Download - finance & business news 12 December - HKBAV...Intellasia 12 December 2017 2 / 44 FINANCE Vietnam finance & business 12 December At BIDV, the greenback price was listed at 22,680-22,750

12 December

finance & business news

FINANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Reference exchange rate down 5 dong 1VND weathers Fed rate hike 2Exchange rate to reach 23,000 VND/USD in 2019 2A large amount of money has been pumped back to the

market by SBV 3People still choose consumer loans despite 'huge' lending rates 3Banks' bad debts and the two-colour picture 4ANZ upbeat about Vietnam's prospects 6Vietcombank earns 342b dong from the sale of capital at

Saigonbank and CFC 6VietinBank wins Vietnam Outstanding E-Banking Award 2017 7Vietnamese bankers to stand trial in connection with $400m

fraud case 7Experts: VN economy promising next year 8World Bank forecasts Vietnam's GDP growth of 6.7pct 9WB reaffirms continued support for Vietnam 9City sets aside VND40 trillion for 2018 public investment 10Vietnam: 90pct of farm products exported in raw form 11Chinese veggies cause public concern 11Food management a top concern 12Nearly 245,000 autos sold in Jan-Nov 12Vietnam's oil exploitation exceeds set plan 13Doubts persist over E5 fuel sales 13Vietnam fuel distributors to shift to ethanol blend this week 14eTax services started in two northern provinces 15Cyber law balances security, information freedom 15AmCham objects to requirements on data centers in Vietnam 17Busting out newest tech to aid Vietnam's turn towards the sun 17Why US investors are hesitant to invest in Vietnam? 19Vietnamese electronics industry in desperate need 20Government regulation offers golden opportunity for local auto

production 21Big data the future of supply chain management and logistics 2233pct of farming cooperatives efficiently operate: Ministry 23More Chinese investors relocate manufacturing to Vietnam 23

BIZ NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Business Briefs 12 December, 2017 24Shares opens week in negative zone 24All indexes lose ground 25Experts: Selling pressure seen easing 25

Vietnam plans to raise over $570 million through IPOs in energy firms 26

Thai Beverage bids on 25 per cent of Sabeco 26Can Tho sees tourist arrivals up but few stay 27iPhone X sells out in HCM City 27Vietnamese goods enjoy promotion gains 28Vietnamese people spend nearly 13tr dong eating out

every month 29Recruitment in 2018: manufacturing, wholesale and

construction to record lightening growth speed 30Bulgarian wines to be presented in Hanoi 30Hanoi metro trial run delayed again 31Hanoi police close down railway cafes 31Foreign tourists spending in Vietnam remains low 31Mountain market a hub for ethnic traders 32Illegal sand mining damaging HN dyke 32Nat'l project seeks to improve coffee quality, develop

premium brand 33Thaco opens region's largest bus factory in central Vietnam 33FPT IS becomes IBM's platinum partner 34USG Boral increases investment in Vietnam 35Lazada returns with wilder Online Revolution 35Shenzhou completes textile and apparel production chain

in Vietnam 36JC&C reinforces presence in Vietnam 37GE to drive wave of solar investment in Vietnam 37Vast opportunities for financial metasearch platform 39Vietnam Airlines' member ranks second in global network 40Vietnam Airlines offers promotional tickets for New Year 41Vietjet honoured as most popular airline 41Operator of Thu Duc Agro Market frets over waste 41Sakura Vietnam introduces new brand identity 42PetroVietnam surpasses 11-month targets 42InterContinental Danang wins 'World's Leading Luxury

Resort' award 43Forum connects Vietnamese startups in US and VN 43Goods supply-demand matching conference attracts 2,800

companies 44Expo-Russia Vietnam to enhance bilateral economic links 44

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FINANCEReference exchange rate down 5 dong

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VIET BAO

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) set the daily reference dong/US dollar exchange rate for December 12 at 22,450 dong/US dollar, down five dong from the previous day.With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 23,123 dong/US dollar and the floor rate is 21,777 dong/US dollar. The opening hour rates at major commercial banks were relatively stable.Vietcombank kept the exchange rate at the same level compared to the previous day at 22,675 dong/US dollar and 22,745 dong/US dollar.

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Vietnam finance & business 12 December

Intellasia 12 December 2017 2 / 44

At BIDV, the greenback price was listed at 22,680-22,750 dong/US dollar (buying-sell-ing), unchanged from yesterday.The rate decreased five dong at Vietinbank, trading at 22,675 22,745 dong/US dollar.

VND weathers Fed rate hike

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR

The local currency has managed to stay healthy against the greenback so far, while overseas remittances are forecast to be on par with last year. The secret behind the dong's strength and the dynamics influencing remittance flows for the year are ex-plained by Barry Weisblatt, head of Research at Viet Capital Securities JSC, to VIR's Trang Nguyen.What is your view on the dong's performance against the USD throughout 2017? Do you think the central bank has done well in keeping the dong stable so far this year?Yes, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has done well in keeping the dong stable against the USD this year, resulting in a 0.19 per cent appreciation in the interbank FX rate year to date (YTD). The policy of allowing daily fluctuations in the central rate, which was first introduced at the beginning of 2016, has proven effective in removing speculative pressures. At the same time, zero USD interest rates have helped to lower demand for the greenback. However, SBV has also received help from external agents. The dollar has been globally weak, with the Dollar Index Spot (DXY) declining 9 per cent YTD, indicating that in fact, the dong should be even stronger.There have also been strong foreign currency flows coming to Vietnam. Robust ex-ports have resulted in a trade surplus of $2.8 billion through November. Disbursed for-eign direct investment (FDI) is up 11.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) at $16 billion and there have been strong foreign inflows into the bond market (net inflows of around $750 million) and the stock market (net inflows of more than $1.1 billion), as well as from state divestment. These have helped SBV to build up foreign reserves to $46 bil-lion. Should we expect any further forex fluctuations towards the end of the year? Are there other pressures on the dong that we need to watch out for in December?Thanks to the above reasons, the dong has been very stable during November, which did not happen in the past few years. The recent significant inflows from FDI and the state divestment process, as well as remittance inflows, should continue to support the value of the dong in the last month of the year, despite of a likely Fed hike in Decem-ber. In fact, previous Fed hikes this year had really no impact on the dong or for that matter other currencies. We do not expect anything different this month.However, as usual, the strong demand for the USD during the end of the year would put some pressure on the dong. In addition, exports might rise at a slower speed, while imports should increase at a higher pace due to rising demand before the New Year and Lunar New Year (we expect a small deficit in December). But the impacts on the dong should be very small compared to the previous years. It is possible that the dong might go flat by the end of this year against the end of last year.What is your opinion on the apparent slowdown of remittance flows in the first 11 months of the year? What do you forecast to be the total Vietnam receives this year?Remittances are very difficult to forecast as people send money for a variety of differ-ent reasons. I do think there has been a fundamental shift over recent years from over-seas Vietnamese sending home money to support their relatives to remittances in search of attractive investments. Remittances to Vietnam had a strong drop in 2016 to $9 billion from the $13.2 billion in 2015, which ended the steady growth trend lasting since 2010. It could be due to the zero-interest rate policy on USD deposits which has been applied by SBV in late 2015, or the Fed hikes in 2016.According to SBV, the remittances reaching HCM City in the first 10 months hit $3.9 billion and is estimated to reach $5.2 billion (+6 per cent YoY) in 2017. HCM City usu-ally accounts for around 60 per cent of total remittances in Vietnam. We estimate total remittances in the 2017 financial year to stand around $9 billion, relatively stable com-pared to 2016. While the zero-interest rate policy on USD deposits and Fed hikes could have some impacts on remittance inflows in 2017, rising inflows to production busi-nesses and the real estate sector should help remittance flows remain stable and healthy in the coming year. Currently, 72 per cent of remittances went to production activities, around 22 per cent to real estate, and only 6 per cent for personal spending.http://www.vir.com.vn/vnd-weathers-fed-rate-hike.html

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Exchange rate to reach 23,000 VND/USD in 2019

11/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIV

Report of ANZ Vietnam on the Vietnamese economy in 10 years showed that the na-tional foreign exchange (forex) reserves are at a record high level of over 45 billion USD as of the third quarter of 2017.Vietnam's forex reserves rose to 36 billion USD in early 2014, and have constantly been increasing until now. In early 2015, the forex reserves sometimes reached 37 billion USD, but sometimes fell to below 30 billion USD in 2016, but overall, the reserves have continuously been expanding. This is also thanks to the contribution from the surplus trade balance.Perhaps the impact of the trade balance was best seen in 2011, when Vietnam decided to devaluate the dong by 9.3 percent by adjusting the average interbank rate from 18,932 USD per VND to 20,693 VND per USD. Meanwhile, at this time, the trade bal-ance was in a serious deficit of over 15 billion USD. From that time on, the exchange rate has continued to be kept at high level to maintain the export growth.From 2016, Vietnam started to apply central reference exchange rate mechanism. However, the devaluation trend of VND is still the mainstream.According to ANZ, the reference exchange rate and spot exchange rate have been sta-ble. However, from 2016 until now, the spot exchange rate has always been higher and more volatile within an amplitude of +/-3 percent compared to the reference rate.With the strong support from remittances and trade surplus, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) committed to keep the exchange rate stable. Nevertheless, ANZ believed that the USD/VND exchange rate will increase slightly in the near future, reaching 22,900 VND per USD in the end of 2018 and 23,000 VND per USD in June 2019.

A large amount of money has been pumped back to the market by SBV

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY

After the peak time of withdrawal at the end of November, the market recorded quite large cash flow being pumped back to the system by the State Bank through T-bill channel.Specifically, during the week of December 4-8, although the State Bank continued to call for T-bills to balance, the large amount of maturity caused the net injection back to the system at a high level.The total amount of T-bills offered for bid last week was 29 trillion dong with 7-day term, in which 28.5 trillion dong was absorbed by credit institutions at the interest rate of 0.6 percent per annum. However, 55.9 trillion dong worth of T-bills matured in the week.Accordingly, as of the end of last week, the State Bank of Vietnam injected as much as 34.1 trillion dong into the T-bill channel.With the aforementioned net injection, the volume of T-bills circulated to withdraw money as of the end of last week dropped to 21.8 trillion dong.Earlier, on November 30, 2017, the total amount of money withdrawn through out-standing T-bills in circulation reached 65.200 trillion dongthe highest level since the beginning of the year.Since the beginning of the year, the State Bank has been using T-bill tool, issuing to withdraw money as one of the measures to neutralise the impact of the money supply brought out to buy foreign currency.After the net purchase of about $7 billion from the beginning of the year to the middle of November, the State Bank still continues to buy in recent time.The average US dollar exchange rate in the interbank market last week was close to 22,710 dong equal to the buying rate that the State Bank of Vietnam listed since the be-ginning of October 2017.

People still choose consumer loans despite 'huge' lending rates

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK

Although interest rates are always higher than normal credit, especially when the loans are provided by financial companies, due to simple procedures that need no col-laterals, many customers still choose consumer credit, causing outstanding loans in this sector to constantly increase.


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Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy general director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s HCM City branch said outstanding loans in the city have increased strongly in recent years.Accordingly, in 2012-2-16 period, the city's average consumer outstanding loans swelled from 20 percent to 22 percent per year. Specifically, in January-October 2017, outstanding consumer loans reckoned for 12.2 percent out of the total of more than 2,000 trillion dong oustanding loans of the city, equal to 250 trillion dong.Besides, the data from the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC) said in January-October 2017 the proportion of credit into real estate business and construc-tion decreased to 15.5 percent (compared to 17.1 percent in 2016).Meanwhile, consumer credit continued strong growth momentum since the beginning of 2017 with the total consumer outstanding loans to surge about 58.6 percent from the end of 2016.This figure shows that outstanding loans tended to decrease slightly, but in reality, the NFSC has repeatedly warned that it is necessary to be cautious with real estate credit when consumer oustanding loans mainly flowed into housing and land.The report released in mid-2017 by Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC) estimates that the scale of Vietnam's financial consumer market reached nearly 600 trillion dong (about $26 billion) in 2016, accounting for nearly 10 percent GDP. It is forecasted to ap-proach 1,000 trillion dong in 2019 with the annual average growth of 29%.Currently, there are two distinct segments in consumer loans. Customers of banks are standard while customers of finance companies are substandard who do not care a lot about "collaterals", and methods of payment.Therefore, it is necessary to have specialised service and higher lending rates. The fact that the ratio of secured consumer credit is much higher than normal conventional loans has brought credit to become an attractive business segment.On the current market, four companies including FE Credit, Home Credit, HD Saigon, and Prudential Finance that hold as much as 80 percent of consumer credit market share are actively racing to form affiliates with retail businesses. Meanwhile, some commercial banks have been acquiring finance companies to convert their operational functions and boost consumer loans.The reason why secured loans of finance companies are often higher than commercial banks, even amounting to 70%/year was because the capital loss of finance companies are high when they do not have capital mobilisation function. Besides, the value of the loan is low, the term is short (about 6-18 months), leading to costs of debt collection, management and service to be higher than normal.That is not to mention, due to high risks of the consumer finance industry, interest rate level will be higher than retail bank or commercial bank. director of a finance company said secured lending rates in the current market are reasonable and profits from a loan will be relatively appropriate to costs paid by businesses.Moreover, lending rates of finance companies are adjusted for many different subjects depending on the quality of customer records and risks of the mortgaged loans.However, Dr Le Xuan Nghia, finance and economic expert said the people need to cal-culate carefully, and if they do not have real demand, they should not use secured con-sumer loans because of high interest rate. Moreover, it is essential to pay attention to bad debt risks if consumer loans are strongly strengthened.Regarding this issue, Governor Le Minh Hung said inspection of consumer finance is an important task that will be strengthened by the State Bank in the near future to en-sure that operations of consumer finance companies are transparent and lawful.In addition, in the state management of consumption, the government's scheme on re-structuring of credit organisations, the State Bank has had its own set of solutions to restructure finance companies as well as upcoming consumer finance activities.Meanwhile, leaders of the aforementioned four consumer finance companies said cur-rently, bad debt is still controlled at reasonable level, even less than three percent, though outstanding loans in these units have increased strongly.


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Banks' bad debts and the two-colour picture

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA|DTCK

Chair of the Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) Nghiem Xuan Thanh recently had to "proudly complain" that his bank has made pro-visions at a higher value than the current bad debt value.If fully making provisions as allowed by legal framework, the bad debt ratio of Viet-combank will be less than 1%, an unbelievable level in banking operation, not only in Vietnam but also in the entire region.There are many regulations each bank must comply in terms of bad debts and the way to handle bad debts. Simply speaking, if using the entire provisions to settle bad debts, it seems to be too "disengaged" as banks' balance sheets are always clean in bad debts and irrecoverable debts, in other words, there is no need to recover bad debts. The profit will thus fall, shareholders' benefits will decline, and banks' operation will not be substantial.Therefore, the way chosen by Vietcombank is understood as it is preparing a huge pro-visions to avoid affecting other activities in all circumstances. At the same time, the bank is trying to recover the unpaid bad debts from borrowers. Chair Thanh's words can be considered a message which says that "Vietcombank's bad debt issue has be-come the past."That is the story of Vietcombank, which planned to break the profit record, with the first time reaching a five-digit number (over 10,000 billion dong). In 2018, the bank will celebrate its 55th anniversary and its prosperity allows it to set up one of the hugest provisions in the banking sector.The story of Vietcombank is also taking place in some other banks. Although they have not made announcement vigorously, the moves to repurchase bad debts from VAMC or the confirmation about "a basically healthy financial status" are showing this devel-opment. The names to be mentioned are Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Vietnam Prosperity Commercial Joint Stock Bank, and Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, etc.However, it is just half of the picture, and many other banks are having to make good use of 2017 to increase their provision fund and urgently recover bad debts in order to return to normal.In the latest report on the banking situation, Hochiminh city Securities Company (HSC) mentioned that the most bad debts are concentrating on small-scaled banks and are secured by real estate assets. As estimated, about 400 trillion dong of bad debts re-main unsettled in the system, equivalent to 6.1 percent of the total outstanding loans by the end of the third quarter of 2017.The number of irrecoverable debts of the unprovisioned bad debts of the banking sec-tor is about 240-280 trillion dong, equivalent to 600%-700 percent of the total profits of the banking sector in 2016.A notable point is that the debt group 5 (irrecoverable debts) which must be provi-sioned at 100 percent is still in bad situation at many banks and following a rising trend in the first nine months of the year, accounting for high proportion of the total bad debts by the end of September 2017.For example, all the three debt groups of Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) as of late September 2017 increased compared to late 2016. In particular, the irrecoverable debts of BIDV accounted for the largest pro-portion with over 10.460 trillion dong. At Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade (Saigo-nbank), lending to customer by late September 2017 reached 13.4 trillion dong, up by 7.2%. However, the total bad debts of Saigonbank accounted for 2.74 percent of the to-tal lending, reaching 368 billion dong in the end of September 2017.Talking to Dau tu Chung Khoan, general director of Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) Nguyen Dinh Tung said that the issuance of Resolution 42 of the National Assembly has created favourable conditions for banks in the process of selling secured assets, handling and recovering bad debts. However, the speed of the bad debt settle-ment in the near future depends on each bank, on each debt item that the bank ap-proved in the past as well as its secured asset.


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It is currently the last month of the year and most banks have posted positive numbers about their asset growth and profitability which have exceeded the targets.This will be a good time for banks to accelerate the settlement of bad debts. Some debts will permanently be irrecoverable because the firms go bankrupt, lose solvency and they must be offset by provisions. The positive business situation allows banks to do so.But more importantly, banks are speeding up debt collection thanks to the solution to sell the secured assets of the debtors which was allowed in Resolution 42. It is likely that by this time next year, the issue on the settlement of bad debts in period 2012-2015 will remain in books as a lesson to be learnt for the banking sector.

ANZ upbeat about Vietnam's prospects


Robust credit growth will help the Vietnamese economy achieve its growth target this year, while export is likely to remain strong and more foreign capital will flow into utilities, says Australia & New Zealand Bank Group.ANZ has just released its latest report on Vietnam, which paints a rosy outlook for the economy. The bank raised its forecast for Vietnam's GDP growth in 2017 from 6.5 to 6.7 per cent, and believed that the figure can be higher in the coming years. This climb will secure Vietnam's position as the second fastest-growing economy in the world only behind China.ANZ economist Eugenia Victorino attributed this growth to strong exports boosted by trade deals, good credit growth, and steady inflows of foreign capital. Inflation is likely to remain manageable at 3.5 per cent and interest rates are expected to stay at 6.25 per cent in 2018.The economist then highlighted that foreign investment into Vietnam has shifted in re-cent years, as 42.3 per cent of the capital is now flowing into utilities. Manufacturing, which used to attract 70 per cent of inbound capital, now accounted for only 31.7 per cent. According to ANZ, foreign investors have realised that they need to have a strong infrastructure backbone to support manufacturing activities in Vietnam, resulting in the recent surge in utilities investments."Foreign manufacturers have experienced a lack of power and other infrastructure is-sues in Vietnam, so it is a sustainable option to invest in utilities now. This is good for Vietnam in the long term," said Victorino.Since January, Vietnam has attracted $16.3 billion of new FDI capital.The ANZ economist added that Vietnam's young workforce, most of whom have com-pleted basic education, has traditionally been the main driver for foreign capital into manufacturing. However, if Vietnam wants to move up the global value chain, it needs a stronger workforce with a higher level of education and more sophisticated skills.Regarding exports, ANZ data showed that Vietnam's export composition is transform-ing, with a boom in electronics and phones and declining crude oil and aquaculture products. Victorino noted that Vietnamese exports may encounter short-term deficit if the country wishes to diversify its export offers."The US, Vietnam's largest export market, has expressed its dislike for countries that manipulate their currencies to gain a competitive edge in export. This is a balancing act for Vietnam if it wants to weaken the VND next year," said the economist.When it comes to Vietnam's chronic problem of bad debt, ANZ believes that this is a structural issue that will persist in the next few years. Contrary to popular opinions that non-performing loans should be solved as quickly as possible, the bank argued that too fast a cleanup can be disruptive to the economy.CEO of ANZ Vietnam Dennis Hussey added that he has seen significant progress in solving bad debts in Vietnam, especially with the recent revised Law on Credit Insti-tutions."The upcoming Basel II will also force discipline in the banking sector, pushing banks to raise capital, strengthen their risk management progress, and manage bad debts," said Hussey.http://www.vir.com.vn/anz-upbeat-about-vietnams-prospects.html


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Vietcombank earns 342b dong from the sale of capital at Saigonbank and CFC

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank, coded VCB) has announced results of the sale of shares at Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Saigonbank) and Cement Finance Company (CFC).Accordingly, all the shares in the two above-mentioned investments of Vietcombank were fully sold at 20,100 dong/share and 11,544 dong/share respectively. The winning price of OCB shares is 1.6 times higher than the starting price.Some investors have considered the possibility that the bid winner will accept to lose the mortgage due to too high bid price. However, official information from Vietcom-bank shows that the capital sale was successful.The total amount collected was 342 billion dongs after subtracting arising costs (ap-praisal fee). The aforementioned amount of money is being deposited at Vietcom-bank's account at ANZ Bank.The share transfer will end in Q4/2017.

VietinBank wins Vietnam Outstanding E-Banking Award 2017

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV

Vietinbank has been presented with the Vietnam Outstanding E-banking Award 2017 at a recent ceremony of the Vietnam Outstanding Banking Awards 2017.The 6th annual Vietnam Outstanding Banking Awards is organised by the Internation-al Data Group (IDG) and the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), aiming to honour banks which have made great contributions to the banking and finance sector.Over the years, as a result of drastic reforms and greater investment in infrastructure upgrading, Vietinbank has provided customers with fast and safe online payment services like iPay, Internet Banking and Mobile Banking.In 2017, the bank has offered new e-banking applications allowing users to make tax payment, buy movie tickets, activate or lock online cards and add bonus points as loy-alty customers.Especially, with the QR Pay service, Vietinbank has provided customers with an easy and simple payment method by passing the hassle of entering the account/card infor-mation. The transactions can be made within seconds by scanning a QR code.Vietinbank is the first and only bank to provide QR Pay services for VNPT and Vina-Phone's bill payments in 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Through the service, the number of customers making transactions through Vietinbank's online banking chan-nel has increased dramatically in the first quarters of of the year.The number of new customers increased 2.5 fold when compared to the whole 2016 and the number of VietinBank iPay Mobile application users also doubled the level of one year earlier.http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietinbank-wins-vietnam-outstanding-ebanking-award-2017-364427.vov

Vietnamese bankers to stand trial in connection with $400m fraud case

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

January will witness two major cases emblematic of how the oil and banking sectors are at the heart of Vietnam's corruption crackdown.A court in HCM City will be hearing a case involving 46 banking execs and staff on January 8 for alleged violations of economic regulations that resulted in VND9 trillion ($400 million) going missing from the banking sector.HCM City's People's Court said on Monday that Tram Be, former deputy chair of Sa-combank, and Pham Cong Danh, a former chair of Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), will be among 46 defendants to stand trial.The scheduled date of the trial highlights how Vietnam is looking to swiftly punish high-profile individuals as part of its ongoing anti-graft move. At a yet-to-be an-nounced date also in January, Trinh Xuan Thanh, the former board chair and general director of construction company PVC, a PetroVietnam subsidiary, will also stand trial for embezzlement and violating state regulations on economic management, causing losses of around VND3.2 trillion ($147 million) at the company. In early August, Thanh "turned himself in" after a 10-month international manhunt.


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The banking sector and state energy giant PetroVietnam are at the centre of Vietnam's sweeping corruption crackdown that has ensnared scores of high-ranking officials, in-cluding Dinh La Thang, a former member of the Communist Party's decision-making Politburo who headed PetroVietnam from 2006 to 2011. Thang was arrested last Friday for past wrongdoings at the national oil and gas giant.In October last year, a court convicted Danh, the former chair of Vietnam Construction Bank, and 35 other bank employees of stealing more than $400 million, the largest sum ever siphoned out of Vietnam's scandal-hit banking sector.Danh got 30 years in prison while his accomplices received between 22 years behind bars and three years probation.Following an investigation, police arrested Be along with Phan Huy Khang, former Sa-combank CEO, and 14 other former employees of various banks and companies in Au-gust.Investigators found that Danh and other bankers from VNCB had secretly withdrawn money from clients' savings accounts and used the cash to secure loans from other banks or to deposit into their own accounts.Be was found to have helped Danh borrow VND1.8 trillion from Sacombank by using his position to evade banking regulations.He processed Danh's loan in just a day, taking an illegal deposit from VNCB as a guar-antee.Danh spent VND1.7 trillion on paying back debts at another local bank for six compa-nies that he owned, and deposited the rest in a personal account.In September, a court in Hanoi sentenced Danh to 14 years behind bars for his role in another a multi million-dollar graft case that involved the scandal-hit OceanBank and PetroVietnam.Ha Van Tham, former board chair of OceanBank, was accused of approving a VND500 billion ($23.5 million) loan for Danh via a real estate firm without properly securing collateral in 2012. The HCM City-based company later defaulted on the loan.Tham received a life sentence and Nguyen Xuan Son, a former chair of PetroVietnam, was sentenced to death.https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnamese-bankers-to-stand-trial-in-connec-tion-with-400m-fraud-case-3682875.html

Experts: VN economy promising next year

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

With positive achievements this year, experts have forecast Vietnam's economy would continue growing steadily next year, heard a seminar themed "Vietnam's economic prospects in 2018".At the seminar held by the HCM City CEO Club in the city last Thursday, Nguyen Duc Kien, vice chair of the National Assembly's Economic Committee, said Vietnam could obtain the gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of 6.7 percent this year.The country will continue stabilising the macro economy, controlling inflation and speeding up the economic restructuring next year.The government will accelerate public administration reforms, combat corruption, and improve the institutional capacity for market economy and business environment, Kien added.The government will also amend laws on investment, bidding and construction to help enterprises overcome difficulties. In addition, Kien noted that there are still up to 241 business fields wherein investment is conditional, and the government will seek to reduce this number by 20-30%.A noteworthy point for next year is that the National Assembly at its fifth session in May will approve the law on special economic and administrative zones, with the first candidates being Van Don of Quang Ninh Province, Van Phong of Khanh Hoa Prov-ince and Phu Quoc of Kien Giang Province. The law will make conditions favourable for foreign investors, Kien said, adding such a law is not meant to create tax havens for investors.At the seminar, experts and analysts highly evaluated Vietnam's economic growth this


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year and expressed confidence in the outlook next year.Sebastian Eckardt, lead economist and acting country director for the World Bank in Vietnam, said the country has achieved good economic growth and could overcome challenges next year.Despite high export growth, the country's foreign trade growth remains heavily de-pendent on foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises. Therefore, Vietnam should have policies encouraging local firms to participate in global supply chains of FDI companies, Sebastian Eckardt advised.Other experts told the seminar that currency policies should be flexible and suitable to market developments. It had better not inject a large amount of money into the market to ensure the market stability.Experts also mentioned ineffective solutions to low labour productivity, poor infra-structure, pollution, slow disbursement for public investment projects and underde-veloped supporting industries.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57459/Experts-VN-economy-promising-next-year.html

World Bank forecasts Vietnam's GDP growth of 6.7pct

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA

The World Bank (WB) on December 11 released its report "Taking Stock- An Update on Vietnam's Recent Economic Development", forecasting the country's GDP to grow at 6.7 percent this year.Over the medium term, growth is projected to stabilise at around 6.5 percent, and in-flation is projected to remain low, says the bi-annual economic report on Vietnam.Ousmane Dione, WB Country director for Vietnam, said growth momentum picked up across major economies and global trade recovered in 2017, adding with incomes rising and poverty falling, Vietnam's economy had another good year of strong growth and broad macroeconomic stability.According the new WB report, stronger domestic demand, robust export-oriented manufacturing, and a gradual recovery of the agriculture sector are driving Vietnam's economy, which expanded by 6.4 percent during the first nine months of the year com-pared to the same period last year. The manufacturing and service sector respectively grew by 12.8 percent and 7.3 percent during the same period.Low inflation and rising real wages sustained buoyant domestic demand and private consumption, while the stronger global economy helped Vietnam's export-oriented manufacturing and agricultural sectors. Job growth continued, with 1.6 million new jobs added in the manufacturing sector over the past three years, and 700,000 addition-al jobs in the construction, retail, and hospitality sectors, leading to higher aggregate labour productivity. Labour demand also contributed to rapid wage growth, with wages increasing by 15 percent cumulatively between 2014 and 2016.Despite progress in resolving non-performing loans, risks remain, including the lack of robust capital buffers in some banks, especially amidst rapid credit growth.Fiscal tightening is underway, and has led to a leaner budget deficit and containment of public debt accumulation. However, the decline in public investment falling to 16 percent of total spending in the first nine months of 2017 compared with an average of 25 percent in recent years may not be sustainable over time, as Vietnam needs signifi-cant investments in infrastructure to support future growth.A slow-down in structural reforms could also impact the ongoing recovery, especially given the weaker growth in investment. Enhancing macroeconomic resilience and structural reforms can lift Vietnam's growth potential over the medium term.Sebastian Eckardt, WB's Lead Economist for Vietnam, said structural reform remains a central priority in view of tepid productivity growth. Building on progress already made, Vietnam can further lift productivity growth through investments in needed in-frastructure and skills as well as deeper reforms of the business environment, SOE and banking sector, the WB expert added.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/world-bank-forecasts-vietnams-gdp-growth-of-67-percent/123170.vnp


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WB reaffirms continued support for Vietnam


A leader of the World Bank (WB) has reaffirmed the global lender's continued support for Vietnam to address challenges of rapid urbanisation and impacts of climate change, the Vietnam News Agency reports.Laura Tuck, vice President for Sustainable Development at the WB, hailed Vietnam's dramatic transformation from one of the world's poorest countries to a lower middle-income country within three decades. The WB looks forward to continue its close part-nership with Vietnam to ensure the inclusive, sustainable and climate-resilient growth, she said.In HCM City, Tuck witnessed the development impacts brought about by the WB-funded projects, like the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal revitalisation project.She urged the municipal government to pay more attention to land, investment, and financial management for its development.She also affirmed the long-term, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral cooperation with the city is a key pillar of the bank's urbanisation strategy in Vietnam.The WB leader then traversed the Mekong Delta through Ben Tre Province to see the impacts of climate change on the lives, livelihoods and assets of regional communities first-hand.The delta is home to around 17 million people, and accounts for about half of Viet-nam's food output. The region is also facing a slew of climate-related challenges such as coastal erosion and salinity intrusion.She stressed government agencies and communities might decide on the future of the delta by making informed choices about how to protect the region, when to make room for rivers, where to let the salt water remain, and when community livelihoods might need to be adjusted in response to changing natural conditions.The WB is helping to identify and prioritise climate resilient investments, and financ-ing the preparation of an integrated regional master plan that will bring sectors and provinces together.During her meeting with the government of Can Tho City, the vice president discussed the role of cities in the transformation of the Mekong Delta a region with high popula-tion density, and the importance of strengthening urban resilience.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57466/WB-reaffirms-continued-support-for-Viet-nam.html

City sets aside VND40 trillion for 2018 public investment


The HCM City People's Council has approved the 2018 public investment plan, with nearly VND40 trillion, with traffic infrastructure taking the bulk besides environmen-tal, educational and healthcare projects.According to the plan, around VND843 billion out of the VND40 trillion amount is sourced from the central budget fund, VND2.86 trillion being official development as-sistance (ODA) capital, and VND36.165 trillion coming from the city's budget.To ease the problem of traffic congestion, the city government plans to increase the to-tal area of road surface by almost 280,000 square meters, build eight bridges, urgently complete urban railway components, and promote transportation by bus with a target of having 600 million passengers per year.Director of the HCM City Department of Transport Bui Xuan Cuong told the Daily that the city had spent VND11.6 trillion on the traffic control programme in 2016-2017. For the next three years, the city needs roughly VND41 trillion, he added."Therefore, we need to accelerate procedures to cut costs arising from slow site clear-ance, boost sale of real estate and equitisation of State enterprises in HCM City to mo-bilise capital, and increase revenues from certain fees, charges and fines to secure enough capital for traffic control projects," Cuong said.As for environmental projects, the city government will continue work on pollution control, urban embellishment along canals, and sanitation improvement in polluted rivers and ponds.According to the HCM City government's data, budget collections of the city are pro-


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jected at VND347.98 trillion this year, a 13 percent rise against last year. Next year, the city targets to have budget revenue picking up 8.28 percent to VND376.78 trillion.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57465/City-sets-aside-VND40 trillion-for-2018-pub-lic-investment.html

Vietnam: 90pct of farm products exported in raw form


Though Vietnam is among the world's top exporters of farming produces, 90 percent of the products are exported in the raw form with quality and value lower than many foreign rivals, said minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong in a recent meeting.Cuong voiced his concern at the International Support Policy (ISG) Plenary Meeting held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hanoi on December 11, focusing on theme "Global Agricultural Value Chains: Promotion of Food Safety and Market Linkages".Vietnam has remained among the world's top 15 agricultural suppliers with products shipped to 180 countries and territories. The country's export of agricultural, forestry and seafood products reached 32 billion USD in 2016 and is likely to hit 36 billion USD this year.But when sold in the global market, many of these products come under no brand names or foreign brands, the minister said, stressing that it is a major setback, hinder-ing Vietnam's effort to become more engaged in the global agricultural value chains.The local agricultural industry has faced a number of issues, particularly small-scale production, inefficient use of inputs and resources and limited use of high technology. The processing sector has barely grown in recent years with just about 25-30 percent of agribusinesses possessing advanced processing technology.Meanwhile, World Bank director Ousmane Dione believed food safety poses the big-gest challenge to Vietnam. The country still lacks sets of national standards for food safety as well as limited knowledge on the issue, he noted, adding that there are very few laboratories for food safety testing in Vietnam while monitoring programmes are not effective enough.No single solution can ensure food safety but a comprehensive set of measures are needed and there should be more public investment in promotion of food safety, Di-one said.Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong said Vietnam has been restructuring the agricultural sector between 2017 and 2020 with aims to improve quality, productivity and compet-itiveness of the country's farming products and create better links between production and distribution towards sustainable development and an agriculture industry with high added value.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-90-percent-of-farm-products-exported-in-raw-form/123156.vnp

Chinese veggies cause public concern


Many traders have sold agricultural products imported from China posing as Da Lat produce, causing concern for both competent agencies and consumers, said Huynh Ngoc Hai, director of Lam Dong Province's Department of Industry and Trade.At a seminar on solutions to enhance supply and demand connection and agricultural goods traceability in HCM City last weekend, Hai said traders had earlier used basalt soil as a special makeup to make Chinese potatoes look like Da Lat produce in order to make huge profit.However, the trick is no longer used as Chinese potatoes are now shipped to Lam Dong to be attached with new labels, then transported by Lam Dong-registered trucks to HCM City for sale. This falsification even causes confusion to traders at markets in Da Lat City in Lam Dong Province.The same situation has been seen with Chinese-grown broccoli which is also sold un-der the guise of being from Da Lat City. The trick is often used at the end of harvest seasons of such products when the demand is high, Hai added.


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Lai The Hung, head of the Sub-Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection of Lam Dong Province, told the Daily that 10,000 tonnes of Chinese potatoes were im-ported into Vietnam including 207 tonnes into Da Lat in the year to September.Since 2015, Lam Dong has built trade names for its vegetables and flowers. The prov-ince has exported these products to South Korea, Japan and some North Asian mar-kets, and aims to further penetrate these markets by 2020, Hai said.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57454/Chinese-veggies-cause-public-concern.html

Food management a top concern

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS

Despite natural disasters and market regression, in the past 11 months, Vietnam's total agriculture, forestry and aquaculture export turnover hit $33.14 billion, though food management still has room for improvement.Vietnamese agricultural products have been exported to 180 countries and territories, with 2016's export value $32 billion and the figure set to hit $36 billion this year, said minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong at the Interna-tional Support Group (ISG) Plenary Meeting 2017 yesterday.The event focused on discussing Vietnam's participation in the global agri-food value chain, food safety and agricultural consumption.Nonetheless, Cuong said that despite being an agricultural exporting "powerhouse", 90 per cent of Vietnam's products are exported in raw form or of lower quality and val-ue than other countries' products.The figures are a record high, with many seafood and green products achieving un-precedented export value of more than $1 billion, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) at the meeting.Moreover, an alarming portion of Vietnamese agricultural goods are sold abroad with-out proper branding, or under foreign brands. This disadvantage affects the nation's status in the global agricultural value chain, he claimed.At the meeting, World Bank Country director for Vietnam, Ousmane Dione, stated that the country still lacks food safety standards and proper testing.For Vietnam's agricultural products with higher value on the global chain such as cof-fee, pepper, seafood or fruit, food safety is a big challenge that can be overcome with technological advance and heavier public investment, said Dione.He suggested the agricultural industry shift its focus from production processes to harvesting, slaughtering, storage and distribution, in hope of generating higher value added products, more jobs and higher income.According to Cuong, the agricultural sector's restructuring for 2017-2020 will empha-size boosting productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness, linking raw mate-rial production with consumption along the value chain.As well as small production scale, the country's agriculture sector faces issues such as inadequate use of resources and a lack of science and technology application with only about 25 to 30 per cent of firms employing modern processing lines, reports from the MARD show.Vietnam's food safety management laws often overlap, making solutions difficult to carry out, along with limitations on infrastructure, resources and investment, said the MARD reports.Cuong said the MARD's intention is to expand distribution channels for both domestic and international markets to create strong national brands.He stated that the goal of large-scale agricultural and rural production requires efforts from the private sector, research institutions, policymakers and public services.http://bizhub.vn/news/food-management-a-top-concern_290690.html

Nearly 245,000 autos sold in Jan-Nov


Some 244,700 autos had been sold in the year to end-November, down 10 percent over the same period last year, according to data of the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).Last month's auto sales reached nearly 24,800 units, a decline of 13 percent against the


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year-ago period but up 13 percent over the previous month. Sales inched up in all ve-hicle segments with nearly 12,800 passenger vehicles, 10,310 commercial vehicles and some 1,500 special-use vehicles finding buyers, up 6%, 15 percent and 65 percent month-on-month respectively.According to VAMA, both domestically assembled and imported autos registered higher sales last month with nearly 17,700 and 7,100 units, edging up 14 percent and 10 percent respectively compared to the previous month.In general, auto sales went down in the 11-month period with 139,600 passenger cars (down 12%), 92,580 commercial vehicles (down 5%) and 12,470 special-purpose autos (down 15%).However, the consumption of home-assembled autos in the period fell 19 percent to nearly 175,000 units while that of imported vehicles picked up 9 percent year-on-year to 70,000 units.In the last month of the year, auto firms are competing strongly with each other to achieve their targets. They have launched promotion programmes and lowered prices to sell out their products.Experts believe that the auto sector might not obtain the growth target of 10 percent set for this year. Last year, more than 304,400 cars were sold, increasing 24 percent versus 2015.The market is expected to return to its growth path next year as a large number of con-sumers are delaying their purchase until 2018 when the duty on CBU auto imports from Asean countries is cut to 0 percent from the current 30%.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57456/Nearly-245000-autos-sold-in-Jan-November-html

Vietnam's oil exploitation exceeds set plan


The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) produced 14.27 million tonnes of oil during January-November, exceeding its set plan of 2.6 percent.Of the figure, 12.49 million tonnes were exploited domestically, 2.7 percent higher than the target.In the period, the group produced 1.6 million tonnes of nitrogenous fertiliser for farm-ing, surpassing targets by 5.3 percent.The group's revenue as of November 25 was calculated at 437.8 trillion VND (19.35 bil-lion USD), 3.6 percent beyond the yearly plan and up 11 percent from the same time in 2016.Many member companies of the group have fulfilled their targets in the year, includ-ing Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co., Ltd, PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Com-pany, PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation and PVOil.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-oil-exploitation-exceeds-set-plan/123147.vnp

Doubts persist over E5 fuel sales


Southern cities and provinces are ready to switch from the RON92 grade petrol to E5 biofuel starting next year, but concerns remain over its pricing and consumer prefer-ence.Local authorities and petrol traders said at a meeting on Saturday they are all set to sell the E5 biofuel from January 1, 2018.Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said all 534 petrol stations in the city will sell E5 bio-fuel on a regular basis next year.Some of the petrol stations are prepared to sell from December 15, he said, adding that about 45 per cent have already started selling the E5 biofuel."To ensure sufficient supply of the E5 fuel, the department will inspect all 534 gas sta-tions on December 15," Dong said.The trading and sale of RON92 petrol will stop on December 31, 2017 and be replaced by the E5 biofuel on January 1, 2018 under the prime Mnister's Announcement 255/TB-VPCP on June 6.


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According to the Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Indus-try and Trade, E5 fuel has completely replaced RON92 petrol in four cities and prov-inces Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Can Tho.But authorities in southern localities have also said they have encountered some diffi-culties in switching from RON92 petrol to E5 bio-fuel, particularly product price and consumer preference.While sellers are not encouraged by the current price mechanism, consumers are not convinced by the product's quality standards, which have mostly remained undis-closed to the public.Sellers are also concerned that the new product would not be attractive enough as it is only VND1,000-1,200 (4.4-5.3 US cents) per litre cheaper than RON95 petrol. This might see market demand for RON95 petrol rise strongly, especially if consumers' awareness over the quality of E5 biofuel is not raised."Petrol stations in the southern region have also raised questions about how they would deal with the remaining amount of RON92 petrol not sold out by January 1, and about how much financing they would get because the input cost for selling E5 fuel is still high," Dong said.Across the country, a number of companies have been prepared to sell the new prod-uct on December 15, including Nam Song Hau Trading Investing Petroleum JSC and PetroVietnam Oil Corporation.The Hau Giang-based Nam Song Hau Trading Investing Petroleum JSC has three fac-tories with daily capacities of 400, 800 and 1,500 cubic metres, four subsidiaries, and 77 petrol stations.The company will subsidise sellers by purchasing the remaining amount of RON92 fuel at the distributed price.Meanwhile, PetroVietnam Oil Corp (PV Oil) has completed all preparations for the new product, according to general director Cao Hoai Duong.Duong said that PV Oil has invested in maintaining, improving and upgrading its in-frastructure to make sure the supply of E5 fuel is sufficient and product quality meets national standards. He estimated the preparation costs for the company at VND100 billion ($4.44 million).Nguyen Minh Toai, director of the Can Tho Department of Industry and Trade, ac-knowledged that the main difficulties in regular sale of the E5 fuel are consumer awareness and sellers' doubts on input costs.He said local authorities need to improve consumers' awareness of E5 bio-fuel and de-velop proper plans to support traders in making the switch.Deputy minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said at a conference on Saturday that there has been no complaint on the quality of E5 fuel from consumers since it was piloted in seven provinces and cities in late 2014.Its quality and safety standards have been confirmed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, he added.The deputy minister also said that the Finance and Industry and Trade ministries have been working on tax rates and selling prices to make E5 more attractive to consumers.It is important to put E5 fuel into use nationwide as it will improve the country's ener-gy security situation, protect the environment and further develop the Vietnamese en-ergy industry, Vuong said.http://bizhub.vn/news/doubts-persist-over-e5-fuel-sales_290665.html

Vietnam fuel distributors to shift to ethanol blend this week


The country has been pushing for the E5 mixture as ethanol can be produced from cas-sava, making it renewable.Vietnam's biggest fuel distributors said they would complete a shift to an ethanol-blended product by Friday as part of a government programme to promote a more eco-friendly fuel.State-owned PetroVietnam Oil Corp (PV Oil), which sells oil and fuels, will replace RON 92 fuel at all of its fuel stations with E5, a mixture of 95 percent of RON 92 and 5


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percent of ethanol, by December 15, its parent firm PetroVietnam said on its website on Monday.Top fuel importer and distributor Petrolimex said on its website last week that its 2,400 stations across the country would have shifted to the ethanol-blended fuel by the end of this week.Vietnam has been pushing for the E5 mixture as ethanol can be produced from cassa-va, making it renewable. Several factories have been set up specifically to process cas-sava into ethanol.But critics and drivers argue the mixture could cause fire or damage vehicles' engines and parts. The government has said the mixture is safe, adding that drivers should use vehicles from a certain year of production, depending on the model, to ensure they are safe.Another type of non-ethanol fuel, RON 95, is still on sale, but in smaller volumes.Vietnam plans to complete the shift to the E5 mixer across all fuel stations by January 1 next year.https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-fuel-distributors-to-shift-to-ethanol-blend-this-week-3683103.html

eTax services started in two northern provinces


The general Department of Taxation (GDT) on Monday began the provision of elec-tronic tax (eTax) services to all enterprises in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Phu Tho.With the eTax system, businesses can access and manage all electronic tax services on a single system, rather than having to log into various applications.Specifically, taxpayers only need to use one account and login to a system to use all services and manage all tax records, without changing the page address or logging in again.This will help taxpayers easily complete the steps in the process of tax declaration, payment, tax refund and search of tax records and information, according to the GDT.For large enterprises, apart from a main account of each tax code, an enterprise can cre-ate additional accounts for various positions in the enterprise such as director, chief ac-countant and accounting, which will help monitor the responsibility of members in a flexible way.In addition, the eTax system has a look-up function, so taxpayers can look up tax records sent to the tax office and check the results of the tax processing.For businesses that have already been using the tax authorities' tax filing systems, all information of transaction accounts and business records will be automatically trans-ferred to the eTax system to continue using the services. The taxpayers will not have to re-register.According to the GDT, when the eTax system is officially put to use, enterprises will stop using the old electronic tax declaration and payment system.Tax authorities have also sent taxpayers specific instructions so that they will be able to use the new system.The centralised one-stop shop will be on held on a trial basis in the two provinces until March 10, 2018.http://bizhub.vn/news/etax-services-started-in-two-northern-provinces_290681.html

Cyber law balances security, information freedom


Dr Mai Liem Truc, former deputy minister of Post and Communications, talks to the newspaper Nong thon ngay nay (Countryside Today) about the need to finalise the draft Law on Cyber Security.The draft Law on Cyber Security has been revised 14 times, but there are still outstand-ing controversial issues. Do you have any comments on the latest draft edition of the law?First of all, referring to the adjusted framework of the draft law, much of the contents on safety, security, technology and technique in the 14th draft edition of the law are in


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line with the Law on Internet Security, which came into force on July 1, 2017. However, there are two major differences concerning the management rules and the State man-agement agencies. These two points will cause difficulties for law enforcement officers and enterprises in implementing the law.In my opinion, quite a few components on the law contradict some existing laws as well as Vietnam's commitments to a few international laws. For example, the draft law requires foreign suppliers of telecom services or Internet services to establish a repre-sentative agency in Vietnam. Such a requirement is not regulated in any WTO docu-ments or the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).How do you think the component of the draft law that requires foreign suppliers of telecoms and internet services in Vietnam to have operation licences and to establish mechanisms to verify users' personal information when they create accounts aligns with Vietnam's commitments with the WTO, EVFTA or the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement?I must say the requirement to open the market on telecoms and Internet services across the border has always been a very important and sensitive issue during negotiations for the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) or the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other future free trade agreements.Vietnam has officially committed in the WTO and the EVFTA that all cross-border tel-ecoms and internet services are unlimited, neither the requirement of having their rep-resentative offices in Vietnam.In addition, the Chapter on E Commerce in the TPP agreement, which Vietnam signed in February 2016, says "The proposal on server location violated a commitment relat-ing to Location of Computing Facilities (Article 14.13) in the Electronic Commerce Chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)".Former Vietnamese minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen, who participated in many negotiations for the TPP and also was a signatory to the Agreement, said, "The topic had been thoroughly discussed before it was written into the TPP treaty."That's why Vietnam should honor its commitment. And that totally conforms to our policy to continue to integrate deeper into the international economy in the course of national development.Do you have any concerns that locating the main server abroad will complicate the management of Vietnamese agencies?I should say quite a lot of information on the social network, like Facebook, is biased and incorrect. To minimise the negative impacts of the Internet on our social network over the last 20 years, concerned Vietnamese management agencies and Internet users have used a combination of the technical measures such as firewalls; legal administra-tive measures; and communication and education campaigns to screen falsified infor-mation against the Party, government and society.The government has instructed all public agencies and organisations to practice trans-parency in their activities and launched movements to combat slanderous campaigns against the nation.Do you think that once the Law on Cyber Security is passed by the National Assembly it will have negative impacts on business opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises, as well as the general public's access to information?The Vietnamese Party and government have committed to simplifying all administra-tive procedures and promised to offer favourable conditions for all enterprises to de-velop so that the people can have better lives.I myself don't think that when the law is passed by the National Assembly it will have negative impacts on our people's access to information. However, if the law is ap-proved and it has negative impacts on enterprises' activities and the people's access to information, then Vietnam will surely lag behind other countries and its window of opportunity to succeed in industrial revolution 4.0 will become close.The location of the servers is not as important as efforts to ensure cyber security for the data that the servers store.http://www.vir.com.vn/cyber-law-balances-security-information-freedom.html


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AmCham objects to requirements on data centers in Vietnam


That a draft law on cyber security requires foreign providers of telecommunication and Internet services to place data centers in Vietnam may not help improve domestic internet security, but may impose an unnecessary burden on them, said the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi City.Adam Sitkoff, executive director of AmCham Hanoi,told a seminar on challenges caused by regulatory changestowards foreign investors last Thursdaythat such re-quirements if enacted may hamper the growth of this service, making enterprises bear more business costs.He also noted some other regulations are unreasonable. For example, a Vietnamese company is allowed to work with a registered advertising agency only, according to the government's Decree 181/2013 detailing the Advertising Law.He explained the regulation violates the national treatment principle of the World Trade Organisation, and strip small and medium enterprises of opportunities to ad-vertise their products and services, especially on cross-border platforms like Google and Facebook.He stressed inconsistent policies and unfair treatment will put many foreign investors at risk, and hamper their business and investment activities.Other speakers at the seminar were also worried over the fast changes of regulations.That laws change over a course of five to seven years makes life more difficult for com-panies, said economist Pham Chi Lan, adding certain retroactive policies even render their business practices from right to wrong.Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Legal Department at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, saidsustainable and traditional tax policies, cheap investment costs, and incentives are key factors which help lure foreign investors to Vietnam. However, fast legal changeserode the business environment."Before making investment decisions, the sustainability and consistency (of policies) are the most important factors, helping investors have peace of mind. Ad-hoc policy changes will increase risks (for them)," Tuan added.Nguyen Mai, chair of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, stressed the State apparatus and its employees should be restructured in order to at-tract fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows."The apparatus is cumbersome and inefficient while the number of its civil servants is redundant but lackscompetence and integrity," he said, adding these obstacles should be removed so that new FDI directions and policies will produce good results.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57463/AmCham-objects-to-requirements-on-data-centers-in-Vietnam-.html

Busting out newest tech to aid Vietnam's turn towards the sun


As Vietnam takes strong steps to develop its solar energy market, GE is bringing in ad-vanced technology solutions to help the country unlock its solar potential. Van Mai re-ports.A market with stellar prospectsThe fast-growing Vietnamese economy is starting to feel an increasing pressure to se-cure the necessary energy supplies. After over-reliance on conventional resources such as coal, hydropower, and gas to ensure energy security, Vietnam is aiming for a more balanced energy mix by expanding its renewables capacity in the long term. Solar en-ergy is gaining momentum due to the falling costs of solar technology and the global drive to switch to renewable energy.In fact, Vietnam has a high potential for solar energy production, with 1,600-2,700 sun-light hours per year and an average direct normal irradiance of 4-5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per square metre, per day. Solar irradiation levels are comparable to most coun-tries in the region, including developed solar markets like China, Thailand, and the Philippines, as well as to mature international solar markets such as Spain and Italy.According to the National Power Development Plan (PDP 7), solar power is expected to become the main form of renewable energy, with the installed capacity to be in-


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creased from around 6-7 megawatts ( MW) by the end of 2017 to 850MW by 2020 and 12,000MW by 2030, equivalent to 1.6 and 3.3 per cent of the country's total power gen-eration capacity, respectively.To facilitate this goal, the Vietnamese government has issued a number of incentives to encourage investment in solar energy. In April 2017, the government introduced the first Vietnamese legislation for solar power development (Decision No.11/2017/QD-TTg), which sets the price for solar electricity at 9.35 US cents/kWh.Following the issuance of Decision 11, in September 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Trade officially released Circular No.16/2017/TT-BCT on project development and a standardised power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar power projects. The issuance of the new feed-in tariff and solar PPA have laid out a conducive legal framework to lure private investment into the Vietnamese solar energy market.On the back of supportive regulations, enthusiasm for solar energy has grown signifi-cantly in the past years. The number of local and foreign companies looking to develop solar projects in Vietnam is growing at a rapid pace. The next step is to choose suitable technology to turn this solar dreamscape into a reality.Leveraging the 1,500-volt system advantageThe PV inverters that convert the sun's energy (DC) into grid power (AC) have been the focus of some of the most radical innovations of all. That's because increasing the voltage will deliver greater energy output per square metre, in turn ensuring farms re-quire less infrastructure and land to operate efficiently. So, inverters that were once typically built to a 1-kilovolt (kV) specification a few years ago are being swiftly super-seded by the 1.5kV standard first launched by GE in 2012.When coupled with a matching 330Wp PV module, 1.5kV (1,500v) inverters can help deliver up to 3 per cent and 15 per cent reductions in system and operational costs,respectively. Their efficiency and cost advantages are now seeing GE's 1,000v roll-out widely replacing "standard" 1kV kits across the world, and first deployments are live in many Asian countries including Japan and India. As a result, many solar farm op-erators are adopting 1,500v to reduce costs and enhance returns on investment.But just as solar generation hardware advances, so do the possibilities opened up by the new world of IoT that will see $50 billion worth of assets connected to the internet by 2020.Real-time, big data-informed intelligence and analytics are set to redefine solar per-formance and productivity expectations by automating and optimising predictive maintenance and monitoring across every item of solar plant hardware. The outcome is reduced costs and downtime plus greater productivity in an industry where replac-ing just one faulty part has previously meant days of disruption and lost output.The lack of data and smart use of data has historically translated into lost profit for so-lar projects for example: contingency reserves around 5 per cent of capex, overspend on data-blind operation-and-maintenance contracts around 8 per cent of revenue, and/or kWh losses between 1-3 per cent of revenue. The increased performance, and lower costs offered by digitalisation is changing the game for the solar industry, and further strengthening its position in the global energy lineup.As the solar PV market expands exponentially alongside the complexities of ever-larg-er farms and challenges around grid stability plant developers, investors, owners, and operators are looking for ways to minimise risk and deliver the best return.That's why the industry is evolving to embrace integrated systems, an approach cen-tral to the way GE interacts with the full width of the utility-scale solar PV ecosystem. It means GE is working with customers to bring turn-key electrical solutions from the Solar Module to the HV substation including PV modules, inverter, balance of plant, SCADA plant control, grid compliance and HV substation connections along with working with local companies to deliver the complete Solar EPC offering in Vietnam. GE adds to that a fully flexible digitally enabled service offer to guarantee long-term performance.Opportunities on the horizonSimilar to Vietnam, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is one of the best places to gen-


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erate solar power thanks to the city's abundant and strong sunlight. GE is helping Du-bai Electricity and Water Authority to build a massive solar power plant in the desert surrounding Dubai.The plant, called Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, is a three-stage project. Upon completion in 2030, it will be the largest such installation in the region, generating up to 5,000MW.The second stage of the project, which uses GE technology, is now generating up to 200MW of electricity. This should be enough to power more than 30,000 homes and offset 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.However, the ambient temperature in Dubai reaches 50 degrees Celsius, making it a significant challenge for engineers to create a construct that can withstand such harsh conditions. One of GE's major advantages in extreme environmental conditions is GE inverters, which can operate at high temperature with very high efficiency.As GE's 1,500v inverters enable a simplified farm design and require less plant infra-structure compared to its 1,000v peers, it will be used in the third phase of the solar park and help produce energy at 2.99 US cent per kWh, which will be the cheapest form of energy in Dubai, overtaking traditional fuels.With reliable solar technology, GE is helping Dubai to unlock the sun's power and change the fuel source equation. In a similar fashion, GE is committed to bringing in the latest technology and best practices to drive the Vietnamese solar power market forward.http://www.vir.com.vn/busting-out-newest-tech-to-aid-vietnams-turn-towards-the-sun.html

Why US investors are hesitant to invest in Vietnam?

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH

"Policies on foreign investors have had positive changes. However, there still remain barriers from continuous change", said Dau Anh Tuan, Head of Legal Department of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) at the conference on "challenges of policy change for foreign investors in Vietnam" that has just taken place in Hanoi.During 30 years working on foreign investment, Prof Nguyen Mai, Chair of the Asso-ciation of foreign investors, said he had twice asked questions and sought an explana-tion why the United States still wary of investing in Vietnam, unlike other Asean countries. That was in 2004 when he was assigned to study about investment relation with the United States in the context that Intel started negotiating with Vietnam. At that time, the U.S investors were still doubtful about the relationship between the two countries.So far, the U.S's investment in Vietnam remains limited. "The Vietnam-U.S relation-ship has reached new heights but US's investment in Vietnam only ranked No.10", said Prof Mai.Recognising that over the past 30 years since the Law on Investment 1987, policy on foreign investment has had a lot of changes. But unfortunately, in 1996 when Vietnam was relatively successful in attracting FDI, the policy was modified again. "After that period, each year Vietnam only received about $2.5 billion FDI and could only over-come until 2005", said Dr Mai, affirming that this situation was due to inconsistent changes in policy causing foreign investors to feel unsecured.Prof Mai argued "The ban on export of sawn timber made more than 100 FDI business-es to go bankrupt. Some people did not allow foreign investors to make beer because making beer is profitable. Cigarettes were sometimes allowed but were abandoned some other times".Many other fields such as automobiles, steel, transportation, health, etc. also faced the same situation. Lawyer Le Net, Head of the Health Department under the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) cited a case that he considered as typical of inade-quate regulations.Accordingly, Decision No.54/2017 guiding the implementation of Pharmaceutical Law 2016 regulated that FDI businesses importing drugs are not allowed to carry out activ-ities that are directly related to the distribution of drugs, and raw materials for drug


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manufacturing, including the transport of drugs and preservation of drugs.This makes it impossible for foreign investors to establish drug storage facility while this is a allowed field under Pharmaceutical Act 2016 and WTO commitments."On the other hand, businesses licensed to invest and establish drug storage facilities before having Decree No.54 also had to stop drug storage services, causing waste of resources", said Dr Le Net.AmCham CEO Adam Stikoff said the U.S businesses are operating in many different areas and are making efforts to make Vietnam a more dynamic, efficient, secured and transparent economy. However, he also pointed out that recent changes in Vietnam's policy are causing great concerns for foreign investors."The draft Law on Ciber security is very special because apart from network security measures, the Law also includes the information control on the Internet, though this had been regulated in other laws. In addition, the draft law also stipulated that foreign service providers (Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc.) must put host servers in Vietnam. This regulation not only helps improve Vietnam's cyber security but also create unnec-essary burden for foreign companies", said Adam.Not only so, Decree No.181/2013 requires that a business can only work with a licensed advertising agency. "This regulation violates the national treatment policy under WTO, limiting opportunities for small and medium businesses to advertise their prod-ucts and services on cross-border platforms such as Google or Facebook", said Am-Cham's representative.From the aforementioned reality, Adam Sitkoff recommends that Vietnam's policies must be designed consistently and ensures fair implementation. This will help Viet-nam improve consumers' confidence in the market. This is also an important thing for Vietnam to attract high quality investment, promoting the development of private economy.Herbert Cochran, director of Vietnam Trade Facilitation Alliance also agreed that apart from the special consumption tax of 10 percent for soft drinks, the proposal to raise the value added tax from 10 percent to 12 percent will put negative impacts on investors in the beverage industry and consumers."Some countries that have applied special consumption tax on beverage in the past have removed this kind of tax due to negative influences for industry sector leading to the government's decreased total state budget revenue from tax. That is the case of In-donesia and Denmark", said Herbert.

Vietnamese electronics industry in desperate need


The Vietnamese electronic supporting industry is considered too weak to access the global supply chain. Without linkages and collaboration, Vietnamese businesses will lose their market share.Sporadic manufacturing and businessAccording to the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), since 2015, Viet-nam has been the 12th-ranking electronic exporter over the world and the third-rank-ing in the Asean. The export turnover of the electronic sector shows significant results. It is expected to exceed $70 billion in 2017 and enable Vietnam to become one of the largest countries exporting electronic products worldwide.Out of the ten largest electronic projects in Vietnam since 2003, Samsung ranks first with four manufacturing complexes and a total registered capital sum of over $17.3 bil-lion, followed by projects of Inter, LG, Canon, Nokia, Panasonic, but no large-scale projects by Vietnamese enterprises.Despite the country's rising exports, Vietnamese electronics producers are still weak. Companies like Vietnam Electronics and Informatics Corporation (Viettronics) and Hanel Corporation mainly import SKD (semi knocked down) and IKD (incompletely knocked down) units to assemble and meet urgent market demand. Developing with-out long-term strategy, the Vietnamese electronics market is in serious imbalance now.There are 610 electric and electronic components producers nationwide, accounting for 53.28 per cent of the total electronic sector's businesses -- a disconcertingly low pro-


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portion. Almost all Vietnamese businesses deploy sporadic orders, providing materi-als and simple components, such as packaging, plastic spare parts, metal, and logistics services such as transportation and sanitation. They have not been able to manufacture important components with higher added value yet. Almost all electronic products are assembled from imported components.Nguyen Duc Cuong, sales manager of Sunpla Corporation, said that the partners of Vi-etnam's electronic supporting enterprises come from Korea and Japan. Cooperating with Korean partners, Vietnamese enterprises often sign contracts with Samsung or LG's subcontractors. Therefore, Vietnamese firms do not know specific plans and are stuck carrying out contracts of sporadic orders.With Japanese partners like Canon and Brother, Vietnamese businesses sign contracts for a series of products for a relatively long time. However, these contracts, along with indirect contracts with subcontractors, are relatively few in number. Additionally, the linkages between domestic enterprises are very weak.Strengthening linkagesBang Hyun Woo, deputy director general of Samsung Vietnam, said that Vietnamese companies produce more sophisticated components rather than just packaging and palletising. The localisation rate of Samsung mobile phones was 57 per cent at the end of 2016. As many as 29 Vietnamese firms are direct suppliers for Samsung now.Samsung has been doing their utmost to seek out and support Vietnamese firms to take part in its supply chain. However, Vietnamese businesses have to raise their knowledge by inviting experts who have long experience working with Korean and Japanese firms."The linkage between domestic and foreign invested enterprises has been improving, but is still weak," said Do Thi Thuy Huong from the Vietnam Electronic Industries As-sociation (VEIA)."Almost all Vietnamese electronic enterprises are small- and medium-sized, and it is hard to make large investments to meet the high demands of foreign invested firms."http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnamese-electronics-industry-in-desperate-need-364448.vov

Government regulation offers golden opportunity for local auto production

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET

Under a new decree, used auto imports will have no way to enter Vietnam because of high tariffs and strict requirements on maintenance services, creating a golden oppor-tunity for domestic automobile manufacturers.Under the newly issued Decree 125, the import tariff on used passenger cars with less than 16 seats has been raised, while the tariff on used cars with 16 seats and more and used trucks remains unchanged.Passenger cars with nine and fewer seats and capacity of no more than 1000cc will bear a fixed tax rate of $10,000 per car.The passenger cars with cylinder capacity of 1000cc and more and with 10-15 seats will bear mixed tariffs, to be calculated as follows:For 1.5L to less than 2.5L cars, the import tax will be equal to the taxable price x 150-200 percent (tax rate) +$10,000.For 2.5L and bigger cars, the import tax will be equal to the taxable price x 150-200 per-cent (tax rate) + $15,000.Analysts estimate that the new way of taxation will increase the selling price of used cars by hundreds of millions of dong. In some cases, used car prices will be even higher than brand-new cars of the same kinds because of higher tax.According to Duy Minh, the owner of a car sales agent in HCM City said a used 1.0L car imported from South Korea now has taxable price of $5,000 and bears a fixed tax rate of $5,000. This means that the cost price of the car is $10,000.However, with the new tax rate, the cost price would be $15,000. And counting other expenses, the selling price of the used car would be $23,000, or VND600 million. Mean-while, a brand-new car of the same kind is sold at VND500 millionAccording to Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, deputy director of the MOF's (Ministry of Fi-


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nance) Tax Policy, the new policy aims to ensure benefits to the state, enterprises and consumers.MOF aims to encourage the development of the automobile industry and support in-dustries, help the domestic automobile market grow in a stable way and maintain the domestic automobile manufacturers' competitiveness in prices.Prior to that, the government released Decree 116, setting up strict requirements on manufacturing, assembling, importing and maintenance services.Analysts commented that the decrees released recently all show the government's de-termination to protect domestic automobile production.Meanwhile, Tran Ba Duong, chair of Truong Hai Automobile, said the Decree 116 aims to protect consumers rather than domestic manufacturing, especially in the context of poor transport infrastructure and high number of accidents."Fair treatment will be given to imports and domestically made products, i.e. imports will have to satisfy the same requirements set on domestically made products," he ex-plained.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/191447/gov-t-regulation-offers-golden-op-portunity-for-local-auto-production.html

Big data the future of supply chain management and logistics

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Big data becoming popular among local enterprises in utilising customer information.In the age of digitalisation, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), the data from everyday life can be collected and kept in storage, creating a huge collection of "big data". As data is captured at a higher velocity and with more diversity, the analy-sis of big data can provide valuable information to improve many aspects of life, in-cluding business, customer service, and supply chain management, according to CEL Consulting Vietnam, an advisory firm in supply chain and operations.In recent years, the topic of big data has gained major attention as it is considered most relevant to the supply chain strategy of companies and organisations.In discussing the application of big data in Vietnam, "there are enterprises that choose to take small but smart steps to gradually learn and apply big data instead of making massive investments only to follow the trend," said Julien Brun, CEO of CEL Consult-ing Vietnam.For instance, he added, a lot of Vietnamese firms have shaken hands with each other to together use big data in analysing customers' needs, so that they can best approach potential clients.Quoting the Harvard Business Review, Brun said there are many businesses around the world that choose to follow the big data trend with huge investments and they re-cruit a large number of data scientists, which has dramatically pushed up the salary range in the profession globally.According to an IBM report, in 2015, global vacancies for data scientists reached 4.4 million, but only one-third were filled. However, not all investments in big data pro-duce the expected results. Brun believes that unless you are a tech giant like Google, Amazon, or Facebook, the wiser approach is to invest in small steps, focusing on proc-esses that have potential for improving profitability.For example, "if you are an express courier or last-mile logistics company, you can con-sider starting your big data investment in delivery routing optimisation," he said. "The small steps you can make could be to begin collecting data relating to delivery per-formance. Some examples include delivery lead-time, late delivery rate, traffic condi-tions, road conditions, and weather conditions for each delivery route."According to the Supply Chain Insight Report, it is estimated that 18 per cent of busi-nesses worldwide have started exploring ways to utilise big data to improve sales and operations performance. The number of companies utilising big data is forecast to rise to 43 per cent within the next ten years. Supply Chain Insight also projects that al-though only 6 per cent of businesses currently possess big data (over 1 million GB), 38 per cent will do so within the next decade. Big data is forecast to continue growing in terms of volume, diversity, and velocity in the context of fast-growing IoT.


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CEL Consulting, a member of the CEL Asia Group, is a management consulting firm specialising in supply chain and operations in emerging markets like Southeast Asia since 2005. CEL Consulting pioneers the development of technological solutions that support the management of supply chains and improve business performance.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/big-data-the-future-of-supply-chain-management-and-logistics

33pct of farming cooperatives efficiently operate: Ministry


About 33 percent of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam operate efficiently, mostly in horticulture, animal husbandry and aquaculture, according to the Ministry of Agricul-ture and Rural Development.The effective cooperatives have developed on a scale suitable to their specialities and engaged in safe and high-tech farming production. They have also created links with other agribusinesses and organisations to expand production and distribution chan-nels.The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has developed high-tech farming cooperatives and linked them with agribusiness in tea, coffee, pepper, rice and shrimp in each of Vietnam's regions.The ministry has also selected 156 cooperatives and 19 cooperative groups to take part in a government programme to pilot and multiply new-style cooperative models in the Mekong Delta from 2016-2020.It is also formulating a new scheme to develop 15,000 effective cooperatives and coop-erative unions by 2020.By the end of 2016, the country had 21 agricultural cooperative unions and more than 10,700 farming cooperatives with nearly 4 million members. Each cooperative has 367 members in average.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/33-percent-of-farming-cooperatives-efficiently-operate-ministry/123128.vnp

More Chinese investors relocate manufacturing to Vietnam


Chinese investors are looking to relocate manufacturing to Vietnam to avail them-selves of the country's favourable investment conditions.According to Gao Ziu Zhi, chair of the Tianjin Furniture Association, Chinese furniture manufacturers are looking to relocate manufacturing to Vietnam to deal with their ris-ing domestic labour costs at home.Meanwhile, Vietnam offers lower labour costs, coupled with tariff reductions brought by a multitude of free trade agreements, making the country an ideal destination for Chinese exporters.She noted that Tianjin city is home to 7,000 furniture companies, 3,000 of which are fur-niture manufactuers. Several company members under the Tianjin Furniture Associa-tion are planning to explore Vietnam in the near future. Most of these are large-scale companies with major export markets.On the same note, Geng Wei, chair of the Tianjin Foreign Economic and Trade Promo-tion Association, said that, "Vietnam is a promising market for Chinese firms to ex-pand operations in the fields of furniture manufacturing, wood processing, and bike making. Chinese firms are interested in cooperating with Vietnamese counterparts to transport and import tropical agricultural products and fruits through official chan-nels."Several Chinese companies have gathered at Vietnam Expo 2017 held in HCM City last week to explore the market. The expo, organised alongside with Vietnam Hardware & Hand Tools 2017, is a major trade promotion channel between Vietnam and other countries like China, South Korea, Japan, India, and Singapore.According to Vo Tan Thanh, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry in HCM City, China and Vietnam see sound development of ties in the field of trade, investment, and tourism. China is the largest trade partner of Vietnam, while Vi-etnam is China's ninth largest trade partner in the world and the largest in the Asean.


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SVietnam finance & business 12 December

Bilateral trade between the two countries came to an estimated $73.3 billion in the first 10 months of 2017, up 27.2 per cent against 2016. China was the fourth largest investor in Vietnam during this time, with 244 investment projects with a total investment cap-ital sum of $1.6 billion.

BUSINESSIZ NEWSBusiness Briefs 12 December, 2017

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA |

* Mobile World Investment Group (MWG) has announced a plan regarding the issu-ance of 6.7 million primary shares, or 2.18 percent of the total outstanding volume. Ac-cording to Viet Capital Securities Company, this is part of MWG's payment package to acquire Tran Anh Digital World Company (TAG). As of now, 30.95 percent of TAG is held by Nojima, its Japanese strategic investor, while the chair and CEO and his related personnel collectively own more than 56 percent ofTAG. As such, if Nojima takes part, which is likely the case, it is estimated that there will be roughly one million shares of foreign room to be opened from this issuance. The issuing price will be from VND90,000 to VNDllO,OOO, compared to last Friday's closing price of VND 129,000 per share. The share sale is set to be done within this month and the shares will be locked up for one year from the issuance date.* Malaysian banking group CIMB has chosen Vietnam as the place to kick off its digital banking push in Southeast Asia. The bank plans to build partnerships with retailers and telecom companies to generate new banking customers using only a digital plat-form. If successful, this business model may be able to undercut existi?g cost structures sharply.* Vo Truong Son, a board member ofHoangAnh Gia Lai Agricultural Company (HNG), has bought 500,000 HNG shares to hold a 0.13 percent stake in the firm.* Dong Hai Ben Tre Company (DHC) has got approval to float 1.2 million more shares on the HCM City exchange. After the additional listing, the company will raise its total outstanding volume to more than 29.3 million shares.* International Development & Investment Corporation (IDI) has announced Decem-ber 15 as the record date to pay its 2017 interim dividend for shareholders at 8 percent or VND800 per share. The payment will be made on December 26.* PetroVietnam Fertiliser Company (DPM) has announced that it will pay an interim 2017 cash dividend of D 1,000 per share. The ex-dividend date is December 21. The payment date is set for January 24, 2018. This is the first stage of the 2017 cash dividend ofVND2,000 a share.

Shares opens week in negative zone


Shares opened the new week's trade in negative territory on the two exchanges as in-vestors continued their profit-taking.The VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was down 0.48 per cent at 935.61 points on Monday morning.In the north, the HNX-Index slumped 1.03 per cent to 112.63 points on the Hanoi Stock Exchange.Vinamilk (VNM), the largest listed stock by market value, maintained the uptrend this morning with a growth of 2.9 per cent, the most significant gainer among the VN30 (tracking the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM City's bourse). However, its gain failed to rescue the VN Index from a fall, with 23 stocks of the VN30 declining and only six advancing.Major losers included FLC Faros Construction (ROS), down 6.2 per cent, and brewer Sabeco (SAB), down 2.3 per cent.Overall market condition was also negative with the number of decliners overwhelm-ing advancers by 282 and 114 on the two markets. Some 325 stocks remained un-changed.A total of 149 million shares worth VND2.9 trillion (US$127 million) were traded on the two markets.The afternoon session starts at 1pm.http://bizhub.vn/markets/shares-opens-week-in-negative-zone_290672.html


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All indexes lose ground

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Losses on both markets on December 11.All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market lost ground on December 11.On HSX, the VN Index lost 22.71 points (2.42 per cent) and the VN30-Index 21.96 points (2.36 per cent).On HNX, the HNX-Index fell 2.03 points (1.78 per cent), the HNX30-Index 5.96 points (2.75 per cent), the UPCoM-Index 0.19 points (0.35 per cent).Liquidity on HSX reached VND4.5 trillion ($198.2 million), 11.8 per cent lower than last Friday, and on HNX was VND1.08 trillion ($47.5 million), 51.2 per cent higher.The VN Index opened at 928.01 points and increased to 929.8 points before ending the morning at 935.61 points. It then closed the day at 917.45 points.In food and beverages, BBC gained 1.9 per cent, VNM 1.5 per cent, and TLG 0.4 per cent, while VCF lost 1.7 per cent, KDC 1.5 per cent, and TAC 0.1 per cent.In banking, MSN increased 0.1 per cent while CTD lost 7 per cent, BVH 5.8 per cent, VCB 5.2 per cent, SSI 5.1 per cent, STB 5 per cent, EIB 4.3 per cent, BID 4 per cent, MBB 3.6 per cent, VPB 2.4 per cent, and VCI 2.1 per cent.In energy, PGD rose 0.9 per cent, while PPC shed 4.3 per cent, GAS 2.9 per cent, PLX 2.3 per cent, PVT 1.5 per cent, and NT2 0.9 per cent. PVD closed at its opening price.In construction and real estate, HT1 gained 0.6 per cent, CTD 0.4 per cent, FLC 0.3 per cent, REE 0.1 per cent, while ROS lost 6.1 per cent, VRE 4.3 per cent, QCG 2.9 per cent, ITA and DXG 1.8 per cent, VIC 1.4 per cent, and NVL 1.3 per cent.The Top 5 shares bought by foreign investors were CII (VND20.2 billion ($889,867)), VNM (VND14.1 billion ($621,145)), MSN (VND10.7 billion ($471,365)), TCH (VND7.2 billion ($317,180)), and VJC (VND5.9 billion ($259,911)).On HSX, SSI was the largest net sold share, with VND16.9 billion ($744,493)), followed by DIG (VND16.8 billion ($740,088)), SAB (VND13.9 billion ($612,334)), CTD (VND12.7 billion ($559,471)), and HPG (VND11.7 billion ($515,418)).DGL was the largest net sold share on HNX, with VND2.2 billion ($96,916), followed by DHT (VND1.2 billion ($52,863)), VNR (VND1.1 billion ($48,458)), VCS (VND888.8 million ($39,154)), and NTP (VND884.7 million ($38,973)).On UPCoM, foreign investors bought 301,700 shares worth VND7.68 billion ($338,325).They net sold on HSX by VND16.79 billion ($739,647) and net bought on HNX by VND20.79 billion ($915,859).http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/bfjx4kvt-all-indexes-lose-ground

Experts: Selling pressure seen easing


Despite a deep correction on both exchanges last week, selling pressure is expected to ease towards the end of this year as the VN Index of the HCM City exchange has yet to reach its peak, said securities specialists.The index, though making a turnaround to rise 0.16 percent on Friday, still ended the week down 2.1%, the index's biggest weekly drop of the year. However, the gap be-tween Tuesday's intraday high of almost 975 points and Friday's intraday low of near-ly 930 points reflects an even steeper pullback of 4.6%.The loss last week was the first in 10 weeks and only the second since late August, said Viet Capital Securities Company.MSN, a consumer goods producer, jumped to its highest level since April 2013, and ex-tended a staggering 77 percent since July. The media reported that Indian State-owned miner NMDC may soon sign a memorandum of understanding with MSN to purchase a stake in its tungsten mine.Vietnam's top brewery firm SAB extended a 6.9 percent drop over the last four days after gaining 15 percent last month. SAB plans to offer a stake of up to 53.59 percent at a public auction on December 18.Phan Dung Khanh, head of investment advisory at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Com-pany, said the main index gained a hefty 14%, or nearly 120 points, during November


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but it is assumed the peak has yet to be reached.Therefore, the VN Index may continue rising and beat the 1,000-point level at the end of 2017. However, investors should consider the prospects of each of the stocks in their portfolios, not just the overall index, he said on vietstock.vn.Regarding profit taking, Khanh said the selling pressure may not rise strongly as pos-itive macro factors and business performances are still supporting the market. If a cor-rection occurs, it is likely just a short-lived technical move before the VN Index reaches new highs.Foreigners usually take profits in the second half of a year but this year, they still stay on the buying side now. In recent times, foreigners have picked large stocks such as dairy firm VNM and retail enterprise VRE, suggesting that they will keep buying stocks for medium and long-term investment, he said.Nguyen Xuan Binh, analysis director of Bao Viet Securities Company, said that the los-ing streak early this month is a technical correction as the market needs to pause for a balance after strong gains.Besides, the VN Index needs some short-term correction. It is predicted to bounce back and advance further in the near future.This month, the market may continue recovering but some short correction phases may occur. The VN Index may reach the zone between 980 and 990 points at the end of this year, the expert said.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57458/Experts-Selling-pressure-seen-easing.html

Vietnam plans to raise over $570 million through IPOs in energy firms


The three share sales are expected within three months, the government said.Vietnam hopes to raise a total of more than $570 million by selling stakes in an oil re-finery, an oil distribution firm and a power company, the government website said on Saturday.The country has accelerated its privatisation programme in recent weeks, partly be-cause of the need to fund a budget deficit and in the face of growing public debt.Vietnam aims to raise at least $297 million by selling a 20 percent stake in PetroViet-nam Power Corporation and at least $155 million by selling 7.79 percent of the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical company, the government said.In addition to the sale of those shares in initial public offerings (IPOs), the government said it planned to sell a 28.9 percent stake in the power company and a 49 percent stake in the refinery to strategic investors.The government also approved an earlier planned IPO in oil distribution firm Petro-Vietnam Oil Corp (PV Oil), aiming to raise at least $122 million by selling a 20 percent stake.The three share sales are expected within three months, the government said, without giving more precise details of the timing.Last month, Vietnam unveiled plans to sell a stake of up to 54 percent, worth $5 billion, in the nation's biggest brewer, Sabeco, in what is set to be the country's largest priva-tisation yet.https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-plans-to-raise-over-570 million-through-ipos-in-energy-firms-3682565.html

Thai Beverage bids on 25 per cent of Sabeco


Thai Beverage has emerged as the only investor that intends to buy more than 25 per cent of Vietnam's leading brewery Saigon Beer.On midnight Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoIT) has released the name of the sole bidder that registered to buy more than 25 per cent of Sabeco, com-monly known as Saigon Beer. This investor is identified on the website as Vietnam Beverage Company Limited.Vietnam Beverage, just established in Vietnam in October, is a subsidiary of Thai Bev-erage, a major beer brand owned by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. The legal representative of Vietnam Beverage is Michael Chye Hin Fah, board member at


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Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) and executive vice president at F&N, another entity controlled by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.Back in early 2014, Sirivadhanabhakdi has already expressed his strong interest in Sabeco, which is Vietnam's largest brewery with 41 per cent of market share. A con-trolling stake in Sabeco will help Sirivadhanabhakdi gain a quick competitive edge in Vietnam's lucrative beer market, where ThaiBev remains a newcomer.The Sabeco stake sale will take place on December 18 at Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, in which 54 per cent of the state-owned shares will be offered to external investors. Prices start at VND320,000 ($14.09), which means MoIT expects to earn at least $5 bil-lion from the sale.Due to the foreign ownership limit that stands at 49 per cent, overseas investors are al-lowed to buy at most 39 per cent of Sabeco's shares in this sale. The remaining 10 per cent already belongs to the Dutch beer group Heineken and other smaller investors.Several breweries around the world have previously announced their intention to join the stake sale, including San Miguel, Heineken, SABMiller, Asahi and Kirin. However, according to the latest update, only Thai Beverage registered to buy more than 25 per cent of the offered shares.After the sale, MoIT will retain a 36-per-cent stake. According to MoIT officials, this level of control will allow the government to remain influential at Vietnam's number-one brewery.Sabeco's shares closed at VND293,000 ($12.92) on Monday, falling from its peak at VND339,000 ($14.95) on November 29.http://www.vir.com.vn/thai-beverage-bids-on-25-per-cent-of-sabeco.html

Can Tho sees tourist arrivals up but few stay


Though tourist arrivals in Can Tho City are rising strongly, the number of tourists staying in this Mekong Delta city is small due to a lack of attractive products for tour-ists, said a local tourism official.According to Le Minh Son, deputy director of the Can Tho Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, more than seven million tourists visited the city in January-No-vember, up a staggering 43 percent year-on-year and beating this year's target by 26%.Tourism revenue in this 11-month period already beat the yearly target by 30 percent and picked up 56 percent year-on-year with over VND2.6 trillion. With such impres-sive growth rates, the city expects over 7.5 million tourists and VND2.8 billion in tour-ism revenue this year.Such high arrivals are attributed to major events taking place this year like Apec Viet-nam 2017, the conference on sustainable development of the Mekong Delta, as well as cultural and cuisine events associated with ecotourism. Tours to Cai Rang floating market and garden houses have brought 70 percent of tourists to Can Tho.However, of over seven million tourists in Can Tho in the period, only 272,700 inter-national tourists and more than 1.7 million domestic tourists stayed overnight there, up 17 percent and 27 percent respectively, Son told a press conference last Friday. He added that besides My Khanh tourist village of 20 hectares, tourism firms in Can Tho are mostly of small scale and have not developed big tourist sites. Can Tho currently has 270 places offering tourist accommodations.The two main tourism models in the city are ecotourism and MICE (meetings, incen-tives, conferences and exhibitions).http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57455/Can-Tho-sees-tourist-arrivals-up-but-few-stay.html

iPhone X sells out in HCM City


A few days after hitting the market, the new genuine iPhone X is now out of stock, ac-cording to traders.The giant mobilephone retailer, The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World), said that its custom-ers in HCM City and Hanoi sold 3,000 units last Friday.The company said that it had actually sold out before being officially on sale as the


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store received over 5,300 orders, with 3,100 of them making a deposit, up to the after-noon of the official sales day.Sixty-one per cent of customers ordered the 256GB version and the others asked for the 64GB version. More than 50 per cent of them wanted the silver colour, according to the company.The FPT Shop said that on the first day it sold 3,000 iPhone X to customers, while Vi-ettel sold about 3,000.Many shops in HCM City have no more iPhone X models to sell.A store at Vivo shopping centre in District 7 told Vietnam News that they immediately sold 1,000 phones on the first day, and that other customers were waiting to buy at a later date.About 15,000 iPhone X models have been sold in the country since the first day of its launch on the market, according to traders.A retailer said that most customers who had ordered the phone had not cancelled their bookings.He said that compared to iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the number of purchases of iPhone X had not been higher because the price was higher. However, many others are still wait-ing to buy the phone.Doan Van Hieu Em, director of Mobile Phone and Electronic Business under Mobile World, said the phone had many advanced technologies and celebrates the 10th anni-versary of the iPhone. It sold out on Apple's website when it was first introduced, he added.To attract more customers, retailers are offering many promotions.For instance, Mobile World is offering a free interest on installment plans, while Viettel is providing zero interest on installment plans, a free trip to the US, and wireless charg-ers.Official sales of iPhone X in Vietnam began on December 8. The price is VND34,790,000 (US$1,520) for the 256GB version and VND29,990,000 (US$ 1,300) for 64GB version.The retailers selling iPhone X include Mobile World, Viettel, Mobile Phone, FPT Shop and Vien Thong A.http://bizhub.vn/tech/iphone-x-sells-out-in-hcm-city_290688.html

Vietnamese goods enjoy promotion gains


A programme launched by HCM City has proved to be effective in promoting local-made products and supporting domestic businesses to develop brands and improve their production.The "Supply-demand connection programme" has been implemented by the HCM City authorities for six years in response to the campaign "Vietnamese use Vietnamese products" that was launched eight years ago.According to the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, the programme has proved a practical policy with a total of 1,761 contracts signed so far.In 2016 alone, the programme helped the consumption of 80,000 tonnes of lychee in the southern region and 10,000 pigs in HCM City, as well as assessing the quality of fishery products and assisting the Central region's fishermen to consume seafood products.Speaking at a conference on December 9, deputy minister of industry and trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said that the ministry encourages local authorities to organise activities that promote domestic trade and enhance the consumption of domestic-made prod-ucts so that local businesses, households and localities are able to access the market."One hundred percent of products that have been exchanged through the programme are Vietnamese," Vuong said."This is truly an effective promotional channel that can help Vietnamese products ac-cess both domestic and foreign markets and complies with the campaign 'Vietnamese use Vietnamese products'," he said."We have paid more attention to the quality and safety standards of the products so that they are least harmful for consumers' health amid the mass use of toxic and chem-


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ical substances in agricultural and fishery production."The programme has created a supply chain that provides safe agricultural and fishery products for Vietnamese people and protects producers that meet the global Good Ag-ricultural Practices (GAP) and Vietnam's food safety requirements, he said, adding that this is a way that could lead to sustainable agriculture production."The ministry is fully supportive and willing to work with local authorities and busi-nesses to promote products in the country and prepare for the coming Tet holidays in HCM City and other provinces and cities," Vuong said.The deputy minister also asked the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade and local businesses to prepare sufficient supply of products at reasonable price levels for the Tet holidays. In addition, the city needs to combine the programme with other trade promotion campaigns to expand the market and further develop local brands.He also stressed that the local authorities must further inspect, monitor and supervise the market regarding the quality of goods and services, food safety and prices for the end of the year and Tet periods.In response, director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade Pham Thanh Kien said the city will further develop safe food supply chains, track down product or-igins (from production to distribution) and help localities develop their own brands and reputations so that their products are widely recognised in both domestic and overseas markets.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnamese-goods-enjoy-promotion-gains/123120.vnp

Vietnamese people spend nearly 13tr dong eating out every month


Market research firm Decision Lab has just released a report on spending trend of peo-ple born from 1995 backwards (or Generation Z). It is estimated that Vietnam has more than 14.4 million people in this age and more than 56 percent of them have no income or earn less than three million dong per month.Though income is modest and depends a lot on the family, the spending on dining out of Generation Z amounted to 892,000 dong per person per month. On average, the monthly spending by these people on dining out was nearly 13 trillion dong. This is considered a potential group of customers who pioneer changes of the food industry business in big cities.Apart from Decision Lab, it is estimated that about 133 million customers in this group spend on eating out in Q3 this year. Fast food restaurants are the most attractive ad-dresses with about 25 percent of the choice, followed by 18 percent of street restaurants and 17 percent of convenience stores.Eating habits of this group of customers are significantly different from the previous generation, which is partly comes from the adaptation to modern lifestyle. Typically, the eating time can be at any time in the day, while other group of ages usually follow the habit of eating under fixed time frame. The most favourite drink of this group of customers is milk tea, while the previous generation likes coffee, beer and wine.Though their life is associated with social network, the majority of this group of cus-tomers do not trust ads, online reviews, and introduction from celebrities.Referring to information from the family still has big impact on their decisions to spend outside. This report supposes that businesses operating in the food industry and wanting to gain trust from this group of customers need to focus on listening and han-dling feedbacks timely, ensuring positive user experience.

Recruitment in 2018: manufacturing, wholesale and construction to record lightening growth speed

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE

The labour market in 2018 is forecasted by JobStreet to be prosper, thanks to the de-mand for business expansion. Vietnam is also considered as a country having high em-ployment rate because of the highest demand for business expansion in the region. However, there will be some latten obstacles that directly affect the job market.The above analysis was shared by JobStreet at the announcement of a broad survey on the actual situation of Vietnam's employment market in 2018.According to the results, the labour market in 2018 of Vietnam will record positive de-


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velopment. The peak season of employment will be in the first half of the year. Accord-ing to JobStreet, the growth of recruitment is largely thanks to the business expansion needs (68%). With the rate of 68%, Vietnam records the highest ratio of recruitment due to the need of business expansion in the region.The top 3 industries predicted to rapidly grow in the near future, according to re-sponse of employers, will be manufacturing, wholesale, construction and technology.In addition to the forecast on the high growth prospect for employment opportunities compared to other countries in the region, job seekers in Vietnam also have the second highest Happiness Index at work in the region. Employees in Vietnam see the fastest growth in salary in the region with the ratio from 20%-24%.However, in other extreme, JobStreet pointed out some latent barriers directly affect-ing the labour market, such as skills of candidates, suitability to corporate culture, the shortage of corporate recruiting brands in the competitive recruitment environment, and unexpected recruitment in a limited time.About 50 percent of the surveyed firms are concerned about the ability to find highly skilled candidates in positions of Supervisor, Specialist, and Department Head. Partic-ularly, Vietnam is the only country having the highest demand for managers.The sectors that are severely lacking skilled candidates include Construction, Comput-ingInformation Technology, and Manufacturing.Angie Phang, general director of JobStreet said that in this period when candidates are having the advantages, recruiters should create a competitive recruitment strategy in-cluding three main factors: a unique strategy to retain talents in order to ensure busi-ness stability, formation of a candidate bank to be prepared for the future, and the application of innovative and pioneer technology to optimise the recruiting productiv-ity.

Bulgarian wines to be presented in Hanoi

12/DEC/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

A festival will be organised in Hanoi with the aim of introducing Bulgarian wine to Asia. The special beverage holds a significant place in Bulgarian culture, habits and traditions.The Taste of Bulgarian Wine Association and the Bulgarian Embassy in Hanoi have worked together to organise the event for the first time in Vietnam.After the first Bulgarian Kingdom was established, wine soon became an important part of Bulgarian culture, according to Daniel Dobrev, from the Economic and Trade Office of the Republic of Bulgaria in Vietnam.Almost all ancient artefacts found in modern day Bulgarian territory are associated with wine consumption."Due to globalisation, a lot of foreign investors, wine lovers and sommeliers are inter-ested in Bulgarian wineries with local varieties of grapes, ancient technology and tra-ditional recipes.""We know that Bulgarian wine is unique. Over the past 10 years, our wines are becom-ing more and more popular, winning numerous awards around the world."The event aims to introduce the taste of Bulgaria to the Asian market and become the leading supplier of high-quality Bulgarian wines with origin and quality guaranteed. Through the exhibition, Bulgarian enterprises want to establish long-lasting partner-ships with Vietnamese counterparts.Exhibitors attending the event have more than 150 years of experience in exporting to Europe and Russia. They will introduce various products, especially selected for the taste and needs of the Asian market.The unique wine tasting and exhibition will take place at Heritage Coffee and Restau-rant, 19 Hoang Diu Street, Hanoi, on December 15-17, from 12am to 7pm.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/54237/bulgarian-wines-to-be-presented-in-ha-noi.html

Hanoi metro trial run delayed again


The China Railway Sixth Group Co, Ltd has again proposed to delay the trial run of


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Hanoi's Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro line September 2018.The Ministry of Transport said they hadn't approved the proposal yet, but the railway projects management board was asked to review the project and report to the prime minister in January.Slow disbursement is still the main cause for the delay. A USD250m loan from China still hasn't been disbursed because of legal issues. The pilot running of the metro line was previously set for October then to the coming April. Official operations were slat-ed to begin in the second quarter of 2018 after several delays.However, the trial run has been postponed until next September, and the official run has also been set back to next November."The metro line is 95 percent completed but we are having troubles with the equip-ment. Slow disbursement has badly affected other contractors and their packages," said the representative of the Ministry of Transport.The 13km metro line has 12 elevated stations and has cost USD868m. The China Rail-way Sixth Group Co, Ltd has started transferring the trains to Vietnam. All 13 trains will be delivered this year.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/54232/hanoi-metro-trial-run-delayed-again.html

Hanoi police close down railway cafes


The unique cafes that let customers sit on the railway tracks have been shut down by police in Dien Bien Ward, Hanoi, for encroachment on the rails.On December 11, leaders of the police in Dien Bien Ward confirmed that they had sent officers to clear the railway in Alleyway 10, Dien Bien Phu Street.According to the railway traffic police, they also worked with Vietnam Railways Cor-poration, Vietnam Railway Authorities and Dien Bien Ward Police and the cafe own-ers. The owners may be fined for encroaching on the railway safety corridor.A number of cafe shops have been opened next to the railway in Hanoi's centre recent-ly and let tourists drink coffee right on the tracks.The preparation looks quite simple with some tables, chairs and flowers put up on the railways. A cup of coffee or juices are sold for only VND15,000 to VND20,000. Many tourists also come to those cafes to take photos with friends.A tourist said he read about this place on social media and thought that the idea was very interesting. They often looked back while enjoying the drinks here because it felt like there were a train coming at them.Vu Hoang Duc, a cafe owner, said, "I've just returned home after studying abroad and think that the atmosphere of this place is interesting. My cafe has been open for a week now. I also want to create a comfortable place for tourists when they visit Hanoi."His cafe opens from 8 am to 10 pm on weekdays, and from 10 am to 10 pm on the week-ends. According to Duc, the trains often come at night and stop running after 10 am on weekends. That's why their businesses are not affected.However, there are opinions that letting customers enjoying drinks in the middle of the railway is still dangerous and violates railway regulations.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/024/54230/hanoi-police-close-down-railway-cafes.html

Foreign tourists spending in Vietnam remains low


Average spending of Chinese tourists in Vietnam is estimated at 638 USD per person and that of tourists from other countries at about 943 USD per person, said the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board Secretariat.Although tourist arrivals to Vietnam have been rising, the expenditure of international visitors remained low, especially spending on Vietnamese goods.According to statistics of the Vietnam National Tourism Administrative, Vietnam re-ceived 11.6 million international tourists in the first 11 months of 2017, a rise of 27.8 percent year-on-year.The figure is expected to hit 12.8 million at the end of the year, with visitors from Asia surging 45.6 percent.http://www.vir.com.vn/foreign-tourists-spending-in-vietnam-remains-low.html


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Mountain market a hub for ethnic traders


The Bac Ha market in the mountainous province of Lao Cai is the largest market in this part of the country.The market is held every Sunday with people from 14 ethnic minority groups in near-by towns and villages coming together to trade, exchange news and socialise.The market used to be the region's hub for the buying and selling of horses the most popular method of transport in the mountainsbut now it's a bustling market with a wide variety of goods.The market is divided into different sections: livestock, handicraft products, clothing, herbs and spices as well as many outdoor eateries for hungry traders, some of them having walked for miles to get there early in the morning.The Bac Ha market is a well-known attraction in the northwestern region.Tourists, both Vietnamese and foreigners, are often mesmerised with traders' colour-ful outfits, local specialities such as horse stew and corn alcohol and the sheer number of items on sale.Among which, they may find a family of potbellied water buffalos and cute little pup-pies. Don't be too surprised. It's just another sunny Sunday at the mountain market.http://www.vir.com.vn/mountain-market-a-hub-for-ethnic-traders.html

Illegal sand mining damaging HN dyke


Night after night, thousands of cubic metres of sand and gravel have been illegally mined from a portion of the Cau River, causing erosion and affecting the dyke system for 200ha of agricultural land, online newspaper phapluatplus.vn reports.The paper's reporters witnessed the illegal mining at the section of Cau River that pass-es Coc Luong Village of Tan Hung Commune in Soc Son District. Boats and barges op-erated under cover of darkness from 8 p.m. until early the next morning.People on boats and barges dug up sand and gravel close to the foot of the dyke, the newspaper reported. High-capacity sand sucking equipment operated regularly. At night, a barge took away hundreds of blocks of sand and grave.Most of the illegal sand mining boats were here for "yellow" sand and gravel, a natural resource that currently fetches a high price.With such big benefits, more and more illegal sand miners appeared and employed tricks to evade the oversight of local authorities.Nguyen Van Thu, Tan Hung Commune Party's Committee secretary, said owners of illegal sand mining boats were people from Coc Luong Village. Their close ties to the area complicated the situation of illegal-mining, as they cannot be dismissed as outsid-ers stealing local resources.As a consequence of illegal sand mining, hundreds of meters of mudflats suffered ero-sion every day and night.The eroded areas were close to the embankment, threatening the safety of the dyke system surrounding the two communes of Tan Hung and Trung Gia.More dangerously, 200 ha of cultivated land in four villages lie just a few meters from the foot of the dyke. The farmers of the land now face the prospect of a dyke break.Thu said Coc Luong Village's seriously eroded area was formerly under the manage-ment of local households. In recent years, they agreed to sell to a local company.The company was licensed to engage in agricultural production and trade, not sand mining.It was impossible to resolve the current situation because local authorities lack police forces and equipment to conduct arrests and issue sanctions.http://www.vir.com.vn/illegal-sand-mining-damaging-hn-dyke.html

Nat'l project seeks to improve coffee quality, develop premium brand


The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has approved a five-year coffee industry development project, worth 170 billion VND or 7.48 million USD, to improve coffee quality, develop a premium Vietnamese brand and expand export markets.


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While Vietnam has been the world's second largest coffee exporter for two decades, 90 percent of coffee exports were still in the raw form; and when it is sold at the interna-tional markets, it mostly comes under foreign names.In 2016, the country's exports of coffee hit a record high of 1.78 million tonnes, gener-ating turnover of 3.34 billion USD, year-on-year increases of 32.8 percent in volume and 24.7 percent in value from 2015.Vietnamese coffee only accounted for one percent of the world's total output in 1991; 25 years later, its market share reached approximately 20 percent.However, the value of the Vietnamese coffee has not grown sustainably but suffering ups and downs due to impacts of climate change, land degradation and old-fashioned farming techniques. Last year, the industry went through the most severe drought in the last 30 years.According to President of the Vietnam Cocoa and Coffee Association (Vicofa) Luong Van Tu, coffee has brought a better life to millions of farmers in Vietnam ten years ago but the crop's yields and quality have declined sharply in recent years as most of coffee trees have become old and stunted. It resulted in drops in value that underpays the farmers' hard work.The old farming practices that include harvesting green and ripe coffee beans at the same time, along with outdated processing and post-harvest quarantine techniques are also reasons behind the decrease in quality, he added.To change the current situation, the MARD will launch the new scheme, namely "High-quality Vietnamese coffee", next year with the aim to create linkages for produc-tion and distribution and develop large areas of materials for high-quality coffee pro-duction with a system of updated drying and storage facilities and suitable processing plants.The project, running from 2018 through to 2023, with a vision to 2030, will help in-crease added value of Vietnamese coffee products, particularly those from the Central Highlands, North Central Region and some mountainous northern provinces.A goal of the programme is to add 5 percent to the country's total coffee value by 2020 and 7 percent by 2030, compared to that of the 2013-2014 crop.The coffee industry sets to remain as the second biggest coffee exporter and double the export turnover to 6 billion USD by 2030, Tu unveiled.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/national-project-seeks-to-improve-coffee-quality-develop-premium-brand/123153.vnp

Thaco opens region's largest bus factory in central Vietnam


Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) last Friday launched Thaco bus factory worth VND7 trillion in the central province of Quang Nam, which is said to be the largest fac-tory of its kind in Southeast Asia.The factory, whose construction commenced in September 2016 on an area of 17 hec-tares, has a designed capacity of 20,000 units per year, including 8,000 buses and 12,000 minibuses.The electrostatic painting line that can handle entire car bodies is operated automati-cally. The line is the only one of the kind in Southeast Asia and one of the 22 lines in the world up to this point. The assembly line is also automated.The 2.4-kilometer test lane simulates different road conditions to ensure that buses sat-isfy quality standards before being delivered to customers.Thaco chair Tran Ba Duong said that the company has for years developed and imple-mented the Vietnamese brand promotion strategy, which starts with Thaco buses meeting international standards and having a localisation rate of over 40 percent for export to Asean countries next year.The company put into operation the first bus factory in Vietnam in June 2011. This fac-tory is capable of manufacturing 5,000 units per year.Instead of using Hyundai chassis as previously, Thaco has designed and manufac-tured chassis for its own use since 2013, raising the ratio of local content to 50%.Thaco has now become a leading bus manufacturer with 14,000 buses sold annually


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and a market share of 54%. Sleeper bus Thaco Mobihome has taken the lead in the seg-ment when holding an 86 percent market share.Also at the opening ceremony of the factory, Thaco inked export deals with regional buyers, under which a total of 1,150 buses will be shipped to Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines and Cambodia, including 550 units to be delivered next year.Addressing the ceremony, deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung reiterated the gov-ernment's commitment to development of Vietnam's auto industry and stressed the need to adopt stable, consistent and long-term policies.According to Dung, Vietnam's middle-class is ever rising, accounting for around one-tenth of the population whereas there are only 50 autos for every 1,000 people. It is es-timated that half of the population will be middle-income earners, and motorisation will thus surge.The deputy prime minister added that the auto industry can manufacture and assem-ble more than 460,000 units a year, contributes billions of US dollars to the State budg-et, and employs hundreds of thousands of direct workers.However, Dung also pointed out problems and inadequacies that need to overcome, including the high auto prices in Vietnam compared to regional countries, the coun-try's inability to design and manufacture car models suitable for local traffic condi-tions, and the challenging localisation rate target of 60 percent in autos of nine seats or less.Besides, auto enterprises are able to manufacture some simple parts only, and there has not been cooperation in manufacturing and assembly of autos and parts.

FPT IS becomes IBM's platinum partner


FPT Information System (FPT IS), a subsidiary of FPT Group, has become the platinum partner of the US-headquartered IBM Corporation since last Thursday.IBM PartnerWorld is a programme developed for any business that wants to partner with IBM. It includes four levels registered, silver, gold and platinum.FPT IS has fulfilled a set of IBM criteria, namely business performance, expert certifi-cation and customer satisfaction, to reach the highest level for the corporation's part-ners.As such, FPT IS will receive more support, and business and technology benefits from IBM. For instance, FPT IS will be invited to attend roundtable meetings with IBM's glo-bal business leaders to discuss their plans and strategies.Especially, IBM will introduce FPT IS's technology solutions on a globalscale, and will help the company improve its capacity to come up with solutions, as well as getassist-ance from the corporation's technical experts.FPT IS general director Pham Minh Tuan said IBM is one of the largest and most pres-tigious partners of FPT IS. Over the past 20 years, the two sides have worked together to offer brand-new technology solutions which help modernise Vietnam's backbone economic systems such as in the banking and treasury sectors.He addedthat by becoming a platinum partner of IBM, FPT IS aims to become one of the leading big data analytics service providers soon in the Asia-Pacific region.IBM also hails FPT as a long-established partner."FPT has become the first partner of IBM Vietnam since our company returned to the Vietnamese market in 1996," said Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao, director of IBM Vietnam's global business partner division, adding that FPT has provided information technolo-gy (IT) solutions which assist Vietnamese companies in developing their business in an innovative way."We believe FPT will accompany IBM to offer highly-valued IT solutions and services such as cloud and cognitive computing models in Vietnam," she stressed.FPT IS the first Vietnamese partner and one of the first 22 partners in the Asia-Pacific region that have achieved the highest accreditation level from IBM. This enhances its prestige and creates opportunities for the company to offer its customers advanced technology solutions from its American partner.


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USG Boral increases investment in Vietnam


USG Boral, a Malaysia-based plasterboards manufacturer, has announced its 20 mil-lion USD investment in a plant at Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone in HCM City, to expand its production in Vietnam.The plant will support USG Boral's commitment to meeting the Vietnamese market's growing demand for high-quality plasterboards.The company's production capacity for plasterboard is currently at 30 million sq.m. The new facility is set to increase production capacity by 17 million sq.m and is target-ed to reach a total capacity of 47 million sq.m when it commences operations in Sep-tember 2019."We have witnessed a strong growth from this region, so our decision to invest in the plant is a strategic one. This expansion will see USG Boral utilising our latest Sheetrock technology to provide superior-building solutions for Vietnam's market," said CEO of USG, Boral Frederic de Rougemont.USG Boral began operations in Vietnam in 2005 and it is the first foreign company with plasterboard manufacturing facilities in the country.Located in the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone, USG Boral's factory supplies an extensive selection of gypsum board ceiling and wall solutions for modern interior applications in Vietnam.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/usg-boral-increases-investment-in-vietnam/123122.vnp

Lazada returns with wilder Online Revolution


CEO of Lazada Vietnam, Alexandre Dardy talked about the upcoming mega sales event Online Revolution, the new cooperation with a Vietnamese bank, and changes in the e-commerce industry of Vietnam.Is this the first time Lazada and a Vietnamese bank have cooperated on payment serv-ices?We strike partnerships with other banks all the time to facilitate our promotions. For example, we managed to carry out a 10 per cent price deduction on orders paid through VietinBank accounts. However, regarding international arrangements, this is indeed the first time Lazada cooperates with a Vietnamese bank.What benefits could this partnership offer in terms of payment methods?More than 90 per cent of our customers pay by cash on delivery (COD), so now we at-tain a new mechanism for Vietnamese customers to pay via cash for cross-border goods. Especially, during the December 11-14 mega sales, customers will be given more payment options than only Visa and MasterCard. Lazada will be the first online shopping website that enables customers to purchase cross-border products with the COD method.Since the COD payment method could pose a threat to our website and damage our suppliers, we decided to shorten the time window between customers deciding to make a purchase and the orders' arrival. It has come to our notice that customers have the tendency to have second thoughts during this time period, so we are doing our best to minimise the delivery time. This way, our customers will be less likely to cancel or-ders.How is Online Revolution different from sales campaigns run by other online shop-ping platforms?Let me briefly introduce the concept of Online Revolution. In its essence, it is simply when Lazada partners up with plenty of brands, merchants, and marketing partners to make sure the promotion and the assortment of prices will be exceptional during the event and the rest of the year. There is no actual difference between this year's and last year's campaign, as we consistently manage to supply the most sought-after products at the most reasonable price.The concept remains unchanged except that we have partnered up with more brands and more merchants this year. As a result, while the concept is fixed, the website of our business alters from one year to the next, offering better performance and faster oper-ation.


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In 2018, I will tell you the same about our Online Revolution, only with a longer list of striking achievements. Our plan for 2018 is to continue growing with an impressive speed as previous years to attract more people to go shopping online, and in order to complete Lazada's mission to improve the quality of the Vietnamese's life.The reason behind our seemingly unattainable objective is that over the last four years of our operations in Vietnam, the one thing I am certain of is that Vietnamese people's mindset has changed incredibly. Also, also the sheer scale of the e-commerce market holds great promise for the industry.Alibaba has recently become the owner of Lazada. Could you share what has changed at Lazada since the acquisition?Of course, there is a huge difference. Obviously, as the main shareholder, Alibaba now wields a lot more influence over Lazada's strategy and vision. Fortunately, there is not much of a difference between the visions of the two parties, which is to eventually de-velop the economy and support the community as an online shopping mall. Alibaba is one of the leading e-commerce platforms in the world, meaning they have considera-ble experience and expertise, which will definitely come in handy in picking Lazada's strategy in the future.I firmly believe that Lazada stands only to gain from all that Alibaba brings to the table in this partnership which is an open and clever entrepreneurial mindset.http://www.vir.com.vn/lazada-returns-with-wilder-online-revolution.html

Shenzhou completes textile and apparel production chain in Vietnam


In order to complete its textile production chain from fibre textile to apparels, Worldon Vietnam Ltd (under Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd) will continue to ex-pand investment.Last weekend, Worldon Vietnam has launched its $310 million project in South East Industrial Zone (IZs), Cu Chi district, HCM City. In early 2015, the company were ap-proved to expand its project with an additional capital of $140 million.Chair of Worldon Vietnam Ma Jianrong said that Shenzhou is a producer of completed apparel products, from fibre textile and flower prints to end apparel products for fa-mous fashion brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma, and Uniqlo. The project was delayed for a time, then deployed in 2016.Tran Viet Ha, head of the Investment Division of the Management Board of HCM City Export Processing Zones-Industrial Zone (HEPZA), said that this is the largest apparel project in HCM City's IZs. Although the city has a policy of not attracting labour-in-tensive projects, including textile and apparel projects, but this project is licensed be-cause the investor has committed to using the most advanced production equipment and technology available.Gain Lucky Vietnam (Sunray Macao Commercial Offshore Limited) in the southern province of Tay Ninh's Phuoc Dong IZ will provide input materials for Worldon Viet-nam's factory. Additionally, Worldon Vietnam has invested into building a centre for fashion design and high-level apparel, headwear, and footwear production.Currently, Worldon Vietnam has completed three factories, while the additional area is approximately 15 hectares.http://www.vir.com.vn/shenzhou-completes-textile-and-apparel-production-chain-in-vietnam.html

JC&C reinforces presence in Vietnam


After spending over $1 billion on acquiring a large stake in Vinamilk, the largest auto-motive group from Singapore, Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited Company (JC&C), has poured VND45 billion ($1.98 million) into acquiring an additional 1.1 million shares in Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE).According to newswire Vnexpress, JC&C, through its investment fund Platinum Vic-tory Pte., Ltd completed the purchase of 1.1 million shares in REE to increase its hold-ing to 23.9 per cent.In late November, JC&C announced that it spent over VND87 billion ($3.8 million)


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buying 2.1 million REE shares. After the deal, JC&C increased its holding in REE to 23.55 per cent from the previous 22.87 per cent.JC&C has ambitions to acquire a member in the REE board of directors but fail due to the barrier of foreign ownership limit.JC&C now holds an aggregate 145.6 million Vinamilk shares, representing approxi-mately 10.0 per cent of the company's issued share capital. JC&C is now the third larg-est shareholder, following State Capital Investment Corporation of Vietnam (SCIC) with 36 per cent and Fraser & Neave Ltd with 18.74 per cent.The taking of this relevant interest in Vinamilk is in line with JC&C's strategy of invest-ing in market-leading companies in Southeast Asia. In particular, it increases JC&C's exposure to the Vietnamese economy and the group is planning on making further such investments.Along with Vinamilk and REE, JC&C has been present in Vietnam through its 25.1 per cent holding in the country's largest automotive firm, Truong Hai Auto.JC&C is 75 per cent held by Jardine Matheson, a diversified business group focused principally in Asia, which also has interest in other Vietnamese businesses, including Asia Commercial Bank, Pizza Hut, KFC Vietnam, and several real estate assets.Established in 1977, REE is a publicly-traded diversified business group operating in the primary fields of mechanical and electrical engineering services (M&E), manufac-turing, assembling and sales of Reetech air-conditioner systems, real estate develop-ment and management, and power and water utility infrastructure construction.http://www.vir.com.vn/jcc-reinforces-presence-in-vietnam.html

GE to drive wave of solar investment in Vietnam


As the world in general and Vietnam in particular are seeing strong increases in power demand, coupled with the growing complexity of requirements on safety and sustain-ability, the prospects of solar power producers all over the world are looking bright.Paul English, executive, GE Power Conversion Asia told Van Mai that GE, the world-leader in industrial power and a pioneer of green and sustainable solutions, is capital-ising on this momentum with a plan to provide a complex package of essential solu-tions to Vietnam's new solar investors.Foreign investors are excited to build solar power plants in Vietnam following the is-suance of Decision No.11/2017/ND-CP in April, which fixes the solar feed-in-tariff at 9.35 US cents/kilowatt-hour. What opportunities do you see for solar equipment sup-pliers in Vietnam?Vietnam has a well-developed grid infrastructure, but until very recently, a lack of feed-in tariffs (FiT) held back solar development, despite the country enjoying some of the highest levels of sunshine in the world. The recent decision is essential to boost so-lar growth and meet the country's burgeoning energy demand.Through the use of technology and adapting strategies to suit customers' growing list of requirements in not only the amount and stability of power, but in the cleanliness of its source and environmental sustainability, solar developers and suppliers are well-positioned to seize opportunities of the boom in a way that is unlikely to abate anytime soon.Decision 11 also sets June 2019 as the deadline for solar power plants to be built and connected to the grid in order to receive the guaranteed solar FiT. What is the role of equipment and technology in promoting the general viability of these new solar projects?Undoubtedly, technology innovation is key. In the utility-scale space, there have been huge technology leaps forward in recent years entailing the whole spectrum of system components, from PV modules (materials and cell efficiencies), solar inverters (effi-ciency, power, and voltage ratings), and the electrical balance of system optimisation to the stability of grid connection, with game-changing impacts on the levelised cost of electricity (LCoE), helping achieve an 85 per cent fall in the period between 2009 and 2016.Could you share some of the advantages of GE's technology solutions in helping solar


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power projects get better assessments and approval rates from local authorities?GE was the first to bring out the 1,500-volt system solution. Building on the sizeable experience of shipping more than 4 gigawatts (GW) of solar inverters to various desti-nations across the world, it enables a simplified and more-efficient solar farm infra-structure layout, while reducing the investment requirements for construction works.Compared to its 1,000v peers, GE's inverters can reduce system costs by up to 3 per cent and save up to 15 per cent on inverter operating expenses, embodying significant savings that go towards making solar energy farms far more competitive and profita-ble.Having invested in more than 10 GW of renewable projects around the world, GE's En-ergy Financial Services division allows the corporation to also take on the role of an investor.While strictly keeping ownership within the bounds of minority shareholding, this dual business model ensures that customers retain control over the project while en-joying access to GE's financing capabilities to support the project's bankability.This not only makes it possible to carry out a higher number of solar projects, it allows investing partners opportunities to avail themselves of GE's remarkable technical know-how throughout every stage of the project a significant added boon, considering the corporation's leading role in the IoT and Industry 4.0 revolution.GE supplies a diversified portfolio of advanced solar power equipment and solutions for many countries around the world. What are GE's commitments to contributing to the Vietnamese solar power market?In many aspects, we see that the time is right to gear up our presence in the country. In light of current developments, the solar energy industry is looking at bright pros-pects and the industry at large and investors stand to benefit greatly from GE's more active participation in the installation and utilisation of our hardware and software so-lutions.GE is hard at work establishing joint partnerships with local engineering, procure-ment, and construction contractors, bringing both financing and technology know-how to the region.GE's technology transfer initiative, also called the solar power island package, consists of a suite of key solar technologies, including photovoltaic panels, 1,500v inverter skids, substations, battery storage systems, and cutting-edge digital software all creat-ed to offer solar power projects heightened efficiencies not only through improved hardware specifications, but also through digitalisation and system-wide monitoring capabilities.A key differentiator of the solar power island package is that we will take responsibil-ity to integrate every single piece of the key technologies referred to above into an op-timised system so that customers can benefit from reduced project complexity and risks as well as increased system reliability and availability.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/191902/ge-to-drive-wave-of-solar-invest-ment-in-vietnam.html

Vast opportunities for financial metasearch platform


The Vietnamese personal finance products space is booming thanks to the rise of the young middle-class consumer society. With 60 per cent of the Vietnamese populace under the age of 35, the customer group demands more convenient, consistent, and ac-cessible financial services, especially in personal loans, credit cards, and wealth man-agement. As a consequence, the marketplace is becoming crowded with local and international financial institutions.There are also financial technology (fintech) companies eagerly seeking to disrupt or help to strengthen traditional financial institutions' route to market. GoBear is among the latter. The Singapore-based fintech company is Asia's first and only metasearch en-gine for insurance and banking products, which provides users a comparison platform that is unbiased, free, and easy to use.GoBear helps business partners to present their products to potential customers in the


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most engaging way possible, and in turn enhances their conversion rate and lead val-ue. On the occasion of GoBear's first anniversary of Vietnamese operations, Marnix Zwart, co-founder and chief product officer, discusses with VIR the company's prom-ising business outlook in the country.GoBear was the first metasearch engine for financial products available in Vietnam and has been in operation in the country for a full year. What were the key milestones during this year?Vietnam is our 6th market to offer personalised financial products comparison, and we are happy with our pace of growth here. Despite being the group's youngest market, GoBear Vietnam has demonstrated consistent development in a number of business criteria throughout the past year. Notably, since our official launch in Vietnam in early December 2016, we have achieved nearly one million users on the website www.gobear.com/vn. The increasing traffic we see on GoBear Vietnam proves the genuine confidence users have in our comparison services.During our first year in Vietnam, we have also successfully launched three different products, with the comparison of credit cards, personal loans, and travel insurance. Additionally, GoBear now has a handful of educational campaigns in collaboration with our new business partners. Our key priority is now to broaden the variety of the products on the GoBear Vietnam platform as we continuously look to enhance the seamless user experience, with advanced search and filter options to help users find the best products.What plans does GoBear Vietnam have for 2018? Are there any particular pressure points that you want to focus on?GoBear is a global brand in the making and we are very focused on being local to serve customers in each of our key markets in the best way. In Vietnam, it is important for us to offer the best comparison services put together by a team of Vietnamese special-ists. It is our belief to focus any expansion plan around the community in which we operate.In 2018, GoBear Vietnam will focus to add life and health insurances on the insurance comparison site, alongside travel insurance. Unlike other forms of general insurance, the search for the right health insurance plan requires more consideration, especially when the needs of more than one person in the family have to be taken into account. To lessen that burden, GoBear will be the first metasearch engine in Vietnam to offer a free comparison of health insurance policies, and users will be able to find a range of insurance plans that match their specific needs in just a few clicks.We are also looking forward to adding home loans and car insurance to our compari-son platform in Vietnam as well.What can you share about the prospective new business partnerships being formed to fuel the company's growth target?We have already been collaborating with many well-known financial institutions in Vietnam and I am very happy to see that GoBear is becoming a popular brand in the local technology and financial services sector. The increasing attention and inquiry from the insurance and banking industry for GoBear proves that our presence is bring-ing positivity to the market.However, we are very critical in our partner selection process. Although the more the merrier, we only look for partners who share our vision and mission of bringing the best financial products to Vietnamese consumers. We have a list of potential partners to work with in 2018 ready in the pipeline, and I hope that GoBear will eventually be-come the fintech partner-of-choice for financial institutions in Vietnam.Headquartered in Singapore, since early 2015, GoBear has been also present in Thai-land, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Just over two years into its operations, more than 14 million users have put their trust in GoBear to compare finan-cial products in a fast and personalised way. As one of the fastest growing fintech star-tups in Asia, GoBear is leading the way in democratising financial shopping experience with its unbiased and personalised comparison process.GoBear's user-oriented platform neither aggregates nor sells products. GoBear simply


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offers consumers a free and transparent comparison process based on their financial needs. The result is a user-friendly and informed experience that saves consumers both time and money.http://www.vir.com.vn/vast-opportunities-for-financial-metasearch-platform.html

Vietnam Airlines' member ranks second in global network


Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company Limited (VIAGS) at Tan Son Nhat Inter-national Airport, subsidiary of national carrier Vietnam Airlines, was ranked by Tai-wanese five-star airline Eva Air as the second best passenger service in the global airline network.Bui Duc Thanh, director of VIAGS Tan Son Nhat, said the company was placed third on Eva Air's ranking for its service quality last year. Its jump to second position out of 55 airports worldwide this year has proven the company's efforts and determination in providing services which exceed customers' expectations.Speaking at the award ceremony on Thursday, Allen Chou, chief representative of Eva Air at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, said his firm would like to thank VIAGS Tan Son Nhat for its continuous improvement of service quality provided for Eva Air to meet more stringent demands of passengers.Prior to this, AirMacau honoured VIAGS Da Nang in central Da Nang City and VIAGS Noi Bai in Hanoi City as the second and the third best ground service providers in the global airline network in 2016. Since the beginning of 2017, VIAGS has received 16 awards for its service quality by prestigious airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Kore-an Air, and Cathay Pacific.Currently, VIAGS serves nearly 600 commercial flights, more than 90,000 passengers and some 3,300 tonnes of goods per day to Noi Bai, Da Nang and Tan Son Nhat inter-national airports. Its on-time performance stands at 99.96 per cent, far above its com-mitment.During the summer peak season, VIAGS deploys some 5,000 employers to its service chain across the north, central and south of Vietnam to serve nearly 70 airlines, ac-counting for 58 per cent of Vietnam's ground service market share. In particular, at the Apec Economic Leaders' Week in November, VIAGS provided service for 47 special aircraft to and from 17 countries and territories, including Russia, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea.In 2017, VIAGS workers found and handed back to passengers 12,800 pieces of lost property, a year-on-year increase of 17.2 per cent, together with VND12 billion in cash, up 55 per cent compared to 2016.The numerous titles from prestigious world airlines marks an end to a successful year of operation for VIAGS and confirms the four-star service ranking that Vietnam Air-lines has secured for the second consecutive year.Established at early 2016, VIAGS is the first business model in Vietnam specialising in synchronous ground services for airports, meeting international standards at the country's three major airports -- Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and Da Nang.The company has completed the first phase of evaluation for ISAGO ED5, a standard on safety auditing for ground operations of the International Air Transport Associa-tion.http://bizhub.vn/news/vietnam-airlines-member-ranks-second-in-global-network_290687.html

Vietnam Airlines offers promotional tickets for New Year


The national carrier Vietnam Airlines has launched a promotion programme for do-mestic flights for Tt (Lunar New Year) holiday.According to the promotion, a return ticket for flights between Hanoi, Vinh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa and HCM City is priced from VND999,000 (US$44).The return ticket price for flights between Da Nang, Hue, Quy Nhon and HCM City is set from VND599,000.The return ticket for flights between Buon Ma Thuot, Pleiku and HCM City is priced


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from VND399,000.The sale programme is open from December 11 to December 31, 2017.The promotion applies to customers booking one-way tickets from February 8, 2018 to February 16, 2018, and return tickets from February 7 to March 2, 2018.The above rates do not include taxes, fees, surcharges, and tickets are attached with special conditions. Tickets are available at www.vietnamairlines.com, ticket offices and sales agents of Vietnam Airlines nationwide.http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/vietnam-airlines-offers-promotional-tickets-for-new-year_290686.html

Vietjet honoured as most popular airline


Low-cost carrier Vietjet was honoured as the most popular airline at a ceremony held last week in the capital city of Hanoi.This is the second consecutive year that the airline has received the award, handed out by the Vietnam Economic Times.Over the past years, Vietjet has not only offered travel opportunities to tens of millions of passengers with reasonable prices, but also had the bigger target of crating new val-ue for the community.With 73 international and domestic routes, Vietjet has brought its passengers to many new destinations all over the world, advancing the "Consumer Airline" model to serve all customers' needs.The "Trust and Use Awards 2017" aims to recognise enterprises with the top quality products and services which are trusted and used by consumers.It nominates products and services in seven fields: finance-banking-insurance, food and retail, fashion-cosmetics-beauty services, household appliances-interior decor, pharmaceuticals and health care equipment, tourism-resorts-real estate and telecom-munications-technology.The results were based on consumer votes in several criteria, including product qual-ity, safety, clean and energy-saving manufacturing, brand prestige and others.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietjet-honoured-as-most-popular-airline/123157.vnp

Operator of Thu Duc Agro Market frets over waste


The operator of Thu Duc Agro Market has complained about the job of collecting more than 60 tonnes of waste a day and spending around VND350 million (US$15,410) treat-ing them each month, said Nguyen Thanh Ha, deputy director of Thu Duc Agriculture Trading and Management Co Ltd said at a seminar in HCM City last week.She said the market has about 1,300 stalls which sell around 3,500-5,000 tonnes of goods a day. During the Lunar New Year or Tet, the amount of goods may total 6,000-7,000 tonnes a day, with the majority being agricultural products from other cities and provinces.However, most of these products are not pre-processed, so the amount of waste rock-ets to over 60 tonnes a night. Therefore, the company has spent a great deal of money treating them.In particular, the company has struck a contract with HCM City Urban Environment Co Ltd to collect, transport and treat waste at a monthly cost of VND350 million. That is not to mention the former pays a team of 14 sanitation workers a combined salary of VND130 million a month.She added the colossal amount of waste not only occupies large areas but also causes serious pollution as many traders do not take environmental regulations strictly.She stressed if agricultural products before entering the market are semi-processed on site, the amount of waste will fall significantly. Therefore, the cost for treating waste can be reduced.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57467/Operator-of-Thu-Duc-Agro-Market-frets-over-waste-.html


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Sakura Vietnam introduces new brand identity


The Japanese Sakura Vietnam will change its brand name to Sakuko Vietnam from De-cember 15, the company said at an event in Hanoi on Saturday.The company, an affiliate of Sakura Group, will also launch its new brand identity in Vietnam while opening its 10th convenience store on Doi Can Street in the capital city this month."With the debut of the new brand name, we hope to contribute to changing the quality of life of Vietnamese people by providing them with quality Japanese products and good services," Sakuko Vietnam managing director Cao Thi Dung said.Sakura Vietnam, now Sakuko Vietnam, entered the Vietnamese market in September 2011 with the goal of becoming a leading provider of Japanese goods in Vietnam. It op-erates a convenience store chain of the same name.To date, it has opened nine stores in Hanoi, six franchised agencies and over 500 dis-tributors nation-wide.Last week, the company's convenience chain received the "Trust and Use 2017" award from the Vietnam Economic Times. The title aims to honour enterprises with the top 100 quality products and services that are trusted and used by consumers.Besides consumer goods, the enterprises will also operate in hotel, construction and lo-gistics industries.http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/sakura-vietnam-introduces-new-brand-identity_290689.html

PetroVietnam surpasses 11-month targets


The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) surpassed its set business targets in the first 11 months of the year, the group said.Its total oil output reached 14.27 million tonnes, increasing 2.6 per cent from the set tar-get, of which on-shore output was 12.49 million tonnes, surpassing 2.7 per cent of its plan, while off-shore output reached 1.79 million tonnes.PetroVietnam's electricity production in the period was also reported to be 5.3 per cent higher than the set goal to reach 18.63 billion kWh, while that of fertiliser was 1.6 mil-lion tonnes.As of November 25, the group completed its revenue target of VND437.8 trillion (US$19.28 billion) for the whole year, representing 11 per cent year-on-year increase.In particular, PetroVietnam completed its contribution to the State budget this year by the end of October with VND74.6 trillion. By the end of last month, its contribution to the State budget rose by 6 per cent from the same period last year to reach VND83 tril-lion.The group said that by the end of last month, its four subsidiaries completed produc-tion and financial targets for the whole year. These were Binh Son Refinery (BSR), PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP), PetroVietNam Ca Mau Fertiliser Joint Stock Company and PetroVietnam Fertilisers and Chemicals Corpora-tion.In addition, many other subsidiaries such as PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corpora-tion (PVGas), PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) and PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (OVOil) also completed their whole year's financial targets.http://bizhub.vn/news/petrovietnam-surpasses-11-month-targets_290684.html

InterContinental Danang wins 'World's Leading Luxury Resort' award


InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula resort has been honoured by the World Travel Awards (WTA) as the World's Leading Luxury Resort.Winning the prestigious award for the fourth consecutive year, at a ceremony held in Phu Quoc on December 10, the resort also set a new world record.Alongside the grand award, the resort also won three additional accolades for its La Maison 1888, for being the World's Leading Fine Dining Hotel Restaurant 2017 and its HARNN Heritage Spa for being voted as Asia's Best Resort Spa 2017 and Vietnam's


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Best Resort Spa 2017."This is a huge recognition for our team, and together with our owners at Sun Group and as part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), we remain dedicated to deliv-ering the highest levels of excellence in service and towards creating unforgettable memories for guests who choose our resort as their preferred residence," said Juan Losada, the resort's general manager.The annual award is heralded as the travel industry's equivalent to "The Oscars" by The Wall Street Journal. Into its 24th year, the WTA was launched to celebrate organi-sations that push the boundaries of industry excellence, and is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel and tourism accolade.With the goal of delivering its promise "Where Myth Meets Luxury," the resort has held numerous high-profile international and domestic events and it continues to re-define luxury resort experience worldwide. Most recently, the resort was chosen to host the flagship event, the Apec Economic Leaders Meeting 2017 and welcomed 21 heads of government, including the presidents of the United States of America and Russia and the prime minister of Canada.http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/intercontinental-danang-wins-worlds-leading-luxu-ry-resort-award_290683.html

Forum connects Vietnamese startups in US and VN


A forum connecting Vietnamese startups in the United States and Vietnam, themed "Lessons from Silicon Valley: Vietnam's path to startup success," was organised in San Francisco City on Saturday.Speaking at the event, vice chair of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (SCOV) Luong Thanh Nghi stressed that innovative startup is a growing trend, and many Vietnamese-invested enterprises in the United States have gained success.However, to reap more benefits, these enterprises need closer connectivity and coor-dination, Nghi suggested.The SCOV wants to build a network of Vietnamese startups in the United States and Vietnam, he said, adding that a similar forum will be held in HCM City in January 2018 to foster links among startups both in and outside Vietnam.Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan said the forum is a valuable opportunity for enterprises from the city and the US to exchange business co-operation and investment opportunities.HCM City wants to learn from experiences of startup enterprises in the US to carry out appropriate measures to speed up the startup movement in the city, he said.Nhan told participants that the municipal authorities recently announced a project to turn HCM City into a smart city.Therefore, there are more investment opportunities in the city for foreign businesses, including those invested by Vietnamese in the US.At the forum, representatives from successful Vietnamese startups in the US shared their experiences and lessons on investment, business strategies and how to select de-velopment orientations.http://bizhub.vn/news/forum-connects-vietnamese-startups-in-us-and-vn_290671.html

Goods supply-demand matching conference attracts 2,800 companies


Around 2,800 companies attended the sixth supply and demand matching conference between HCM City and 38 other provinces and cities nationwide at Phu Tho Indoor Sports Stadium in District 11 from last Friday to December 10.Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said the conference displayed a wide variety of specialties at 450 booths, includ-ing farm produce, fresh and processed food, handicrafts, and consumer goods among others.She said the conference is to facilitate trade, and introduce regional specialties and in-dustrial products into modern and traditional distribution channels, as well as to ex-


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pand the connectivity of industrial and supporting products, and other goods meeting export standards.The seminars and mini-conferences on the margins of the event aimed to help produc-ers and distributers deal with difficulties in the trade process, and sound out business opportunities.This is the first time the conference has extended information on its website www.ket-noicungcau.vn so that companies can take a proactive approach to expand their pro-motion activities.The deputy director added the annual conference has helped create connectivity and has partly formed supply chains from the production to consumption at distribution systems all over the country.The organiser of the conference has selected 17 companies to take part in the city's long-established price stabilisation programme.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57457/Goods-supply-demand-matching-conference-attracts-2800-companies.html

Expo-Russia Vietnam to enhance bilateral economic links


Expo-Russia Vietnam 2017, the second edition, is scheduled to take place at Melia Ha-noi from December 13 to 15 with a view to promoting the two countries' trade and eco-nomic ties and Russia's export to Southeast Asia.Nguyen Tuan Hai, deputy head of the international relations department of the Viet-nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said at a press conference on De-cember 11 that the expo will showcase products and services for export, investment projects, and research findings of businesses, universities and research agencies.It will also introduce achievements in energy, machine manufacturing, transport, tel-ecommunication, mining, chemical industry, health care, agriculture, and hi-tech in-dustries.He noted at the expo, which will attract hundreds of businesses from the two coun-tries, Vietnamese firms will have a chance to learn about Russia's investment environ-ment and seek business partnership.D.R.Vartanov, director of Russian company Zarubezh Expo head of the expo's organ-ising board, said at the first event in December 2015, the Russian side inked 172 agree-ments with Vietnamese partners.Russian businesses are paying special attention to the Asian-Pacific region, he noted, expressing his belief that the two countries will reap more successes in cooperation in energy, transport, health care, telecommunications and tourism.A series of trade promotion activities will take place as part of the expo, including a Vietnam-Russia business forum, a workshop on economic cooperation between mem-ber countries of the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam, and roundtables on agri-culture, energy, transport, and health care.According to the general Department of Vietnam Customs, bilateral trade was at 1.7 billion USD in the first six months of 2017, including over 1 billion USD of Vietnam's exports to Russia.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/exporussia-vietnam-to-enhance-bilateral-economic-links/123162.vnp End
