finance & business news 30 November · 2017-11-30 · Websites: finance & business news FINANCE...

30 November

finance & business news

FINANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Reference exchange rate revised up 5 VND 1Banks, finance companies massively mobilise capital to serve

end of the year credit season 1SBV strongly withdraws capital 3Banks sprint to list shares on bourse 4SBV backs Fintech development 4VIB to use profits to add to core capital 5Vietcombank's profit may exceed 13tr dong in 2018 5Manulife Vietnam raises $30 million for Hearbeat Vietnam 6Work still to be done on EU trade deal: experts 7Vietnam's CPI up slightly in November 8HCM City's November CPI picks up 0.17pct 8Foreign investment in Vietnam soars 9Veggies surpass crude oil in export earnings 9Timber exports to hit $8 billion 10Large imbalance exist between FDI and domestic

businesses in export of electronic goods 11VN government, exporters team up to tackle IUU fishing 11Ministry plans higher tariffs on steel imports to support

domestic production 14Eyebrows raised over Vietnam's flight subsidy policy 14Vietnamese businesses can't keep up with rapidly changing

tax, customs policies: commerce chamber 15Nearly 11,000 new businesses established in November 2017 16HCM City to invite tenders for BT projects 17IT sector targets 15 per cent annual growth 18Internet of Things to drive VN digital transformation 18Local contents of electronic products still insignificant 20Potential street food market remains unexploited 21Will tourism replace crude oil as a major source of revenue? 22German firms eye investment in Hanoi 23HCM City seeks further cooperation with Israel 24

BIZ NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Business Briefs 30 November, 2017 24VN Index up for 8th day in a row 25

VN Index struggles to extend growth 25Active DIG trading drives turnover up 26Little information about stake sales at Sabeco disclosed 27Sabeco to list at VND320,000 28Sabeco lifts VN Index over 945 points 29Vinaconex share price set at $1.12 29SMEs urged to use energy efficiently 29Smartphone users cover 84pct of VN population 30Online Friday 2017 expects $220 million turnover 31HCM City should build more boat stops for waterway tourism 31Thu Thiem's land prices forecast to rise 30-35pct 32Van Don changes rapidly, ready for Special Economic Zone 33Vissan retails pork at wholesale prices 33Viettel tops list of most profitable companies 34Vinamilk enters domestic sugar industry 34Vietjet to pay 60pct dividend for this year 35Grab commits to long-term investment in Vietnam 35Ba Sao taxi drivers go on strike over plunging revenue 36Uber and Vietnam's number one fintech firm shake hands on 37Direct air route to US would be unprofitableq 38PM encourages Australian group Sakkara's investment in

real estate 38Samsung responds to 'baseless' work safety allegations 39Ho Tram holds the cards to become leading resort 40Son Tra Peninsula real estate transactions halted 41Outstanding farm products honoured 41600 B2B meetings organised under Italian business mission to

Vietnam 2017 42Vietnamese confectionary giant attend FoodPro 2017 in

Bangladesh 43Programme connects Vietnamese, Argentinean businesses 43Hai Phong hosts exhibition on energy saving 44Vietnam Expo 2017 to open in HCM City 44

FINANCE

Intellasia No. 21, lane 173/63/17, Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi © All Rights Reserved

Tel: +844 2213 2244Fax: +844 3759 2034

Email: [email protected]: www.Intellasia.Net www.TriTueAChau.com

FINANCEReference exchange rate revised up 5 VND

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA

The State Bank of Vietnam raised the daily reference VND/USD exchange rate by 5 VND to 22,433 VND per USD on November 30.With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial bank during the day is 23,099 VND and the floor rate 21,762 VND per USD.The opening hour rates stayed stable at major commercial banks.The selling rate is listed at 22,680 VND, and the buying rate at 22,750 VND across Viet-combank, BIDV and Vietinbank, which are unchanged from the rates on November 29.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-revised-up-5-vnd/122578.vnp

FIN

AN

CE

Vietnam finance & business 30 November

Intellasia 30 November 2017 2 / 45

Banks, finance companies massively mobilise capital to serve end of the year credit season

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| TRI THUC TRE

The year ends in just over a month and this is also the time when credit activities most prosper in 12 months. Therefore, banks and finance companies are racing to mobilise capital to increase capacity in order to best meet the needs of borrowers. Banks are at-tracting deposits by high interest rates or promotions. It is very rare to find a bank that is indifferent to this trend.In the group of large banks, BIDV last week raised short-term deposit rates by 0.4-0.5 percentage point, from 4.3 percent to 4.8 percent per annum on one-month term, and 4.8 percent to 5.2 percent per annum on terms from three to six months. Some branches of BIDV even raised the rates of medium terms from six to 11 months, such as up to 5.8 percent per annum on terms from six to eight months, and 6 percent per annum on terms of 9-11 months.Meanwhile, VietinBank has increased its short-term deposit rates to higher levels than other banks in the same group for over two months. While BIDV, Vietcombank and Agribank still applied one-month rate at 4.3 percent, VietinBank started to offer this rate at 4.8 percent per annum. The bank has even recently launched fairly attractive promotions related to interest rates. It is applying a 0.3 percent interest rate plus to new customers depositing capital via e-banking service, applicable for all terms from one month and more.In the group of private banks, the deposit rates are pushed significantly higher than state-owned banks' with the highest levels reaching 7.9-8.2 percent per annum at OCB, VietABank, and VietCapitalBank. Deposit rates for long-terms of over 12 months are up to 7.5 percent-7.6 percent per annum at large-scaled private banks such as VPBank and Sacombank, while medium terms of six months to less than 12 months are also of-fered rates of no less than 6 percent per annum. Customers depositing capital in the form of certificate of deposit can even enjoy rates of up to 8.7 percent per annum at VP-Bank on 60-month term.In addition to the competitive interest rates, many banks have introduced promotional programmes targeting consumers. For example, depositors have a chance to win a car at Construction Bank, or are given gifts worth a total value of seven billion dong. Meanwhile, Sacombank invites customers to deposit capital and have a chance to win an apartment from a lucky draw. Some other banks are also taking the chance to launch programmes for the Lunar New Year season, such as Sacombank and SCB with total value of up to 30-40 billion dong.Unlike banks which can use attractive interest rates to lure depositors, finance compa-nies, which are not allowed to accept deposits of individuals but only from organisa-tions, face much more difficulties in mobilising capital. However, they cannot sit still as the credit season is heating up.According to reports of finance companies, they are inviting organisations to buy cer-tificates of deposits or deposit capital on terms from one month to 60 months at attrac-tive interest rates. They do not publish their savings interest rate, but information gathered by reporter from some companies with decent market share show that they are willing to pay 95-10 percent per annum for big deposits.In addition to calling for capital from domestic market and foreign firms in Vietnam, finance companies also target the huge capital source from major financial institutions in the world. Recently, Fe Credit has announced to attract 100 million USD from Deut-sche Bank AG Singapore.Kalida Ghose, vice Chair cum general director of FE Credit said that the success fund-raising shows that international investors highly value the company's business model as well as the prospect of the consumer finance market. Meanwhile, Sreenivasan Iyer, Managing director cum director of Corporate Finance Division of Southeast Asia at Deutsche Bank said that the bank has recognised the potential of Vietnam's economy with many investment opportunities and successfully negotiated with the partner. He added that this is the biggest loan ever of Deutsche Bank in consumer finance field in Vietnam.Previously, in late 2016, FE Credit also received a syndicated loan worth 100 million USD arranged by Credit Suisse AG Singapore, which is also the credit agent and rep-resentative for guaranteeing this loan.FE Credit has very big ambition on the consumer finance market. Despite holding up to 48 percent of the market share, the company is aiming to gain more market share. In addition to the loans from external sources, in August 2017, the company's parent bank VPBank poured nearly 1.7 trillion dong to supplement its charter capital.Not only looking for input source by interest rates and calls for capital from domestic

FIN

AN

CE


and international organisations, commercial banks and finance companies have also stepped up capital outflows via preferential credit packages or attractive promotions.For example, VIB is launching a package with interest rates from only 6.9 percent per annum for home loan borrowers with commitment for quick disbursement; TPBank is offering home loans at 7.2 percent per annum; SHB is applying a preferential credit package with interest rates from 7 percent per annum for corporate customers import-ing goods from Taiwan; ABBank is offering investment loans at interest rates from 8.3 percent per annum and loans to small and medium enterprises at interest rates from just 6.68 percent per annum.Banks are even focusing on consumer loans in the end of the year season, such as home repair loans, and car loans. Typically, OCB is lending at interest rates from 5.99 percent per annum with disbursement committed within two hours in order to serve produc-tion, business and consumption in the end of the year. Many other banks are offering car loans with preferential interest rates, gifts and quick disbursement commitment, such as VIB, Techcombank, NCB, TPBank, PVcomBank, and SHB, etc.Some banks are building specialised products to attract customers to not only borrow capital but also to use more banking products and services, such as HDBank with sup-ports to small and medium enterprises, and Techcombank and Maritime Bank with complete financial packages, etc.Similarly, finance companies are introducing deeper and wider cooperation pro-grammes with electronics centers and supermarkets. Not only offering more attractive than rivals with quick procedures and diversified loan products, this group is also competing in quality to draw attention of more users.Answering at the interpellation of the National Assembly on November 16th, Gover-nor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Le Minh Hung affirmed that the credit growth in 2017 (with target of 18 percent and revised target of 21 percent) will be met as it was over 13.6 percent in the first 10 months of the year.Governor Hung also said that such credit growth rate is not abnormal because it comes from the real need of the economy and credit is flowing into the areas that the govern-ment expects. This has dispelled many people's concerns of hot credit growth threat-ening inflation as well as negatively affecting the economy in the previous time.The data in November 2017 has not been updated, but with the efforts of commercial banks and finance companies as mentioned in the above, the credit from now until the end of the year will surely flow stronger, not to mention the seasonal factor. Thus, the annual credit growth target is entirely within reach.

SBV strongly withdraws capital

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY

From the end of last week until early this week, market recorded different-scaled bill issuance to withdraw money of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). In particular, in the three consecutive sessions of the last week, SBV for the first time since the beginning of the year raised the scale of bill issuance to nine trillion dong in order to promote money withdrawal. Previously, since the resumption of bill issuance on July 17th 2017, the market recorded the largest withdrawal of SBV at eight trillion dong per session.Through four consecutive sessions with new scale as mentioned in the above, as of No-vember 27th, most of credit institutions (CIs) have absorbed, and the total capital SBV withdrew via the balance of bills in circulation has reached 45.4 trillion dong a fairly large size from the beginning of the year until now.In recent years, when the capital status of CIs showed signs of abundance (especially through large purchases of foreign currency) and there were needs to be neutralised, SBV, when balancing the interbank interest rates that need to be regulate, often used bill tool to withdraw dong. In the above-mentioned increase in the scale of bill issu-ance, in addition to the large withdrawal, the capital status of the system has also showed signs of excess with strong and rapid decline of dong interest rates on the in-terbank market.In mid-November 2017, the dong interest rates on the interbank market rebounded fairly strongly, such as the overnight rate quickly rose from 1 percent to 1.5 percent per


FIN

AN

CE


annum. However, from the end of last week to the beginning of this week, the inter-bank rates have fallen sharply.As of November 27th, the average interbank rates in dong continued to fall across all terms compared to the last session of the week before, reaching just 1.10 percent per annum on over-night term, 1.33 percent per annum on one-week term, 1.58 percent per annum on two-week term, and 2.38 percent per annum on one-month term.Meanwhile, the average interbank rates in US dollars slightly rose up on overnight term in the early week and remained unchanged in the other terms, reaching 1.33 per-cent per annum on overnight term, 1.44 percent per annum on one-week term, 1.54 percent per annum on two-week term, and 1.76 percent per annum on one-month term.

Banks sprint to list shares on bourse

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET

Vietnamese commercial banks are very busy these days with plans to launch IPOs, call for capital, seek strategic partners, and list shares on the bourse.Several banks began plans to enter the bourse earlier this year, either going straight to the Hanoi/HCM Stock Exchanges, or putting shares into transaction on UpCom. They are VIB, Kien Long Bank and VPBank.VIB is well established in the UpCom market with stable share prices and high liquid-ity. Meanwhile, VPBank share has become a rising star on HOSE as it has outstripped Vietcombank, one of the largest banks where the State still holds a controlling stake.There have not been many impressive transactions of Kien Long Bank shares on Up-Com, but deputy chair Vo Van Chau said the listing on UpCom is a breakthrough made by the bank.In principle, all banks must become public companies. They have to list their shares either on official bourses or UpCom market as per a decision by the State Bank. They cannot delay the listing plans any longer as they have been urged repeatedly by the watchdog agency.Meanwhile, listing shares is not a must for other banks which are undergoing restruc-turing, including the "zero-dong" (bought for zero dong) banks, namely CB, Ocean Bank and GPBank.After being put under special control, since August 2015, DAF shares of DongA Bank have been 'frozen' on the OTC market and all share transactions must be approved by SBV. The big shareholders of the bank such as Phu Nhuan Jewellery had to make 100 percent provision for the risks of investment in DongA.The ownership structure in DongA Bank has not changed. The H1 report showed that there was no share transaction.PG Bank is not a weak bank and was not put under special control, but is going to be merged with another bank. The negotiations with VietinBank have not come to an end because of the disagreement in pricing, while there is a rumour that PG Bank is con-sidering an opportunity to merge wirh Military Bank.PG Bank shares have been selling well on OTC with prices hovering around VND14,000 per share.Besides these banks and listed banks (VCB, CTG, BID, SHB, ACB, STB, EIB, NVB and MBB), others are still at the starting point of the process to become public.HD Bank recently caught special attention from investors when announcing the high pre-tax profit of VND2 trillion, or 3.8 times higher than the same period last year, list-ing itself among the four most profitable banks.HD Bank shares are now traded on OTC at VND27,000 per share.english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190855/banks-sprint-to-list-shares-on-bourse.html

SBV backs Fintech development

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will issue pilot regulations on the establishment and development of financial technology (Fintech) enterprises, a senior official said at the launching ceremony of the Fintech Challenge Vietnam (FCV) programme on Novem-


FIN

AN

CE


ber 28.At the ceremony, SBV deputy governor Nguyen Kim Anh said SBV has received dep-uty prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue's permission for the issuance of pilot regulations on the sector.Anh said Fintech firms have asked if their technological products and services would be applied in real life as the current regulations are unsuitable to their development.Meanwhile, the central bank is responsible for managing Fintech firms, creating fa-vourable conditions for these firms to develop their creative ideas, issuing regulations and dealing with possible problems.Fintech enterprises are not rivals to banks but their partners, and such enterprises will help bring banking products and services to more customers, Anh added.FCV organised by SBV is aimed at spurring innovation in financial services and pro-moting greater financial inclusion in Vietnam.The programme focuses on Fintech solutions that can offer financial services to the un-derserved and unbanked.FCV is an opportunity for Fintech companies inside and outside of Vietnam to coop-erate with banks to pilot and develop solutions that will improve financial services in e-payments, e-KYC (Know Your Customer), Open APIs, Blockchain and peer-to-peer lending.Successful applicants will continue participating in a two-month incubation and men-toring programme to fine-tune their business models. They will also take part in a competitive "Pitch Session" where they will present their financial technology solu-tions to banking and financial experts and investors. The best products and services will be demoed at the 2018 Vietnam Fintech Day.4http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57288/SBV-backs-Fintech-development.html

VIB to use profits to add to core capital

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS

Vietnam International Bank (VIB) will submit to the general shareholders meeting (GSM) a plan to use part of its after-tax profits to add to the bank's core capital.Accordingly, VIB will temporarily use the after-tax profit accumulated until Novem-ber 11, 2017, to add to the bank's Tier 1 capital. The amount will not exceed VND700 billion (US$30.83 million) and the bank's after-tax profit up till November 30.The board of directors authorises the board's chair to decide the detailed amount to submit to the GSM. Implementation will be done before December 31 this year.Previously, in early October, VIB unexpectedly decided to cancel a plan to increase charter capital to VND5.64 trillion from VND4.84 trillion by issuing bonus shares ap-proved at the GSM in April 2017. It instead used the money to buy 10.1 per cent of treasury shares.According to the bank's Q3 accumulated financial report, its after-tax profit until the end of September was VND799 billion.VIB's outstanding loans stood at VND53.37 trillion in the first nine months of the year, 11.7 per cent higher against December 31; while deposits grew 12.1 per cent since De-cember 31 to VND59.77 trillion.The bank's non-performing loan ratio fell to 1.54 per cent compared with 1.84 per cent at the end of the second quarter and 2.07 per cent at the end of 2015, and its capital ad-equacy ratio stood at 15.6 per cent, significantly higher than the 9 per cent required by the State Bank of Vietnam.VIB's credit ranking was upgraded to B2 in a Moody's report ranking of Vietnamese banks released last month, putting it in the group of banks with the highest credit ranking in the market.http://bizhub.vn/banking/vib-to-use-profits-to-add-to-core-capital_290448.html

Vietcombank's profit may exceed 13tr dong in 2018

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH

According to SSI Research, Vietcombank's pre-tax profit will continue growing in the following year with the contribution from the capital divestment from credit organisa-tions.


FIN

AN

CE


In 2018, SSI Research's baseline scenario assumes that the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank, coded VCB) has not completed the share issuance to new long-term investors and the bank's chartered capital has no change.The equity will grow from the retained earnings.The credit growth in 2018 is forecasted at 17.5 percent, the capital mobilisation will in-crease sharply by nearly 17 percent, and the Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) will swell from 76.5 percent in 2017 to about 77.2 percent.SSI Retail Research forecasts that VCB's Net Interest Margin (NIM) will improve to 2.64 percent, leading to the net interest income growth of 14.4 percent.The non-interest income in 2018 is forecasted to hike 26 percent from the same period last year, of which, the net income from fees and commissions will grow 15 percent.On the other hand, it is expected that Vietcombank will earn one trillion dong from the capital divestment from MBB and EIB at the beginning of next year.In 2018, the bank's pre-tax profit is forecasted to climb 26.8 percent, reaching 13.046 trillion dong. The net profit touches 10.418 trillion dong, up 26.8 percent year-on-year, the ROE will hit 19.1 percent.The Book Value per Share (BVPS) and the Earnings per share (EPS) are estimated at 15.932 trillion dong and 2.461 trillion dong respectively.For this year, SSI Research revised up its forecast about VCB's total asset growth, de-posit and credit to 14.1 percent, 17.4 percent and 18.2 percent respectively compared to 2016.However, SSI Research supposes that the Net Interest Margin (NIM) will decrease to 2.62 percent as the average financial cost will continue rising as the bank restructures the capital source for longer-term sources along with rising trend of deposit rates at year's end.The entire year net profit will improve 14.1 percent, reaching 21.131 trillion dong. The non-interest income is forecasted to edge up 16.65 percent to 7.41 trillion dong.In addition, SSI Retail Research forecasts that the bank's CIR will surge to 42.5 percent compared to the 40 percent in the previous year.Accordingly, SSI Retail Research revises down the forecast about VCB's 2017 pre-tax profit to 10.293 trillion dong, up 20.8 percent compared to the previous forecast of 10.504 trillion dong.On November 20, Vietcombank auctioned more than 13.2 million shares of Saigo-nbank, equal to 4.3 percent of the chartered capital, with the average successful auction price of 20,100 dong per share.At the same time, the bank sold a total of 6.6 million CFC shares, equal to 10.91 percent of the share with the successful bid price of 11,554 dong per share.SSI Retail Research estimates that VCB will earn nearly 266 billion dong from the sale of shares in SaigonBank and 76.25 billion dong from the sale of shares in CFC.On December 31, 2016, the book value of the two investments was 123.45 billion dong and 70.95 billion dong respectively. The total profit difference was about 148 billion dong and Vietcombank is expected to record in this year.

Manulife Vietnam raises $30 million for Hearbeat Vietnam

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR

Manulife Vietnam has raised VND115 million ($5,061) to support Heartbeat Vietnam, a programme running in the framework of the 2017 Techcombank HCM City Interna-tional Marathon, increasing the total funds raised by Manulife Vietnam to VND700 million ($30,811) since August 2017.The funds will be disbursed for surgeries for 30 children with heart disease to give them a chance at a healthier life. The first five children had successful surgeries in mid-November and all of them recovered quickly.With 18 years of operation in life insurance, Manulife Vietnam has become known for its initiatives promoting healthy and active lifestyles through large-scale sporting events in recent years.Manulife Vietnam was the major sponsor for Danang International Marathon for three consecutive years, while simultaneously accompanying charity jogging events. This is


FIN

AN

CE


how Manulife Vietnam wants to spread the positive spirit to its customers and the community in general.Furthermore, Manulife Vietnam often stimulates its staff to join yoga, cycling, and jog-ging clubs.Continuing to accompany the 2017 Techcombank HCM City International Marathon by joining both the jogging and the charity programmes, Manulife Vietnam once again speaks out for a healthy and loving life.http://www.vir.com.vn/manulife-vietnam-raises-30 million-for-hearbeat-viet-nam.html

Work still to be done on EU trade deal: experts


The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, set to be signed next year, will benefit both sides, a workshop heard in HCM City on Tuesday."The EU is a very important partner with significant impacts on the development of Vietnam," Truong Dinh Tuyen, the former trade minister, said."The EVFTA has become more important to the country after the US's withdrawal from the TPP."Phan Duc Hieu, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said the EVFTA negotiations were concluded in 2015, and this is the time for a general review and assessment of the deal.Dr Claudio Dordi, team leader of the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP), said: "There is still a lot of work to be done in Europe" due to several reasons.Firstly, trade agreements and trade negotiations are not really popular in western countries now, especially with US President Donald Trump's policies creating uncer-tainties in global trade, he said.Secondly, after a lot of jobs were lost in Europe to the economic downturn, EU coun-tries are fearful of competition from others, he said.Thirdly, Europe prefers to deal with countries that have a level playing field, he said.Besides, there are several issues related to sustainable development that need further assessment, but the two sides are working very hard to sign the agreement as early as next summer (around July or August), he added.Tax incentivesOnce the agreement comes into effect, the EU will remove all import taxes on Vietnam-ese goods within seven years, while Vietnam will do so within 10.This means many of Vietnam's main export products will be able to enter the EU com-pletely without tariffs, and experts said this would be a huge boost to the country's ex-ports to the EU.According to a study by EU-MUTRAP, EVFTA can boost Vietnam's GDP by $3.2 bil-lion by 2020 and $7.2 billion by 2030.Its exports to the EU will rise to $42 billion by 2025 and $47 billion by 2030.Fifty per cent of the tariff lines on aquatic products will be removed right after the FTA takes effect.There will be no tax on rice (with a quota of 20,000-30,000 tonnes a year).Goods like coffee, pepper, cashew, honey, fresh vegetables, fruits and their processed products or juice will also see tariffs removed instantly. They attract rather high tariffs at the moment of up to 20 per cent on some items.Apparel and footwear are two of Vietnam's major export items to the EU, with ship-ments of $3.5 and $4 billion a year.They will see tariffs cut after the FTA takes effect. Wood and wood products, comput-ers and electronic products and components will also see rates cut.Despite the tax breaks, the EU is a very demanding market in terms of quality, food hygiene and safety standards and protection of consumer rights.Therefore, Vietnamese businesses must first upgrade their value chain and play by the rules of the EU, especially with respect to those on origin, experts warned."EVFTA will provide a lot of important opportunities for Vietnamese business, but of


FIN

AN

CE


course they should be able to exploit them," Dr Dordi said.He said Vietnamese businesses usually focus on the last part of production which has very little value. For example, if Vietnam produces garments from home-made fabrics rather than from imports, it would benefits more from the EVFTA, he said."In general, many key export sectors such as footwear, textiles and garments, fisheries, wood and wooden products are growing at slow speeds because most of the produc-tion in these sectors is based on low value-added stage of production."They should upgrade their value chain and start more "made in Vietnam" manufactur-ing, improve their capacity to produce processed foods and high value-added prod-ucts to take full advantage of the EVFTA, he added.The workshop was held to discuss the potential impacts of the EVFTA.The EU is an economic union consisting of 28 member states and a population of 508 million, with a total GDP of $18 trillion, making it the largest single market in the world.It is one of Vietnam's leading trade partners, accounting for 19 per cent of the country's exports.Vietnam-EU exports were worth $20.6 billion in 2015.http://bizhub.vn/news/work-still-to-be-done-on-eu-trade-deal-experts_290427.html

Vietnam's CPI up slightly in November


Vietnam's consumer price index (CPI) in November went up 0.13 percent monthly, 2.62 percent annually and 2.38 percent from the last December, reported the General Statistical Office (GSO).The 11-month CPI rose 3.61 percent year-on-year.Eight out of the 11 commodity groups enjoyed rises, with the highest growth of 0.68 percent seen in transport. It was followed by medicines and health services (0.2 per-cent); apparel, headwear and footwear (0.15 percent); goods and other services (0.14 percent); food and catering services (0.11 percent).Only prices of housing and construction materials, post and telecommunications, and culture, entertainment and tourism dropped.Do Thi Ngoc, deputy head of the GSO's Prices Statistics Department, attributed the price hike to the recent flood in the central region which pushed up food prices in Phu Yen (1.62 percent), Ninh Thuan (1.51 percent), Khanh Hoa (1.05 percent), Quang Ngai (0.98 percent) and Binh Dinh (0.74 percent).Petrol price adjustments on November 4 and November 20 also raised transport prices by 0.68 percent. Health service price hikes in Quang Ninh, Quang Tri and Bac Lieu and higher tuition fees in Quang Ninh and Bac Lieu also contributed to CPI growth.Falling prices of pork, iron and steel, domestic tours curbed CPI hike.According to the GSO, core inflation that is the CPI excluding food and beverages, en-ergy and State-controlled services like healthcare and education, in November rose by 0.06 percent from the last month, and 1.32 percent year-on-year.The average core inflation in the first 11 months was estimated at 1.44 percent, lower than the previous forecast of 1.6 1.8 percent indicating the effectiveness of the current monetary policy.The CPI in December is predicted to rise slightly from the previous month, mostly due to adjusted prices of food, health care services, construction materials and petrol.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-cpi-up-slightly-in-Nov/122548.vnp

HCM City's November CPI picks up 0.17pct


The consumer price index (CPI) in HCM City in November gained 0.17 percent on a monthly basis and 4.32 percent year-on-year, the municipal Statistics Office an-nounced on November 29.Prices of seven out of 11 commodity groups experienced slight increase, with the high-est rise of 0.8 percent seen in transport, attributable to the impact of gasoline price ad-justment in the month.Other goods with higher prices included food and catering services (0.27 percent), bev-


FIN

AN

CE


erage and tobacco (0.15 percent), home appliances (0.15 percent), garment, hat and footwear (0.03 percent), housing, electricity, fuel and construction materials (0.02 per-cent) and culture, entertainment and tourism (0.01 percent).Meanwhile, prices of medicine and healthcare services, education, telecommunica-tions and other goods and services remained stable in the month.In contrast, the price of gold dropped 0.08 percent and that of US dollar declined 0.04 percent from the previous month.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-citys-november-cpi-picks-up-017-percent/122555.vnp

Foreign investment in Vietnam soars

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY

According to the latest statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency (under the Min-istry of Planning and InvestmentMOPI), as of November 20, the country had 2,293 projects newly granted with investment certificates with a total registered capital of $19.8 billion, up 52 percent year-on-year.In addition, 1,100 projects registered to adjust investment with the total additionally registered capital of approximately $8 billion and 4,535 times of capital contribution, share purchase of foreign investors with the total capital contribution value of $5.29 billion, up 52.6 percent over the same period of 2016.As a result, in 11 months, the total registered, additionally registered capital and cap-ital contribution to purchase shares of foreign investors was $33.09 billion, up 53.4 per-cent compared to the same period of 2016 ($24.4 billion).Data also show that FDI flowed into 19 sectors. Of which, the manufacturing and processing industry led with $14.95 billion, accounting for 45.2 percent of the total reg-istered investment in 11 months.The power production and distribution sector followed with the total investment of $8.37 billion, accounting for 25.3 percent of the total registered capital.The real estate business ranked the third with the total registered capital of $2.5 billion, accounting for 7.6 percent of total registered capital.Japan ranked the first in investment in Vietnam, followed by Korea and Singapore. However, regarding projects that remain in effect until November 20, Korea was the state to hold the throne of FDI in Vietnam, followed by Japan and Singapore.Five major projects that were licensed in the past 11 months include:- Investment project on construction of Nghi Son 2 BOT thermal power plant with the total capital of $2.79 billion invested by Japanese investors in Thanh Hoa with the aim of designing, constructing, operating and transferring a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of about 1,200 MW.- The BOT Van Phong 1 Thermal Power Plant project with the total registered capital of $2.58 billion invested by Japanese investors in Khanh Hoa with the goal of design-ing, constructing, operating and transferring a coal-fired thermal power plant with the capacity of 1,320MW.- SamSung Display Vietnam project increases investment by $2.5 billion in Bac Ninh.- Nam Dinh 1 BOT thermal power plant project with the total capital of $2.07 billion invested by Singaporean investors with the aim of designing, constructing, operating and transferring a coal-fired power plant with the net capacity of around 1,109.4 MW.- Block BO Mon gas pipeline project with the total registered capital of $1.27 billion in-vested by Japanese investors in the joint venture with PetroVietnam and PVGAS Viet-nam with the objective of building and operating BO Mon gas pipeline in Kien Giang.- The Intelligent Complex project in Thu Thiem New Urban Area, District 2 with the total registered capital of $885.85 million invested by South Korea for the purpose of investing in real estate business in HCM City.- Polytex Far Eastern (Vietnam) Co., Ltd invested by Taiwanese investors in Binh Duong province with the goal of producing polyester fiber products to increase invest-ment by $485.8 million.

Veggies surpass crude oil in export earnings


Outbound sales of vegetables have soared to $3.16 billion in the year to date, well


FIN

AN

CE


above crude oil export revenue of $2.44 billion, Vietnamnet news site reports.The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a report released on No-vember 28 that the value of vegetables export has risen a staggering 43.2 percent com-pared to the same period last year. Vegetables exports in November along are forecast to reach $292 million.As such, the commodity will likely maintain its third position among Vietnam's big-gest agriculture and seafood export earners.China, Japan, the United States, and South Korea were the major buyers of Vietnamese vegetables in the January-October period, making up 75.6 percent, 3.6 percent, 2.9 per-cent, and 2.6 percent of the total respectively. Japan, the United Arab Emirates and China saw their imports of Vietnamese veggies rising 67.6 percent, 56.9 percent, and 52.7 percent.The respective export revenues from rice and crude oil have been slow at around $2.48 billion and $2.44 billion in the year to November. However, veggies export has leap-frogged in the past two years.For example, according to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, the export revenue of vegetables brought in $2.4 billion in 2016, but the figure has now reached $3.16 billion so far this year.A senior official of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development projected outbound sales of vegetables would amount to $3.4-3.6 billion in all of this year.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57271/Veggies-surpass-crude-oil-in-export-earn-ings.html

Timber exports to hit $8 billion


The export turnover of Vietnamese timber and timber products is estimated to hit $8 billion this year, 10 per cent higher than the target, according to the Ministry of Agri-culture and Rural Development, at a meeting held yesterday on sustainable forestry development.The forestry sector recorded many other encouraging achievements this year, said Nguyen Quoc Tri, deputy director of the ministry's Vietnam Forestry Administration.He cited the growth of nearly 200,000ha of forest, equivalent to100 per cent of the year-ly target, rapid reduction in the number of violations of forestry-related regulations and increasing investment of businesses and people in forestry sector.Authorised agencies detected more than 14,500 violations since early this year, a year-on-year decrease of 70 per cent.. This left 1,400ha of forest damaged, a year-on-year de-crease of 20 per cent.The payment for forest environmental services has become an important source of fi-nance to help improve the efficiency of forest protection, management and develop-ment. The country has collected VND1.6 trillion ($71 million) for forest environmental services this year.Addressing the event, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Ha Cong Tuan said that the forestry sector had gained basic achievements over the past years.The rate of forest coverage increased from 28 per cent in 1992 to more than 41 per cent in 2016. The production rate of the forestry sector reached 7.1 per cent from 5.9 per cent in 2013. The amount of timber from planted forests is meeting 80 per cent of demand.However, Tuan noted that the forestry sector still faced many challenges, particularly the damage of natural forest and low growth of forestry value and ineffective manage-ment of some forestry businesses.More effective measures were needed to help further develop the sector, he said.Former minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Huy Ngo said the produc-tion and processing of forest-based products still received little attention. He said it was necessary to develop a value chain from timber to management organisation, product processing and the market to increase competitiveness.It was also necessary to pay attention to investing in both technique and human re-


FIN

AN

CE


sources as well as encouraging and praising good examples of households and busi-nesses in the sector, he said.Participants at the event also spoke of the need for more effective measures to prevent deforestation and tackle shortcomings in the legal system and management tasks..http://bizhub.vn/news/timber-exports-to-hit-8 billion_290429.html

Large imbalance exist between FDI and domestic businesses in export of electronic goods

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH

Although the electronics industry has developed remarkably over the years, which changes the country's export structure, the balance of export turnover between FDI businesses and domestic businesses still varies widely.Nguyen Thi Tue Anh, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Manage-ment (CIEM) said electronics industry is considered as a major contributor to boost Vi-etnam's industrialisation process.However, the export turnover balance of this item between FDI businesses and domes-tic businesses remains too large.Accordingly, 95 percent of export turnover comes from FDI businesses. Out of the total exported mobile phones and accessories in 2016 worth $34.3 billion, FDI businesses ac-counted for 99.8 percent, or $34.2 billion. From 2012 to November 2017, South Korea reckoned for as much as 71.6 percent of the FDI capital structure in Vietnam.In this regard, Cao Bao Anh, representative of Industry Department under the Minis-try of Industry and Trade (MOIT) said Vietnam electronics industry still has many backlogs.The industry develops without a strategy and the electronics market has serious im-balance. Products with the largest market and most exciting business now are consum-er electronic products such as audio-visual equipment, entertainment means, etc.In the production structure, among products assembled or produced in Vietnam, con-sumer electronics make up about 80 percent with the sales of about 30 percent of the industry's total revenue.Most Vietnamese businesses only outsource products without performing "deep processing stages" in the value chain.The Value Added is very low while the GO value has continuously increased, causing the VA/GO ratio to be increasingly worse.Do Thi Thuy Huong, member of the Executive Committee of Vietnam Electronics Busi-ness Association said there are now a few businesses producing simple components such as power transformers, quartz, wiring for electrical equipment on the low-tech chain. Component manufacturing industry is not significant because it needs large capital investment. Moreover, for a long time, the component import tax (five percent) has been lower than import tax of materials to produce it, so the imbalance between assembly and production of spare parts is increasingly large.Meanwhile, FDI businesses have long-term technology background from companies, corporations producing auxiliary components for large electronics firms.Besides, these businesses have the advantage of investment for production and busi-ness, and banks' interest rate from other economies is lower than that in the country.At the same time, FDI businesses mainly take advantage of inexpensive labourers in the country, not organising research and development of technology in Vietnam. Moreover, they have significant advantage from the investment policy of the Vietnam-ese government."Compared to FDI businesses, Vietnamese businesses have almost no support from the government such as land and tax", Thuy Huong said.In order to solve this problem, Cao Bao Anh proposed to build and train a team of re-searchers to design and develop hi-tech products with high intellectual content, taking advantage of design, system integration and programming capabilities. Besides, the concerned parties should complete infrastructure projects for the industry develop-ment such as training centers, applied research, hi-tech zones, etc.


FIN

AN

CE


VN government, exporters team up to tackle IUU fishing


In response to Vietnam receiving a 'yellow card' from the European Union, indicating the union's dissatisfaction with Vietnam's efforts to fight illegal, unreported and un-regulated (IUU) fishing, the National Assembly last week passed the revised Law on Fisheries. The revision has new features to strengthen the IUU fishing fight and help Vietnam win the removal of the yellow card. deputy general Secretary of Vietnam As-sociation of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Nguyen Hoai Nam talks with Vietnam News reporter Ta Thu Giang about the country's methods to raise awareness for the responsible management of aquatic resources.What important measures does the law now include to fight against IUU fishing?Firstly, I want to mention an action programme on sustainable aquatic resource devel-opment being carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Among the contents of MARD's plan, we see at least five or six new elements that not only meet the ministry's desire for sustainable development but also are iden-tical with the European Commission's recommendations on fighting IUU in the revi-sion of the 2003 Vietnam Law on Fisheries, which was passed last week.The EU expressed concerns about the fishing capacity and reserve strength of our fish-ing stocks, so the revised law includes a provision for reserve valuation. The work of inspecting fisheries activities in 28 coastal cities and provinces is also now legalised and enshrined in the law.We also see that, in addition to the EU's recommendations on legislation, there is one that coincides with the wishes of MARD, businesses and the industry as a whole: the opportunity to push for more effective legislation to facilitate international integration and ensure sustainable development of the fisheries of Vietnam.Furthermore, the development of marine conservation, aquatic conservation and nat-ural resource protection areas is needed because stakeholders around the world recog-nise its importance, in addition to maintaining natural resources and promoting sustainable development. One of the most important pieces of the law aims to control IUU fishing by identifying 14 behaviors considered to be violations of international fishing regulations. We also see that the framework for fishing regulations will apply to both Vietnamese and imported cargoes.And the last notable aspect will ensure that the rules are enforced effectively. The sanc-tions issue is quite clear; it is a very new point and the MARD has paid great effort to put it into the law and convince policymakers to approve it.How does the revised law deal with IUU fishing?This issue is regulated under the revised law, which is based on the principles of the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea 1982, the Port State Measures Agreement by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and some international rules.Under the revision, IUU fishing will be heavily fined. Fishing boat owners and cap-tains will be given the highest fines of VND1 billion (US$43,900) for violations or a fine seven times higher than the value of illegal catch. Meanwhile, the organisations in-volved in IUU fishing will be fined VND2 billion. Apart from this, violators' fishing li-cences will be revoked.Sanctions are a new point in the law that I have seen proposed in many EU documents and at work sessions with EU delegates. Meanwhile, the community of Vietnamese seafood businesses has also agreed and supported the regulations to carry out the law effectively.In addition, we have already legislated inspection work, in which we establish a fish-ery inspection force and sanctions as the basis for the relevant sectors to issue guiding decrees. Obviously, we see that the EU, especially MARD, sees this as a prerequisite for the sustainable development of the domestic fishery sector.In your opinion, how will we turn the regulations into reality and raise the awareness of fishermen and businesses?Businesses have for the last seven years worked with fishermen in the fight against IUU fishing. The businesses have directly worked with EU customers so that they have a certain understanding about this. In order to put the new laws into practice, I want


FIN

AN

CE


to say that the Decision No. 4840/QD-BNN-TCTS on approving the plan to carry out some urgent solutions to overcome the warning of the European Commission on IUU fishing issued by MARD last Thursday is very clear. I would like to emphasize the leading role of MARD in boosting activities against IUU fishing at the grassroots level.As for local implementation, the two very important links are fishing ports and fisher-men. The fishing ports, according to several recently-revised circulars, will be in charge of controlling fishing boats' landing and issuing the certification of raw materi-al output. I think that to carry out the law, both fishing ports and fishermen need to have a complete understanding of it. The fishing ports must be provided with neces-sary infrastructure, adequate equipment and human resources to ensure their opera-tions are completed efficiently and in time.I also want to talk about the MARD's on-going fishbase software project, which in-cludes a database of boats, fishing ports, and all permits and registry information. It's needed to disseminate this project to fishing ports and fishermen as soon as possible.It's an important link between fishermen, who are the owners of fishing vessels and boats, and businesses at fishing ports. These businesses work closely with fishermen because they always provide fishermen with funds for fishing and fishing tools. When fishermen return, they will sell all the fish caught to such businesses. Most of this ac-tivity occurs at the fishing port, after which the export processing enterprises will sign contracts with these businesses to buy seafood materials for processing and export.In relation to IUU control, we see the management authorities of fishing ports, fisher-men and businesses as a key chain in the coming years. Fishermen will need to learn basic information such as which behavior is considered by businesses to violate IUU restrictions. We will promote communication and information on IUU fishing regula-tions as well as the fight against IUU fishing in the community of fishermen and busi-nesses.We know that VASEP and the seafood business community are implementing many programmes to fight against IUU fishing. Can you discuss the specifics of the process?Vietnam has been making efforts to have the "yellow card" withdrawn within six months.We are doing a lot of work. We are trying to race against time to remove the "yellow card" warning from the EU because the impact is first of all on businesses. There will be many opportunities for Vietnamese businesses thanks to the upcoming Vietnam-EU free trade agreements, but the "yellow card" warning causes the seafood exporters to face more obstacles. In the immediate future, they have to increase their resources to deal with rising problems. Their products' origins will be checked in foreign coun-tries, so that it will be stuck in the port while awaiting inspection this means the cost of storage increases, and if the batches are returned the exporters will have to suffer high loss of transport costs and storage fees. And one special thing is that customers can change their partners.In addition, the community of seafood exporters in Vietnam also expressed its deter-mination to combat IUU fishing. More than 60 enterprises, who own over 80 seafood factories, have committed to purchasing and importing seafood from legal fishing ves-sels with clear product origin.Our action plan is divided into four areas.In the first and second areas, we will closely co-ordinate with MARD to disseminate information, build or revise legal documents and carry out them effectively.As for the third area, we will carry out our own plan. We will cooperate with agencies who manage seafood exploitation and IUU fishing control. For example, we have re-cently signed with the Vietnam Coast Guard an agreement on carrying out the nation-al action programme on combating IUU fishing. We also closely worked with directorate of Fisheries and the national Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) to promote the action.And lastly, we are actively working to strengthen our customers' trust. We publish the list of businesses committed to combat IUU fishing on our website in Vietnamese and English versions to help European authorities and management bodies know about


FIN

AN

CE


the Vietnamese business community's efforts in the fight against IUU fishing.http://bizhub.vn/business-insight/vn-govt-exporters-team-up-to-tackle-iuu-fishing_290456.html

Ministry plans higher tariffs on steel imports to support domestic production


The Ministry of Finance is seeking comments on a plan to revise up import tariffs on some products, especially steel, as proposed by Hoa Sen Group Joint Stock Company, Tap chi Tai chinh reports.In particular, Hoa Sen has proposed increasing the tariff on coated steel sheets coded 7210.41.11 from 20 percent to 25 percent, the tariff on rolled steel products coded 7211.19.11, 7212.40.10, 7212.50.91 and 7212.50.99 from the preferential rate of 0 percent to 10 percent as pledged in WTO commitments, and the tariff on steel products coded 7212.40.90 from 7 percent to 10 percent. The reason the company gave is that it can now produce such products.The tax increase proposal also aims to ensure the tariffs charged on semi-finished products are not higher than those on finished products.According to the Ministry of Finance, steel sheet products coded 7210.41.11 are subject to a duty of 20 percent as they are produced domestically. Imports of such products totalled $136,000 in 2015.Under the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Circular 14/2015/TT-BKHDT, the country can make products coded 7211.19.11, 7212.40.10 and 7212.40.90, and last year imported $2.7 million, $3.3 million and $373,000 worth of these respective products. They are mainly imported from China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand at a zero duty under the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) and the Asean-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership.As most of these products are produced domestically and imported with a duty of 0 percent, the ministry plans to increase the tariffs on such products to 10 percent to back domestic production.Regarding the potential impact on budget revenues, as estimated by the ministry based on 2016 imports, import tax collection will rise by $0.6 million per year.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57293/Ministry-plans-higher-tariffs-on-steel-im-ports-to-support-domestic-production.html

Eyebrows raised over Vietnam's flight subsidy policy

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS

Taxpayer money is being used to subsidise under-booked flightsIndustry insiders have warned that using state money to provide subsidies for empty seats on flights to and from unpopular airports, a scheme widely adapted in provinces across Vietnam, is not a viable policy.The alarm was raised after the administration of Can Tho, the economic hub of the Me-kong Delta in southern Vietnam, proposed setting aside VND8 billion (US$352,423) a year as subsidy to airlines flying to and from the city's international airport.The move is intended to encourage carriers to open new routes to the Can Tho Inter-national Airport, which continues to operate well below capacity seven years after its inauguration.The airport is expected to serve just over 600,000 passengers by the end of 2017, less than 20 percent of its design capacity of up to five million passengers a year.Common trendWhat worries experts is that many other provinces have been, or in several cases still are, applying similar subsidies to encourage airlines to keep routes to their local air-ports open.The north-central province of Quang Binh, home to Dong Hoi Airport, is currently subsidising services to Cat Bi Airport in the northern city of Hai Phong and Thailand's Chiang Mai.The subsidy to the Dong Hoi-Cat Bi route, operated by Jetstar Pacific, is VND5 billion ($220,264) a year, while the grant for the Chiang Mai service is undisclosed.In 2016, the administration of the central province of Thua Thien Hue offered subsidies


FIN

AN

CE


worth VND10 million ($440) a month to all flights to its Phu Bai Airport, under the con-dition that the carriers offered at least two flights per month.In late September last year, the Hai Phong administration also began subsiding new flights, both domestic and international, to its Cat Bi Airport. Recipients of the subsidy have been airlines that have committed to operating at least three flights a week to and from Cat Bi for at least three years.Domestic services will have 30 percent of the seats on every flight covered by the city's budget, and international ones, 25 percent. The maximum subsidy for any domestic services is VND5 billion a year per new route, and VND10 billion ($440,500) a year for international flights.Despite the subsidies, airlines remain cautious when planning new services to unpop-ular airports as the support from local authorities is not enough to cover their expens-es.For instance, few airlines operate flights to Can Tho due to low demand, given that the airport is only 180 kilometers away from the busy Tan Son Nhat International terminal in HCM City.The administration of Lam Dong Province has recently offered to subsidise a local air-line if it agrees to open a new route to connect the provincial capital of Da Lat and Can Tho.However, the carrier is unsure, as the subsidy may fail to offset potential losses, one of its officials told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday.Similarly, low-cost carrier Vietjet, which operates two flights daily between Hanoi and Can Tho, and one daily flight from Da Nang to Can Tho, said the subsidies are not enough to make up for the expense of opening and maintaining the two routes.Subsidy policy must be reconsideredCommenting on the proposed subsidy plan Associate Professor To Trung Thanh, from the National Economics University, said the policy may work in the short term but it cannot be sustained."Can Tho does not have any competitive tourism products compared to other locations in the region, and the city is already easily accessed via expressways," he explained.In addition, a new international airport has been planned for construction in Dong Nai Province, which is only 50km away from Tan Son Nhat. Once this new facility is inau-gurated, the number of passengers choosing to fly to Can Tho will decrease significant-ly, Thanh said.Aviation expert Dr Nguyen Thien Tong, said that the flight subsidisation policy using state money delivers no socio-economic benefit and goes against the operation of a free market."An airline will open a new route of its own volition if it finds that the service will be viable, without waiting for a subsidy," he said.Tong added that the policy may lead to a scenario whereby airlines will stop flying if the financial support stops."We cannot subsidise airlines forever," he said."In the long term, the plan will put more pressure on our state budget, which should be used to invest in education or healthcare."https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20171129/eyebrows-raised-over-vietnams-flight-subsidy-policy/42869.html

Vietnamese businesses can't keep up with rapidly changing tax, customs policies: commerce chamber

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

Many businesses only learn about the changes after they have already taken effect, leading to heavy penalties.The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has asked the Ministry of Finance to change the way tax and customs authorities review and adjust policies to keep businesses better informed of any changes.At a dialogue with the ministry on Monday, the VCCI's vice chair Doan Duy Khuong said many businesses have complained that the ministry's rapidly changing tax and customs policies have left them in the dark. The ministry's circulars on tax guidance


FIN

AN

CE


are often issued after changes have already taken effect, costing businesses time and effort to adjust related paperwork and creating opportunities for tax officials to ex-ploit.Businesses have also been complaining about certain VAT regulations such as limita-tions on refunds that hinder their cash flow.Additionally, agricultural businesses have found it difficult to complete tax proce-dures due to the nature of their field. Inconsistencies between tax policies and current accounting practices and complicated personal income tax calculations were also high-lighted as problems faced by some businesses.Businesses have also complained about current regulations regarding late tax pay-ments, with some saying they have been heavily fined for minor, unintentional mis-takes.While the ministry's decision to launch an e-tax service has been praised, some busi-nesses have found problems with the system. There have been instances of businesses successfully submitting documents but tax officials failing to receive them. Businesses are also still required to print documents and sign them by hand instead of using dig-ital signatures.Another focus of complaints has been tax inspections, with many businesses finding them unnecessarily long, slow and inappropriate for their intended purpose. Some businesses are only inspected once every 5-10 years, resulting in large penalties for mi-nor, unintentional late payments. In some cases, tax authorities also unnecessarily in-spect payments that have already been thoroughly checked in previous inspections.Regarding customs policies and regulations, businesses also say they suffer from being unable to keep up with rapid changes as the connection between businesses and cus-toms agencies is still limited. When they receive an inquiry, customs officials usually give a generic, vague reply that fails to help.Many businesses have complained that some customs officials are also unaware of new regulations themselves, or ask for unnecessary documents while conducting ad-ministrative procedures. Sometimes customs officials also make excuses or pick on mi-nor mistakes to cause difficulties for businesses, forcing many to offer bribes to get things done faster.Excessive red tape has also been another source of complaints, with many businesses having to spend weeks obtaining multiple documents just to import a single container of goods.Based on these complaints and suggestions, Khuong proposed that tax and customs authorities should continue reviewing and adjusting policies and regulations but with a realistic approach that incorporates businesses. All changes need to be widely an-nounced beforehand to give those affected time to prepare.He also suggested that tax and customs authorities should give step-by-step instruc-tions for administrative procedures so businesses do not find them confusing or diffi-cult to follow. Tax and customs departments should open business support centers to receive and answer queries, as well as offer businesses access to more information.Khuong said more administrative procedures should be conducted online, and that in-formation should be synchronised to avoid the problems businesses have been en-countering with the system.The VCCI gathers businesses' opinions and suggestions regarding any issues or que-ries they encounter on a monthly basis. These are then reported to the prime minister and tackled by the government's ministers and departments, such as the Ministry of Finance and its tax and customs departments.https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnamese-businesses-can-t-keep-up-with-rapidly-changing-tax-customs-policies-commerce-chamber-3677128.html

Nearly 11,000 new businesses established in November 2017

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| BAO DAU TU

In November 2017, there were 10,920 newly established businesses with a total regis-tered capital of 109.899 trillion dong, according to the Business Registration Office (un-der the Ministry of Planning and InvestmentMOPI).


FIN

AN

CE


Generally, in the first 11 months of 2017, the total number of newly established busi-nesses and businesses that resumed operations was 140,394 units, with a total regis-tered capital of over 2,714 trillion dong. The average registered capital per business in the first 11 months of 2017 reached 9.8 billion dong, up 24.3 percent year-on-year.Regarding the number of registered businesses, in the past 11 months, the number of businesses concentrated mainly in such sectors as: wholesale; retail; repairing of auto-mobiles and motorbikes with 41,627 units, accounting for 35.9 percent; processing and manufacturing industry with 14,846 businesses, reckoning for 12.8 percent; construc-tion with 14,695 businesses, making up 12.7 percent; science and technology; consult-ing services and design; advertising and other professions with 8,663 businesses, representing 7.5 percent.Taking into account the number and growth in number of businesses, we see that the wholesale and retail industry; repairing of motorcycle and motorbike have the highest number of registered businesses compared to the whole country. However, in terms of the increase of businesses by sector compared to the same period of 2016, the real estate sector had the highest proportion of 60.5 percent.Regarding the registered capital, in the first eleven months, the real estate business sec-tor had the highest registered capital of 314.266 billion dong, accounting for 27.8 per-cent; followed by wholesale; retail; repairing of automobiles and motorbikes with 182.021 billion dong, accounting for 16.1 percent; construction with 155.292 billion dong, representing 13.7 percent; Processing and manufacturing industry with 134.072 billion dong, making up 11.8 percent; electricity, water and gas distribution with 63.148 billion dong, reckoning for 5.6 percent; Science and technology; consulting serv-ices, design; advertising and other professions with 56.552 billion dong, comprising of five percent; Accommodation and catering services with 40.487 billion dong, equal to 3.6 percent.Regarding the proportion of average registered capital per business in the past 11 months, some sectors had high proportion such as real estate business with 69.3 billion dong/business; electricity, water and gas distribution with 68.4 billion dong/business; arts and entertainment with 19.1 billion dong per business; mining with 18 billion dong per business. It can be seen that since the beginning of this year, the real estate industry has made positive changes, attracting a great deal of capital poured into in-vestment compared with the remaining sectors.Regarding the number of registered labourers, some industries and sectors attracted many labourers to enter the market, including 396,167 labourers in manufacturing and processing sector, or 37.2 percent; 237,918 employees in wholesale; retail and repairing of motor vehicles and motorbikes, or 22.3 percent; 106,762 labourers in construction sector, or 10.0 percent; 58,290 employees in science and technology, consulting servic-es, design; advertising and other professions, or 5.5 percent.Some sectors had high average proportion of labourers per business, of which, manu-facturing and processing is currently the industry with the highest proportion of la-bourers in economic sectors with 26.7 employees/business; followed by the health sector and social work activities with 14.7 employees/business; production and distri-bution of electricity, water and gas with 13.4 employees/business; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries with 11.2 labourers/business; mining with 10.4 employees/business;As such, regarding the number of registered labourers and the proportion of labour-ers, the manufacturing and processing sector was more dominant than the rest, but in terms of the increase in labourers over the same period of 2016, this sector decreased.

HCM City to invite tenders for BT projects


HCM City will hold competitive tenders for infrastructure projects to be carried out in the build-transfer (BT) format to ensure transparency and effectiveness.According to a source from the HCM City government office, the city will map out a process to carry out BT projects to clarify responsibilities of competent agencies in-volved in projects and shorten the bidding time to select investors.The city will also put up land for auction to raise funds to pay for contractors of BT


FIN

AN

CE


projects, instead of allocating land directly to chosen investors.In addition, the city will diversify payment methods by tapping land lots near projects, and issuing preferential policies on loan interest for projects which are difficult to gen-erate profits.Although the BT investment form has helped raise huge amounts of capital from the private sector, it is fertile ground for corruption and group interests. The way land is exchanged for infrastructure in BT projects has not been transparent.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57273/HCM City-to-invite-tenders-for-BT-projects.html

IT sector targets 15 per cent annual growth


Vietnam's software, digital content and IT services sector targets annual growth of at least 15 per cent to retain its position as one of the 10 leading software and digital con-tent outsourcing countries in the world, according to the HCM City Computer Associ-ation.The association's general secretary, Vu Anh Tuan, said IT is one of the county's key in-dustries and the government has paid great attention to its long-term development."The IT industry has grown rapidly in the last seven years, with output going up from $7.62 billion in 2010 to more than $58 billion last year," he told a seminar on Taiwan AIoT industry and COMPUTEX 2018 held in HCM City on November 28.The sector has developed key IT products, supports start-ups, wants to set up at least seven IT parks, he said, adding that it also promotes brands and investment and trade and organises seminars to link up Vietnamese IT firms with their global counterparts, he said.Simon Gong, director of the economic division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in HCM City, said: "Vietnam and Taiwan's industrial strengths complement each other."Taiwan is a big player in the global ICT market, churning out PCs and mobile devices besides IoT (Internet of Things), AI (artificial intelligence) and VR (virtual reality) ap-plications, he said.Taiwan and Vietnam have collaborated for many years, he said."Currently, the Taiwanese government is strengthening cooperation with all countries in Asean with its 'New South-Bound' policy."Tuân said by organising the seminar the association hopes to create a bridge between Vietnamese and Taiwanese IT firms and promote investment and trade between the two sides.Emilia Shih, deputy director of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council's ex-hibition department, said Computex is one of Taiwan's focus activities.Organised by TAITRA since 1981, the event is one of the world's leading ICT expos with complete supply chain, IoT and startup eco-systems.The 2018 Computex, themed "Building global technology ecosystems," will be held from June 5 to 9 next year in Taipei wit a focus on six main themes -- AI and robotics, 5G, blockchain, IoT applications, innovations and start-ups, and gaming and VR -- she said.Besides showcasing the latest products and services, the expo will also include semi-nars, start-up forums, B2B meetings, and others.Last year it had attracted 1,600 exhibitors from 26 countries and territories and more than 40,000 international visitors from 170 countries and regions.Tuan said more than 100 Vietnamese companies, including some 20 start-ups, would take part in 2018.The seminar was organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade of Taiwan, TAITRA and HCA.http://bizhub.vn/tech/it-sector-targets-15-per-cent-annual-growth_290454.html


FIN

AN

CE


Internet of Things to drive VN digital transformation


The massive potential of Internet of Things (IoT) is set to help Vit Nam pursue its goal of a smart city and becoming an industrial country by 2020, experts said at an interna-tional conference held on Wednesday in HCM City.More than 200 representatives from the hi-tech sectors are participating in the 19th edi-tion of Asia IoT Business Platform.Speaking at the two-day conference, Dng Minh Tam, vice president of Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park Management Board, said the meeting provided an excellent opportunity to ex-change ideas and knowledge about IoT for government and businesses."It aims to raise awareness on using IoT in all sectors to improve the country's compet-itiveness and sustainable development, epsecially in building smart cities," he said."IoT combines the power of advanced technology to promote innovation from re-search methodology to production, marketing and sales," he said. "IoT also plays a role in the development of the industrial 4.0 revolution."IoT presents a window of opportunities for Vietnamese small- and medium- sized en-terprises (SMEs) to cooperate with large technology corporations, he added.Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Phm Huy Hoang, chief representative of VNPT Office in HCM City, said the platform bridges local and international enterprises, or-ganisations and companies and helps them network, find new partners, expand their market, increase business opportunities, and strengthen international competitive-ness."I personally think that the application of IoT should focus more on projects to build smart cities in the country, including key projects like transportation, healthcare, edu-cation, environment and tourism," he told Vit Nam News.Phm Trung Kien, director of Digital Services of Viettel Group, said the platform would help Vit Nam explore opportunities and challenges within enterprise IoT, while pro-viding ample networking and business matchmaking opportunities for IoT stakehold-ers. PotentialZaf Coelho, director of Industry Platform Pte Ltd, the event's organiser, said: "Recent-ly, more than 400 Asean enterprises and organisations participated in our annual sur-vey where they responded to questions such as familiarity with IoT technologies, how IoT can improve their business, and concerns about implementing IoT.""The main takeaway here, of course, is Asean enterprises' familiarity with IoT," he said.Contrary to common belief that the IoT market in the region is not mature enough, the survey revealed that 73.3 per cent of local enterprises and organisations are in the stage of exploring IoT for their organisations, or are exploring different solutions to be adopted, he added."The figure is a 23.3 per cent increase from last year. This is in pretty much in line with most projections by market research firms such as IDC and Frost & Sullivan, who ex-pect the adoption rates and IoT market value in countries such as Thailand and Indo-nesia to grow exponentially," he added.Local enterprises and organisations believe that IoT can help them improve productiv-ity (76.3 per cent), reduce long-term operational costs (69.7 per cent), and improve cus-tomer relationships (66.1 per cent), according to Coelho.Irza Suprapto, director of Asia IoT Business Platform, said Vit Nam is one of the fast-est-growing economies in the world and has been rapidly growing its IT sector to pur-sue the aim of becoming an industrial country by 2020."The 2016 edition of Asia IoT Business Platform in Ha Ni last November, showcasing IoT initiatives from local companies including Vinamilk and Cu t Farm, was a testimo-ny of the massive potential for IoT in Vit Nam," he said.IoT is not new to the local tech scene, as tech giants like VNPT, FPT and CMC have identified IoT as the "leading tech trend".Smart city projects started as early as 2008, and since then have appeared in at least five more cities across Vit Nam.In 2013, the Ministry of Science and Technology set up Silicon Valley Startup Ecosys-tem to stimulate growth and encourage Vietnamese to venture into tech startups.


FIN

AN

CE


The government pledged to invest $111.6 million from the State budget in the ICT sec-tor by 2020, incentivising local and international firms to invest in the country."The fragmentation of IoT in Vit Nam, coupled with the lack of standardisation, pre-sented an opportunity for international IoT players to convene and interact with local enterprises to help them truly reap the benefits of IoT."There is no better time to develop the IoT solutions in Vit Nam to foster socio-econom-ic development and increase the country's competitive advantage. This is what we will continue to strive through all our industry events," he said.The rapid technological developments in Vit Nam have led to great demands for IoT technologies in the country.A recent survey conducted by Asia IoT Business Platform on local enterprises shows more than 70 per cent of Asean enterprises and organisations are currently in the proc-ess of exploring or finding possible IoT solutions to be deployed or implemented.However, only 7 per cent of them report benefitting from any IoT implementation. These enterprises and organisations cite costs, legacy systems and complexity as the top three concerns in adopting IoT.The conference discussed a wide spectrum of topics including industry trends and outlook, industrial IoT, transport and logistics, public services, smart city, banking, fi-nance and retail, and next generation technologies.With a focus on local telecommunication companies and verticals, the Asia IoT Busi-ness Platform is an educational platform crafted by and for the industry, with the aim of addressing key issues facing the adoption of IoT technologies in the Asean region.The platform, organised by Industry Platform Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based firm focused on the global telecommunications sector, helps enterprises understand and learn about the adoption of IoT technologies for their business.Since its inception in 2013, the Asia IoT Business Platform has secured strong support from local governments and telecommunication companies for the past 18 editions.http://www.vir.com.vn/internet-of-things-to-drive-vn-digital-transformation.html

Local contents of electronic products still insignificant


Although Vietnam has invested in supporting industries for the electronic sector for about 30 years, local firms cannot still climb higher in the supply chain, mainly pro-ducing packaging and plastic and rubber parts for electronic manufacturers, heard a conference on electronic industry development in Hanoi on November 28.Speaking at the conference, Vu Thi Thanh Huyen, lecturer at the Vietnam University of Commerce, said most important components of electronic products made or assem-bled in Vietnam are imported.Data of the Supporting Industry Enterprise Development centre (SIDEC) shows that local contents contribute only 23 percent to the value of electronic products. Businesses tied to the supply chain of electronic product manufacturers are mostly foreign-invest-ed firms or joint ventures.According to Huyen, most electronic products sold in Vietnam are imported. Some of them are assembled domestically but most of their components are foreign-made.Data of SIDEC shows that the country now has 610 producers of electronic accessories, accounting for half of the total number of electronic enterprises.However, Huyen said foreign-invested electronic makers and assemblers, such as Samsung Electronics, rarely sign long-term contracts with Vietnamese suppliers of components.Besides, local firms mainly provide low-value components like packaging, plastic and metal parts, or transport and catering services, while sophisticated components that make up most of products' value are mainly supplied by foreign-invested suppliers.According to Nguyen Dinh Vinh, general director of Hanel JSC, Vietnamese enterpris-es are not strong enough to participate in the supply chain of multinational corpora-tions. Local firms need to invest trillions of dong if they want to become component suppliers of large foreign-invested enterprises like Samsung.Vinh said the weaknesses of local firms might result from the weak connection be-


FIN

AN

CE


tween them and foreign-invested enterprises, and the ineffective management of min-istries and departments.Bang Hyun Woo, deputy general director of Samsung Vietnam, said foreign-invested enterprises have been struggling in seeking Vietnamese partners as they do not have adequate information of local firms, especially information on their scales and technol-ogies.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57284/Local-contents-of-electronic-products-still-in-significant.html

Potential street food market remains unexploited

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| HANOI TIMES

The trillion-dong street food market will sooner or later belong to foreign businesses if domestic firms do not make proper and professional investment, industry insiders have said.Nguyen Phi Van, a retail and franchise specialist said that Vietnam has not had street food business although the market potential is very large."In only five years from 2011 to 2016, street food chain in Vietnam achieved an average growth of 24.1 percent per year and a total increase of 194.3 percent; an average reve-nue growth of 32.1 percent and a total increase of 300 percent. This is just the statistics of Euromonitor on four chains selected in terms of scale, points of sale. Meanwhile, as of the end of 2016, Vietnam had a total of 149,000 street food outlets with a total value of 46.9 trillion dong and the annual growth rate of two percent", said Van.This study has partly explained for the exciting of the street food market in 3-4 recent years. Many brands have come into being, and points of sales are opened very quickly and also disappear not long after.According to Van, street food is also a model so it needs professional operation though the investment can only be a mobile trolley worth five or ten million dong or more. If there is no system, no preparation in training, operation, human resource, supply chain, financial model, technological appliance, etc., then the development will cer-tainly fail.It is quite common now that those involving in street food business now are often sub-jective. They think that the investment is low, so it is not necessary to be professional.Therefore, they have not taken opportunities from the financial market to shape, build and develop a comprehensive chain."It is a great opportunity if street food can be professionalised and developed into chains.The biggest challenge of this industry is that most of young people come from individ-ual households, who often self-open stores then it will be very difficult to succeed. Food giants will sooner or later enter this market and gain market share. Five Star-Chicken is as mall example", said Van.According to retail experts, foreign "giants" are focusing on developing their brands in Vietnam so they have not "attacked" the street food segment. Once they have devel-oped stably, they will certainly shift to street food and accelerate the chain opening.The common trend in the world and also in Vietnam is consumer have "n in 1 demand. This trend is clearly reflected in the fact that convenience stores have competed by opening additional fresh food segment, bringing processed food (including street food) to serve customers.The fact that such large brands as 7-Evelen, Circle K, Ministop or Satra have supple-mented food items that are strictly controlled in terms of quality, food hygiene and ac-cepted by consumers has increased competitiveness in the street food market.According to market research companies, though Vietnam has 149,000 street food out-lets, only 0.59 percent of these are branded stores. This ratio is five percent in Hong-kong, 10 percent in Singapore, 21 percent in the Philippines, and 30 percent in Taiwan.Street food is now a very potential segment not only in the country but also in the world.The current trend is that countries are favoured of indigenous food, and consumers in the world are eager to approach traditional cuisine of countries. Therefore, if knowing


FIN

AN

CE


how to do, Vietnamese street food can entirely be "exported".http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/191027/potential-street-food-market-re-mains-unexploited.html

Will tourism replace crude oil as a major source of revenue?


Tourism and related services make great contributions to economic growth and offset the decline in crude oil output, experts say.In 2016 and the first 10 months of 2017, the tourism sector witnessed rapid growth in both the number of travellers and revenue.The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) said that Vietnam in 2016 received 10 million foreign travellers, an increase of 25.4 percent over the year before, and 62 million domestic travellers.The report of the agency showed that total revenue from travellers reached VND400 trillion, up by 18.6 percent compared with 2015. In the first 10 months of 2017, more than 10.4 million foreign travellers came to Vietnam, up by 28.1 percent over the same period last year.High growth rates in the number of travellers have been reported for all markets 53.9 percent for South Korea, 45.6 percent for Russia and 37.1 percent for Hong Kong.The strong rise of the tourism sector has brought big benefits to supporting services. Transport and accommodation services, for example, have reported the sharpest growth rates in the last four years.In its report about Vietnam economic prospects released in November 2017, HSBC commented that the government of Vietnam has applied measures to improve the tourism sector.In 2016, the government for the first time organised a national conference on tourism development and waived visas for citizens from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. This helped increase the number of tourists from Europe by 21 percent compared with the year before.Since early 2017, Vietnam has used a simple visa granting programme for Chinese cit-izens. It is expected that the number of Chinese travellers will exceed the 9 million threshold by 2018.Tourism has been making a great contribution to Vietnam economic growth in recent years. The government has decided to focus on developing the tourism sector instead of exploiting minerals and polluting industries.The Party Politburo's Resolution No 08 decided that by 2020 tourism will become a key industry which creates impetus for economic development. The industry wants to at-tract 17-20 million foreign tourists, 82 million domestic travellers and make up 10 per-cent of GDP.Vietnam hopes it can earn $35 billion from travellers and $20 billion worth of exports via tourism and create 4 million jobs.To reach these goals, travel firms said they need support from the State. Nguyen Van My from Lua Viet Travel said travel firms have been developing without organised planning, while the role of the state remains dim.He said if the state can create a transparent market with healthy competition, Vietnam can increase the tourism growth rate 2-3 times.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190850/will-tourism-replace-crude-oil-as-a-major-source-of-revenue-.html

Italy boosts investment in value-added industries in Vietnam30/Nov/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon TimesItalian enterprises are boosting investment in value-added industries in Vietnam like automation, infrastructure, renewable energy and other hi-tech sectors, said Italian deputy minister for Economic Development Ivan Scalfarotto.Speaking at the Vietnam-Italy Business Forum in Hanoi on November 28, Scalfarotto said Italian businesses are seeking to expand investments in Vietnam in areas beyond Italian traditional products that have been popular in the country like garments, leath-


FIN

AN

CE


er, footwear, food, plastic products, and construction materials.According to Scalfarotto, the Vietnam-Italy Business Forum gathered hundreds of leading Italian businesses with their total revenue reaching 240 billion euros, including five of the country's biggest banks. This shows Italy always attaches importance to the Vietnamese market.Italian enterprises are capable of developing large projects and providing hi-tech prod-ucts at competitive prices. They are also looking to get involved in infrastructure and renewable energy projects that contribute to sustainable development in Vietnam. Pham Hoang Hai, executive director of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (ICHAM), said over the past year, many Italian businesses have contacted ICHAM to learn more about Vietnam's investment climate.According to Hai, factors that make the country appealing to Italian businesses include political stability, tax incentives and hardworking labourers. However, underdevel-oped supporting industries in Vietnam are a big minus.Italy is one of the biggest European Union trading partners of Vietnam, with two-way trade in the first seven months of 2017 hitting nearly $3 billion.In related news, Ivan Scalfarotto on November 28 met with Vietnam's deputy minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong.At the meeting, the two sides agreed to consider operating direct flights between Viet-nam and Italy to facilitate tourism and economic cooperation.According to Dong, Vietnam is focusing on developing transport infrastructure and calling for foreign investment in the sector.Dong suggested Italian firms cooperate with Vietnamese partners in expanding Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City and opening direct air services between the two countries.Scalfarotto said the two countries hold great potential for cooperation in the transport sector. The Italian government has decided to offer gratis aid of 295,000 euros for Vi-etnam to study the possibility of carrying out two railway infrastructure upgrade projects, he noted.Italian firms have been involved in metro and urban railway projects in Vietnam. They have also shown interest in Tan Son Nhat International Airport expansion and Long Thanh International Airport projects.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57286/Italy-boosts-investment-in-value-added-in-dustries-in-Vietnam.html

German firms eye investment in Hanoi


Members of the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV) want to explore co-operation opportunities in urban development, infrastructure facility, means of trans-portation, energy, environment and human resource in Hanoi,Timo Prekop, member of the OAV Board, informed Nguyen Duc Chung Chair of the municipal People's Committee of the businesses' intention at a meeting in Hanoi on November 29.He said German businesses in general and OAV members in particular hope to receive assistance from the city authorities in seeking opportunities in Vietnam.Welcoming the delegation, Chung said Hanoi is working on some priorities such as upgrading the supply of clean water to meet European standards, planting one million trees, developing an environment monitoring system, and improving local health care facilities and services.The city wants to apply European technologies in those fields, and a number of Ger-man advanced technologies have been applied in health care, landscaping, and waste-water treatment, he said.He called on foreign and domestic firms to invest in waste-to-energy sector, build pub-lic toilets, and clean lakes and ponds in the city.Underlining the fruitful cooperation of the two sides, Chung affirmed that in the near future, the city will focus on sharing experience, transferring technology and luring in-vestment from European firms, particularly German ones.


BU

SIN

ES

SVietnam finance & business 30 November

Hanoi will facilitate bilateral cooperation with Germany, thus contributing to promot-ing the Vietnam German relationship, Chung pledged.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/german-firms-eye-investment-in-hanoi/122577.vnp

HCM City seeks further cooperation with Israel


HCM City is seeking cooperation with Israel in hi-tech agriculture and entrepreneur-ship development, heard a meeting on November 28 between HCM City Chair Nguy-en Thanh Phong and Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam and Laos Nadav Eshcar.According to Phong, the city is focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship develop-ment to become a startup hub. Therefore, it expects support and experience from Isra-el, which is known as a startup nation with a very strong startup community.At the meeting, Phong spoke highly of Israel's developed economy and advanced tech-nology, especially its hi-tech agriculture.HCM City and the Israeli government have cooperated in developing the Dairy Dem-onstration and Experiment Farm in Binh Chanh District, which has contributed signif-icantly to the city's dairy farming industry. The municipal government expects to further promote cooperation with Israel in developing hi-tech agriculture, especially aquaculture and agricultural management.Nadav Eshcar, who is visiting HCM City to sound out cooperation opportunities, said the Israeli government is always willing to support the city. He also invited the city's leaders to visit Israel.The Israeli diplomat also suggested the two sides promote cooperation in cyber secu-rity, which would contribute to developing HCM City into a smart city.According to Phong, Israel is one of the biggest Middle Eastern trading partners of HCM City, with annual two-way trade reaching more than $1 billion.However, Israeli investment into the city remains modest. As of late October this year, the country had invested in 12 projects worth nearly $9.5 million in HCM City.The city's leader hoped the Israeli Ambassador will help boost cooperation and invest-ment between the two sides during his tenure.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57289/HCM City-seeks-further-cooperation-with-Is-rael.html

BUSINESS NEWS

Business Briefs 30 November, 2017

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA |

* PYN Elite Fund has transferred over 2.1 million shares of Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) to 10 other investment funds. Morgan Stanley Galaxy Fund, Mor-gan Stanley Institutional Fund INCFrontier Emerging Markets Portfolio and Magna Umbrella Fund Public Limited Company have bought the biggest volumes of MWG shares, at 472,000, 469,000 and 453,000 shares respectively.* Investors acquired over 18.9 million shares in Becamex IDC Corporation compared to 311 million shares put up for sale at its initial public offering. The firm, which oper-ates industrial zones such as VSIP and Bau Bang, offered the 26.6 percent stake at the starting price ofVND31,000 per share.* HCM City Infrastructure Investment Company has acquired over 10.4 million shares ofNBB Investment Corporation (NBB), raising its ownership from•30 percent to 3Ll percent.* Vietnam Dairy Products Company (VNM) has renamed Khanh Hoa Sugar Company as Vietnam Sugar Joint Stock Company after spending around VNDI trillion purchas-ing a 65 percent stake in the enterprise. The sugar firm plans to raise its capacity to 15,000 tonnes of sugarcane a day in the near future compared to the current 10,000 tonnes per day.* The Sfate Capital Investment Corporation plans to auction over 96.2 million shares of Vietnam Construction and Import- Export Corporation (VCG), or a 22 percent stake, at the starting price ofVND25,600 per share.* Construction Company (C69) has signed a VND25.9 billion contract to build a com-mercial and urban area complex in Lam Dong Province. The project has a total invest-


BU

SIN

ES


ment ofVND298 billion.* Van Phu Invest Company (VPI) began trading 160 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange yesterday at the reference price ofVND27,600 a share. Closing the first ses-sion, VPI shot up to its ceiling price ofVND35,800 per share with matching volume of 5,000 shares.* Vietnam Education Publishing House Company has offloaded around 1.4 million shares of Education Financial Investment Joint Stock Company, or a 12.8 percent stake, in the latter.* Hanoi Housing Development and Investment Corporation will sell over 564,000 shares in Infrastructure Investment Company No. 18 at the starting price of v 021,000 each. It will hold a bidding to sell the shares on January 2, 2018.

VN Index up for 8th day in a row


Vietnam's benchmark VN Index extended its rally on Wednesday for the eighth con-secutive session as investor confidence was lifted by expectations of the government selling its stakes in listed companies.The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 1.16 per cent to close at 952.14 points. It has gained total 6.9 per cent in the last eight consecutive sessions.Gainers outnumbered losing stocks by 149 to 124, while 54 other stocks ended flat. More than 229.8 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth VND5.53 trillion (US$246 million).Trading liquidity declined by 36 per cent in volume and 37.4 per cent in value com-pared to Tuesday's figures.Two-thirds of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation in the VN30 Index ad-vanced, lifting the large-cap index by 1.16 per cent to hit 946.55 points.The southern market on Wednesday recorded big increases of listed companies in which investors expect the government will soon offload its ownership.Those companies included Binh Minh Plastic JSC (BMP) and brewers Sabeco (SAB) and Habeco (BHN).At Sabeco's roadshow on Wednesday, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced it would auction 343.7 million shares in the company, equal to 53.59 per cent of the brewer's capital, at the initial price of VND320,000 per share.Sabeco shares were boosted 5.9 per cent following the announcement, hitting VND339,000 per share at the end of the session.The rise of Sabeco shares also had positive impacts on other State-run companies like Habeco and Binh Minh Plastic.Habeco shares surged 7 per cent, reaching its daily increase limit while BMP jumped 4 per cent.Other large-cap stocks also performed well, such as insurance-finance group Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar JSC (SBT), Sacombank (STB), Vi-etinbank (CTG) and MBBank (MBB).According to Bao Viet Securities (BVSC) analysts, the VN Index is expected to extend growth further to approach the range of 975-980 points following Wednesday's strong showing."Though trading liquidity fell sharply from the previous session, it remained above the average of the last 21 sessions and made investors more optimistic and excited about the future prospects of the market," they said in the company's daily report.The benchmark index is forecast to rise and touch the 955-point level in the short-term, according to BVSC, however, analysts warned investors should be cautious as the market was mainly driven by large-cap stocks, signaling unsustainable development at the moment.On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index rose 2.20 per cent to end at 113.95 points, recovering from Tuesday's decline of 0.47 per cent.More than 93 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VND1.37 tril-lion.http://bizhub.vn/markets/vn-index-up-for-8th-day-in-a-row_290453.html


BU

SIN

ES


VN Index struggles to extend growth


Shares closed November 28 on a positive note on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, however, market trading condition was poor on increased investors' profit-taking.The benchmark VN Index advanced 0.28 percent to close at 941.21 points, recovering from its intraday low of 933.59 points.The southern market index has also extended its growth for a seventh session, making a total gain of 5.67 percent.Losing stocks dominated the major exchange on November 28 as they outnumbered gaining stocks by 148 to 128 and 54 others remained unchanged.More than 359.5 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth 8.85 trillion VND (393.2 million USD).The figures increased by 42.4 percent in trading volume and nearly 49 percent in trad-ing value compared to November 27.The sharp increase of the trading liquidity on November 28 was attributed to trading of the Development Investment Construction JSC (DIC) shares with more than 128 million shares of the company being traded through order-matching transactions.The Ministry of Construction had previously announced it would sell 118 million shares in the company, equal to nearly 50 percent of DIC's capital, between November 17 and December 16. The construction firm's shares, listed under code DIG, surged 6.9 percent on November 28.The food and beverage industry was the major factor that helped the stock market ad-vance despite strong investors' profit-taking after the market had rallied in the previ-ous six sessions.The sector was driven up by brewer Sabeco (SAB) and consumer goods producer Ma-san (MSN), which jumped 5.6 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.On the opposite side, investors' strong profit-taking sent a number of large-cap stocks down, including PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), MBBank (MBB) and DHG Pharmaceutical JSC (DHG) and insurance-finance group Bao Viet Holdings (BVH).Analysts at Bao Viet Securities Co (BVSC) said in the company's daily report that they were quite doubtful about the future development of the VN Index though it success-fully extended gains on November 28.Trading conditions were negative as the market was dominated by declining stocks while liquidity would remain unchanged without the strong boost from the trading of DIG shares, they said."That proved investors began to take a cautious stance again as their short-term oppor-tunities in mid-cap and small-cap stocks started minimising while the market still de-pended too much on large-cap stocks," BVSC said."The benchmark index has faced strong challenges in the last few sessions and that means the market would begin its short-term correction in the next few days."The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange fell 0.47 percent to end at 111.50 points, ending its four-day increase of total 3.7 percent.More than 62 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth 801.9 billion VNDhttp://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/191181/vn-index-struggles-to-extend-growth.html

Active DIG trading drives turnover up


Development Investment Construction Joint Stock Corporation (DIG) saw 128 million shares traded, buoyed by the Ministry of Construction's capital divestment, which led trade value on the HCM City exchange to soar on November 28.DIG went up to its upper limit of VND19,250 a share and took the lead by liquidity on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange. Notably, foreign investors acquired over 56.4 million shares in the enterprise.Earlier, the Ministry of Construction announced to sell over 118 million DIG shares, or


BU

SIN

ES


a 49.65 percent stake, within one month starting November 17. With the DIG price on November 28, the ministry earned an estimated VND1.7 trillion from the share sale.According to tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn, DIG has nearly 3,200 hectares of land nation-wide, including in prime locations in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Vinh Phuc and Lam Dong provinces, and Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province. Between January and September, DIG saw its revenue and after-tax profit up 7 percent and 12 percent year-on-year at VND872 billion and VND43 billion respectively, meeting 62 percent and 34 percent of the full-year goals.DIG gave a boost to investor sentiment, sending the VN Index up 2.6 points, or 0.28 percent, at 941.21 points. Trading volume rose 42.4 percent to 359.5 million shares and trading value jumped 48.7 percent to VND8.8 trillion, including block deals valued at more than VND2.1 trillion.With the current outstanding volume of over 238 million shares, investors changed hands up to 54 percent of the total DIG share volume. Its trading value reached over VND2.4 trillion, making up 28 percent of total turnover on the southern bourse.Among large caps, SAB, Vietnam's top brewery firm, hit an intraday high of VND320,000 a share while construction firm ROS added 0.7 percent at VND189,100 per share. For VN30 stocks, MBB was the most liquid stock with 6.2 million shares changing hands, followed by oil and gas stock PVD with 4.1 million shares and sugar company SBT with 3.9 million shares.Many speculative stocks continued advancing strongly, in which agricultural firm HAI and mining stock AMD went up to their ceiling prices of VND8,460 and VND9,830 per share respectively. FLC, a property enterprise, reported trading volume of 14.4 million shares but fell 1.3 percent at VND7,020 per share.The HNX-Index retreated after a four-day rising streak, dropping 0.47 percent against the previous day at 111.5 points. There were 62.1 million shares worth nearly VND802 billion transacted on the Hanoi market, down 29 percent and 22 percent respectively.Lender SHB took the lead by liquidity with 14.3 million shares traded, followed by construction firm VCG and petroleum technical service firm PVS with 5.6 million shares and 5.5 million shares respectively. HKB, which operates in the food sector, hit its upper limit of VND2,500 per share with matching volume of one million shares.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57274/Active-DIG-trading-drives-turnover-up.html

Little information about stake sales at Sabeco disclosed


More State shares at Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) will be sold, but little has been known about those much-awaited share sales.According to deputy minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung, besides Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Habeco), Sabeco is mentioned in the prime minister's Decision 58 as an enterprise in which the State does not necessarily hold a controlling stake.However, the ministry has yet to disclose details about the sale of State-held shares in Sabeco, whose capitalisation is estimated at some $9 billion.Talking to the media about divestments of State capital in business groups and corpo-rations on November 28, Hung said that specific information would not be available until the roadshow between Sabeco and investors set to take place in HCM City today. That was to ensure that information was provided as regulated, he added.However, under Decree 59 on equitisation and divestment of State capital at State-owned enterprises, information is only kept confidential in the case of initial public of-fering (IPO).Before the coming roadshow in HCM City, Sabeco introduced its stake selling plan to potential investors in Singapore on November 24 and then in London.As reported by Nikkei, details about share sales at Sabeco, which has 89.59 percent of shares held by the State, were not given at the roadshow in Singapore where many for-eign beer giants and investment funds were present."Sabeco has a large market capitalisation, and the market's absorption capacity is not high with conditions attached. We thus need to be cautious to ensure the efficiency of


BU

SIN

ES


share sales," Hung said.As for Habeco, negotiations with Carlsberg should have ended last Saturday, but the result has not been finalised.The government earlier assigned ministries and agencies to boost State capital divest-ments this year, with the target of earning around VND60 trillion.english.thesaigontimes.vn/57291/Little-information-about-stake-sales-at-Sabeco-dis-closed.html

Sabeco to list at VND320,000


Shares of the Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation, Sabeco, Vietnam's big-gest brewer, will be offered at an initial price of VND320,000 (US$14) each on Decem-ber 18, it was announced on Wednesday.A majority of the State-owned company's shares, coded SAB on the HCM Stock Ex-change (HOSE), will be on sale, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said.Revealing details of the long-awaited sale, the ministry said 343.6 million shares with a par value of VND3.4 trillion, equivalent to 53.59 per cent of Sabeco's charter capital, will be offered to investors.The sale, aimed to significantly reduce the State's holding in Sabeco from nearly 90 per cent, will be offered via open competitive bidding to eligible investors, in accordance with relevant regulations.The sale is set to attract great attention from both domestic and foreign investors, given the company's leading position in the industry.The divestment will be made on the principles of transparency and ensuring highest benefit to the State based on market prices, securing foreign ownership in accordance with law, the ministry said.It will also propose solutions to preserve and develop the Vietnamese beer's brand name MoIT said.Truong Thanh Hoai, deputy director of the ministry's Heavy Industry Department, said the starting price of Sabeco shares was set out based on three criteria.First, the average reference price of SAB during 30 latest trading sessions, before No-vember 28, when details about the divestment plan published, was VND281,500 per share.Second, the highest price forecast by consultants was VND184,700 per share.Third, the closing price of SAB at the last transaction session on November 28 was VND320,000 per share.He said the initial price of VND320,000 per share was selected as it was the highest among the short-listed figures. The selection was also made under relevant regulations for the sale set by the ministry.Hoai said foreign investors will be allowed to buy up to 247.4 million shares, or 38.59 per cent stake in Sabeco. They own 10.41 per cent stake currently and foreign owner-ship is limited to a maximum of 49 per cent.Interested foreign buyers can deposit funds in foreign currency or make a purchase through a financial guarantor, he said.The State's divestment from Sabeco was accelerated after the Ministry of Industry and Trade asked the HoSE to organise roadshows in Singapore and the UK.The roadshow in Singapore was organised on November 24 and the one in UK on No-vember 27.Within the framework of the roadshows, Sabeco representatives provided general in-formation about the corporation, its manufacturing system, subsidiaries, distribution network, its financial potential (through the financial reports from the past three years), as well as its post-equitisation development plans.The divestment from Sabeco has drawn great interest from investors, especially for-eign buyers. Several foreign breweries have admitted to an interest in Sabeco, includ-ing San Miguel, Heineken, SABMiller, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (Thai Beverage), Japanese Asahi Group Holdings Ltd, and Kirin Holdings Co."Sabeco, valued at $9 billion at current prices, has received a strong response from po-


BU

SIN

ES


tential suitors at an investors' roadshow in Singapore and London."However, the maximum foreign ownership ratio of 49 per cent is also an obstacle to foreign investors," said deputy minister Cao Quoc Hung.Sabeco currently owns 24 manufacturing plants with a total designed capacity of 1.8 billion litres per year, 20 of which are in operation. The remaining four are expected to begin operations in the near future.The company holds about 41 per cent of the nation's $6.5 billion beer market. Vietnam is among the top three beer consumers in Asia.The Sabeco sale is part of a wider divestment programme being carried out by the Vi-etnamese government.http://bizhub.vn/markets/sabeco-to-list-at-vnd320000_290457.html

Sabeco lifts VN Index over 945 points


Strong growth for Vietnam's largest brewer Sabeco (SAB) helped lift the VN Index over 945 points on Wednesday morning, up 0.48 per cent over Tuesday's close.On Wednesday morning, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) announced infor-mation, expected by investors, of its upcoming State stake selling in Sabeco, including the date of the auction, size of the share sale and the minimum bidding price.The detailed plan helped lift Sabeco's (SAB) shares up 4.7 per cent, to VND335,000 (US$14.69) per share, higher than MoIT's offer price of VND320,000 per share during the share sale.The positive spillover spread to another major brewer on the Ha Ni -- Habeco (BHN) -- which also hit the daily limit rise of seven per cent at VND144,400 per share on the HCM Stock Exchange.Other blue chips such as FPT Corp (FPT), Sacombank (STB), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), VPBank (VPB), Mobile World Group (MWG), Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and BIDV (BID) also gained value.Overall market condition was, however, neutral with 127 stocks rising, 125 falling and 94 remaining unchanged.A total of 122.6 million shares worth VND2.63 trillion ($115.4 million) were traded on HCM City's market.On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up 1.36 per cent to 113.02 points with 62.6 million shares worth VND857 billion traded.Afternoon trade starts at 1pm.http://bizhub.vn/markets/sabeco-lifts-vn-index-over-945-points_290443.html

Vinaconex share price set at $1.12


The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) has set the minimum bidding price for the competitive share offering of Vietnam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (Vinaconex) at VND25,600 (US$1.12) per share.SCIC will auction 96.24 million shares of Vinaconex, equal to 21.79 per cent stake of the company, on December 8 on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.At this price, the State investment company expects to collect at least VND2.46 trillion (US$108 million) from the sale, while retaining a 36-per-cent stake in the company.Vinaconex's initial selling price is 3 per cent cheaper than Tuesday's close of VND26,400 per share, coded VCG on the Hanoi's bourse. VCG had rallied in five con-secutive sessions before falling on Tuesday under profit-taking pressure. The shares have climbed 95.6 per cent this year.Each prospective investor must register to buy a minimum of 5,000 shares and a max-imum of 96.24 million shares. The cash deposit must be equal to 10 per cent of the value of the booked purchase at the offering price.In a roadshow in mid-November, Vinaconex said it had targeted an average growth of 10-15 per cent during 2017-21. In the first nine months of this year, its revenue was es-timated at nearly VND6.63 trillion, up 17.9 per cent over the same period last year and exceeding its full year's target by 61 per cent.The after-tax profit was VND623 billion, rising by 31.3 per cent year-on-year.


BU

SIN

ES


http://bizhub.vn/markets/vinaconex-share-price-set-at-112_290428.html

SMEs urged to use energy efficiently


Small- and medium -- sized enterprises (SMEs) in industrial production were urged to develop green growth strategies to improve business efficiency and protect the envi-ronment, experts said at a conference held by the Central Institute for Economic Man-agement (CIEM) on Wednesday.Trinh Duc Chieu, deputy Head of CIEM's Corporate Development and Reform De-partment, said that a large number of SMEs still used outdated and energy-consuming technologies, despite the government's push to promote green growth.Chieu cited a survey that found 75 per cent of processing and manufacturing enterpris-es in Hanoi said that their energy consumption was higher than the world's average.In 2015, 53 per cent of companies in the processing and manufacturing industry used technologies which were developed more than six years ago and only 14 per cent in-vested in technologies that had hit the market within the three most recent years.In addition, most SMEs did not conduct reports on their energy consumption and their awareness about the importance of using energy efficiently remained low.SMEs made up around 17 per cent of companies operating in the manufacturing and processing industry the sector which consumed the most energy, accounting for 43 per cent of the country's total energy consumption.According to Chieu, the lack of support and inconsistencies in policies has not encour-aged SMEs to use energy more efficiently. Besides, the development of renewable en-ergies still dramatically lags demand."It is important for SMEs to enhance energy use efficiency, which will help cut produc-tion costs, improve quality, increase profits and develop in a sustainable way," Chieu said.Moving towards green growth, using natural resources and energy more efficiently, will increase resilience to climate change.Chieu said the legal framework on energy must be improved to encourage energy ef-ficiency and prod SMEs to shift towards renewable energies.According to Nguyen Dinh Khuyen from the General Statistical Office, an energy data system should be developed to provide information for analysis in order to craft ap-propriate policies.At the conference, experts also said that tax and credit policies should be established to encourage the development and use of renewable energies and so that SMEs will update their technologies.http://bizhub.vn/news/smes-urged-to-use-energy-efficiently_290455.html

Smartphone users cover 84pct of VN population


The number of people using smartphones, among mobile phone users, accounts for 84 per cent in 2017, compared to 78 per cent a year ago.This was revealed in the Nielsen Vietnam Smartphone Insights Report 2017.In secondary cities, 71 per cent of local people used smartphones amongst 93 per cent of people who used mobile phones. More notably, in rural areas, while 89 per cent of the population owned a mobile phone, 68 per cent of them possessed a smartphone."The rapid uptake of connected devices, especially smartphones and tablets, is inevi-table in our country. This could correspond to the fact that smartphone brands are of-fering consumers abundant choices at affordable and reasonable prices. Another reason is that consumers are enjoying the rising standard of living and expressing their desire for connectivity anywhere and anytime," said Doan Duy Khoa, director of Con-sumer Insights, Nielsen Vietnam.Earlier this year, Nielsen conducted another study in partnership with Younet Media to better understand the trends of rural consumers. The results show that social media has emerged as one of the cornerstones of information gathering, entertainment and communication with relatives, friends and children, where 22.5 million people use Fa-cebook in the countryside, as compared to 23.5 million users coming from urban areas.


BU

SIN

ES


"This plays an instrumental role in media consumption shifting beyond traditional me-dia formats such as broadcast and cable TV, and also beyond traditional time parts. For media owners and advertisers, it is becoming increasingly important to understand both urban and rural consumers' viewing habits in order to deliver the right content at the right time," Khoa added.Nielsen Holdings plc is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy.The Nielsen Vietnam Smartphone Insights Report 2017 looks at market landscapes, smartphone brand performance and smartphone usage and attitudes, reveals major trends on smartphone penetration and segment movement, as well as product life cy-cle, buying factors, brand satisfaction and expectation of consumers towards a brand.http://bizhub.vn/tech/smartphone-users-cover-84-of-vn-population_290446.html

Online Friday 2017 expects $220 million turnover


Online Friday 2017, which is this Friday, is expected to achieve sales of VND1.5 trillion (US$220 million), event organiser Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (Vecita) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.Lai Viet Anh, Vecita's deputy director, told the press meeting held in Hanoi on Mon-day that more than 1,300 websites and over 3,000 firms were registering for Online Fri-day."We have targeted one million successful orders with more than three million accesses and 20 million users searching for products and services information at the largest an-nual event for the e-commerce business and consumer communities in Vietnam," Anh said.She added that the organising board has strictly reviewed prices of products offered at the event to limit the situation of increasing selling prices before promotions. This year, the organiser will publish products' information, including producers' listed price, current selling price in the market and promotional price during Online Friday. The promotional programmes will ensure genuine products, price reduction and free ship-ping for customers.The BigOFF event will also be held in HCM City on December 1-3.Currently, more than 50 brands have registered to participate in the programme labe-ling 3,000 guaranteed products.Online Friday, approved by the government, is an annual event being held since 2014.Last year, the event reported total turnover of over VND1 trillion and participation of 3,000 firms. More than 370,000 promotional items were provided, attracting 24 million accesses at the event.http://bizhub.vn/tech/online-friday-2017-expects-220 million-turnover_290430.html

HCM City should build more boat stops for waterway tourism


HCM City should build more boat stops to develop river tours into a major tourism product of the city to attract more travel enterprises to invest in the sector, heard a sem-inar on waterway tourism in HCM City on November 28.At the seminar held by the HCM City Departments of Transport and Tourism and Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper, many enterprises said the city's natural conditions are good to develop waterborne tourism products. However, the sector has not grown as strongly as expected due to a lack of stopover stations.The city currently has only three boat stops, namely Tan Cang, Cau Mong and Vuon Kieng, and last named situated at Bach Dang Wharf. Among them, Tan Cang station is far from the city centre and Vuon Kieng station has just been upgraded.Meanwhile, the fee to use Cau Mong station is high, VND500,000 for a boat each time. Besides, the station has no restrooms, so only four enterprises have used the facility, said Lieu Thi My Hanh, sales director of Hoang Trieu Construction Investment Cor-poration which operates 15 canoes.Other companies trading in restaurants and yachts in the Saigon River such as Indo-china Travel Yacht, Viet Princess and Blue Pearl Voyages also agreed that the city


BU

SIN

ES


should build boat stops at favourable positions, saying they are willing to invest in these projects.Nguyen Dinh Cuong, managing director of Blue Pearl Voyages, told the Daily that the company wants to invest $10 million in the initial stage of a yacht station project on Nguyen Binh Street of Nha Be District.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57272/HCM City-should-build-more-boat-stops-for-waterway-tourism.html

Thu Thiem's land prices forecast to rise 30-35pct


Land prices in Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2, HCM City are forecast to in-crease 30-35 percent in the near future, according to property services provider Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).JLL said prices of residential units in the peninsula are currently 30-35 percent below District 1's levels.Meanwhile, in Shanghai, apartment prices in Pudong new centre are 43 percent above the old central business district of Puxi, and Bonifacio prices are the same as Makati in the Philippines. Over time, the consultant expected Thu Thiem to follow a similar trend.Stephen Wyatt, country head at JLL Vietnam, said Thu Thiem's average land price is roughly one-third of District 1 and relatively low compared to neighbouring districts such as Districts 3 and 4.However, he added, with the establishment of Thu Thiem projects and some improve-ment in the legal and planning framework, it is reasonable to say that land prices will continue to increase in the coming years.Land prices in Thu Thiem have picked up by 30 to 40 percent over the past three years. JLL said this is a record but appropriate rise as prices were rather low initially. A ma-jority of housing projects there are selling well.In Thu Thiem, some 45 percent of the total development areas have been officially ap-proved through build-transfer agreements. Dai Quang Minh is developing the $2.2 bil-lion Sala housing project in Thu Thiem.Around 10 investors have developed projects worth about $5 billion. In addition to the Sala project, some other major projects include the Empire City project of Keppel Land, Gaw Capital Partners, Tien Phuoc JSC, and Tran Thai Real Estate Co Ltd; and the Eco smartcity project of Lotte Group.Many overseas investors from China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan have expressed interest to invest in the peninsula. They are hunting for good invest-ment opportunities in Thu Thiem at a reasonable land price through acquisition or joint venture with local partners.The pace of development in Thu Thiem remained stagnant mainly because of land compensation issues.As of this June, 99 percent of the total area in Thu Thiem had been fully compensated for, according to the District 2's Resettlement Committee. 87 land lots have yet to be compensated for, including 83 households and four religious establishments.Land has largely been handed over to investors but many lots of land there have yet to be developed, according to Stephen Wyatt.Many investors revealed it was difficult for them to estimate the investment timeline and return, due to the lack of transparency in the investment procedure, he stressed.He added developers, especially those with a strong investment appetite for commer-cial properties, are still waiting for more incentive policies for this area.The 657-hectare new urban area is located opposite to District 1. Comprising 176 land lots with roughly 3.2 million square meters of residential space and 3.4 million square meters of commercial space, the total peninsula will eventually accommodate 145,000 residents plus 217,000 workers.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57285/Thu-Thiem percente2 percent80 percent99s-land-prices-forecast-to-rise-30-35.html


BU

SIN

ES


Van Don changes rapidly, ready for Special Economic Zone


Van Don, a peninsula with total area of 551 square kilometers, has changed its look rapidly since it became one of three 'candidates' chosen to try the special economic zone (SEZ) model in Vietnam.Billions of dollars have been poured into Van Don. By the end of October 2017, about $2.5 billion had been funneled into infrastructure projects there, mostly developed un-der the mode of PPP.These include the Van Don international airport project which is under construction. Once operational, the airport will connect the peninsula with large cities such as Shen-zhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong or Macao in just 1-2 hours of flying.Van Don can also target a number of large markets, including a series of major eco-nomic centers in Asia with a population of more than 3 billion and a combined GDP value of more than $22,000 billion.Another project expected to give an impetus for Van Don to develop is the highway which connects Van Don with Mong Cai border gate. The project, capitalised at VND16 trillion, is scheduled to kick off by the end of the year under the BOT mode.Together with the Van Don Ha Long and Ha Long Hai Phong highways, which are nearly completing, the Van Don Mong Cai Highway will help connect the important economic centers of Hanoi Hai Phong Van Don Ha Long Mong Cai. This will help stimulate capital, goods and traveler flow.A series of large-scale multi trillion-dong projects have been registered in Van Don, So-naSea Dragon Bay (VND5 trillion), Bac Cai Bau Port & Urban Area (VND25.2 trillion) and other resort projects, turning Van Don into a 'great construction site'.Van Don is the second place in Vietnam, after Phu Quoc, which has received permis-sion to open casinos to Vietnamese.Under the tentative policy for Van Don, the SEZ will develop tourism, service, indus-try and agriculture. In the first phase of development, 2018-2022, it will focus on enter-tainment services (with casino), port services, aviation, trade, shopping malls, innovative technology and become a startup centre.Regarding the administration structure, there will be one head of the SEZ, with no peo-ple's council.Under a plan drawn up by the Quang Ninh provincial authorities, Van Don will need a huge capital amount of $12 billion in 2014-2030 to turn Van Don into a modern urban area.The required hefty capital and the limited budget will force Van Don to seek capital from many different channels, including private investors.However, capital mobilisation from the public will depend on the openness of the pol-icies.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190981/van-don-changes-rapidly--ready-for-special-economic-zone.html

Vissan retails pork at wholesale prices


Vissan, Vietnam's leading meat processor, on November 28 inaugurated its first outlet to retail pork at wholesale prices on Bui Huu Nghia Street in Binh Thanh District, HCM City.The store will offer pork products at wholesale prices to vendors at traditional mar-kets, restaurants, hotels, schools, factories and other collective users from midnight to 6:00 a.m. every day. Besides, fresh and processed food will be sold at the outlet from 6:00 a.m. to 21:00 p.m.Vissan general director Nguyen Ngoc An said the company expects to open five more such outlets near traditional wet markets by 2018.An stressed the store sell products provided by farms meeting VietGAP standards as controlled and inspected by competent agencies. The origin of products can be traced by using TE-FOOD app.Vissan has also set out its food safety requirements from the slaughter of pigs to pork


BU

SIN

ES


distribution. Pork will be transported by special-use vehicles to outlets with refrigera-tors to store food and staff equipped with necessary facilities and knowledge about food safety.Vissan is developing a supply chain of pork without antibiotics. In the year to end-Oc-tober, the company's processed food sector grew 15 percent and fresh food 10 percent over the same period last year and its revenue increased 15 percent.Vissan now contributes 10 percent of HCM City's fresh meat supply. In the coming time, the company will expand its markets to other large cities nationwide, An said.english.thesaigontimes.vn/57292/Vissan-retails-pork-at-wholesale-prices.html

Viettel tops list of most profitable companies


Military-run telecom operator Viettel Group tops the list of 500 most profitable com-panies, briefly called Profit500 list in Vietnam, according to a ranking announced by Vietnam Report Company.The ranking is an independent assessment based on criteria of return on total assets, return on equity, return on revenue, pre-tax profit and revenue. Other criteria include the companies' prestige and their scale of staff.Earlier this month, Viettel also topped the list of the biggest tax payers in Vietnam in 2016 according to another list of the 1,000 biggest tax payers in the country announced by the Ministry of Finance's general Department of Taxation.In the first half of the year, the group's total revenues reached VND118 trillion (US$5.18 billion) and pre-tax profit was VND21.67 trillion, double the yearly targets.In April, Viettel became the first telecom providers to launch the 4G service in Vietnam nationwide. It also has the largest 4G infrastructure in Vietnam with 36,000 base trans-ceiver stations (BTSs), accounting for 72 per cent of the country's total number of BTSs.Viettel has also successfully produced and installed BTS 4G for the international mar-ket.In the research and development, it has announced the successful development of an online charging service called vOCS the first of its kind in Vietnam.The OCS is considered the most important tool for a telecom service provider because it contains all customer consumption data, business policies, products and services.Only three other global companies Ericsson (Sweden), Huawei and ZTE (China) cur-rently make OCSs.With Viettel's vOCS, Vietnam became the third nation in the world to produce an OCS.The system can serve 24 million subscribers per site the largest number globally while other OCSs can only serve 12 million subscribers per site. vOCS 3.0 was transferred to over 90 million subscribers in Vietnam and five other markets.http://bizhub.vn/tech/viettel-tops-list-of-most-profitable-companies_290452.html

Vinamilk enters domestic sugar industry


Vietnam's dairy giant, Vinamilk, marked its presence in the local sugar industry by de-buting the Vietnam Sugar Joint Stock Company (Vietsugar) on November 28 in the central province of Khanh Hoa's Cam Lam district.In a move to ensure sufficient raw material for business expansion, Vinamilk this year has spent nearly 1 trillion VND (44 million USD) on acquiring a 65 percent stake of the Khanh Hoa Sugar Co and changing its name into Vietsugar.Representatives of Vinamilk said that Vietsugar, which was launched from a strategic handshake between two long-standing companies in Vietnam's food industry, will open a new direction for the local sugar industry by gradually helping sugarcane farmers in Khanh Hoa province and neighbouring localities improve their competi-tiveness and actively integrate into regional and global markets.Established in 1989, Khanh Hoa Sugar Co has a current production capacity of 1,500 tonnes of sugar each day and strives to raise its daily capacity to 2,000 tonnes in the future.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vinamilk-enters-domestic-sugar-industry/122564.vnp


BU

SIN

ES


Vietjet to pay 60pct dividend for this year

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Carrier now seeking shareholders' opinions on dividend payment.Budget carrier Vietjet Air (HoSE: VJC) is collecting shareholders' opinions on increas-ing the estimated 2017 dividend payout from 50 per cent to 60 per cent, including a maximum of 40 per cent cash dividend.If approved, the estimated 2017 dividend payout ratio will be 60 per cent, with the cash dividend rising from 30 per cent to 40 per cent. The purpose of collecting shareholders' opinions is to make the necessary arrangements for the advanced second dividend payment in 2017.Vietjet is also seeking shareholders' opinions on a change of business line and the ad-dress of its headquarters to 302/3 Kim Ma Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi. The close of registrations for shareholders to submit opinions is December 19.In mid-August, Vietjet advanced VND645 billion ($28.3 million) for a 20 per cent cash dividend payment in 2017. Prior to that, it also paid a 40 per cent bonus share dividend and finalised the 2016 cash and bonus share dividend payment at a rate of 119 per cent.Vietjet is the first airline in Vietnam to operate under the new low-cost model and pro-vides a wide range of services to customers through advanced e-commerce technology applications.Vietjet is an official member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and has IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification. In addition to being named among the "Top 500 Leading Brands in Asia 2016" and the "Best Employer Brand" in Asia for many consecutive years, Vietjet was also voted "Best Asian Low Cost Carrier in 2015" at the TTG Travel Awards and is among the Top 3 growing carriers on Face-book, as voted by Socialbakers.Vietjet is now operating 45 A320 and A321 aircraft, conducting about 350 flights a day and carrying some 40 million passengers on 73 routes to destinations in Vietnam and to Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Myan-mar, Malaysia, and Cambodia.The airline plans to expand its Asia-Pacific network and purchase modern aircraft from leading manufacturers.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vietjet-to-pay-60-dividend-for-this-year

Grab commits to long-term investment in Vietnam


Grab co-founder Tan Hooi Ling affirmed that the ride-hailing firm would continue to invest in Vietnam and contribute to the country's innovation process.Supporting Vietnam's transport systemLing told local press last week that Grab is specialised in researching and developing applications in technology-based platforms. Grab is always looking to partner with lo-cal governments to develop the most efficient transportation and mobile payments for Vietnamese customers.With the development of a research and development (R&D) centre in Vietnam, Grab's global R&D community will focus on solutions to optimise the efficiency of the trans-port sector. As a result, customers can have access to a wide range of vehicles with more convenient rides and affordable services. Meanwhile, Grab's driver partners can utilise different services to serve customer demand and improve their own liveli-hoods.Grab's two-year pilot programme will be finished in January 2018. Regarding this mat-ter, Ling expressed gratitude to the Vietnamese government. When the pilot project started two years ago, Vietnam was one of the first countries to adopt ride-hailing tech-nology in such an open and transparent way. Grab is willing to share best practices based on data collected from the programme, which will facilitate innovation and new technology application in Vietnam.To tackle traffic congestions, Grab plans to launch Grab Shuttle in the country to better utilise vehicle capacity. Grab Shuttle can increase the number of passengers to seven people in a small bus. Grab Shuttle uses algorithms to arrange suitable routes for cus-tomers who are travelling at the same direction and at the same time. Following a local


BU

SIN

ES


debut in Singapore, the government lauded Grab Shuttle's effectiveness as well as en-couraged the widespread use of the feature.Meanwhile, JustGrab has been launched in Hanoi and Danang city, which combines both GrabTaxi and GrabCar in a single feature. JustGrab will offer faster e-hailing serv-ices for customers, while improve the livelihoods of driver partners.The co-founder stated that Grab not only provides quick and safe rides to customers but also offers them better access to vehicles. The ride-hailing firm continues its efforts to develop sustainably in Vietnam.Committing to long-term investmentAccording to Ling, Grab has been active in Vietnam's 4.0 industrial revolution. With its technological solutions, the ride-hailing firm helps cut down customers' commut-ing time by 51 per cent, while boost the hourly income of driver partners by 55 per cent compared to the national average."In addition to creating thousands of new jobs in Vietnam, Grab has invested in the new R&D centre so that local engineers and high-tech workers will be engaged in Grab's global R&D community," she added. Grab has invested in six R&D centres in Seattle (US), Beijing (China), Bangalore (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Singapore, and HCM City. These R&D centres will explore new digital solutions to support Vietnam in developing its transport infrastructure.To move Vietnam towards 4.0 in the long-term, Grab will expand investment in the country in the near future. The ride-hailing firm commits to doing the best for Vietnam and its people.In the first ten months of 2017, Grab has contributed nearly VND140 billion ($6.16 mil-lion) to the Vietnamese state budget, according to Ling.In addition to ride-hailing services, Grab plans to launch its mobile wallet payment system known as Grab Pay in Vietnam next year."Grab has been working in collaboration with several banks in Vietnam to promote on-line payment services to local customers. If Grab Pay is green-lighted in early 2018, it is expected to serve essential customer demand as well as contribute to develop Viet-nam's knowledge-based smart economy," she said.http://www.vir.com.vn/grab-commits-to-long-term-investment-in-vietnam.html

Ba Sao taxi drivers go on strike over plunging revenue


On November 27, hundreds of Ba Sao taxi company's drivers went on a strike to de-mand the board of directors to issue supporting policies as their revenues have plunged due to the overwhelming competition posed by Uber and Grab, according to vnexpress.vn.According to drivers, their income has massively decreased. Notably, the average rev-enue of drivers in a 12-hour work shift is between VND300,000-500,000 ($13.21-22.01) per day, while the figure for drivers in 24-hour work shift is between VND600,000-800,000 ($26.41-35.22). After deducing expenditures for meals, insurance, petroleum, and communication, the remaining income is very low.Thus, drivers ask the company to decrease communication expenses by VND500,000 ($22.01) per month instead of supporting them with a monthly VND50,000 ($2.2) per person.Another driver shared that his income decreased by half since Uber and Grab ap-peared in Vietnam. Almost all drivers used loans from banks to buy cars, thus, their current incomes are not enough to pay loan interests as well as the expenditures for communication.Vu Quoc Huy, director of Ba Sao, told that a number of drivers started to strike half a month ago and the board of directors invited them to the office to clarify their de-mands and persuade them to return to work, but failed. According to Huy, these driv-ers are kind by nature, but they may have been incited by unknown sources to conduct the strike.Huy added that taxi companies, including Ba Sao, find it difficult to compete with Uber and Grab because traditional taxi brands are banned from numerous streets, es-


BU

SIN

ES


pecially during peak hours. Besides, the operation expenses of traditional taxis are higher than those of Uber and Grab.Aiming to deal with these difficulties, Ba Sao issued numerous promotion pro-grammes to lure in customers, including discounts of 5-10 per cent for customers using the Ba Sao payment card, or discounts of VND6,000-8,000 per route for brokers at ho-tels and restaurants.Along with Ba Sao, other traditional taxi companies like Mai Linh and Vinasun also complain about Uber and Grab, reporting decreasing revenue and employee numbers.Notably, Mai Linh Group released bleak business results in the first six months of this year. Accordingly, the number of Mai Linh employees decreased by approximately 6,000 to 24,000, falling 20 per cent on-year.Besides, the company's net revenue was VND1.72 trillion ($75.4 million), down 5 per cent on-year. Profit from other activities decreased to VND29 billion ($1.29 million), only half of what it was in the first half of last year.Furthermore, as of the end of June 2017, the company bore an accumulated loss of VND800 billion ($35.1 million), equaling 80 per cent of its charter capital. In the first six months alone, its net loss from business operations was VND47.5 billion ($2.08 mil-lion), doubling on-year due to a sharp increase in sales and management expenditures.Regarding Vinasun, in the second quarter of this year, the company's net revenue reached VND810 billion ($35.7 million) only, a record low since 2014. Besides, quarter-ly after-tax profit fell by 50 per cent on-year, to VND16 billion ($706,299). The cumula-tive figure for the first six months was VND1.9 trillion ($706.29 million), signifying a decrease of 15 per cent.Within the first six months of this year, the number of Vinasun employees decreased by approximately 8,000 to 9,179. According to a Vinasun representative, the company's business results may remain gloomy until the end of this year.http://www.vir.com.vn/ba-sao-taxi-drivers-go-on-strike-over-plunging-revenue.html

Uber and Vietnam's number one fintech firm shake hands on


Uber today officially became the strategic partner of Vietnam-based mobile electronic payment platform MoMo, with the intent of integrating a wholly digital payment ex-perience into the leading ride-hailing online application.Consequently, this alliance will likely deliver a never-before-seen transportation serv-ice by fusing taxi-hailing with a cashless payment method supported by Vietnam's leading mobile e-wallet firm.Prior to this cooperation with MoMo, Uber Vietnam offered three main payment meth-ods: cash, credit card (including MasterCard and Visa) and debit card, as well as An-droid Pay exclusively for Android users.Thanks to the participation of MoMo, from now on, Uber subscribers will be spared the hassle of connecting their existing banking accounts with the payment option in the digital application. MoMo's e-wallet would enable synchronised payments and save a substantial amount of time for Uber's customers.Previously, on November 15, MoMo made a long-term commitment with taxi firm Vi-nasun to provide a smart and cashless taxi-riding experience.Also on November 15, VietinBank officially shook hands with MoMo e-wallet to accel-erate mobile transactions, especially for members of the domestic credit programme called E-Partner, which is now directly linked with MoMo.Earlier, in 2015, MoMo partnered with Standard Chartered to launch the Straight2Bank wallet payment in Vietnam, which allows corporations, authorities, and organisations to conduct cashless transactions with either banked or unbanked indi-viduals.To date, MoMo electronic wallet could receive deposits from accounts at 11 banks and via international cards and can enable topping up at more than 5,000 MoMo transac-tion points within Vietnam's territory.MoMo is Vietnam's top mobile e-wallet and over-the-counter remittance and payment platform. After a successful introduction in Vietnam, MoMo has made its way to over-


BU

SIN

ES


seas markets, such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Kenya. MoMo delivers virtual payment services, such as money transfer, bill payments, collection and disbursement, and mobile commerce.http://www.vir.com.vn/uber-and-vietnams-number-one-fintech-firm-shake-hands-on-strategic-alliance.html

Direct air route to US would be unprofitableq

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

Despite talks of a direct route to the US for years, there remain concerns about a how profitable it would actually be.Director general of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAA) Lai Xuan Thanh said if the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved its aviation monitoring ca-pability then the plan to open a direct air route to the US would be possible.Employees were sent to overseas training courses in order to earn FAA certification.Vietnam Airlines did this many years ago and has put two modern planes into opera-tion. It hopes to start the direct route to San Francisco or Los Angeles with a technical stop in Tokyo or Osaka in Japan in 2018.However, there are opinions that there aren't enough passengers to open a direct route. Moreover, no aircraft fly between Vietnam and the US fully loaded, nonstop and profitably.According to the CAA, Vietnamese people living and studying in the US live in vari-ous locations. Their travel times to visit families or to continue their studies vary so they aren't regular passengers.The number of business people is small and it would not be profitable for Vietnam Air-lines to operate just one route.Vietnam Airlines cannot compete with other airlines such as the Japan Airlines, Kore-an Air, Asiana Airlines, and China Southern Airlines. Singapore Airlines has reduced the flight time from 21-24 hours to 15-16 hours.Like some direct routes to Europe, the route to the US will face losses as they mostly depend on tourists instead of business travellers, and Vietnam Airlines must use other profitable routes to offset it.The flight routes to Japan or South Korean are profitable because many passengers are businesspeople and are more willing to pay for costly airfares.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/191190/direct-air-route-to-us-would-be-unprofitable.html

PM encourages Australian group Sakkara's investment in real estate


Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told the Australian property group Sakkara that there are huge investment opportunities for the group in Vietnam.Receiving the group's president Neil Robert Wilson in Hanoi on November 29, the prime minister said urban development is important for Vietnam but the Vietnamese government does not has sufficient financial capacity to invest in the field. Therefore, many opportunities are available for investors, he said.PM Phuc suggested the group can expand investment to other fields, such as transport, environment, waste and waste water treatment, and infrastructure development in the forms of build operate transfer (BOT) and private public partnership (PPP).He affirmed that the government of Vietnam always facilitates foreign investment in the country.For his part, Neil Robert Wilson expressed his impression of Vietnam's hosting of the Apec Economic Leaders' Week.According to him, the group decided to make investment in Vietnam considering the country's young and dynamic population. He said Sakkara has gained success since entering Vietnam in 2003, noting that Vietnam is the only foreign market the group has made investment in.He expressed his hope for more assistance from the government of Vietnam and the PM for his group when it invests in large-scale projects on home development and eq-uitisation of State-owned enterprises.


BU

SIN

ES


https://en.vietnamplus.vn/pm-encourages-australian-group-sakkaras-investment-in-real-estate/122561.vnp

Samsung responds to 'baseless' work safety allegations


Swedish non-profit organisation IPEN came out with a report saying Samsung's Viet-namese workers show a high rate of health issues, such as fatigue, dizziness, and mis-carriages. In a statement responding to this report, Samsung's representative said a sample size of 45 female workers from a grand total of 100,000 employees (4,000 of whom are currently pregnant) is insufficient and that IPEN's allegations are baseless.Samsung's responseIn early November, a report conducted by Sweden-based non-profit organisation IPEN, made baseless allegations that Samsung was skirting labour safety regulation, based on the health records of 45 female workers at two Samsung factories in Vietnam.Samsung Electronics operates two cell phone factories in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen provinces in northern Vietnam, which produce around half of all the cell phones that Samsung supplies to the global market.The factories, which have over 100,000 employees, made $36 billion last year, account-ing for 68 per cent of all revenue from the country's electronics industry, which is the highest grossing sector in Vietnam."There may be confusions between the factories in Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, and our semiconductor production line in Korea. In Vietnam, workers only do assembly to make mobile phones -- there are no stages when they come in direct contact with toxic chemicals. Additionally, we do not use any toxic chemical that could damage human health. Detergents like alcohol, which are used to clean equipment, do not damage health," Ryu Kil Sang, the representative of Samsung Electronics Vietnam, was quoted on vnexpress.netThere are over 100,000 employees in the two factories, 4,000 of whom are pregnant. "A 45-template survey states that miscarriage rates are high without publishing specifics, so I do not know how many cases there are and how serious the problem could be. The sample size of 45 workers is too small to draw convincing conclusions," he empha-sized.As for allegations that workers have to stand throughout the shifts and have no time to rest, Ryu Kil Sang said that standing or sitting is up to the working stage. Workers have a ten-minute breake every two hours and one hour for lunch or dinner. They are allowed to go to the restroom anytime they want.MOLISA inspectionsIn 2017, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) inspected the two Samsung Electronics Vietnam factories in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh. According to the ministry's findings, all employees signed labour contracts, bought social insur-ance, unemployment insurance, and health insurance.The company complies with regulations on resting periods, holidays, and the Tet hol-iday. Employees' salary is not less than the regional minimum wage, and there are an-nual health checks for normal labourers and two a year for those doing dangerous tasks and the elderly.MOLISA discovered three violations at Samsung's two factories, far below the com-mon rate of 10-12 in the electronics sector. Samsung's violations had to do with exceed-ing the overtime limit by 30 hours each month, inappropriate shift allocations, and a lack of hygiene training for over 13,600 workers."The violations claimed by the IPEN report are non-existent, based on the ministry's evaluations," Nguyen Tien Tung, chief inspector of MOLISA told vneconomy.vn in an interview, adding that the ministry has no plans to inspect Samsung Vietnam in the wake of IPEN's allegations.Tung said that exceeding the overtime limit is a common violation among foreign in-vested companies and the ministry has asked the government to extend the limit to 600 hours for export businesses.Samsung was Vietnam's biggest exporter last year, earning nearly $40 billion in reve-


BU

SIN

ES


nue from shipping electronics and contributing 23 per cent to Vietnam's total export revenue. It currently runs six factories in Vietnam and exports products to 52 overseas markets, according to vnexpress.net.http://www.vir.com.vn/samsung-responds-to-baseless-work-safety-allegations.html

Ho Tram holds the cards to become leading resort


With the rapid expansion of local development, and casino licences for Vietnamese gamblers in the pipeline, Ho Tram is setting up to become one of Vietnam's preferred hotel and resort destinations.John Manning, CEO of local developer Sanctuary Residential Resort, said that major developments along the Ho Tram Strip in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau are now taking place, with the sale of three development sites, and three more devel-opments under construction.The most important development on the strip is The Grand Ho Tram Casino. The ca-sino will become a catalyst for Ho Tram's boom if it receives a proposed licence allow-ing locals to gamble."Ho Tram Strip will take off, there is absolutely no doubt about it. With its proximity to the population and wealth of HCM City, it will not be long before you're driving down the strip and it will all be hotels and resorts," he said, adding that the time is right for investors to capitalise on the area's potential.Nguyen Nam Son, chair of local resort developer Tanzanite, said, "We think that if lo-cal gaming is allowed, then Ho Tram will grow even faster. In Macau, after the large casinos were allowed in 2004, apartment prices went up five to 10 times in the decade after."In addition, a small international airport only five minutes away from Ho Tram has been approved by the local government and is projected to take only one year to com-plete construction.This will make Ho Tram a more accessible international and domestic destination. A few weeks ago, international resort developer Club Med announced their intention to open in Ho Tram.Club Med is known as one of the world's largest all-inclusive holiday companies, so this is a good endorsement for Ho Tram, according to Son.This year, Ho Tram is bustling with new construction and expansion. As the second phase of Sanctuary Residential Community, Sanctuary Villas is a private compound comprising 44 luxury villas, 28 of which have recently been completed, with a majority sold. The final 16 riverfront villas will begin construction in February, with expected completion in October 2018.The Grand Ho Tram Strip is implementing a resort project called Kahuna which will be made up of 164 condotel units, 36 'double-key' villas, and eight beachfront villas. And Tanzanite is stepping up its development of Melia Ho Tram at the Hamptons.Son said that Tanzanite plans to open Melia Ho Tram in late 2018, providing a luxury beachfront community to its buyers.The Melia Ho Tram will be run as a world-class five-star resort that caters to its owners and local and international tourists. The resort will also host beach wedding parties, corporate team-building events, and company conferences.This development momentum is making for growing interest in hotel, resort, and sec-ond home investment in the area, according to Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels Asia Pacific."The Grand Ho Tram Casino and The Bluffs golf course are great investment catalysts to encourage more resorts and holiday homes' development. And with more visitors, more entertainment options will appear in surrounding areas and visitor return rates will grow," he said. "If the government does approve the mooted three-year trial allow-ing local citizens to legally gamble, this would no doubt be the biggest local engine for growth in the short term."According to a Savills Vietnam study, hotel and resort room supply should grow 39 per cent year-on-year in 2018, and by an additional 17 per cent in 2019. About 1,300


BU

SIN

ES


new rooms are expected to enter the Ho Tram and Long Hai markets. Besides those announced projects, others are still at the initial planning stages or on hold.These do not have any clear or confirmed development schedules as of yet, but as area demand picks up, developers will surely bulk up room supply in the area.http://english.vov.vn/economy/ho-tram-holds-the-cards-to-become-leading-resort-363455.vov

Son Tra Peninsula real estate transactions halted

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

Authorities in Danang City have temporarily stopped real estate transactions on Son Tra Peninsula pending a comprehensive inspection.Danang People's Committee has sent official documents to the Department of Justice, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Taxation Department and rel-evant agencies to prepare for the inspection.All activities including land transfer, leasing, or capital transfer must be halted.In late September, deputy prime minister Truong Hoa Binh ordered the government Inspectorate to collaborate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Construction to conduct the inspection on land management, forest land protection and development, environment protection tasks at all construction on the peninsula.The ministries must submit their report to the prime minister by March 31, 2018.Son Tra Peninsula is 10km from Danang City's centre. Its biodiversity ranging from primary forests to the coastal waters is unique in Vietnam.After the master scheme for Son Tra national tourism site was approved in November 2016, Danang Tourism Association expressed its opposition. They said that the natural beauty will be ruined by the mass of concrete buildings and wanted to remove Son Tra from the list of potential locations for national tourism sites.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/191193/son-tra-peninsula-real-estate-transactions-halted.html

Outstanding farm products honoured


A total of 157 high-quality agricultural products and 25 outstanding companies were honoured at a ceremony held by the Vietnam Farmers' Union in Hanoi on November 28.Addressing at the ceremony, head of the Party Central Committee's Economic Com-mission Nguyen Van Binh praised the individuals and organisations for their products honoured this time as well as the union's initiative to launch the programme.As Vietnam is integrating deeply into global economy with a slew of commitments to new generation agreements as well as bilateral and multilateral deals, Binh urged rel-evant ministries, localities and farmers to shake up the agricultural sector towards in-creasing added value, sustainable development and modern new style rural area building.He stressed that farmers, cooperatives and businesses should promote science-tech-nology application into agricultural production to ensure quality and hygiene of the products while participate in global and regional value chain to ensure national food security and improve rural livelihoods.According to Chair of the Vietnam Farmers' Union Lai Xuan Mon, the programme was launched in all 63 provinces and cities, with 181 agricultural products being nominat-ed.The honoured products were categorised into three groups: farming products, proc-essed products and products serving agriculture, he said.He affirmed that the event, the fourth of its kind, not only honoured outstanding agri-cultural products but also served as a platform for individuals, organisations and busi-nesses to cooperate and introduce products and advanced technology to the community.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/outstanding-farm-products-honoured/122545.vnp


BU

SIN

ES


600 B2B meetings organised under Italian business mission to Vietnam 2017


More than 600 business-to-business meetings between Vietnamese and Italian enter-prises have been organised to help the two countries' enterprises seek partners in nu-merous sectors, including infrastructure and transport, power generation and green technology, and machinery and technologies.These meetings are organised in the framework of the three-day event "Italian Busi-ness Mission to Vietnam 2017" by the Italian Trade Commission (ICE), the Italian Banks' Association, and the Italian Confederation of Industry Associations, with strong support from the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vietrade, and the Italian Embassy.The mission, which was kicked off in Hanoi today and will last for three days (Novem-ber 27-28 in Hanoi and November 29 in HCM City), attracts a delegation of 150, repre-senting world-leading Italian brands and more than 600 Vietnamese enterprises.Speaking at the opening ceremony, Cecilia Piccioni, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, said that orgainising the "Italian Business Mission to Vietnam 2017" event show the two countries' efforts to realise the commitments between the two countries' leaders to increase cooperation in the energy, infrastructure and transport, and machinery sec-tors, among others.The relationship between the two countries has been elevated to strategic partnership and comprehensive cooperation. Besides, Vietnam and Italy are both signatories to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).The two countries have complementary strengths, which makes them a good fit to help each other develop. Notably, Italy is known as the world's leading country for energy, infrastructure and transport, machinery, textile, leathers and footwear, food process-ing and packaging, plastic or building material industries, while Vietnam has seen strong growth in terms of socioeconomic development, thus it has an increasing de-mand for capital and expertise in transport infrastructure and other industries.However, trade and investment cooperation is still limited. Italy is the fifth-ranking partner of Vietnam in Europe. As of September 2017, Italy ranked 31st among 126 na-tions and territories investing in Vietnam, with 82 investment projects worth more than $600 million. In 2016, the two countries' bilateral export turnover reached $5.14 billion, up 7 per cent only. In the first six months of this year, the figure was $3.47 bil-lion."Through this event, Italy wants to provide more advanced technology equipment and automation at competitive prices and high productivity, while also focusing on infra-structure and renewable energy in Vietnam," said Ivan Scalfarotto, Italian deputy min-ister of Economic Development."Italy does not only wish to cooperate in the area of trade as in previous years, but wants to help Vietnam develop, support both human resources training and skills de-velopment," he added.The partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) between Vietnam and Italy effec-tive since October 2016, and the EU-Vietnam FTA to be signed in 2018 will define the basic rules for comprehensive relations between Vietnam and EU members in general and between the two countries in particular.In this working visit to Vietnam, We want to cooperate with Vietnamese enterprises to develop a joint venture company to distribute machinery in the healthcare sector. We saw numerous Italian enterprises operating in Vietnam, all of whom are operating with profit and are planning to expand operations in Vietnam.We hope to find suitable Vietnamese partners after the B2B meetings in Hanoi and HCM City.Ivan ScalfarottoItalian enterprises have numerous reasons to invest in Vietnam as the country posts strong growth across most all industries sectors. Besides, Vietnam is considered Italy's leading trade partner in Asia.Vietnam has been making efforts to realise its commitment to diversify multilateral diplomatic relations, thus, it has reformed administrative procedures to lure in foreign


BU

SIN

ES


investors as well as to increase trade relationships.Michele D'Ercole, ICham chairItalian enterprises are making assurances to invest in Vietnam because the country is politically stable with numerous tariff incentives. Besides, Vietnamese workers are quick to absorb technology. Almost all Italian enterprises have expanded their opera-tions after two or three years of operating in Vietnam. For example, to date, Piaggio has poured $80 million into Vietnam. In August 2009, Datalogic Vietnam received of-ficial approval from Saigon Hi-Tech Park to establish a manufacturing and design cen-tre with a total investment capital sum of $5 million, which has risen to $90 million ever since.Nguyen Anh Thu, representative of Secoin CorporationI know Italian suppliers for a long time now, and they have time and again convinced us to trust the quality of their products. Currently, we are looking for a partner to im-port machinery to produce cement tiles. Italy is our best choice for the famed quality of its machinery.http://www.vir.com.vn/600-b2b-meetings-organised-under-italian-business-mission-to-vietnam-2017.html

Vietnamese confectionary giant attend FoodPro 2017 in Bangladesh


Excellent taste and eye-catching packages have made products of the Huu Nghi Con-fectionery Joint Stock Company come in favour of visitors at the International Exhibi-tion & Conference on Food & Beverage Products, Processing, Packaging Machinery & Allied Technologies (FoodPro 2017).The Huu Nghi company is among 250 enterprises from 16 countries attending the event which ran from November 23-25 in Dhaka capital, Bangladesh.The company brought along various kinds of cakes to the exhibition to introduce made-in-Vietnam products to international friends as well as grasp taste of consumers in Bangladesh. This is an important move that helps the confectioner to expand its ex-port market to South Asia.Visiting the company's booth, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh Tran Van Khoa lauded its participation in the FoodPro while stressing that the Bangladesh market poses huge potential and challenges for Vietnamese confectionary products, thus Vi-etnamese businesses need to be plucky and make concerted efforts.Chair of the Bangladesh Agro-Processors' Association (BAPA) AFM Fakhrul Islam Munshi said that he was impressed by Vietnamese confectionary products and ex-pressed his hope that Vietnamese food companies will enhance investment and en-large business in Bangladeshi market.Attending the FoodPro 2017, the Huu Nghi company had chance to meet 100 food cor-porations from Bangladesh, opening opportunities for the company to boost exports to the South Asian country.As part of efforts to support Vietnamese businesses to enter the Bangladeshi market, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh and the Bangladesh-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry will organise Vietnam-Bangladesh trade fair next year. The event is expected to help Vietnamese businesses meet their trade partners and nudge Vietnamese products closer to Bangladeshi consumers.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnamese-confectionary-giant-attend-foodpro-2017-in-bangladesh/122546.vnp

Programme connects Vietnamese, Argentinean businesses

30/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV

The Argentine Embassy in Vietnam and HCM City's Investment & Trade Promotion Centre on November 29 co-hosted a programme to strengthen connectivity between Vietnamese and Argentinean businesses.Since Vietnam and Argentina established a strategic partnership in 2010, both nations have seen remarkable development in trade and economic links with an annual aver-age growth rate of 20 percent in the 2012-1016 period.Argentina is one of Vietnam's important partners in the Latin American region with


BU

SIN

ES


bilateral trade turnover reaching $2.3 billion in 2015, $2.9 billion in 2016. The figure is expected to rise to $3.5 billion this year.However, bilateral trade is still below the full potential of both nations, especially in agriculture. Vietnam has advantages in farm products such as rice, tea, and coffee but is limited in the post harvest preservation and processing. Meanwhile, Argentina is known for popular farm produce such as beef, seafood, and cereals and strong in ma-chinery, post-harvest technologies, and farm produce processing.At the event, businesses exchanged information and proposed signing several con-crete contracts. In future, Vietnam will seek opportunities to export its key farm pro-duce to Argentina, while Argentina will bring its advanced agricultural machinery and technologies to Vietnam.Ho Xuan Lam, the centre's deputy director said the centre has always focused on mar-ket expansion to seek promising export outlets for Vietnamese businesses. At present, Argentina is keen on Vietnam's coffee, tea, pepper, and cashew nuts.http://english.vov.vn/economy/programme-connects-vietnamese-argentinean-busi-nesses-363588.vov

Hai Phong hosts exhibition on energy saving


The International Exposition on Technologies and Products for Energy Saving and En-vironment Protection (E&E Expo Hai Phong 2017) kicked off on Wednesday in the northern city of Hai Phong.The exhibition aims at introducing the achievements of technology development and energy saving solutions, promoting products, seeking partners to expand the produc-tion market and finding distribution agents for domestic and foreign enterprises.It has attracted the participation of around 100 booths and outdoor display areas of do-mestic and international companies, introducing energy saving products, renewable energy, nuclear energy and household electrical appliances, as well as industrial equipment and environmentally friendly products.In addition, the exhibition is also a space for businesses and experts to provide solu-tions on energy saving and environmental protection for daily life and business pro-duction, contributing to the propagation and raising of public awareness on economical and efficient use of energy for people, organisations and enterprises.The event is held at VietnamCzech Friendship Cultural Palace, Hai Phong City and will run until December 2.http://bizhub.vn/events/hai-phong-hosts-exhibition-on-energy-saving_290449.html

Vietnam Expo 2017 to open in HCM City


The 15th Vietnam International Trade Fair (Vietnam Expo 2017) will take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City on December 6-9.The expo continues to be an important bridge to connect Vietnamese and foreign en-terprises, allowing them to meet and exchange views on business cooperation.It is also a destination where policymakers can update latest waves of market and pro-ducers can popularise their trademarks as well as expand consumption network.This year's event will feature 800 booths of 750 businesses from 16 countries and terri-tories including India, Taiwan (China), Germany, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the US and China.On display will be various products such as electronic devices and products, hardware products and hand tools, construction materials and household products-consumer goods.According to the Vietnam National Trade Fair & Advertising Company (Vinexad), participating companies want to introduce their new items for 2018 with the aim of seeking customers' feedback for evaluating the market's demand.Numerous activities will be held in the framework of the event, notably a trade ex-change between Vietnamese and Chinese electromechanical firms.A seminar on Vietnam's economic, trade and investment cooperation with three Chi-nese localities of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei is scheduled to be held on December 6, of-


BU

SIN

ES


fering opportunities for businesses of the two countries to exchange views and cooperate in various fields.A talk on infrastructure quality and construction of Asia's future, with the participa-tion of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, will be organised, among others.According to the organising board, 520 businesses showcased their products at the 2016 expo, which attracted 11,650 visitors.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-expo-2017-to-open-in-hcm-city/122576.vnp End


finance & business news 30 November · 2017-11-30 · Websites: finance & business news FINANCE...

Documents

Transcript of finance & business news 30 November · 2017-11-30 · Websites: finance & business news FINANCE...