Download - 080617Intellasia Finance Vietnam · Vietnam's exports to US reach 12.4 billion USD 11 Vietnam's tuna exports witness impressive growth 12 US FDA warns about hepatitis A in frozen

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Page 1: 080617Intellasia Finance Vietnam · Vietnam's exports to US reach 12.4 billion USD 11 Vietnam's tuna exports witness impressive growth 12 US FDA warns about hepatitis A in frozen

8 June 2017

finance & business news

FINANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Reference exchange rate up by 5 VND 1SBV wants to cut lending rates 2Banks getting more cautious about lending foreigners 2Changed taste boosts long-term G-bond trading 3VIAC encourages alternative dispute resolutions 3Life insurers 'test' a series of new sales channels 4Sacombank still faces troubles in senior personnel 5Should we pursue quantity or quality of GDP? 6Industrial growth should add value: CIEM 8Japan offers $1 billion ODA for Vietnam 9Vietnam M&A market hits $1.8 billion in Jan-May 9VN placed 6th in 2017 Global Retail Development Index 10Vietnam's exports to US reach 12.4 billion USD 11Vietnam's tuna exports witness impressive growth 12US FDA warns about hepatitis A in frozen tuna from Vietnam 12Vietnam's five-month tea export sees strong growth 13MARD seeks to increase livestock product exports 13Vietnam Customs tightens controls on car imports 14Automobile sales rebound in May 14Vietnam boosts institutional reforms to lure Japanese investment 15NA lukewarm to planned seafood protection and

development fund 16Shrimp, coffee, ginseng added to national products list 16Measures sought for sustainable pepper development 17PM orders stricter fines on food safety violations 17Pollution in HCM City a burden too heavy to shoulder 18Franchising remains a new concept in Vietnam 18Vietnam's aviation market attracts private firms 19Instant noodle market still has room for new rookies 20Privatisation no cure for healthcare ills: deputy PM 22Should FIEs provide outbound tours? Domestic travel firms say no 23High-tech, clean agriculture: investment trends for powerful

capitalists 23VN, US entrepreneurs, officials discuss trade 24Japanese firms shifting to consumer goods sector 25

VN, Czech firms see cooperation potential 27Gia Lai invites HCM City investors into agro-forestry sector 28Farm products main exports of Vietnamese firms in Dong Nai 29Ca Mau looks to develop shrimp sector 29

BIZ NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Business Briefs Jun 08, 2017 30Financial stocks boost the markets 30VN Index stays above 750 points 31Market surges nearly eight points 31Why have big firms still not listed their shares on foreign

bourses? 32IDICO to sell 45pct State capital to investors 33Cam Ranh Airport Services to sell 1.45m shares 33FLC Group to list on Singapore exchange 34Viet Ha to trade on UPCoM from Q3 34Can Tho cuts training deal with US city 34Investment inflows into Binh Dinh rise in five months 35Jica provides support to Hoa Lac Science and Technology City 35New international container route goes through Quang Ninh 36FLC plans roadshow in Singapore 36Japanese project hoped to help spur Vinh Phuc's development 37H&M to open first Vietnam store in HCM City 37Hai Phong Sakura Golf Club given green light 37Honeywell upbeat about Vietnamese growth 38Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas wins award 38GE Healthcare and partners extend BME training to South

Vietnam 39How will Saigon track down Facebook retailers to collect tax? 40Top 50 businesses to be announced 41Movement to rescue Dong Nai pig farmers begins to pay off 41Vietnam, US discuss ways to boost trade-investment ties 42Midterm VBF 2017 to open this month 42Industrial, manufacturing fair kicks off in Binh Duong 43Vietnam international arbitration centre holds dispute workshop 43Summer electronics fair and ICT expo opens today in HCM City 44

FINANCE

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FINANCEReference exchange rate up by 5 VND

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) set its reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,406 VND/USD on June 8, up 5 VND from the previous day.With the current +/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,072 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,730 VND per USD.In opening hours, the exchange rate at major commercial banks saw fluctuations.Vietcombank listed its buying rate at 22,665 VND and its selling rate at 22,735 VND, per USD, down 15 VND in both buying and selling rates as compared to those late on June 7.BIDV also kept its buying and selling rates at 22,665 VND and 22,735 VND, unchanged from the previous day.Vietinbank kept its buying and selling rates unchanged from a day ago at 22,660 VND and 22,730 VND per USD.

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SBV wants to cut lending rates

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| PLO

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on June 6th has released the monetary management results in the first half of 2017.Accordingly, the mobilisation and lending interest rate levels of credit institutions (CIs) were stable. In the context when inflation is forecasted to rise, demand for credit and government bond issuance continues to be high, and the disbursement process of investment capital remains low, CIs' interest rates are under the pressure to increase.SBV has focused on managing the solutions to stabilise interest rates through keeping rational liquidity regulation to support CIs keep interest rate stability, and further in-structing CIs to cut costs and enhance business efficiency to keep mobilisation interest rates stable and strive to lower lending rates.As a result, the market interest rates were stabilised, and some banks applied prefer-ential interest rates to some customers. The lending rates are currently ranging around 6-9 percent per annum on short terms and 9-11 percent per annum on medium and long terms. For good customers, short-term lending rates can be 4-5 percent per an-num.According to SBV, in the near future, the agency will continue to manage interest rates in line with macroeconomic developments, inflation and monetary market in order to stabilise interest rates. In addition, SBV will further instruct CIs to save costs and im-prove business efficiency to keep mobilisation rates stable and have conditions to re-duce lending rates, aiming to share difficulties with borrowers while ensuring financial security in operation.Furthermore, SBV will continue to instruct CIs to focus credit for priority sectors and effective production and business areas as directed by the government. The agency will further direct the implementation of specific programmes of the government for products such as rice, coffee, and fishery.

Banks getting more cautious about lending foreigners

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMBIZ

Commercial banks are more cautious when offering home loans to foreigners, accord-ing to a recent report of HCM City Securities Company (HSC). However, the company does not mention whether the policy is from commercial banks or management agen-cy.HSC supposes that the aforementioned reason only influences on the psychology of in-vestors in the market rather than on the real needs.The proportion of foreigners buying houses has not decreased significantly and for-eigners tend to be more involved in the luxury segment of the real estate market.As per HSC, most foreigners' home purchase transactions are made in cash. Therefore, to get a loan from banks, home purchasers who are foreigners will have to complete a lot of paperwork.Moreover, the tightened lending does not affect existing loans but new loans only. HSC also believes that this is a temporary move in the short term as commercial banks have recognised that supply has exceeded demand for high-end segment.Finding out more from project developers in high-end segment, HSC estimates that foreigners account for about 5-10 percent of the home purchase demand in this seg-ment.In fact, this number does not show the entire demand for home purchase of foreigners because there have not had any officially published data.Besides, many foreigners purchase houses but their Vietnamese wife/husband is the person named in the contract.The report also notes that there has had an oversupply in the high-end segment of the real estate market since Q3/2016 after a boom in 2015. Therefore, the aforementioned tightened lending focuses on high-end segment to cool down this segment.

Changed taste boosts long-term G-bond trading

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Trading of long-term government bonds (G-bonds) in the first five months of 2017 has seen improvements compared to 2016 due to changing tastes of institutional investors.

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The improvements include increasing bond maturity terms, the percentage of long-term bonds over total amount of bonds, which were successfully auctioned, is higher and all yield rates declined in comparison with 2016's figures.According to the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), investors have shown more interests in long-term G-bonds as the percentage of issued bonds, whose maturity is over 15 years, is equal to 45.8 per cent of the total amount of market's bonds.Since the beginning of 2017, the HNX has held 122 bond auctions, raising a total VND121 trillion (US$5.38 billion).Of the issued G-bonds, the percentage of 15-year bonds is 17.5 per cent, of 20-year bonds is 10.4 per cent, and of 30-year bonds is 17.9 per cent.After the first five months of 2016, the government raised a total VND167 trillion from bond issuance with five-year bonds attracting investors' interest, occupying nearly 70 per cent of total issued bonds.The average maturity of G-bonds in the first five months is 13.8 years, an increase of 5.53 years from 2016's number.One of the reasons for the rise of long-term G-bonds, according to HNX, is high interest of insurance-finance companies, which are keen on long-term maturity.There are three main factors for rising interests of insurance-finance companies in long-term G-bonds, local media reported.The first is the improvement of Vietnam's economic outlook in the eyes of foreign in-vestors with the US-based credit rating agency Fitch Ratings in May revising its out-look on Vietnam's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDR) to Positive from Stable and affirmed the ratings at "BB-".Foreign investors have shown more interest in Vietnam on its stable macroeconomic conditions, especially when the government takes inflation and foreign exchange rates into its major concerns.Inflation and foreign exchange rates are the two decisive elements that can determine the profits for foreign investors' G-bond investments as the two factors move opposite to the yield of G-bonds.Secondly, G-bonds have become a safe haven for both investment funds to keep their portfolios balanced and secure with the inclusion of both companies' stocks and other assets, especially when the number of investment funds in Vietnam is on the rise to grasp new opportunities on the local securities market, including the derivatives mar-ket that is expected to come into operation in June.Thirdly, the annual yield rates for 20-30 year G-bonds are now ranging between 7.6 per cent and 7.9 per cent, higher than the yearly Open Market Operations (OMO) interest rates, which stay around 5 per cent, offering better interests for investors.http://bizhub.vn/markets/changed-taste-boosts-long-term-g-bond-trading_286746.html

VIAC encourages alternative dispute resolutions

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

The Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) organised a workshop on Tues-day with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to promote the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods in the banking and finance sector.The conference, named 'Benefits and Challenges of Using ADR for Banking Disputes', focused on the principles, conditions and procedures of commercial mediation as an ADR method, as well as the conditions for establishment of mediation centres in Viet-nam and the implementation of Decree 22 on commercial mediation, which has been in effect since April 15, 2017.According to the decree, the settlement of disputes via trade reconciliation must en-sure the principle of voluntarism and equality in terms of rights and duties between parties to the disputes who participate in reconciliation, said Nguyen Thi Mai, deputy Head of the Justice Support Department.In recent years, global banks and financial institutions have considered many ADR methods like Meditation and Arbitration as an effective way to solve disagreements. According to Tran Huu Huynh, VIAC's Chair, this trend arose due to the need for a

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customised dispute resolution mechanism for the financial sector which must also en-sure efficiency and promptness.Truong Thanh Duc, Chair of the Legal Club Bank of the Vietnam Bank Association, agreed with Huynh, saying that on average, a financial or credit dispute takes the liti-gation court two to three years to reach a final ruling. An arbitration court should take only five to six months. And even at a normally higher legal fee, arbitration methods have proved more effective and specialised than the traditional court, particularly in cases involving foreign entities.Nina Mocheva, a World Bank Dispute Resolution Specialist, said at the conference that World Bank had been working closely with Vietnam and the VIAC since 2013, and that they are deeply impressed by the country's arbitration modernisation.However, Mocheva also raised her concern over the temporary lack of legal frame-work and practical application of ADR methods in Vietnam.In response to Mocheva's insight, Mai suggested a number of possible improvements, such as the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam taking responsibility in encouraging firms and organisations working in the financial dispute resolution field to popularise ADR methods, and the Ministry of Justice proactively completing an absolute and uni-form trade dispute resolution legal framework. She was also in favour of involved par-ties solving disputes through negotiation and appeasement before taking matters to court. Similar to arbitration, commercial mediation is only applicable when concerned parties have entered a mediation agreement before or after the dispute has arisen, or at any point during the dispute resolution process.The conference included two discussion panels in which representatives from com-mercial banks, credit organisations and legal firms discussed the future of ADR meth-ods in Vietnam with the speakers.Michael Hwang, member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, proposed a compre-hensive approach to ADR, with trade mediation support from both the Vietnamese government and courts.Hwang recommended ADR methods in commercial arbitration on the ground of both parties being able to employ lawyers of choice, which proves effective for both finan-cial institutions and financial service users.At the conference, VIAC's deputy Secretary general Phan Trong Dat also introduced a model arbitration clause reserved for the banking and credit sectors, divided into two categories for credit contracts and contracts of guarantee in order to cover all credit ac-tivities.http://bizhub.vn/news/viac-encourages-alternative-dispute-resolutions_286711.html

Life insurers 'test' a series of new sales channels

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK

Although life insurance market is still exciting when agent, bancassurance channels continue to be expanded, many insurers have worried about the future by working with "strange" partners to establish distribution channel for new insurance products.In order to carry out the strategy of expanding market expansion and seeking new po-tential customers, generali Vietnam has recently signed a cooperation agreement with Cen Group JSC (Cen Group) to distribute insurance products.As per the representative of generali Vietnam, with this cooperation, the company will utilise experience and strengths of generali Group to provide superior insurance solu-tions to customers in Cen Group's system.In the life insurance market, the cooperation between generali Vietnam and Cen Group marks the first time an insurance company "shakes hands" with a real estate business.However, for generali Vietnam alone, this is not the first time this business "paves the way" in establishing new relationships.Earlier, this company signed cooperation agreement with CMG.ASIA, a healthcare business, with the purpose of not only creating added values to customers but also es-tablishing another distribution channel for insurance products.As per generali Vietnam's representative, unlike the traditional partnership model i.e.

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bancassurance, the cooperation between generali Vietnam and Cen Group or CMG.ASIA is a relatively new form of cooperation in Vietnam market.These partners have a consistent customer base and a suitable network of sales staff to sell insurance."When developing distribution cooperation models to distribute insurance products like this, generali Vietnam determines to carry out step-by-step because new models need time to approach customers", said the representative.Among life insurance sales channels in Vietnam now, agents are still the main channel, which often brings about 90 percent of the new premiums to insurance companies. Be-sides, bancassurance has had certain growth when contributing about 10 percent of the new premium revenue.For bancassurance, insurers not only cooperate with traditional banks but also expand to digital banks such as SunLife Vietnam's collaboration with Timo Bank.Apart from these models, some insurance companies have also made connections with some brokerage channels but have not really been successful so far.Many industry experts say that in the near future, premium revenue from bancassur-ance may increase to 15-16 percent of the total new premium revenue. Insurance agents, in spite of being the major channel to bring about revenue, the proportion of contribution to the new premium revenue will gradually decrease."Some insurance companies are developing new distribution channels but they only expect to quickly have a new source of premium revenue", said an expert.Data from the Insurance Management and Supervision Department show that in Q1/2017, the life insurance market continued to grow well, with the total new insurance premiums estimated at 4.283 trillion dong, up more than 28 percent year-on-year.The total life insurance revenue is estimated at 12.252 trillion dong, up nearly 30 per-cent. The number of valid contracts (main contract) are about 6,633,414 units, up 15.06 percent.As per industry experts, the growth of the market is creating good conditions for in-surance companies to carry out business and market expansion plans, especially insur-ers with small market share.For example, right from the beginning of 2017, Sun Life Vietnam has continued to open offices, business and customer service centres nation-wide. Specifically, Sun Life Viet-nam has opened two business and customer service centres in HCM City and Da Nang, eight business and customer service centres in the Middle, the North and the Mekong Delta under the new model.In Prevoir Vietnam, after signing a 15-year exclusive contract with NCB, the bank has launched its first mixed insurance product in its life insurance product series sold through NCB."Bancassurance will be an important development strategy of Prevoir Vietnam", said the insurer's representative.

Sacombank still faces troubles in senior personnel

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE

In two recent years, bankers and investors have witnessed troubles in the continuous personnel change of two banks including Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) and Saigon Thuong Tin Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Sacom-bank).Senior personnel of banks may be the bosses, or just employees but they are the "brains" of the bank with optimum power. Therefore, candidates for positions in the management board can be considered to struggle for this ultimate power.Like Eximbank which has not successfully organised the annual general meeting as major shareholders compete for the "hot" positions, currently the situation in Sacom-bank is also similarly "hot" as it has not been able to finalise the candidates in the man-agement board for 2017-2021 term.Earlier, a series of candidates wanted to "jump" into Sacombank, including the return of Dang Van Thanh, former Chair of Sacombank with the sugarcane empire of Thanh Thanh Cong (currently a collection of more than 20 member units operating in five

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main areas including sugarcane, real estate, tourism, energy, education, agricultural products); or Novaland group that specialises in investment and real estate develop-ment, has the chartered capital of nearly six trillion dong and total assets of 23.558 tril-lion dong (as per Novaland's financial statement in Q1/2017).Why is the banking business so difficult but many large investors still want to involve in? There are too many advantages for being bankers, thereby, they can expand to oth-er areas through backyard companies.However, banking business is currently not "just to have money" because for manage-ment agency "money in the wallet must be held tightly".Therefore, the list of candidates to Sacombank's Board of directors must be very care-fully selected.As per the Law on credit organisations, the list of senior personnel must be submitted to the State Bank for its approval before submitting to the annual general meeting.Therefore, after many rumours on the market, Sacombank (on April 26) announced the list of candidates participating in the management board and the control board in 2017-2021.Surprisingly, candidates come from LienVietPostBank Nguyen Duc Huong, former Standing vice President and from Lien Viet Securities JSC Nguyen Thi Bich Hong, CEO.Recently, on June 5, Sacombank suddenly announced that Nguyen Duc Huong and Nguyen Thi Bich Hong withdrew.Meanwhile, in LienVietPostBank, Chair of the Board of Duong Cong Minh resigns from the post of Board Chair, and Nguyen Duc Huong returns to replace him.On the other hand, the restructuring scheme of Sacombank has just been approved on May 22, 2017 and right afterwards was the senior personnel change in LienVietPost-Bank, and investors can surmise it is related to Sacombank.Investors and shareholders are waiting till June 30, 2017 when Sacombank officially or-ganises the annual general meeting to know for sure the high-level personnel of this bank.

Should we pursue quantity or quality of GDP?

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| NHIP CAU DAU TU

Increasing staffing, raising salary, building entrance gates or even corruption can in-crease GDP. Besides, investing in infrastructure in a wasteful way or growing by in-creasing oil production and exploiting natural resources only brings about unpredictable risks.Whether Vietnam can achieve the GDP growth of 6.7 percent in 2017 is not only a hot issue in the National Assembly meeting but also a big public concern. The GDP growth in Q1/2017 was lower than the same period of 2016 (5.1 percent compared to 5.48 per-cent). Therefore, to achieve the expected economic growth rate, the remaining quarters must achieve an average growth rate of more than seven percent.This is relatively difficult, especially when looking at macroeconomic indicators in Q1/2017. Accordingly, the industrial production index (IIP) rose 4.1 percent (compared to 7.4 percent in 2016). Notably, the quarterly GDP growth, which is mainly driven by the mining and construction industries, saw the negative growth of 10 percent for mining industry in Q1/2017 as oil production fell 14.9 percent and coal production declined 5.6 percent from 2016. Meanwhile, the growth of the construction industry was also slow-er than the same period last year (6.1 percent compared to 9.9 percent).At the opening of the third session of the 14th National Assembly, the increase in crude oil production to achieve the growth target was discussed, just as Vietnam has done in many recent years. Specifically, it will exploit another one million tonnes of oil and one billion cubic meters of gas, thereby reaching 13.28 million tonnes of oil and 10.6 billion m3 of gas to contribute about 0.25 percent to the GDP growth this year.However, as per many experts, the caution and cautiousness of members of the Na-tional Assembly at this time not only reflect the worry about the unsustainable growth but also because Vietnam do not have much resources left. The question about Viet-nam's actual GDP growth is, therefore, posed with quite a bit of harsh arguments.

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It has long been calculated that as the total added value of economic sectors increases, GDP will rise. This, in turn, means the salary raise will certainly improve GDP. Para-doxically, even if Vietnam goes against set targets such as increasing staffing, rampant investment without considering effectiveness, not controlling corruption, real estate bubble, etc., it also expands GDP.Considering GDP as the only indicator of the economy, the aforementioned absurdity is not the only shortcoming. The regular spending to bring up a "giant" apparatus, the rampant investment in works still cause GDP to swell in the immediate future. Along with that, the resources of the economy are reduced; the inevitable consequences are to borrow and debt increases. Such an economy will at some points be at risk.Back to the familiar proposal that is to exploit oil for growth, the entire products ex-ploited, after deducting costs, will be supplemented to the added value to increase GDP. However, the fact is that Vietnam must pay part of this added value to the Rus-sian partner with the ratio of 5:5 or even 3:7 because in many mines, Vietnam's shares only account for 30 percent. Is that to trade off environment for virtual growth?Similarly, regarding Samsung's contribution (a turnover of $40 billion, making up 22.7 percent of the country's exports in 2016), the GDP does not reflect the income of foreign experts working at Samsung (much higher than the average income of Vietnamese la-bourers). In other words, the profits can be brought by Samsung to its home country or reinvested in some other countries, not Vietnam, but are still included in Vietnam's GDP. The aforementioned reality not only exists in Samsung but in almost all FDI busi-nesses operating in Vietnam, which means a considerable amount of resources are wrongly added by Vietnam.Dr Bui Trinh, an executive of the general Statistical Office (GSO) points to a worth pon-dering reality in Vietnam's approach to this issue. " The next indicator that should be considered is GNI = GDP + obtained ownership paid ownership, which clearly shows that Vietnam really benefits from economic activities. There is GNI in the data of the GSO but not many look at it", said Trinh.Dr Bui Trinh also pointed out the implications if the economy is measured by GDP on-ly. First, referring to the public debt, as per the Financial Newsletter No. 4 in 2016 (Min-istry of Finance), within six years only (2010-2015), Vietnam's public debt tripled. At the end of 2015, regarding the absolute figure, Vietnam's outstanding public debt in-creased to 2.608 trillion dong. Regarding the relative figure, the public debt/GDP was 62.2 percent, quite close to the National Assembly's control threshold at 65 percent. At the same time, Vietnam's GDP growth rate were 6.42 percent (2010), 6.24 percent (2011), 5.25 percent (2012), 5.42 percent (2013), 5.98 percent (2014) and 6.68 percent (2015).In the context of many years of industrialisation and modernisation, Vietnam economy is still fully outsourcing without creating a significant product. So, where does the growth rate of approximately six percent/year comes from? And with such increase in public debt and the resource exploitation as in the past years, does that mean we have sold resources and borrow, sell cheap labour and redistribute in the society to create the recorded growth rate?Another question, is the GDP growth real when businesses are facing more difficul-ties? Calculations of the coefficient of elasticity of output relative to labour and capital from the intersectoral balance sheet during 2007-2012 show that if the output was the gross value added net (GVAN) at the base price, the coefficient of elasticity of labour-ers rose from 64 percent in 2007 to 78 percent in 2012, assuming that the ratio of income remained constant in scale, then the coefficient of elasticity of capital decreased from 36 percent to 22 percent. This suggests that in 2011-2014, there needed to have a greater amount of capital to create an increase in the total net added value. In addition, that also means the annual salary increase is approximately 10 percent (compared to 14.5 percent in 2016) but the labour productivity does not increase, making the structure in the added value to be increasingly distorted, and resources to be increasingly de-creased.It is more abnormal when comparing to Vietnam' Incremental Capital-Output Ratio

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(ICOR) in 2011-2015, which is 4.57 as per the calculation of a State research institute. If so, why do we still have to borrow more in the following year compared to the previ-ous one, why there are too many businesses going bankrupt? As per Bui Trinh, at this point, the transparency and accuracy in data are very important for policy makers to put forward appropriate policies. If there is still the illusion in the GDP achievement without having timely adjustments about objectives and investment ways, the pros-pect of a hollow economy in which Vietnamese people only work as outsourcers for foreign businesses will no longer merely a warning.

Industrial growth should add value: CIEM

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Vietnam's industrial sector growth has slowed in recent years (from 14.3 per cent in 2006-10 to 10 per cent in 2011-15) despite its production value rising 3.5 times in the past decade. Low labour productivity, compared to other countries in the region, has also been an issue. Nguyen Thi Tue Anh, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, spoke to local media about the current state of the sector and what needs to be done about it.What is your assessment of the shortcomings in Vietnam's industrial sector?Obviously, the sector's growth has slowed, and its productivity and added value as-pects have not impressed either.It should be noted that although processing and manufacturing industries account for a large portion of the industry in general, they have the lowest labour productivity. Where it is high, like in electricity generation, its portion in the industry's total added value is small.We should also note that the industry's growth in the past few years has heavily de-pended on labour and capital, and its contribution to technological development is still low.The government should, therefore, increase the technology component as the sector is restructured over the next four years (2017-20) period. This could help increase labour productivity as well as competitiveness.The added-value factor is mentioned often. What can be done to improve the situation in this regard?The industrial sector has expanded in term of scale, but its added value has been low because the main focus has been on processing and assembly.Over the last few years, the electronics sector has shown a strong growth rate and con-tributed much to the national economy, but its added value has been low despite large scale exports. This is because most of the sector's inputs are imported. So the activity that happens in Vietnam is still processing and assembly, which delivers low added value.But we should continue to grow as it is still possible to expand the scale of operations. I think that the industry should continue to expand production, but it has to deeply join into the global production chain.If the industrial sector has to import a large amount of inputs, what is the direction for the support industry?The government should concentrate on developing support industries for specific sec-tors and fields. For example, Vietnam should only invest in support industries for large-scale sectors like electronics because of its relatively large market size. The sector has sufficient conditions to develop to the next stage. What is lacking is the capacity of domestic enterprises.Samsung has requested Vietnamese firms to become its component suppliers. Since Samsung produces the final products, they need intermediate products, which they have to source through imports or get them produced in the country. Although Viet-nam cannot provide all the products needed, it should develop the ability to supply some parts or components to the standards required by SamSung.For this the government should support local companies by facilitating training and developing standards so that businesses are able to meet set requirements.The government should also urge Samsung enter into commitments with domestic

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component suppliers and increase their localisation rate.http://bizhub.vn/business-insight/industrial-growth-should-add-value-ciem_286748.html

Japan offers $1 billion ODA for Vietnam

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced an official development assistance (ODA) package worth 100.3 billion yen, or nearly $1 billion, in fiscal year 2016 for Vi-etnam during his talks with Vietnam's prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on June 6.The funding will go to four projects, including maritime safety, water management in Ben Tre Province, drainage and wastewater treatment in Bien Hoa City (first phase) and Hoa Lac hi-tech park infrastructure development (second phase).Both sides also announced three non-refundable aid projects in the fields of natural disaster mitigation and manpower training.Representatives from the two countries exchanged cooperation notes in various sec-tors such as labour, health, culture and technology. The two sides also inked deals to cooperate in expressway, port infrastructure and tourism projects in Vietnam while improving economic and trade relations.Speaking to reporters after their talks, the two leaders underlined the need to augment cooperation in security, defense, UN peacekeeping, the settlement of war consequenc-es, investment, trade, high-tech, and labour.Japan highly values Vietnam's rising role and position in the region and the world, and attaches importance to its ties with the Southeast Asian country, said PM Abe.He said he would ask Japanese businesses, research institutes and schools to boost co-operation with Vietnam in a bid to further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.PM Abe also affirmed his support for Vietnam to successfully host the Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting in Danang City in November this year.Meanwhile, PM Phuc reiterated Vietnam always regards Japan as a top and long-term partner, underlining the special importance of Vietnam's strategic economic ties with the Northeast Asian country.They concurred to organise the fourth high-level dialogue on agriculture in 2017 and boost the export of Vietnam's litchi and longan to Japan and Japan's orange to Viet-nam.Both sides also discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern and pledge to tighten cooperation in multilateral forums like Asean, Asem, Apec and the UN.They highlighted the importance of ensuring peace, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea and promoting the settlement of disputes by peaceful means and international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).The two sides released a joint communique on deepening the strategic partnership be-tween Vietnam and Japan.Earlier, PM Phuc and his wife visited Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. He said the Vietnamese government and people give priority to cooperative relations with Japan and invited members of the Japanese Imperial Family to visit Vi-etnam on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2018.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54365/Japan-offers-US$1 billion-ODA-for-Viet-nam.html

Vietnam M&A market hits $1.8 billion in Jan-May

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

Capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors via mergers and acquisi-tions (M&A) deals amounted to around $1.8 billion in the first five months of the year, up a whopping 116.2 percent compared to the same period last year.Foreign investors engaged in 2,061 M&A transactions in the period, according to the For-eign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Foreign inves-tors via M&A deals have now entered various sectors, including production and services.

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For example, Thailand's Siam Cement Group acquired the entire stake worth $156 mil-lion in a cement manufacturer, Vietnam Construction Materials JSC, in the central province of Quang Binh, while South Korean food firm CJ CheilJedang Corporation raised its controlling stake to 71.6 percent in the former Cau Tre Export Processing JSC late last year.In regard to the real estate sector, Singapore's Keppel Land Limited through its subsid-iary Krystal Investments Pte Ltd clinched a deal with the Southern Waterborne Trans-port Corporation (Sowatco) to acquire an additional 16 percent stake worth VND845.9 billion in the Saigon Centre property in downtown HCM City.M&A deals in the real estate market could hit a record high this year as many investors are sounding out opportunities to pour billions of dollars in budget and mid-end apartments, offices, hotels and industrial parks, according to property services provid-er Jones Lang LaSalle Vietnam.The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) says many investors consider M&A deals as the most effective way to penetrate the Vietnamese market and expand their business as well. This investment trend is expected to continue next year.The growth of M&A deals is thanks to the 2014 Investment Law that clarifies some pre-viously ambiguous regulations, according to analysts.Specifically, foreign investors have no need to go through investment procedures if they choose investment capital contributions and share purchases.Notably, Decree No. 60/2015/ND-CP allows investors to increase their ownership at many listed and public companies from 49 percent to 100 percent, except for those ac-tive in conditional business sectors.Besides, they have seen more opportunities emerging, especially the government's ef-fort to equitise State-owned enterprises to divest State stakes from non-core business operations.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54371/-Vietnam-MA-market-hits-US$18 billion-in-Jan-May.html

VN placed 6th in 2017 Global Retail Development Index

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Vietnam has jumped five spots to the sixth place in the 2017 Global Retail Develop-ment Index (GRDI), released by the United States' management consulting firm A.T. Kearney on Monday.This is the highest ranking the country has ever gained in the A.T. Kearney's Global Retail Development Index.The A.T. Kearney's 2017 GRDI names India as the top developing country for retail in-vestment, followed by China, Malaysia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.According to A.T. Kearney, Vietnam is moving ahead and is emerging as an important market for retail expansion with its liberalised investment laws."Vietnam's moment seems to have finally arrived. The economy is growing (estimated 6.6 per cent growth in 2017) and is shifting towards more privately-owned businesses and higher value export," A.T. Kearney said in its newest edition of the Global Retail Development Index.With favourable government policies, urbanisation, a growing middle class, and a rel-atively young population, foreign retailers have reasons to be positive about the coun-try, it added."The government has allowed 100 per cent ownership by foreign retailers since 2015, and favourable policy continues to usher them in, as evidenced by the 12.5 per cent growth in foreign investment in 2016. A recently concluded free trade agreement with the European Union is expected to further boost investments in Vietnam."According to A.T. Kearney, convenience stores and mini-marts are the fastest-growing segment. Circle K and FamilyMart entered the market in 2009 and are expanding ag-gressively. FamilyMart plans to have more than 800 franchised stores by 2020. 7-Elev-en plans to open its first Vietnamese store next week as planned in a franchise agreement with Seven System Vietnam; a total of 1,000 stores are planned in the com-ing decade.

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Lotte Mart plans to open 60 stores by 2020. Emart, South Korea's leading retailer, launched a $60 million shopping centre in HCM City. Japanese retailer Takashimaya plans to open a 15,000-square-metre store at Saigon Centre in HCM City, its first store in Vietnam.A.T. Kearney said that e-commerce is growing for Vietnam, with sales expected to grow 22 per cent to account for 1.2 per cent of the total retail by the end of 2017.Steep online discounts and promotions are driving sales, but they are also forcing firms to shut down. In the past two years, Beyeu, Deca, and Lingohave all closed after protracted struggles. Still, new entrants and investors are making bets on the fast-growing market. Vietnam-based VNG Corporation reportedly invested about $17 mil-lion for a 38 per cent stake in e-commerce platform Tiki.The 2017 Global Retail Development Index, now in its 16th edition, ranks the top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide.The index analyses 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables. The study is unique in that it not only identifies the markets that are most attractive today, but also those that offer potential.http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-placed-6th-in-2017-global-retail-development-index_286732.html

Vietnam's exports to US reach 12.4 billion USD

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Vietnam's total shipment to the US in the first four months of the year rose 8.7 percent year-on-year to 12.4 billion USD, according to the general Department of Vietnam Cus-toms.Vietnam's key exports to the American nation included aquatic products, garments, footwear, wood and wooden products, computers, electronics, spare parts and farm produce.However, shipments of such products will taper off as Vietnam is facing myriads of free trade barriers, experts said at a conference held in HCM City on June 7.They stressed that Vietnamese enterprises also face difficulties in enhancing domestic production capacity and have no comprehensive access to food safety and hygiene regulations as well as current procedures to enter US market.Analysing new daunting challenges for Vietnamese exporters, vice President of Reg-istrar Corp David Lennarz said that Vietnamese enterprises need to have representa-tives in the US or the designated party.According to the US law, all of the foreign firms exporting food and beverages for peo-ple and animals into the US market must re-register every two years. This included registering their manufacturing facilities and representatives in the US so that they could be issued with a new valid business code. This task needed to be completed be-fore the shipment arrives in the US.However, since 2017 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has changed the method of verification for issuing new business codes and established further regula-tions. After being designated by the manufacturing facilities and registered with the FDA, the firms' representatives in the US must send a letter or document to the FDA confirming their authorisation to represent a Vietnamese manufacturing facility in the US.If the FDA does not receive the letter or document, the re-registration is considered in-complete and the business code will be cancelled.From the end of 2016 to the beginning of 2017, number of Vietnamese businesses hav-ing registration with the FDA for exports to the US fell 45 percent. This was due to the fact that Vietnamese businesses have no representatives in the US or the representa-tives do not send verification to the FDA.Shipments by Vietnamese firms that are unaware that their FDA business codes have been revoked will be refused entry to the port.Vietnam currently ranks 16th among the US' leading trade partners. Bilateral trade grows 20 percent annually and Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus with the US in the past 10 years.

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Vietnam's tuna exports witness impressive growth

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Vietnam's tuna export turnover reached 216 million USD in the first five months of 2017, a year-on-year rise of 20 percent.The strong growth was recorded in canned tuna products (35 percent) and frozen tuna (11 percent), reported the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).Vietnam is exporting tuna to 79 countries and territories across the globe, with the US and EU being traditional major markets.Despite the impressive growth, tuna exports are encountering some difficulties in raw materials and import duties in some key markets.Therefore, VASEP has proposed the directorate of Fisheries under the Ministry of Ag-riculture and Rural Development develop fishing that uses purse seines.It suggested the directorate of Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural De-velopment work with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to soon reach an agreement with the EU on the specific quota for tuna exports to the market.VASEP also requested the MoIT consider reducing tariffs on tuna exports to Japan to zero percent like Thailand and the Philippines to improve the competitiveness of Viet-namese products.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-tuna-exports-witness-impressive-growth/112953.vnp

US FDA warns about hepatitis A in frozen tuna from Vietnam

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to consumers in three states about hepatitis A found in certain frozen tuna products originating from a proc-essor located in Vietnam.On May 1, the Hawaii Department of Health originally notified the US Food and Drug Administration that one or more frozen ahi tuna cube samples from PT Deho Canning Co., imported by Hilo Fish Company in Hilo, Hawaii, tested positive for hepatitis A.Then, in mid-May, Hilo Fish began recalling additional frozen tuna steaks and frozen yellowfin tuna cubs from Sustainable Seafood Company in Vietnam and Santa Cruz Seafood, Inc. in the Philippines, over concerns about hepatitis A."The initially recalled product has been removed from circulation and the newly re-called frozen tuna lots were not shipped to Hawaii, but were shipped to the mainland US," the FDA said in a notice."While the Centers for Disease Control is not currently aware of any illnesses linked to these products, it is advising post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for unvaccinated per-sons who may have consumed the potentially-contaminated tuna within the past two weeks," the FDA said.The frozen tuna was shipped to restaurants and retailers in Texas, Oklahoma and Cal-ifornia. The restaurants in California that received the possibly tainted food include Galaxy Foods Inc. in Rancho Palos Verdes, Doubletree in Claremont, Poke Shack in San Francisco, and Bonito Poke in San Francisco.FDA said it is working with Hilo and other distributors to ensure they remove the po-tentially contaminated product from the market.Sustainable Seafood Company is in district of Cam Lam in Khanh Hoa Province and specialises in processing and exporting fish: fresh and frozen tuna (yellow fin & big eye), barramundi, mahi mahi and opakapaka.http://english.vov.vn/economy/us-fda-warns-about-hepatitis-a-in-frozen-tuna-from-vietnam-351140.vov

Vietnam's five-month tea export sees strong growth

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Vietnam exported 48,000 tonnes of tea in the first five months of this year, raking in 73 million USD, representing year-on-year increases of 14.3 percent in volume and 12.4 percent in value.In May alone, export volume was estimated at 10,000 tonnes with turnover of 17 mil-lion USD, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

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However, the tea price for export in the last five months decreased 3.8 percent com-pared to the same period last year, to 1,452 USD per tonne on average.India was the top consumption market of Vietnamese tea in the period, with export volume to the market increasing 11.6 times year-on-year.It was followed by Poland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan (China) and Rus-sia, with respective rises of 93.6 percent, 77.5 percent, 44.3 percent and 17.5 percent.However, exports to Pakistan, the biggest market of Vietnam's tea with 25.5 percent of the market share, decreased by 1.4 percent in volume and 6.3 percent in value com-pared to the same period last year.The Vietnam Tea Association (VITAS) predicted that the country's export volume in 2017 will increase by about 10 percent from 2016.Vietnam exports tea to 110 countries and territories worldwide, with the Vietnamese tea brand registered for protection in 70 countries and regions.Vietnam's key tea export markets are Afghanistan, Indonesia, Russia, Pakistan, Tai-wan (China), the US, China, the UK and the UAE.Vietnam mainly exports black tea, accounting for about 78 percent of total tea exports.According to Nguyen Huu Tai, President of the VITAS, Vietnam has great potential to expand production of "Shan Tuyet" tea, which is hoped to become a key tea product for export soon.Vietnam is the world's seventh largest tea producer and among the top five tea export-ers. However, the country ships mainly material tea and low-value tea products.Experts said Vietnam should look to export high-value tea products instead, adding that the State needs to change management institutions to support tea producers and exporters.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-fivemonth-tea-export-sees-strong-growth/112915.vnp

MARD seeks to increase livestock product exports

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Measures to boost the export of livestock products were discussed at a workshop held in Hanoi on June 7 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).Dam Xuan Thanh, deputy director of the MARD's Department of Animal Health re-vealed that Vietnam exported about 11,000 tonnes of pork for 100 million USD in 2016. The figures for the first five months of 2017 were approximately 10,600 tonnes and 46 million USD.Six slaughterhouses have exported pork to Hong Kong (China) and two others have shipped products to Malaysia.Only two companies, Koyu & Unitek Co. Ltd and CP Vietnam Co. Ltd have registered for the export of processed chicken products to Japan.Pham Van Dong, director of the Department of Animal Health, said closed supply chains from farms to slaughterhouses are needed to ensure food safety and fulfill re-quirements from imported countries.In the long term, the establishment of disease-free areas for pig and poultry breeding is necessary to increase exports, he added.Nguyen Duc Hoang, Chair of Thang Loi Co. Ltd, said the State should build disease-free areas as businesses do not have enough resources.Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam suggested local companies invest in modern production lines and cold storage facilities to produce processed products for export.The MARD will propose the government provide credits for businesses to expand ex-port markets, he noted.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/mard-seeks-to-increase-livestock-product-exports/112948.vnp

Vietnam Customs tightens controls on car imports

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

The general Department of Vietnam Customs has asked provincial customs agencies to strengthen checks on completely-built-up (CBU) auto imports from Asean countries

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and India to prevent any attempts to falsify certificates of origin by traders to enjoy low tariffs.Local customs agencies are urged to take measures to verify the origin of CBU units subject to preferential tax rates under Vietnam's free trade agreements with these aforesaid nations in line with the prevailing regulations.If local customs officers suspect the validity of certificates of origin (C/O) and customs documents, they must send reports, together with relevant documents, to the general Department of Customs for verification.While waiting for official replies, these imported autos will not be subject to preferen-tial tax rates, but Most Favoured Nation (MFN) duties instead.Vietnam imported around 33,400 CBU autos in January-April, a 15.6 percent rise com-pared to the same period last year. Notably, the country spent $219 million purchasing 12,000 autos from Thailand, up 19.9 percent and 18.7 percent respectively, according to customs data.Besides, auto imports from Indonesia totalled around 6,000 units worth $102 million, rocketing 5.3 times in volume and 7.6 times in value against the year-ago period. Meanwhile, imports from India reached around 5,000 units worth $22 million, almost unchanged from the year-ago period.The number of auto shipments from Thailand and Indonesia is forecast to be on the steep rise in the near future, as the import duty on CBU units originating from the Asean will be slashed to zero next year from the current 30 percent under the tariff re-duction roadmap of the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement, say market watchers.The requirement is that CBU units must meet the localisation rate of at least 40 percent. However, some importers have shown signs of committing trade fraud by providing inaccurate or fake C/Os.In an effort to protect the interests of auto manufacturers and assemblers, deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung earlier asked the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to strengthen controls on the origin and taxable value of imported CBU cars.Notably, the deputy prime minister also demanded relevant agencies make a study about the possibility of applying trade safeguard measures, as car imports have surged sharply, threatening domestic production.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54374/Vietnam-Customs-tightens-controls-on-car-imports.html

Automobile sales rebound in May

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

As many as 23,232 cars were sold in May, up 6 percent from the previous month, ac-cording to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association on June 7.During the month, sales of tourist cars rose 20 percent to 12,915 units while sales of commercial vehicles fell 6 percent to 9,005 units and specialised vehicles plummeted 22 percent to 1,312 units.While domestically assembled cars saw a rise of only 1 percent in sales to 16,656 vehi-cles, imported car sales shot up 20 percent from the previous month to 6,576 units.The increase was attributed to big discounts offered from renowned carmakers like Hyundai Thanh Cong, Truong Hai JSC (Thaco) Toyota, Honda, and Nissan Vietnam.Thaco led the market with total sale of 8,263 units, accounting for 37.9 percent of the market share. It was followed by Toyota Vietnam with 5,151 units, making up 23.9 per-cent; and Ford Vietnam with 2,451 units, or 11 percent.In the first five months of 2017, total automobile revenue dropped 1 percent year-on-year. The sales of tourist cars climbed 6 percent while those of commercial and special-ised vehicles fell 9 percent and 19 percent, respectively.While the domestically assembled vehicles decreased by 7 percent in sales, the import-ed cars surged 16 percent year-on-year.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/automobile-sales-rebound-in-may/112955.vnp

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Vietnam boosts institutional reforms to lure Japanese investment

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Vietnam will push ahead with institutional and legal reforms and increase its transpar-ency in line with international practices to attract Japanese investment in the near fu-ture, said deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong in a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency.The move is expected to help Vietnam promote its advantages of a dynamic growing economy, a potential consumption market, a strategic manufacturing location, and an important link in the global value chain, he said.Implementing the policy of active international economic integration, Vietnam has signed 12 new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) and is undertaking negotia-tions to ink other important deals in the time ahead, he added.This creates favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Japan, to carry out major projects in Vietnam, especially in the fields of their strength such as high technology and infrastructure.Vietnam has continuously worked with Japan via special dialogue channels to address difficulties and seek solutions to improve the business environment and increase bilat-eral investment cooperation, he said.Such dialogue mechanisms as Vietnam-Japan common initiative; policy dialogue of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Vietnam-Keidanren economic dialogue; and policy dialogue between Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ja-pan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) are being effectively carried out and hailed by the Japanese business community, he noted.A number of margin activities have been held on the occasion of prime minister Nguy-en Xuan Phuc's official visit to Japan to attend the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia from June 4-8 to promote trade and investment between the two coun-tries, he said.The PM talked with representatives from Japanese big companies and had dialogues with Keidanren and entrepreneurs in Kansai region, he added.From which, it could be said that the PM's ongoing visit to Japan has received special attention from Japanese businesses, he said, hoping that the flow of Japanese invest-ment will strongly increase in the near future to live up to the expectations of the two countries' leaders and people as well as their cooperation potential.Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic ties in 1973. Since then the bilateral cooper-ation has been incessantly increased across trade, investment and development coop-eration.Japan is currently the biggest supplier of official development assistance (ODA) for Vi-etnam, making up about 30 percent of total ODA committed to the Southeast Asian country.At present, Japan provides about 200 billion JPY (1.8 billion USD) of ODA for Vietnam annually, focusing on fields to promote economic growth and increase global compet-itive edge; improve social affairs; protect the environment; and enhance administra-tive management capacity.Japan is running over 3,400 investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered cap-ital of nearly 44 billion USD. In the first five months of 2017, Japanese businesses poured nearly 2 billion USD in Vietnam. The figure is expected increase in the time to come.Japan is the fourth biggest trade partner of Vietnam after the US, the EU, and China.Two-way trade increased to 30 billion USD in 2016 from 16.7 billion USD in 2010.Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed to establishing some key in-dustrial sectors in Vietnam such as telecommunication, oil and gas mining and processing, electronics, and information technology.According to a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in 2016, up to 60 percent of Japanese businesses revealed their plan to expand invest-ment in Vietnam.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-boosts-institutional-reforms-to-lure-japanese-in-vestment/112929.vnp

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NA lukewarm to planned seafood protection and development fund

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

The government on June 6 proposed establishing a seafood protection and develop-ment fund under State management in the draft of the amended Fishery Law submit-ted to the National Assembly (NA), but the scheme failed to secure NA support.Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the fund would be under State management, but would not be financed by the State budget.Its budget will come from individuals and organisations active in seafood production and trade. Besides, compensation for environmental pollution that has direct impacts on seafood production and illegal seafood exploitation will be contributed to the fund.Cuong referred to a survey on seafood protection and development projects in Binh Thuan and Thua Thien-Hue provinces conducted in May 2016, saying 100 percent of local officials who manage seafood production support the establishment of provincial seafood protection and development funds.The minister said such funds would help effectively handle environmental incidents like the pollution caused last year by Formosa on the central coast. The fund will com-pensate for damage due to environmental pollution, and carry out projects that pro-mote and restructure seafood production.However, the head of the Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, Phan Xuan Dung, said there should be a community-based fund instead of a governmental financial fund.Firstly, the 2003 Fishery Law already allowed for establishing a fund for seafood reha-bilitation but such a fund has not come into existence.Secondly, those funds will require more staff in the State machinery at a time when the government is trying to cut staff.In addition, the draft law makes no mention of specific financial sources for the fund. Vinh said some localities have already had community funds for seafood production but due to the lack of money, those funds have not operated effectively.Earlier, the prime minister had issued Instruction 22/CT-TTg dated August 27, 2015 to suspend ineffective outside budget governmental financial funds, while there is no ground to ascertain the efficiency of the new fund.Therefore, the establishment of a fund for seafood protection and development should be carefully reviewed, he said.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54367/-NA-lukewarm-to-planned-seafood-protec-tion-and-development-fund.html

Shrimp, coffee, ginseng added to national products list

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision on Monday to add three more products brackish water shrimp, high-quality coffee and ginseng to the list of national products.Now, these three products will receive support under the National Product Develop-ment Programme by 2020. Brackish water shrimp includes tiger prawn and white-leg shrimp.The PM has asked the concerned ministries to join hands with local authorities and propose incentive policies for each of these products.Vietnam aims to earn $10 billion from shrimp exports by 2025 and $5-6 billion by 2030 from coffee exports.Recently, the government approved a national project worth VND9 trillion ($395 mil-lion) to develop farming and brand for Ngoc Linh ginseng by 2030.Approved in 2010, the goal of the National Product Development Programme by 2020 is to develop specific products under the Made-in-Vietnam brand that have high com-petitiveness and will benefit the country, and to promote technology upgradation for their production.In 2012, the PM had approved a list of national products, which included six official products and three reserve products. Products on this list get incentives in term of credit, taxes, land use, trade promotion and market expansion.

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Measures sought for sustainable pepper development

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Measures to develop the pepper sector sustainably were discussed at a forum jointly held by the National Agricultural Extension Centre (NAEC) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Nong on June 7.Speaking at the event, NAEC Acting director Tran Van Khoi said that pepper is a key export staple of Vietnam. Last year, the country shipped abroad 177,000 tonnes of pep-per, earning 1.42 billion USD. Vietnam's pepper products have been exported to 95 na-tions and territories, accounting for 40 percent of the world's market share.However, Khoi noted, the sector is facing three major matters that need to be handled: a rapid increase in pepper growing areas, unsustainable cultivation with weaknesses in terms of technology and varieties, and food safety and hygiene.According to vice Chair of the provincial Dak Nong People's Committee Truong Thanh Tung, the rapid increase of pepper planting areas is resulting in negative im-pacts which farmers have to suffer, including diseases and a decline in pepper price.The price of pepper currently stands at around 75,000 VND per kilogram, equal to only 40 percent of the figure in the same period last year.Therefore, pepper farmers are easily facing bankruptcy or debts as they have to invest from 350-500 million VND (15,400-22,025 USD) in one hectare.Therefore, Tung proposed ministries and centrally-run agencies closely control pep-per cultivation to produce clean products with stable quality, and enhance connection between major pepper production provinces in terms of planning, production, processing to consumption.Dr Nguyen Nhu Hien from the Cultivation Department stressed the need for provinc-es to boost trade promotion, especially in major and choosy markets such as the US, EU, and Japan.At the forum, experts shared results of several studies on preventing several diseases, as well as measures to reduce impacts of drought on pepper trees amid climate change.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/measures-sought-for-sustainable-pepper-development/112957.vnp

PM orders stricter fines on food safety violations

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered food management agencies to height-en focus on food safety management following a National Assembly (NA) debate on Monday.He requested that agencies to collaborate with the National Steering Committee 389 against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting goods to tackle false, inaccurate in-formation that has negative impacts on food production and shatters citizens' belief in food safety.He assigned the Ministry of Health to be in charge and collaborate with other minis-tries to review the implementation of food safety law and regulations within this year, as well as submitting a proposal to increase administrative sanctions on food safety vi-olations in November 2017 at the latest.The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for developing pol-icies and regulations to promote high-tech agricultural production, organic agricultur-al production and large-scale food processing chains, as well as controlling the use of plant protection chemicals, veterinary drugs, fertilisers and animal feeds in agro-for-estry-fishery production.The Ministry of Industry and Trade is requested to carry out drastic measures to pre-vent and combat counterfeiting and poor quality goods, directing the implementation of solutions to control food quality at markets and supermarkets, promoting strong brands that provide safe food and identifying enterprises and products that violate food safety regulations.The People's Committees at all levels are requested to strictly carry out regulations on food safety management in their areas and make food safety an annual target for socio-economic development.The NA on Monday spent the whole day discussing measures to ensure food safety,

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as a report released by the NA Steering Committee showed violations have remained a grave issue over the past years despite prevention efforts from authorised agencies.Although more than 678,000 out 3.35 million food producing and trading facilities/ea-teries across the country were found to commit violations in 2011-16, only some 136,000 of them or roughly 20 per cent were tackled by the authorities, according to the report.http://www.vir.com.vn/pm-orders-stricter-fines-on-food-safety-violations.html

Pollution in HCM City a burden too heavy to shoulder

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

Pollution in HCM City remains an unbearable burden as the infrastructure system in the city trails far behind the socio-economic development demand, shows a report pre-pared by the municipal government as input for the People's Council meeting next week.The city is suffering from numerous pollution-causing sources, including wastewater, industrial and household solid waste, and emissions from industrial facilities and ve-hicles, according to the report. The People's Council at its next meeting on May 11 will focus its discussions on solutions to fight pollution.The city is endowed with a diverse network of canals and ditches that should make the landscape and environment more agreeable, but such a network is also victimised by uncontrolled discharge of household and industrial wastewater, let alone a huge amount of garbage littered on the water.The total amount of wastewater discharged in the city is 1.75 million cubic meters a day, but the current treatment facilities in the city are capable of treating only 13.2 per-cent of this volume of wastewater. Therefore, household waste is still a main culprit polluting the city's canal network.Air and noise pollution in the city is also a big challenge. More than eight million ve-hicles, most of them motorcycles, are causing air and noise pollution but there are no effective measures addressing the problem. In addition, hundreds of industrial facto-ries and construction sites are aggravating air and noise pollution in the city.Monitoring data show that dust and noise parameters at measuring stations, especially at 12 major intersections, are all far higher than permissible levels.Regarding solid waste, the total amount discharged a day in the city includes 8,300 tonnes of household waste, between 1,500 and 2,000 tonnes of industrial waste, and 22 tonnes of medical waste. This amount for the most part is simply buried.In addition, city dwellers discharge some eight tonnes of solid waste in public places or into canals a day. The city government currently spends VND2,200 to VND2,400 bil-lion a year to collect and treat solid waste.The HCM City government in its report admits that pollution in the city has not been properly controlled, while environmental protection and waste management have not been well integrated in the socio-economic development master plan.To gradually cope with the situation, the municipal government is calling on investors to join forces with the city in fighting pollution, especially in collecting and treating wastewater.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54368/-Pollution-in-HCM City-a-burden-too-heavy-to-shoulder.html

Franchising remains a new concept in Vietnam

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV

Franchising has become a popular business model around the world. Due to global in-tegration, it has now reached Vietnam. But franchising is still a novel idea to most Vi-etnamese businesspeople, particularly developing a franchise strong enough to compete globally.Some 200 brands have been franchised in Vietnam over the past decade. Vietnam is forecast to grow rapidly in the franchising field. Following the world economic crisis that broke in 2009, many businesses in North America, Europe, and Australia have sought out new markets in places like Vietnam. Leading global brands in fast food, ho-tels, restaurants, cosmetics, and clothing have penetrated Vietnam, a market of more

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than 90 million people, through franchising.Although franchising is a well-established business model, the franchising sector is still fledgling in Vietnam, according to economist Ngo Hiep.Hiep said "The "Made in Vietnam" brand perhaps is a start in the struggle to gain mar-ket share. The struggle in a number of areas will become fiercer and fiercer. Many do-mestic companies see the opportunity here and are determined to increase their competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions."Some Vietnamese businesses have already used franchising to expand their presence abroad. For instance, in the beverage sector, Highlands Coffee of the Trung Nguyen Group has built an impressive network of 1,200 franchise shops at home and abroad.The Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup, the Truong Hai Automobile Company, and the dairy giant Vinamilk were among Vietnamese businesses honored with a Vietnamese Excellent Brand Award in 2016. These companies have found a way to compete with foreign ri-vals.Nguyen Phi Van, a franchising expert, said that in the next three years more interna-tional brands are expected to enter Vietnam. This will give domestic companies more opportunities to learn franchising technology and franchising personnel strategies, and develop a workable legal framework for franchising.Nguyen Khac Trinh, with the Phuong Linh Fans and Blowers Company, one of the top 160 Vietnamese brands, said "In the current international integration, having a strong brand is important.To have a strong brand, you need innovative thinking and technology. We have learned that the quicker we can acquire technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolu-tion, the more opportunities we'll have. One of our top priorities is to acquire state-of-the-art machines and equipment to improve product quality, cut production costs, and meet the requirements of customers and partners."http://english.vov.vn/economy/franchising-remains-a-new-concept-in-vietnam-351109.vov

Vietnam's aviation market attracts private firms

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

The domestic aviation market is expected to see changes in 2018 with the participation of new and big private investors, experts said.The demand is still more than the supply in the market, thus there is a need to attract more investors. Statistics show that the rate of Vietnamese people travelling by air is lower in comparison with other countries in the world and the region. The rate in-creased from 0.5 percent in 2012 to 0.8 percent in 2016.Experts told Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourer) Newspaper that of the current seven air-lines operating in Vietnam, only four belonged to the country. Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air are leading the market by holding more than 40 percent of market shares each. The participation of new airlines could help increase the competitiveness in the market, thus benefiting the people, experts said.Picking on the trend, private companies have been rushing to establish their own air-lines.On May 31, giant property FLC Group announced the establishment of the Viet Bam-boo Airlines Ltd Co., laying the foundation for the formation of an airline under the name of Bamboo Airways. The airlines with charter capital of 700 billion VND (31.2 million USD) would be eligible for operating 10 aircraft.According to Dang Tat Thang, director general of Viet Bamboo Airlines Ltd Co., FLC is finalising its project on the airline with the aim of launching it by the end of 2018.Thang said Bamboo Airways would take a different path from its domestic counter-parts, elaborating that it would focus on direct services connecting international mar-kets with emerging tourist destinations in Vietnam, instead of major urban areas where the aviation infrastructure is already overloaded.He added that priority would be given to localities where FLC has built major tourist complexes, including Quang Ninh and Hai Phong in the north, Thanh Hoa and Quy

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Nhon (Binh Dinh province) in the central region, and Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa prov-ince) and Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province) in the south.Thang said Bamboo Airways would be a "hybrid" airline, which would blend low-cost traits with those of traditional or full-service carriers.Currently, 21 airports are operating across the country, but the two major facilities in Hanoi (Noi Bai International Airport) and HCM City (Tan Son Nhat International Air-port) alone account for 75 percent of the total passenger output. Meanwhile, many air-ports in localities with great tourism potential are operating under capacity.The operation orientation of Viet Bamboo Airways is expected to help better exploit the existing aviation infrastructure while avoiding overloaded airports, the company said.The establishment of Viet Bamboo Airlines means that the market has three airlines waiting for either licence or adjustment in their licence to expand their operation scale, including Hai Au, Viet Bamboo Airlines and Vietstar Air.Vo Huy Cuong, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), said the authority had not received an application from FLC and Hai Au. Vietstar Airlines, with charter capital of 800 billion VND, had not been given licences for its operation, as it was waiting for Tan Son Nhat's expansion, despite having announced the flight plan since the beginning of last year.Hai Au's representative told the newspaper that it had implemented the necessary le-gal procedures to adjust its operation scale from seaplane to a joint airline with inter-national flights. It was expected that Hai Au would officially submit application to the CAAV in the next two months to become operational in 2018."Our flying plan does not relate to adjustment of Tan Son Nhat's expansion, so the time for granting licence will not be extended," the representative said, adding that their flight network would focus on international flights from Hanoi and Da Nang to South-east Asian and Asian countries.Meanwhile, Vietstar Air still expected to become operational in 2018 by reducing its scale by a half.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-aviation-market-attracts-private-firms/112970.vnp

Instant noodle market still has room for new rookies

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THOI BAO KINH DOANH

Marketing director of Vina Acecook Kagoshima Shigeto said that the negative infor-mation about instant noodles such as malnutrition, toxic substances, carcinogenicity, or the need to put instant noodles through boiling water two or three times before cooking, etc. are the shocks for instant noodle firms.* The leaders change tacticsThe consumption decline has caused the instant noodle market, which is already sat-urated, to become fiercer. Vietnam currently has more than 50 businesses operating in this area. Vina Acecook, Masan Consumer and Asian Foods are the three market lead-ers, accounting for approximately 70 percent of the market share.Despite holding about 50 percent market share, Acecook is currently facing numerous difficulties. Its revenue continuously dropped from 10 trillion dong in 2013 to nine tril-lion dong in 2014, 2015, and levelled off in 2016.The profit from instant noodle business of Masan in 2016 also fell sharply. Compared to 2015, Masan recorded 1 percent loss in market share (24 percent remaining), and revenue decline of 11 percent, reaching 3.7 trillion dong.The pressure to compete has forced market leaders to change their strategy to win and keep market share. Since cheap price is no longer a factor in market segmentation, in-stant noodle firms are shifting to quality.Chair of Masan's Board of directors Nguyen Dang Quang shared that the price race is no longer effective as competition is increasingly high. Thus, Masan is promoting in-vestment in more advanced products.In 2016, Masan launched the line of instant bag noodles and cup noodles with vegeta-bles and meat, priced at about 8,000-15,000 dong per bag/cup. The typical product is

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Cung Dinh cup noodles with a positioning for luxury segment with price of about 15,000 dong per cup.Acecook also increased high-grade noodles with vegetables and meat, while increas-ing the number of instant products from rice such as instant rice noodles and vermi-celli (accounting for about 25-32 percent).Meanwhile, Asia Foods introduced VIP Gau Do and Shangha cup noodles; Vifon of-fered Ngon-Ngon, with oats supplemented; Nissin Foods launched Cup Noodles product; and Colusa Miliket launched cup noodles and bowl noodles with price rang-ing from 6,000 to 7,000 dong per product, etc.Junichi Kajiwara general director of Acecook Vietnam confirmed that the shift to high-end products is an indispensable trend as people now have higher income and require higher quality and nutrition value. In fact, in many shops in Hochiminh city, instant cup noodles are selling better than bag noodles.After setting a peak of selling 5.2 billion bags in 2013, the instant noodle consumption in Vietnam continuously declined to five billion bags in 2014, 5.8 billion bags in 2015, and 4.9 billion bags in 2016.* Chances for newcomers Although the competition is hot and the remaining room in the market is shrinking, according to experts, the instant noodle market of Vietnam is still very potential. If having wise strategy, new rookies still have the opportunities to boost.The growth of newcomer Uniben Foods with "mi 3 Mien" (Gold) brand is an evident. In 2014, Uniben only accounted for 17.7 percent market for instant noodles in rural ar-eas, far behind from the 30.3 percent of Acecook and 27.3 percent of Masan. However, after two years with bold strategies, in 2016, Uniben took over the second position of Masan in rural market which accounts for 80 percent of the instant noodle consump-tion. Prior to Uniben, Masan was actually a newcomer. However, with smart strategies, Masan made very fast strides to capture market share. Two typical products that helped Masan's rise are Omachi potato noodles in high-end segment and Kokomi in the popular segment.Although chances still exist, if there are no reasonable steps, even the giant firms with strong financial capacity can fail.For example, the revenue from instant noodles of Kido in 2016 only accounted for about 3 percent of its total revenue. Kido was even forced to withdraw the Dai Gia Dinh instant noodle brand name from the market due to poor business results. A veteran in instant noodle market Colusa Miliket, which used to be the king of the market with 90 percent market share in Vietnam in 1990s, is currently struggling with just about 3-4 percent market share. Its revenue has continuously fallen from 2010. In 2016, it recorded a revenue of 458 billion dong (4 percent decline compared to 2015) and pre-tax profit of 25 billion dong (39 percent decline compared to 2015).With the advantage of owning a large and stable source of cash of up to 122.3 billion dong (over 60 percent of assets), Colusa Miliket is still able to maintain its influence and look for opportunities to rebound. However, if not quickly have long-term strate-gies, it will gradually lose market because standing still is a bad option when the mar-ket is opened.According to experts, the media is currently the sharpest weapon in the war for market share of instant noodle firms. Marketing representative of Uniben once shared that ad-vertising accounted for up to 60 percent marketing and sales costs of the company and this spending must increase over the time if the company aims to gain market share.Marketing expert Hoang Tung said that the more competitive the market, the more the companies cling to media channel in order to approach customers. It requires firms to be more professional in product and marketing strategies in order to sustain.

Privatisation no cure for healthcare ills: deputy PM

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Deputy prime minister Vu Duc Dam has conceded that while the government keeps stressing the importance of grassroots healthcare stations, people don't have much

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faith in them.The candid concession came during a working session the deputy PM held with the HCM City People's Committee on local healthcare last week.However, Dam also stressed that privatisation of healthcare facilities in the country was not the answer.While he was in HCM City, the deputy PM Dam visited two ward-level healthcare sta-tions in the city and found major disparities between them.One of them, in Ward 11, District 13 was outfitted with latest equipment and capable staff, but the other, in Ward 16, District 4 had outdated equipment and infrastructure.Officials attributed the 'stark' difference to the fact that the former was a good example of the public-private partnership (PPP) model, while the latter was almost solely de-pendent on State Budget allocations.The clinic in Ward 11 also functioned both as a traditional health station and a general medicine facility.Vo Khac Thai, Chair of the District 3 People's Committee, said that out of 20 private firms that they'd contacted, VietAnhMed Co. specialising in manufacturing and trad-ing medical equipment was the only company that had agreed to invest in this "diffi-cult market."The company said it was willing to accept losses for the first few years and begin to earn profits in 10 years, Thai said.Nguyen Thanh Long, deputy minister of Health, said 50 per cent of the 12,000 health-care stations in the country had to be upgraded or rebuilt.He said that the lack of public confidence in these healthcare stations had driven most patients to central-level hospitals in major cities, causing constant overload.This fact also discouraged businesses from investing in such stations, he said. He praised the involvement of private sector in healthcare and said it should be encour-aged.The deputy PM, however, urged caution, saying international health advisors were against the privatisation of healthcare in Vietnam."The goal of the private sector, understandably, is profit. If the public health facilities are privatised, social welfare beneficiaries might not receive due attention," Dam add-ed."If we want to push the cooperation between public and private sector, then it must be based on a non-profit spirit," he said.He explained that the non-profit approach he advocated did not mean doing every-thing for free, but using profits to reinvest and expand.Responding to concerns about privatisation, Phan Quoc Viet, VietAnhMed's repre-sentative, said his company's profits will go towards upgrading equipment and infra-structure upgrades, capacity building for staff, and expanding into a 'chain' of health stations in other districts in HCM City."The public must benefit from the PPP model. They should be able to receive better services at an affordable price. The money made from people with more financial means will be used for reinvestment," Dam said.Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the municipal Department of Health, there are 319 health stations at the ward and commune levels in the city.Despite considerable efforts by city authorities, these health stations have not met ex-pectations in delivering quality primary healthcare.This prompted the city to carry out on a pilot basis the PPP (Public Private Partnership) healthcare model, he added.The aim is to improve grassroots level healthcare and alleviate pressure for centrally administered hospitals, he said.Bnh said the city would conduct a thorough examination of the effectiveness of the pi-lot model after a certain period to see if it was a "right way forward" for the health sec-tor.http://www.vir.com.vn/privatisation-no-cure-for-healthcare-ills-deputy-pm.html

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Should FIEs provide outbound tours? Domestic travel firms say no

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VIETNAMNET

Some travel firms have expressed disappointment about the latest draft version of the amended Tourism Law, which removes the regulation on allowing foreign-invested enterprises to organise outbound tours.The current Tourism Law does not allow FIEs to provide the services. A hope arose among foreign travel firms when the previous draft version said FIEs would be able to organise tours for people to travel abroad."The holding company in Japan wants to organise tours for Vietnamese travellers. The fifth draft version released last year still mentioned this. But it has been removed in the latest version. We really are disappointed about the decision," deputy director of a joint venture said.Many joint ventures, especially ones between Vietnam and Asian partners, have been organising tours abroad. However, they have been doing this by dodging the laws. Vi-etnamese sell tours, while foreign partners organise tours and provide services.The companies don't provide regular outbound tours, but they organise specific tours designed to travellers' orders."There is a high demand in the market. We have a network in foreign countries to pro-vide high-quality tours. It would be better to allow us to organise tours of this kind," he said.Whether to allow foreign travel firms to organise outbound tours remains an issue of discussion. The intention of allowing travel firms to provide this kind of service has faced strong opposition from domestic firms, which say this is contrary to the interna-tional practice.Meanwhile, analysts warn that the regulation, if issued, will make it difficult for Viet-namese travel firms, especially small ones, to compete with global conglomerates.Vu The Binh, deputy chair of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said the draft regula-tion on allowing foreign travel firms to provide outbound tours has been removed from the last draft version which has been submitted to the National Assembly, be-cause this is contrary to Vietnam's WTO commitments.Under the commitments, foreign invested firms are not allowed to provide outbound and domestic tours."Some companies opposed the draft regulation on allowing foreign firms to join the outbound market, saying there was no need to create a competition which would cre-ate difficulties for Vietnamese firms," he said.Binh thinks that it would not create big changes in the market or put pressure on Viet-namese firms. It would only create more opportunities and give more choices to Viet-namese travellers.Joint venture travel firms were allowed to organise outbound tours in 2009.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179701/should-fies-provide-outbound-tours--domestic-travel-firms-say-no.html

High-tech, clean agriculture: investment trends for powerful capitalists

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VIETNAMNET

Injecting money into agricultural production has become popular among large con-glomerates with powerful financial capability. Most of them are targeting organic ag-riculture projects.Of the VND4 trillion worth of investments in high-tech agriculture, Vingroup has poured VND300 billion into VinEco Ha Nam in accordance with a closed model, from seedlings, production and harvesting to preservation and processing under advanced technologies from Israel, the Netherlands and Japan.Vinamilk, the nation's leading dairy producer, having realised high demand for organ-ic products, has decided to spend VND200 billion to develop a European standard milk cow farm in Lam Dong province.According to Vinamilk's CEO Mai Kieu Lien, Vinamilk had to spend many years to find land area suited to farming milk cows in natural conditions.It was more costly to develop an organic milk cow farm than a normal farm. It is ex-pected that the milk output will be lower, while the number of workers required will

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be higher and the farm area larger.NutiFood, a nutrient food manufacturer, has become the strategic partner of Phuoc An Coffee Company in Dak Lak province, moving ahead with the plan to make clean cof-fee for export.Vinamit, a dried fruit manufacturer, has also decided to set foot in the organic foot sec-tor. Vinamit's CEO Nguyen Lam Vien said the company wants to invest in organic ag-riculture as consumers are buying more products with natural origin.Vinamit wants to prove that its products are organic products so they can sell them in foreign markets.In the last few years, many kinds of Vietnamese food products have been refused by import countries because of the high pesticide residue.Meanwhile, the demand for clean food in the domestic market is very high.Thai Huong, president of TH Group, also dreams of exporting organic fruits and me-dicinal herbs to the world market. It produces dairy products, and also grows clean fruits and vegetables.$132 million has been poured by the group into the project on organic fruits and veg-etables in Thai Binh and Lam Dong provinces.Meanwhile, VND2.830 trillion has been poured into TH Herbals which now grows five kinds medicinal herbs.Organic agriculture projects are highly promising. Vinamit's Vien said one kilo of or-ganice rice can be sold for three times higher than the price for normal rice.Pham Minh Thien, director of Co May, said one kilo of clean mushrooms can be sold for VND140,000.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179690/high-tech--clean-agriculture--in-vestment-trends-for-powerful-capitalists.html

VN, US entrepreneurs, officials discuss trade

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

There is huge opportunity for Vietnam and the US to further boost investment and trade ties in many sectors, a seminar heard in HCM City on Wednesday.Tran Dinh Thien, general director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, told "Meet the USA" that the US is among Vietnam's largest trading partners and investors.Bilateral trade increased from $1 billion 17 years ago to more than $46 billion last year.The US ranks ninth among 119 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with in-vestments of around $12 billion, but the amount is modest compared to the potential, he said.Deputy minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc said during the US visit by prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the two sides pledged to promote economic ties.The two economies are complementary rather than competing, and so cooperation would result in a win-win situation, he said.Nguyen Thanh Phong, chair of the HCM City People's Committee, said, "Vietnam, particularly HCM City, wants advanced technologies in manufacturing, environment and services from the US."Smart city development, environment, agriculture, and clean energy are among the sectors in Vietnam offering great incentives to investors, he said.Nguyen Thien Nhan, the city Party Secretary, Vietnam wants to cooperate with the US in the fourth industrial revolution.Vietnam is currently in the third, he said.US firms can utilise the low labour costs in Vietnam of just $3 per hour compared to $30 in the US he said.Many Korean and Japanese businesses have seen this advantage and invested in Viet-nam, Nhan said."Investment by South Korean firms now is five time that of US firms," he said.Fred Burke, managing partner of Baker & McKenzie Vietnam, said even without the TPP investment and trade between the US and Vietnam would continue to increase.Vietnam has done a lot of good things to make its investment environment better, and its robust implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement would reduce its

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trade costs, making the country competitive as an investment, he said."Those are the key drivers for increasing trade and investment with Vietnam, and US companies are watching that very closely."Ted Osius, the US's ambassador to Vietnam, said US businesses want to bring innova-tive technologies to Vietnam, and to do this they need to develop effective partner-ships with provincial governments and leaders.US companies need confidence and security with respect to their investments here, he said.This means a level playing field, especially in terms of property rights, and rules of competitions that are clear and well informed, he said."US companies also need a platform of modern services and infrastructure which al-low them to connect their global trade networks," he said.Jonathan Moreno, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam HCM City, said a lot of US companies do not come to Vietnam because they worry about transparency, predictability, and infrastructure.So building a system of trade that is modern, predictable, and transparent where US companies do not have to worry about corruption is needed, he said.The supporting industry supply chain is not developed here yet, he saidAgriculture, technology and healthcare (medical devices) are among the sectors with great business opportunities now, he added.Cao Duc Phat, member of the Central Committee and standing vice chair of the Central Economic Committee Commission, said Vietnam would pursue a consistent policy of economic reform and international integration, creating favourable conditions for for-eign companies, including those from the US, to do business and invest.Vietnam has signed 11 free trade agreements, and so US companies can also take ad-vantage of them when investing in Vietnam, he said.Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the US consulate general and AmCham Vietnam, the seminar a sideline event of Apec 2017 attracted about 350 delegates, in-cluding government officials, local leaders, and Vietnamese and US business execu-tives.http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-us-entrepreneurs-officials-discuss-trade_286747.html

Japanese firms shifting to consumer goods sector

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV5

While Japanese investments in Vietnam's manufacturing sector have experienced a slow-down, Japanese firms have shifted their focus to consumer goods, services, and real estate, driven by the growing purchasing power of the Vietnamese population.Japanese-invested Sakura Vietnam, operator of the convenience store chain of the same name, opened its ninth store in Hanoi in late May after having achieved encour-aging results in previous years."Since we opened our first store in the capital in January 2015, we have seen an increase of 40 per cent in the number of customers on year. For example, around 500 to 1,000 customers shop every day at our store in Thai Ha street. We also have been developing franchises in other cities and provinces," a member of Sakura's marketing staff told VIR.Sakura is just one of many Japanese firms that have expanded to and within Vietnam's consumer goods and service sectors in recent years. Other big names are Aeon, Family Mart, Tokyo Deli, Gyu-Kaku, Osaka Ohsho, and Daiso.Aeon, a leading Japanese retailer, entered Vietnam in early 2014 and currently has four shopping malls, with a fifth already under construction. The company's goal is to have 20 malls operating across Vietnam by 2020.Aeon is not only focusing on investing in large-scale trade centres, however. The cor-poration is also cooperating with Vietnam's leading supermarket operators namely, Citimart and Fivimart to grow its footprint in the lucrative local retail market, while partnering with Japan's Sojitz Corporation to develop the Ministop brand of conven-ience stores."Direct investment capital from Japan in 2016 was $2.1 billion, a 17.7 per cent increase

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from 2015. In the last three years, Japanese investments have focused on the consumer goods, services, and real estate sectors, reflecting the growth of Vietnamese purchas-ing power," Takimoto Koji, chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organisa-tion's (Jetro) HCM City Office, told VIR.Japan is the only foreign country whose businesses operate in three retail channels in Vietnam supermarkets, trade centres, and convenience stores with the number of convenience stores growing strongly and expected to reach 1,000 in 2017.This trend is reflected in Jetro's latest annual survey on the business activities of Japan-affiliated companies in Asia and Oceania in 2016. According to the survey, the number of Japanese-invested projects in the hotel, food, and beverage industries were double that of the previous year, while distribution and retail rose by 19.2 per centIn terms of pledged capital, $74 million worth of Japanese investment in distribution and retail were licensed during the year, up 10.45 per cent on-year.Significant changes in manufacturingAccording to Naoki Takeuchi, director of Jetro's Hanoi Office, Japanese investment in Vietnam used to focus mainly on manufacturing, but there have been changes recent-ly."Japanese investments in large-scale manufacturing seem to have reached a peak, and the stability of the cheap Yen has led to smaller investment scales for most projects," he explained.According to Jetro's survey, in recent years, the number of new Japanese-invested projects in the non-manufacturing sectors has accounted for 70-80 per cent, with the majority being small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Japanese firms tended to increase their investments in small projects worth less than $5 million, accounting for 90 per cent of the total number.The trend has caused a decrease in Japan's newly-registered capital, and the number of new projects in Vietnam's manufacturing industry in 2016 by 28.2 and 27.5 per cent, respectively."Big manufacturers like Honda, Panasonic, Yamaha, and Canon are now in stable lead-ership positions. Currently, SMEs come to Vietnam to supply spare parts for them," Hiroshi Karashima, chair of the Japan Business Association in Vietnam (JBAV), told VIR. Meanwhile, some are still expanding in Vietnam to cash in on the growing local demand, with Nipro and Daikin being examples.Nipro Pharma Vietnam Co., Ltd was established in 2012 and is fully invested by Nipro Pharma Corporation, which is the biggest pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Japan. The firm is expanding to southern Vietnam with new projects, while it is still running a factory in the northern port city of Hai Phong."In the future, we plan to expand our facility to manufacture products with more var-iation," said Ken-ichiro Kuninobu, manager of Nipro Pharma Corporation's Business Development Division.The air conditioner giant Daikin is constructing a $100 million project in the northern province of Hung Yen, and will put it into operation in 2018 with a capacity of 500,000 units per year.Panasonic plans to add more lines at its Malaysian and Vietnamese plants, with costs expected to amount to around JPY 1 billion ($8.98 million).Power and real estate remain appealingAccording to JBAV's Karashima, many Japanese companies are interested in the con-struction of apartments and shopping centres to bring Japanese quality to Vietnam amid the rising demand.One of the very first and most outstanding investors in the real estate sector coming from Japan is Tokyu, which is developing the $1.2 billion Tokyu Garden project in the southern province of Binh Duong, 30 kilometres from HCM City.Mitsubishi Group joined the market in 2016, setting up a joint venture with domestic firm Bitexco to develop the Manor Central Park complex in Hanoi. Other big names investing in real estate are Creed Group, Kajima, Daibiru Group, and Global Group.Seeing the potential, Karashima, who is also CEO of Sumitomo Corporation Vietnam,

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said that his group is also studying opportunities to invest in real estate, particularly in HCM City and Hanoi.Power generation is another magnet for Japanese investors due to Vietnam's increas-ing demand, driven by its economic growth. Mitsubishi and Sumitomo are among the key Japanese players in the Vietnamese power market. Many Japanese firms are also in negotiations to get licences for the three significant thermal power plants: Nghi Son II, Vung Ang II, and Van Phong I.Future bright for bilateral tiesJapanese investors are employing the "China Plus One" strategy, which means when labour and other production costs in China are rising, investors look for additional lo-cations to diversify their production base. The northern region of Vietnam is especially attractive for this strategy, since manufactures can establish a supply chain between Guangzhou and Hanoi.With increased revenue and growth prospects, 66 per cent of Japanese firms stated a willingness to increase their business operations in Vietnam in 2016, up from 63.9 per cent in 2015. This rate was higher than that for the Philippines (54.4 per cent), Indone-sia (51.6 per cent), Thailand (50.1 per cent), Malaysia (44.1 per cent), and China (40.1 per cent), according to the Jetro survey."To facilitate Japanese investments, the governments of Vietnam and Japan are coop-erating to develop two specialised industrial parks with many special incentives in Hai Phong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau," said Nguyen Noi, deputy director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI) Foreign Investment Agency.Vietnam is encouraging Japanese investors to focus their projects in six key areas un-der the Vietnam-Japan industrialisation development cooperation framework, includ-ing agro-fishery processing, electronics, automobiles and auto parts, agricultural machinery, environmental protection and energy conservation, and shipbuilding."We also call on Japanese investments in the form of public private partnerships (PPP) and mergers and acquisitions in state-owned enterprises, while focusing on building policies to encourage Japanese SMEs to invest in the supporting industries as well as clean, high-tech agriculture," Noi said.Vietnamese and Japanese firms are also looking for more business opportunities from prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's upcoming visit to Japan, when a record number of cooperation deals are expected to be signed.According to MPI, Japan is now Vietnam's second largest foreign investor, and the country's third biggest trade partner. As of May 20, 2017, Japan ranked second among 119 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with an accumulated registered capital of $43.4 billion in over 3,400 projects.http://www.vir.com.vn/japanese-firms-shifting-to-consumer-goods-sector.html

VN, Czech firms see cooperation potential

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Though business ties between Vietnam and the Czech Republic have seen dynamic de-velopment, there remains great potential to develop trade and investment ties between the two nations.Deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue made the statement during his speech at the Vietnam-Czech business forum held yesterday in Hanoi. The event was also attended by Czech President Milos Zeman."Bilateral trade has enjoyed stable growth in recent years, hitting nearly $250 million in 2016. By the end of last year, the Czech Republic was running 36 investment projects in Vietnam worth about $100 million, while Vietnam was directing four projects in the Czech Republic valued at more than $5 million," Hue said"This is very encouraging, yet, frankly speaking, it is still low compared to the poten-tial and needs of our two countries," he added.The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement coming into force in 2018 was hoped to open new opportunities in cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union and be-tween the country and the Czech Republic, Hue said.He added that the 65,000 strong Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic con-

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tribute greatly to economic ties between the two countries. Thanks to support from the Czech government, the Vietnamese community resides in almost all parts of the coun-try and is increasingly integrated into the Czech society."We hope that the Vietnamese community will continue to bring the Vietnam-Czech relationship to new heights," Hue said."Vietnam could be a gateway for Czech enterprises to enter Asean markets, and the Czech Republic could be an important partner helping Vietnamese commodities enter the EU," said Doan Duy Khuong, vice chair of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.He encouraged both nations' enterprises to study each other's specific demands and business customs in order to devise export strategies.During his speech, Jaroslav Hanak, President of the Czech Confederation of Industry underlined the economic, trading and investment cooperation between the two na-tions, particularly in energy, manufacturing, infrastructure, chemistry, environmental protection and information and communication technology.However, the full potential of relations has yet to be realised, he said. "Bilateral trade is dominated by exports from Vietnam, while other means of cooperation that could benefit both countries have been neglected."The forum also saw the signing of six cooperation agreements between Czech and Vi-etnamese companies.Hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Czech Confederation of Industry and the Czech Embassy in Vietnam, the forum brought together Vietnam-ese firms and nearly 60 Czech enterprises operating in the fields of energy, ICT, phar-maceuticals, water resource management, tourism and services.http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-czech-firms-see-cooperation-potential_286712.html

Gia Lai invites HCM City investors into agro-forestry sector

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai expects HCM City enterprises will invest in fields where the province is strong, especially in vegetable, fruit and cow farming, said Bui Khac Quang, director of Gia Lai's Department of Industry and Trade.At a meeting in HCM City on June 6 between the Departments of Industry and Trade of the two localities, Quang said that Gia Lai wants to cooperate with HCM City enter-prises to produce safe vegetables, fruits and beef. Investors from HCM City are also advised to invest in manufacturing, retail and tourism.Gia Lai will zone 1,000 hectares in An Khe, Phu Thien, Azun Pa and Kpang districts to produce some 50,000 tonnes of safe vegetables by 2025. In addition, 10,000 hectares of land will be used for growing fruit trees such as avocado, mango, passion fruit and ba-nana. These kinds of fruit hold high potential as they can be used to make fruit juices supplied to the HCM City market.The province also plans to develop dairy farms with more than 950,000 cows including nearly 300,000 high-quality ones and produce beef output of nearly 135,000 tonnes a year. A wholesale market specialising in beef trade will be built soon.Capable enterprises are also advised to invest in commercial centers or supermarkets in the province to meet the demand of local people. The provincial authorities will fa-cilitate investment by readying large areas of land and other priority policies.Gia Lai has advantages in exporting agricultural products. The province has nearly 100,500 hectares under rubber cultivation with annual output of 97,500 tonnes, and coffee output of nearly 200,000 tonnes a year on 93,500 hectares. In addition, the prov-ince produces nearly 50,000 tonnes each of pepper and cashew a year from 15,700 hec-tares of pepper and nearly 17,300 hectares of cashew.At the meeting, the two localities agreed to promote supply chains of agricultural products from production, processing, preservation to consumption.The two sides also signed a cooperation agreement on industry and trade develop-ment in 2017-2020. Accordingly, the two sides will carry out market stabilisation pro-grammes, share market information, promote commercial development, support the participation of enterprises in exhibitions and help consume products, especially agri-

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cultural products and local specialties meeting food safety standards.Pham Thanh Kien, director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said the city will create favourable conditions for enterprises from Gia Lai to operate in the city and encourage its companies to invest in the province.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54370/Gia-Lai-invites-HCM City-investors-into-agro-forestry-sector.html

Farm products main exports of Vietnamese firms in Dong Nai

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

Agricultural products are main export commodities of Vietnamese businesses in Dong Nai province while FDI firms here favour the shipment of products of processing, manufacturing and electronics industries.The southern province has raked in more than 6.6 billion USD in export revenue since the outset of 2017, a year-on-year increase of about 11 percent, according to the provin-cial Department of Industry and Trade.Over 5.7 billion USD, or 87 percent, of the sum came from export activities of FDI en-terprises whose goods with biggest turnover include footwear, fibre, computers, elec-tronic products and components, and machinery.Meanwhile, domestic enterprises mostly shipped abroad coffee (nearly 240 million USD), cashew nuts (over 110 million USD), and pepper (13 million USD).The industry and trade department said although industrial products bring home high export value, it is very difficult for Vietnamese businesses to compete with FDI firms since they lack capacity and experience in global markets.As Dong Nai, part of the southern key economic region, is home to a number of high-quality farm products, domestic companies should optimise this advantage and coor-dinate with farmers to export agricultural products, it added.Central agencies should learn more about foreign demand for agricultural products in order to set up appropriate orientations and help producers access potential markets, the department noted.-http://en.vietnamplus.vn/farm-products-main-exports-of-vietnamese-firms-in-dong-nai/112951.vnp

Ca Mau looks to develop shrimp sector

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau is implementing various measures to realise its goal of 2 billion USD worth of shrimp exports by 2020.The goal increases to 3 billion USD by in 2030.According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, to achieve the goals shrimp output must be expanded, with total output predicted at 280,000 tonnes in 2020 and more than 400,000 tonnes ten years later.Ca Mau is diversifying production and distribution methods, establishing more coop-eratives and building supply chains linking traders and farmers.Classification and quality assessment of aquatic farms and facilities producing aquatic breeds and animal feed have also been intensified, with locals updated on farming reg-ulations and standards and violators strictly punished.Ca Mau plans to develop its export markets via market surveys, product diversifica-tion, and trade promotion.Ca Mau is the largest shrimp producer in Vietnam with output of more than 145,000 tonnes in 2016, 23 percent of the country's total shrimp output and 32 percent of the Mekong Delta's.The province has 34 processing plants with total capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year.Ca Mau's shrimp exports were estimated at more than 167 million USD in the first quarter of this year.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ca-mau-looks-to-develop-shrimp-sector/112924.vnp

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BIZ NEWS

Business Briefs Jun 08, 2017

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA |

* State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) earned VND53 billion from selling its stakes at five enterprises last month. As of May 19, SCIC had divested capital from 13 enterprises with VND148 billion raised.* Nguyen Quoc Truong and Ngo Cong Chinh, board members of AMD Group Mining and Investment Company (AMD), have registered to sell 1.67 million and 540,000 AMD shares respective in put -through deals from now to July 7.* Binh Minh Plastics Company (BMP) has announced to issue over 36.3 million bonus shares to its shareholders at an 8:10 ratio using itsequity. BMP has chosen June 14 as the record date for the bonus share issue.* LDG investment Company (LDG) has announced to cooperate with Sparkle Value Homes Co Ltd to develop a condo project in HCM City's Binh Chanh District. The project is expected to launch over 1,000 homes onto the market* Central Power Real Estate Company (LEC) will float 26.1 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange on June 14 at the reference price ofVNDll,OOO each.* 36 Corporation (G36) has got approval from the State Securities Commission to offer over 57 million shares to the public, raising itscapital to over VND 1 trillion. Currently, the firm has total chartered capital of VND430 billion and is active in the real estate investment andconstruction sectors. The Ministry of National Defense now holds a 40 percent stake in the enterprise while Truong Loc Trade & Construction JSC owns 32.91 percent, Anh Quan Trade & Transport JSC 9.3 percent and Postal & Telecommunication Insurance Corporation 9.87 percent.* The Hanoi Stock Exchange will auction 1.45 million shares of Cam Ranh International Airport Service Joint Stock Company on July 12with the price starting at VND30,000 per share. Earlier, the enterprise got approval to offer 1.45 million shares to the public and 550,000 sharesto strategic partners. It focuses on key businesses such as passenger and catering serv-ices, business lounge services, souvenir and gift sales.* Hanoi Construction Company No.5 (CH5) will begin trading 3.7 million shares on the market for unlisted public enterprises, or UPCoM, on June 14 at the reference price of VND30,000 each.

Financial stocks boost the markets

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Shares extended gains on the two local stock exchanges on Wednesday morning be-cause of strong investor buying.The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange added 0.34 per cent to end at 753.89 points. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index rose 1.6 per cent to 97.27 points.The securities and banking sectors recorded the highest growth, averaging 2.35 per cent and 1.29 per cent, respectively, data on Vietstock.vn showed.Shares of all nine listed banks on the two exchanges advanced, led by Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), up 3.56 per cent; Military Bank (MBB), up 2.84 per cent; and Vietinbank (CTG), up 2.1 per cent.Big brokerage companies such as Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), HCM Securities Corp (HCM), FPT Securities (FTS) and BIDV Securities Co (BSI) gained between 0.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent.Twenty-three of the 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on the southern bourse rose; only four fell.Liquidity increased, with a total of 171 million shares worth around VND3.3 trillion (US$146.7 million) being traded, up 28.6 per cent in volume and 37.5 per cent in value compared to Tuesday morning's trade.The afternoon session starts at 1pm.

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VN Index stays above 750 points

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNECONOMIC TIMES

All main indexes up again on June 7.All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market closed higher on June 7.On HSX, the VN Index increased 2.15 points (0.29 per cent) and the VN30-Index 4.49 points (0.61 per cent).On HNX, the HNX-Index gained 1.72 points (1.8 per cent) and the HNX30-Index 2.54 points (1.45 per cent), while the UPCoM-Index fell 0.13 points (0.23 per cent).Liquidity on HSX reached VND4 trillion ($176.2 million), 11 per cent higher than yes-terday, and on HNX was VND1.5 trillion ($66 million), 146 per cent higher.The VN Index opened at 751.31 points and increased to 754 points early on then fell to 751.8 points in mid-session before gradually edging upwards to close the morning at 753.9 points. In the afternoon it reached its peak of the day of 754.9 points then slipped to its bottom of the day of 751 points mid-session, before recovering to close at 753.46 points.In food and beverages, KDC increased 1.3 per cent, STB 1 per cent, and SAB 0.3 per cent, while MSN lost 1.3 per cent and VNM and BHN 0.1 per cent.In banking, MBB gained 4.4 per cent, CTG 3.7 per cent, and EIB 0.8 per cent. BID closed at its opening price and VCB fell 0.9 per cent.In energy, PGD and GAS rose 1.2 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively, while PLX fell 0.7 per cent and CNG 0.3 per cent.In real estate, VIC and NVL increased 0.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. QCG shed 2.3 per cent, KBC 0.6 per cent, FLC 0.3 per cent, and KDH 0.2 per cent.Among other large caps, HPG rose 3 per cent, BVH 0.3 per cent, and ROS 0.2 per cent, while VJC and FPT lost 2 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND469 billion ($20.6 million), followed by HPG with VND256 billion ($11.3 million) and AMD with VND172 billion ($7.6 mil-lion). The largest cap, VNM, saw VND113 billion ($5 million) change hands.On HNX, ACB rose 4.3 per cent, PVI 1.6 per cent, SHB 1.4 per cent, VCG 1.1 per cent, and VCS 0.1 per cent. NTP closed at its opening price while PHP fell 2 per cent and PVS 0.6 per cent.Foreign investors net bought on HSX by VND19 billion ($836,950) and on HNX by VND7 billion ($308,350).http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/vn-index-stays-above-750-points

Market surges nearly eight points

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

The stock market rallied strongly for a second straight session on June 6, sending the VN Index up 7.82 points, or 1.05 percent, against Monday at 751.31.Bank stocks again were the key contributors to the index, with VCB, BID, CTG, STB and MBB responsible for 50 basis points of the increase.STB hit the ceiling price of VND13,550 a share after repeatedly announcing personnel information in recent times. The lender also led the HCM City market in terms of li-quidity with its trading volume reaching a one-year high of over 13.4 million shares.Other bank stocks rose sharply on high turnover, in which BID jumped 3.7 percent with trading volume of 8.7 million shares, VCB up 3.9 percent with 4.7 million shares, CTG up 2.1 percent with 1.4 million shares and MBB up 1.6 percent with nearly 1.5 mil-lion shares.Among the 10 leaders by market capitalisation, MSN was the only loser while ROS, VNM, VIC, GAS and PLX advanced. ROS was the most actively traded stock in this group with 3.16 million shares traded.The VN30 basket saw only stocks closing down. Notably, PVD lost 1 percent to VND15,150 per share as foreigners net sold 1.52 million PVD shares.The mining sector also reported nice gains as KSA, KSH, BKC and KSK went up to the ceil-ing prices, backed by their expansion plans. AMD shot up to the upper limit for the sixth straight session after ROS had announced its acquisition of a 25 percent stake at the firm, closing at VND21,950 per share with volume reaching nearly six million shares.

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Speculative stocks saw its trading volumes tumbling as cash flow dipped sharply. However, most stocks in the group still increased, with HQC taking the lead by liquid-ity with 7.4 million shares.Overall, trading value on the southern bourse plummeted 20 percent against the pre-vious day at VND4.1 trillion. The put-through market saw large deals with a total val-ue of VND509 billion, including 2.8 million NVL shares worth over VND195 billion.The HNX-Index closed at an intraday high, rising 0.86 percent at 95.74, with turnover reaching VND692 billion. ACB was the key contributor to the index's gain, adding 2 percent at VND25,300 per share. Matching volume totalled around 2.8 million shares.SHB was the volume leader on the Hanoi exchange with 20.4 million shares. But it bucked the trend of stocks in the banking group, falling 1.4 percent at VND7,300 a share.Mining stocks ACM, BII and KHB hit the ceiling prices with volume from one to three million shares each. KLF shot up to the upper limit for the second session, closing at VND2,800 a share with 12.2 million shares traded.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54378/Market-surges-nearly-eight-points.html

Why have big firms still not listed their shares on foreign bourses?

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VIETNAMNET

Both Vietjet and VNG have said they want to be the first Vietnamese enterprises to list shares on foreign bourses. Other firms have tried to do so in the past.In early 2008, Vinamilk, the nation's leading dairy producer, got the nod from SSC to list 8.7 million shares on the Singaporean stock market. That year, the Singaporean Stock Exchange (SGX) released a document accepting the listing of Vinamilk shares there.Just one month later, Vinamilk announced the deferment of the listing. The dairy pro-ducer said there were too many unpredictable happenings and postponed the plan. In mid-2009, Vinamilk announced resumption of the plan. However, no further step has been taken.Together with Vinamilk, Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI), PVDrilling (oil & gas) and Kido (sweets manufacturer) also planned to list their shares in the world's large financial centers. However, the plans were dropped just a short time after they were announced.When the global financial market entered the recovery period in 2010-2012, other large Vietnamese conglomerates, including Hoang Anh Gia Lai, also thought of listing shares on foreign bourses to heighten their prestige and seek opportunities to mobilise capital from foreign investors. However, the plans have not been implemented.Cavico Corporation was the only Vietnamese company which successfully brought its shares into the international market through back-door listing by merging with Agent155 Media Group, a company which had shares listed on Pink Sheets in 2006.In 2009, Cavico fulfilled necessary procedures to list its shares on Nasdaq. But just two years later, it had to leave the world's second largest stock exchange because of a series of violations in information exposure and failure to meet the minimum requirements on liquidity and share market prices.In late 2015, FinanceAsis reported that Huy Vietnam planned to have an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE).However, like Cavico, Huy Vietnam was a foreign-invested enterprise and the listing was, in fact, implemented by the enterprise also named Huy Vietnam, but registered in the tax haven of Cayman Islands.As for Vinamilk, SSI and Kido, the plans to list shares on foreign bourses in 2008 met legal problems as Vietnamese laws at that moment did not mention listing overseas.Only when Decree 58 was released four years later and Decree 60 in 2015 was the legal framework for the listing on the international markets created.Some analysts said it is not the requirements for listing, but the strict requirements on listed shares, including corporate governance, financial reporting and information ex-posure, which are big problems for Vietnamese businesses.

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IDICO to sell 45pct State capital to investors

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

The prime minister has approved the equitisation plan to offload the State's capital in the Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (IDI-CO).The company, with a charter capital of VND3 trillion (US$133.3 million), will offer up to 300 million shares in the initial public offering (IPO) at a par value of VND10,000 per share.The upcoming IPO will reduce the State's ownership in IDICO from 100 per cent to 36 per cent, equal to 108 million shares.The government will remain a shareholder of IDICO until December 31, 2018, and of-fload its entire stake in the company after this date.In the IPO, strategic investors will be able to purchase up to 45 per cent of capital in IDICO, or 135 million shares; 18.4 per cent of capital, or 55.3 million shares, will be sold publicly, and the remaining stake will be transferred to the company's employees at a preferential price.The PM has also asked the minister of Construction to develop the standards to select the strategic investor in accordance with the government's Decree 58/2011/ND-CP dat-ed July 18, 2011, converting 100 per cent State-owned enterprises to joint-stock compa-nies.The construction ministry has also been requested to transfer its representative State ownership in IDICO to the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC).IDICO plans to earn a total revenue of VND5 trillion and a pre-tax profit of VND384 billion for 2017, down 52.5 per cent and 14.4 per cent, respectively, from the 2016 fig-ures.IDICO is one of the five constructions and building material corporations that hold large-valued assets and need to cut the State's ownership in their capital to below 51 per cent by 2019, in accordance with the government's plan to reduce its stake in State-owned enterprises between 2016 and 2020.Another such company is the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUD). The government will remain as controlling shareholder of HUD until the end of 2020 with a 51 per cent stake and offload its entire stake in HUD after 2020.The construction ministry has recently submitted an equitisation plan for HUD to the government, which values HUD at VND10.94 trillion, including the State capital of VND3.4 trillion.The construction ministry plans to issue around 340 million shares in the company's IPO at a par value of VND10,000 per share.The State's ownership in HUD is projected at 173 million shares, equal to 51 per cent of the company's capital.Strategic investors will be able to buy 85.1 million shares, or a quarter of the charter capital; 80.68 million other shares (23.7 per cent of capital) will be sold to the public, and the remaining stake will be issued to employees.http://bizhub.vn/markets/idico-to-sell-45-state-capital-to-investors_286713.html

Cam Ranh Airport Services to sell 1.45m shares

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Cam Ranh International Airport Services Joint Stock Company will auction 1.45 mil-lion shares at the initial price of VND30,000 (US$1.3) each on Hanoi Stock Exchange.The auction is scheduled for July 12.The company provides passenger services at Cam Ranh International Airport in Khanh Hoa Province, such as restaurants, catering services, business class room and souvenirs.It has a charter capital of VND60 million. The auction was expected to collect a mini-mum sun of VND43.5 billion.On May 21, the State Securities Commission gave its nod to the auction of two million shares of Cam Ranh International Airport Services JSC, 550,00 of which would be sold to strategic partners.http://bizhub.vn/news/cam-ranh-airport-services-to-sell-145m-shares_286718.html

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FLC Group to list on Singapore exchange

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

FLC group has, in Hanoi, worked out the finer points with its Singaporean partners about its plan to list on Singapore's stock exchange.It was the second meeting between the group and the Singaporean financial consulting company Putri Resources&Capital Pte Ltd and the United Overseas Bank (UOB) after the first one in April 2014 with regard to the plan.FLC chair Trinh Van Quyet said that the group has successfully listed on the local stock exchange and it aimed to list in other countries to attract more investment for its grow-ing projects.Quyet said Singapore was one of the biggest financial centres in the Asian market, add-ing that listing in the market would give FLC an opportunity to boost its managing ca-pacity and transparency.Meanwhile, Ernie Yap, director of Putri Resources&Capital said the financial reports proved that FLC met all the requirements to be listed on Singapore's mainboard with-out being listed on its auxiliary exchange of Catalist. The director also said not all the companies in Vietnam can meet the requirements.Daniel Lim Jin Kong, deputy Chair of UOB, while appreciating what the group has achieved, added that a listing in Singapore will help the group enhance its managing standards to international levels.In the first six months, profit before tax and after audit of the FLC Group reached over 177 billion VND (8.428 million USD), completing 51 percent of the whole year's profit plan in 2014.Since early this year, FLC has kicked off constructions of the FLC Garden City in Dai Mo with the total investment of 3.5 trillion VND (166.6 million USD), FLC Complex Pham Hung at the cost of 1.2 trillion VND (57.1 million USD) in Hanoi and internation-al standard FLC Sam Son Golf Links in Sam Son, Thanh Hoa with an investment of 5.5 trillion VND (261.9 million USD)http://en.vietnamplus.vn/flc-group-to-list-on-singapore-exchange/112934.vnp

Viet Ha to trade on UPCoM from Q3

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Beverage company Viet Ha Corporation will trade shares on the Unlisted Public Com-pany Market (UPCoM) from the third quarter.After its equitisation in January 2016, the company had a charter capital of VND769 billion (US$34 million). Of this, 51 per cent of the capital is held by Hanoi People's Committee, 24 per cent belongs to strategic investors, and the remaining 25 per cent is held by other investors.In 2017, the company has set a revenue target of VND271 billion and an after-tax profit of VND6 billion. The business plan from 2017 to 2019 is VND57 billion, VND75 billion and VND65 billion, respectively.http://bizhub.vn/markets/viet-ha-to-trade-on-upcom-from-q3_286717.html

Can Tho cuts training deal with US city

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

Vietnam's Can Tho City on June 6 signed an agreement with the University of Califor-nia, Riverside (UCR) on a training programme for Can Tho's civil servants and offi-cials.Under the deal, the two sides will design the training programme in line with US standards for Can Tho City officials who will attend a two-week course at UCR, said Ho Thi Thanh Bach, deputy director of the External Affairs Department of Can Tho. The Can Tho delegation is led by Pham Van Hieu, chair of the city's People's Council.Delegations of Can Tho City and Riverside on June 6 also attended a business connec-tion conference and signed a memorandum of understanding on trade and invest-ment.The training agreement and an MOU on trade and investment signed on June 6 are part of the framework agreements reached earlier between the two cities.In January 2015, Can Tho signed a cooperation agreement with Riverside City on ed-ucation, health, trade and public administration. In November 2016, the Riverside

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mayor visited Can Tho and a memorandum of understanding on salinity intrusion control was signed between the University of Riverside, Can Tho University and Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, and another between Can Tho University of Tech-nology and California Baptist University.At the meeting on June 6, Hieu introduced the central position of Can Tho in the Me-kong Delta, noting that the city has attracted four foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $40.89 million from the USCan Tho currently has six non-governmental organisation (INGO) projects owned by the US worth nearly $1.1 million including $96,700 of Can Tho's reciprocal capital.The Can Tho delegation will visit Temecula after Riverside from June 7 to 9 to seek new trade opportunities, study tourism products in Las Vegas and work with the Con-sulate general of Vietnam and enterprises in San Francisco.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54376/-Can-Tho-cuts-training-deal-with-US-city.html

Investment inflows into Binh Dinh rise in five months

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Domestic and foreign investment inflows into the central province of Binh Dinh Prov-ince surged in the first five months of this year, according to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment.In the reviewed period, the province lured 47 domestic projects with a total registered capital of VND12.24 trillion (US$538 million), 12 projects more than those attracted in the same period last year, the department director Nguyen Thuc Dinh said.Among the large-scale projects included a residence-trade-service complex valued at VND1.39 trillion and Cam Van new residence area capitalised at VND421 billion.In the period between January and May, the locality also received six foreign-invested projects with a total capital of $92 million, up three projects compared with the same period last year.Two projects with large registered capital were a Japanese-invested solar and wind power project worth $64 million, and a $21.2 million pig-breeding farm project being financed by Seldat Vietnam Co.By the end of the year, Binh Dinh will continue to accelerate investment promotion to attract more investment capital, especially in its Nhon Hoi Economic Zone and other zones, chair of the provincial People's Committee Ho Quoc Dung said.The province will carry out activities to study and assess its potential to attract foreign and domestic partners while building database and documents for investment promo-tion.It will also focus on advertising its investment environment and opportunities, and support local investors and businesses to participate in investment promotion forums, both in Vietnam and other countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the US and the EU, Dung said.http://bizhub.vn/news/investment-inflows-into-binh-dinh-rise-in-five-months_286716.html

Jica provides support to Hoa Lac Science and Technology City

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNECONOMIC TIMES

$117.6 million ODA loan signed in Tokyo to provide assistance in basic infrastructure at Hoa Lac centre.The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has signed a loan agreement in To-kyo with the Vietnamese government to provide an overseas development assistance (ODA) loan of up to $117.6 million for the Hoa Lac Science and Technology City De-velopment Project (II) in Hanoi.The project will provide assistance in basic infrastructure for an integrated science and technology centre at the Hoa Lac area on the outskirts of the capital, promoting human resources education and advancing science and technology; areas where Vietnam lags behind advanced Asean countries.The loan will be allocated to building infrastructure at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park as well as to consultant services.

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Vietnam has set a goal of becoming a modern industrialised country and to do so has adopted a development goal of accumulating advanced science and technology, which includes having high-tech products represent 45 per cent of GDP.The government increases its budget for science and technology annually but the large gap separating Vietnam from advanced Asean countries persists in terms of science and technology indicators issued by international agencies.It is thought that constructing a collaborative system for research institutions, educa-tional institutions, and industry, while promoting advanced, practical technological development, will be key to addressing these issues, and infrastructure is required in the form of bases that can integrate science and technology.Under this project, basic infrastructure will be built at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, which will provide research, development, education, and training.This will encourage research and education institutions to come together and promote private investment, forming an anchor for science and technology in Vietnam while promoting economic growth and building international competitiveness.This is the second loan for the project, with Japan previously providing $139.1 million in an ODA loan signed in March 2012.Jica's policy is to dynamically carry out projects that address development issues in Vi-etnam while coordinating its various types of assistance, which include Japanese ODA loans, technical cooperation, and grant aid.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/jica-provides-support-to-hoa-lac-science-and-technology-city

New international container route goes through Quang Ninh

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Cai Lan International Container Terminal (CICT) announced the launch of a new route for container vessels ACS Cai Lan connecting India, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, China and the Republic of Korea on Tuesday.The operator of Cai Lan Terminal also welcomed the 5,023 TEU Hyundai Premium container ship from Hyundai Merchant Marine to the port during the launch.Founded by an alliance between two leading carriers, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Gold Star Line, the new route goes through Cai Lan Terminal in the northern province of Quang Ninh of Vietnam once a week.The Cai Lan link to the ACS international route is an opportunity for Quang Ninh province and other northern localities to utilise their potential in the marine industry.Nguyen Duc Long, chair of the provincial People's Committee, said the province would establish a team delivering streamlined public administration services at the port and not collect port infrastructure fees to aid marine-based businesses.http://bizhub.vn/news/new-international-container-route-goes-through-quang-ninh_286722.html

FLC plans roadshow in Singapore

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Property developer FLC Group will organise a large-scale roadshow and seminar in Singapore to inform participants about the investment opportunities in the hospitality real estate sector of Vietnam on June 10.In order to introduce Vietnam's resort properties to the global market, this event is ex-pected to attract hundreds of individual investors, as well as financial institutions, in-vestment funds and real estate companies from both Asia and all over the world.A source from FLC said investors would have the opportunity to learn about the latest trends in Vietnam's resort real estate market, which has long been considered a region-al star, thanks to its natural resources. In addition to this, this will also be a valuable networking opportunity for professionals from Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, mainland China, the US and Canada.At this event, many high-end resort projects and products will be introduced to region-al and global investors, attracting foreign funds, especially as the Law on Housing has started permitting foreign ownership of real estate in Vietnam, besides the Politburo's 8th Resolution that has identified tourism as a key industry in the country.

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http://bizhub.vn/property/flc-plans-roadshow-in-singapore_286727.html

Japanese project hoped to help spur Vinh Phuc's development

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

The next phase of the Thang Long-Vinh Phuc Industrial Park project in Binh Xuyen district, the northern province of Vinh Phuc will be implemented under a memoran-dum of understanding signed on June 6.The signatories of the document are the Vinh Phuc provincial People's Committee, Ja-pan's Sumitomo Group and Thang Long-Vinh Phuc Industrial Park Co., LtdOver the past two years, Vinh Phuc created the best possible conditions for Sumitomo Group to carry out the project with 213 ha of land cleared for the construction.The province has also paid attention to building roads and power and water supply systems to the industrial park while completing relevant procedures.Akito Shiraishi, general manager of Sumitomo's Overseas Industrial Park Department, said the Japanese group and Thang Long-Vinh Phuc Industrial Park Co., Ltd will work together to ensure the progress of the project and attract high-tech investors, contrib-uting to generating jobs for local labourers and spurring local socio-economic devel-opment.On October 22, 2015, Vinh Phuc province handed over an investment licence to Sumi-tomo's project on building infrastructure in Thang Long-Vinh Phuc industrial park, which is expected to help lure 79 Japanese investors to the park.The project is scheduled to be completed in December, 2024.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/japanese-project-hoped-to-help-spur-vinh-phucs-develop-ment/112906.vnp

H&M to open first Vietnam store in HCM City

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has officially announced the opening of Vietnam's first store in HCM City this autumn.Instead of making its debut in Hanoi, according to rumours, the store, spread over roughly 2,200 square metres, will open in the Vincom Dong Khoi commercial complex in HCM City's District 1, close to the Zara store.At the opening, H&M will also launch its 2017 autumn-winter collection.H&M is also expected to open other stores in Hanoi's commercial complexes at Nguy-en Trai and Minh Khai streets.With the opening, the Swedish low-cost clothing outlet will be the fourth fast fashion label to enter Vietnam after Zara, Mango and Gap.H&M operates around 4,200 stores across 66 markets.In addition to Vietnam, it has announced plans to open stores in Georgia, Colombia, Iceland and Kazakhstan this year.http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/hm-to-open-first-viet-nam-store-in-hcmc_286731.html

Hai Phong Sakura Golf Club given green light

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Government approves $41 million project from Japan's Tokyo LLC.The government has approved an investment project worth $41 million from Japan's Tokyo LLC (under the T&K Group) to build the Hai Phong Sakura Golf Club.Built on the area of 98 ha in Truong Thanh and An Tien communes, An Lao district, the golf course is a major project for the northern port city.The 18-hole course will be of international standard, with a clubhouse on 4,000 sq m and a marina, which are expected to be completed and put into operation this year.Tokyo LLC believes the area has great potential for tourism, recreation, and leisure ac-tivities, and the golf course will boost this potential.The Ministry of Planning and Investment has been assigned to instruct and supervise the Hai Phong City People's Committee during the building of the golf club.The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will guide the investors on for-mulating, appraising, and approving reports on the evaluation of any environmental impacts.

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The ministry will also coordinate with Hai Phong City People's Committee and rele-vant agencies to inspect and supervise the meeting of regulations on environmental protection.The People's Committee said the project will promote advantages in natural condi-tions and provide a sporting and entertainment area that serves the needs of residents from the city and surrounding areas.Moreover, a golf course is a reasonable environment for domestic and foreign business to meet and talk, and it improves and protects the environment and contributes to de-veloping infrastructure and the city's investment environment.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/hai-phong-sakura-golf-club-giv-en-green-light

Honeywell upbeat about Vietnamese growth

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR

American conglomerate Honeywell aims to generate $20 million of annual revenue in Vietnam, one of its top growing markets.Honeywell, which has been present in Vietnam since 2005, operates in four sectors: aerospace, home and building technologies, safety and productivity solutions, and performance materials and technologies. Honeywell's solutions have provided the Vi-etnamese market with technologies and services in multiple sectors, ranging from oil and gas to automotive and aerospace.In late May, the firm's aerospace arm struck a $100 million deal with Vietnamese budg-et airline Vietjet, as part of prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's visit to the US. Hon-eywell will provide 98 auxiliary power units for Vietjet's Airbus A320 fleet, continuing the partnership that started in 2014.The American firm also looks to boost its market share in home and building technol-ogies. At a recent symposium in HCM City, it has presented a complete portfolio of end-to-end connected technologies for hospitality, residential, and commercial build-ings."Vietnamese house owners are becoming more tech-savvy and smart home applica-tions are now more common. We aim to provide Vietnamese customers with a well-rounded system, which controls thermostats, multiple household items, and security cameras," said Mai Trang Thanh, president of Honeywell Vietnam.Vietnam's recovering real estate market and growing tourism industry will be a boon to Honeywell's business, the president added. Together with China and India, Viet-nam is one of Honeywell's fastest-growing markets.Thanh admitted that there is still a long road ahead, as Honeywell Vietnam currently accounted for only 10 per cent of the market share in this sector. The firm has recently combined multiple departments to boost market share, as well as provide customers with a comprehensive solution for their buildings.Notable residential departments with Honeywell's smart home solutions include Sam-rimi Salla by Dai Quang Minh and Times City Park Hill, developed by Vingroup.http://english.vov.vn/economy/honeywell-upbeat-about-vietnamese-growth-351112.vov

Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas wins award

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas developed by the real estate giant VinGroup has been honoured as Vietnam's Leading Beach Resort 2017 at the World Travel Award (WTA) Gala Ceremony 2017 held in Shanghai, China.The World Travel Awards (WTA) is one of the world's most prestigious and best known travel awards, internationally referred as the "Oscar" of the tourism industry.The awards evaluate and recognise the excellence in the industry in order to improve the competitiveness and quality of the global travel and hospitality services.Located along Non Nuoc beach, one of the six most beautiful beaches of the planet by Forbes magazine, Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas is a 5-star complex of hotels and resorts with 200 luxury rooms, facilities and 39 luxury villas, designed in contempo-rary architectural style combined with the class definition of charming hotels in Indo-

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china of the early 20th century.Most of the rooms in Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas include a balcony with a view to the sea and swimming pool.Service quality is a highlight of the Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas, which includes a shuttle service from and to the airport, relaxation, healthcare, beauty and spa, enter-tainment, sports and cuisine.http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/vinpearl-da-nang-resort-villas-wins-award_286733.html

GE Healthcare and partners extend BME training to South Vietnam

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR

GE Healthcare, in partnership with the Department of Medical Equipment and Con-struction under the Ministry of Health and local dealers VietMedical and T.D. Medical, recently conducted a five-day biomedical engineering (BME) training course for engi-neers from 56 hospitals in the southern provinces of Vietnam.Following the success of a similar BME training in the north last year, GE Healthcare and its partners expanded their efforts to train healthcare providers in the south.This training course was attended by 56 biomedical engineers from 56 hospitals across 26 southern cities and provinces. The five-day course brought together leading indus-try experts from Singapore Biomedical Engineers Association (BES), Ngee Ann Poly-technic institute (Singapore), and the Department of Medical Equipment and Construction.During the training session, biomedical engineers were updated on a wide range of knowledge on safety management and operation of medical equipment. They also practiced with medical equipment and shared best practices with local colleagues and international lecturers."GE Healthcare is committed to not only providing innovative technologies and ma-chines for Vietnam, but also the education and training behind them to ensure health-care providers are able to give the very best care to their patients," said Anh Tuan Tran, Vietnam country manager for GE Healthcare. "It is important that we work with local partners, such as the Department of Medical Equipment and Construction, VietMedi-cal and T.D. Medical, to deliver solutions that will benefit the 91 million people in the country."Director of the Department of Medical Equipment and Construction Nguyen Minh Tuan emphasized, "The training course which combines fundamental and up-to-date knowledge on medical equipment management for hospitals plays a particularly im-portant role in the improvement of the quality of healthcare as well as reflects the im-proving investment efficiency and medical equipment use in the context that biomedical engineering training in hospitals does not enjoy enough attention current-ly."Tuan lauded the role of GE Healthcare, VietMedical, and partners in enhancing the knowledge and practical skills training of hospital engineers and urged them to work closely with the Department of Medical Equipment and Construction in developing an annual BME training programme that would help many hospital engineers to facilitate their knowledge.On the side of the Ministry of Health, the funding would be strengthened to promote medical equipment management training, bringing efficiency to hospitals and benefits to patients.GE Healthcare is a partner in supporting the Vietnamese government and healthcare providers to strengthen the healthcare system and train clinicians in the country. Last year, GE Healthcare, in partnership with the Vietnam Society of Anesthesiologists (VSA), Viet Duc Hospital, and VietMedical opened a new VSA Simulation Training Lab for Anesthesia and Intensive Care, aimed at improving anesthesia education, training, and raising awareness on the importance of safe anesthesia administration in Vietnam. The simulation training lab was the first-of-its-kind in the country.In March 2015, GE Healthcare provided a $250,000 education grant to Bach Mai Hos-pital to help develop and increase the skills of clinicians in the Emergency Department

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and Intensive Care Unit. In April 2015, GE Healthcare and the Vietnam National Heart Institute co-hosted a cardiac medical education seminar for 100 Vietnamese clinicians aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in Viet-nam.With its commitment to build a healthier community by improving access to quality products, GE Healthcare is providing transformational medical technologies and serv-ices that are shaping a new age of patient care in Vietnam. Today, more than half of all domestic clinics and hospitals have at least one device of GE medical technology.http://www.vir.com.vn/ge-healthcare-and-partners-extend-bme-training-to-south-vi-etnam.html

How will Saigon track down Facebook retailers to collect tax?

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNEXPRESS

Tax officials are reaching out to 13,500 retailers in their database, but they admit this will be a very tough task.For the first time HCM City has started a new tax collection campaign targeting retail-ers on Facebook, the most popular social network in Vietnam.Now tax officials are working to solve an anticipated problem: how to track down thousands of retailers across the city, many of whom are elusive, and how to calculate their earnings.Le Thi Thu Huong, a municipal tax official, said the city has a record of 13,500 retailers on Facebook and that the law only requires those with an annual revenue of VND100 million or $4,400 to declare tax.Tax officials will also need to figure out how to determine their taxable income, Huong said, noting that cash transactions are difficult to monitored."Tax authorities will need the support and cooperation from relevant sectors such as banks, postal services and Facebook itself to collect tax effectively," she said.District-level tax agents said they have been reaching out to the 13,500 retailers in the database, but to no avail.District 1 and Binh Thanh District have both sent out letters asking Facebook retailers to meet officials to discuss tax payments, only to find that many of the addresses listed on Facebook are fake."If the retailers continue to keep quiet, we will come to them in person," an official in Binh Thanh said.Another official said the database should be reviewed to remove inactive retailers first before district agents begin to send out requests.Nhung, an online retailer in Binh Tan District who sells clothes and cosmetics on Face-book, said her monthly revenue usually stays at VND30-40 million ($1,300-1,700).She did not hide the fact that her address and phone number are not disclosed publicly on Facebook."I think this is why the city's tax department doesn't have me in the database. So far I have not been contacted," Nhung said. VnExpress chose not to publish her full name."It's not easy for tax authorities to have my personal information, unless they contact Facebook directly. But that is not likely to happen," she said.Nhung also said most of her customers pay in cash.Mai, a cosmetics seller, said she has received a letter from District 1 even though she has a business license and has declared tax.She said she may just ignore the letter because it's "not necessary."Since February, Vietnam's tax authorities have been looking at ways to collect taxes from online businesses that use Facebook and other social media sites such as Insta-gram and YouTube.http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/how-will-saigon-track-down-face-book-retailers-to-collect-tax-3596165.html

Top 50 businesses to be announced

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

The Nhip Cau Dau Tu (Investment Bridge) magazine and Thien Viet Securities JSC will honour the 50 most effective businesses in Vietnam in 2016 (Top 50 2016) in HCM

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City on June 9.The ranking is based on business results and reflects good corporate governance in 2016.This year's event marks the sixth anniversary of the Top 50 programme, which exam-ines and ranks listed companies through scientific measurement methods in accord-ance with international standards along with the advice of financial analysts.In the Top 50 2016, 12 companies have market capitalisation of over $1 billion, in the sectors of retail, consumer goods, banking, real estate, telecommunications and aero-space.Besides the ceremony, a seminar gathering representatives of large businesses with capitalisations in the billions of US dollars will also be held on the day.The representatives may include leaders from Vinamilk, Masan Group, Vietjet Air, The Gioi Di Dong, Coteccons, Novaland and FPT.http://bizhub.vn/events/top-50-businesses-to-be-announced_286726.html

Movement to rescue Dong Nai pig farmers begins to pay off

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES

Relentless efforts to boost sales of pigs in Dong Nai Province have brought about initial positive results, with 85,000 live pigs in the province finding buyers in the past month, chairwoman of the Dong Nai Farmers' Union Hoang Thi Bich Hang said on June 6.Hang said these pigs weigh 80 to 100 kilos each and are sold at VND24,000-32,000 per kilo, still far below the production cost of VND36,000-40,000.At a meeting with the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade on May 9, Dong Nai's Department of Industry and Trade suggested HCM City help consume 10,000 pigs a day to free up 300,000 unsold pigs. However, since pork consumption of the city had become saturated, the province had to take measures to increase local consump-tion to help itself.In particular, the provincial government has asked 21 enterprises with large numbers of employees, supermarkets and traditional markets in the province to increase pur-chases of pork. Besides, the province has increased the number of safe pork selling booths (which is 24 at the moment) with each able to sell 25-30 pigs a day.According to Hang, the province still has a herd of about 1.66 million pigs. Although the number of unsold pigs has decreased, pork prices have remained low due to mar-ket saturation.Meanwhile, in Long An Province, the pork glut has also eased to some extent.Deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh said the province is taking measures to scale down the pig herd and increase prices of pigs at farms.Since April 25, the province's pig herd has declined from 299,000 to 200,000 pigs while prices of live pigs have risen from VND23,000-25,000 to VND28,000-32,000 per kilo."Long An Province sells about 3,000 pigs per month. Some 30-40 percent of them are transported to HCM City and the remainder to local industrial zones, traditional mar-kets and supermarkets," Khanh said.To help boost pork consumption, meat processor Vissan offers 30-42 percent discounts on VietGAP pork until June 10 at all Vissan booths in Saigon Co.op supermarketsand other mini-mart chains such as Vinmart and Aeon Citimart. Pork on sale is from pigs collected at farms that meet VietGAP standards.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54375/-Movement-to-rescue-Dong-Nai-pig-farmers-begins-to-pay-off.html

Vietnam, US discuss ways to boost trade-investment ties

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

A programme entitled "Meet the USA 2017" was held in HCM City on June 7 to step up economic-trade-investment relations between Vietnam and the US, especially in the fields of smart city development, renewable energy, environmental protection, hi-tech agriculture, healthcare and education.The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the municipal Peo-ple's Committee, the US Consulate general in HCM City, and the American Chamber

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of Commerce (AmCham).Nguyen Thien Nhan, Politburo member, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, said US businesses are right to choose Vietnam and particularly HCM City as an investment destination with a stable and peaceful political environment.It is a proper time for US firms to make use of strengths and advantages of the Viet-namese economy to make investment based on the close cooperation between the two countries' leaders and the bilateral growing trade relations, he said.The official called on US enterprises to seek more investment opportunities with the city and pledged to support them to do long-term business in HCM City.In his opening remarks, deputy Foreign minister Ha Kim Ngoc said both nations are seeing new opportunities to strengthen their comprehensive partnership after the re-cent visit to the US by prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.The programme, which took place in HCM City a leading locality nationwide in ex-ternal rapports with the US, aims to enhance collaboration between Vietnamese and US localities for the sake of the two countries' people.US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius described the event as an activity to realise the commitments and agreements reached by the two countries' leaders to expand trade and investment ties.The US pledged to intensify cooperation with Vietnam, especially in the field of free trade, and hopes to bring to the country with the latest hi-tech solutions, he said.The Ambassador hailed efforts of Vietnamese localities in improving the provincial competitive index (CPI), which is one of the key issues in the local economic develop-ment policies.The programme will offer numerous opportunities for the two sides to propel the bi-lateral economic and trade ties forward, particularly between Vietnamese localities and US businesses, he added.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-us-discuss-ways-to-boost-tradeinvestment-ties/112943.vnp

Midterm VBF 2017 to open this month

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS

The midterm Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2017 between the Vietnamese govern-ment and the business community will be held in Hanoi on June 16.The forum will provide a platform to engage in a high-level public-private policy dia-logue with key decision-makers in the government to focus on the impact of global policies on private sector investment in Vietnam, the connection between FDI and do-mestic enterprises, and efficiency enhancement in the implementation of the current laws.According to the Vietnam Business Forum Consortium, the forum is held in the con-text that recent changes and movement in global policies have posed many opportu-nities, challenges and reform request for Vietnam. The changes have impacted Vietnam and the private sector investment.Vietnam Business Forum is an ongoing policy dialogue between the government and the business community, aiming at a favourable business environment and a sustain-able economic development in Vietnam.It is held by the Vietnam Business Forum Consortium in collaboration with the Minis-try of Planning and Investment and the World Bank.http://bizhub.vn/events/midterm-vbf-2017-to-open-this-month_286724.html

Industrial, manufacturing fair kicks off in Binh Duong

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

The Vietnam Industrial and Manufacturing Fair 2017 (VIMF 2017) opened in the southern province of Binh Duong on June 7, drawing thousands of visitors.The event offered a chance for firms in Binh Duong and neighbouring localities to get access to new machines and equipment, seek partners and expand markets.VIMF 2017 brought together more than 250 booths from 15 countries and territories, including Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, China, Thailand, Malaysia,

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the US, Indonesia, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Australia and host Vietnam.On display are the latest tools and equipment used in metalworking, metrology and measurement, 3D printing and software for manufacturing, among others.Various activities will also be held during the fair such as symposiums on automation, manufacturing connection, 3D printing and design, with the participation of foreign and Vietnamese experts.The fair runs until June 9 at the Binh Duong Convention and Exhibition Centre.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/industrial-manufacturing-fair-kicks-off-in-binh-duong/112946.vnp

Vietnam international arbitration centre holds dispute workshop

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA

The Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) organised a workshop on June 6 with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to promote the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods in the banking and finance sector.The conference, named 'Benefits and Challenges of Using ADR for Banking Disputes', focused on the principles, conditions and procedures of commercial mediation as an ADR method, as well as the conditions for establishment of mediation centres in Viet-nam and the implementation of Decree 22 on commercial mediation, which has been in effect since April 15, 2017.According to the decree, the settlement of disputes via trade reconciliation must en-sure the principle of voluntarism and equality in terms of rights and duties between parties to the disputes who participate in reconciliation, said Nguyen Thi Mai, deputy Head of the Justice Support Department.In recent years, global banks and financial institutions have considered many ADR methods like Meditation and Arbitration as an effective way to solve disagreements. According to Tran Huu Huynh, VIAC's Chair, this trend arose due to the need for a customised dispute resolution mechanism for the financial sector which must also en-sure efficiency and promptness.Truong Thanh Duc, Chair of the Legal Club Bank of the Vietnam Bank Association, agreed with Huynh, saying that on average, a financial or credit dispute takes the liti-gation court two to three years to reach a final ruling. An arbitration court should take only five to six months. And even at a normally higher legal fee, arbitration methods have proved more effective and specialised than the traditional court, particularly in cases involving foreign entities.Nina Mocheva, a World Bank Dispute Resolution Specialist, said at the conference that World Bank had been working closely with Vietnam and the VIAC since 2013, and that they are deeply impressed by the country's arbitration modernisation.However, Mocheva also raised her concern over the temporary lack of legal frame-work and practical application of ADR methods in Vietnam.In response to Mocheva's insight, Mai suggested a number of possible improvements, such as the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam taking responsibility in encouraging firms and organisations working in the financial dispute resolution field to popularise ADR methods, and the Ministry of Justice proactively completing an absolute and uni-form trade dispute resolution legal framework. She was also in favour of involved par-ties solving disputes through negotiation and appeasement before taking matters to court. Similar to arbitration, commercial mediation is only applicable when concerned parties have entered a mediation agreement before or after the dispute has arisen, or at any point during the dispute resolution process.The conference included two discussion panels in which representatives from com-mercial banks, credit organisations and legal firms discussed the future of ADR meth-ods in Vietnam with the speakers.Michael Hwang, member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, proposed a compre-hensive approach to ADR, with trade mediation support from both the Vietnamese government and courts.Hwang recommended ADR methods in commercial arbitration on the ground of both parties being able to employ lawyers of choice, which proves effective for both finan-

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cial institutions and financial service users.At the conference, VIAC's deputy Secretary general Phan Trong Dat also introduced a model arbitration clause reserved for the banking and credit sectors, divided into two categories for credit contracts and contracts of guarantee in order to cover all credit ac-tivities.http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-intl-arbitration-centre-holds-dispute-workshop/112912.vnp

Summer electronics fair and ICT expo opens today in HCM City

08/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV

Deputy minister Hoang Vinh Bao of the Ministry of Information and Communications delivered the keynote address today (June 7) in HCM City to open the largest summer electronics event in Vietnam.According to the Vietnam News Agency, the three day fair has attracted 250 exhibitors from many countries that are showcasing a panoply of cutting-edge technologies and smart products, including innovative solutions and products presented by start-ups.During the event, a series of seminars guided by industry experts and academics from local universities will examine the latest technology and application trends in such ar-eas as wearable tech, virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, smart home and robotics.This is the second annual edition of the expo, which is being held at the Saigon Exhi-bition & Convention centre located at 799 Nguyen Van Linh in District 7 of HCM City. Admission is free and open to the public 9:30am 5:00pm daily.http://english.vov.vn/economy/summer-electronics-fair-and-ict-expo-opens-today-in-hcm-city-351141.vov

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