090317Intellasia Finance Vietnam - hkbav.org 9 March 2017

9 March 2017

finance & business news

FINANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Banks kick off turbulent shareholders meeting season 1SOEs to divest from banks on positive market outlook 2Local banks face increased competitive pressure from foreign ones3Will Class-A bank resist a downturn? 4Reference exchange rate goes up 12 VND 6UK Fintech firm eyes Vietnam's banking sector 6ADB continues infrastructure investment in Vietnam 7The path to become a zero dong bank of OceanBank 726th Asean Exchanges CEOs meeting held 9HSBC Vietnam introduces new credit card promotion 9UN meeting looks to accelerate trade facilitation agreement 10New transfer pricing decree: a step closer to international

standards 11Industry and trade ministry structure bulky and inefficient: experts

12Vietnam to accelerate development of logistics services 13Hanoi conducts 2017 economic census 13ng Nai revokes 40 delayed, abandoned FDI projects 14Vung Ang Economic Zone have licences revoked 14Poor Vietnamese women work hard for profits of world's

richest men, Oxfam says 15Vietnam's premier to meet government officials and businesses 15Delta raw shrimp prices soar 16New transfer pricing decree: a step closer to international

standards 17More firms burdened with informal fees 18HCM City businesses concerned about falling competitiveness 19Savills: More investment opportunities in VN 20Positive prospects 21Sale of cars down despite price drop 22Exclusive: $250m injected into Vietnamese startups in 2016 23Vietnam to accelerate development of logistics services 24Vietnam, Australia strengthen cow-breeding cooperation 25HCM City eyes more investment from Japan 25HCM City aims to propel local companies into world's Top 500 25IT companies willing to pay thousands of US dollars to

attract staffs in Vietnam 25

BIZ NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Business Briefs March 09, 2017 26VN Index struggles to maintain growth 27

VN Index retreats as blue chips slump 27VN Index finishes almost unchanged 27All indexes finish in positive territory 28VCSC may list during Q3 29PENM IV Germany seeks higher stakes in Hoa Phat Group 30Vietnam's PV Oil to Raise Funds as government Opens Market 30VN's semi-conductor sector positively electric 31Airports' agency wants VND31 trillion investment 32Airports Corporation to take on strategic partner 33SCG raises stake in petrochemical project 33SCG spends $156 million to buy cement company 34Homebuyers struggling with delayed projects 34IR 50404 rice eases off record high 35FWD introduces insurance coverage with few exclusions 36VNPT, Viettel Group chase global market share 36AVC favours coconut leaf-shaped design for new airport terminal 37Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway to be constructed under

BOT form 38Vietnamese high-quality goods fair opens in An Giang 38Furnishing, handicrafts fair opens in HCM City 38Vietnamese firms showcase farm produce at Japan expo 39Mekong Delta farmers to be trained in sustainable rice

cultivation 39Aviation infrastructure overloaded 39Vietnam's Budget Airline Founder Is Southeast Asia's

Only Woman Billionaire 40Wood processing sector has room for development 41Ford to train more women employees in Asian market 41Vietnam attends largest food fair in Japan 42Women's start-up initiative launches in HCM City 42Sustainable rice production programme launched in Vietnam 43The iron businesswomen in the Vietnamese market 43C&W: Great potential in Vietnam's manufacturing 44Vietnamese SMEs to invest strongly in e-commerce 44Vietnam's February car sales rise 50 pct 45Coca-Cola invests additional $285 million 45MWG preparing to open first Cambodian store 46Platinum Cineplex responds to cinema closures 47Nha Trang to form 'welcome club' for Chinese tourists 47Sun Group opens sale of Phu Quoc project 48JW Marriot opens in Vietnam 48

FINANCEBanks kick off turbulent shareholders meeting season

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | INFOMONEY

The season of annual general meetings (AGMs) of banks this year is forecasted to be much exciting compared to 2016. In addition to the changes in high-level human re-source, new mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals will be revealed, along with the pres-

FINANCE

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Vietnam finance & business 9 March 2017

sure of capital increase and settlement of weak banks.So far, many banks such as the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade of Vi-etnam (Vietcombank), Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), and Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank), etc. have published the AGM schedules in 2017.According to Vietcombank's announcement, its 2017 AGM will be held on April 28th in Hanoi. Raising capital is one of the topics for discussion at the bank's AGM this year. Although specific plan has not been released, according to investors, Vietcombank will probably increase capital in several ways such as distributing dividends in shares, sell-ing stake to foreign investors or merging with a weak bank.Last year, Vietcombank planned to sell 7.7 percent of stake to GIC investment fund from Singapore, but the deal has not been completed due to the overly-high price of Vietcombank shares.The possibility that Vietcombank merge with a weak bank is also left open and may be clarified in the coming AGM. Vietcombank has recently registered with Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to support a weak bank and the bank will start to re-structure this bank after being approved by the government.Similar to Vietcombank, the AGM of the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Industry and Trade of Vietnam (VietinBank) is predicted to be heated up by questions of sharehold-ers about the capital raising plan when the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the bank is very low. Furthermore, the merger deal with Petrolimex Group Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PGBank) is being questioned as it has yet to be finished after two AGMs.In addition to these two giant banks, the AGMs of banks which are in the list to focus on restructuring in 2017 are also receiving attention of the public, especially Sacom-bank and Dong A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (DongA Bank). Sacombank has recent-ly announced to hold the AGM on April 28th. As this is the first AGM of the bank after Tram Be and his family terminated power at Sacombank, it will focus on consolidating governance. Meanwhile, DongA Bank has not revealed a specific date for the AGM this year, after its former Chair Tran Phuong Binh was arrested in the end of last year.Despite not being in the five banks which have to concentrate on restructuring in 2017, the AGM of Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank), which will be held in April 21st,is also very interested by the public, because the personnel problem of the bank, as always, is very complicated, along with the bad debt issue.Apart from the hot topics such as increasing capital, restructuring, electing senior management, etc. dividend is also a top concern of shareholders in this AGM season. Last year, the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Investment and Development of Viet-nam (BIDV) and VietinBank proposed the Ministry of Finance to pay dividend in shares and this plan finally was rejected. However, it is likely that from 2017, BIDV, VietinBank and Vietcombank will have to say no to cash dividend payment due to the pressure to increase capital in order to meet the requirements of Basel II.According to a source from SBV, the agency has asked the government for a mecha-nism allowing state-owned banks to retain profits in order to increase charter capital. Most likely, this proposal will be approved by the government.In fact, large banks not only try to avoid paying dividend in cash this year, but for many years, investors have rarely received cash dividends from banks. The typical names which have not paid cash dividends for years include Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB), Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), SCB, National Citizen Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NCB), Viet A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Vi-etA Bank), Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (BacA Bank), Nam A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NamA Bank), and Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), etc.According to economic expert Dr Nguyen Tri Hieu, it is normal if banks expect to re-tain dividends for increasing capital. For efficient banks, paying dividends in share is also beneficial to investors, because the total assets of the bank will increase. However, for Vietnam, since the confidence of shareholders in the future of banks is not great, shareholders tend to prefer cash dividends. This is also a topic that shareholders often

Intellasia 9 March 2017 2 / 49

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question in each AGM.SOEs to divest from banks on positive market outlook

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Many State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are seeking to divest from commercial banks this year, as forecasts for the local stock remain positive.Both The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) plans to auction their holdings in Maritime Bank and Ocean Bank (OCB) in March.VNPT has registered to offload its entire holding of 71.6 million shares in Maritime Bank at the starting price of 11,900 VND (0.52 USD) per share, equivalent to 6.09 per-cent of the bank's capital, in an auction scheduled for March 10.The move is in line with the direction of deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue to urge the telecommunication group to divest from its listed member companies.On a smaller sale, Agribank will sell 390,665 shares in Ocean Bank during an auction in mid-March. The starting price is set at 10,200 VND per share.MobiFone, one of the three largest mobile network operators in Vietnam, also plans to divest from Southeast Asia Commercial Bank (SeABank) and Tien Phong Bank (TP-Bank) this year, after the failure in 2016.In April last year, MobiFone put up its entire holding of 33.4 million shares of SeA-Bank, equivalent to 6.12 percent of the bank's capital, for sale at the initial price of 9,600 VND per share, but no investors registered to buy.The same month, it also registered to sell 14.28 million shares, or 2.57 percent of TP-Bank's capital, and successfully sold 61 percent of this amount. Before the sale, the mo-bile network company held 4.76 percent of TPBank's capital.According to VP Bank Securities Company (VPS), banks could be among top best per-formers on the securities market this year, driven by the intense restructuring process in the financial system, as well as the government's support policy of easing foreign ownership limits in commercial banks.In addition, many small banks have plans of debuting shares on the stock market this year, and this would facilitate divestment from these banks."The VN Index could climb to 780 points this year, on the average price-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17," VPS wrote in a report.The benchmark VN Index gained 14.8 percent in 2016, ending the year at 664.87 points. It has gained 7.2 percent this year.In the third quarter of last year when the stock market had perked up, dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM) successfully sold over 2 million shares in An Binh Bank (ABBank).In December2016, Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Co Ltd (IPC) and Saigontourist also successfully offloaded their entire holdings in SaigonBank.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/soes-to-divest-from-banks-on-positive-market-outlook/108356.vnp

Local banks face increased competitive pressure from foreign ones

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | KINH TE DO THI

While many local banks have been merged, many 100 percent foreign owned banks are massively "flocking" to Vietnam.This predicts an intense competition in technology and services to improve the cus-tomer service quality.As per the report of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Vietnam has now had eight li-censed wholly foreign owned banks, including ANZ Vietnam, Hong Leong Vietnam, HSBC Vietnam, Shinhan Vietnam, Standard Chartered Vietnam, Public Bank Perhad Vietnam, CIMB Bank Berhad Vietnam and Woori bank Vietnam. That is not to men-tion another bank i.e. Citibank (USA) is also approved by the SBV in principle to estab-lish a 100 percent foreign owned bank in the country.From 31 branches of foreign banks (2006) operating in Vietnam, the number has now increased to over 50, not including 50 representative offices and six joint venture banks. In addition, many domestic banks have sold shares to foreign strategic part-ners. The investment activities of international organisations in the banking sector have been quite exciting in recent time.


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Under the integration roadmap with a series of free trade and economic agreements coming into force, foreign banks, especially regional banks, will focus more on Viet-nam. Although industry insiders say the attack by foreign banks has resulted in more competitive Vietnamese banking system, improved governance capacity, more trans-parent data, more diversified products, etc., the banking sector also faces restructuring pressure.Specifically, the number of banks reduced from 33 banks in 2006 to 28 banks in 2016. "The scale and business strategy of foreign banks will be a big challenge for local banks right in the domestic market"- SBV commented on the competitive outlook in the near future.The pressure to improve to be competitive will weigh on the domestic banking system if it does not want to lose market share. As per the SBV's report, the minimum capital adequacy ratio of joint venture banks and foreign banks in Vietnam is 33.36 percent. Meanwhile, this ratio at state-owned commercial banks and joint stock commercial banks is 9.48 percent and 12.1 percent respectively.Due to its extensive network and working experience in international market, foreign banks entering Vietnam have rapidly expanded into consumer and retail services. With the population of more than 90 million people, low average income, retail bank-ing is considered as a fertile ground for foreign banks.Their strategy is to focus on enhancing the quality of service while constantly improv-ing and developing new products to enhance the experience and utility for customers. And another advantage lies in the quality of the service offered by foreign banks. For example, while many customers are worried about the security of banks after a series of network attacks on their accounts, Citibank has recently carried out voice security technology when customers call the service centre. This is also the first bank to use bi-ometric security technology.Noticeably, these foreign banks have been welcomed by the State Bank of Vietnam as well as the government in the scheme on restructuring the banking system in the peri-od of 2016 - 2020. In particular, they are policies on encouragement of foreign banks' investment in dealing with bad debts; enhancement of traditional banking products and services; strengthening of revenue sources on services, etc.Therefore, foreign banks have also gradually changed their business strategy. Previ-ously, foreign banks focused only on foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses, now they are approaching very closely to domestic businesses. Not to mention, many for-eign banks are diversifying their portfolios through credit growth instead of primarily looking for profits from foreign exchange service and charges like before.Meanwhile, the revenue structure of local banks mostly focus on credit growth, which goes along with bad debt, and the bank's revenue generation is not guaranteed. There-fore, the appearance of foreign banks has been contributing to improving the compet-itiveness and transparency of the market.As reported by the State Bank of Vietnam, the total assets of joint venture banks and foreign banks in Vietnam has continuously increased over the past years, and current-ly stands at over 826 trillion dong, the equity is over 127 trillion dong and the charter capital is more than 103 trillion dong.

Will Class-A bank resist a downturn?

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | NHIP CAU DAU TU

The year 2016 marked a new milestone as private banks announced their "dream" prof-its. Will these profits create momentum for an upcoming growth cycle? And which strategy will help banks overcome the downturn in the context that pressure has not yet reduced?VPBank has just been listed in the ranking as a private bank that generated record af-ter-tax profits ever with more than four trillion dong. Contrary to other banks which are in the downtrend, including Sacombank, ACB and Techcombank, VPBank marked a significant milestone in the going-up business cycle since 2012. Five years ago, this "throne" belonged to ACB. Along with the outstanding brands including Sacombank and Techcombank, these banks once "ruled the roost" in the banking market. Even so,


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when the economy was having troubles with restructured debts, these banks also lost their ground for their own reasons.As a result, the ranking about banks' profits has changed significantly. However, in terms of total asset scale, Military Bank (MBB) is still the leader, followed by ACB and VPBank. MBB is also a prominent figure in the billion dollar bank club list, due to the stability of profitability. That is also a commendable effort in the context that the bank has not had any foreign strategic shareholder to increase the internal strength of the governance mechanism and risk control as often seen in many other banks.This ranking also has the "rookies" that are about to catch up. For example, HDBank or SHB has nearly reached the threshold of trillion dong profit. These two banks see the outstanding role of strategic shareholders and leaders. For example, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao with the listing of the first private airline company (owned by HDBank); Do Quang Hien along with T & T Group are always enthusiastic in the acquisition of shares of state-owned companies through IPO. SHB is also the bank that accepted the merger of MDB. Other banks with lower ranking are also striving to "shine" like VIB, TPBank with the profit scale at about 700 billion dong.Success in the past period of "Class-A banks" was attached to hot growing segments. Wholesale used to be the main source of income for many banks, but then became a burden. The later stage opened up the retail movement with a change in slogan at vir-tually all of the banks in the market, not just Class-A banks.Techcombank saw a high profit this year as its provisioning scale dropped sharply from two years ago. Techcombank maintained wholesale path despite efforts to boost retail. Techcombank Security Company (TCBS) - a wholly owned subsidiary of Tech-combank - earned 604 billion dong pre-tax profit in 2016 (up 13 percent year-on-year), much different from the "gloomy image" many years ago.Back to VPBank, this bank has been named in the trillion dong profit banking club since 2012, while previously its profit was only around 650 billion dong. By changing drastically in terms of management, organisation and technology systems, VPBank fo-cused on two clear strategies: small and medium enterprises (SME) and individual customers. The outstanding loan proportion of individual business households and in-dividuals was more than 62 percent at the end of 2016, a significant growth compared to 53 percent in the year.If SMEs are considered as a big and strategic business segment in the upcoming growth path, the remarkable story is the "game" played by FE Credit, a subsidiary company operating in consumer credit field. Involving in this segment very early, FE Credit is currently leading (approximately 53 percent of the market share) the market with the capital scale of $15 billion, while previously it was only a business segment aggregated into the bank. In the midst of the game with many foreign rivals taking ad-vantage, the thrust of a Vietnamese business is obviously encouraging.The near future indicates that banks are shifting toward consumer credit where A-class banks show their interest and dynamism. Born at the same time with FE Credit was HDFinance (who sold 49 percent stake to Japanese partner later and was renamed to HD Saison) owned by HDBank. Recently, MCredit owned by the Military Bank had a similar move. Techcombank, SHB also acquired the previous financial lenders to pre-pare for this activity. ACB, after considering the new establishment, has recently said it will promote the acquisition of consumer finance companies.In fact, VPBank is still suffering from high pressure in capital. Last year, the amount of customer deposits fell five percent. VPBank sought capital from a number of other sources, including the issuance of bonds (the issuance of valuable papers is much larg-er than that of other banks, more than doubled compared to 2015) and the borrowing from IFC ($125 million was approved by IFC last year).Earlier, VPBank also planned to sell 49 percent stake of FE Credit to foreign partners, though this company was a chicken laying egg. The distribution of interest at FE Credit not only brings about new financial resources, but also to seek low cost capital to do business and management system to control this risky lending segment.Meanwhile, Techcombank aims to become a "one stop shop" for personal financial


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needs. The bank actively sold both banking and insurance services in the past year. Techcombank inherited the platform from the foreign shareholder HSBC and so far still has a good momentum and brand. In other context, the second biggest sharehold-er behind Techcombank i.e. Masan has not made any significant change in terms of strategy. However, the senior leadership positions in Techcombank have changed con-stantly for many years now.That is the challenge in each bank, but banks have to face another common challenge, i.e. regulations that are gradually coming into effect by management bodies. In the tril-lion dong club, MBB, VPBank, ACB and Techcombank will participate in the pilot of the Basel II, despite concerns about the delay of application deadline as it is too urgent for banks.As per VCBS, the pilot application of the Basel II will put pressure on increasing capital and operating costs for these banks in this year. Although state-owned commercial banks suffer from greater pressure than private banks (because of lower capital ade-quacy ratio, private banks also face difficulties as calling for capital is not simple when bank shares are not sellable at high price, and the ownership ceiling is limited.The results of the survey on business trends of credit institutions by the Department of Forecasting and Statistics show that up to 85 percent of credit institutions expect their business situation to improve this year. 2016 was forecasted to be a difficult year for the banking industry but the overall average return increased significantly. Will it con-tinue this year? It can be seen that the average capital cost that banks are mobilising on the market is also increasing along with the pressure on interest rate increase.Last year, many banks determined to call for longer term capital in bonds with interest rates at around eight percent. Increased interest rate and exchange rate directly influ-ence banking activity, not only on credit growth, but may even worsen bad debt.In addition, banks must continue putting provisions for the bad debts sold to VAMC and new bad debts. Of course, the outlook of the banking sector depends a lot on a number of factors, including the ability to absorb credit of the economy. In the context that the economy may suffer from many influences from the world economy and Vi-etnam's internal difficulties, banks are clearly facing many challenges. Therefore, in general, commercial banks must also go in the direction of safety, rather than taking risks to earn high profits like before.

Reference exchange rate goes up 12 VND


The daily reference exchange rate for VND/USD was set at 22,258 VND per USD on March 9, up 12 VND from the day before.With the current +/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 22,925 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,591 VND per USD.The opening hour rates at commercial banks saw strong fluctuations.Vietcombank listed its rates at 22,790 VND (buying) and 22,860 VND (selling) per USD, both up 40 VND from March 8.BIDV raised both its rates by 25 VND, to 22,780 VND (buying) and 22,850 VND (sell-ing) per USD.Meanwhile, Techcombank cut both its rates by 20 VND, listing the buying rate at 22,740 VND and the selling rate at 22,840 VND per USD.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-goes-up-12-vnd/108394.vnp

UK Fintech firm eyes Vietnam's banking sector

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Opportunity Network, a UK-based FinTech company that offers banks a digital busi-ness matchmaking platform, on Wednesday announced plans to engage Vietnamese commercial banks in joining its fast-growing global partner network.Headquartered in London with offices across New York, Barcelona and Dubai, Oppor-tunity Network is backed by the Boston Consulting Group and provides a collabora-tion platform that connects 13,500 companies in 128 countries.This three-year-old firm is currently valued at $180 million and boasts a deal value in excess of $38 billion.


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The company will offer Vietnamese corporate and private banks access to an innova-tive business-to-business (B2B) digital platform designed to promote growth. Through this platform, local businesses can hunt for trustworthy partners to help them expand into new markets via international trade activities, such as selling privately held enter-prises, executing cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and maximising glo-bal asset utilisation that has a deal value of $1 million and above."Opportunity Network is a bank-FinTech enabler and a digital Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. We help banks leverage financial technology to deliver more value and create better experiences for their corporate clients," said Ly Nguyen, country managing director at Opportunity Network."This is in line with the Vietnamese government's policy to promote private sector growth, with strong focus on SMEs to double the number of firms by 2020 and facili-tate trade, investment and M&A opportunities.""It's the perfect time for us to work hand in hand with local banks and leverage the dig-ital tool as a strategic enabler for banking transformation," Nguyen said.http://bizhub.vn/banking/uk-fintech-firm-eyes-viet-nams-banking-sector_284642.html

ADB continues infrastructure investment in Vietnam


The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will continue its support for infrastructure devel-opment in Vietnam, said ADB vice President for Knowledgement Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono at a press conference on March 8.He suggested Vietnam pay further attention to fiscal renovation, including tax reform, spending re-orientation as well as prudence in borrowing and collecting non-tax rev-enues.In addition to encouraging the participation of private sector, creating attractive envi-ronmental climate and deepening the capital market, the Vietnamese government should sort out priorities for spending and investment, he highlighted.Meanwhile, ADB Country director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick underlined measures to attract private investment in infrastructure development as well as ADB's role as a sponsor for infrastructure projects in the near future.At the press conference, the ADB representative introduced the report "Meeting Asia's infrastructure Needs", which covers the region's power, transport, telecommunica-tions and water and sanitation infrastructure.It comprehensively examines current infrastructure stocks and investments, future in-vestment needs and financing mechanisms for developing Asia.Developing Asia will need to invest 26 trillion USD from 2016-2030, or 1.7 trillion USD per year, if the region is to maintain its growth momentum, eradicate poverty and re-spond to climate change.Without climate change mitigation and adaptation costs, 22.6 trillion USD will be needed, or 1.5 trillion USD per year.Of the total climate-adjusted investment needs during the period, 14.7 trillion USD will be for power and 8.4 trillion USD for transport.Investment in telecommunications will reach 2.3 trillion USD, with water and sanita-tion costs at 800 billion USD over the period.East Asia will account for 61 percent of climate-adjusted in investment needs through 2030.As a percentage of GDP, however, the Pacific leads all other sub-regions, requiring in-vestments valued at 9.1 percent of GDP.This is followed by South Asia at 8.8 percent, Central Asia at 7.8 percent, Southeast Asia at 5.7 percent and East Asia at 5.2 percent of GDP.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/174110/adb-continues-infrastructure-in-vestment-in-vietnam.html


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The path to become a zero dong bank of OceanBank

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | ZING NEWS

Hai Hung Rural Bank (the predecessor of OceanBank) was established in 1993 with in-itial charter capital of 17.2 billion dong. Hai Hung was also the first and only rural bank in Hai Duong province at that time with core business of lending to the agricultural and rural development of Hai Duong province.The historical change of the bank occurred in 2003, 10 years after its establishment, when the name of Ha Van Tham appeared for the first time in the finance and banking world of Vietnam.Tham once told reporters about the chance which led him to work in banking and fi-nance sector. Accordingly, in 2003, while being the director of a joint venture company, he happened to meet some shareholders who wanted to sell shares of Hai Hung Rural Bank. Tham acquired these shares and became the bank's vice Chair in the same year. After a year, Tham was elected the bank's Chair of the Board of directors.Tham was the one who made Hai Hung Rural Bank to be the first rural bank which was allowed to transfer to an urban bank. In 2007, the name Ocean Joint Stock Com-mercial Bank (OceanBank) was officially launched, with charter capital increasing from 170 billion dong to one trillion dong.Only one year after the transformation, the indicators of the bank sharply rose. By the end of 2007, the bank's total assets were enlarged by 13 times, reaching 13.680 trillion dong, while outstanding credit increased by eight times and mobilisation fund in-creased by 10 times, respectively reaching 4.706 trillion dong and 2.420 trillion dong.However, the majority of the asset increase of OceanBank came from the deposits at other credit institutions (CIs). In 2007, OceanBank borrowed more than 9.3 trillion dong from other CIs (accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total assets) to use as the bank's capital source.After becoming an urban bank, Tham still held the chair position. The indicators of the bank such as total assets, outstanding credit scale, and mobilisation increased overly fast. After nearly seven years of transformation, the charter capital of the bank reached up to four trillion dong, up by more than four times, while its total assets increased by nearly five times to 67.075 trillion dong in 2013.In this period, the growth of OceanBank's total assets was 65 percent per annum, while the development of credit scale and mobilisation respectively reached 180 percent and 167 percent per annum.The bank's business results continuously surged, reaching 1.421 trillion dong of net in-terest income and 232 billion dong of pre-tax profit in 2013.It is worth to mention that in the hot growth period of OceanBank, the Vietnam Na-tional Oil and Gas Group (PVN) signed an agreement to become the bank's strategic partner and shareholder in 2008. The total investment capital of PVN for this deal was equivalent to 20 percent of OceanBank's stake at that time. PVN appointed Nguyen Xuan Son - general director of PetroVietnam Finance Company (PVFC) to be Ocean-Bank's member of the Board of directors and general director.In the period of 2011-2013, the bank still recorded positive growth in its indicators. Nevertheless, after Tham was arrested, the investigation agency said that Tham owns 63 percent stake of OceanBank through various related organisations and individuals.To obtain a huge amount of deposits in a short time, Tham instructed his subordinates to illegally pay 1.576 trillion dong of interests outside of the mobilising deposit con-tracts for customers, in which more than 1.08 trillion dong of interests outside mobilis-ing contracts and 984 billion dong of interests breaching the regulations on capital mobilisation interest rate cap stipulated by SBV for the entire system.After PVN became the strategic partner of OceanBank, Son proposed to pay an addi-tion amount called "customer care" in addition to the deposit rates in order to raise cap-ital from PVN. Tham, via his company BSC signed more than 720 blank service contracts and grossed 70 billion dong. This amount was given to Son to "take care" of customers.During this time, Tham colluded with Pham Cong Danh (who acquired Trust Bank (formerly known as Vietnam Construction Bank) to borrow 500 billion dong via Trung


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Dung company while not being eligible to borrow loans due to having no secured as-sets.Before Tham and his accomplices were arrested, the bad debts of OceanBank already reached up to 50 percent of the bank's total outstanding credit, while its equity was a negative number of more than 10 trillion dong. The profit of the bank could not offset the losses.In May 2015, SBV decided to acquire OceanBank at zero dong per share and trans-formed the bank into a one-member liability limited bank.This decision closed the 22 year development of OceanBank under private banking and made it to become a 100 percent state-owned bank.

26th Asean Exchanges CEOs meeting held

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VNECONOMIC TIMES

Stock exchange CEOs meet in Bali and reaffirm collaboration in promoting Asean cap-ital markets as an asset class.Asean Exchanges convened this past weekend in Bali, Indonesia, for the 26th Asean Exchanges CEOs meeting, where they reaffirmed their collaboration in promoting Asean capital markets as an asset class.The meeting is symbolic. as the seven Asean exchanges - Bursa Malaysia, the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HCM City Stock Exchange, the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and the Singapore Ex-change - met six years ago in Bali to formally introduce the Asean Exchanges collabo-ration. Tito Sulistio, Chair of the 26th Asean Exchanges CEOs Meeting, said: "The Asean Ex-changes collaboration has made great strides forward since it was formalised in 2011 to foster greater diversity, innovation and investment opportunities. Trade value, mar-ket cap, and trading interests have all trended positively upwards in the years since its inception. Product innovations were systematically introduced every year in an effort to grow trade value and the quality of the Asean capital market product."In the last 12 months, Asean Exchanges collaboration ushered in the introduction of the Asean 5 FTSE4Good ESG Index and new MSCI Asean centric indices. Sulistio added: "Today, growth in the seven exchanges of Asean and Asean-based in-termediaries has exceeded expectations, by expanding from market-centric, domestic institutions to large regional intermediaries with an Asean focus. Compared with 2011, domestic-based investment banks and equity houses today have successfully trans-formed from country leaders into regional Asean leaders able to compete head on with some of the large global players."These institutions have defined efficient cross-border trade linkages within their own platforms and provided efficient inter-broker services to domestic-focused entities looking to expand their investments to Asean. Going forward, the collaboration will continue to introduce products and services, to catalyse new methods of streamlining access to and within Asean and build greater cross border harmonisation.The Asean Exchanges collaboration will continue to work with best-in-class partners from around the world to build greater liquidity among members in the region.The Asean Exchanges CEOs reaffirmed the intention to continue to collaborate while focusing on harmonising regulatory frameworks, facilitating the issuance of Asean products, the cross-exchange listing of Asean products, and mutual recognition of cap-ital market professionals. These initiatives will be profiled through Asean Exchanges-driven marketing platforms within Asean as well as outside.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/26th-asean-exchanges-ceos-meeting-held

HSBC Vietnam introduces new credit card promotion


Platinum cardholders can win a five-day, four-night luxury cruise to Singapore, Ma-laysia and Thailand valued at $2,200 while Gold/ Classic cardholders have the chance to win an Action Camera.HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd's latest credit card campaign will put a spring in the step of


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both new and existing customers with a host of promotions on offer and incredible prizes up for grabs.During the promotion period, from March 8 to June 30, all new and existing Platinum cardholders with an approval code of "888" on a sales slip valued at VND500,000 ($22) or more will have the opportunity to win a fabulous holiday - a "five days, four nights" vacation for two on a five-star cruise to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. The trip is valued at VND50 million ($2,200) and includes entertainment, dining and accommo-dation. There are a total of 16 prizes to be won during the campaign.New Platinum cardholders will also enjoy a cash-back of VND2 million ($88) when spending a minimum of VND2 million ($88) within 30 days of the card being issued.Meanwhile, new Gold/ Classic cardholders can receive a cash-back of VND1 million ($44) for a minimum spend of VND1 million ($44) within 30 days of the card being is-sued. Instead of the cash-back, customers are able to choose an "Action Camera", the perfect device when heading off on an adventure this summer.In March, all HSBC credit cardholders will receive up to six times the normal reward points and discounts of up to VND250,000 ($11) when purchasing items from selected e-commerce sites. Furthermore, until September 30, all credit cardholders will receive "One free 2D ticket" when purchasing three tickets online at CGV Cinemas."At HSBC, we never stop actively updating our products so our customers can enjoy the contemporary lifestyle they desire," said Sabbir Ahmed, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management at HSBC Vietnam. "This spring, HSBC credit cards will be the perfect companion for shopping, entertainment, travel and leisure."HSBC has updated the look of credit and debit cards issued to customers worldwide. Customers in Vietnam will receive newly-designed cards shortly. "The new design features the HSBC lions - iconic symbols of the bank for almost a century - which rep-resent both prosperity and protection, serving as a daily reminder of the bank's prom-ise to support customers in achieving their ambitions," Ahmed said.HSBC Vietnam was recognised as the Leader in Credit Card Payment Volumes for eight years in a row (2009 to 2016) by Visa International. The bank also received an award as Best Credit Card Product in Vietnam in 2016 from The Asian Banker.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/hsbc-vietnam-introduces-new-credit-card-promotion

UN meeting looks to accelerate trade facilitation agreement


Accelerating the implementation of the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement and the UN Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods was a focus of discus-sions on March 8 at the on-going UN high-level meeting on improving cooperation on transit and trade facilitation in Hanoi.The high-level meeting for the euro-Asia region on improving cooperation on transit, trade facilitation and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is taking place in Vietnam's capital city from March 7-9.Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank Group Senior vice President for the 2030 Develop-ment Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships, held that it is necessary to increase cooperation right within a country, saying the lack of exchange and coordina-tion among domestic agencies will slow down trade facilitation and affect communi-ties in society, especially the business community.The WTO trade facilitation agreement took effect on February 22, 2017, marking an im-portant milestone in the global trade system, he said.The agreement allows countries and international organisations and experts to design numerous programmes to promote national trade in member countries with the ulti-mate goal of poverty elimination and prosperity, he added.Counsellor Raul Torres from the WTO Development Division said so far 17 landlocked countries have ratified the agreement - which includes measures to promote free tran-sit, border gate cooperation, and information technology for nations without seas.The utilisation of this agreement will help countries pursue sustainable development, promote trade, and develop private capability and international integration.


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Regarding the Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods (TIR), Jens Hugel, Head of Goods Transport and Sustainable Development under the Internation-al Road Transport Union, said the TIR benefits not only landlocked and developing countries but also under-developed ones.Andre Sceia from the TIR Secretariat and the Sustainable Transport Division of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, recommended countries promote harmony in cus-toms clearance procedures at national border gates.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/un-meeting-looks-to-accelerate-trade-facilitation-agree-ment/108366.vnp

New transfer pricing decree: a step closer to international standards

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR

On February 24, 2017, the Vietnamese government released the new transfer pricing (TP) Decree No. 20/2017/ND-CP 'Providing tax administration applicable to enterpris-es having controlled transactions' (Decree 20), which will take effect from May 1, 2017.Decree 20 replaces the existing TP regulations (Circular No.66/2010/TT-BTC) and pro-vides new compliance requirements in Vietnam.While Decree 20 is loosely based on Circular 66, it extends the interpretation of existing provisions and introduces additional concepts and principles from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Framework.The preamble sets out the decree's objective of administering transfer pricing in order to prevent the loss of tax revenue to the state budget. It also introduces the concept of 'substance over form' to be applied by tax officials in the administration, examination, and auditing of transfer pricing. This notion forms the basis of the subsequent articles and provisions in the decree.Salient points of the new decreeDecree 20 introduces a three-tiered TP documentation approach to collect more tax-re-lated information on multinational companies' (MNC) business operations. The new decree follows the approach set out in the BEPS Action Plan 13 (Guidance on TP Doc-umentation and Country-by-Country Reporting). Specifically, a taxpayer is required to prepare and maintain three-tiered TP documentation, including a master file, local files, and Country-by-Country Reporting.The decree also provides detailed guidance on comparability analysis, including the use of data sources, selection of TP methods, the minimum number of comparable companies required, and other adjustment factors (such as location specific advantag-es).Furthermore, Decree 20 introduces a new set of TP declaration forms that require dis-closure of more detailed information, including segmentation of profit and loss by re-lated parties and third party transactions. The substantial gap between the margins earned on related and third party transactions may increase taxpayer's risk profile and trigger queries from tax authorities.Decree 20 extends its scope beyond TP to also provide guidance on the deductibility of intercompany charges. This includes a limitation on the tax deductibility of interest on loans that is capped at 20 per cent of EBITDA. For intercompany services, various criteria for tax deductibility are set out, notably, a taxpayer needs to demonstrate that the services provide economic benefit and provide evidence (supporting documents) on the reasonableness of the service charge calculation method. A tax deduction is dis-allowed for expenses in which the direct benefit or additional value to the taxpayer cannot be determined, such as duplicated services, shareholder costs, etc.Practical challengesThe release of Decree 20 creates a more solid and expansive legal basis for the Vietnam-ese transfer pricing administration and brings the country closer to international standards with the changes in transparency and anti-tax avoidance efforts.A key concern, however, is the practicality of applying these international standards in the Vietnamese environment. For instance, there is a lack of comparable local data which taxpayers can use to apply the TP methods in the decree to determine and set


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their intercompany prices. This raises concerns from taxpayers over broadening the use of comparable data (e.g., using data of other Asian companies) and the acceptance of such approach by tax authorities in practice. Furthermore, Decree 20 gives tax au-thorities the power to use the government's internal databases for TP assessment pur-poses in cases where a taxpayer is deemed noncompliant with the requirements of the decree. This type of development could clearly give rise to increasingly lengthy dis-putes.Decree 20 also emphasizes that the TP method applied must ensure that there is no loss of tax revenue to the state budget, which implies an asymmetry which could be incon-sistent with the arm's length principle (e.g. no downward adjustments allowed). In ad-dition, there is no guidance on how adjustments should be done and the potential impact on other taxes (e.g. VAT, import duty, etc.).Despite some of these concerns, Decree 20 represents the most important development of the TP regime in Vietnam for the last 10 years, as it demonstrates Vietnam's commit-ment to align with the global tax framework (BEPS) on transparency and anti-avoid-ance. While the new decree aims to enhance transfer pricing enforcement, it also increases the compliance burden on taxpayers. Although the compliance obligation of the decree will be effective from May 1, 2017, taxpayers should take immediate action to assess the impact not only on local tax compliance, but also on their businesses, con-sidering the new decree has potential implications beyond transfer pricing.http://www.vir.com.vn/new-transfer-pricing-decree-a-step-closer-to-international-standards.html

Industry and trade ministry structure bulky and inefficient: experts

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VIETNAMNET

Experts have urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to reform its administrative structure as it now takes on too much work that is outside its purview.Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at MOIT's conference on six-month review pointed out that the ministry is 'bulky' and 'insufficient' which leads to problems in personnel and slow equitisation.He asked the ministry to immediately undergo a restructuring process to serve pro-duction and development and adapt to new circumstances of global integration.MOIT is in charge of making industry and trade policies and managing 11 state-owned economic groups and general corporations.A series of projects developed by the powerful enterprises have become 'famous' in Vi-etnam because of their inefficiency and big losses.The project on expanding Tisco, the Thai Nguyen steel & iron corporation, is a typical example. Having huge investment capital of VND8.1 trillion, enjoying many invest-ment incentives, including special policies allowing Tisco to restructure debts, the project remains unused after 10 years of investment.The other projects, including three ethanol plants developed by PetroVietnam, the fer-tiliser plant by Vinachem, are in the same situation. They have raised anger among the public as trillions of dong worth of state's capital have been lost because of misman-agement.The common feature of the ineffective projects is that they were initiated in the period from 2007 to 2016, when Vu Huy Hoang was MOIT's minister.Dr Pham Quy Tho, an expert on public policies, commented that MOIT has to bear re-sponsibility for ineffective projects.He went on to say that the attendance of the prime minister at a ministerial 6-month review conference showed that the government has seen problems for a long time at MOIT.Former MOIT minister Vu Huy Hoang was said to have made an unreasonable deci-sion of appointing his son, Vu Quang Hai, to the post of deputy CEO of Sabeco, a brew-ery belonging to Sabeco which holds the largest domestic beer market.Before taking office as deputy CEO of Sabeco, Hai was CEO of PVFI, a finance compa-ny which took losses for two consecutive years under his management.The controversial appointment, plus a series of other problems, have been brought to


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light recently.Sharing the same view with Tho, Dr Bui Quang Binh from Khoa Hoc Kinh Te (econom-ic studies) Journal said: "MOIT takes on too much work which is not its.""Managing enterprises, universities and junior colleges must not be the job of MOIT. MOIT still cannot do the state's management in industry and trade - its major task - well," Binh said.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/160958/industry-and-trade-ministry-struc-ture-bulky-and-inefficient--experts.html

Vietnam to accelerate development of logistics services


Vietnam will accelerate the development of logistics services to facilitate trade and im-prove the economy's competitiveness, according to an action plan which was ap-proved recently by prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.According to the plan, the logistics sector is expected to contribute from 8 percent-10 percent of the country's GDP by 2025 with a growth rate of 15 percent-20 percent, an outsourcing ratio of 50 percent-60 percent, and logistics costs reduced to 16 percent-20 percent of the GDP. Vietnam hopes to enter the top 50 countries in the logistics per-formance index (LPI) ranking.To achieve the targets, Vietnam needs to call for investment in logistics infrastructure, boosting connectivity with other countries, build regional and international-level lo-gistics centres, and develop logistics enterprises capable of competing on the interna-tional market.The plan points out major measures such as perfecting policies and laws on logistics, completing logistics infrastructure, improving capability of enterprises, developing the logistics market and training a qualified logistics workforce.According to the Vietnam Logistics Association, the plan is important, directly affect-ing the development of the logistics sector in Vietnam in the context of the country's deeper integration into the region and the world via free trade agreements.Vietnam's logistics sector has made significant progress in recent years, in terms of both diversity and service quality, with an annual growth rate of 16 percent-20 percent, ranking 64th out of 160 countries in the world and 4th in Southeast Asia.The development of the logistics sector has contributed to Vietnam's export growth and bringing its export value from $111.2 billion in 2007 to $327.7 billion in 2015 and helps the local retail market grow by 20 percent-25 percent each year.However, Vietnam's logistics sector still faces problems.At a logistics forum held in November 2016, deputy minister of Trade and Industry Do Thang Hai said Vietnam's logistics infrastructure remains weak because of poor con-nectivity between railways, roads and seaports.Goods transportation is also time-consuming, leading to high transport costs.Reports showed that logistics costs currently make up 25 percent of Vietnam's GDP, much higher than neighbouring countries and most Vietnamese logistics enterprises are small and medium-sized, lacking capital and facilities to operate on a big scale.Vietnam now has 1,300 enterprises, including foreign invested ones, operating in the field. Domestic firms account for just 25 percent of the market share while foreign com-panies, which make up only 5 percent of the total number, take the remaining 75 per-cent.Additionally, Vietnam's logistics human resources, technology and laws are far be-hind the rest of the word.http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-to-accelerate-development-of-logistics-serv-ices-345050.vov

Hanoi conducts 2017 economic census


Hanoi is conducting an economic census to collect data on local businesses and econ-omy, heard a conference to discuss the implementation of the work on March 7.The 2017 economic census covers all local business establishments, state administra-tive bodies, religious organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in


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the city.It aims to measure the number of local business establishments and employees and ob-tain data on their location, ownership, employees, payroll, performance, access to loans and use of information technology.The census started on March 1 for enterprises, state administrative bodies and NGOs and will begin on July 1 for non-farm individual business establishments and religious organisations.Speaking at the conference, Chair of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung asked agencies to provide staff with training and ensure the accuracy of the in-formation.en.vietnamplus.vn/hanoi-conducts-2017-economic-census/108345.vnp

ng Nai revokes 40 delayed, abandoned FDI projects


The Industrial Zone Management Board of southern ng Nai Province has revoked in-vestment permits granted to 40 FDI projects that have been abandoned or delayed for a long time.According to Mai Vn Nhn, deputy head of the board, the revoked projects have total investment of over $300 million.Nearly 1,300 projects, worth over $25.8 billion, from 44 countries and territories are valid in ng Nai.Since the beginning of 2017, the board has been working hard to review the status of projects located in industrial zones, Nhn said, adding that the investment permit of any project that exceeded the 12-month limit set for disbursement will be withdrawn. The move indicates the determination of the province to exclude incapable investors from the industrial zones and speed up disbursement of licensed projects.Nhn added the province has given priority to projects that apply advanced technolo-gies and use fewer workers and those in the support industry. It has also called for more investment in district-level industrial parks.In 2016, ng Nai granted investment licenses to 100 FDI projects, 50 per cent of which were located in rural mountainous districts, such as Du Giay, Sui Tre, Long Khanh and Nhn Trch 3 industrial parks.The province is currently home to 32 industrial parks and attracts some $2 billion in FDI annually.

Vung Ang Economic Zone have licences revoked

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | DTI NEWS

Many projects in Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central province of Ha Tinh have their investment licences revoked for the long delay or ineffective operations.According to the management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone, to date, the zone has attracted 29 projects; but, up to nine of them have their investment licences re-voked, including four foreign-invested projects.The revoked projects operate in different areas, including coke coal production, iron and steel production, equipment for heavy industries and mechanics.Meanwhile, additional three projects in the zone with a total investment of millions of US dollars will have their investment licences withdrawn due to the mentioned-above same reason, including two foreign-invested ones.Vung Ang Economic Zone is also home to several urban area and industrial complex projects which also face many difficulties as Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Iron and Steel Co Ltd decided to postpone the official inauguration of its first blast furnace which was earlier slated for June 25, 2016.The delay was decided after Vietnamese authorities had demanded that the firm to pay USD70 million in taxes it has been accused of having failed to pay.The USD50 million Phu Vinh urban area and industrial complex project has been un-able to find investors to lease its facilities for industrial production so that the investors can provide their products for the Formosa steel plant nearby.However, the operation delay of Formosa has affected Phu Vinh urban area and indus-trial complex project's business plan.


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Some other projects in Vung Ang Economic Zone are also in the same situation with Phu Vinh because of the Formosa steel plant's halt to operations.

Poor Vietnamese women work hard for profits of world's richest men, Oxfam says

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VNEXPRESS

'Stark inequality' is observed in the garment industry, where 80 percent of manufac-turing workers are women, Oxfam says.Governments and businesses should look at ways to improve the quality and security of women's economic opportunities, ensuring their fair income, secure contracts and safe working conditions, advocacy group Oxfam has said in a report.In a new report released on the International Women's Day - March 8, Oxfam focuses on the garment industry, where 80 percent of manufacturing workers are women while the sector's wages are set too low and labour rights infringements frequently oc-cur.In the report, entitled "An economy that works for women", Oxfam interviewed wom-en in garment factories in Vietnam and Myanmar, who work 12 hours a day, some-times 18 hours and through the night, six days a week. Still, they are not earning enough to sustain themselves and their families, the report said.Tham, a worker at Tinh Loi factory in the northern province of Hai Duong which pro-duces garments for global brands, earns less than $1 an hour."My working hours and salary are unfair," she was quoted in the Oxfam report as say-ing. "The thing I find unfair is that with the same amount of work, my salary has de-creased.""We, as workers, cannot do anything to influence management. In case of urgent or-ders and difficulties the overtime and salary are decided by management," she said.At the same time, the industry generates large profits for some of the richest people in the world, the report said.It named Amancio Ortega, the world's second richest man, who earns around $1.16 bil-lion from annual share dividends from the parent company of fashion chain Zara. Ste-fan Persson, a major shareholder in H&M and ranked 32 in the Forbes list of the world's richest people, received nearly $700 million in share dividends last year, the report said.Although not directly connected to the factory where Tham works, "this shows the stark inequality in the industry," Oxfam said."We highly recommend governments and businesses to address the quality and secu-rity of women's economic opportunities," Babeth Ngoc Han Lefur, director of Oxfam in Vietnam, said in a statement.She said women must be ensured fair income, secure contracts and safe working con-ditions.Women's voices should be better supported, and there should be policies to recognise, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, Lefur added.The report showed that women worldwide carry out between two and 10 times more unpaid care work than men. This work is worth $10 trillion to the global economy each year, equivalent to more than an eighth of the world's entire GDP, it said.e.vnexpress.net/news/business/poor-vietnamese-women-work-hard-for-profits-of-world-s-richest-men-oxfam-says-3552384.html

Vietnam's premier to meet government officials and businesses


All business concerns are gathered and reported to the prime minister each month, VCCI says. The government will host a conference reviewing a year of implementing Resolution No. 35.The Vietnamese government issued Resolution No. 19 in April last year on improving domestic business environment and enhancing national competitiveness. In May it is-sued Resolution No. 35 on supporting and developing enterprises.After a year implementing the policies, while the government has taken it seriously, some ministries and provinces have failed to apply Resolution No. 35. The govern-ment said it will soon organise preliminary review of the implementation of the reso-


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lution, whereby prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will listen to opinions raised by ministries and agencies as well as business executives.Resolution No.19 can be considered part of Resolution No.35 as it is mainly about en-hancing business climate, while the latter provided measures for supporting and de-veloping corporate performance, said Vu Tien Loc, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).The implementation of Resolution No.35 had significantly reduced administrative procedures, including shifting from pre-inspection to post-inspection, cutting down the number of business conditions and time for inspection while restricting corrup-tion.In addition, each government agency has a representative to be in charge of a task so overlapping can be avoided.The resolution vows to create favourable and safer business climate. On the other hand, the business community should join the government's effort by developing ef-fective business, building corporate culture and getting more involved in social re-sponsibility.On Monday, VCCI hosted a conference to gather concerns from enterprises and report to prime minister Phuc.Sublicenses, a lack of access to funding and high labour cost are making it hard for companies to perform well in Vietnam, representatives from business associations and companies in northern Vietnam told the conference where they also discussed busi-ness in the past year.Vietnam has been trying hard to get rid of sub-licenses which set unreasonable re-quirements on many different business fields since April last year, but "the fight to eliminate sublicenses is seeing no ending," said Loc."If successful, it will be much easier for companies to do business in Vietnam," he told the conference.Loc was addressing concern raised by a representative from the American Chamber of Commerce, who said many American companies doing business in Vietnam too many sub-licenses."It's time and money consuming and also complicated for companies to collect all re-quired sub-licenses before they can sell the product out to the market," the represent-ative said.Small and medium sized enterprises are still lacking access to funds, said Mai Dinh Manh, a senior official from the Vietnam Electro-Technical Industry Association. He urged the government to set priority to widen businesses' access to funding sources.In the textile industry, the country had a good year in 2016 but the future is bleaker as labour cost has risen above that in other key textile export nations, said Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association.The cost in India ranges between $100 and $120 per month, while it is $80 in Bangla-desh, far below Vietnam's cost of at least $200, he said.Besides, Duong also touched upon the policy of interest rates in Vietnam. "For an ex-port-oriented country like Vietnam, is this good to peg the interest rate like we are do-ing now?" he said.Over the past year, VCCI has received over 400 inquiries from companies across the country and has already handled 320 of them, Loc said. The remaining 80 inquiries are being looked into by the authorities because there are certain issues that may require legal amendments and reviewing by the National Assembly.All the issues are gathered and reported to the prime minister and related agencies every month, Loc reaffirmed.http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-premier-to-meet-government-offi-cials-and-businesses-3551256.html

Delta raw shrimp prices soar


Prices of raw shrimp have been increasing rapidly in the Cu Long (Mekong) Delta since early February when shrimp processors returned to work soon after Tt (Lunar


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New Year), according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.In major shrimp farming provinces such as Kien Giang, Ca Mau and Soc Trng, the price of thirty-pieces-per-kilo (ppk) size black tiger shrimp has risen by VN20,000 (90 US cents) per kilogramme to VN230,000-240,000.The price of 40 ppk shrimp rose by VN10,000 to VN180,000-190,000.White-legged shrimp prices have increased by similar levels to VN150,000-165,000 and VN140,000-150,000 for 50 and 60 ppk sizes.The prices are expected to remain high or continue to rise until the peak harvest season three months from now.Farmers are also preparing to begin a new brackish-water shrimp crop though activi-ties have seen a downturn due to unpredictable weather, wide day-night temperature gaps and unseasonable rains that affect the water and cause possible shrimp disease outbreaks.But despite all that the output of brackish-water shrimp is expected to be higher than last year.Nearly 98 per cent of the country's 448,000 hectares of brackish-water shrimp farms is in the delta.vietnamnews.vn/economy/372423/delta-raw-shrimp-prices-soar.html#0kRDg48mx8DgQS5W.97

New transfer pricing decree: a step closer to international standards

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR

On February 24, 2017, the Vietnamese government released the new transfer pricing (TP) Decree No. 20/2017/ND-CP 'Providing tax administration applicable to enterpris-es having controlled transactions' (Decree 20), which will take effect from May 1, 2017.Decree 20 replaces the existing TP regulations (Circular No.66/2010/TT-BTC) and pro-vides new compliance requirements in Vietnam.While Decree 20 is loosely based on Circular 66, it extends the interpretation of existing provisions and introduces additional concepts and principles from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines and Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Framework.The preamble sets out the decree's objective of administering transfer pricing in order to prevent the loss of tax revenue to the state budget. It also introduces the concept of 'substance over form' to be applied by tax officials in the administration, examination, and auditing of transfer pricing. This notion forms the basis of the subsequent articles and provisions in the decree.Salient points of the new decreeDecree 20 introduces a three-tiered TP documentation approach to collect more tax-re-lated information on multinational companies' (MNC) business operations. The new decree follows the approach set out in the BEPS Action Plan 13 (Guidance on TP Doc-umentation and Country-by-Country Reporting). Specifically, a taxpayer is required to prepare and maintain three-tiered TP documentation, including a master file, local files, and Country-by-Country Reporting.The decree also provides detailed guidance on comparability analysis, including the use of data sources, selection of TP methods, the minimum number of comparable companies required, and other adjustment factors (such as location specific advantag-es).Furthermore, Decree 20 introduces a new set of TP declaration forms that require dis-closure of more detailed information, including segmentation of profit and loss by re-lated parties and third party transactions. The substantial gap between the margins earned on related and third party transactions may increase taxpayer's risk profile and trigger queries from tax authorities.Decree 20 extends its scope beyond TP to also provide guidance on the deductibility of intercompany charges. This includes a limitation on the tax deductibility of interest on loans that is capped at 20 per cent of EBITDA. For intercompany services, various criteria for tax deductibility are set out, notably, a taxpayer needs to demonstrate that the services provide economic benefit and provide evidence (supporting documents)


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on the reasonableness of the service charge calculation method. A tax deduction is dis-allowed for expenses in which the direct benefit or additional value to the taxpayer cannot be determined, such as duplicated services, shareholder costs, etc.Practical challengesThe release of Decree 20 creates a more solid and expansive legal basis for the Vietnam-ese transfer pricing administration and brings the country closer to international standards with the changes in transparency and anti-tax avoidance efforts.A key concern, however, is the practicality of applying these international standards in the Vietnamese environment. For instance, there is a lack of comparable local data which taxpayers can use to apply the TP methods in the decree to determine and set their intercompany prices. This raises concerns from taxpayers over broadening the use of comparable data (e.g., using data of other Asian companies) and the acceptance of such approach by tax authorities in practice. Furthermore, Decree 20 gives tax au-thorities the power to use the government's internal databases for TP assessment pur-poses in cases where a taxpayer is deemed noncompliant with the requirements of the decree. This type of development could clearly give rise to increasingly lengthy dis-putes.Decree 20 also emphasizes that the TP method applied must ensure that there is no loss of tax revenue to the state budget, which implies an asymmetry which could be incon-sistent with the arm's length principle (e.g. no downward adjustments allowed). In ad-dition, there is no guidance on how adjustments should be done and the potential impact on other taxes (e.g. VAT, import duty, etc.).Despite some of these concerns, Decree 20 represents the most important development of the TP regime in Vietnam for the last 10 years, as it demonstrates Vietnam's commit-ment to align with the global tax framework (BEPS) on transparency and anti-avoid-ance. While the new decree aims to enhance transfer pricing enforcement, it also increases the compliance burden on taxpayers. Although the compliance obligation of the decree will be effective from May 1, 2017, taxpayers should take immediate action to assess the impact not only on local tax compliance, but also on their businesses, con-sidering the new decree has potential implications beyond transfer pricing.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/174099/new-transfer-pricing-decree--a-step-closer-to-international-standards.html

More firms burdened with informal fees

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

A recent Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) survey found 34 per-cent of businesses were grappling with informal fees last year, two percentage points higher than in 2014.VCCI on March 7 announced results of the survey of 3,500 operational businesses in the country. Up to 39 percent of respondents said they would face discrimination if they declined to pay informal fees for officials.Dau Anh Tuan, head of the legal department at VCCI, said firms had to pay informal fees for taxmen. "They are concerned that they would be in trouble and face more tax inspections although they are doing nothing wrong."An assessment report conducted in 2016 by VCCI and the World Bank (WB) on tax procedure reform and business satisfaction indicated 53 percent of firms grappled with tax inspections in the past year.The bigger businesses are, the more inspections they face, Tuan said, adding inspec-tions were reported at 74 percent of companies with chartered capital of more than VND100 billion, 68 percent with chartered capital of VND50-100 billion and 67 percent with chartered capital of VND10-50 billion.Tuan said 80 percent of inspections were carried out by tax agencies, 9 percent by other authorities and 11 percent by interdisciplinary teams.Tax refund procedures remained burdensome, the report pointed out. Tuan said the survey found 30 percent of eligible firms did not complete such procedures as they were complicated, 20 percent considered them as being time-consuming, and 17 per-cent complained the requirements were too difficult to meet.


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However, Tuan said firms' level of satisfaction with access to information about tax and administrative procedures was pretty high and the quality of information im-proved. For instance, 93 percent of respondents were satisfied with information posted on the websites of tax agencies and 92 percent were pleased with dialogues with tax officials.Another improvement was that the number of foreign-invested enterprises complain-ing about tax procedures declined to 53 percent last year from 57 percent in 2014. The respective percentages of private companies were 49 percent and 41 percent.But 31 percent of firms said tax filing was still troublesome while 26 percent grappled with tax refunds. Changing tax information and completing procedures for tax cuts and exemptions still challenged 15 percent and 10 percent of respondents respectively.Speaking at the announcement ceremony of the survey, minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung said the time required for completing tax filing and payment procedures had been cut to 186 hours a year as recognised by the WB after the Ministry of Finance's push on streamlined administrative procedures in this area. The ministry is reviewing more procedures and will make them public in the near future.Dung said tax agencies had been told to reduce inspections and not to bother business-es. Direct contacts between taxmen and corporate taxpayers should be limited.VCCI chair Vu Tien Loc said reducing the time for tax procedures from 872 hours a year to the current level was a great effort of the tax sector as assessed by the WB.Loc said over the past two years the ministry had asked independent organisations to assess firms' satisfaction with tax and customs procedures and management, and an-nounced the final results.Loc noted the tax sector should work harder to improve the quality of tax rules, sim-plify relevant administrative procedures and provide more backing for small and me-dium enterprises.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52743/More-firms-burdened-with-informal-fees.html

HCM City businesses concerned about falling competitiveness


Less than one-third of enterprises are confident in the competitiveness of their prod-ucts, whereas a majority of others are feeling the pinch of rising imports, heard a meet-ing between HCM City leaders and local business executives on March 7.Speaking at the meeting, Chu Tien Dung, chair of the HCM City Union of Business As-sociations, said the entrepreneurial spirit in the city had improved but most enterpris-es said in a recent survey they are less confident in their competitiveness.The business prospect was positive last year as local firms were more competitive and the morale of entrepreneurs got a boost, evident in the record rise in startups. The HCM City business community, however, is struggling with difficulties, Dung said.The increase in newly-established enterprises in 2016 shows an improvement in busi-ness confidence but business scale, capacity and competitiveness remained limited. In addition, due to high costs and old technology, only 35 percent of enterprises in the city were profitable and paid taxes."Businesses are under pressure from foreign products right on the home market. A survey shows only 32 percent of businesses are confident in their competitiveness at home while over 40 percent are concerned about their competitiveness and the rest are pessimistic," Dung said at the meeting.Enormous pressureKieu Huynh Son, director of Co Steel Co., said mechanical engineering firms still had difficulty gaining access to support for technology innovation, while small enterprises could hardly enter industrial parks.There are now small workshops for lease in industrial parks but with high rentals. Supporting policies for workshop construction and equipment renovation have not reached enterprises.Therefore, Son proposed the municipal government draw up a policy to help small-scale factories relocate to industrial parks. From there, specialised industrial clusters


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and sub-zones should be formed, with workshops in the sub-zones for supporting in-dustries, where enterprises shall be granted certificates as a legal basis to borrow from banks.Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Saigon Food JSC, said on behalf of the Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City that last year a couple of supermarket chains changed hands and their new foreign owners demanded higher discounts from local suppliers.But Diep Dung, general director of Saigon Co.op, the owner of the country's leading store chain Co.opmart, said the presence of more foreign retailers in Vietnam would lead to an army of local suppliers being created along the way.Practical effects neededRegarding access to supporting policies, Nguyen Minh Huong, CEO of Golden Com-munication Group, deemed it necessary to have a portal for enterprises to refer to when needed."If possible, the entire business support programme should be integrated in a portal where businesses can obtain all information, instead of going to one agency after an-other to gather information," she suggested.HCM City vice chair Tran Vinh Tuyen said there were now 245,000 household busi-nesses citywide, which were contributing only 2 percent to the city's budget revenue. A survey shows up to 14,000 household businesses can be transformed into enterprises for the city to achieve the number of 500,000 active firms by 2020.Le Thanh Liem, standing vice chair of HCM City, said more than 36,000 enterprises were set up in 2016, a rise of 13 percent over 2015. This year, it is forecast that some 40,000 new firms would be established and 20,000 household businesses converted into enterprises.The goal is not to run after the number, but the quality of businesses. This month, HCM City will launch a stimulus package with separate policies for supporting indus-tries, Liem said at the meeting on March 7.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52745/HCM City-businesses-concerned-about-fall-ing-competitiveness.html

Savills: More investment opportunities in VN


Investors need to look beyond first-tier cities and at new types of assets to make prof-its, including emerging markets such as Vietnam, as the Asian property market slows.This was stated in a report on real estate tips for the Asia-Pacific market 2017, released by Savills Vietnam on March 3.Savills said in Vietnam, a core area is the office segment in HCM City. HCM City is one of the hottest performing office markets in the region, with Q4, 2016 occupancy at 97 per cent. Strong demand continues as occupiers move up the quality chain and ensure the FIRE (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate) sectors increase their requirements for contemporary buildings.For the education sector, as the middle class expands, there is greater demand for more refined educational needs within Vietnam. There is an array of existing offers, howev-er the industry is dynamic and will change based on the country's orientation. One can expect co-location near burgeoning startups.Meanwhile, investors would also see opportunities in the logistics sector, Savills said. The dynamic retail industry is being challenged by successful online retailers. Effective warehouse and logistics locations to provide efficient supply chain and last mile deliv-ery will be critical.Savills also said with its huge scale and diversity, Asia encompasses some of the world's most sophisticated real estate markets, alongside emerging economies with very little investable real estate.Some real estate sectors in Asia barely noticed the 2008 financial crisis. Real Australian residential property prices, for example, saw continuous growth - capital values in cities throughout the region have reached record levels in recent years.Cities such as Singapore may still have some scope to squeeze more before capital val-


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ues peak.Investors will be wondering where to place emerging markets such as Vietnam, Ma-laysia, the Philippines and Indonesia on the risk and yield curve.The long-term success of many new and emerging markets in the region will depend on them being able to offer the same tradability, openness and transparency for inves-tors that the core gateway cities currently provide.http://bizhub.vn/property/savills-more-investment-opportunities-in-vn_284640.html

Positive prospects 09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VNECONOMIC TIMES

Don Lam, CEO and Founding Partner of VinaCapital, tells VET's Nguyen Ha about its funds' performance and expectations into the future.What do you see in 2017 for businesses in Vietnam?We continue to be cautiously optimistic about Vietnam's business environment in 2017. The macro-economy is on very solid ground, and GDP continues to grow. But we will need to watch inflation and interest rates.Furthermore, we need to monitor a range of external issues that could impact Vietnam, such as the potential for new protective trade policies from the US (which could affect exports), devaluation of the Chinese Yuan (which would make exports from China more competitive), US Federal Reserve rate hikes, and much more.But over the past few years Vietnam has demonstrated resilience in the face of global uncertainties and we expect that to continue.What opportunities for investments are there in Vietnam in 2017 from your perspec-tive?Beyond our traditional focus on companies participating in the domestic consumption story, we see potential investment opportunities in areas such as infrastructure and perhaps the banking sector, which are among the top priorities for the government. Provided the conditions are right, we would certainly evaluate opportunities in those sectors.Hospitality is another sector with great promise. Tourism numbers reached records in 2016 and are expected to continue to rise this year. At the same time, our tourism in-dustry remains undeveloped compared with neighbours such as Thailand and Malay-sia, so the prospect for growth is tremendous.How did VinaCapital-managed funds perform in 2016?Our major funds performed quite well in 2016. Vietnam Opportunities Fund (VOF), our flagship fund, had a fantastic year. First, it moved from the AIM to the Main Mar-ket of the London Stock Exchange - the first Vietnam-focused fund to trade on that board - which in turn led it to being included in the FTSE All-Shares index.From a performance standpoint, VOF increased 25.5 per cent (in USD terms) in 2016, nearly double the 13.4 per cent (in USD terms) of the VN Index and was the best per-forming fund in Vietnam. VCG Partners Vietnam Fund (VVF), our open-end, UCITS-compliant fund, posted solid 12.8 per cent growth. Additionally, VinaLand divested several key assets and returned cash to shareholders, while Vietnam Infrastructure Limited Fund (VNI) nearly completed its asset divestments.What were the most successful investments by VinaCapital-managed funds during the year?We were fortunate that our funds had a number of successes over the course of 2016. VOF made investments in An Cuong Woodworking and Thai Hoa Hospital. We also sold our stake in DHG Pharma at a large premium to market prices. VinaCapital also entered an exciting partnership with Warburg Pincus on a new hospitality platform fo-cused on Southeast Asia.Was there anything unsatisfactory?When we evaluate potential investments, we do extensive research and due diligence, which is a very important part of the process but can sometimes take a lot of time. We need to find a way to accomplish the same results but in a shorter timeframe so that we don't miss out on potential opportunities.What investments will VinaCapital-managed funds look for in 2017? Why these in-


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vestments?From our funds' perspectives, we continue to focus on companies that are participat-ing in Vietnam's strong domestic consumption story. That means companies in food and beverages, construction and materials, real estate developers, education, and healthcare. These sectors continue to post solid growth as Vietnamese seek to improve their living standards.From an equity perspective, this could be more challenging in 2017, as price-to-earn-ings (P/E) ratios have risen. However, there are still many undervalued companies in the market. We are excited about the new opportunities we see for private equity in-vestment. These are particularly interesting because we can play an active role in help-ing a company grow, generally have better investment terms, and tend to produce strong returns.In terms of policy making, what major factors could affect the country's business and investment environment from your perspective?We believe that continued action to make doing business in Vietnam easier will benefit businesses of all sizes, both Vietnamese and foreign.The continued equitisation and listing of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) would be beneficial both to the stock market and the government treasury. Significant move-ments on this subject would build investor confidence and market liquidity.Increased foreign ownership limits (FOLs) for banks could be a very positive and sig-nificant step in banking reform, as would regulatory changes that would enable the Vi-etnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) to better carry out its mandate of resolving non-performing loans.What should authorities do to improve the country's business and investment envi-ronment?From our perspective, we believe that the government is moving in the right direction to facilitate further investment into Vietnam. We expect to see significant reforms that will help strengthen the banking sector, make private sector investment into infra-structure more attractive, and conduct equitisations and listings with greater transpar-ency, less bureaucracy, and that are more in line with international standards.If implemented correctly, changes like these could have a very positive impact in terms of healthier banks, a stronger economy, and higher investor confidence and participa-tion.Do you have any recommendations for business leaders in Vietnam for 2017?This is a great time to be doing business in Vietnam. I would encourage Vietnamese business leaders to have the courage to innovate, to invest in areas such as technology and marketing to further build their brands. There are some great Vietnamese compa-nies and brands, and they need to find new ways to compete with foreign companies who are attracted to this market.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/op-eds/positive-prospects

Sale of cars down despite price drop


Members of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) sold more than 17,600 cars in February, down 13 per cent from the previous month.This is the second month this year that the association has witnessed a drop in sales, although its members continuously reduced prices of their products.At the end of last month, prices of seven types of cars were adjusted, including import-ed and locally-assembled ones.Honda Vietnam decreased its price by VND80 million for Accord, which was import-ed from Thailand. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) announced new prices for Yaris models G and E, with a drop of VND47 million (US$2,057) and VND44 mil-lion, respectively. The imported Land Cruiser Prado TX-L and Land Cruiser VX also saw a revision in prices at nearly VND2.17 billion and VND3.65 billion, down VND264 million and VND70 million each.Honda Vietnam and TMV were followed by other automakers.Domestic automaker Thaco reduced the prices of Kia and Mazda models by between


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VND20 million and VND140 million each.A report from the People's Committee in central Quang Nam Province showed that ve-hicles witnessed the highest inventory volume in the province, which was nearly 49 per cent higher than the previous month and almost triple compared with the same pe-riod last year.This was partly due to the increase in demand for vehicles before the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which declined after the holiday. In addition, people were still waiting for prices to reduce further, especially once the import tax on vehicles from Asean countries dropped to zero per cent by January 1, 2018, according to the committee.While the consumption of locally-assembled cars was showing a declining trend, the volume of imported cars had sharply increased.According to the estimate of the General Statistical Office (GSO), Vietnam imported some 9,000 complete built up units in February, worth $153 million, up 29 per cent in volume in comparison with the previous month but sticking to the same value.On average, each imported car in February was $17,000, $4,850 lower than January, which meant almost all imported cars were less expensive.During the government's February meeting session, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reminded relevant ministries about the rapid increase of imported vehicles in the first two months of this year, which was due to the impact of the expected import tax decline in 2018.He said this was a warning to relevant ministries and sectors to strengthen manage-ment to create harmony between import and local auto manufacturing.http://bizhub.vn/wheels/sale-of-cars-down-despite-price-drop_284646.html

Exclusive: $250m injected into Vietnamese startups in 2016

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | DEAL STREET ASIA

Total funding into Vietnamese startups was estimated at $250 million in 2016, 67 per cent, when compared to about $150 million in the 12 months ended December-2015, according to data complied by Topica Founder Institute (TFI), an indicator that last year may well be a period of transition.While new investments in 2016 represented a significant increase deal value, the vol-ume of transactions remained at par with 2015. It signifies that the median deal size has improved, and more later-stage funding occurred.Put simply, data indicates that 2016 was a better year than previously imagined for Vi-etnamese startups. This also comes at a time when much of this region had witnessed a funding slowdown last yearThe accelerator, in an earlier report for the year 2015, had said that this period had seen capital deployed across 67 deals, a 130 per cent year-on-year. To put these numbers and the growth in context, TFI data also shows that the 12 months ended December 2011 saw only 10 deals.The programme, which annually tracks funding rounds into local startups, has indi-cated that the real value for capital deployed into Vietnamese startups in 2016 could be higher as there were also undisclosed investments.In August 2016, it had said 24 deals from angel to series C financing were made since the beginning of that year.Throughout the year, Vietnamese startups witnessed a healthy dose of activity in fi-nancing, attracting six-to eight-digit investments from a spectrum of different inves-tors, including both local and international angel investors, venture capital funds, private equity companies, impact investing firms and large corporations, according to data compiled by DEALSTREETASIA.The majority of more than 60 per cent of deals tracked by this portal were venture capital funding rounds - these include angel in-vestments, capital deployed by accelerators and VC money. Corporate M&A account-ed for some 30 per cent, while the remaining were private equity investments.PE firms are beginning to get active in the Vietnamese tech space, and the 12 months of 2016 reflected this. Standard Chartered Private Equity, which has stakes in retail, ag-riculture and entertainment companies in Vietnam, injected $25 million in e-wallet app MoMo. Goldman Sachs also participated in this round with $3 million.


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Meanwhile, South Korea's UTC Investment bought a majority stake at VNPT EPay for a reported amount in the range of $34-38 million, marking the biggest transaction of the year, according to data by DEALSTREETASIA and the TFI.The $17 million acquisition for 38 per cent stake at e-commerce startup Tiki by domes-tic unicorn VNG Corporation was easily the highlight of the Vietnam's funding land-scape last year. DEALSTREETASIA has learnt that other 8-digit investments included Mekong Capital's into F88 and Unitus Impact's into Topica Edtech Group, the operator of TFI.Apart from Cyberagent Ventures and 500 Startups, Gobi Partners has recently emerged to be among the lead investors in the country in terms of deal volume.Vietnam has also seen a robust development of accelerators, such as the TFI, 1337 Ven-tures, Expara Ventures, VIISA, HATCH! Ventures and Innovatube - which has launched a $5 million fund last month.http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/exclusive-250m-injected-into-vietnamese-star-tups-in-2016-66534/

Vietnam to accelerate development of logistics services


Vietnam will accelerate the development of logistics services to facilitate trade and im-prove the economy's competitiveness, according to an action plan which was ap-proved recently by prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.According to the plan, the logistics sector is expected to contribute from 8-10 percent of the country's GDP by 2025 with a growth rate of 15-20 percent, an outsourcing ratio of 50-60 percent, and logistics costs reduced to 16-20 percent of the GDP. Vietnam hopes to enter the top 50 countries in the logistics performance index (LPI) ranking.To achieve the targets, Vietnam needs to call for investment in logistics infrastructure, boosting connectivity with other countries, build regional and international-level lo-gistics centres, and develop logistics enterprises capable of competing on the interna-tional market.The plan points out major measures such as perfecting policies and laws on logistics, completing logistics infrastructure, improving capability of enterprises, developing the logistics market and training a qualified logistics workforce.According to the Vietnam Logistics Association, the plan is important, directly affect-ing the development of the logistics sector in Vietnam in the context of the country's deeper integration into the region and the world via free trade agreements.Vietnam's logistics sector has made significant progress in recent years, in terms of both diversity and service quality, with an annual growth rate of 16-20 percent, rank-ing 64th out of 160 countries in the world and 4th in Southeast Asia.The development of the logistics sector has contributed to Vietnam's export growth and bringing its export value from 111.2 billion USD in 2007 to 327.7 billion USD in 2015 and helps the local retail market grow by 20-25 percent each year.However, Vietnam's logistics sector still faces problems.At a logistics forum held in November 2016, deputy minister of Trade and Industry Do Thang Hai said Vietnam's logistics infrastructure remains weak because of poor con-nectivity between railways, roads and seaports.Goods transportation is also time-consuming, leading to high transport costs.Reports showed that logistics costs currently make up 25 percent of Vietnam's GDP, much higher than neighbouring countries and most Vietnamese logistics enterprises are small and medium-sized, lacking capital and facilities to operate on a big scale.Vietnam now has 1,300 enterprises, including foreign invested ones, operating in the field. Domestic firms account for just 25 percent of the market share while foreign com-panies, which make up only 5 percent of the total number, take the remaining 75 per-cent.Additionally, Vietnam's logistics human resources, technology and laws are far be-hind the rest of the word.en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-to-accelerate-development-of-logistics-services/108367.vnp


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Vietnam, Australia strengthen cow-breeding cooperation


The Department of Animal Husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) jointly held an Asian exhi-bition and conference on beef and dairy cattle, which opened in HCM City on March 8.Addressing the opening of the event, Hoang Thanh Van, head of the Department of Animal Husbandry, noted the strong growth of cattle breeding in Vietnam, with an av-erage 7.5 percent rise in the number of dairy cows and a 3-5 percent increase in beef cattle each year.The breeding farms have been expanded in scale, he added.However, Van said that the sector has satisfied only 6.5 percent of total domestic de-mand for beef and 36 percent of milk demand, resulting in a sharp increase in import-ed dairy and beef cattle, mostly from Australia.Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Graig Chittick said that Australia and Vietnam have shared long-standing cooperation in cattle breeding in such forms as provision of breeding stock, transfer of breeding techniques and expert training.He held that the cooperation and trade in this field between Australia and Vietnam as well as other countries in Asia is a foundation for maintaining sustainable supply chains of milk and beef amidst increasingly fierce competition.The exhibition and conference is a good chance for Vietnamese management officials, scientists, enterprises and cow breeding farmers to access new products, services and technology of Australia's livestock breeding sector.During the two-day event, products serving livestock breeding will be showcased, while various workshops on breeding technology will be held.http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-australia-strengthen-cowbreeding-coopera-tion-345067.vov

HCM City eyes more investment from Japan


HCM City's authorities always create favourable conditions for foreign enterprises, es-pecially those from Japan, to invest in the city, said Secretary of the municipal Party's Committee Dinh La Thang.The secretary made the affirmation during a reception for newly-appointed Japanese Consul general Kawaue Junichi in the city on March 7.He spoke highly of growing relations between Japan and Vietnam and between Japa-nese localities with HCM City recently, hoping that the Japanese side will expand in-vestment in the city in infrastructure development, hi-tech agriculture, and food safety.For his part, Kawaue Junichi affirmed that he hopes to enhance ties between his coun-try with Vietnam and HCM Cityhttp://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-eyes-more-investment-from-japan/108328.vnp

HCM City aims to propel local companies into world's Top 500


The country's economic hub is paving the way for a tech startup boom.HCM City will help some of its local businesses join the world's top 500http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/ho-chi-minh-city-aims-to-propel-local-compa-nies-into-world-s-top-500-3552314.html

IT companies willing to pay thousands of US dollars to attract staffs in Vietnam

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | TRI THUC TRE

Vietnamworks' statistics show that the recruitment demand for IT sector has doubled over the past three years (from 2013 to 2016).* The highest recruitment demand in historySpecifically, VietnamWorks' recently released report states that if the number of jobs in the IT sector posted on the VietnamWorks website in 2013 were 6,792 jobs, and then in 2016, the number reached 14,997.If 15 years ago, the personnel recruitment demand for IT sector was mainly to serve the software outsourcing segment, the trend is now moving to the service sector with


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SVietnam finance & business 9 March 2017

the fact that quite many software development companies have built working offices and software development centres in Vietnam.HCM City continues to be the largest technology centre in the country, accounting for 53 percent of the vacancy. Hanoi has also had outstanding growth and competitive po-tential in this field when reckoning for 43 percent of the number of vacancies in 2016.*Programmers may earn up to more than $2,000 per monthAs per job data posted on VietnamWorks in 2016, and survey information from indus-try candidates, a Vietnamese programmer can earn from $1,300 to over $2,000 per month if they can catch up with the latest technology in the current market, headed by candidates having experience with Objective-C programming language.The report highlights that 81 percent of employers surveyed have plans to increase staff salaries in 2017, the increase will range at 6-20 percent.Not only high salaries, the welfare for IT staff is also attractive and varied. The reason is the sector's highly competitive labour market, therefore, welfare is one of the factors to attract and retain talents.Accordingly, most IT companies now have a welfare policy that encourages and rec-ognises employees' contributions, allowing flexible working hours, offering modern equipment support and attractive wellness programmes and bonuses.At some major foreign IT corporations operating in Vietnam, their welfare is diverse, ranging from career advancement opportunities through sending them to receive training and work in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia, 13-14 month sal-ary bonus, benefits sharing to employees, stock bonus, health care services at the of-fice, open and modern work area, flexible work hour and minimised overtime hours.Responding to VietnamWorks' survey, 40 percent of respondents said they are willing to change companies this year if other companies pay better salaries and have better welfare than the current companies. This is also a concern and a headache for recruit-ers when planning strategy to recruit and retain talents.

BIZ NEWS

Business Briefs March 09, 2017

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA |

* Tan Viet Securities Company has obtained approval from the State Securities Com-mission to spur its capital from VND350 billion to VND500 billion, marking the first step in its process of raising. capital to VNDI trillion in the next few years. In 2016, the brokerage obtained VND180 billion in revenue and VND28 billionin profit, jumping 27 percent and 45 percent from the previous year respectively. The enterprise plans to raise revenue by 6 percent to nearly VND190 billion this year.* PetroVietnam Power Nhon Trach 2 Company (NT2) has successfully issued three million employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) shares at VNDI0,000 each, raising its capital to nearly VND2.9 trillion.* Lam Son Sugar Corporation (LSS) has decided to establish Lam Son Trading and Exim Co Ltd in Thanh Hoa Province with a charter capital of VND26 billion.* Nui Nho Stone Cooperation (NNC) has announed March 15 as the ex-dividend date to advance a 2016 second round dividend in cash for shareholders at 30 percent. Pay-mentswill be made on April 20.* State Capital Investment Corporation has sold nearly 1.2 million shares ofVung Tau Real Estate & Construction Company (VRC), or an 8.1 percent stake in the enterprise.* Ocean Group Company (OGC) targets a pre-tax profit ofVND30 billion on revenue ofVND 1.3 trillion in 2017. The Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE) said it may put OGC under special control after the firm reported an audited consolidated loss ofVND2.48 trillion in 2016, said Nguoi Dong Hanh news site. OGC incurred a consol-idated loss of nearly VND781 billion last year, compared to net profit of VND681 bil-lion in 2015. Its revenue rose 27.3 percent year on-year to VND 1.1 8 trillion in 2016.* Nguyen Huu Truong, chair of Tien Thanh Service and Trading Company (TIH), has registered to sell 630,000 TIH shares from March 10 to April 7.

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* Hoang Ha Group (HHG) has presented 2017'S business plan with after-tax profit tar-geted at over VND45 billion, up 11 percent against that obtained last year. Its revenue is put at VND330 billion, increasing by 20 percent. The enterprise plans to pay divi-dend for shareholders at 15.5 percent.* Hai Phong Petrolimex Transportation and IT Services Company (PTS) has an-nounced March 15 as the record date for shareholders to receive a 2016 dividend in cash at 6 percent.

VN Index struggles to maintain growth


The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange closed almost flat on March 7 on investor caution over a possible lending rate increase by the US central bank and exchange-traded funds' portfolio review.The benchmark index was up 0.03 percent to end at 716.54 points, near the February 22 nine-year peak of 717.24. It has gained 1.3 percent in the last three trading days.Market trading liquidity rose compared to March 6 with more than 195.6 million shares being exchanged, worth 3.82 trillion VND (169.8 million USD).Foreign investors turned to net sellers, recording a net sell value of 106.2 billion VND compared to a net buy value of 19 billion VND on March 6.Among the top 10 largest listed companies, dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM), HCM City-based brewer Sabeco (SAB), Vietinbank (CTG) and Bank for Investment and De-velopment of Vietnam (BID) were decliners.VNM fell 0.7 percent, SAB lost 0.8 percent, CTG edged down 0.5 percent and BID de-creased by 0.6 percent. Smaller groups such as rubber and plastic producers also dropped from their closing levels on March 6. Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP) was down 0.5 percent, Da Nang Rubber JSC (DRC) declined by 0.7 percent and Phuoc Hoa Rub-ber JSC (PHR) shed 1.8 percent.Some of the energy, property and construction stocks maintained their positive trends to lift the market. Faros Construction Corp (ROS) and Hoa Binh Construction and Real Estate Corp (HBC) rose 2.9 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.The energy sector was boosted by PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp (PVD), which gained 2.1 percent following the rise of crude prices.On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index inched up 0.2 percent to finish at 86.7 points, reversing Monday's 0.1 percent decline.Nearly 54.5 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth nearly 496 bil-lion VND.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vn-index-struggles-to-maintain-growth/108339.vnp

VN Index retreats as blue chips slump


The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange slipped 0.22 per cent on Wednesday morn-ing to 714.94 after half the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity lost value.The big losers were insurance, bank and financial companies such as Bao Viet Hold-ings (BVH), Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI).Low-priced property stocks were among the most active stocks on the two exchanges and continued to attract money. FLC Group (FLC), Vinaconex (VCG), Tasco (HUT) and Da Nang Housing Investment Development (NDN) rose between 1.3 per cent and 4.6 per cent each.Liquidity remained positive with around 87 million shares worth VND1.9 trillion (US$83.3 million) being traded in the southern bourse.On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index went up by 0.4 per cent to 87 points, with a total of 29 million shares worth VND291 billion being traded.The afternoon session starts at 1pm.http://bizhub.vn/markets/vn-index-retreats-as-blue-chips-slump_284637.html

VN Index finishes almost unchanged


The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose slightly yesterday as investor confi-


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dence remained low on a lack of business news.Vit Nam's benchmark index closed yesterday's session at 716.6 points, nearly un-changed from the ending point of 716.54 points on Tuesday.Yesterday's slight increase also helped the VN Index extend gains for a fourth day with total growth of 1.3 per cent.Market liquidity declined from Tuesday's figure with more than 175.6 million shares traded, worth VN3.67 trillion (US$163 million).Investor confidence remained low as the stock market was short of business and eco-nomic news positive enough to bolster investors' sentiment, BIDV Securities Corp (BSC) said in its report.Additionally, the decline of the VN Index for most of yesterday's session came from the fall of stocks that had gained significantly on the previous trading days, BSC add-ed.Faros Construction Corp (ROS) was down 0.6 per cent, marking its first decline after surging nearly 67 per cent since December 13, 2016.Vietjet Aviation JSC (VJC) dropped 1.9 per cent. VJC has fallen 5.4 per cent in the last two sessions after rising 27 per cent since being listed on February 28.Property firm Vingroup (VIC) fell 0.8 per cent from a three-day increase of 1.7 per cent.The two large-cap energy companies on the southern bourse, PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp (PVD), saw their share val-ues decline following the decrease of crude oil prices.On the opposite side, banks and food-beverage producers helped the benchmark in-dex finished the day in positive territory.All six listed banks on the southern bourse gained, with Eximbank (EIB) the best per-former and MBBank (MBB) and Sacombank (STB) advancing 1.1 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.The food-beverage sector was driven up by dairy firm Vinamilk (VNM), which added 0.5 per cent after one of its institutional shareholder, the Thai dairy producer F&N Dairy Investments Pte Ltd registered to purchase more than 21.7 million of Vinamilk's shares between March 10 and April 7.On the Ha Ni Stock Exchange, the HNX Index rose 1 per cent to end at 87.53 points. The northern market index increased by a total 1.1 per cent in the last two sessions.More than 51.7 million shares were exchanged on the northern bourse, worth VN667.5 billion.http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/372523/vn-index-finishes-almost-unchanged.html

All indexes finish in positive territory


All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market increased on March 8.On HSX, the VN Index rose 0.06 points (0.01 per cent), the VN30-Index 2.58 points (0.39 per cent), the VNMid-Index 5.72 points (0.64 per cent), and the VNSml-Index 1.74 points (0.22 per cent).On HNX, the HNX-Index gained 0.83 points (0.96 per cent), the HNX30-Index 2.58 points (0.39 per cent), the UPCoM-Index 0.06 points (0.11 per cent), and the VNALL-Index 4.99 points (0.49 per cent).HSX saw a 145 point increase followed by a 108 point decrease while HNX saw a 131 point increase followed by a 115 point decrease.Liquidity on HSX reached VND3.2 trillion ($140.3 million), 4 per cent higher than yes-terday, and on HNX was VND552 billion ($24.2 million), 18 per cent higher.The VN Index opened at 716.54 points and tumbled to 714.1 points early on before fluc-tuating and closing the session at 714.9 points. In the afternoon it fluctuated briefly be-fore increasing sharply, reaching its peak of the day of 718.7 points mid-session. It then eased, and closed the day at 716.6 points.In food and beverages, MSN increased 1.7 per cent, BHN 0.9 per cent, and VNM 0.5 per cent. SAB lost 1.7 per cent, KDC 0.8 per cent, and SBT 0.2 per cent.All banking stocks closed higher: EIB by 2.4 per cent, MBB 1.1 per cent, STB 1 per cent, BID 0.6 per cent, VCB 0.5 per cent, and CTG 0.3 per cent.


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In energy, GAS fell 0.7 per cent, CNG 0.3 per cent, and CNG 0.3 per cent.In real estate, FLC rose 3.7 per cent, DXG 2.2 per cent, KBC 0.3 per cent, and KDH 2.1 per cent. NVL and VIC lost 0.9 per cent and 0.8 per cent.Among other large caps on HSX, VJC fell 1.9 per cent, ROS 0.6 per cent, and BVH 0.5 per cent.ROS was the highest traded share on HSX, with VND742 billion ($32.5 million) chang-ing hands as it rose 2.9 per cent in price. FLC followed, with VND353 billion ($15.4 mil-lion). The largest cap, VNM, saw trade of VND83 billion ($3.6 million).On HNX, NTP increased 3.7 per cent, ACB 3.6 per cent and PVS 0.6 per cent. PHP and SHB closed at their opening price while VCS shed 0.8 per cent, VCG 0.6 per cent, and PVI 0.4 per cent.Foreign investors net bought on HSX by VND647 million ($28,377) and on HNX by VND5.4 billion ($236,844).http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/x4f82cly-all-indexes-finish-in-positive-territory

VCSC may list during Q3


Listing value of Viet Capital Securities Corporation estimated at $200 million by HCM City Securities Corporation.The Viet Capital Securities Corporation (VCSC) may list on the stock market in the third quarter of this year, with an estimated listing value of $200 million, the HCM City Securities Corporation (HSC) wrote in a report on March 6.HSC said VCSC did not provide details on pricing, but the valuation of the listing may be VND4.6 trillion ($200 million), making VCSC one of the three largest listed broker-age firms, along with Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI) and HSC.SSI has a current market capitalisation of VND10.4 trillion ($456.1 million), while HSC's is VND4 trillion ($175.4 million). "The main reason for the initial public offering (IPO) of VCSC appears to be an attempt to make it easier for the company to raise new equity going forward," HSC said. VCSC was not available for comment at the time of writing.According to HSC, VCSC is the third-largest securities company competing for lead-ership in the institutional and investment banking segments, though "its retail busi-ness lags well behind SSI and HSC." But the HCM City-based brokerage has "a strong pedigree" in terms of services for institutional customers and important investment banking deals.In 2016, VCSC's market share was 8.86 per cent compared to 13.7 per cent for SSI and 12.45 per cent for HSC. VCSC was the advisor for the sales of the retail chain operator Big C and placements of Vietjet Air.Earlier, VCSC secured the IPO advisory contract for MobiFone's purchase of 95 per cent of the Audio Visual Global JSC (AVG) in September 2015, with the value of the investment reported at VND8.9 trillion ($400 million) in November last year.The country's second-largest mobile network operator, MobiFone made headlines last year when the government decided to conduct a comprehensive inspection into its in-vestment in AVG. According to a knowledgeable source, the inspection has finished but the results are still to be made public.This year, VCSC is said to "be advising on an upcoming IPO by the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group's PV Oil along with other planned listings, such as Saigon Trading Group (Satra) and the CII Engineering and Construction JSC," HSC said.In 2016, VCSC recorded a net profit after tax and minority interests of VND335 billion ($14.7 million), a year-on-year increase of 41 per cent against 2015.The result was driven by a rise in brokerage revenues of VND335 billion ($14.7 mil-lion), an annual increase of 6.5 per cent, net proprietary trading revenue of VND266 billion ($11.7 million), up 82 per cent, and advisory income of VND83 billion ($3.6 mil-lion), up 92 per cent.However, the company's total earnings were offset by lower margin lending revenue of VND158 billion ($7 million), which fell 1.8 per cent against 2015 to an ending margin


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balance of VND1.39 trillion ($61 million).Last year, the brokerage, owned by Thanh Phuong, daughter of prime minister Nguy-en Xuan Phuc, once again won the Best Investment Bank and the Best Equity-Capital-Markets (ECM) House in Vietnam from Finance Asia.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/vcsc-may-list-during-q3

PENM IV Germany seeks higher stakes in Hoa Phat Group


PENM IV Germany GmbH & Co KG is seeking to purchase another 5.5 million shares of Hoa Phat Group (HPG) in an attempt to raise its stakes in the company's profit-mak-ing potential.The transactions are expected to be conducted from March 8 to April 6.At the current price of around VND41,000 (US$1.80) a share, Germany's closed-end fund is estimated to spend at least VND222.5 billion, or around $10 million, to finance the purchase.Last week, the fund bought 3 million HPG shares, equivalent to 0.36 per cent of the firm's capital, for an undisclosed amount. If the next purchase is completed successful-ly, the fund's stakes here will increase to 1 per cent.Prices of Hoa Phat's shares declined 11.4 per cent from its peak of VND45,150 apiece on February 15 to VND40,000 on February 28 after the steelmaker had announced low-er profit target for 2017.The share prices rose again in early March following information that the firm raised its earnings target by 20 per cent compared with the initial plan of VND6 trillion this year. However, this figure is still VND600 billion lower than its record profits in 2016.The company will hold the 2017 annual shareholders' meeting on March 10 in Hanoi.bizhub.vn/markets/penm-iv-germany-seeks-higher-stakes-in-hoa-phat-group_284641.html

Vietnam's PV Oil to Raise Funds as government Opens Market

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | BLOOMBERG

PetroVietnam Oil Corp., Vietnam's sole crude exporter, said it's in talks to sell as much as 40 percent to strategic investors and expects to narrow down to a list of about five potential bidders for the government this month.PV Oil, as it's commonly known, expects to raise at least $270 million from one or two investors from the stake sale, President and Chief Executive Officer Cao Hoai Duong said at the company's HCM City headquarters. About 10 potential strategic investors, including "major oil companies" from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the Middle East, have applied to buy the shares, he said.PV Oil will also offer as much as 15 percent of its shares in an initial public offering in the first half this year, the CEO said, adding that the stake sale to strategic investors will occur simultaneously with or after the IPO. The company will list shares at an un-determined time on the HCM City Stock Exchange after the IPO, he said."We are looking for good strategic partners so we can make another M&A success," Duong said in an interview on Tuesday, referring to past acquisitions to expand its re-tail network.'Most Attractive'The sale of shares will inject private investment in the state-controlled petroleum in-dustry and accelerate government plans to open up the oil and gas sector, a market that's worth $5.9 billion, according to My Truong, Hanoi-based research manager at HCM City Securities Corp."PV Oil's IPO is considered the most attractive one in 2017," My said. "Almost all finan-cial investors, both institutions and individuals, are looking forward to have a piece of the cake."PV Oil, which is the country's second-largest petroleum retailer, is also seeking to ex-pand its market share of 22 percent, trailing behind larger competitor Vietnam Nation-al Petroleum Corp. or Petrolimex, which has about half, according to Saigon Securities Inc. estimates.PV Oil, which derives 75 percent of its revenue from oil distribution, is aiming to triple


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its nationwide gas station network to 1,550 outlets through 2022, Duong said."We still have big room ahead to grow," Duong said in the interview on Tuesday, re-ferring to the government's market share cap of 50 percent for petroleum distributors. "We are big enough to buy smaller competitors to expand market share."The company is planning $280 million in acquisitions in the next five years, he said. About $170 million will come from its cash holdings, with the rest from bank borrow-ings, he said.https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/2017/03/08/vietnam-s-oil-exporter-seeks-270 million-from-key-investors

VN's semi-conductor sector positively electric


The semiconductor industry is a growing sector in Vit Nam and has attracted many foreign investors. Vit Nam News reporter Thu Ngan talks with Ng Kai Fai, president of SEMI Southeast Asia, about the industry and the upcoming 2017 SEMICON South-east Asia Penang, Malaysia.How do you see the potential of the Vietnamese semi-conductor industry?A lot of people are talking about the potential of the country's electronics industry, in-cluding semiconductors.In think for the next five years everybody is projecting a compounded annual growth rate of almost 15-16 per cent. That is pretty significant. I think there is a lot of potential in Vit Nam in the electronics supply chain. Vit Nam's electronic exports are almost 30 per cent of its total exports. That is huge.The foreign direct investment inflow into electronics is significant as well.I think for the next phase of Vit Nam's growth, there is a needs to nurture and enhance the talent and capabilities of local indigenous companies. Just now I spoke about the electronic exports from Vit Nam. Close to ninety per cent of the exports comes from foreign direct investment (FDI) companies. Only a very small portion comes from local companies. So I think it is very important that local companies start developing tech-nical capabilities for higher value added services in the electronics sector to fuel this continuous growth sector in future.How is the Vietnamese semi-conductor market compared to those in neighbouring countries?If you look at electronics exports alone, Vit Nam has surpassed Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. That's how incredible the growth of the Vietnamese electronics industry is.Again, of course, if you look at exports, you have to look at the imports.Electronics exports are large but the import of electronic components is also high. So what does that mean?This probably is an indicator that there is still a wide gap between what can be manu-factured in Vit Nam in term of electronic component in order to make the final prod-uct.So there is a huge opportunity for local companies to start enhancing value addition in terms of manufacturing of electronic components to supplement export growth.What do you think are the strengths of Vietnamese companies?Vit Nam has lots of potential. It has a population of 90 million. Vit Nam has a very young population that is important for every industry. The talented people I met are eager for knowledge, and that is important. You need to be able to demonstrate a con-tinuous learning ability to grow the semi-conductor industry.I think the Vietnamese government has been greatly encouraging the electronics in-dustry. In fact, it has identified the semiconductor and ICT industry as a major sector. I think it is important for companies.The weaknesses, I think, in Vit Nam is the limitation of deep seated technical capabil-ities. That is one. I think for the country to continue to grow and reap the fruits of growth, we need to focus on developing local companies' capabilities so that they can create higher value and also at the same time increase the talents in different technical branches as semiconductor industry demands talents from multitude of discipline.


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The second thing I think is infrastructure for the electronics industry in Vit Nam is still in its infancy, still not complete. Again, how does Vit Nam intend to shorten the time to enable the infrastructure to a fully vibrant ecosystem? I think one of the key is for Vietnamese companies to seek partnership and collaboration within regional experi-enced players; and this is the initiative of HCM City Semiconductor Industry Associa-tion (HSIA) leading a delegation to SEMICON Southeast Asia is about. Given that SEMICON Southeast Asia is the largest electronics supply chain event in Southeast Asia, there is no better event to learn, share and hopefully finding the right partners within this region for future collaboration and bringing technical value inside Vit Nam.Semiconductor Southeast Asia is going to be organised in April. Can you tell us about the event?The 2017 Southeast Semiconductor Southeast Asia is one of the premier events for the high-tech electronics exhibition and technical conferences. This event attracts profes-sionals and thoughts leaders, high end suppliers, technical expertise and investors all in one locality for sharing of technology knowhow and business matching.We have professionals from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vit Nam, and also companies from India.We have more than 200 companies exhibiting with excess of projected 300 booths. SEMICON Southeast Asia is one of the eminent platforms amongst activities that SEMI organises to facilitate the development of the semiconductor and high tech electronics industry within the region. One there will be a forum hosted by HSIA and delegation to talk about the Vit Nam's aspiration, government policies and plans towards grow-ing the semiconductor industry in the country. There will also be potential business matching to match capabilities of local companies in Vit Nam to regional companies such as those from Malaysia or Singapore whom have deep experience on supporting the industry.Talent in the semi-conductor industry is important and so enhancing the Vietnamese talent pool and talent capability is a very important component in developing the elec-tronics and semi-conductor eco-system in Vit Nam. I could not stress more for Vit Nam to take advantage of this platform; SEMICON Southeast Asia, to accelerate the growth in Vit Nam

Airports' agency wants VND31 trillion investment


The Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), the largest enterprise in the domestic transport sector, has proposed an investment plan of VND31 trillion (US$1.36 million) for the period between 2016 and 2020.The firm, which manages 22 of the country's international and domestic airports, said it will prioritise investment resources for terminals with high passenger growth, which have a potential of developing the country's economics and tourism and significance in national security and defence.ACV will focus on investment projects to improve road system access to airports, and equipment systems at HCM City's Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang and Hanoi's Noi Bai air-ports. The plan also aims at expanding parking spaces at Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, and Noi Bai, and other airports. The expansion of passenger terminals, enlarging aircraft parking areas and upgrading the runways at Phu Quoc airport in Kien Giang Province are also included in the plan.ACV's deputy general director Do Tat Binh, quoted in Vneconomy.vn, said that the corporation has submitted its investment scheme to the Ministry of Transport, and was awaiting implementation permission from the prime minister. In principle, the in-vestment capital for flight-related facilities will be wholly funded by the State budget.By the middle of 2016, ACV had asked the ministry to consider adjusting the rates for some aviation services, which apply to domestic flight routes at seven airports, includ-ing Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Vinh, Phu Bai from Janu-ary 1, 2017. However, the proposal has not been accepted by the ministry, yet.Vietnam News sought comment on the plan from ACV, but was unable to contact the


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agency.Airports Corporation to take on strategic partner


PM gives go-ahead to Aeroports de Paris securing 20 percent of Airports Corporation of Vietnam.The Vietnamese government has granted permission to Aeroports de Paris (ADP) to buy 20 per cent of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and become its strategic partner.The contract is expected to be finalised shortly.Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met Augustin de Romanet de Beaune, Chair and CEO of ADP, last week and pledged to create favourable conditions for the strategic partnership.ACV needs to raise capital to improve Vietnam's airport infrastructure. It is expected to invest $16 billion in building Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai prov-ince over the next decade to ease overloading at HCM City's Tan Son Nhat Internation-al Airport. ADP has also expressed interest in investing in the project.ACV's chartered capital stands at VND21.7 trillion ($951 million). 2.1 billion of its shares listed on the UPCoM last November after its initial public offering (IPO) in 2015. It expects to list 2.1 billion shares on the Ho Chi Minh city Stock Exchange (HoSE) later this year.It served a total of 81 billion passengers at 22 airports in 2016, an increase of 28 per cent against 2015. It also handled over 1 million tonnes of cargo, up 12 per cent.ACV recorded net profit of VND2 billion ($87 million) on revenue of VND14.5 trillion ($635 million) and has set a target of revenue rising 8 per cent each year and pre-tax-profit 3 per cent from 2017 to 2020.ADP suggested purchasing 30 per cent of ACV's shares before the 2015 IPO. ACV ini-tially intended to sell no more than 10 per cent to a strategic partner, but increased it to 20 per cent, which cuts State ownership from 95.4 per cent to 75 per cent.ACV is a joint stock company operating under the model of a holding company and subsidiary company.It manages and invests in 22 airports in Vietnam, including nine international airports: Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Da Nang, Vinh, Cat Bi, Phu Bai, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, and Can Tho, and 13 national airports: Buon Ma Thuot, Lien Khuong, Rach Gia, Ca Mau, Con Dao, Phu Cat, Pleiku, Tuy Hoa, Chu Lai, Dong Hoi, Na San, Dien Bien and Tho Xuan.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/airports-corporation-to-take-on-strategic-partner

SCG raises stake in petrochemical project


Thailand's SCG, one of the main investors involved in the Long Son Petrochemical Complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, will acquire a 25 percent stake in the project from Qatar Petroleum to raise its holding to 71 percent.Vina SCG Chemicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCG in Vietnam, has signed a con-tract to take over QPI Vietnam Limited, a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum, to get the en-tire 25 percent stake of the latter in Long Son Petrochemicals Co Ltd, the owner of the Long Son petrochemical project.This $36.1 million investment will raise SCG's direct and indirect stake in Long Son Petrochemicals Co Ltd from 46 percent to 71 percent. Meanwhile, the remaining 29 percent in the joint venture is held by Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN).In 2015, news about Qatar Petroleum pulling out of the project for restructuring and change of development strategy left experts worrying that the project would continue facing difficulties after nearly eight years of delay. It is because Qatar's state-owned pe-troleum company was not only a shareholder but also a supplier of raw material for the project.At the time, SCG said it would continue to pursue this project by looking for a new partner to replace Qatar Petroleum. Now SCG decided to replace Qatar Petroleum.Speaking to the press in mid-2016 in HCM City, Roongrote Rangsiyopash, chair and CEO of SCG Group, said the multi billion-dollar project was in its final stages before


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kickoff, with financing the only job to do. It is expected that the project will get off the ground late this year.Construction is expected to take five years and the project will start operating in 2021, says the press release posted on SCG's website.The Long Son Petrochemical Complex, also known as the Southern Petrochemical Complex, would be developed at a 460-hectare site in Long Son Petroleum Industrial Park. The total cost is estimated at $4.5 billion.The project was originally scheduled to launch its first products in late 2012. However, it was delayed due to a number of issues related to site clearance, change of partners and other difficulties.The leadership of SCG said this was a sizable project in Vietnam which SCG had been pursuing for years.As per the initial plan, the Long Son Petrochemical Complex would be able to turn out 1.6 million tonnes of olefin per year, depending on the mixture of input material, with technology for flexible grinding of material. The project also includes other works such as seaport, pier, warehouse and power plant.In addition, with integrated grinding technology, the project can offer a variety of products such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), mainly for domestic consumption.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52746/SCG-raises-stake-in-petrochemical-project.html

SCG spends $156 million to buy cement company


Thailand's Siam Cement Group (SCG) has spent $156 million to buy Kusto Group's ce-ment companies in Quang Binh Province.SCG Cement-Building Materials Company Limited, a member of SCG, acquired 100 per cent stake in Vietnam Construction Materials Company in central Vietnam. Enter-prise value of this transaction is $440 million, including net debt and investment cost for improving acquired assets.The production line has a capacity of 3.1 million tonnes (in Portland cement) and is the largest production base of SCG outside Thailand. The project has the potential to op-erate with optimum efficiency to improve the factory's total capacity, SCG estimated. In addition, the central region is characterised by a balance between supply and de-mand in the cement sector.The group also operates cement projects in Cambodia, Indonesia and Myanmar. Fol-lowing this transaction in Vietnam, SCG's cement production in Asean (excluding Thailand) has increased to 10.5 million tonnes, besides the 23 million tonnes in Thai-land currently.SCG is one of the leading multinational corporations in the South East Asia region, fo-cusing mainly on SCG Cement-Building Materials, SCG Chemicals and SCG Packag-ing. The corporation currently has more than 200 subsidiaries and 52,500 employees.SCG acquired a part of Long Son Petrochemicals Complex (LSP) for $36.1 million, rais-ing its stake in LSP from 46 per cent to 71 per cent, making it the largest shareholder last week. By the end of 2016, SCG had invested more than $800 million through a number of projects in Vietnam.http://bizhub.vn/markets/scg-spends-156 million-to-buy-cement-company_284644.html

Homebuyers struggling with delayed projects


Scores of homebuyers at the 584 Lilama SHB Building project in Tan Phu District, HCM City last week continued calling for compensation as they had not taken over their apartments six years after the guaranteed handover date.About 60 buyers have either asked for compensation or demanded apartment hando-vers but the investors including Transport Engineering Construction & Business In-vestment 584 Joint Stock Company (TECBI 584 JSC) and Lilama SHB Construction & Business Investment Joint Stock Company seem to have turned a deaf ear to their re-


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quests.A customer from Binh Chanh District said that he bought an apartment of 584 Lilama SHB Building project in 2009 at VND635 million. The project was then delayed after he had paid half of the contract value.In a meeting with customers in 2014, TECBI 584 JSC proposed two options for its cus-tomers: first, taking back their money over six months and second, completing pay-ments to get their apartments.Till now, the investors have refunded part of the money for the customers who chose the first option and have not handed over apartments to those agreeing to full pay-ments.The 584 Tan Kien apartment building, another project developed by TECBI 584 JSC in Tan Binh District, has not been completed as scheduled. Block B of the project with 532 units was completed and handed over to the customers in March 2011. Meanwhile, Block A with 420 units was delayed when it was 80 percent complete, and the custom-ers had paid 80-90 percent of the contract value."The investors handed over the apartments to us for temporary residence but some-times banks sent staff here to seal our apartments because the investors had used their project as collateral to borrow," said a home buyer at the project.These two recent cases of delayed property projects illustrate how vulnerable custom-ers are when buying homes at projects developed by cash-strapped investors.Earlier, customers of PVCLand Corporation's PetroVietnam Landmark apartment building project in HCM City's District 2 faced the same problem as the project had been put on hold for years.The HCM City People's Court handled the bankruptcy case of PVCLand Corporation but the buyers who paid 80-90 percent of the contract value are afraid that they will lose their apartments.Experts said initiating a bankruptcy case for such investors is necessary although it could not ensure full refunds for buyers.Launching a bankruptcy case helps prevent investors from dispersing their assets. However, they will have to pay bankruptcy fee and staff's salary and fulfill other fi-nancial obligations to the State first before paying compensation for their customers.According to the 2014 law on real estate business which took effect from July 1, 2015, investors need bank guarantees before selling or leasing their projects as banks take re-sponsibility to return money to buyers in case of late apartment handovers.However, some investors break the regulations by selling their products when they have not secured guarantees from banks. Therefore, authorities need to carry out stricter inspections and buyers need to make well-informed decisions on home pur-chase.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52752/Hom

IR 50404 rice eases off record high


The price of low-grade rice IR 50404 in the Mekong Delta has slightly declined by VND100 to VND200 a kilo after it rose to a record high last week.Nguyen Van Tai, a rice trader in Cai Lay District, Tien Giang Province, said IR 50404 is now priced at VND4,700-4,800 a kilo, down VND200 against last week. At Ba Dac market in Cai Be District of the same province, it has edged down by VND100 to VND6,900-7,000 a kilo.Another rice trader in Cai Lay, Nguyen Thanh Hon, said the fresh type of IR 50404 was traded at VND4,900-5,000 a kilo last week but the current price is VND200 lower than that.Despite the fall, IR 50404 is still VND200-300 higher than in the same period last year.The director of a major rice exporting firm in the Mekong Delta said the quotas which the Philippine food authority issued for private traders to import rice from Thailand, Pakistan and Vietnam expired late last month.News about this expiration has affected the rice price since the contracts which Viet-namese traders won from Philippine partners provided a major price and consump-


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tion boost.However, Philippine traders have asked their government to extend their import con-tracts until end-March so that they could fulfill them. Approval for this proposal is not yet forthcoming but local rice exporters are still pinning hopes on it, which is a needed price support.Another factor that has helped prevent the Vietnamese rice price from a nosedive is the Philippines will invite tenders for supply of Vietnamese and Thai rice through a government-to-government contract (G2G).Thailand has agreed to sell 200,000 tonnes of rice to China which also consumes 30-35 percent of Vietnam's annual rice export volume. Therefore, rice enterprises in Vietnam can still have export opportunities elsewhere.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52760/IR-50404-rice-eases-off-record-high.html

FWD introduces insurance coverage with few exclusions


FWD Vietnam Life Insurance Co Ltd on March 7 introduced a minimised list of two to six exclusions across all its insurance products, becoming the first life insurer in the country to provide the widest insurance coverage.This is the shortest exclusion list in the industry. Usually a life insurance product has 10-15 terms of exclusion, even up to 20, making many customers hesitant to buy.Anantharaman Sridharan, general director of FWD Vietnam, said, "We are proud to be the first life insurer in Vietnam to introduce the shortest and simplest list of insurance exclusions in the market, providing even better protection at no extra cost. Applying minimum exclusions enables our customers to follow their passions and live a life to the fullest."Ngo Trung Dung, acting secretary general of the Insurance Association of Vietnam, said these changes in FWD' insurance exclusions are an important milestone for Viet-nam's life insurance sector. This development will make insurance products simpler and easier to understand and more relevant to local customers.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52742/-FWD-introduces-insurance-coverage-with-few-exclusions.html

VNPT, Viettel Group chase global market share

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV

Government controlled telecom equipment maker VNPT and mobile network opera-tor Viettel Group have announced plans to hit their rivals hard and gain global market share in 2017.As of end of 2016, VNPT, which was founded in early 2006, had manufactured and sold roughly $400 million of optical fibre cables and related cable termination equip-ment in both domestic and foreign markets.However, since its inception, the company generated revenue of only a few million in foreign markets, which sales were comprised of relatively small contracts spread over 30 countries in principally Asia, Europe and Africa.But the nature of the telecommunications equipment market is changing with an ac-celerating shift of economic activity from Europe and North America to markets in Af-rica, Asia, and Latin America.The leaders of VNPT believe, like the International Monetary Fund, that the ten fastest-growing economies in telecommunications during the years ahead will all be in emerging markets such as Vietnam and those in Asean.Against this backdrop, they believe that continuing advances in information and com-munications technology have opened the doorway a crack and make it possible for VNPT to coordinate with global companies and flourish.VNPT leaders say they plan on knocking on every operator's door having shaken off the image of poor quality products that plaques so many other products made in Viet-nam. Our quality is strong and continually improving, they say, and their track record shows they have gained consumer trust.The barriers to gaining global market share entry for new companies are very strong and primarily revolve around the necessity for massive capital expenditures and mar-


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ketplace difficulties.In 2016, VNPT began construction of a second manufacturing facility at the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Zone in Hanoi, which is expected to be placed in service in 2017 and more than double the production capacity of the company.VNPT has also broken ground on a new 5,000-square-metre facility to produce glass fibre cables in the northern province of Bac Ninh that has a total budget of $12.87 mil-lion (VND287 billion).Tran Manh Hung, president of VNPT group, said with the addition of these two facil-ities, the group targets to supply product in 10 countries in the consumer goods, med-ical and healthcare fields.Meanwhile, Viettel, owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence since its founding in 2004, has managed to emerge at the fastest growing 4G provider in Vietnam, having established roughly 10,000 4G base transceiver stations in just the past few months alone.In the first quarter of 2017, Viettel will export 4G equipment to Laos and Timor Leste pursuant to some of its first foreign contracts to install equipment it manufactured at its facilities located in Vietnam.Hoang Son, deputy general director of Viettel, said the company targets to design and expand its manufacturing base and exports to be right at 70 percent of its revenue, add-ing that the company is the first network service provider in Vietnam to get into ex-port-oriented industrial production.http://english.vov.vn/economy/vnpt-viettel-group-chase-global-market-share-344913.vov

AVC favours coconut leaf-shaped design for new airport terminal


The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has opted for the coconut leaf-shaped de-sign for the passenger terminal of a new international airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.ACV, the project's investor, has asked the Ministry of Transport to seek approval from the prime minister for this design for Long Thanh International Airport's passenger terminal, VnEconomy newspaper reports.The design is inspired by the coconut leaf, the popular image of Vietnam's countryside and riverine culture. Inside the departure lounge, the check-in counters would look like boats in the river in rural Vietnam.Functional facilities would be developed in a way that creates vibrant space, greenery and interior landscape.ACV said the design is simple in structure, so it would facilitate construction work and save cost. Like other international airports, materials for the interior and exterior of the terminal should meet the requirements for durability, aesthetics and technical charac-teristics.Do Tat Binh, ACV's deputy general director, said the corporation had finished the con-sultation process.The airport would require a total of more than VND336.63 trillion (US$14.76 billion) and around 5,000 hectares of land. It would affect around 4,700 households in six com-munes in Long Thanh District.Around 40 kilometers from HCM City and 30 kilometers from Bien Hoa City, the air-port would handle 100 million passengers and five million tonnes of cargo a year when it is fully in place.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52753/AVC-favours-coconut-leaf-shaped-design-for-new-airport-terminal.html

Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway to be constructed under BOT form


More than VND8.2 trillion will be invested to build the first stretch of an expressway connecting Bien Hoa City of Dong Nai Province and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.According to Transport Engineering Design Inc. (TEDI), Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Express-way will have a total length of 46.8 km, of which 38 km will be developed in the first


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component of the project to link Bien Hoa City and Tan Thanh District of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. The remaining 8.8 km belongs to the second component and connects Tan Thanh and Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex.Build-operate-transfer (BOT) format has been chosen for the first component.Project Management Unit 85 (PMU 85) under the Ministry of Transport has said it would complete procedures to begin work on the project in 2018.With a maximum speed of 100 km per hour, Bien Hoa-Vung Tau expressway will help improve traffic in the southeastern region and facilitate cargo movement from HCM City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong to Cai Mep-Thi Vai port complex and vice versa.When in place, the expressway would help reduce traffic National Highway 51, which is currently the artery between Bien Hoa and Vung Tau cities.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/52748/Bien-Hoa-Vung-Tau-expressway-to-be-con-structed-under-BOT-form.html

Vietnamese high-quality goods fair opens in An Giang


A trade fair on Vietnamese high-quality goods organised organised by the Association of Vietnamese High-quality Goods Enterprises and the An Giang Province Trade and Investment Promotion Centre is currently underway.The trade fair opened on the Tuesday evening of March 7 in Long Xuyen City, An Giang Province.This fair, on until March 12, has on display high-quality goods of 150 Vietnamese en-terprises at 350 pavilions, including consumer goods, electrical appliances, processed wooden products and machines for agriculture.The organisation board also organised organised many other activities, including trade promotion activities and seminars to connect enterprises to develop special farming products in Vietnam as well as in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta region.An exhibition was held to present typical high-quality products produced by Vietnam-ese enterprises over the past 21 years to encourage further development of such prod-ucts.http://bizhub.vn/news/vietnamese-high-quality-goods-fair-opens-in-an-giang_284649.html

Furnishing, handicrafts fair opens in HCM City


A wide range of indoor and outdoor furniture, handicrafts, and interior furnishing and accessories are on display at the 2017 Vietnam International Furniture and Home Ac-cessories Fair (VIFA-EXPO 2017) that opened in HCM City on March 8.This year the number of exhibitors has increased by 23 per cent to 313 and the number of booths by 24 per cent to 1,532, Nguyen Quoc Khanh, chair of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (Hawa), said.Vietnamese and overseas firms based here account for a third of the exhibitors while the rest are foreign.The number of foreign firms has gone up by 72 per cent. They are from 14 countries and territories, including Singapore, Taiwan, the US, Australia, Canada, China, and It-aly, and have brought 100 brands, he said.To serve international visitors, expected to number 4,500, the association has turned to the HCM City Tourism Association for assistance with hotels, transport, visas, travel, and other arrangements, Khanh said.Inaugurating the event, Bui Huy Son, head of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, said despite intense competition and trade barriers Vietnam Nam's wood and wood product exports last year topped $7 billion to remain among the country's top 10 ex-port items.This was made possible by enterprises improving their production capacity and de-sign and product quality and effective support from business groups and trade pro-motion agencies.The fair offers an opportunity for trade promotion by bringing local and international companies together, he said.


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A seminar on technical standards for wood glue quality was held on the opening day.Organised by the city Department of Industry and Trade, Hawa, and Hawa Corpora-tion, the fair at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre will go on until March 11.http://bizhub.vn/news/furnishing-handicrafts-fair-opens-in-hcm-city_284648.html

Vietnamese firms showcase farm produce at Japan expo


Seventeen Vietnamese firms are showcasing their products at the 42nd FOODEX, Ja-pan's largest international food and beverage exhibition, which is underway at Chiba Prefecture.Vietnamese enterprises are displaying farm produce such as fruits, vegetables, cashew nuts, rice products, seafood products and juices. The participating businesses hail from HCM City, Hanoi, Nghe An, Bac Giang, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Binh Duong, and Phu Quoc.The four-day event is a great opportunity for firms to connect with potential clients, Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Japan Nguyen Trung Dung said.Vietnamese agricultural products have huge potential in the Japanese market, Dung said. He said businesses would be able to the tap this market effectively by conducting more promotional activities and ensuring that they have a steady, high-quality supply of products.Kazuki Mizutani from VOX Trading Company in Japan said there is room for Viet-namese firms to boost the export of farm produce to Japan. To do so, they must im-prove product quality and offer them at reasonable rates, he advised.http://bizhub.vn/news/vietnamese-firms-showcase-farm-produce-at-japan-expo_284643.html

Mekong Delta farmers to be trained in sustainable rice cultivation


About 4,000 farmers in the Mekong Delta region will be trained to grow rice following standards set by the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) in the next two years.The training is part of a project on sustainable rice production that was launched in HCM City on March 8. The Canadian government sponsors the project via the World Bank's International Financial Corporation (IFC), while the local partner is the Loc Troi Group.Experts from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will provide technical support to the scheme.Joey Janiya, an IRRI senior expert, said the standard consists of 46 criteria, which are difficult for farmers to follow.He added that however, the target farmers, who have participated in Loc Troi's closed production line for years, are quick in catching up with new practices.Huynh Van Thon, head of the Loc Troi Group, said the project not only assists his com-pany in making high-quality rice products but also protects the environment and the health of the community.en.vietnamplus.vn/mekong-delta-farmers-to-be-trained-in-sustainable-rice-cultiva-tion/108368.vnp

Aviation infrastructure overloaded


The overloaded infrastructure is a major reason behind the high percentage of can-celed and delayed flights.The heavy investment made recently by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to upgrade airports and develop new infrastructure still cannot satisfy the increasingly high travel demand.The additional parking lots set up by ACV recently do not mean much if compared with demand, while airlines still have to scramble for the locations to park their air-crafts. Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat Airports had many meetings to discuss the allocation of parking lots but they were not useful.Giao Thong quoted a high ranking executive of Vietnam Airlines as saying that the car-


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rier's fleet has 10-15 new aircraft every year while it has put next-generation aircrafts into operation. In 2015, Vietnam Airlines had 83 aircrafts, while the figure is expected to increase to 120 by 2020. This leads to a higher demand for parking lots and the up-grade of technical service areas.Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, CEO of Vietjet Air, has repeatedly asked for more aircraft parking lots at the Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai and Da Nang Airports. In 2016 alone, the air carrier needs at least 44 parking locations.According to Tran Van Thang, ACV's deputy CEO, ACV has arranged 11 new parking locations at Noi Bai, raising the total number of licensed locations to 70.At Tan Son Nhat Airport, four new locations have been arranged for ATR72 aircrafts. The figures are 8 at Da Nang and 16 at Cam Ranh. However, he admitted that the ad-ditional supply still cannot satisfy the high demand from airlines.Head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) Lai Xuan Thanh confirmed the lack of parking lots for aircrafts. He said all the four large airports including Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang and Cam Ranh need to have their parking areas expanded to satisfy the demand.A CAAV report showed that in the first six months of 2016, airlines provided more than 128,000 flights, 15.8 percent of which were delayed while the canceled flights amounted to 0.6 percent.About the reasons behind the delayed and canceled flights, the report pointed out that airlines' technical problems were the direct reason of 10.3 percent of delayed flights, while the lack of equipment at airports caused the delay of 6.2 percent, or 1,250 flights.Meanwhile, the problems in flight control at the departure airports were the reason be-hind the late arrival of 11.3 percent of total delayed flights.Thanh from CAAV said that until the Long Thanh Airport is built and put into opera-tion, the overloading at Tan Son Nhat would still not be settled.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/161104/aviation-infrastructure-overload-ed.html

Vietnam's Budget Airline Founder Is Southeast Asia's Only Woman Billionaire

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | FORBES

In December 2011, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao launched Vietnam's first budget airline, betting that she could disrupt an industry dominated by a nationally owned carrier. Just five years later, VietJet Air, which went public last month, operates more than 40 percent of the country's flights and boasts $1.2 billion in revenues.VietJet's success has made Nguyen, its CEO, Southeast Asia's only woman billionaire, and one of just two billionaires in Vietnam. She is one of 56 women on this year's FORBES World's Billionaires list who built their own ten-figure fortunes; more than half of them hail from Asia. Nguyen, who is 46, appeared on the list with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. FORBES currently pegs her fortune at $1.7 billion.After studying economics and finance in Soviet Russia in the 1980s, Nguyen got her start trading commodities in Eastern Europe and Asia. She returned to Vietnam a dec-ade ago and began investing in banks before turning to real estate projects in HCM City and resorts in Central Vietnam.Nguyen got the idea to launch a low-cost airline while she was a trader, when she pre-dicted that demand for air travel in Vietnam would increase."I have always aimed big and done big deals," Nguyen told FORBES Vietnam. "I never done anything on a small scale. When people were trading one container [of goods], I was already trading hundreds of containers."Nguyen researched the models used by budget carriers such as Southwest, Ryan Air and AirAsia. She got a license to start VietJet in 2007, but high oil prices delayed the launch. In 2010, Nguyen entered into a joint venture with AirAsia. When the plan failed to get off the ground, she launched on her own the following year. Nguyen and her husband, entrepreneur Nguyen Thanh Hung, own a majority stake in VietJet through their firm Sovico Holdings.The airline grew quickly. Early on, VietJet attracted attention with controversial ads featuring bikini-clad flight attendants. It capitalised on Vietnam's growing air trans-


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portation market, which expanded by 29 percent between 2012 and 2016, and ineffi-ciencies on the part of its main domestic competitor, Vietnam Airlines. By its second year, VietJet was turning a profit.The airline now offers 300 flights a day, including 63 local routes and dozens of inter-national ones, and operates 45 jets. Since it went public on Vietnam's stock exchange on February 28, the company's shares are up 47 percent. More than 35 million passen-gers have flown with VietJet. The company recently ordered more than 200 aircraft worth nearly $23 billion from Airbus and Boeing.Now Nguyen has even bigger plans, and the competition will get stiffer. "VietJet aims to be an international airline, not just a local one," says.Nguyen doesn't think her entrepreneurial success is a matter of instinct. "Some say that anything I put hands on will be profitable. But I don't think it's that simple," she told CNBC. "There's no easy path to success. I studied and I did my research. It was a lot of hard work, and to be successful you need to be passionate about the business that you invest in."https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiasavchuk/2017/03/08/vietnams-budget-airline-founder-is-southeast-asias-only-woman billionaire/#6ec9ed3f2ebc

Wood processing sector has room for development


The wood processing sector will have more room for development as Vietnam partic-ipates in more free trade agreements, according to the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA).At the Vietnam International Furniture & Home Accessories Fair (VIFA - EXPO 2017), which opened on March 8, Huynh Van Hanh, vice President of the HAWA, wood processing is a sector with high growth, less dependence and an added value of 40 per-cent.He advised enterprises to invest in technology and design to boost their competitive-ness.He said the export of wood and wood products is expected to hit $8 billion in 2017.Pham Thanh Kien, director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said this year's fair attracts 313 enterprises, up 24 percent, and has 1,532 booths, an increase of 23 percent, from 2016.The event will conclude on March 11.http://english.vov.vn/trade/wood-processing-sector-has-room-for-development-345041.vov

Ford to train more women employees in Asian market


Ford plans to step up its efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace, including an increased focus on recruiting and training women employees to gain an edge in the battle for talent in fast-growing Asia markets, including Vietnam.The company has announced that in the past five years it has grown the number of woman working in its operation across Asia Pacific by more than 125 percent and in-creased the number of woman in senior leadership roles."Women have been traditionally underrepresented in the auto industry, especially in Asia, and we see that as a massive untapped opportunity," said Dave Schoch, Presi-dent of Ford Asia Pacific."Recruiting and retaining the best talent is a big challenge in Asia. Increasing women in our workforce is not only the right thing to do; it's key to winning in China and other fast-growing Asia Pacific markets."A Nathan Associates study in 2016, Apec Women in STEM (Science, Technology, En-gineering, Art and Mathematics), found that women and girls across the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum encountered ster-eotypes and other cultural constraints that discouraged them from aspiring to careers and leadership in STEM or STEAM fields.To address this, Ford has been investing in STEAM programmes in India, China and Australia since 2014, and is looking to expand this support to other Asia Pacific mar-


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kets.As part of Ford's Better World effort, the goal is to encourage young men and women to cultivate an interest in STEAM fields and keep them engaged throughout the edu-cation process, from early years to senior school and university.For International Women's Day on March 8, Ford is holding a number of special events across Asia Pacific, including Vietnam, to celebrate and recognise the many contribu-tions of its women leaders and employees.From engineers to designers, they are involved in every aspect of the company, up-holding Ford's commitment to quality and customer experience.http://english.vov.vn/market/ford-to-train-more-women-employees-in-asian-market-345023.vov

Vietnam attends largest food fair in Japan


Vietnamese food is drawing attention at the 42nd FOODEX, Japan's largest interna-tional food and beverage exhibition, which opened in Chiba prefecture on March 7.Seventeen Vietnamese firms are displaying products, including fruits, vegetables, cashews, rice product, aquatic products, and juices. They are from localities with po-tential for agro-fishery product export, namely HCM City, Hanoi, Nghe An, Bac Giang, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Binh Duong, and Phu Quoc.Vietnamese Charge d'Affaires in Japan Nguyen Truong Son said during his Vietnam visit in January, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe agreed to allow imports of Viet-namese red dragon fruits to Japan.Vietnamese red dragon fruits are being showcased for the first time at a big trade fair like FOODEX, Son said, adding that bringing Vietnamese agricultural products to this promising market will push the development of the country's agriculture and trade in Japan.Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Japan Nguyen Trung Dung said FOODEX Japan 2017 represents a great opportunity for Vietnamese firms to connect with potential clients. Vietnam has recorded an increase of 140 percent in shipment of agro-forestry-fishery products to Japan.Vietnamese agricultural products have huge potential in the Japanese market, Dung said, noting that firms should focus more on promotion activities and ensuring stable and high quality supply to carve out a niche in the market.Kazuki Mizutani from VOX Trading Company in Japan said Vietnamese red dragon fruits are popular in Japan. Vietnamese firms need to ensure the quality of their prod-ucts at a reasonable price to make inroads into the Japanese market.The trade show, which lasts through March 10, gathers 3,250 enterprises from 83 coun-tries and territories worldwide and is estimated to welcome 80,000 visitors.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-attends-largest-food-fair-in-japan/108331.vnp

Women's start-up initiative launches in HCM City


A chapter of the international Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE) pro-gramme was launched on March 8 in HCM City to reach female entrepreneurs and support their business endeavours.The WISE women's business centre helps with one-on-one business counselling, train-ing, workshops, and mentorship for those looking to start and grow a business.Most importantly, the staff and certified business counsellors at the centre help design business plans for success.The initiative takes on a broad approach that includes highlighting and telling the sto-ries of well-known and lesser known successful women entrepreneurs from around the globe, special events, and organises localised start-up weekend events.http://english.vov.vn/economy/womens-startup-initiative-launches-in-hcm-city-345039.vov


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Sustainable rice production programme launched in Vietnam


A programme on sustainable rice production in Vietnam was launched in HCM City on March 8 by the Loc Troi group, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, the Inter-national Rice Research Institute, and the Sustainable Rice Platform.The programme targets to train 4,000 farmers in the Mekong Delta on environmental-friendly production method to obtain high yield and quality in the next two years.The programme has piloted two crops which earned higher income for the partici-pants and it matches Vietnam's agricultural reform towards building Vietnam's rice trademarks in the international market.Experts from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) will provide technical support to the scheme.Huynh Van Thon, head of the Loc Troi Group, said the project not only assists his com-pany in making high-quality rice products but also protects the environment and the health of the community.http://english.vov.vn/economy/sustainable-rice-production-programme-launched-in-vietnam-345045.vov

The iron businesswomen in the Vietnamese market


Vinamilk, Traphaco and Hau Giang Pharmacy - three out of the largest Vietnamese conglomerates - all are led by women.Vinamilk, the nation's leading dairy producer, with VND40.223 trillion in revenue and VND7.7 trillion in profit in 2015 now holds 53 percent of the liquid milk market share, 84 percent of yogurt, 80 percent of condensed milk market shares and controls the dis-tribution network with 212,000 retail points and 575 showrooms throughout the coun-try.Determined to develop the distribution network, the nation's leading dairy producer allocates huge budgets for ads, listing itself among the three biggest consumer goods manufacturers which spend most on ads.Mai Kieu Lien, the CEO of Vinamilk, is described as a courageous woman. Vinamilk once tried to make beer and coffee. However, Lien made an important decision on leaving the markets soon after realising that it cannot find the opportunities there. The returning to its core business field helped the company gather its strength to developLien is praised as a courageous businesswoman because she decided that Vinamilk needed to conquer the international market and list itself among the world's top 50 dairy producers by 2017.It has bought Driftwood in the US, established cooperation with partners in New Zea-land and set up representative office in Poland which would serve as a jumping board for Vinamilk to enter Europe.Like Vinamilk, Hau Giang Pharmacy's key to success is the focus on the core business field.Pham Thi Viet Nga, CEO of Hau Giang Pharmacy, is a pharmacist.Hau Giang Phamarcy had huge amounts of cash, but Nga did not pour the money into financial investments or invest in other business fields.Nga's strategy on focusing on core business fields has brought encouraging results. Hau Giang gets annual revenue of VND3.6 trillion and holds 9.6 percent of the share of the $1.7 billion market.Traphaco, another pharmacy company, is also believed to gain big successes thanks to their large distribution networks. Hau Giang is the first pharmacy firm which pays at-tention to developing the distribution network throughout the country and compete directly with foreign imports.Tran Thi Thuan of Traphaco decided that Traphaco must not rely on wholesale, but it needs to gather more strength to develop retail channels. Wholesale once brought 60 percent of revenue to Traphaco in the past, but now it accounts for 20 percent of reve-nue only.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/161105/the-iron-businesswomen-in-the-vi-etnamese-market.html


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C&W: Great potential in Vietnam's manufacturing

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Vietnam has ranked second in the Pioneering Locations Index within Cushman & Wakefield's latest global Manufacturing Risk Index report, behind Costa Rica. The ranking shows that global manufacturers hold Vietnam in high regard in terms of po-tential.The report ranks 30 "established" markets that are the largest by manufacturing out-put, as defined by United Nations Conference for Trade and Investment (UNCTAD), and also covers the Top 10 pioneering nations, made up from those that currently do not have the largest output but are considered to have the most potential to mature.C&W Vietnam said the global report is a timely reflection of February's Manufacturing PMI rising to a record high of 54.2, up significantly from January's 51.9.This indicated accelerating manufacturing production, increased output across all sec-tors, and rising new business, as well as markedly improved confidence among man-ufacturers about rising output."It is early in the year but the improved PMI and FDI numbers for the first two months of the year are a reflection of what we and our manufacturing and industrial clients are feeling: positive sentiment and confidence in an improving business environment," said Alex Crane, general manager of C&W Vietnam.Committed FDI in the first two months of the year totalled $3.41 billion, of which $2.5 billion (73 per cent) went to manufacturing, up 25 per cent year-on-year.According to Crane, the Risk Index is a reflection of improvements that Vietnam has made and continues to make to how business is conducted in the country.Particularly in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, rather than seeing a hangover from the cancelled TPP, it sees legacy benefits building confidence for overseas inves-tors and companies."Our industrial consultants are busier than ever and we anticipate more activity from new to market entrants and through expansion of existing operators in the country," Crane added.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/174080/c-w--great-potential-in-vietnam-s-manufacturing.html

Vietnamese SMEs to invest strongly in e-commerce


Hundreds of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) were trained on how to pro-mote their brands through e-commerce at a workshop on March 7 in southern Dong Nai Province.The event, titled "New trends in online business," was organised by the Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) in collaboration with the Industry and Trade De-partment of Dong Nai Province.The workshop aimed at providing local SMEs with an overview of e-commerce, its im-mense growth potential and value, and introducing effective tools to create an online business."Building websites is the first move to enter e-commerce and the domain name you choose for your website is not simply an address on the internet but closely attached to the enterprise's operation and brand. It contributes a great deal to the business's rep-utation and credibility," Nguyen Ngoc Dung, vice president of VECOM, said at the event."Choosing the right domain name is the first step towards building a successful and credible online presence. Once a business has an official online presence by owning a standard domain name, it has ensured high visibility for itself from customers every time and everywhere," Doan Quoc Tam, CEO of FTC Media, said."The selection of domain name should be associated with the business development strategies of the enterprise.In particular, for businesses targeting the global market,.com is always trusted thanks to its availability, credibility and stability for over 18 years," Tam said.According to the Vietnam E-Commerce Report 2015, 43 per cent of businesses record-ed higher revenue by utilising e-commerce.


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Vietnam has a population of over 95 million people, out of which 51.5 per cent are con-nected to the internet.Some 62 per cent of those users have at least once shopped online in 2015 and the av-erage online spending per person is $160.This clearly shows the great potential of Vietnam for developing online business and e-commerce. Notably, the growth rate of e-commerce in Vietnam has reached 22 per cent per year.Many SMEs in Vietnam seem to have neglected the strong developing trend of e-com-merce.Only 20 per cent have their own website for business promotion.Meanwhile, 70 per cent of consumers are reported to have searched online for infor-mation before going to brick-and-mortar stores to buy products.Consumers will find it difficult to find products and services if businesses do not have an online presence, especially when Vietnamese consumers place the most confidence in advertisements on search metrics, social networks, online videos and banners.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/174085/vietnamese-smes-to-invest-strong-ly-in-e-commerce.html

Vietnam's February car sales rise 50 pct


Vietnamese manufacturer Truong Hai Auto Corp, which assembles trucks, buses and sedans, led the sales tally.Vietnam's automobile sales in February jumped 50 percent from a year ago to 17,621 units, industry group VAMA said in a report released on Wednesday.VAMA, short for Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association, said sales by its 20 members in the second month of 2017 soared 54 percent year-on-year to 17,156 units, which include sport utility vehicles, passenger cars and commercial vehicles.Tourist vehicles dropped 32 percent from a month earlier to 10,044 units while com-mercial vehicles rose 24 percent during the same period to 6,344 units, it said.Vietnamese manufacturer Truong Hai Auto Corp, which assembles trucks, buses and sedans, led the sales tally in February, followed by Toyota Motor Corp.A growing middle-class population, rising disposable incomes and falling tariffs on cars imported from neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia appear to be driving Vi-etnam's car market.Tariffs on car imports from Asean countries have been cut from 40 percent last year to 30 percent and will be fully removed by 2018.http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-february-car-sales-rise-50- percent-3552256.html

Coca-Cola invests additional $285 million


Total investment in Vietnam now exceeds $1 billion.Coca-Cola has invested an additional $285 million in Vietnam, bringing its total invest-ment in the country to $1 billion.A representative from the beverage giant told VET that it will spend the funds on de-veloping business activities.The company is committed to long-term, stable investment in Vietnam. "We therefore decided to invest $285 million more, with total investment now reaching $1 billion at this time," said Sanket Ray, general director of Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam Limited.Coca-Cola has held the largest beverage market share in Vietnam but paid no corpo-rate income tax in the country between its arrival in February 1994 and 2014. It has con-tinually invested in build new beverage plants and expanding its market share, so tax authorities and the media have suspected the company uses transfer pricing methods to avoid its tax obligations."All US companies operating wherever in the world comply with the laws of the host country," Sanket insisted when asked about the issue.He added that there are no officially allegations about Coca-Cola engaging in transfer pricing activities.


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After recording a loss for ten years, Coca-Cola then paid tax of over $20 million in 2014. Though not revealing its revenue and profit figures, it has paid tax of $37.5 million to date, primarily corporate income tax.Coca-Cola is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands and nearly 3,900 beverage choices. These brands in-clude Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del Valle, Georgia, and Gold Peak.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/coca-cola-invests-additional-285 million

MWG preparing to open first Cambodian store


BigPhone.com store slated for opening in first quarter.Mobile World Group (MWG) is set to open its first store in Cambodia, called Big-Phone.com, general director Tran Kinh Doanh confirmed with VET.The store is under construction and is anticipated to open in the first quarter. Its size is similar to those in Vietnam, at about 150-200 sq m, and most staff are local people."Cambodia was chosen to be the first country for the Group to approach in Indochina," Doanh said, adding that it aims to increase the number of stores to between 10 and 15 in Cambodia during the first half of this year.The name "BigPhone.com" is set to make it easier for local people to access. "However, the identity of the brand, with the characteristic yellow and black tones, remain, mak-ing it easy for people to realise it is a MWG member store," Doanh said.Only 100 MWG stores will be opened this year, according to Doanh, to enhance the customer experience rather than just focus on expansion, as in previous years.In addition to occupying foreign markets, this year MWG also plans to boost the Dien May Xanh chain to equal thegioididong.com in terms of business efficiency, and will move to the second phase of its Bach Hoa Xanh chains and officially launch the e-com-merce website Vuivui.com, which the Group aims to turn into a Vietnamese version of Amazon and compete with Tiki, Lazada, Sendo, and others.According to its 2016 financial report, MWG recorded revenue of VND44.6 trillion ($2 billion) and after-tax profit of VND1.6 trillion ($69.5 million), increases of 77 and 47 per cent, respectively, compared to 2015. Its revenue also surpassed the initial annual tar-get by 14 per cent. Over the last five years, MWG's revenue and after-tax profit have increased by 43.87 and 65.7 per cent each year on average.Consumer electronics distribution is the key contributor to MWG's success. The Gioi Di Dong stores account for approximately 70 per cent of MWG's sales and 38 per cent of its market share.With positive business results, MWG's stock price doubled in 2016, putting it among the largest caps, with over $1 billion. The company's price per earnings (P/E) ratio is over 15, which is equivalent to the market P/E but still highly regarded compared with many other companies in Vietnam's retail industry.MWG targets VND63.3 trillion ($2.83 billion) in revenue and VND2.2 trillion ($97 mil-lion) in profit for 2017, which is equivalent to increases of 38.7 and 39.5 per cent, re-spectively, compared to 2016.Dragon Capital recently became a major shareholder of MWG. The foreign ownership limit, the maximum percentage foreign investors are allowed to own, was increased to 49 per cent. MWG has no intention of raising the cap further due to the differing treat-ment it would be subject to if its foreign ownership level was to increase.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/mwg-preparing-to-open-first-cambodi-an-store

Platinum Cineplex responds to cinema closures


Cineplex owner claims closure by Vincom is illegal.The Multivision Plus (MVP) entertainment conglomerate from Indonesia, the majority owner of Platinum Cineplex of the MVP Platinum Media Company Limited, held a press conference recently to address issues relating to the closure of Platinum cinemas in three Vincom Retail malls in Hanoi.


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Raam Punjabi, President of MVP, said that Vincom's unilateral termination of Plati-num's leases was illegal, as the company had not breached any clauses in the lease. "We are protesting this unilateral termination," he added.Platinum has no outstanding rents at any of the three Vincom Malls, he went on, dis-missing claims to the contrary made by Vincom Retail in local media. "We will take all appropriate action legally available to us in Vietnam and under international law to protect our lawful rights and interests, including initiating legal proceedings against Vincom," he said.MVP has opened more than 14 cineplexes with a total of 55 screens across Southeast Asia. The Platinum chain can be found in countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Ma-laysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, India, Cambodia, and Myanmar.Since its establishment in January 2011, Platinum Vietnam has opened a total of five cinemas and is the biggest chain in Hanoi.In early March, Vincom forced the closure of Platinum cineplexes at Vincom Long Bien Plaza, Vincom Mega Mall Times City, and Vincom Mega Mall Royal City. Vincom sealed all the premises, including Platinum's assets.Tran Mai Hoa, general director of Vincom Retail, told local media that the reason for the closure is that the two sides failed to reach agreement on further cooperation. "Af-ter several years of operations, Platinum has not had proper investment, so its service quality no longer meets the criteria of our trading centers," she said. "Our cooperation cannot therefore continue."She added that Vincom Retail had sufficient legal basis in any lawsuit. She hopes the problem can be resolved peacefully in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation and that MVP will be compensated satisfactorily, but did not disclose an amount being considered.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/platinum-cineplex-responds-to-cinema-closures

Nha Trang to form 'welcome club' for Chinese tourists

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | TUOITRE NEWS

The tourism association of Nha Trang has plans to gather travel agencies exclusively serving Chinese tourists into a 'club' in order to better deal with the influx of visitors from China.Nha Trang, the coastal city in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, has emerged as a favourable destination for Chinese holidaymakers, who bring revenue to the Vi-etnamese city, but also numerous issues.The municipal tourism association has therefore gathered for a meeting on Tuesday, discussing plans to form a 'welcome club' for Chinese tourists and resolve the issues that have arisen from their increased numbers arriving in Nha Trang.At Tuesday's meeting, more than 20 travel agencies discussed issues such as personnel and operations but have yet to come up with any specific plan for the committee's es-tablishment.Khanh Hoa welcomed 4.2 million international visitors, mostly Chinese nationals, be-tween 2010 and June 2016, according to a report by the provincial People's Council.In January 2017, the province's international tourist numbers rose 180 percent year-on-year to 163,000. More than 102,000 Chinese visitors spent their holidays in Khanh Hoa in January, a massive 374 percent increase on the same period last year.The province is home to 230 travel agencies, with 66 of them identified as mostly serv-ing the Chinese market.During this period Chinese tourists have been accused of improper behavior at attrac-tions across Khanh Hoa.There are also a lack of Chinese-speaking Vietnamese tour guides, leading to a situa-tion in which Chinese nationals illegally work as tour guides and give inaccurate and distorted accounts of Vietnamese history and culture."Forming a committee specialising in receiving Chinese tourists is a must," Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy chair of the Nha Trang Tourism Association, said.


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Sun Group opens sale of Phu Quoc project


Property developer Sun Group is opening the sale of resort villas Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort and condotels Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay shortly.The sale will be launched on March 11 in HCM City and on March 12 in Hanoi.With loan support of up to 70 per cent of the property value at zero interest rate for 24 months, Sun Group's resort villas and condotels will be attractive investments with promising guaranteed return.Buyers will also enjoy other financial support, such as a discount of 10 per cent per year on early paid amount and grace period of 24 months.Sun Group has promised a minimum return from leasing the property of nine per cent in nine years for the condotel and 10 years for the resort villa since the date the prop-erty is handed over and payment is made for 95 per cent of the property.Owners will also enjoy 15 nights stay at the five-star villas or condotels each year, which could also be exchanged with Sungroup's other hotels and resorts across Vit Nam.Premier Village Phu Quoc Resort and condotel Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay are located in the developer's resort and recreation complex on Khem Beach.The two projects, which are expected to be put into operation by the end of this year, together with five-star hotel JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, which opened last year, and the Hon Thm recreational complex and cable car system will turn the south-ern part of Phu Quc Island into an impressive destination.http://bizhub.vn/property/sun-group-opens-sale-of-phu-quoc-project_284636.html

JW Marriot opens in Vietnam

09/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA | RUSTOURISM NEWS

Marriott Hotels & Resorts today announced the opening of JW Marriot Phu Quoc, Em-erald Bay. Located on Vietnam's largest island of Phu Quoc, a hidden paradise off the southern coast of Vietnam, and designed by award-winning interior designer Bill Bensley, the hotel offers 244 guestrooms, suites and villas for an idyllic island retreat. JW Marriott Phu Quoc, Emerald Bay is the second hotel for the brand in Vietnam, and joins a portfolio of more than 80 JW Marriott hotels across 25 countries."The opening of JW Marriott Phu Quoc, Emerald Bay celebrates the arrival of the first international luxury hotel to this picturesque island paradise," said Mitzi Gaskins, Glo-bal Brand Leader, JW Marriott & The Luxury Collection. "This stunning destination of-fers guests a variety of experiences, from white-sandy beaches to dense tropical jungle, and now with the addition of the JW Marriott brand, travellers will really have it all."JW Marriott Phu Quoc, Emerald Bay offers five distinct restaurants and bars, ensuring guests have a wealth of world-class dining options. Tempus Fugit (which translates to 'time flies') offers authentic Vietnamese cuisine, contemporary Japanese fare and clas-sic French delights; French & Co is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth with its signature pastries and desserts; Red Rum features fresh, local seafood dishes served beachside; Pink Pearl is scheduled to open this spring and will serve Cantonese cuisine in a beach-front setting; and Department of Chemistry, offers local elixirs with views of beautiful Emerald Bay.Located within the resort is Rue de Lamarck, which features artisanal boutiques and cafes for guests and locals to enjoy. Daily activities ranging from Vietnamese martial arts and lantern making, to cooking classes and wellness activities such as boot camp, yoga and island excursions, are also available, or for a less strenuous option, the re-sort's private beach and three outdoor pools provide the perfect place to relax.The hotel also boasts a Spa by JW, the new concept created by the brand to demystify and reimagine the spa experience with treatments based on four benefit states. Each of the spa's eight treatment rooms are equipped with a private rainforest shower, steam room, sauna, and treatment area. The property also has 1,100 square-metres of indoor/outdoor meeting space designed to suit the needs of every meeting and event, includ-ing a 715 square-metre Grand Ballroom."We are delighted to welcome JW Marriott Phu Quoc, Emerald Bay into our growing brand portfolio in Asia Pacific," said Rajeev Menon, Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pa-


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cific excluding Greater China, Marriott International. "Bill Bensley's modern, sophisti-cated design paired with the natural beauty of Southern Vietnam and the JW Marriott brand's signature service will redefine luxury in the region."Opening rates at JW Marriot Phu Quoc, Emerald Bay start at VND 9,000,000++ (ap-proximately USD 400) including breakfast for 2 guests and a VND 1,100,000 daily re-sort credit.http://www.rustourismnews.com/2017/03/08/jw-marriot-opens-in-vietnam/ End


090317Intellasia Finance Vietnam - hkbav.org 9 March 2017

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