading system for importersHoa Cam IZ, which covers on 137ha in southwest of Da Nang, has attracted 55 busi-nesses with an 81 per cent filling up rate.The central city plans to get a boost as a centre of hi-tech industries, logistics service and tourism in central Vietnam.http://bizhub.vn/news/first-international-standard-cold-storage-debut-in-central-region_288056.html

Firm to develop $1b solar power plant


The Asean Energy Joint Stock Co has said it plans to construct a 200ha-solar power plant, expected to cost $1 billion, in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang, Vietnam News Agency reports.The company is now surveying possible locations for the project in the three com-munes of Hoa An, Vinh Tuong and Vinh Vien, its director Ta Xuan Thang told provin-cial leaders during a working session held on Thursday.Thang said his company will start the plant's construction immediately after receiving approval from the provincial authorities so that the plant can be put into operation in 2019.Vice chair of Hau Giang People's Committee Truong Canh Tuyen vowed to facilitate the construction development of the solar power plant, saying that optimal incentives in terms of land rental, cooperate income tax and vocational training will be also in-cluded.Till date, four investors have proposed to build solar power plants in the province with total investment capital of up to dozens of trillions of dong. However, none of the projects has been launched yet.http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/firm-to-develop-1b-solar-power-plant_288078.html

Tata Power and ACWA Power set on renewable energy projects in Vietnam


Along with licensed projects, foreign investors, especially Tata Power and ACWA Power, found new opportunities in the renewable energy sector in Vietnam.On August 3, representatives of the two groups visited the central province of Binh Thuan to find investment opportunities in the renewable energy sector.Notably, at the morning working session with provincial leaders, the representatives of FECON group and ACWA Power proposed to develop three renewable energy


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projects with the capacity of 50MW each.On the same day, Tata Power from India expressed its desire to pour capital into a so-lar power project with the capacity of 100 MW. With its experience in the energy sec-tor, Tata Power is confident on the feasibility of developing the project.The provincial leaders pledged to provide favourable conditions for these firms dur-ing the studying as well as the construction process.The above enterprises are familiar names in the Vietnamese energy sector.Tata Power, an affiliate of Tata Group, is one of the leading power businesses in India. Earlier, the company was granted permission by the government to build Long Phu 2 thermal power plant, expected to cost $2 billion, in Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang. With a capacity of 1,320MW, Long Phu 2 plant is expected to become operation-al in December 2020.Regarding ACWA, in early July, a consortium including Saudi Arabian ACWA Power and the Republic of Korean Taekwang Power Holdings Co., Ltd officially received the investment certificate for the $2.3 billion Nam Dinh 1 thermal power project. It is the seventh foreign-invested power project licensed in Vietnam since the country opened its doors to foreign direct investment three decades ago.The 1,200MW plant is an independent greenfield power project to be developed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. It is part of the 2,400MW Nam Dinh thermal power complex. The project is scheduled to commence construction in early 2018. The first unit will enter commercial operations within 51 months, while the power facility will take 57 months.Binh Thuan is considered a great potential for solar power development. The province has approved investment studies in 30 other solar electricity projects, Eco Seido and Da Mi solar plants of which have a respective capacity of 40MW and 47MW and are getting approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.Binh Thuan has 40 locations suitable for solar power projects, mainly in Bac Binh, Tuy Phong, and Ham Tan districts.http://english.vov.vn/economy/tata-power-and-acwa-power-set-on-renewable-ener-gy-projects-in-vietnam-355929.vov

PetroVietnam produces 9.23 million tonnes of oil in seven months


The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) produced 9.23 million tonnes of oil in the first seven months of 2017, the group reported to prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on August 5.The group's total revenue in January-July reached 278.5 trillion VND (12.25 billion USD), surpassing the seven-month target by 14 percent and fulfilling 64 percent of the yearly goal.PetroVietnam actively implemented science-technology and training activities as well as ensured oil and gas security and safety, environmental and labour safety.The prevention of fire at oil and gas facilities was seriously controlled while social wel-fares were carried out.The group strives to produce at least 13.28 million tonnes of crude oil and 10.61 billion cubic meters of gas in 2017 and keep a close watch on oil prices to promptly cope with any fluctuations.It will also focus on safe and stable operation of oil and gas plants in addition to speed-ing up investment and prioritising capital for projects completed in 2017.At the working session, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recognised the group's contributions to affirming national sovereignty and increasing the State budget.He urged the group to speed up restructuring, reorganising production, and improv-ing management in order to achieve its goals set for 2017 and following years.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/petrovietnam-produces-923 million-tonnes-of-oil-in-seven-months/115877.vnp


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Mobile World finishes electronics chain purchase negotiations


Although detailed information about the electronics chain to be acquired by Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) has not been released yet, according to ru-mours, the chain might be Tran Anh Digital World JSC (Tran Anhticker TAG on HNX), a big rival of MWG, especially in Northern Vietnam.As reported by the newswire VnEconomy, on August 3, 2017, Nguyen Duc Tai, chair of MWG, confirmed that MWG "has nearly finished negotiating" on the purchase of an electronics chain. However, detailed information has not been released yet, but Tai re-vealed that "If they think carefully, people can guess the electronics chains that MWG will acquire."Why Tran Anh?It is predicted that the rumoured mystery chain is Tran Anh, however, the company itself has not confirmed this information.Coincidentally, on August 4, TAG shares of Tran Anh rose to VND33,000 ($1.5), a record high for a long time.Some people raised the question that if the rumour is true, why would MWG chose an electronics retailer in Northern Vietnam, and why Tran Anh.A leader of Tran Anh's competitor said that in the southern region, the The Gioi Di Dong and Dien may XANH chains have been strong enough to compete with other ri-vals."In the northern market, the Dien may XANH chain has not gained such success," he said.According to many insiders in the Vietnamese electronics industry, any deal would be successfully negotiated when buyers and sellers could come to an agreement on pur-chase and sale. Besides, a leader of an electronics chain in Northern Vietnam said that the purchase should be based on the market coverage of the chain, and Tran Anh is one of the two electronics retailers with the largest number of outlets in Northern Vi-etnam.In addition, Tran Anh was listed on the stock exchange, so it will be easier to price the acquisition."Purchase to dominate"As of December 12, 2016, Tran Xuan Kien, chair of Tran Anh, and his wife, Do Thi Thu Huong, were jointly holding 11 million TAG shares, an equivalent to 44 per cent of the chartered capital.Besides, Huong's sister Do Thi Kim Lien has held 5.88 per cent of the chartered capital, and Kien's sister Tran Thi Van Trang and her husband Hoang Anh Tuan owned 6 per cent of Tran Anh's stakes at the time. The remaining 30.82 per cent was held by Nojima Corporation from Japan.According to its financial statement in the first quarter of 2017, Tran Anh's sum for in-vestment was low at VND8.5 billion ($374,000), a very small amount compared to the VND75.7 billion ($3.3 million) for the whole year of 2016. Its total assets also signifi-cantly decreased. At the end of the first quarter of 2017, its total assets were VND1.2 trillion ($52.8 million), a reduction of VND200 billion ($8.8 million) compared to the VND1.4 trillion ($61.6 million) at the end of 2016.A leader of Tran Anh said that in 2017, the company does not plan on expansion and the number of newly opened outlets may stay nearly unchanged in comparison with 2016.Other questions focus on the magnitude of stakes to be sold to MWG, how many shares this entails and whether the Japanese group will sell down its holdings or con-tinue as a big shareholder.Recently, when asked about acquiring another electronics chain, ai said that as Dien may XANH is a big retail system, MWG will not purchase a small number of shares of another electronic retailer to be its partner, instead, it will aim to purchase a large enough holding to dominate the target, or even purchase the entire stakes in it.Also, he revealed that MWG is asking for shareholders' approval to spend VND2.5 tril-lion ($110.3 million) on purchasing an electronics chain and a pharmaceutical chain.


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However, regarding the chain of pharmaceutical stores, MWG has not decided on a partner yet.http://www.vir.com.vn/mobile-world-finishes-electronics-chain-purchase-negotia-tions.html

Digiworld, B2X form new joint venture


Digiworld Corporation and B2X, a global provider of customer care services for smart mobile and IoT (internet of things) devices, have formed a joint venture called B2X Care Solutions Vietnam.The new joint venture, officially formed on Friday, will offer care services to Samsung Electronics Vietnam and specialise in after-services.It will also expand B2X's operations in Vietnam and improve Digiworld's service in the country. The services will be run based on B2X's smartbar solution which is used in many markets around the world.Doan Hong Viet, Digiworld's CEO and chair, said: "We've found a strategic partner to help us and our customers provide a complete go-to-market solution for international brands entering Vietnam."B2X Care Solutions Vietnam plans to operate eight walk-in service centres in HCM City, Mekong Delta and in southern region and employ around 150 service experts, providing users of mobile and electronic devices with troubleshooting support and de-vice repair services for in-warranty and out-of-warranty failures.Digiworld is one of the largest wholesalers of consumer electronics and smart mobile devices in the Vietnamese market. With 6,000 points of sales and an average annual growth rate of 33.7 per cent, the company ranks among the top three information and communication technology industry players.B2X, a Munich-based company with a global operation, is a business process outsourc-ing provider. It offers end-to-end customer care solutions for mobile and information technology devices. The company recently acquired two leading local repair-service and customer-support providers.http://bizhub.vn/tech/digiworld-b2x-form-new-joint-venture_288067.html

BSR wants guaranteed loan for oil refinery upgrade


Binh Son Refining & Petrochemical (BSR) is seeking a $1.26 billion government-guar-anteed loan out of the total $1.8 billion needed to upgrade the Dung Quat Oil Refinery.In a report about submitted by BSR to MOIT in April 2017, the Dung Quat Oil refinery will be expanded to increase capacity from 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil to 8.5 million tonnes and be able to refine all kinds of crude oil, not only the oil at White Tiger, so that petrol products can be upgraded from euro 2 standard to euro 5 by 2021.The total investment capital for the second phase of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery is $1.813 billion, of which 30 percent will be stockholder equity. The company will have to borrow 70 percent of capital needed.Tran Ngoc Nguyen, CEO of BSR, on July 18 told the local press that BSR wants the gov-ernment to act as the guarantee for the loan with the lowest possible cost and longest possible term, especially from ECA (export credit agency).Nguyen said in 2016, BSR once asked for the guarantee for a loan and it has been wait-ing for the government to check the projects it would provide guarantees for in 2017."The project on upgrading and expanding the oil refinery is an effective investment project. It will satisfy the requirements of euro 5 standards and bring long-term bene-fits," Nguyen said about the feasibility of the project.BSR affirmed that the oil refinery has been running effectively with post-tax profit of VND4.492 trillion in 2016 and the ROE of 14 percent.Therefore, BSR will focus on deep petrochemical processing which produces a higher profit margin than an oil refinery.However, analysts warned that it would be not easy to seek the guarantee for such a huge loan of over $1 billion.The government has approved the medium-term debt management programme in


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2016-2018 in accordance with the NA's Resolution 25/2016, under which the govern-ment has committed to cut the government's guarantee for loans.Under the debt management programme, the government has stopped providing new guarantees for domestic and foreign loans, while it is checking priority projects to build up the guarantee granting programme for 2016-2020 to ensure the debts are within the safety line.In mid-2016, MOF requested the government to carefully consider the guarantee for foreign loans. If the national oil & gas group PetroVietnam or Electricity of Vietnam ask for a guarantee for big loans, the government needs to report to the National As-sembly for approval.As such, the BSR's loan of over $1 billion will need ratification from the National As-sembly.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/183001/bsr-wants-guaranteed-loan-for-oil-refinery-upgrade.html

FLC to develop urban complex in Thai Binh


FLC Group has expressed its desire to develop a smart urban complex in the centre of northern Thai Binh City, Trinh van Quyet, group's chair of the management board, said.Speaking at a meeting with the provincial People's Committee and representatives from related agencies and authorities in Hanoi this week, Quyet said the complex would cover an area of 300-500ha, with an artificial beach, golf course, entertainment park and shopping mall, as well as apartments, townhouses and villas.Nguyen Hong Dien, chair of the committee, introduced FLC Group's delegation to the location, geography and other advantages of the area, as well as investment policies in agriculture, service and tourism.He also talked about the current master plan and land use under the new administra-tive centre, southern Kien Giang River, Vu Thu and Vu Dong communes.These locations have a beautiful landscape and convenient traffic connections. They were introduced to FLC Group for consideration and selection for effective invest-ment.Dien emphasized that Thai Binh has over 5,000 businesses but not many are large enough. To create motivation for local socio-economic development, Thai Binh needed private enterprises with experience and financial prowess such as FLC.Quyet said early development of such a project would require very strong commit-ment from local officials, who would need to work hard on land acquisition, adminis-trative procedures and support policies for investors.This is the second time in two months that FLC Group's directors have surveyed po-tential development sites in the province, showing the group's commitment to turn this plan into reality.http://bizhub.vn/property/flc-to-develop-urban-complex-in-thai-binh_288071.html

llegal Uber, Grab taxi operation rampant in Danang

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

Many cars have been found to provide Uber and Grab services in Danang City despite not being allowed by municipal authorities.The Danang City Department of Transport on August 2 said that the department won't give the go-ahead to the pilot operation of Uber and Grab until the Ministry of Trans-port reviews the two-year trial operation of ride-sharing companies such as Grab and Uber and then issues the legal framework to better manage such services.However, according to deputy director of the municipal Department of Transport Bui Thanh Thuan, a range of cars blatantly run Uber and Grab services in the city at present."The department has requested Uber Vietnam Ltd Co. to stop Uber service as well as advertisements about the service in the city. We will strictly fine violators," Thuan add-ed.Earlier, in spite of efforts to deal Grab taxi service which has also not yet been licensed,


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more cars running as Grab taxi have appeared in Danang.The city's Department of Transport said it is not easy to detect Uber and Grab services which are private cars without badges. The department has fined dozens of cars which run Grab service.Danang city's authorities have informed the Ministry of Transport the Uber and Grab violations in the city.http://english.vov.vn/economy/llegal-uber-grab-taxi-operation-rampant-in-danang-355963.vov

Electrical substation fire disrupts Samsung operations until August 10


The power supply for the Samsung complex in the northern province of Thai Nguyen will return to normal by August 10, 2017 at the earliest after the electrical substation that supplies electricity to the South Korean electronics giant complex caught fire three days ago. The incident may hurt Samsungs manufacturing operations.Northern Power Corporation, a subsidiary of state-run Electricity of Vietnam, con-firmed the fire at 110kV Yen Binh 2 electrical substation in a press release.The cause of the unexpected fire that is disrupting the power supply for the complex is under investigation. The power supplier worked with Samsung and called them to use diesel to generate power while the substation is under repair.Using diesel to generate power is considered more expensive. Besides, the fire hap-pened at a peak production time, as Samsung plans to reveal its Samsung Galaxy Note in August.Samsung Thai Nguyen employs about 62,000 workers. The factory, together with Sam-sung Bac Ninh complex, creates many mid- to high-end smartphone and tablet models for export to 78 countries and territories all over the world.Samsung has several huge manufacturing complexes in Vietnam, one in Bac Ninh (SEV), one in Thai Nguyen (SEVT), and one in HCM City (SEHC), with a total invest-ment value of $9.5 billion.http://www.vir.com.vn/electrical-substation-fire-disrupts-samsung-operations-until-august-10.html

Viettel made contributions to Asean community


The giant of telecom in Vietnam, Viettel, has achieved major success after 10 years of investment in foreign countries, including Asean. On the occasion of Asean's 50th an-niversary, Le Dang Dung, Viettel's deputy general director talks with Vietnam News reporter Vu Hoa about the group's contributions to their overseas markets in general and the regional community in particular.Could you tell us about Viettel's achievements after 10 years of overseas investment, especially in markets in the Asean region?After a decade of investing in foreign countries, Viettel has 10 markets with a total pop-ulation of around 230 million. Viettel has built the biggest telecommunication infra-structure in every country it has entered. The total number of subscribers in the 10 markets is about 36 million. Viettel Global a subsidiary of Viettel brings an annual revenue of $1.4 billion to the group from overseas investment.Viettel has been confident in opening new spaces and markets for the group's devel-opment thanks to its expansion in foreign countries over the last decade. The Vietnam-ese telecom market has been saturated. If Viettel focused only on the local market, its growth rate would not have been high. When we joined the market in 2004, only 4 per cent of the Vietnamese population had mobile phones. However, we forecasted the saturation of the country's telecom market after four years of our operation. This urged Viettel to find new roads despite the fact that there was no local telecom provider in-vesting overseas at that time.Currently, the average growth rate of Viettel's overseas markets is 30 per cent annual-ly, which would be hard to achieve in the domestic market. The overseas investment has brought meaning in terms of geopolitics as it has well implemented the party and the government's undertakings in foreign economic relations. Viettel has been the pi-


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oneer in promoting Vietnam's image to the world. It has also been the leading group for other local firms to invest in foreign markets.Laos and Cambodia were the first two countries in which Viettel had invested. The two markets were officially inaugurated in 2009 after three years of preparation. There are many criteria to evaluate whether a market has potential or not, including a stable political environment. Laos and Cambodia have a close relationship with Vietnam. We also received support from their governments. The most important factor is the mar-ket. When we entered into the two countries, their telecom infrastructure was poor, re-sulting in expensive service costs. We were confident that we could build a better network, and we did.The biggest achievement was that Viettel became the number one telecom provider in the two markets with Metfone in Cambodia and Unitel in Laos. The two markets re-couped investments after three years of operation. We are proud to build a network, which ranked first in the Asean region and even on the global level.Another success was the enhancement of friendship among the three countries. Re-cently, Viettel has applied the roaming charge among three countries equivalent to the domestic charge.What contributions has Viettel made for the development of the telecom infrastructure in particular and socio-economic in general, in overseas markets?Our vision is to build a telecom infrastructure, which meets with the regional stand-ards of the country where we make investments. Viettel has always ensured that. For example, when we ventured into the Cambodian telecom market, the country had only a few hundred kilometres of fibre optic cable. We built more than 20,000 kilome-tres of fibre optic cable for Cambodia, covering the whole country.Viettel has yielded many awards, which was the world's recognition of our contribu-tions to the telecommunication and socio-economic development in our foreign mar-kets. After building the telecom infrastructure, Viettel helped overseas markets to build public services.In Mozambique the first country we entered in Africa we built a nearly 28.000-kilometre fibre optic cable system from zero. We are proud that the tel-ecom infrastructure we built in Mozambique is equal to South Africa the most devel-oped country in the continent.Viettel has always been determined to build a network for countries where it makes investments. Even brand names in foreign markets were decided based on their cul-ture and desire. Viettel has been well-known both inside and outside Vietnam for its corporate social responsibility activities.We built Internet networks for schools, healthcare networks for the underprivileged and special preferential packages for students. We have also supported governments in building public services and providing free heart and eye surgery.Viettel has provided remote and mountainous areas with Internet services. Several places have Viettel's networks despite having no electricity. We have also deployed 4G. For example, Viettel has covered all the cities of Laos and Cambodia with 4G serv-ice. Last week, we became the first mobile service provider to operate a 4G network in Timor-Leste. The 4G network, designed and built by Viettel, is now available in all 13 cities and provinces in this country.In Myanmar, where we received the licence to become the fourth network provider in the country, we will directly offer 4G service. We have been rushing to build the infra-structure and officially inaugurate by the beginning of 2018 only one year after receiv-ing the licence. We saw a lot of potential in Myanmar as the economy has been growing rapidly.Could you talk about Viettel's business plans in the country and the region? What are your assessments about the local firms' competitiveness in the deep integration into the region, especially with the establishment of the Asean Economic Community, AEC?Viettel will continue to maintain its leading position in the telecom market in Vietnam. We have already built a wide network nationwide. We would further develop appli-cations based on the foundation, smart city and Internet of Things.


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We have been the pioneer in leading the development of applications and digitalisa-tion. When talking about the AEC, most people worry about the disadvantages. We should look at the issue in two dimensions both advantage and disadvantage. It was hard to enter into the Indonesian telecom market. However, when the door is open with equal tax policies, Viettel will have opportunities to penetrate into bigger markets such as Indonesia with over 200 million people, the Philippines with 100 million peo-ple, or even compete with Singtel in Singapore.The average revenue per user, ARPU, in Vietnam was $4-5 per person while in Singa-pore it was $40 to $50 per person. We welcome other rivals and are ready to seek for-eign markets for fair competition. I think it would be a great opportunity for all Vietnamese firms. The issue is how to capitalise on it.There has been a lot of talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It would be suitable for the Vietnamese people who are professionally at par with other countries. The gov-ernment should look into what we should do and where we should do it.Asean was established 50 years ago. However, till today we talk about AEC while Vi-ettel has had multinational companies in foreign countries for years. What are Viettel's advantages as the forerunner?Profit is the most important factor for all businesses. We must venture first if we see opportunities. When governments sit together, we would be strengthened by their support. Businesses have to always move forward on their own.We would have advantages if we do business early. Regarding the story of opening the market, we would surely face more fierce competition from rivals. The Asean tel-ecom market has been saturated with services as almost 100 per cent of the population in all Asean countries use mobile phones. The business, therefore, would be difficult. However, there are still plenty of opportunities for us and we have to look for them.We have been investing in markets, both near and far away, from Vietnam. We real-ised that the nearby markets have more advantages due to similarities in culture, tax system and support from governments.http://bizhub.vn/tech/viettel-made-contributions-to-asean-community_288081.html

Mitsubishi recalls 4,200 SUV units


Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam (MMV) is recalling 4,218 Outlander Sport and Pajero Sport units, which were found to have malfunctioning rear hatch doors.Of the recalling campaign, there are 943 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport units with model-year 2014-2016 and 3,275 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport units, manufactured from 2011 to June 2016.According to a recall message issued by the Vietnam Register, in the rear hatch door filled with gas, the cover of the outer rear door hanger can rust due to insufficient cor-rosion resistant coating. If it continues to be used in a corrosion-resistant rear door, the cover of the outer tube against the rear door may break as the tube expands during rusting.In the worst case scenario, a person standing around the back door may be injured be-cause the outer tube of the rear door protector ruptures when the back door is opened or can cause the vehicle's rear door to fall suddenly.For imported vehicles, owners can enjoy service from MMV if receiving confirmation from Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.The recall will take place at all agents and authorised dealers of the MMV nationwide from August 1 to July 31, 2019. The check and fix will be free of charge.http://bizhub.vn/wheels/mitsubishi-recalls-4200-suv-units_288077.html

Vinachem leaders facing disciplinary actions


Several current and former leaders of Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) will face deciplinary action after the Central Inspection Committee discovered numer-ous severe violations and mismanagement at Vinachem's loss-making projects.Massive losses in recent yearsVinachem has been plagued with massive losses in recent years, with some of its


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projects making losses for two years in a row, especially Ninh Binh Fertiliser plant, which has been running in the red for four years in a row during 2012-2015.The Ninh Binh Fertiliser plant has been constantly losing from 2012 to 2015. According to the feasibility report, the plant reported to lose $47.9 million in the first three years of operation and started making profit since the fourth year (2015). However, as of cur-rently, the project has yet to make profit and must cease operation. So far, the project has incurred accumulated loss of approximately VND3.058 trillion ($134.5 million).The plant is also struggling with huge loans from Eximbank China and other credit in-stitutions. According to the Ministry of Finance, as of June 28, 2016, the plant was VND10.25 trillion ($451.3 million) in debt, with VND227.3 billion ($10 million) over-due.According to the inspection committee, aside from making ineffective investment, cur-rent and former leaders of Vinachem also lacked oversight, allowing the Project Man-agement Board of Ninh Binh Fertiliser Plant to use equipment originated from China instead of the EU and G7 countries as stated in the contract.Another project of Vinachem, Ha Bac Fertiliser Plant, has also been facing losses for two years in a row. Operating since 1960, Ha Bac plant was expanded in 2010, causing massive strain on the operating cost and resulting in a loss of $26.55 million in 2015 and $5.66 million in 2016. While the plant is expected to make a profit of $4 million in 2017, accumulated loss is expected to last until 2019.The committee also found numerous violations in Lao Cai DAP Fertiliser Plant, devel-oped by DAP2-Vinachem JSC. The inspection results show that errors in the adjust-ment of construction investment project caused the total investment to increase by almost VND79.9 billion ($3.5 million).Problems in the negotiation and signing of the engineering, procurement and con-struction (EPC) contract also led to the contract price of some construction components and materials being higher than expected, increasing the contract value by more than $8.8 million. Additionally, there are other violations and shortcomings in project plan-ning, management, quality acceptance, and payment.Leaders of Vinachem in the 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 terms have committed numerous violations in contract signing, quality inspection, payment to contractors, fulfilling state budget obligations, and capital raising. Some projects even had to temporarily stop payments to contractors due to insufficient funds.Current and former leaders facing disciplinary actionIn terms of individual accountability, the Central Inspection Committee has decided to apply disciplinary measures against four high-ranking individuals due to the sever-ity of their violations.These individuals include Nguyen Anh Dung, secretary of the Vinachem Party Com-mittee and chair of the Board of directors of Vinachem Group; Do Quang Chieu, former secretary of the Vinachem Party Committee and former chair of the Board of directors; Nguyen Quoc Tuan, former secretary of the Vinachem Party Committee and former chair of the Board of directors ; and Do Duy Phi, former deputy secretary of the Vinachem Party Committee and and CEO of Vinachem.All four were deemed irresponsible as leaders, slacking in the course of their manage-ment, monitoring, and inspection duties, resulting in violations and shortcomings in staff, capital, and land management, among others, as well as failing to persevere the capital allocated by the state.Nguyen Anh Dung was held mainly responsible for the violations and mistakes made in the period 2010-2015Do Quang Chieu was held mainly responsible for violations and shortcomings in the early stage of the implementation of the Ninh Binh plant.Chieu was deemed irresponsible for submitting the project pre-feasibility and feasibil-ity study reports to relevant agencies before Vietnam's chemical industry develop-ment plan was approved.Despite warning from ministries, agencies, and professional bodies on the project's low investment efficiency and potential risks, Chieu still requested the competent au-


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thorities to authorise investment. Currently, the project is performing extremely poor-ly and is making serious losses, losing all equity of the state.Nguyen Quoc Tuan and Do Duy Phi were held responsible for violations and short-comings in the approval and implementation of the Ninh Binh plant, the Ha Bac plant, and the Lao Cai DAP project, as well as imporperly issuing documents on the con-struction project for the commercial centre, offices and luxury apartment complex at 233B Nguyen Trai, Hanoi.Aside from the four officials mentioned above, Nguyen Gia Tuong, CEO of Vinachem Group, and Nguyen Dinh Khang, former CEO, were also found responsible for a number of violations, albeit at a less severe degree. The inspection committee only de-manded them to carry out serious self-review without disciplinary action.http://www.vir.com.vn/vinachem-leaders-facing-disciplinary-actions.html

Vietjet named Asia's Best Employer Brand

07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

Vietjet Air has been named Asia's Best Employer Brand in 2017 thanks to its innovative solutions in recruitment as well as its effort in creating an internationally standardised, professional working environment for all employees.This is the second year the airline has received the honor.The 12th Asia's Best Employer Brand Awards 2017 recognised Vietjet's excellence in building the company brand as an employer of choice, with consistent improvements in its human resources (HR) policies introduced by measuring organisational health and inculcating values that help it achieve its vision and a culture of contribution and innovation at work and develop future leaders.Established in 2007, Vietjet now leads Vietnam's domestic aviation market and is ac-tively expanding its international flight network.After more than five years of operations, the carrier has become one of the most fa-voured workplaces for foreigners from more than 40 countries and territories, who have made positive contributions to making air travel become a popular means of transport among passengers not only in Vietnam but also in regional markets.The airline has been honored with 32 domestic and ten international accolades, includ-ing being named "One of the Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016", "Vietnam's Most Favourite Airline", and "The Best Asian Low Cost Carrier 2015" at the TTG Travel Awards 2015, among others.Vietjet is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and possess-es the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. Its operational safety and technical reliability rates have continually been among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, with a modern fleet and amazingly diverse and friendly services.The Employer Branding Institute, organiser of the awards, is a virtual organisation. Senior leaders in HR connect with each other in cyberspace to share best practices in employer branding and it has outstanding professionals in several countries who are contributing to "talent management, talent development, and talent innovation".The organisation is exemplary in the manner in which it is run and has created a plat-form to celebrate the best in employer branding in several Asian countries. Its network is increasing in size and stature, with several HR leaders from 36 countries recom-mending individuals and organisations who are doing exemplary work.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/52200/-vietjet-named-asia-s-best-employer-brand.html

Madam Nga sees bright prospects for the nation


Nguyen Thi Nga is chairwoman of the Southeast Asia Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SeABank) and chairwoman of the BRG Group, a group of companies with over 15,600 employees nationwide engaged in diverse sectors including real estate, finance, golf courses, resorts, hotels, infrastructure construction, retail chains and automobile dis-tribution.Popularly known as "Madame Nga", she is one of Vietnam's leading entrepreneurs with vast experience in the finance and real estate sectors. She was one of the first peo-


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ple to establish private banks in Vietnam on the back of 25 years of management and governance experience in several large commercial banks including Techcombank and Asia Pacific Joint Stock Commercial Bank.Holding key management positions in SeABank since 2007, Nga has helped transform it from a provincial bank to a prominent commercial joint stock bank with 160 branch-es and transaction offices nationwide, possessing assets worth around VND103 trillion (US$4.5 billion) and a charter capital of VND5.5 trillion.Apart from finance, Nga is an influential entrepreneur in real estate with a large number of golf courses, resorts and hotels developed under the BRG Group, including Hilton Opera Hanoi, Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi, Kings' Island Golf Course, BRG Leg-end Hill Golf Resort, and BRG Ruby Tree Golf Resort.She is believed to be one of the most successful Vietnamese businesswomen, given her interests in banking, real estate, resorts and retail sectors. In recent years, her business group has entered new areas including automobile distribution, agricultural projects and leisure parks in cooperation with Japanese and Thai companies.In 2016, Nga was honored with the Labour Order, Second Class, in 2016, by the Presi-dent of Vietnam. Early this year, Forbes Vietnam named Nga among the most influen-tial Vietnamese women. A winner of several regional awards for her entrepreneurship, Nga is also a member of the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean BAC).Foreseeing geopolitical and economic uncertainties in the world in 2017, Madame Nga predicts that foreign capital will seek safe places and Vietnam and other Asean coun-tries, economically and politically stable, will become attractive destinations. She be-lieves Vietnam's economic prospects are bright, with the government's supportive policies encouraging both domestic businesses and foreign investors.With the Asean Economic Community (AEC) established early last year, expanding markets and emergence of strong and experienced regional rivals mean that Vietnam-ese enterprises cannot passively rely on preferential policies from the government, she says. Instead, they should focus on developing their internal resources and increasing their competitiveness.http://bizhub.vn/news/madam-nga-sees-bright-prospects-for-the-nation_288083.html

VIET NAM'S BUSINESS PIONEERSVinamilk


Name: Mai Kieu LienAge: 64Business group: Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk)'Dairy Queen' reigns supremeVinamilk is Vietnam's largest dairy firm its CEO Mai Kieu Lien has been the key per-son in its emergence from a small, State-run firm to one of the most profitable brands in the country. Known as the "Dairy Queen", Lien is the only Vietnamese woman to be named among Asia's 50 Most Powerful Businesswomen four times by US business magazine Forbes.Once called "Margaret Thatcher of Vietnam" by CNBC, Lien has been a pioneer in making milk a regular source of nutrition for Vietnamese people. She has also been in-strumental in developing material resources for the nation's dairy sector.Born in 1953 in France, but graduating from a university in Moscow, Lien has worked with Vinamilk for over 40 years, of which 35 years at the helm, steering the company to become an outstanding example of equitisation of State-owned enterprises. After its public listing in 2006, the company's market capitalisation has increased to nearly $9.8 billion, based on July 31 share prices.In 2016, it reported total sales of nearly VND47 trillion ($2.1 billion), up 17 per cent year-on-year. In the first half of 2017, its revenues topped VND25.4 trillion, up 11.5 per cent year-on-year, pre-tax profits reaching VND6.92 trillion.In terms of sales, Vinamilk was already ranked among the world's 50 largest dairy companies by KPMG in 2016.Apart from its 13 factories in Vietnam, Vinamilk has invested in a milk plant in the


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United States, one in New Zealand and one in Phnom Penh. The company exports to over 40 countries in the world, with export turnover in 2016 surpassing $250 million. In Southeast Asia, Vinamilk products have a presence in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines.Looking to take advantage of more business opportunities in the Asean Economic Community, Lien said Vinamilk always welcomed healthy competition in the dairy in-dustry as it is good for both the company (pushed to innovate) and the consumers, who get more choices and better prices.In the short-term, the company plans to continue expanding its milk plants and dairy farms (including organic farms) to serve rising demand within and outside the coun-try. It is also looking for M&A opportunities to expand its market and increase its sales.http://bizhub.vn/news/viet-nams-business-pioneers-vinamilk_288059.html

VIET NAM'S BUSINESS PIONEERSVietjet


Name: Nguyen Thi Phuong ThaoAge: 47Business group: Vietjet AirSoaring fortunes of a self-made womanNguyen Thi Phuong Thao, 47, is the President and CEO of budget airline Vietjet Air. She was Southeast Asia's only female billionaire to be named on the 2017 Forbes list of Self-Made Women Billionaires in the world.Thao has two bachelor's degrees in finance and labour economics as well a PhD in eco-nomic management from Russia. Under her leadership, Vietjet has emerged as a prom-inent carrier in the local aviation industry, even beating Vietnam Airlines in terms of local market share.Launched in December 2011, Vietjet Air has pursued its motto to "bring the opportu-nity to travel by air to all people". With a fleet of 48 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, the airline currently operates 350 flights each day on 73 routes in Vietnam and regional destinations in Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, main-land China, Myanmar and Cambodia.Thao said she saw huge opportunities in the domestic aviation industry with a popu-lation of 94 million people and a rising middle class. Since Vietjet's entry, the domestic market has grown steadily at over 20 per cent.Vietnam is considered one of the fastest-growing air transport industries in the world with an annual average growth of 17 per cent in the last 10 years.After five years of operation, Vietjet debuted on the stock market in February this year with its market capitalisation pegged at $1.8 billion and $1.2 billion in annual reve-nues. It was ranked among Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016 by Nielsen.In preparation for deeper international and regional integration, the carrier plans to develop international routes within a radius of less than five flying hours. It has signed agreements with the world's leading aircraft manufacturers to purchase brand-new, modern aircraft.Thao believes that in the future, e-commerce and low cost airlines will jointly flare up, and with the opening of Asean skies, the aviation market will continue to expand. With the philosophy of "creating new customers" instead of "scrambling for market share at all cost", Vietjet Air will look to cooperate with international airlines to devel-op its international routes.While she has built her success in the aviation industry, Thao is also an influential en-trepreneur in the finance and real estate sectors. She is the standing vice chairwoman f HDBank and chairwoman of Sovico Holdings which runs several five-star resorts and hotels including Furama Resort Da Nang, Ana Mandara and An Lam Ninh Van Bay and Dragon City.http://bizhub.vn/news/viet-nams-business-pioneers-vietjet_288058.html

Innovation programme kicks off


The National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation De-


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velopment announced the fourth Leaders in Innovation Fellowships programme on Friday.The programme is cooperation between the agency, under Vietnamese Ministry of Sci-ence and Technology, and the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering. These grants are provided by the Newton Fund, a UK government initiative.The programme aims to enhance capacity for scientists, inventors and start-ups in commercialising research results, especially creative and practical solutions which contribute to socio-economic development.It also aims to build an international network among inventors, scientists and busi-nesspeople in the field of technology.Fourteen learners will be selected to take part in the two-week programme, which is set to take place in the UK this December.Participants will receive airplane tickets and costs of accommodation and meals.Entrants should submit ideas for their products, inventions or solutions in health and life sciences, agriculture, environmental resilience and energy security, future cities or digital innovation and creativity.Applications must submitted to email address [email protected] before September 14.A workshop to consult and instruct candidates to fulfill application will open in HCM City on August 17 and Hanoi on August 22.Detailed information will be updated on website www.tsc.gov.vn.http://bizhub.vn/news/innovation-programme-kicks-off_288068.html

Workshop connects overseas Vietnamese students, Japanese businesses


The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and the administration of Saitama prefecture held a workshop on August 4 to introduce jobs for overseas Vietnamese students.Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong said Saitama is one of the Japanese prefectures that pioneer in boosting all-aspect relations with Vietnam.Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited the prefecture during his official visit to Ja-pan in June, Cuong noted.The ambassador said he was impressed when visiting a racing car engine manufactur-ing factory in Saitama where a lot of Vietnamese engineers are taking on important stages and have many initiatives to bring benefits to the company.The workshop creates an opportunity for Vietnam and Japan to boost cooperation in human resources, he said, hoping Japanese firms could find potential employees through the event.The workshop, the second of its kind, attracted 11 businesses in Saitama and about 70 overseas Vietnamese students.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/workshop-connects-overseas-vietnamese-students-japa-nese-businesses/115887.vnp

Hanoi to showcase products and trade opportunities from Thailand


The organisers of Top Thai Brands 2017 are busy with the last preparations for the big event which is expected to bring big opportunities for businesspeople to promote trade between the two countries, and for Vietnamese businesses to approach various high-quality Thai products.Top Thai Brands 2017 is an important event in the series of trade promotion activities in Vietnam, with the slogan of "Stepping towards Globalisation," co-organised by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand's Office of Commercial Affairs, the Royal Thai Embassy in Hanoi, and Viet-nam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad).The annual expo will take place from August 17 to August 20, 2017 at Hanoi Interna-tional Exhibition Centre (ICE), Friendship Cultural Palace, 91 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.This year, Top Thai Brands will hold the first two days for trade (August 17 and 18), and the last two days for the public (August 19 and 20). This special arrangement aims


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to create favourable conditions for either trade promotion and businesspeople, giving them the chance to introduce their products and services for the professional eye. This is a new outstanding feature of Top Thai Brands 2017.In particular, during the trading days, this is the first time Top Thai Brands spends two days for business matching (B2B) and relevant activities on-site. 113 companies and business associations from Thailand will be present at the event to meet up with Viet-namese companies and importers, with the hope that they can find appropriate Viet-namese trade partners for future businesses partnership.Regarding the public days, 192 booths of Thai companies and their big agents in Viet-nam will exhibit various categories of high-quality products and services from Thai-land, including food and beverages, household products, baby products, fashion products, electronic appliances, automotive products, healthcare and beauty products, trade services, and so on.Besides the main activities, there will be interesting additional performances, such as fruit and vegetable carving, fresh flowers handworks, Thai cooking demonstration, and Thai dancing with professional dancers from Thailand.Top Thai Brands 2017 is expected not only to promote bilateral trade and investment activities between Thailand and Vietnam, but also to enhance the mutual understand-ing of the cultures of both countries.http://www.vir.com.vn/hanoi-to-showcase-products-and-trade-opportunities-from-thailand.html

Mobile Marketing Association Forum 2017 approaching


Sixth holding slated for November 3.The sixth edition of the Mobile Marketing Association Forum (MMAF) in Vietnam will be held on November 3, with theme "Mobile Redefined: Transform, Innovate and Dis-rupt".The forum will see brands, agencies, and publishers share their experience and success in mobile marketing and exchange ideas on how mobile can be integrated into cam-paigns. Previous forums have attracted more than 500 marketers, agencies, publishers, telcos, and tech enablers, etc., and have proven to be popular among those in the mo-bile marketing field.Ahead of the upcoming MMAF 2017, Rohit Dadwal, Managing director of the Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific, said the mobile industry continues to show strong momentum but must also contend with profound shifts in technology and the explo-sion of data, which are now stimulating vigorous debate over issues like viewability and effectiveness."It is vital for brands and marketers to stay ahead of the game or risk losing relevance," he said. "Recognising this, MMAF 2017 presents a platform for brands, agencies, and publishers to showcase their expertise and explore ways of working together to best engage with the consumer."MMAF 2017 will therefore cover three key pillars.Emerging formats in mobile is the first pillar. 2016 will likely go down in history as the year of the free-to-play, location-based mobile game Pokemon Go, which used aug-mented reality. 2017 is expected to see an increase in the use of augmented reality and other emerging formats. MMAF2017 will cover how such technology can be used to extend the brand experience beyond the mobile screen and change the way we tell and consume stories.The second pillar is location marketing. Mobile devices travel with consumers and generate a lot of personalised data, much of which has been untapped. Location-based technologies can be the most transformative aspect of a brand's mobile strategy, open-ing up many possibilities. Guest speakers will share how brands can build a digital ec-osystem to reach the right person at the right moment and the right place.The third pillar is advanced data analytics. The sophisticated mobile marketer is de-pendent upon his or her dataset. As technology advances, we're poised to see that data collectionand the customer engagement tactics that data makes possiblebecome even


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more nuanced and effective. The panel will discuss the role of data in running success-ful retargeting campaigns and how marketers can get more bang for their buck by im-proving their data.With a diversity of topics along with the participation of major brands and agencies, MMAF 2017 promises to be a remarkable event for the mobile marketing industry.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/mobile-marketing-association-forum-2017-approaching

Vietnam represented at Asean-India Expo and Forum 2017


Representatives from Vietnam attending the Asean-India Expo and Forum in Bangkok from August 2-5.Some 20 Vietnamese enterprises, including Bibica, the Bich Chi Food Company, the BinhTien Inmex Corp. (Biti's) and others are attending and seizing opportunities for trade cooperation at the Asean-India Expo and Forum, which is running from August 2 to 5 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention centre in the Thai capital of Bangkok.The event has been organised to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the partnership between Asean and India.On August 3, Thai prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha gave a keynote address while In-dia's minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman presented opening re-marks and participated in the roundtable discussion."Asean and India are both essential parts of the world's economy," said prime minister Chan-o-cha. "If they can work together in harmony, it will generate a very powerful force and be a very large market that can drive the world economy forward at an in-credible speed. It will certainly bring about a change in terms of both economy and so-ciety."He added that the application and implementation of Asean and India's potential for mutual prosperity needs to be developed from the very foundations in the following aspects: the development of digital government to facilitate, answer needs, and reduce opportunity cost within the private sector; the development of innovation and technol-ogy by injecting research and development (R&D) funds in the development of ecosys-tems, agriculture, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and the development of human resources to deal with increasing challenges and opportunities in the modern age of the Internet of Things amid a volatile global economic situation.Attending the forum, deputy minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy expressed her belief that it will create the conditions necessary to connect Asean and India and promote the strategic partnership between the two.Organised by Thailand's Ministry of Commerce in cooperation with partners from both the public and private sectors, the Asean-India Expo & Forum will strengthen the strategic partnership, boost trade and investment, bolster tourism connectivity, and at-tract business and investment from outside the region.In addition to brainstorming and exchanging information between leaders from both Asean and India, the forum also features a series of networking facilitation activities in one-on-one meetings, business matching, and young entrepreneur networking.Comprising panel discussions, a roundtable discussion, and special lectures, the fo-rum is being held over two days, August 3 and 4, at the Ballroom of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, while the expo, with theme "Creative and Digital", fea-tures a series of cultural performances and box office movies from both Thailand and India daily until August 5, at Plenary Hall, on the second floor of Hall C, and the Atri-um.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/vietnam-represented-at-asean-in-dia-expo-and-forum-2017 End


07/AUG/2017 INTELLASIA| NHIP SONG KINH TE - … · The 14 members of the PM's economic advisory...

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