finance & business news 7 March 2018 Intellasia_Finance... · 07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNA The State...

7 March 2018

finance & business news

FINANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Reference exchange rate down 5 VND 1Vietnam's foreign reserves hit largest scale ever 2SBV withdraws money at record high level 2G-bond market hits new records in Jan-Feb 3Government strongly urges non-cash transactions 4Asset quality, profitability of Vietnam banks improved: Moody's 4Major difference in interest rates among banks 5Following fraud, wary banks allow customers to check

accounts online 6Good information expected from upcoming banks' AGM 7PM lauds Nat'l Financial Supervisory group 8Banks report huge profits, bank shares' golden days return 9Life insurers busy with agent recruitment plan 9SAP to install customer relationship software for Sacombank 10HDBank's profit may increase 64pct in 2018 11Minister: CPTPP vital to sustainable development in Vietnam 1111 Pacific trade pact countries go it alone without US 12Breakthrough reforms needed to keep CPTPP benefits 14Global powerhouses to back circular economy 15Rethinking business for a future in Industry 4.0 17HCM City anticipates increasing foreign capital inflows 19Association to protect steel firms from import restrictions 20Vietnam urged to streamline procedures in ODA management 21Tax authorities fight bad debts 22Expert: Businesses need better awareness of sustainable

development 23Food association drafts action plans 24VFA urged to increase high-quality rice production 24Sugar inventory recurs in Mekong Delta 25Mechanisms needed for stable property market 26Ba Ria-Vung Tau seeks to tackle investment hindrances 27HCM City boasts highest salaries in Vietnam 27Vietnam beer market one of the hottest in the world 28Domestic fashion brands too small in $3.5b market 28Dong Nai works to sharpen competitive edge for businesses 30

VN second-largest partner of Japan in software outsourcing 30President urges firms of Vietnam, Bangladesh to create

impetus for trade ties 31BIZ NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Business Briefs 07 March, 2018 32VN shares rebound on bottom-fishing 33March 6: All indexes gain ground 34HOSE announces new rules on covered warrants 34Hanoi People's Committee to offload entire stake in Vinawind 35PV Power starts trading shares on UPCoM 36Social housing to be purchased online in Hanoi 37WIPO helps Vietnamese firms in IP protection 37Blow for food safety in Vietnam 38Ben Thanh market to apply safe-food model next month 38Bac Lieu says no to thermal plant 39Binh Dinh works on hi-tech shrimp farming to raise export value 40MWG's January online revenue up 119pct 41MWG pours VND3 trillion into Bach Hoa Xanh chain 41Tran Anh reports first improvement after MWG merger 41Japanese Group launches five-star resort 42US major project marks good start in 2018 for footwear industry 42Local firms inject 53mln USD into ginseng projects 43Two ROK retail groups seek trade opportunity in Vietnam 43Korean food firm Jooan Holdings sets foot in Vietnam 44Vingroup enters higher education space with new private

university 45Vietnamese workers abandoned by Korean employer

promised new jobs 45Vietnam's billionaire count doubles to 4 on Forbes' rich list 46Fines of USD22,400 for illegal mining 47Vietnam joins Foodex 2018 in Japan 47Hoi An International Food Festival to feature 12 famous chefs 47Can Tho kicks off Women Startup Day 48Fair showcases high-quality Vietnamese products in An Giang 48

FINANCE
FINANCEReference exchange rate down 5 VND
07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNA

The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 22,453 VND/USD on March 7, down 5 VND from the previous day.With the current trading band of/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 23,126 VND/USD and the floor rate 21,782 VND/USD.The opening hour rates at major commercial banks saw slight fluctuations.Vietcombank maintained the same rates as on March 6, at 22,725 VND/USD (buying) and 22,795 VND/USD (selling).BIDV added 3 VND to both rates, listing the buying rate at 22,728 VND/USD and the sell-ing rate at 22,798 VND/USD.Meanwhile, the rates listed at Vietinbank went up 49 VND to 22,725 VND/USD (buying)

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Vietnam finance & business 7 March 2018

and 22,795 VND/USD (selling).https://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-down-5-vnd/127482.vnp

Vietnam's foreign reserves hit largest scale ever

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VIR

Over the span of 2017 and the first two months of 2018, Vietnam's foreign reserves stood at $57.5 billion, six times higher than in 2015, officially attaining the largest scale in the history of the country's foreign exchange reserves.Previously in 2015, Vietnam's foreign exchange reserves ranked sixth among South-east Asian countries and 19th in the world.Particularly, over the stretch of 2005-2015, the reserves roughly tripled at the average growth rate of 12.1 per cent per year. By the end of 2016, the reserves expanded by 38.1 per cent, then 28.2 per cent in 2017, and 15 per cent over the first 40 days of 2018. On February 10, the reserves were reported to swell by 6.4 times in comparison to 2005.Explaining the rapid growth of the country's foreign exchange reserves, a Vietnamese economist listed several causes behind this overwhelming development in size and pace of growth:the surplus of the country's international payment balance mounting to $5.5 billion;the trade balance remaining positive due to a $2.92 billion trade surplus;foreign direct investment (FDI) totalling at $17.5 billion and foreign indirect invest-ment at $6 billion;ODA disbursement hitting over $2 billion;foreign visitors' spending in Vietnam reaching $8.99 billion;and foreign remittance recovering its initial growth rate, exceeding $10 billion.Additionally, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) purchased around $6 billion in foreign currency from Vietnamese citizens thanks to tightly controlled inflation and the VND/USD foreign exchange rate being kept in check.The Vietnamese economist further added that the expansion of foreign exchange re-serves could enhance financial safety and the country's liquidity.In particular, the massive foreign exchange reserves could assure the repayment of for-eign debts and interest, as foreign debts constituted 45 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), and set the groundwork for the country's financial-monetary market, enabling Vietnam to issue bonds in foreign markets.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196666/vietnam-s-foreign-reserves-hit-largest-scale-ever.html

SBV withdraws money at record high level

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY

According to the bulletin of VPBank Securities Company (VPBS) updated yesterday afternoon (March 5), the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) net withdrew as much as 50.5 trillion dong on the open market operation (OMO).The withdrawal tool was mainly through the issuance of Treasury bills (T-bills) with frequency and scale maintaining high since the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.Specifically, after Tet, the State Bank continuously issued T-bills with the auction scale of 20 trillion dong in many sessions. The term from 14 days was also extended to 28 days, with the respective interest rates of 0.6 percent/annum and 0.9 percent/annumAccording to aggregated data from a member in the interbank market, yesterday (March 5), the State Bank continued to offer for bid 10 trillion dong T-bills with 28-day term. Credit organisations absorbed eight trillion dong with the interest rate remain-ing unchanged at 0.9 percent.Accordingly, with the amount of T-bills in circulation, corresponding to the money withdrawal scale through this channel, increased to 92.1 trillion dong an unprecedent-ed scale over the last many years.The aforementioned frequency and scale of withdrawing money took place after SBV continuously net purchased a large amount of foreign currency at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018. T-bills still remained the major tool in this profession, which was short-term and associated with interest rate costs after withdrawing.In spite of urgently withdrawing money as aforementioned, the interest rate in dong

Intellasia 7 March 2018 2 / 48

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in the interbank market has continuously decreased strongly and fast, the dong-US dollar interest rate swap has accordingly returned to negative status, after being posi-tive before Tet. The US dollar price on the interbank market has also continuously in-creased over recent sessions.Specifically, as of March 5, the average interbank interest rates in dong continued to decrease 0.02-0.05 percentage points in almost all terms compared to the session at the end of last week, while the 2-week term slightly increased by 0.01 percent.On this market, the interest rate in dong for overnight term fell deeply to 1.16 percent/annum from more than four percent before Tet. The one-week term remained at 1.34 percent, compared with 1.66 percent for two-week term and 2.40 percent for one-month term. Meanwhile, the average US dollar interest rate was significantly higher with 1.58 percent for overnight term; 1.73 percent for one-week term, 1.87 percent for two-week term and 2.07 percent for one-month term.The negative dong-US dollar interest rate swap was one of the factors affecting US dol-lar/dong exchange rate. On the interbank market, the US dollar price has continuously increased over the last sessions, traded at 22,769 dong on March 5, much higher than 22,700 dong that SBV has bought since before the Lunar New Year.

G-bond market hits new records in Jan-Feb

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

The value of government bonds (G-bonds) traded in the first two months of 2018 reached VND10.5 trillion (US$461.4 million) per session on average, according to data of the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).As of late February, the total market value of G-bonds reached more than VND1,000 trillion, equivalent to 20 percent of 2017's gross domestic product (GDP), a 6.3-fold in-crease compared to late 2009.Repo trading value accounted for 53 percent of the total, meaning that the G-bond market had seen ample liquidity.With an aim to restructure the G-bond market, the average term of G-bonds has been extended. The proportion of G-bonds with a term of more than 15 years increased from 20 percent in 2016 to 45 percent in 2017, and in the first two months of 2018, G-bonds with a term of 10 and 15 years had the highest proportions, with 32.1 percent and 21.4 percent respectively.The winning coupons declined gradually, 0.8-2.5 percentage points lower than banks' annual interest rates. The average winning coupon in February 2018 slipped in all terms compared to late 2017.In 2017, there were dozens of sessions that had trading value exceeding VND10 tril-lion. Repo trading accounted for 49.24 percent of total trading value.The G-bond market reflects the status of public debt. If the average term of G-bonds extends and the coupons fall, the G-bond issuance is deemed more secure.According to Phung Quoc Hien, vice chair of the National Assembly, the government has gained significant success in restructuring public debt, especially G-bonds. Short-term debts make up a smaller proportion and the coupons slide.State Treasury to issue VND200 trillion worth of bondsThe State Treasury of Vietnam has plans to issue government bonds worth VND200 trillion (US$8.8 billion) in 2018, a much higher value than last year, according to Nhan Dan newspaper.Seven-year bonds will be worth VND36 trillion, while issues of the 10, 15, 20 and 30-year bonds are estimated at VND37 trillion, VND32 trillion, VND20 trillion and VND25 trillion respectively.However, in the issuance process, the State Treasury may adjust the volume of bonds and their terms in line with market conditions.In 2017, the Treasury had to cut its issuance plan twice, from VND183 trillion to VND169 trillion. The total value of successfully issued bonds was approximately VND159.9 trillion, or only 87.4 percent of the initial plan.english.thesaigontimes.vn/58614/G-bond-market-hits-new-records-in-Jan-February-html


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Government strongly urges non-cash transactions


The government is aiming high for non-cash transactions, demanding that payments for public services be made for the most part via banks by 2020.The prime minister has approved a plan to promote payments for public services such as taxes, electricity and water bills, school and hospital fees and social welfares via banks. The plan will help promote non-cash payments in many areas including public services, contributing to developing the e-Government and enhancing the use of bank-ing services.All universities and colleges will have to accept tuition fee payments via banks by 2020 and 80 percent of students of universities and colleges should pay their fees via bank accounts.By 2020, some 80 percent of tax payments in cities are to be made via banks, so are all payments at State treasuries of centrally-governed cities and provinces as well as cities, towns and districts of centrally-governed provinces for State budget revenue collec-tion.In addition, 70 percent of energy companies will accept power bill payments via banks and the same rate is also scheduled for water suppliers. Up to 50 percent of individuals and households in large cities will also pay water bills via banks.Meanwhile, half of hospitals in large cities will accept payments for medical services via banks by 2020.According to the State Bank of Vietnam's website, HCM City has piloted online pay-ment solutions at the municipal Departments of Health, Planning-Investment and Natural Resources-Environment since early this year. Such solutions have been inte-grated on the websites of the foresaid departments and the city's public services portal at https://dichvucong.hochiminh.city.gov.vn.english.thesaigontimes.vn/58616/Government-strongly-urges-non-cash-transac-tions.html

Asset quality, profitability of Vietnam banks improved: Moody's

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNS

The asset quality and profitability of 14 Vietnamese banks rated by Moody's improved moderately year-over-year, driven by robust macroeconomic conditions and growth in core income, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday.However, the banks' capitalisation deteriorated because of rapid asset growth and cash dividends, Moody's said in the "BanksVietnam: 2017 results show widening di-vergence in asset quality and profitability performance" report, adding that the banks' funding profiles weakened mildly, as they increased their reliance on market-sensitive liabilities mainly borrowings from other banks to fund loan growth with cheap short-term funding sources."In 2018, we expect the banks will continue to improve their asset quality and profita-bility, while capitalisation will weaken," said Eugene Tarzimanov, a vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's."However, the credit profiles of banks with stronger capital buffers and lower asset risks will be further distanced from the other banks," said Rebaca Tan, a Moody's an-alyst.On asset quality in particular, Moody's said that the improvement in 2017 versus 2016 was helped by problem asset recoveries and write-offs, as well as credit growth. The asset weighted-average problem loans ratio at the 14 rated banks fell to 5.7 per cent at the end of 2017 from 6.7 per cent the year before.Notably, four banks fully wrote off the bonds of Vietnam Asset Management Compa-ny that they had received in exchange for problem assets, and Moody's expects more such write-offs in 2018.The problem loan coverage ratios also improved, although they are still at levels which are weak by international standards.Moody's said the banks' asset quality will improve further in 2018, due to recoveries, but rapid credit growth could mask asset risks.With profitability, Moody's points out that the banks' asset weighted-average return


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on assets rose to 0.9 per cent in 2017 from 0.7 per cent in 2016. Profitability will contin-ue to improve in 2018, on the back of the same factors that drove up profitability in the prior year; in particular, robust macroeconomic conditions and growth in core income.As for capitalisation, the asset weighted-average ratio of tangible common equity to to-tal assets for the banks slipped to 5.5 per cent in 2017 from 5.7 per cent in 2016, pres-sured by declines at government-owned banks in particular.Nevertheless, some banks, such as Vietnam Prosperity JSC Bank (B2 stable, b3), Viet-nam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (B2 stable, b2), and HCM City Development JSC Bank (B2 stable, b3), strengthened their capital bases through the sale of new shares.Moody's expects that more Vietnamese banks will increase capital by issuing new shares in 2018. However, the overall capitalisation levels will remain under pressure over the next 12 months from credit growth and dividend payments.Moody's explains that in terms of funding, the banks' funding profiles weakened mod-erately, as seen by the system-wide asset weighted-average loans-to-deposits climbing to 86 per cent in 2017 from 85 per cent in 2016. This trend could continue in 2018, be-cause loan growth remains rapid.bizhub.vn/banking/asset-quality-profitability-of-vietnam-banks-improved-moodys_292917.html

Major difference in interest rates among banks

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY

In late 2017, a large commercial bank reduced deposit rates. The decision came after the bank's deposits strongly rose, the Incremental Capital Output Ratio was fairly low and it had to balance the expenses.Talking to the press at that time, leader of the bank said that despite applying the low-est deposit rates on the market, and had even lower the rates, its deposits still grew sharply, higher than the average level of the industry.There is a fact in that case. In 2017, many risks involved deposits occurred, the flow of deposits tended to focus more on large commercial banks instead of being attracted by high interest rates as before. Leader of the above bank further explained that "the strong deposit inflow despite the low interest rates shows that the bank's reputation is being confirmed on the market".It points out a clear difference in interest rates within the same system. The difference between the highest deposit rates among large and small banks now stands at up to 2.3-2.5 percent per annum. In previous years, this difference was less than 2 percent per annum.There are some reasons leading to this situationFirstly, there is an unevenness in competition, position and prestige in attracting de-posits in the system, and in competitive advantage, especially with the large and out-standing source in 2017 the budgetary deposits, which were considered the privilege of the group of state-owned banks.Secondly, state-owned banks reached the credit growth limits, while they themselves could not improve sustainably the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as they were almost unable to increase charter capital. Accordingly, restructuring output source through asset shifts, and reconsidering input source via lowering competition in deposit rates to minimise expenses are the short-term solutions.Meanwhile, at some joint stock banks, the deposit rates still directly or indirectly in-creased.If in 2017, the highest deposit rate in dong of 8 percent per annum was only seen in some members, it is now found in more banks. Along with that, some other bonus rates of 0.5-0.7 percent per annum are added to deposit rates without being included on the official deposit rate list.A local capital backlogIn a recent report, the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC) said that the dong interbank rates have been very low in recent time, but not all banks could have easy access.


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The rates of 1.5-4 percent per annum on the interbank market were not for members which are in difficulty or lack of secured assets. Thus, these members still have to com-pete in mobilising capital from the public and other organisations. This is also one of the reasons that the low interbank rates could not create a stability on the normal de-posit rate lists of many banks.Although the two markets differ in characteristics, the difference has become clearer between the rates on interbank market (market 2) and rates offered to the public and normal economic organisations (market 1).The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) mainly regulates indirectly via market 2, via open market operations (OMO) and via other instruments, but the clearer difference in the system and among the markets shows that the regulation of SBV has not really been effective to the ultimate beneficiaries which are the people and borrowing businesses.That is perhaps one of the reasons the prime minister once again emphasized the ac-celeration of lending rate reduction at the February regular meeting. This guidance was given when the Vietnamese banking system was showing signs of partial capital backlog. The difference is also seen clearly here, as some members have to apply high interest rates to find capital on market 1, while a large number of banks are urgently attract capital by low interest rates.In the last week, after the peak season of the Lunar New Year, SBV has issued bills to partly withdraw capital by a series of sessions worth 20 trillion dong, with terms ex-panded from seven days to 14 days and then 28 days. This temporary capital backlog is now very large, as in the last week, the total bills in circulation reached a rare high level in the past decade over 80 trillion dong. The dong interbank rates have become very low from just 1.28 percent to less than 2.5 percent per annum on short terms.

Following fraud, wary banks allow customers to check accounts online


Following the alleged misappropriation of VND245 billion (US$10.78 million) from an Eximbank customer's account, many banks are now enabling their customers to check their accounts online.Eximbank is offering an SMS notification service that keeps customers informed about their balance and transactions.Maritime Bank, VietinBank and Sacombank allow customers to check their saving ac-counts online without having to sign up for internet banking.Some banks already had measures in place to help customers monitor their accounts online.For instance, TPBank prints a QR code on the passbook that can be scanned using the bank's app."Criminals can forge signatures or stamps or alter information on a stolen passbook, but a QR code cannot be tampered with," Nguyen Hung, the director of TPBank, said.Can Van Luc, director of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam Train-ing School, advised customers to use SMS notification services or bank apps to fre-quently check their accounts and both customers and bank staff to carefully follow procedures when depositing money.But another insider said banks should carefully review their systems and procedures to eliminate frauds and reassure customers rather than make them check their ac-counts all the time.Last year Le Nguyen Hung, a former deputy director of Eximbank, allegedly forged documents to steal VND245 billion from Chu Thi Binh's savings account, resigned his job and went abroad. Eximbank is working with the police and Binh to resolve the problem.http://bizhub.vn/banking/following-fraud-wary-banks-allow-customers-to-check-ac-counts-online_292912.html


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Good information expected from upcoming banks' AGM

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| DTCK

In March and April, a series of banks will organise annual general meeting (AGM), of-ficially announcing plans, targets of operation in 2018, along with important informa-tion related to personnel, management, bad debt settlement process, dividend payment, etc.Experts assess that the issue that investors are most interested in this year's AGM sea-son is capital increase and listing of banks because this information has strong impact on King stocks, especially when this group of shares had a year with impressive growth.Accordingly, last year, shares of listing banks rose about 40 percent, except for EIB, STB-coded shares. Catching the trend, some banks quickly listed shares on the stock exchange at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 such as HDBank, VPBank and share prices of these two banks have grown spectacularly at more than 40 percent.Currently, TPBank has submitted application and planned to list in Q2/2018. Earlier, TPBank shareholders approved the chartered capital increase plan by separately issu-ing more than 87.6 million shares and listing shares on Hochiminh city Stock Exchange (STC).Leaders of OCB said they will promote the plan to list on STC when there are appro-priate market conditions which can be at the end of 2018 or beginning of 2019.Apart from the aforementioned banks, in the near future, many other banks also plan to officially list on the stock exchange such as VIB, Techcombank, etc. or on Upcom such as Bac A Bank, VietBank. Currently, share prices of some banks on OCT are high such as Techcombank's shares at about 50,000 dong per share.In this context, some people worry that share prices will suffer from pressure as sup-plies surge, not to mention the capital increase pressure to meet the implementation of Basel II standards. In this regard, Dr Nguyen Van Thuan said the large supply of bank shares in this year threatens to overwhelm demand, so the influence on price is una-voidable.However, the good news is that according to a recently released survey of Vietnam Re-port, not real estate construction or consumption but finance and banking is the group of shares that is worth investing in the most in 2018.Specifically, more than 45 percent of respondents chose shares of finance and banking sector with high expectation on the growth and profitability of this group, while the proportion in the real estate-construction and consumption is 29.2 percent and 20.8 percent respectively.According to financial experts, besides the economy that is forecasted to continue maintaining the stability, the factor that makes investors target at King shares is be-cause the internal health of banks is gradually improving in the positive direction, es-pecially after issuance of the Resolution No.42/2017 on bad debt settlement.This is the factor causing bank share prices to grow stably, contributing to the strong growth momentum of the stock market over the last period.Besides the listing, dividend has always been the matter of concerns by investors. Es-pecially, last year, profits of most banks have increased, of which, some banks plan to make dividend payment at 25-30 percent by shares and cash such as HDBank.Noticeably, this year's AGM season is forecasted to have significant fluctuations in senior personnel of banks. Specifically, Kienlongbank will appoint CEO, Sacombank will elect two additional board members for 2017-2021 term including one independ-ent board member; Eximbank also plans to appoint two board members at the AGM meeting on April 27.In addition, the profit target for this year of banks is also paid attention to by share in-vestors. In spite of having no official figure, many banks have initially set positive plans for 2018.At Vietcombank (VCB), after setting record on total assets and profits in 2017, this bank set modest growth targets with the credit to improve about 16 percent, mobilisation to swell 17 percent, total assets to inch up about 14 percent and pre-tax profit target at 12 trillion dong compared to more than 11 trillion dong last year.


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Meanwhile, Vietinbank targets to raise the total assets by about 15-17 percent, the cap-ital mobilisation by 18-20 percent; credit by 16-17 percent. BIDV targets the maximum credit growth target in 2018 at about 17 percent, and the capital mobilisation growth at 17 percent.The common point in these three banks is the limited increase in chartered capital over the last three years, causing the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) to be close to the min-imum level following the regulation of the State Bank. Therefore, growth criteria are mostly less than 20 percent.

PM lauds Nat'l Financial Supervisory group


Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFS) to enhance the quality of analysis, assessment and forecast of mac-roeconomic developments and financial markets to complete its task of counselling the prime minister.The PM made this request on his visit to NFS on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the financial supervisory commission yesterday.NFS was established in 2008 in the back of the global financial crisis which put Viet-nam at risk of a macroeconomic crisis. It supported and provided advice and consul-tation to the prime minister in the co-ordination of the supervisory activities in the banking, securities and insurance areas, which are considered the lifeblood of the economy.PM Phuc said the commission should focus on analysing and evaluating the situation, especially the potential risks of the financial markets, activities on the banking, securi-ties, insurance and real estate sectors, to have timely and appropriate policy proposal, including risk-detecting tools and criteria for assessing the safety of the financial sys-tem in accordance with international standards and practices."I have heard that many countries in the region are employing early warning systems for the macroeconomy and financial markets which operate rather effectively. I sug-gest members study and report specific proposals to the prime minister," PM Phuc said.He emphasized the importance of the proactive spirit and timely advising on solutions to stabilise the financial and monetary system, restructure credit institutions in line with bad debt settlement, regularly update and analyse the international and domestic financial developments.This was especially important in the context of unpredictable developments in the glo-bal and domestic economies, he said. "It's too late to lock the stable door after the horse is stolen", he added.Closer collaborationFinancial and monetary markets needed to be reinforced, improved and made more efficient and safer, providing a solid foundation for rapid and sustainable develop-ment.Thus, the prime minister said NFS should be more active in coordinating with relevant ministries, agencies, especially the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Ministry of Fi-nance (MOF), to counsel and propose to the government and the prime minister poli-cies on important issues in the economy and financial market supervision.The prime minister assigned the commission in collaboration with relevant authorities to report and propose to the prime minister the coordinating mechanism among min-istries and functional agencies in performing the function of general supervision and supervision of the financial market.The commission should proactively cooperate with specialised supervisory ministries and agencies in reviewing, building and completing legal framework for financial and banking groups and the managing mechanism of these corporations.Especially, it needed to focus on studying and proposing organisational models to-wards streamlining staff and becoming more effective. Phuc emphasized the excel-lence of human resources which will determine the counselling quality.Truong Van Phuoc, acting chair of the National Financial Supervisory Commission,


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suggested the prime minister strengthen the legal status of the commission in order to facilitate its performance as it helps the commission have timely and sufficient access to database and objects under supervision in many aspects.Phuoc also said the commission would soon apply and publish early warning models, scientific and practical forecasts, contributing to maintaining the confidence of the market, investors and depositors.At the ceremony, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc awarded the Third-class Labour Order to the commission.http://bizhub.vn/news/pm-lauds-natl-financial-supervisory-group_292927.html

Banks report huge profits, bank shares' golden days return


Investors, impressed by banks' high profits, have been rushing to buy bank shares, pushing prices up.In 2017 Vietnam commercial banks reported huge profits of trillions of dong. As ex-pected, with advantage in huge assets, three state-owned banks were the most profit-able banks in 2017.Of these, Vietcombank was the most profitable with pre-tax profit of VND11.3 trillion, an increase of 32 percent compared with the same period in 2016.The second position belonged to VietinBank which reported profit of VND9.206 tril-lion, an increase of 8.9 percent.With profit of VND8.8 trillion, which means a 14 percent increase, BIDV is in the third position in the entire banking system.Sacombank made the biggest leap in 2017 with profit increasing by 9.5 times to VND1.488 trillion.As banks all have reported big profits, the bank share price increase was expected. The average price of the shares of 13 banks being traded at the Hanoi & HCM City Stock Exchanges and UpCom (not including Bac A Bank which put its shares into transac-tions on December 28, 2017) has increased by 60 percent.Even NVB, the shares of National Citizen Bank, which were traded at prices below nominal value for many years, also saw strong rise with prices hitting ceiling levels at many trading sessions.NVB price exceeded the VND10,000 threshold in mid-June. The price of the share later went down for some time in 2017, but it still increased sharply by 58 percent by the end of 2017.Similarly, SHB of the Saigon Hanoi Bank also sees steady rise. It had a bad beginning in 2017 when its price stayed at VND4,000 per share. However, the price had soared to VND9,300 per share by the end of 2017, or 97 percent within a year.Other banks, Military Bank and Asia Commercial Bank, also saw impressive share price increases of 84 percent and 71 percent, respectively.Can Van Luc, a renowned banking expert, commented that investors have realised the great growth potential of the banking sector and are trying to pour money into bank shares."The stock market is growing well, the restructuring of banks and bad debt settlement accelerated after the release of new resolutions," he explained.Le Xuan Nghia, an economist, also thinks the banking system now has opportunities for recovering.In 2016, the ROE of the whole banking system was at around 7 percent, while the fig-ure rose to 11 percent in 2017. At some banks, the ROE is 20 percent.US$1=VND22,000http://www.vir.com.vn/banks-report-huge-profits-bank-shares-golden-days-return-56862.html

Life insurers busy with agent recruitment plan

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| DTCK

Recruiting and training insurance agents is a regular job of life insurance companies because this recruitment is based on the number of agents and the expansion plan of the company's network. However, this year the market may witness many different re-


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cruitment strategies from traditional ones.According to statistics of the Vietnam Insurance Association (VIA), the number of newly recruited agents of insurers annually increases by over 20 percent. Insurers with high numbers of agents recruited are the top ones in market share such as Bao Viet, Prudential, Manulife, and Dai-ichi Life Vietnam.In the recent time, some insurance companies in the lower top, since having market ex-pansion plans, have started to accelerate the recruitment of agents, such as Hanwha Life Vietnam, generali, and Sun Life.Data of the VIA showed that the total number of agents present at the market by the end of September 2017 is over 570,000 agents, up by over 20 percent compared to the end of 2016. "This number continues to increase according to the development of in-surance companies as well as the growth of the market. In addition, small insurers which have newly entered the market or insurance joint ventures are having new re-cruitment strategies", said a representative of an insurer.He believed that the insurance companies mainly selling products via specialised dis-tribution channels in the past such as banks now will have to adopt unique strategies in order to recruit new agents.The development of insurance agents in the current traditional way will make it fairly difficult for these insurers, because they will have to spend a lot if they want to recruit good agents who can immediately generate revenue; while the traditional recruitment consumes a lot of time with unsure efficiency. "In addition to further cooperating with banks in selling insurance products, we will continue to exploit our existing partner-ship to develop an approach to find customers. Along with these methods, to expand the market and find more customers, we will also develop some new insurance selling channels. This perhaps will be different compared to the current insurance compa-nies", said a leader of an insurance company which mainly sells products via banking channel.Previously, in late 2017, talking to reporter of Dau tu Chung khoan newspaper, general director of an insurance joint venture shared that his company is looking for a direc-tion to develop agent model. Currently, the company has made a shift in recruiting and training sales staff in a different way. Leader of the joint venture said that the com-pany will soon announce the recruitment of new agents, possibly in this March.Concerning the development of human resource, in mid-2017, Samsung Life Insurance Company (SLI from South Korea) has signed a memorandum of cooperation with In-surance Research and Training centre under the Management Department with the aim to share experience in administrative management and human resource training and development, exchanging insurance expertise, and cooperating and exchanging in insurance in general and management of agents in particular between Vietnam and South Korea.SLI has not yet established a life insurance business entity in Vietnam but its represent-ative office has been operating for many years. The cooperation in the development of insurance human resource with Vietnamese market may be one of the next steps to penetrate the market of SLI, but may be mere exchange of expertise.Nevertheless, according to experts in the industry, in addition to capital, experience and investment in technology, the preparation of skilled human resource, including the sales force, is always an important factor, and even the survival factor for insurance companies which have just entered the insurance market of Vietnam.

SAP to install customer relationship software for Sacombank


Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (Sacombank) has hired SAP, a global leader in enterprise application software, for its customer relationship management (CRM) project, which consists of functions like sales, service, marketing, and integrated data-base analysis.BJ Burlingame, head of digital business services for SAP Southeast Asia, said "Banking is essentially about data to gain insights into customers' behaviours and preferences, and essentially improving customer conversion rates, wallet share and customer loy-


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alty."SAP's CRM application would enable organisations to "uncover insights that can sim-plify their sales processes with better customer engagement, accurate forecasting, and real-time pipeline management," she said, adding that "This will allow them to deliver contextual and personalised experience for their customers."With an increase in internet use in Vietnam, it is essential for businesses to invest in digital technology if they want to succeed, she said.Nguyen Minh Tam, deputy CEO of Sacombank, said: "The specific goal we have from this project is to take advantage of 360-degree customer views from CRM analytics to have better understanding of the needs and behaviours of existing and potential cus-tomers. "We consider the completion of CRM an essential factor in making Sacombank stand out from its competitors in the market."The bank, without divulging the cost of the project, said merely it cost a "large amount of money."It is expected to be ready in March next year.http://bizhub.vn/banking/sap-to-instal-customer-relationship-software-for-sacombank_292916.html

HDBank's profit may increase 64pct in 2018

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| NDH

Hochiminh City Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank, coded HDB) is among Viet-nam's top eight joint stock commercial banks and top three consumer finance compa-nies.Hochiminh city Securities Company (HSC) also pays attention to HDBank's growth potential from the unique customer ecosystem combined with Vietjet Air. The bank's strategy is to focus mainly on expanding network at rural area, targeting at individual customers and small and medium businesses. Meanwhile, HDBank is also the only shares of joint stock commercial banks on the bourse to have room for foreign inves-tors.In 2018, HSC has positive assessments about HDBank's business operations. This unit forecasts that HDBank's customer loans will grow 25 percent, reaching 130.630 trillion dong. HSC expects that HDBank and HD Saison will achieve the lending growth of 25 percent, touching 188.820 trillion dong and 11.810 trillion dong respectively. Custom-ers' deposits grow 20 percent, hitting 144 trillion dong. The increase in customers' de-posits only focused on the parent bank.HSC predicts that HDBank's NIM will increase to 4.6 percent from 4.06 percent in 2017. Of which, HDBank's NIM will improve from 2.43 percent in 2017 to 3.02 percent in 2018. HDSaison's NIM will be stable at 30.13 percent in 2018 when the company launches the majority of new products to the market in 2018.Consolidated net interest income increased 40.5 percent to 8.957 trillion dong. Of which, HD Saison's consolidated net interest income grew 25.1 percent, reaching 3.414 trillion dong. HDB's consolidated non-interest income is estimated to swell 11.5 per-cent, touching 1.285 trillion dong.HSC assumes that HDBank's income from service will grow strongly in 2018 after the bank applies higher fees to all of its customers (HSC forecasts the net interest for HD-Bank's service operation will grow 140.36 percent, hitting 429 billion dong).On the other hand, HSC also estimates that the income from business/securities invest-ment will drop 40 percent to 290 billion dong and has not included in its forecasted model the potential profit that may arise if HDBank sells VJC shares. Accordingly, af-ter deducting fees, HSC estimates that HDBank's consolidated pre-tax profits may reach 3.958 trillion dong, growing nearly 64 percent from the previous year.

Minister: CPTPP vital to sustainable development in Vietnam


The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement would be a vital deal in utilising free trade and ensuring sustainable development in Vietnam, said minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh.Therefore, economic sectors should prepare and take the initiative in economic re-


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structuring in order to maximise the pact, which is scheduled to be inked in Chile on March 8 (local time) by ministers from its 11 member countries, Anh told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).The minister said such sectors as garment-textiles, footwear, food processing, bever-age, confectionery, tobacco, wine and beer will benefit most from the deal.He cited a research jointly conducted by the World Bank (WB) and the research insti-tute under the Ministry of Planning and Investment as saying that Vietnam's GDP would be 1.1 percent higher in 2030 thanks to the CPTPP.Like other member countries, Vietnam has committed to market opening and trade fa-cilitation and liberalisation towards lifting non-tariff barriers, the minister said.At the same time, the country will continue to streamline State management of market development, he said, stressing that through the agreement, competitiveness of the na-tional economy as well as businesses will be likely improved.Citing 36 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into Vietnam in 2017, Anh said the pact would lead to breakthroughs in the flow of investment into the coun-try.Domestic businesses, therefore, will have more resources to develop further and access technologies as well as quality human resources, the minister emphasized.However, apart from opportunities, the agreement would pose challenges to both the business circle and people if less attention was paid to fulfilling integration commit-ments, the minister warned.He cited lessons withdrawn from Vietnam's joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and signing of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US to clarify his views.The official said a number of fields in the agriculture sector like sugarcane exploitation and sugar industry have remained slow in restructuring, as compared with other sec-tors like telecommunications, e-commerce, garments-textiles and footwear.According to him, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has designed specific communi-cations projects in order to help businesses and people grasp opportunities generated by the agreement.The ministry will also submit an overall action plan to the government in preparation for the implementation of Vietnam's integration commitments while reviewing its le-gal framework.The CPTPP is set to take effect in early 2019 after it is ratified by at least six member countries. Its member economies make up about 13 percent of the global GDP.After the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the predecessor of the CPTPP, in 2017, the remaining 11 countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Ja-pan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) agreed to main-tain the deal and rename it CPTPP.They agreed on the revised content of the agreement on January 23, 2018.On February 21, the full text of the CPTPP was announced, which is considered a sign showing that the 11 countries are ready to sign the agreement.According to Reuters, more than 20 provisions of the CPTPP were suspended or changed compared to the TPP.Earlier, US President Donald Trump said his country would consider re-entering the CPTPP if the US could get a better deal.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/minister-cptpp-vital-to-sustainable-development-in-viet-nam/127469.vnp

11 Pacific trade pact countries go it alone without US

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS

A year after an abrupt US withdrawal left a fledgling 12-nation Pacific trade pact for dead, the 11 remaining states will sign a re-vamped deal Thursday aimed at slashing tariffs.The agreementrebranded as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)has been championed as an antidote to growing US protectionism under President Donald Trump.


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"We are not going to be derailed by Trump's decision" to withdraw the US, said Felipe Lopeandia, Chile's top trade negotiator, ahead of the ratification ceremony in Santiago.After years of negotiations, the original dealthe Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPPwas signed in February 2016 by 12 countries that border the Pacific Ocean.But it fell victim to Trump's "America First" policy, when he removed the pact's major linchpin before the deal could get under way.The CPTPP aims to slash tariffs between the 11 members and foster trade to boost growth.It will "send a political signal to the world and to the United States itself, that this is a global agreement," said Lopeandia.- Blow against protectionism -Coming in the same week that Trump risked a trade war over his decision to introduce tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, the deal is seen by some members as striking a blow against protectionism.Washington's exit meant a drastic downsizing of the original agreementwhich with US involvement represented 40 percent of the global economy.But the pactthough a diminished one involving 13.5 percent of global GDPremains hugely significant, according to Ignacio Bartesaghi of the Catholic University of Uru-guay's business school."There is no trade agreement involving that number of countries, and one that has 30 chapters which deal with all the most modern topics of international trade," Bartesaghi told AFP.Last month, Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the US might return if it got a better deal."Little by little, his advisors have managed to make Trump realise the role that the United States plays in Asia Pacific and the role played by the TPP in that region, not only in economic and trade terms, but in geopolitical terms," said Bartesaghi.But Japan, a key driver behind the revised pact, is skeptical."If the United States returns to a more positive attitude toward the TPP, it is something we will welcome (but) it would not be so easy" to change the agreement again, said To-kyo's chief negotiator Kazuyoshi Umemoto.- More balanced -More than 20 provisions were suspended or changed in the new agreement, mostly rules over intellectual property originally inserted at the demand of US negotiators.Analysts noted these provisions were not canceled, however, with some suggesting the door is being left ajar for the US.Chilean authorities say the new chapter on intellectual property protection is now "more balanced.""The CPTPP will establish a new standard for other regional economic integration agreements, and even for future negotiations in the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and in Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)," said Chile's foreign ministry, which is hosting Thursday's landmark signing.Chile said membership of the new pact will improve access to markets currently re-sponsible for 17 percent of its total exports.The other two Latin American countries, Mexico and Peru, will also improve their ac-cess to countries on the other side of the Pacific, such as Vietnam and Malaysia."It means an increase in our potential market and the possibility that our people can access more products," said Mario Mongilardi, head of Lima's chamber of commerce.The 11 states represent a market of 500 million people, greater than that of the Europe-an Union's single market.The pact will come into force 60 days after it is fully ratified by six of the 11 members.The 11 TPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/55462/11-pacific-trade-pact-countries-go-it-alone-without-us.html


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Breakthrough reforms needed to keep CPTPP benefits


The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) warned that benefits from the Com-prehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could be reduced if Vietnam does not carry out breakthrough reforms.MPI warns of diminishing benefitsThe signing of the CPTPP in March in Chile is expected to bring socioeconomic bene-fits for Vietnam, create a breakthrough in terms of investment, business, and export market expansion. However, in a number of documents MPI sent to the government recently, the ministry warns of a potential decrease of the gains from the CPTPP.The issue pertains to the agreement's stipulations on the rules of origin."Currently, the largest importers of Vietnamese goods are not CPTPP countries. Thus, if Vietnam does not carry out breakthrough reforms, benefits from the CPTPP could be reduced," MPI emphasized.This is not a new concern, because issues over the origin of goods exported and im-ported into TPP members before and CPTPP members now, have been stressed for a while. Member countries will be able to access preferential rates under the agreement if export items use materials made in member countries of the CPTPP. However, in fact, Vietnam imports too much from China, which is not a member of the CPTPP.According to the general Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam imported $58.228 billion worth of goods from China in 2017, including over $6 billion of fabrics. Major dependence on Chinese materials brings risks of commercial protectionist measures by the US. Furthermore, the benefits from the CPTPP will also go below expectations.The solution for this problem is that Vietnam needs to start producing materials do-mestically through the development of domestic supporting industries. It is necessary to effect large-scale reform and development initiatives in order to maximise the ben-efits of the CPTPP, as well as raise added-value and take part in the global value chain.What benefits lie in store for Vietnam?If Vietnam makes reforms in time, how will the CPTPP benefit the Vietnamese econo-my? MPI has provided the answer for this question. According to the ministry's report, signing and implementing the CPTPP will affect the domestic economy in a multitude of ways.Removing or reducing tariffs will accelerate Vietnam's economic growth and raise to-tal export and import turnover. "If we removed and slashed tariffs at the same time as liberalised trade, the efficiency gains would be far better," the ministry emphasized.According to the World Bank, Vietnam's GDP growth will be 1.1 per cent higher in 2030 in comparison to the scenarios without the CPTPP, which could reach as high as 4.5 per cent if productivity was raised and input costs for production reduced. Similar-ly, export turnover will increase by 2.4 per cent and import by 5.3 per cent.MPI said that the CPTPP will not affect the state budget. "Reducing and removing tar-iffs may decrease budgetary revenue at the beginning due to decreasing revenue from exports and imports. However, this revenue will return in the future through the in-crease in total export and import turnover. generally, the CPTPP is forecast not to af-fect the balance of the state budget much," the ministry confirmed.MPI said that the manufacturing sector, which is particularly labour intensive, along with the light and services industries, especially financial services, will benefit from the expanding market and raising export and import turnover. These sectors should enhance production to create more jobs and increase the income of employees.Meanwhile, animal husbandry, food processing, and other capital-intensive sectors will suffer from limited negative impacts. Therefore, Vietnam should promote reforms to enhance gains and offset losses.Tran Tuan Anh, minister of Industry and Trade, confirmed at the press conference on the CPTPP in November that without the US, Vietnam's gains are not as large as first expected, but this agreement will significantly affect the export market, strengthen re-forms, and put competitive pressure on both enterprises and the economy.In case the US returns to the CPTPP fold, the pressure to reform the Vietnamese econ-omy will be even greater.


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Economist Vo Tri Thanh also agreed with this point. The maintenance of high stand-ards, general equilibrium, and the integrity of the TPP in the CPTPP will strengthen reforms in Vietnam. This is an intangible and uncountable benefit, but will significant-ly affect the country's socioeconomic development.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196578/breakthrough-reforms-needed-to-keep-cptpp-benefits.html

Global powerhouses to back circular economy


Vietnam's ambition to build a circular economy aimed at combating pollution and achieving more sustainable development by reusing and recycling defunct products has attracted the participation of several foreign firms. However, in order for this new economic model to grow, state support is needed.In front of hundreds of people, Ta Duy Tung, supply chain director of Coca-Cola Viet-nam, raised an empty Dasani-branded plastic water bottle produced by Coca-Cola, saying that it is only 12.15 grammes in weight."Previously, its weight was 14.5 grammes. We have reduced its weight by 16.2 per cent, meaning we have saved millions of dollars in material costs," Tung said."The reduction of plastic materials used for making these water bottles, which will be continued, is part of Coca-Cola's efforts to go green in its production in Vietnam, and contributes to the country's pursuit of green growth and a circular economy," Tung said.Two weeks ago, hundreds of spectators who are representatives of enterprises and re-porters, thronged the headquarters of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try (VCCI) to witness its Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD) and three foreign companies Coca-Cola Vietnam, Dow Chemical Vietnam, and Unilever Vietnam jointly ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for imple-menting the 'Zero Waste to Nature' initiative.This initiative is part of Vietnam's programme on supporting enterprises to material-lise the country's circular economy. The programme, the first of its kind in Vietnam and initiated by the VBCSD, includes the establishment of a centre for assisting enter-prises in this endeavour.The centre will focus on suggesting policies, incentives, and mechanisms to the gov-ernment to build up secondary material markets, introduce those ideal practices of global enterprises to local firms, and then carry out initiatives based on the public-pri-vate partnership format.This will help attract further participation of enterprises in building an emissions-free economy, create greater employment prospects, and increase competition amongst en-terprises.Circular economyVietnam is developing quickly, leaving its low-income past behind and becoming a middle-income country. However, this rapid economic growth is accompanied by in-creasing pressure on the environment. Waste generated by industrial activities and ur-banisation is a serious issue for Vietnam. In addition to increasing pollution, this has forced the country to transform its production to cleaner, safer, and more sustainable methods in order to protect both the national environment and the population's health."In this context, a circular economy a relatively new concept in Vietnam could be a good solution," VCCI's general secretary Nguyen Quang Vinh told VIR.In a circular economy, waste from factories becomes a valuable input to other process-es. Also, rather than disposing of defunct products, they are repaired, reused, or up-graded. Circular economy strategies could result in considerable cost savings, increasing the competitiveness of industries while delivering net benefits in terms of job opportunities."This concept is an essential solution for Vietnam to continue serving the growing en-ergy and resource demands in the domestic market while decreasing pressure from waste, pollution, and climate change," said Vinh, who is also vice chair of the VBCSD.According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the volume of solid


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waste discharged annually by industrial parks in Vietnam is about nine million tonnes and expected to hit 10-13 million tonnes by 2020. Waste from everyday consumption is about 17-18 million tonnes per year, 6.5-7 million tonnes of which come from urban areas.Meanwhile, the demand for recycled waste has increased annually by 10-20 per cent, showing the great potential of the recycling industry in Vietnam.Foreign firms' participationThe programme on supporting enterprises to materialise Vietnam's circular economy, now joined by Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical Vietnam, and Unilever Vietnam primarily targets plastic waste, with the first activity being the 'Zero Waste to Nature' initiative, which will be piloted in HCM City.In the near future, the programme's activities will target various industries, namely steel, cement, maritime, and textile.Nguyen Hoai Son, government and public affairs manager of Dow Chemical Vietnam, told VIR that foreign firms like Dow Chemical see great opportunities in Vietnam's cir-cular economy."It's a very good idea for Vietnam to develop its circular economy, and will involve the participation of enterprises. We currently have one production factory and may build another one in the future," Son said. "Dow Chemical Vietnam has grown by double digits in recent years, and will continue doing the same this year and beyond. We will continue boosting production for local consumption and export."Beginning operations in Vietnam in 1995, the firm has been providing assorted mate-rials for many firms and sectors in Vietnam, such as footwear, packaging, wrapping, electronics, and pesticides.In addition to its participation in the 'Zero Waste to Nature' initiative, Dow Chemical is implementing two other green projects in Vietnam. The first is to recycle waste from paint factories into materials used to produce road-oriented brick and glue substances. The second one is to recycle plastic waste into asphalt.Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Vietnam's Tung said that by 2030, Coca-Cola will collect and recycle all of the waste it produces in the form of bottles, cans, nylon, paper, and more."In the near future, we will carry out pilot programmes on collecting plastic waste in Hanoi and HCM City," he said. "And not only are we reducing the plastic used in mak-ing water bottles, we will also continue reducing the material volume in many other products. This is to save costs and protect the environment."Unilever Vietnam has also been implementing its own 'Zero Waste to Nature' initia-tive. "In HCM City, we have established a sustainable business model for collecting and recycling based on Solvolysis technology with CITENCO, as an example for scal-ing up nationwide in a later stage, and in preparation for the establishment of a Solvol-ysis technology waste treatment factory in 2020," said Unilever Vietnam's chairwoman Nguyen Thi Bich Van.The three firms will continue to cooperate with partners and enterprises in Vietnam to secure material supplies and to ensure their programmes will succeed.According to VCCI's Vinh, it is likely that many other big foreign firms, including Heineken, will also join this programme in the near future.At Heineken Vietnam, the circular economy is currently best demonstrated by the ap-plication of biomass and biogas. Four out of six Heineken breweries in Vietnam brewed with 100 per cent carbon-neutral biomass energy in 2017.By 2019, the firm aims to brew with renewable energy in all of its breweries.In need of state supportHowever, Vinh said, the programme will not be able to grow strongly without state support."Aside from support from foreign firms, the government must have incentives for en-terprises applying modern technologies in reusing and recycling materials. For exam-ple, Russia has been building its circular economy for years, with participating enterprises given special incentives on taxes, fees, charges, and land," Vinh stressed.According to him, the government should, in the short term, revise its Decree No.38/


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2015/ND-CP dated April 24, 2015, on management of waste and discarded materials."This decree has many unsuitable provisions, making it difficult for enterprises to abide by it. For example, Taiwan's Formosa project has had to obtain a licence from au-thorities to sell its slag. This has cost the firm much," Vinh said. "In other cases, many enterprises produce paper, but they can't use the waste to produce plastic."According to experts, although the implementation of a circular economy in Vietnam is starting to take shape, there is still vast potential for application.In order to take advantage of the circular economy concept and learn from pioneering companies like Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, or Unilever Vietnam, firms should consider the whole value chain to find opportunities to revise their own business models."We believe that every package has value and life beyond its initial use and should be collected and recycled into beneficial use," said Tung of Coca-Cola Vietnam. "Though a bottle is small, it can contribute to building Vietnam's circular economy successfully."http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196583/global-powerhouses-to-back-circu-lar-economy.html

Rethinking business for a future in Industry 4.0


Vietnam is both qualified and motivated to take the lead in the Fourth Industrial Rev-olution. Vu Minh Khuong, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore) and member of the economic advisory group to the Vietnamese prime minister, speaks to VIR about what the future will bring.The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has quickly become the latest buz-zword in Vietnam. However, is Industry 4.0 bringing in real opportunities for the Vi-etnamese economy or is it just a fashionable concept?Industry 4.0 first appeared in a German high-tech strategy project for 2020 aimed at bolstering the computerisation of manufacturing.The importance and extension of Industry 4.0 was confirmed when the 2016 World Economic Forum held in Davos-Klosters (Switzerland) raised a discussion on theme of "Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution".Essentially, Industry 4.0 is the process of transforming the real, physical world into a digital one.This process is taking place globally, coupled with cutting-edge technology platforms, including the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, virtual reality interaction, artifi-cial intelligence, social networking, cloud computing, and big data. Such technologies act on great performance and give a competitive edge to businesses, organisations, and governments.As such, Industry 4.0 has become a topical, hot story. But it will only be reduced to a fashionable concept if insiders miss the opportunities emerging and lag behind the trend's movement. And Vietnam is no exception.Opportunities emerging from Industry 4.0 are looming. So what position can Vietnam hold in the Industry 4.0 playing field?In my view, Vietnam has three major advantages.Firstly, Vietnam already has a good sense of Industry 4.0, which is spreading fast and extensively across the country. Aside from this, the robust development of Vietnam's cheap, good-quality IT infrastructure and services does favours to the spread of Indus-try 4.0.Secondly, the number of IT users in Vietnam is very high. They are already familiar with the great benefits of various IT applications, particularly those improving the quality of life and business operations. It can be said that the development level of Vi-etnam's leading enterprises is not lower than the world average.Thirdly, Vietnam's integration into the international market has been getting stronger of late, in terms of both trade and investment. Thus, Vietnam's economic openness and innovative spirit are expected to draw local entities closer to Industry 4.0.However, Vietnam is facing limitations in terms of infrastructure and human resourc-es to make digital technology a strategic tool for further development. Additionally,


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the efficiency of group work and teamwork remains a problem.Traditional resources such as land, capital, and labour are restricted. How could In-dustry 4.0 combat these limitations?Changes to the use of resources should be considered with some of the following points in mind.Firstly, traditional resources such as land, capital, and labour need to be prioritised for the creation of renewable, shared, and combined products. For example, land could be used for solar farms rather than shrimp hatching. Vehicle and house development projects should be encouraged in accordance with the shared product format, like the unique Airbnb accommodation booking system.Support should be raised to accelerate collaboration and linkages for combined prod-ucts.Secondly, big data has emerged as an increasingly important resource. This resource has unique attributes. In fact, data resources are never depleted but instead increase exponentially. For instance, the more people use big data, the more valuable and effi-cient it becomes. Therefore, Vietnam needs to build on a digital resource ecosystem.Thirdly, the government plays a very important role in shaping policy on gathering and exploiting digital resources. The government ought to be one of the largest and most valued sources of data and should take the lead in extracting the values of digital resources, particularly useful for the strategic planning and realisation of policies.How does Singapore approach and deploy Industry 4.0? What could Vietnam learn from it?Singapore puts a focus on supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs were selected as the strategic policy focus, aimed at promoting the acquisition of Industry 4.0.Firstly, without an appropriate support policy, SMEs who hold a large proportion of the total labour force and make essential contributions to the Singaporean economy could be left behind. They could also lose their competitive edge and even face stagna-tion in productivity growth. On the other hand, a good incentive policy can promote their agility and flexibility, enabling them to grow into a leading force, bolstering the whole effort of the economy's digital transformation.Secondly, Singapore facilitates and encourages SMEs to approach Industry 4.0. They are assisted by the government in determining and clarifying the stages of digital transformation, in confronting issues that arise, and in making beneficial Industry 4.0 investments.In addition, there must be an agency established to be in charge of supervising the process. The government must also allocate a sufficient budget to support SMEs ap-proaching Industry 4.0 technologies. Focus should be placed on sectors which obtain obvious benefits from digital applications, including tourism, trade, logistics, and se-curity.Vietnam, in my point of view, should pay particular attention to supporting SMEs' ac-cess to Industry 4.0 and take the lead in the trend. The country could consider the ap-plication of the SMART model:-SStrategy: This stage urges the consideration of SMEs as a strategic sector as well as the need to set forth powerful policies for them. Importance is attached to the mobili-sation of enterprises with high readiness and spreading the spillover effects to keep abreast of, and even take the lead in, the trend.-MMonitoring: There is a set of indicators to periodically monitor and assess results and draw practical lessons.-AAccountability: This highlights the accountability of stakeholders. An agency and its staff must take responsibility for both the success and failure of a programme de-signed to support SMEs in Industry 4.0.-R- Rethinking: This encourages us to change the way we think, alter our conceptions of what reality is, listen to businesses and professionals, and utilise international expe-rience.-TTrust: There must be a deeper trust of businesses in the benefits of technological ap-


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plications and the government's support for the business community.Vietnam has many advantages to carry out the above model, including a large number of SMEs and young entrepreneurs with good knowledge of technology and a desire to explore new trends. Remarkably, the Vietnamese government emphasizes the signifi-cance of accelerating SMEs' development and the promotion of startups, creativity, and Industry 4.0.What should Vietnamese enterprises do to grasp opportunities emerging from Indus-try 4.0?To achieve a higher development level, Vietnamese enterprises must change them-selves, change their own minds first.Let's think of the opportunities Industry 4.0 could bring in. Local firms need to gain the initiative in preparing platforms and strategic tools instead of worrying about chal-lenges.What are your expectations for the upcoming developments of Industry 4.0 in Viet-nam?In the 21st century, a poor country can reap robust growth and create a miracle devel-opment story thanks to two drivers international integration and Industry 4.0. Viet-nam seems to hold a very favourable position with which to exploit and promote these two dynamic drivers. With locals' great aspirations for development, Vietnam will surely take the lead in the trend with creativity and breakthroughs in both its interna-tional integration and approach to Industry 4.0 in the decades to come.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196576/rethinking-business-for-a-future-in-industry-4-0.html

HCM City anticipates increasing foreign capital inflows


In 2018, the HCM City real estate sector is expected to attract significant foreign capital inflows thanks to a vibrant market, new legal framework, new high-quality supply, and easier access to bank loans.2017 recapNguyen Thanh Phong, Chair of the HCM City People's Committee, revealed that the city currently has 7,372 active foreign invested projects, with total registered capital reaching $45 billion. In 2017 alone, the city authorities licensed 803 new projects worth $2.34 billion and 194 projects with $962.63 million of additional capital. At the same time, the value of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions reached $3.68 billion.Among sectors that attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) capital last year, real es-tate topped the list with $1.01 billion, or 43.4 per cent of the total. Among these are ma-jor projects such as the $886 million Eco-Smart City in Thu Thiem New Urban Area, the $215 million KNT Asia project or the $80 million project by Tech Mastery Vietnam. In July 2017, the market also recorded the $350 million Mizuki Park project, developed by Nam Long Group in collaboration with Nishi Nippon Railroad and Hankyu Realty from Japan. The project spans over 26 hectares in Binh Chanh District, HCM City.At the same time, SonKim Land raised $100 million from Japanese investors to develop its real estate projects in HCM City. Singapore-based Keppel Land also poured new capital into its projects in districts 2 and 7.Most recently, Japan's Mitsubishi has entered a collaboration with Phuc Khang Con-struction and Investment Corporation to set up a joint venture called Phuc Khang Mit-subishi Corporation Holding (PKMC) for green projects in the city. Mitsubishi and Phuc Khang contributed 49 and 51 per cent of the stakes, respectively. The joint ven-ture will develop Diamond Lotus Riverside, Vietnam's first project to be built and managed following the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, which are common in 150 countries around the world.In January, PKMC disbursed the first investment of $30 million in the Diamond Lotus Riverside project in District 8. In the coming time, PKMC will research the develop-ment of Phuc Khang's current 20-ha land bank, with total investment capital of $500 million. The land plots owned by Phuc Khang are scattered across districts 1, 2, 8, 10, Tan Binh, and Tan Phu, ideal for apartment complexes and shopping malls. The devel-


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oper also has another 1,000ha of land in neighbouring cities and provinces.What to look for in 2018According to Su Ngoc Anh, director of the HCM City Department of Planning and In-vestment, FDI inflows into real estate will increase in 2018. There are several factors for this boom, said the official.The city authorities have continued to launch progressive laws to attract foreign inves-tors, especially in terms of reducing red tape and facilitating investment. For example, the city authorities have just introduced online registration services for M&A transac-tions conducted by foreign investors. They also launched the second phase of their on-line registration system for new businesses.The real estate market is also showing signs of improved transparency. Nowadays, in-terested investors can easily access information on market movements, legal updates, and any necessary procedures for investment.Experts believe that these new rules, together with the growing market demand, will encourage foreign capital to find its way to the property sector in HCM City. The city currently has about 500 projects waiting for new capital.Moreover, HCM City also has various landmark projects such as Thu Thiem New Ur-ban Area, which is now in the project development phase, and the third phase of the Phu My Hung township. There are other smart city projects which can lure foreign capital.Troy Griffiths, deputy managing director at Savills Vietnam, believes that overseas in-vestors will be enticed by Vietnam's rapid urbanisation, young population, and steady economic growth. HCM City's economy, as an important part of Vietnam, also wel-comes a growing urban middle-class and the city itself is at the forefront of globalisa-tion, making real estate a very attractive sector.english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196632/hcm-city-anticipates-increasing-foreign-capital-inflows.html

Association to protect steel firms from import restrictions

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| BIZHUZ

Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) is co-ordinating with relevant agencies to take timely measures and minimise the risks of a new proposal of the United States on import du-ties for steel.The move comes after US President Donald Trump said last Thursday he would for-mally announce import duties of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium this week.However, White House officials later said some details still needed to be ironed out.VSA said it would take up the United States' restriction on steel imports at the World Trade Organisation, if needed.A VSA representative said the association and other steel enterprises expected to get the support of the Vietnamese government through negotiations on the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement and would request the United States not to apply the im-port restrictions to Vietnamese steel.On February 16, US Secretary Wilbur Ross released reports of investigations by the US Department of Commerce into the impact on national security from the import of steel mill products and wrought and unwrought aluminium from Vietnam and other coun-tries exporting steel to the United States.In the reports, the secretary recommended to President Trump a global tariff of at least 24 per cent on steel imports from all countries and territories, or a tariff of at least 53 per cent on steel imports from 12 countries (Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam), with a quota on steel imports from all other countries equalling 100 per cent of their 2017 exports to the United States, or a quota on steel products from all countries equal-ling 63 per cent of each country's 2017 exports to the United States.Ross also recommended to President Trump three alternative remedies for dealing with the excessive import of aluminium: a tariff of at least 7.7 per cent on all aluminium exports from all countries and territories, or a tariff of 23.6 per cent on all products


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from China, Hong Kong, Russia, Venezuela and Vietnam. These would cover both alu-minium ingots and a wide variety of aluminium products. All the other countries and territories would be subject to quotas equal to 100 per cent of their 2017 exports to the United States, or a quota on all imports from all countries and territories equal to a maximum of 86.7 per cent of their 2017 exports to the United States.http://en.vietstock.vn/970-310168/association-to-protect-steel-firms-from-import-re-strictions.htm

Vietnam urged to streamline procedures in ODA management


Vietnam has signed agreements to borrow more than $80 billion in official develop-ment assistance (ODA) loans since 1993 but only $56.7 billion has been disbursed as complicated and overlapping procedures have hindered ODA projects, heard an inter-national seminar in Danang on March 5.Meanwhile, between 2011 and 2016, Vietnam signed ODA agreements for more than $33.8 billion and disbursed nearly $27 billion, shows data at the seminar on "ODA loan management and use in Vietnam in the 2011-2016 period." The event was organised by a supervision delegation of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee.Local and foreign experts at the seminar pointed out shortcomings in the management and use of ODA loans, especially in policies and legal procedures, resulting in the lam-entable implementation of ODA projects.Nguyen Van Hieu, deputy minister of Planning and Investment, said the current way of ODA management is no longer suitable to the Vietnamese Law on Public Invest-ment and policies of international donors as Vietnam has become a middle-income country.Ha Hai An, deputy director of the International Cooperation Department of the State Bank of Vietnam, pointed the finger at limitations on ODA loan-related regulations. In 2011-2016, the country issued and amended such regulations but they remain overlap-ping, hindering the implementation of projects.For example, in accordance with the 2013 Constitution, international agreements will be considered and approved by the State President instead of the government. As such, one more step is added in the ODA approval process, thus prolonging the time required for negotiations and agreement signing.In addition, the 2014 Law on Public Investment consisting of new regulations on in-vestment decision jurisdiction leads to contradictions in the implementation of projects in the 2011-2016 period.Christian Haas, country director of German Development Bank (KfW), cited an exam-ple for projects financed by KfW in Vietnam, especially a project to build the second metro line in HCM City. KfW decided to lend 240 million euros (US$295 million) into the project in 2014 and was proposed to offer an additional 200 million euros last year.However, the project is being carried out at a snail's pace, so Christian Haas said the capital supplementation should be approved by the NA in its session in May to avoid lengthening the process that will cause the construction cost to swell.At the seminar, experts proposed issuing the law on ODA capital management and ap-pointing an agency to manage such capital so that the capital will be used effectively.Given overlapping and complicated procedures, Dinh Son Hung, former deputy di-rector of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, suggested Vietnam should fine-tune regulations and mechanisms to promote the disbursement of ODA capital.Le Quang Thuan, head of the International Finance Committee of the Department of Financial Policies and Strategies under the Ministry of Finance, agreed with Hung's proposal that the legal system be quickly completed to ensure the transparency of us-ing ODA loans.Nguyen Van Hao, deputy director of the State Accounting Department of the State Treasury, suggested appointing an agency to manage ODA loans in line with the Law on Public Debt Management.The seminar was also attended by representatives of six international organisations of-fering ODA loans for Vietnam, namely the WB, the Asian Development Bank, the Ja-


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pan International Cooperation Agency, Export-Import Bank of Korea, the French Development Agency, and KfW.ADB country director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick said donors are monitoring the use of ODA loans in Vietnam and would stop providing loans if projects are ineffective or lag behind schedule, adding that the six international institutions expected Vietnam to remove obstacles to carry out projects effectively to attract more investments.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/58609/Vietnam-urged-to-streamline-procedures-in-ODA-management.html

Tax authorities fight bad debts


Facing a large amount of outstanding late payments in the taxation and customs branches, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is working on a draft resolution on handling tax arrears and irrecoverable fines to submit to the National Assembly.The MoF proposes to freeze tax arrears/debts. This means it would temporarily cease collection of tax and late payment fines for those who have terminated their business activities for more than one year, due to actual dissolution of taxpayers (except for cas-es for splitting, merger or acquisition), and those who already had their business li-cence revoked.The estimated uncollected tax amount of this particular group is now more than VND26.5 trillion ($1.08 billion), making up the majority of total unpaid tax debt of around $1.18 billion.The Ministry also plans to relinquish late tax fees for taxpayers who were struck by natural disasters, fires, accidents or other force majeure circumstances.Such exemption only applies to late payments not exceeding the paid value and the suffered damage, which the MoF estimated to be around VND2.24 trillion ($99.7 mil-lion) in total, as of the end of 2017.Nguyen Viet Loi, director of the Institute for Financial Strategy and Policy under the MoF, said that "the ministry's decision to freeze tax debt in some cases due to force ma-jeure circumstances or objective obstacles is in line with new laws and regulations".International experience showed that it was appropriate for each country to develop situation-specific policies for debt cancellation, said Loi at a GDT February meeting.However, in order to ensure that the tax debt remission is implemented in an objective and practical manner, the stipulation of force majeure circumstances should be clearly defined, he added.Speaking at the same meeting, economist Nguyen Minh Phong said that freezing tax debt arrears was a recurring theme.The basis for debt relief is enterprises' ability to comply with the law, but tax arrears elimination also has limitations as it sets a bad precedent for enterprises and creates unfair competition, according to Phong.Therefore, in order to overcome these shortcomings, administrative criteria and prin-ciples for clearing tax arrears, late payment and fines must be clear and justly issued.In particular, tax debt exceeding the 90 days payment window accounted for more than VND26 trillion ($1.15 billion); overdue fines were more than VND15.6 trillion ($694 million); while irrecoverable tax from deceased or incapacitated people account-ed for over VND31.4 trillion ($1.39 billion), up to 43 per cent of total tax debt and 3.2 per cent of total domestic revenue in 2017.Meanwhile, the total amount of tax arrears, late payments and fines under the man-agement of Customs in 2017 was more than VND5.4 trillion ($240 million)70 per cent of which is deemed irrecoverablehaving increased by 23.5 per cent from the end of 2016.The combined amounts of tax loss under tax and customs agencies in 2017 amounted to almost half of the national tax debts.Unrecoverable debt levels have been high in recent years, prompting tax authorities to carry out drastic measures to speed up enforcement and recovery of tax debts.In 2017, the entire tax branch scrambled to collect VND44.7 trillion ($1.9 billion) in debt, equal to 89.9 percent of outstanding tax debt from 2016.


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According to the GDT, the tax branch will carry out changes in tax debts management in order to improve State budget's revenues in 2018, by associating tax recovery with administrative reforms for taxpayers across all economic sectors.In addition, the GDT will also review debts that are possibly no longer subjected to col-lection, thereby proposing appropriate remedial measures and reducing tax arrears.In order to reach the 2018 tax debts collection goal, the general Department of Taxation (GDT) has recently charged provincial tax departments with the arduous task of re-solving pending tax amounts and outstanding debts, said Bui Van Nam, GDT's gener-al director, in a January press release.Local tax departments are asked by the GDT to reduce their current tax debts to less than 5 per cent of the State budget in 2018, as well as retrieving at least 97 per cent of overdue tax payments since 2017.Doan Xuan Toan, deputy director of GDT's Debt Management and Tax Debt Enforce-ment Department, said at a GDT meeting in February that one of the highlights of 2018 would be the application of information technology in all stages of public debt man-agement.The GDT and local tax offices would closely coordinate with state treasuries, commer-cial banks, credit institutions and investment planning agencies in using online plat-forms.http://bizhub.vn/banking/tax-authorities-fight-bad-debts_292929.html

Expert: Businesses need better awareness of sustainable development


It is necessary to raise enterprises' awareness of the importance of as well as advantag-es and benefits from sustainable development, an expert has said.Nguyen Quang Vinh, Secretary general of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and In-dustry and vice Chair of the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development, said Vietnam's business community have had clearer awareness of cooperation oppor-tunities and risks that they may encounter.However, contributions made by enterprises, especially those operating in the finan-cial sector, to the nation's sustainable development progress remain limited, he noted.Vietnamese businesses are still meeting difficulties in integrating sustainable develop-ment goals (SDGs) into their sustainable development reports, he added.Vinh stressed the need to outline policies to encourage businesses to make sustainable development reports, especially loosing legal procedures to facilitate the process.Responding to the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, 193 member na-tions approved 17 SDGs of enterprises regarding poverty reduction; education quality; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; clean and sustainable energy; job and eco-nomic growth; innovation industry and infrastructure; inequality reduction; urbanisa-tion and sustainable community; responsible consumption and production; climate change adaption; water and land resources.Vinh said 1,500 CEOs worldwide joined the dialogue in New York to discuss the role played by the enterprises in the world's sustainable development through their busi-ness to promote economic growth, create jobs, stablise society and protect the environ-ment.Thousands of innovation business ideas have been introduced and applied, towards expanding enterprises' business activities through establishing partnership and busi-ness, Vinh noted.Statistics show the number of enterprises that built sustainable development reports have doubled in the past five years.However, almost small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the dominant force in the Vietnamese business community, have not yet known well about sustainable de-velopment reports.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/expert-businesses-need-better-awareness-of-sustainable-development/127456.vnp


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Food association drafts action plans


Enhancing trade promotion and market research and providing information to busi-nesses are among the tasks the Vietnam Food Association will focus on in the next five years.Speaking at the association's eighth congress in HCM City on Tuesday, Bui Thi Minh Tam, its deputy chairwoman for 2011-17, said despite a very difficult situation in the last few years, the association had managed to help exporters both buy rice from farm-ers and export."The global rice market has witnessed a great change in the last seven years, with pro-duction surpassing demand, leading to high inventories," she said.Vietnam's exports peaked in 2012 and then decreased, and global prices have also de-clined because of abundant supply and high inventories, she said.The rice export structure has changed significantly, with shipments of low-value white rice going down from 83.72 per cent in 2011 to 40.74 per cent last year.Exports of fragrant rice increased from 6.63 per cent to 29.2 per cent while sticky and Japonica rice shipments also increased strongly in the period, she said.Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said Viet-nam was among the three largest rice exporters in 2011-17, exporting 5-7 million tonnes a year worth $2.5-3.5 billion.Last year exports jumped by 23.2 per cent to $2.66 billion, he said.Besides producers and exporters, the association has also made great contributions to the sector's achievements by providing information and cooperating with authorities and businesses in building the Vietnamese rice brand, he said.The food sector, including rice, is expected to face challenges in the coming years, in-cluding climate change, importing countries becoming self-sufficient, changes in rice import policies in Vietnam's key markets, and increase in trade barriers and quality re-quirements, he said."To sustain growth, the rice sector needs to restructure."He said the association should cooperate with his ministry and localities to review zoning plans and match areas and popular rice varieties, create linkages in rice pro-duction, and persuade members to ensure quality and food safety.The association should work with localities and members to continue the shift towards high-quality rice and ensure the use of advanced production and processing technol-ogies to maximise value, he said.It should continue to provide up-to-date production and trading information, strengthen market research and forecast to make timely recommendations to farmers and businesses, help enhance trade promotion, develop Vietnamese rice brands and organise trade fairs in the domestic and overseas markets, he said.Quality, competitive prices and good brands are the key factors that would enable Vi-etnamese rice to penetrate more markets, he added.The congress voted for 27 executive board members, with Nguyen Ngoc Nam, acting general director of the Vietnam Southern Food Cooperation, becoming the associa-tion's chair for the 2018-23 term.http://bizhub.vn/news/food-association-drafts-action-plans_292928.html

VFA urged to increase high-quality rice production


The Vietnam Food Association (VFA) was urged to work with other units to continue shifting rice production towards higher output of high-quality rice and applying tech-nological advances in production and processing to maximise the value of rice.The call was made at the association's eighth congress in HCM City on March 6 during which participants elected Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Acting director general of Vinafood 2, as VFA President in the 2018-2023 tenure, to replace Huynh The Nang, who retired.In the new tenure, the association has set to increase its membership in order to coor-dinate actions to counter price squeeze and dumping and unhealthy competition.VFA will work closely with other State agencies and authorities of localities to acceler-ate productive production and business.


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Tran Thanh Nam, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development asked the association to work with the ministry's units and localities in screening the planning of rice growing areas to adjust production scale and output to fit the demand for local consumption and export.The association should boost production connectivity and develop cooperatives so as to proactively prepare supplies of quality rice for export to specific markets, he said.Duong Phuong Thao, deputy head of the Import-Export Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade reminded VFA members to take into account changes in import-export policies being implemented by major markets.Vietnam may export 6.5 million tonnes of rice in 2018, with high-quality rice account-ing for a large proportion of total rice export volume and normal rice making up less than 20 percent.The country sold 861,000 tonnes of rice abroad in the first two months of this year, earning 419 million USD, up 17 percent in volume and 34 percent in value compared with the same period last year.The Philippines was the biggest importer of Vietnamese rice, accounting for 26.9 per-cent of the market share. It was followed by China, with 23.5 percent.In 2017, Vietnam earned 2.6 billion USD from the shipment of 5.8 million tonnes of rice abroad.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vfa-urged-to-increase-highquality-rice-production/127474.vnp

Sugar inventory recurs in Mekong Delta

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS

After the Lunar New Year, some sugar factories have once again faced sugar invento-ry. Influenced by the competition's pressure from market economy, lot of sugar facto-ries have gone bankrupt. The way to handle the root cause of the issue is to settle problems arising from raw material areas instead of finding temporary solutions.Domestic sugar price has dramatically decreased and lots of sugar factories are on the verge of bankruptcy, which considerably impacts the consumption of sugarcane raw material areas. Several famers in Tra Vinh and Ca Mau provinces are in miserable sit-uation since local sugarcane plant has met a lot of trouble. Some farmers have not har-vested overripe sugarcane in the fields because no one buys it. Sugarcane areas have gone down badly over the past few years. In the meanwhile, sugar price drop in the domestic market has put the sugar industry in a slew of difficulties.Vietnam's sugar and sugarcane programme has started since 1995. Up to now, the country has 40 sugar plants with the total design capacity of about 150 thousand tonnes per day, increasing 1.5 times compared to 2005 and 12.7 times compared to 1995. Average productivity reaches 65 tonnes per hectare. It is 7.1 percent lower than the world average productivity of 70 tonnes a hectare.Vietnam has no longer spent billions of US dollars on import and basically satisfied do-mestic consumption demand. Besides, the sugarcane industry has created jobs and in-creased income for over 33,000 households and more than 1.5 million agricultural labourers, contributing in reducing poverty in rural areas. The annual sugar output of sugar plants and companies in the country fluctuates from 1.3 to 1.5 million tonnes, which basically guarantee domestic consumption demand and take part in market sta-bilisation. In the context of joining "international playground", enterprises and farmers that produce sugarcane and sugar with low price but high quality can compete and re-main. Some sugarcane areas have been chopped down, a number of sugarcane enter-prises have shut down because of weak competition in Mekong Delta over the past few years. Three out of ten sugar plants have shut down and gone bankrupt due to loss and failure in competition.More investment in raw material areasSugar plants have processed six million tonnes of sugarcane to produce about 500,000 tonnes of sugar this month. Sugar price is now lower than that in the past few years. Enterprises have worried about the increasing tendency of sugarcane inventory.According to Vietnamese Sugarcane Association, up to now, sugarcane inventory has


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reached about 388,000 tonnes, increasing over 100,000 tonnes compared to the middle of December 2017.Recently, illicit sugar from Thailand with price lower than Vietnamese products have penetrated into the southwest border and threatened the Mekong Delta market. Thai firms have purchased sugarcane with the price as low as $30-35 a tonne, equivalent to 650-750 dong a kilogram. In the meanwhile, enterprises in Vietnam have to pay VND800-1,000 a kilogram.In sugar production, material accounts for 70 percent to 80 percent of production cost. That has caused production cost in Vietnam higher than in Thailand by VND2,000-3,000 a kilogram. This is the reason why Thai sugar has been illegally imported with the amount from 300,000 to 500,000 tonnes year.According to Asean Trade in Goods Agreement, from 2018, Thailand sugar will be of-ficially imported into Vietnam with the tax of 5 percent but it is still cheaper than Vi-etnamese sugar.Analysing the drawbacks of sugarcane raw material areas in the Mekong Delta, the leader of a sugar plant said that the sugarcane industry in Vietnam has small produc-tion scale without applying mechanism in production and harvest. Sugarcane cultiva-tion cost has been high because of annual re-planting. Sugarcane productivity and quality do not meet requirement. Cultivation and fertiliser are not appropriate for local soil conditions.A sugar firm leader in the region say that if there are suitable mechanisms and policies as countries in Asean, farmers will be able to steadily stand and integrate. Those poli-cies include zoning sugarcane material areas in accordance with current integration. Especially traffic and irrigation system should be developed to help farmers reduce production and harvest costs. Relevant agencies should assists farmers to develop large scale fields and cooperatives to apply mechanisation in production and harvest.According to Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (abbreviated as ATIGA) signed in 2009 between 10 Asean countries, from 2018, sugar products from countries in the Asean region will not be unlimitedly imported to Vietnam at the tax rate of 5 percent.That is a big challenge for Vietnamese sugarcane industry which is weak because of being protected for the long period of time. Besides, it is a chance for sugarcane indus-try to re-engineer so as to integrate and develop.sggpnews.org.vn/business/sugar-inventory-recurs-in-mekong-delta-72982.html

Mechanisms needed for stable property market


A line-up of tools and solutions to promote stable and sustainable development of the real estate market are being studied by the Ministry of Construction as part of efforts to ensure the market's transparency.The ministry said that it will closely work with the Ministry of Finance to complete tax and finance mechanisms while joining hands with the State Bank of Vietnam to control the credit flow to the property sector.Removing bottlenecks on capital to carry out key housing projects will be given due attention.The ministry will work to chalk out measures to develop social housing projects in ur-ban areas and for workers in industrial zones as well as supervise the planning and use of land allotted for social housing in the areas.Regular update on the building material market will help the ministry to carry out timely measures stabilising prices of major building materials. Effective implementing the building material planning and development schemes is crucial to ensure a balance of supply and demand.The ministry will support the production of materials that help cut construction costs.The construction sector target a growth of up to 9.21 percent in 2018.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/mechanisms-needed-for-stable-property-market/127443.vnp


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Ba Ria-Vung Tau seeks to tackle investment hindrances


Officials from the Department of Planning and Investment and other relevant agencies and sectors in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau met on March 6 to seek meas-ures to draw in more investment.Nguyen Hong Linh, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, who chaired the meeting, said the province boasts a lot of untapped potential but has yet to do enough to reel in big investors.He suggested departments and other sectors to join hands in making existing investors satisfy and treating businesses, old and new, local and foreign alike, on an equal foot-ing.He pointed to the need to shorten the licence-granting duration while speeding up a support programme for businesses.The Industrial Park Management Board should pay heed to the quality of infrastruc-ture at industrial parks in an effort to raise their competitiveness, he noted.According to Le Hoang Hai, director of the Department of Planning and Investment, in 2017, the province licensed 86 locally-invested and foreign-invested projects with a total investment of 1.5 billion USD and 41.9 trillion VND.Newly-licensed projects are engaging mainly in warehouses, logistics, ports, industry, tourism, housing, environment, healthcare, mining, trade and agriculture.Also in 2017, local and foreign businesses disbursed over 36.1 trillion VND of their in-vestment capital, accounting for around 80 percent of the total investment poured into the locality.On February 23, the province presented investment licenses to eight projects worth over 8.3 trillion VND (366 million USD) at a meeting with businesses.The projects comprise two solar power factories, two housing projects, one hospital project, one ceramic factory, one tourism project, and one steel project.The locality is focusing its investment attraction efforts on the five sectors that it has potential, namely industry, sea ports, port logistics services, tourism, and hi-tech agri-culture.

HCM City boasts highest salaries in Vietnam


Workers in HCM City are estimated to have a monthly average minimum salary of VND10.3 million (USD456) in 2017, the highest level in the country, according to a re-port by Navigos Group's online recruitment portal VietnamWorks.Salary Insights Report analyses the salary data of 4.7 million application dossiers sent to Vietnamworks.com in 2017.The report showed that HCM City's average minimum monthly salary is 38 percent higher than that of the whole country which was recorded at just VND6.5 million (USD295.4) in 2017.Following HCM City is the central city of Danang with VND10.2 million (USD452) per month. The runners-up were the southern province of Binh Duong and the northern province of Bac Ninh with VND10.1 million (USD444) and VND9.5 million (USD421) per month respectively.Hanoi stood in fifth position on the list with VND9.3 million (USD407) per month.According to VietnamWorks, each year, the portal receives around 4.7 million appli-cation dossiers for more than 95,000 jobs each year on average.The portal's recent survey indicated that 72 percent of jobs for new graduates offer the salary of between VND5.7-11.4 million (USD259-518) per month. However, most new graduates tend to apply for jobs with the salary of USD701 1,000; meanwhile, jobs which can offer these salary levels need to recruit roughly 6 percent of the total number of new graduates every year. This means a tough competition among new graduates for such high salary levels.In contrast, experienced workers often apply for jobs with a salary of USD251-1,000 per month. At present, up to 68 percent of jobs posted on VietnamWorks are for experi-enced workers.


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Vietnam beer market one of the hottest in the world

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET

Euromonitor, in its latest report, commented that Vietnam will be the next major bat-tlefield for brewers."I was able to get many clients after drinking bouts or banquets. Vietnamese will be-come open-hearted after they clink glasses with you," said Xuan Tung, a 24-year-old security broker.Drinking beer is a feature of Vietnam's culture. Vietnamese drink beer to celebrate a victory, to make acquaintances and to show apologies to friends. They drink beer eve-rywhere, in both luxury restaurants and pavement beer shops.This is why 'beer streets' like Ta Hien in Hanoi are still crowded in winter, while the road next to Nhieu Loc Canal in HCM City is full of beer drinkers from 4 pm until mid-night.In its report released in mid-2017, Euromonitor International predicted that Vietnam will be the next major battlefield for brewers."While volume sales are struggling in the leading markets, SE is forecast to see abso-lute volume growth of 2.3 billion litres over 2016-2021, led by Vietnam," the report says.This is not only because the market is attractive, but also because the State has turned the green light on for foreign investors so they can plan to divest shares in the two big-gest Vietnamese brewers.Foreign investors have shown their willingness to buy into Habeco and Sabeco. Thaibev paid a high price of $5 billion to acquire Sabeco's shares.While the average beer consumption volume in the world hasn't increased over the last decade, sales in Vietnam have been soaring steadily. In 2008, Vietnam ranked eighth in Asia in beer consumption. Eight years later, it jumped into the third position, just after Japan and China.According to Ban Viet Securities (VCSC), the Vietnamese beer market is controlled by four big manufacturers, namely Habeco (Hanoi Brewery), Hue Brewery (100 percent owned by Carlsberg), Sabeco (Saigon Brewery) and Heineken NV.Of these, the first three brands are dominating local markets (northern, central and southern regions), while Heineken beer products are dominating the mid-end and high-end market segments.ThaiBev, which runs one of the largest supermarket chains in Vietnam and holds 53 percent of shares in the largest Vietnamese brewers, is expected to bring Chang beer, a brand well known in the Thai market, to Vietnam and make Chang a rival here.Singha, another well-known Thai brand, has spent $1.1 billion to buy Masan Consum-er shares in 2015.Meanwhile, Kirin Holding's spokesman in Tokyo has confirmed that Vietnam will be one of the key markets for the brewer in 2018 and the following years.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196375/vietnam-beer-market-one-of-the-hottest-in-the-world.html

Domestic fashion brands too small in $3.5b market

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| NHIP CAU DAU TU

Late last year, Vietnam's fashion market continued to be more active as the Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo appeared, along with Zara (Spain) and H&M (Sweden). Contra-ry to the eagerness of Vietnamese consumers is the anxiety of domestic businesses in this sector because until 2015, Vietnam's fashion brand was still rather easy for domes-tic businesses such as Blue Exchange, Ninomax, PT 2000, Couple TX, Canifa, etc. Typ-ically among them was Blue Exchange with about 200 stores nationwide, focusing on young customers in mid-range segment.At that time, there were also mid-range brands coming from Hongkong and becoming quite popular in Vietnam such as Bossini, Giordano. Prior to Uniqlo, a Japanese fash-ion brand i.e. Miniso joined the market through franchising method with Le Bao Minh company. However, these names were not enough to divert the market share of local business group.The appearance of the Trio including Uniqlo, Zara and H&M is considered to be grad-


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ually changing the internal-external trade balance. With eye-catching design, fast product launching and competitive price, these three brands dominate every fashion market where they are in. This was partly affirmed when both Zara and H&M launched promotion programmes for the Lunar New Year, attracting a long line of customers queuing up every day.Zara opened about 280 stores in the fiscal year 2017, equal to the number of stores that this business opened in 2016. The company will focus on five new markets including New Zealand and Vietnam with about 93 new stores, bringing the total number of Zara stores nationwide to 7,292 units.Under the initial plan, H&M raised the number of stores to 430 units in 2017 including new markets such as Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Columbia.According to BMI's Q2/2017's report, Vietnamese consumers tend to pay attention to and spend largely on foreign branded goods. Besides, Vietnam's fashion market scale has grown strongly in recent years, attracting foreign fashion brands.According to BMI's statistics, the magnitude of fashion market including clothes and shoes in Vietnam in 2018 was $3.8 billion, in which the spending on clothes accounted for more than $3.5 billion.The scale of this market in 2021 forecasted by BMI is $5.08 billion, of which, fashion still accounted for the majority with about $4.7 billion. The spending on fashion grew an average of 10 percent per annum during 2017-2021 compared to the average of sev-en percent in previous years.With the starting point of an outsourcing countrythe stage that has the lowest added value in the fashion industry, Vietnam has never had advantage in fashion sector. However, with the massive landing of foreign fashion brands, many Vietnamese busi-nesses do not easily give up.Canifa, a major fashion brand in the North, has been famous since 2000s. In 2007, Can-ifa expanded its fashion brand for children. Recently, Canifa invested a lot of money in images through the sponsorship for such programmes as Project Runway, Vietnam Next Top Model, etc.Sharing with the media, Doan Thi Bich Ngoc, CEO of Canifa said the limitation of fash-ion brands is that they have just appeared in large cities and distribution channels are limited. Currently, Canifa is holding in its hand more than 100 branches nationwide, while in HCM City, this unit is having nine branches.According to BMI, Vietnam's retail market has the fastest growth rate in Asia but most Vietnamese people live in rural areas, and are difficult to assess because of poor infra-structure. Meanwhile, modern retail sale infrastructure is limited and in the long-term, it may saturate in large cities.Nguyen Kim Xuyen, Chair of Truong Thang Company, the owner of CoupleTX said the target in this year is to increase the presence by expanding the store chain to 60 through franchising. Currently, this unit has 38 stores nationwide. "The franchisees are former counterparts of CoupleTX in provinces and now there only needs to unify in brand and design", said Xuyen.On product perspective, along with the development of family product line of Cou-pleTX, Truong Thanh will test its spot store chain for families with a separate brand in 2018. In parallel, Truong Thang will invest to increase shopping experience of custom-ers at stores through design, decoration.Xuyen said earlier, Vietnam fashion brands were very hard to create a trend in the market. Some Vietnamese businesses participated in or organised their own fashion programmes but could not impress because of limited capability."Currently, there have had units that specialise in organising fashion programmes, catching up with foreign trend. Domestic fashion brands may focus on their expertise rather than design and product. Therefore, it can be said that despite more competi-tion, opportunities are not zero", said Xuyen.Vietnamese brands are seen to have their own advantages such as catching up with fashion trend and understanding clearly Vietnamese culture to design the most suita-ble products with the taste of consumers. Some businesses have the experience in


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working for such brands as Walmart, Zara, Levi's, GAP, CK, Puma, etc. so they will have favourable conditions in product quality when moving to develop their own brands for domestic market.According to Chu Phuong Doan, Head of marketing division of LeFlair, the market starts to witness the participation of many new fashion brands developed by Vietnam-ese businesses. This group has the starting point from stores on Facebook before open-ing stores. Most of them have more than five stores.In terms of design, businesses invest heavily on design teams, images to launch suita-ble products to tastes of domestic customers. The following names can be mentioned such as Cocosin, Libe, Amy Store, Everluxe, etc. Doan said in the near future, these businesses will engage in cross-border sales with the targeted market of Singapore due to price and design advantages.The reason is because recently, a young fashion business of Singapore having similar model with Vietnamese businesses i.e. Love Bonito has just called $13 million invest-ment from price comparison website Kakaru (Japan).Starting with a modest blog, in 2010, Love Bonito grew fast thanks to the design of its own clothes and opening of retail stores. The average price of Love Bonito was $42-53. "Love Bonito can be considered as a stimulating story for Vietnamese fashion business-es in the globalisation period", said Doan.

Dong Nai works to sharpen competitive edge for businesses


The authorities of southern Dong Nai province said they will continue assisting local businesses to research export markets and promote trade for achieving an export turn-over of 18.3-18.5 billion USD in 2018.They said they will help with connecting local producers and FDI enterprises located in the province in a bid to reduce the import of products that local businesses can pro-duce and sharpen the competitive edge of domestic enterprises.Dialogues and meetings with businesses will be held regularly to promptly tackle dif-ficulties and hindrances so businesses could have smooth production and export ac-tivities.In the first two months of this year, the province posted a 25 percent surge in export and ran a trade surplus of nearly 610 million USD, of which 267 million USD was made in January and 340 million USD was recorded in February.The locality's major export items included apparels, footwear, wooden products, ma-chinery and spare parts, and electronic products and components.It main markets are China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and China's Taiwan.As one of southern localities having huge investment attraction, Dong Nai is currently home to 35 industrial parks with more than 1,510 investment projects, including some 1,100 foreign-invested ones, with about 900,000 workers.About 70 percent of workers in Dong Nai come from other provinces, mostly in the central and northern regions.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/dong-nai-works-to-sharpen-competitive-edge-for-busi-nesses/127455.vnp

VN second-largest partner of Japan in software outsourcing


Vietnam has been the second-largest partner of Japan in software and service out-sourcing since 2014, FPT Software CEO Hoang Nam Tien spoke at the recent Vietnam IT Day 2018 in Japan.The value of information technology outsourcing work handed over by Japan to Viet-nam last year is estimated at $400 million, said Tien.More than 10 Vietnamese software enterprises have opened branches and offices in Ja-pan.Meanwhile, there are some 55,000 information technology graduates passing out from Vietnamese universities and colleges every year. The FPT Software official also said Vietnam currently had some 20,000 people working in the Japanese market in the fields of information technology outsourcing and business process outsourcing.


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According to statistics of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the country lacks 100,000 technicians on an average in the fields of information safety, cloud computing and mobile technology.In terms of new technology, including artificial intelligence, big data, Internet of Things and robotics, the country is estimated to be short of 600,000 information tech-nology professionals by 2030.It is a huge opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to join hands with their Japanese counterparts to solve the problem of inadequate human resources in this field, he said.http://bizhub.vn/tech/vn-second-largest-partner-of-japan-in-software-outsourcing_292919.html

President urges firms of Vietnam, Bangladesh to create impetus for trade ties


President Tran Dai Quang has urged the business circles of Vietnam and Bangladesh to devise innovation ideas, thus creating new momentum for stronger trade and in-vestment links between the two countries.Addressing the Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum in Dhaka on March 6 as part of his State visit to Bangladesh, the President expressed his joy at the progress of the bi-lateral relationship, affirming that visits by senior officials of the two nations have helped create new impulses for the relations.Cooperation mechanisms have been forming across fields, especially those in trade and investment, he stressed.He also showed his impression of great socio-economic development achievements of Bangladesh which is considered as a successful example of poverty eradication, equal-ity promotion, and stable economic growth.Vietnam always attaches importance to boosting the traditional relationship and coop-eration with Bangladesh, and is willing to share experience in the fields of its strength, he stated.President Quang briefed local businesses about Vietnam's outstanding achievements over the three decades of reforms, especially GDP growth, trade, foreign investment attraction, improved investment climate and strongly upgraded transport infrastruc-ture. He added Vietnam continues to be an attractive investment destination for for-eign investors.Vietnamese businesses are also developing in term of scale and access to the world's new technologies, he said, noting that the country now has about 1,170 investment projects with total registered capital of over 20 billion USD in 69 countries and territo-ries, covering various fields such as mining, telecommunications, agriculture-forestry, information technology, finance-banking, and services.The leader emphasized that Vietnam encourages investment in Bangladesh, especially in the areas with good potential for bilateral cooperation like telecoms, IT, agriculture, food processing, garment, oil and gas, consumer goods production, infrastructure de-velopment, and services.According to him, the economies of Vietnam and Bangladesh share many similarities and are able to support each other, which is an important condition for their businesses to increase investment ties.President Quang said Vietnam highly values the potential and opportunities for in-vestment partnership in Bangladesh, asking authorised agencies of the country to fur-ther support and create optimal conditions for Vietnamese firms to access Bangladesh's market.Bangladeshi enterprises are also welcomed to invest in Vietnam, he noted, voicing his belief that with the dynamism of the countries' businesses, bilateral trade will surpass 1 billion USD this year and 2 billion USD in 2020."The State of Vietnam will provide the best possible conditions for the business circles in both countries to partner in investment and business in an effective and long-term manner for the sake of each country's sustainable development," President Quang said.The Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Forum was jointly hosted by the Vietnamese Min-


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SVietnam finance & business 7 March 2018

istry of Planning and Investment and the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (FBCCI). It attracted the participation of 300 business representatives from the two sides.Established in 1973, FBCCI is representing 3.5 million Bangladeshi businesses. It plays an important role and has great influence on the issuance of economic and commercial policies of the Bangladeshi government, especially those related to foreign investors.Prior to President Quang's visit to Bangladesh, FBCCI sent a delegation to Vietnam and had working sessions with representatives from Vietnam's Ministries of Planning and Investment, and Information and Communications, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and some major economic groups such the military-run tel-ecommunication group Viettel, the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, and Vietnam Northern Food Corporation (Vinafood-1).Before attending the Vietnam Bangladesh business forum, President Tran Dai Quang hosted a reception for a delegation from the Bangladesh-Vietnam Council for Com-merce and Industries (BVCCI).He hailed the role of the BVCCI in promoting the bilateral economic ties, and stated that towards the goal of bringing two-way trade to 2 billion USD, Vietnam encourages the expansion of trade products between the two countries.The President called on the BVCCI to enhance coordination with its Vietnamese part-ners to improve the framework for trade partnership and boost the trade of commod-ities of each country's strength and demands.He also urged the council to work with Vietnam to help the two sides participate deep-er in the global supply chain in the fields of mutual strength such as garment-textile, footwear and agriculture.The same day, President Quang, his spouse, and the high-level Vietnamese delegation attended the opening ceremony of the Vietnam culture days in Bangladesh on the oc-casion of the 45th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (1973-2018).Speaking at the event, deputy prime minister and Foreign minister Pham Binh Minh said despite the geographical distance, the two countries still feel the closeness and share a lot of cultural similarities, especially the wet rice agriculture.The Vietnamese culture days in Bangladesh will help strengthen solidarity and friend-ship between the two peoples as well as reinforce the two countries' development co-operation, Minh said.After cutting the ribbon to kick-off the event, President Quang and his spouse along with minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmood Ali and Vietnamese and Bangladeshi sen-ior officials visited the Vietnamese cultural space.In the afternoon of March 6 (local time), the Vietnamese President left Dhaka, conclud-ing successfully his three-day State visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of President Abdul Hamidhttps://en.vietnamplus.vn/firms-of-vietnam-bangladesh-urged-to-create-impetus-for-trade-ties/127442.vnp

BUSINESSIZ NEWSBusiness Briefs 07 March, 2018

07/MAR/2017 INTELLASIA |

* Minh Phu Seafood Corporation (MPC) plans to migrate from the market for unlisted public enterprises (UP CoM) to the Hochiminh Stock Exchange some time this year af-ter obtaining approval from the State Securities Commission. It is going to launch a share issue to raise its chartered capital to VND2 trillion, including nearly 68,5 million bonus shares to existing shareholders, 1.5 million shares to key staff and 60 million shares to strategic investors.* Sacom Real Estate Company (SLD) is going to float more than 40.2 million shares on the HCM City exchange. SLD was established in 2008 with 99.4 percent ofits capital held by Sam Holdings. Last August, Sam Holdings passed a plan to sell 10 million shares ofSLD in a private placement atVNDll,500 each, raising VND 115 billion. The move aims to help SLD meet the listing requirements. After the issue, Sam Holdings will reduce its ownership at the enterprise from 99.4 percent to 6Q percent.* Hanoi City's government will auction over 6,7 million shares of Thong Nhat Electro-


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mechanical Joint Stock Company with the reserve price ofVND42,400 each. The firm has total chartered capital ofVND143 billion and specialises in electric fan and house-hold utensil production, At the end of 2017, Hanoi City's authorities held a 46,9 percent stake at the enterprise while Vietnam National Aviation Insurance Corporation and SaigonHanoi Insurance Corporation owned 19.24 percent and 20.98 percent respec-tively.* PetroVietnam Power Corporation will trade 276 million shares, equivalent to 20 per-cent of the total outstanding shares, on the market for unlisted public enterprises, or UPCoM, tomorrow, The company is the second biggest electricity producer in Viet-nam behind Vietnam Electricity Group with a total capacity of 4.2GW, including 2.7GW of gas-fueled stations (Ca Mau, Nhon Trach 1 and 2), 1.2GW of coal-fired plants (Vung Ang) and 0,3GW of hydropower, said Viet Capital Securities Company.* Ha Tay Pharmaceutical Company (DHT) will issue 6,2 million bonus shares at a 2-for-l ratio and pay a dividend ofVND1,000 per share for 2017, DHT plans to seek ap-proval from its shareholders to sell a 30 percent stake to foreign investors.

VN shares rebound on bottom-fishing


Vietnamese shares recovered on Tuesday as blue chips performed well on bottom-fishing following the previous sharp falls.The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange gained 2.45 per cent to close at 1,120.29 points, recouping almost all of its loss of 2.47 per cent made on Monday.The minor HNX Index advanced 1.45 per cent to end at 127.33 points. The northern market index dropped 2.14 per cent on Monday.The UPCOM Index on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) extended growth for a third consecutive day. It rose 0.95 per cent to 61.01 points, totalling a three-day increase of 2 per cent.More than 322.4 million shares were traded on the Vietnamese stock market, worth VND8.85 trillion (US$393.3 million).Trading liquidity fell 11.4 per cent in volume and 23 per cent in value compared to the previous session.On the three stock markets, the market breadth was positive with 353 gaining stocks against 277 declining ones, while 165 other shares ended flat.Leading stocks in the banking, securities and real estate sectors enjoyed a strong re-bound after they tumbled in the previous session due to last-minute selling.The banking, securities and real estate sector indices jumped between 3.8 per cent and 5.1 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed.Gainers among the large-cap firms in those industries included Vincom Retail (VRE), Vietcombank (VCB), Vietinbank (CTG), Bank for Investment and Development of Vi-etnam (BID) and PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI).VRE, SSI and BID hit their intraday rising band of 6.8-7 per cent, while VCB, CTG and GAS jumped at least 4.5 per cent.Other industries that posted good increases in share prices included agriculture, con-struction material production and building business.Of those stocks, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAG) and its agriculture unit HAGL Ag-rico (HNG) traded at the intraday increasing band of 6.9-7 per cent to boost the agri-culture industry index up 3.8 per cent.On UPCoM, PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) started trading 467.8 mil-lion shares with code POW at the staring price of VND14,900 per share. The firm's shares soared 19.5 per cent to close at VND17,800 per share.According to Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC), positive movement of the world stocks and oil prices provided the main push for Vietnamese stocks on Tuesday.Global stock markets rebounded after fears about the US-led trade war were tempo-rarily allayed. "A trade war can hardly occur but remains a risk that needs close mon-itoring in the near future," BVSC said in its report.Tuesday's gains helped allay investors' worries after leading stocks were strongly sold in the At-the-Close (ATC) period on Monday, the brokerage firm said.


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"This bullish session had a calming influence on investors after the previous bearish session and also balanced the market's demand-supply."http://bizhub.vn/markets/vn-shares-rebound-on-bottom-fishing_292931.html

March 6: All indexes gain ground

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES

Gains all round on March 6.All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market closed higher on March 6.On HSX, the VN Index closed at 1,120.29 points, up 26.81 points (2.45 per cent), and the VN30-Index 1,103.31 points, up 22.48 points (2.08 per cent).On HNX, the HNX-Index finished at 127.33 points, up 1.82 points (1.45 per cent), the HNX30-Index 246.45 points, up 1.98 points (0.81 per cent), and the UPCoM-Index 61.01 points, up 0.57 points (0.95 per cent).Liquidity on HSX was VND6.1 trillion ($268.8 million) and VND978.1 billion ($42.9 million) on HNX.The VN Index opened at 1,106.28 points and ended the day at 1,120.29 points.Most large food and beverages shares lost ground, however, with VCF, BBC, VMM and KDC falling 2.7, 0.6, 0.2 and 0.2 per cent while TAC gained 2.4 per cent.Most large banking shares gained: BID, SSI, CTG, MBB, VPB, VCB, MBB, STB and EIB by 7, 6.9, 5.9, 5.6, 4.7, 4.6, 2.3 and 1.7 per cent, while BVH, VIC and MSN lost 1.2, 0.6 and 0.5 per cent.In energy, GAS gained 4.5 per cent, PLX 4.2 per cent, PGD 2.6 per cent, and PVT 1.4 per cent while NT2 and PPC shed 1.6 and 1.5 per cent.The Top 5 shares bought by foreign investors were VRE (VND90 billion ($3.9 million)), SKG (VND76.9 billion ($3.3 million)), VJC (VND47.77 billion ($2.1 million)), DXG (VND44.5 billion ($1.95 million)), and GAS (VND43.7 billion ($1.92 million)).On HSX, HDB was the largest net sold share, with VND63.2 billion ($2.7 million), fol-lowed by CVT (VND21.8 billion ($957,286)), CTD (VND18.6 billion ($816,767)), KBC (VND16.1 billion ($706,986)), and NKG (VND15.7 billion ($689,421)).VGC was the largest net sold share on HNX, with VND22.5 billion ($988,023), followed by SHB (VND14.2 billion ($628,552)), VCG (VND4.1 billion ($180,039)), MBS (VND1.8 billion ($79,041)), and DGC (VND690.1 million ($30,303)).On UPCoM, foreign investors bought 3,201,849 shares worth VND71.17 billion ($3.1 million).They net bought on HSX by VND278.75 billion ($12.2 million) and net sold on HNX by VND14.35 billion ($630,139).http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/march-6-all-indexes-gain-ground

HOSE announces new rules on covered warrants


Trading of covered warrants will be suspended if their issuers, or securities compa-nies, do not follow regulations on hedging activities recently issued by the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE).According to HOSE, a covered warrants issuer shall maintain at least one employee managing risks concerning issues of warrants. The issuer shall sustain a quantity of underlying securities adequate to hedge risks against outstanding warrants.Hedging transactions via an independent trading account shall be reserved solely for hedging activities or occur through the issuer's proprietary trading accounts. The issu-er's hedging activities shall include sale, purchase, borrowing and other transactions according to the laws.Securities traded in hedging activities shall consist of underlying securities and others based on underlying securities as per the law. Securities for hedging purposes shall be frozen during the exercise of warrants by delivering underlying securities.Securities for hedging purpose cannot be used as a pledge, mortgage, deposit, loan or collateral.The issuer shall be responsible for managing and independently recording the portfo-lio of hedging securities in accounting records. Moreover, it shall adhere to the hedg-


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ing level specified by the Stock Exchange.Upon the listing of warrants, the issuer shall report to the Stock Exchange on a daily basis about hedging activities. Such a report shall indicate the actual and theoretical hedging positions of each warrant according to regulations of the Stock Exchange. The Stock Exchange can request the issuer to explain the inputs of the calculation of theo-retical hedging position if such inputs are considered ungrounded.The theoretical hedging position is calculated according to the risk prevention plan that the issuer has specified in a prospectus.The actual hedging position is calculated according to the actual position in the issuer's hedging account.The calculation of the actual and theoretical hedging positions for each issue shall be subject to the guidance by the State Securities Commission.If the issuer does not abide by the hedging plan, the Stock Exchange shall impose re-medial measures.HOSE will request the issuer's explanation if the disproportion between theoretical and actual risk hedging positions exceeds 20 per cent for three consecutive working days. In three working days, upon the Stock Exchange's request of explanation, the is-suer shall hedge risks to lessen the disproportion to or lower than 20 per cent.The issuer will have to deposit a sum of money, at market price, equal to the dispro-portion of theoretical and actual hedging positions if such a disproportion exceeds 50 per cent for 3 consecutive working days. In 3 working days, upon the Stock Exchange's request of such deposit, the issuer shall put the sum of money into the proprietary trading account.HOSE will issue a market-wide warning if the issuer does not hedge risks at the Stock Exchange's request though having received a third request for explanation or if the is-suer does not make the deposit.The warning on a warrant shall be lifted after the issuer has maintained the dispropor-tion between theoretical and actual hedging positions at or less than 20 per cent in 30 trading days or after the issuer made the deposit.On monthly basis, Stock Exchanges shall report to the State Securities Commission with regard to the situations of the issuer not abiding by the hedging plan.When a market-wide warning is issued on the issuer, the State Securities Commission can lower the warrant issue quota of the issuer's subsequent offering as per the State Securities Commission's regulations.Covered warrants, a new investment tool, will be allowed to start trading on the HOSE in late March. This will be the fourth product traded on HCM City's bourse, together with stocks, bonds and fund certificates.The new product is expected to provide investors with more investment and hedge options, while helping draw foreign investments as there is no cap on foreign owner-ship of this product.Covered warrants, issued by a securities company, allow the holder to buy (call war-rant) or sell (put warrant) the underlying stock (including shares, bonds or other secu-rities) at a specific price on or before a pre-determined date.bizhub.vn/markets/hose-announces-new-rules-on-covered-warrants_292930.html

Hanoi People's Committee to offload entire stake in Vinawind


The Hanoi Municipal People's Committee will put up 6.7 million shares of Thong Nhat Electromechanical Joint Stock Company (Vinawind) for public auction on Hanoi Stock Exchange on March 30.The move is part of its divestment plan for the 2016-20 period.The share offer accounts for 46.9 per cent of the company's charter capital. Foreign in-vestors are allowed to buy the entire share amount.At a starting price of VND42,400 (US$1.86) per share, the State is expected to collect more than VND284 billion from the auction. This is almost equal to its IPO (initial pub-lic offering) price of VND42,383 on March 17, 2015.Founded in 1965, Thong Nhat is a popular and long-standing brand name among the


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citizens of Hanoi, along with Thuy Ta ice cream, Thuong Dinh shoes and Sao Vang (Golden Star) balm. Thong Nhat produces fans and household electrical equipment.Unlike many traditional businesses struggling in the face of stiff market competition, Vinawind has had stable business in the last two years, with a revenue of more than VND900 billion and an annual net profit of over VND60 billion.The company is also a good dividend payer, with a high ratio of 25 per cent expected in 2017 and 2018.Hanoi Municipal People's Committee is Vinawind's largest stakeholder with 46.9 per cent. The two other main shareholders are Sai Gon-Hanoi Insurance JSC (20.98 per cent) and Vietnam National Aviation Insurance Corp (19.24 per cent).Vinawind had a charter capital of VND143 billion and total assets worth VND520 bil-lion by the end of 2017, up 23 per cent over the previous year.In October 2017, the Municipal People's Committee announced its divestment plan at 96 enterprises during 2016-20, with a total charter capital of nearly VND10.35 trillion, including popular brands such as Hanoi May 19 Textile Group, Thuong Dinh Foot-wear Co, Thang Long Mechanical JSC and Hanel Ltd Co.http://bizhub.vn/markets/ha-noi-peoples-committee-to-offload-entire-stake-in-vinawind_292911.html

PV Power starts trading shares on UPCoM


Following the successful initial public offering (IPO) in January, PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), the second largest state-run electricity producer in Vietnam, started trading its shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on March 6.A total of 467.8 million shares have been floated on the market at a price of 14,900 VND (0.66 USD) per share.According to Nguyen Tuan Anh, a representative from the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), with such a large volume of registered trading shares, PV Power has increased the capitalisation of the UPCoM to 252 trillion VND (11 billion USD).The company's participation in the market will open new investment channel for its investors, promote management transparency and offer an effective tool for the firm to mobilise capital, he said.PV Power general director Nguyen Xuan Hoa said that his company will continue to sell 28.882 percent of its shares to strategic investors.The company sold all 468.37 million shares it offered at the initial public offering (IPO) at the Hanoi Stock Exchange on January 31, raising nearly 7 trillion VND (308 million USD). The shares, or about 20 percent of the firm's chartered capital, with the initial price of 14,400 VND (0.633 USD), were sold to over 1,900 investors at the average price of 14,938 VND per share, with the highest bidding price at 28,000 VND and the lowest at 14,500 VND.PV Power was founded in 2007 and fully-owned by the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam). It operates eight power companies and electricity plants with a total installed capacity of 4,208.2 MW, capable of supplying about 21 billion kWh per year, or 12 percent of the country's total power output.The corporation earned approximately 31 trillion VND (1.36 billion USD) in revenue in 2017. Its pre-tax profit hit over 2.5 trillion VND (110 million USD), 83 percent higher than the yearly target.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/pv-power-starts-trading-shares-on-upcom/127448.vnp

Social housing to be purchased online in Hanoi

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS

A website will be designed to serve the purposeThe Hanoi administration is planning to build a specialised website on which its urban residents can buy social housing.Nguyen Duc Chung, chair of the municipal People's Committee, aired the intention at a local meeting on Tuesday.In Vietnam, social housing is a type of accommodation constructed by the govern-


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ment, organisations or individuals, intended for purchase or rent by residents, espe-cially for low-income ones.On the portal to be created, would-be buyers can register to choose the accommoda-tion area, consider housing information, and be held responsible for the registered purchase.The task of supervising the properness of housing purchase lies with relevant agen-cies.A chief content during the meeting was the decision which was introduced on manag-ing the sale and rent of social housing in the capital.Chair Chung said the management of such activities has been lax, with the type of house buyers yet to be determined with clarity.The spouses from one family would not be allowed to possess two social houses, he underlined.He proposed confiscating a social building of a resident who fails to dwell in it after three months since it is transferred, except in special situations with persuasive rea-sons.https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20180306/social-housing-to-be-purchased-on-line-in-hanoi/44389.html

WIPO helps Vietnamese firms in IP protection


Experts from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) talked with Viet-namese enterprises on how to protect their intellectual property rights overseas at a seminar in HCM City on March 5.WIPO director in Singapore Denis Croze said "A logo or name is often the most valu-able asset of a business."He went on to explain how businesses can protect their brands, logos and product names when expanding to other markets by using the WIPO's Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks.The Madrid System governs registration and management of trademarks in 116 coun-tries and territories.An international trademark registration requires payment of a basic fee plus addition-al costs depending on where the protection of the mark is sought and how many class-es of goods and services are to be covered.Croze also mentioned an international design system called Hague for the internation-al registration of industrial designs.It enables registration of up to 100 designs in over 66 countries and territories by filing a single international application.Peter Willimott, a senior programme officer at the WIPO in Singapore, spoke about various types of IP rights, the role of the National IP Office, the WIPO and who does what in the international IP system."The IP system can be used effectively by any Vietnamese business, big or small, but it's important to know a patent from a trademark."He also spoke about the options available to protect an invention, including the Patent Cooperation Treaty ( PERCENT) and its benefits."There is no such thing as a world patent but the PERCENT is a system that saves busi-nesses time, effort and money when seeking to obtain protection in many countries."The International Trademark Association (INTA)'s chief representative for the Asia-Pacific region, Seth Hays, talked the value of trademarks to the economy and need for overseas registration.He said INTA has experience in supporting strategic plans for brand protection and overseas trademark registration."It's not only for supporting brand owners but also for protecting consumers' rights."INTA Asia-Pacific has 35 member enterprises in Vietnam.The seminar was organised by the WIPO in collaboration with INTA, the Vietnam In-tellectual Property Association, the HCM City Intellectual Property Association, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the National Office of Intellectual


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Property of Vietnam.It attracted 150 officials from relevant agencies and Vietnamese enterprises.http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/196600/wipo-helps-vietnamese-firms-in-ip-protection.html

Blow for food safety in Vietnam


Food enterprises can now declare their products safe and hygienic, without having to apply for any official certification.Decree 15/2018/ND-CP was put into effect last month; with the food safety change one of the most significant parts of the decree.Under the decree, organisations and individuals producing and selling food will an-nounce their product's safety on multi-media, websites or at their offices themselves, instead of applying for food safety and hygiene certificates like before.Le Thi Thu, owner of an enterprise producing pork pies, spring rolls and sausages in Bien Hoa City, the southern province of Dong Nai, told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that, to apply for the certificate, an enterprise must prepare two sets of doc-uments and each set had 11 different kinds of papers.The papers included detailed information about the products, a circulation certificate, a medical certificate, a trademark, a periodic supervising plan and a trading certificate."The procedure has been abolished, helping enterprises escape a great burden," she said.Le Quang Hau, owner of the Quang Hau Spring Roll and Pork Pies Enterprise in Tan Phu District in HCM City, said depending on each province and city, completing the procedure could cost VNd6-10 million ($260-440). Business owners also had to travel to different offices to complete it.Another problem, Hau said, was that the food safety and hygiene certificate dictated that the enterprise had to take responsibility for their own products."It meant that food management office issues the certificate for the enterprise, but it did not take the responsibility for the certificate," said Hau.Truong Chi Thien, director of the Vinh Thanh Dat Food Joint Stock Company, said that to bring an egg to market, it took 15 days to complete procedures. Many enterprises had to hire more employees to do the procedures.A survey of the Central Institute for Economic Management announced recently said that to apply for a food safety hygiene certificate, each enterprise must pay about VND10 million ($440), and VND30 million ($1,300) in some cases.Vu Tien Loc, chair of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the med-ical sector's certificates for food enterprises could not cover all of the enterprises' work. If an enterprise has bad work, it can rely on the certificate to avoid punishment, he said.http://www.vir.com.vn/blow-for-food-safety-in-vietnam-56858.html

Ben Thanh market to apply safe-food model next month


Ben Thanh Market in HCM City's District 1 will pilot the model of safe-food market, with the first step being to upgrade sanitation facilities next month, said Le Quang Th-ien, head of the management unit of the market.According to Thien, the management unit is working on necessary procedures for the market renovations so that the safe-food market model can be piloted there, particu-larly with pork trading.Renovations at the market include the replacement of tiles of kiosks and shelves, light-ing systems, water supply and drainage, and food storage among others.There will also be a separate functional area and spacious aisles in addition to hygiene and fire safety facilities.Thien said all pork sold at Ben Thanh Market has clear origin. In particular, 41 pork kiosks of 36 traders at the market sell pork sourced from Vissan, the country's biggest food processor.The implementation of the safe-food market model at Ben Thanh market is part of the


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2016-2020 pilot food safety programme. In the first phase of the programme, the safe-food market model is applied for pork trading at Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Hoc Mon Wholesale Market in Hoc Mon District.The aim of the programme is to develop a market model which meets food safety standards, with a focus on the origin and quality of products.Safe-food markets must satisfy different criteria concerning products, traders, market facilities and inspections.Every main criterion has detailed requirements. For instance, food products for sale must have documents showing their origins, food safety certificates or testing docu-ments. The origin of food products must be traceable and comply with technical re-quirements like residues of veterinary medicine and heavy metals.Besides, food traders at markets must have trading registration certificates, and be cer-tified or pledge to meet food safety standards specific to the food categories they trade in.The programme will be expanded to 12 traditional wet markets after the first phase and all traditional markets in HCM City after 2020. After pork, such a model will be introduced to other farm produce, essential goods and catering services.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/58611/Ben-Thanh-market-to-apply-safe-food-mod-el-next-month.html

Bac Lieu says no to thermal plant


The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bac Lieu has rejected the proposed Cai Cung thermal power plant project, saying that it wants to become a national centre of renewable energy and a large producer of shrimp farming.The Japanese-invested thermal power project was expected to improve Bac Lieu's gross domestic product (GDP) rapidly, just as existing Duyen Hai thermal power plant has done in the neighbouring province of Tra Vinh, some experts said.Since the Duyen Hai thermal power plant began operation, Tra Vinh's GDP has in-creased from 6 per cent to 12 per cent.Commenting on the rejection of the plant, Duong Thanh Trung, chair of Bac Lieu Prov-ince's People's Committee, said that, even with the latest technology and equipment, the plant would have caused environmental problems as it would require a big area for cinder dumps which would damage shrimp farming, considered key to the prov-ince's economy."Bac Lieu needs a large area for industrial shrimp farming, including intensive and semi- intensive shrimp farming and organic shrimp farming in submerged forest are-as," Trung said. "We need to consider either shrimp farming or thermal power, and we have only one option. If we agree with the Cai Cung project, it means we would lose the shrimp economy."The decision to reject thermal power plant proposal has received strong support from local residents and enterprises.Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed the decision by Bac Lieu authorities to develop high-tech industrial shrimp farming.Le Xuan Anh, director of a company in Bac Lieu, said: "The biggest strength of the province is shrimp farming, and nearly 50 per cent of the province's total area is used for shrimp farming. So the decision is right and is in conformity with the practical con-ditions and local economic environment.""If thermal power plant project had been chosen, the province's budget may have re-ceived a hundred billion dong annually. However, thousands of local farmers and en-terprises would go bankrupt because the plant would have a negative effect on the shrimp farming environment," he added.High-tech shrimp farmingWith the launch last month of construction on a VND3.2 trillion (US$140 million) high-tech agricultural park specialising in shrimp, Bac Lieu is expected to become a national shrimp industry hub.The high-tech agricultural park will cover 420 ha in Bac Lieu City's Hiep Thanh Com-


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mune and serve as a centre linking institutes, schools and enterprises. The centre will use high technology in shrimp breeding, produce breeder shrimp and other varieties for shrimp farming, exports and processing.Chair Trung said: "More than 20 enterprises have registered so far to invest in the hi-tech shrimp farming park, with total investment of more than $114million, and many institutes and schools have signed agreements to transfer and apply advanced technol-ogies."Nguyen Xuan Cuong, minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the park would help expand high-tech shrimp breeding across the Mekong region and another 28 shrimp-breeding cities and provinces nationwide.Its operation is expected to help realise the country's shrimp export target of $10 billion in the 2021-2025 period.Bac Lieu currently has an aquaculture area of 1,290 square km, while agricultural pro-duction makes up 43 per cent of the province's GDP.Each year, the province harvests about 210,000 tonnes of aquatic products including 115,000 tonnes of shrimp, of which export turnover exceeds $527 million, or 13.7 per cent of the country's total.Renewable energyLate last year, Bac Lieu authorities and the South Korean SY Panel Group signed an agreement to develop a $450 million solar power plant.To be built on 400ha in Dong Hai District, the plant is designed to have a capacity of 300 MW. When it is completed in mid 2019, the plant will be the country's largest solar power plant.Hong Young Don, chair of the SY Panel Group, said: "This renewable energy project is the biggest solar power plant in Bac Lieu. This project and other wind power projects will contribute to the economic development of Bac Lieu as well as Vietnam."Bac Lieu firms are now keen on investing VND100 trillion ($4.4 billion) in renewable energy projects, according to local authorities.The province, with a 56 km-long coastline, has great potential for developing wind power and sun power projects.http://bizhub.vn/news/bac-lieu-says-no-to-thermal-plant_292932.html

Binh Dinh works on hi-tech shrimp farming to raise export value


The central province of Binh Dinh is carrying out a project on hi-tech shrimp farming to raise export value.Accordingly, the provincial People's Committee has zoned off two areas for shrimp farming in brackish water covering 612ha, including one stretching 206ha in Cat Hai and Cat Thanh communes, Phu Cat district and the other in My Thanh commune, Phu My district.Besides, a project on hi-tech shrimp farming in glasshouse is being implemented by the Viet Uc Phu My Ltd company on a total area of more than 116ha in My Thanh high-tech agricultural zone. The company plans to start raising shrimp in March with a total output of 8,400 tonnes per year.Meanwhile, five businesses applied for shrimp farming in Phu Cat district.Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Phan Trong Ho said hi-tech shrimp farming areas are zoned off in coastal and eco-friendly venues.Vice Chair of the provincial People's Committee Tran Chau said the provincial author-ities pledge to provide all possible support for investors to do business, especially land rental; after granting them with investment certificates.Binh Dinh is one of the top localities nationwide in terms of shrimp quality. The annual output of shrimp breeding in brackish water nears 7,100 tonnes, 94 percent of which is white-legged shrimp and the remaining is tiger prawn.The province has 1,833ha of shrimp farming which is planned to reach 1,923ha by 2020.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/binh-dinh-works-on-hitech-shrimp-farming-to-raise-ex-port-value/127445.vnp


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MWG's January online revenue up 119pct


January revenue up notably at MWG with the exception of thegioididong chain.The Mobile World Investment JSC (MWG) announced revenue of VND7.8 trillion ($342.5 million) in the first month of this year, up 15 per cent year-on-year and equal to 9 per cent of its annual target.After-tax profit was VND3 trillion ($131.7 million), up 12 per cent year-on-year and equal to 12 per cent of the annual target. Turnover at thegioididong.com was VND3.18 trillion ($139.6 million), an 11 per cent decline year-on-year, and VND4.16 trillion ($182.6 million) at dienmayxanh.com, up 28 per cent. Online turnover reached VND938 billion ($41.2 million), up 119 per cent year-on-year and equal to 9 per cent of the annual target. Turnover at its Cambodian stores, BigPhone, was VND3.5 billion ($153,688) in January.Turnover at Bach hoa Xanh stores was VND200 billion ($8.78 million) during the month. The chain is the engine of MWG's growth to 2019 as thegioididong.com stores are growing slower. The company plans to open 1,000 Bach hoa Xanh stores in certain districts of HCM City this year.Turnover at Tran Anh Digital World's 35 stores was VND308 billion ($13.5 million).The company had 2,090 stores nationwide, including 1,071 thegioididong.com stores, 668 dienmayxanh.com stores, and 316 Bach hoa Xanh stores as at January. It also has four BigPhone stores in Cambodia and plans to open ten more this year, according to Ho Viet Dong, CEO of MWG in Cambodia.The company earlier targeted 2018 revenue of VND86.4 trillion ($3.8 billion) and after-tax profit of VND2.6 trillion ($114.5 million).http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/mwg-s-january-online-revenue-up-119

MWG pours VND3 trillion into Bach Hoa Xanh chain


Mobile World Investment Corp (MWG), known in Vietnam as The Gioi Di Dong, will spend VND3 trillion (more than $131.8 million) to expand its grocery store chain Bach Hoa Xanh in 2018.According to MWG's 2018 business plan, the company will open hundreds of Bach Hoa Xanh stores this year.At present, there are more than 300 Bach Hoa Xanh stores across HCM City. MWG has plans to more than triple the number to about 1,000 stores citywide.According to MWG's documents prepared for its 2018 shareholder meeting, the com-pany targets VND86.39 trillion in net revenue and more than VND2.6 trillion in after-tax profit this year, up 30 percent and 18 percent year-on-year respectively.The investment of VND3 trillion for the Bach Hoa Xanh grocery store chain, as well as an investment of VND1.4 trillion for MWG's other businesses in 2018, will come from the company's own equities, retained earnings, and medium and long-term loans.MWG reported more than VND66.3 trillion in revenue and VND2.2 trillion in after-tax profit last year, up 48.7 percent and 40 percent respectively compared to 2016.http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/58617/MWG-pours-VND3 trillion-into-Bach-Hoa-Xanh-chain.html

Tran Anh reports first improvement after MWG merger


Tran Anh Digital World JSC (Tran Anh) reported soaring revenue for the first time since it merged with Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG).Notably, in the first month of this year, Tran Anh reported improving business results with a revenue of VND308 billion ($13.53 million), up VND103 billion ($4.5 million) compared to the average monthly revenue of VND205 billion ($9.01 million) last year and equalling 4 per cent of MWG's revenue.According to Tran Kinh Doanh, general director of MWG, in late-2017, MWG had to inter-fere with Tran Anh's business operations in late-2017 (Tran Anh still operates its stores). The leaked information on the merger negatively influenced customer behaviour and shrunk the company's revenue.Tran Kinh Doanh added that MWG has no plan to to increase the number of stores just yet.


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MWG earned an accommulated revenue of VND7.86 trillion ($345.3 million). Notably, the revenue from the electronics store chain was VND4.17 trillion ($183.18 million), while the revenue from the mobile store chain was VND3.18 trillion ($139.69 million).This year, MWG set the target to acquire VND86.39 trillion ($3.79 billion) in accumu-lated net revenue and VND2.6 trillion ($114.2 million) in accumulated after-tax profit, signifying an increase of 30 per cent in accumulated revenue and 18 per cent in accu-mulated after-tax profit.MWG plans to increase the charter capital to VND1 trillion ($43.9 million) and collect VND3 trillion ($131.8 million) in capital to invest in the Bach Hoa Xanh chain, aiming to realise the target of 1,000 stores by the end of this year.Currently, there are more than 1,500 MWG stores all over Vietnam, including the brands of Dien may Xanh, The gioi Di dong, and Bach hoa Xanh. In the first half only, MWG has opened 272 outlets, with Dien may Xanh stores accounting for over a half.www.vir.com.vn/tran-anh-reports-first-improvement-after-mwg-merger-56829.html

Japanese Group launches five-star resort


Route Inn Group from Japan has launched its first five-star beach resort project the Grandvrio Ocean Resort Da Nang in Dien Ban Town of central Quang Nam Province, adding 96 hotel rooms and 54 villas to the provincial hospitality industry.The group said it's the second project in Vietnam since it debuted a four-star hotel project the Grandvrio Da Nang City in the central city and the start of a plan to devel-op a chain of 50 hotels in the country until 2025.Grandvrio Ocean Resort Da Nang, located on the coast between Da Nang and Hoi An, offers private pool villas and rooms with ocean views and contemporary interior de-sign, luxurious fittings and high-end amenities, creating more options for tourists vis-iting Da Nang and Hoi An.It also offers the biggest Japanese style restaurant, Bikura, an Onsen (a Japanese hot spring and bathing facilities), Zen Spa and Kids' zone.The Japanese Group also began an enrollment programme for students from Da Nang-based Dong A College to serve a chain of 320 hotels in Japan and Vietnam following a training agreement signed in 2015.Japan plans to open a Consulate office in Da Nang as a way of boosting tourism and exchange between Japan and Da Nang as well as other central provinces in the future.Route Inn was considered the first Japanese company to invest in the hospitality sector in central Vietnam when it poured $18 million into Da Nang last year.http://bizhub.vn/property/japanese-group-launches-five-star-resort_292913.html

US major project marks good start in 2018 for footwear industry


Skechers USA, a major footwear maker based in California, is studying a plan to invest in Vietnam in a project that probably needs 20,000 workers. The project marks a good start for the local footwear industry after a slowdown in 2017.Skechers, a heavyweight rival to two global footwear brands Nike and Adidas, sold more than 200 million products last year and now seeks to shift investment from China to Vietnam.The firm was advised by the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO) to set up the first facility in northern Hai Duong province with an invest-ment slated for between 700 million and 1 billion USD.The project offers hope to Vietnam's footwear industry as the sector saw falls in not only foreign but also domestic investment last year.Benefits of free trade agreements between Vietnam and other nations have added heat to the footwear industry, leading to a record growth rate of 28 percent in the flow of investment into the sector in 2015, said Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, LEFASO general secre-tary.However, after the United State withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the United Kingdom chose to leave the EU, the investment declined in 2017. It was clearly reflected by the contraction in imports of shoe-making machinery, equipment


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and materials, she explained.Imports of footwear machinery and equipment in 2017 decreased to 146 million USD, compared to 170 million USD a year during the 2015 2016 period. Leather imports also fell to 1.5 billion USD last year from 1.6 billion USD in 2016, she added.Xuan noted that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement is expected to be signed this year, adding that once the trade deal enters into force, it will eliminate import duties on Vietnam's trainers and handbags.The tariff elimination will not only direct more flows of foreign orders to Vietnam but also draw greater investment from international footwear manufacturers, such as Skechers, into the country, she said.Vietnam is now in the world's Top 5 shoemakers with 70 percent of the total export revenue contributed by foreign-invested enterprises.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/us-major-project-marks-good-start-in-2018-for-footwear-industry/127451.vnp

Local firms inject 53mln USD into ginseng projects


VinGroup and TH True Milk have registered to invest 1.2 trillion VND (53 million USD) in ginseng and herbs farm projects in mountainous Nam Tra My district of Quang Nam province.Chair of the district People's Committee Ho Quang Buu said that it's the two biggest investment projects since the district launched its master plan on the development of the Ngc Linh ginseng, cinnamon and herbs in 2014.Buu said the two investors have begun surveying mass production from Ngoc Linh ginseng and planning for material farms and support industries for herb production.He said the district wants investment to develop 15,000ha of ginseng in the district by 2030.According to Quang Nam province, the government agreed to fund 2 trillion VND (88.5 million USD) for infrastructure projects in the district.Currently, 900 households farm 1,200ha of ginseng, cinnamon and herbs in the district, while businesses have 100ha.The district also hosts regular ginseng fair to link farmers, investors and buyers and to draw tourists to the district.According to the district, more than 2,300 tourists visited the ginseng fair, and 53kg of Ngoc Linh ginseng has been sold for 4.7 billion VND (208,000 USD) since 2017.Each kilo of Ngoc Linh ginseng is priced from 100 million VND (4,400 USD) and 200 million VND (8,800 USD) in Vietnam.Farmers in the district can earn 3 million USD per ha after five years growing ginseng.The Ngoc Linh ginseng has been preserved as a precious and endangered flora gene in the province, along with poor man's ginseng or condonopsis, pepper, cinnamon, large-size rattan and corn in Quang Nam province.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/local-firms-inject-53mln-usd-into-ginseng-projects/127428.vnp

Two ROK retail groups seek trade opportunity in Vietnam

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VOV

Two retail and distribution groups from the Republic of Korea (ROK), K-holdings and Coupang, will meet Vietnamese partners to discuss investment opportunities on March 22.This is part of activities within the framework of the Vietnam-ROK business exchange programme organised by the Export Support Centre under the Vietnam Trade Promo-tion Agency and the Vietnamese Trade Office in the ROK with the aim of boosting ex-ports to the market.The two groups are in need of importing spices/sauce, noodle/vermicelli/rice noodle and products, canned food/frozen seafood, frozen and dried fruit, coffee, chocolate, cashew nut, pepper, cinnamon, anise, dried food such as dried beef, chicken and cut-tlefish, fresh fruits like coconut, pineapple, banana, mango and dragon fruit and some other processed food, which offer opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural business-


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es to ship their products to the market.Twenty-five years after establishing the diplomatic ties, Vietnam and the ROK have become strategic and important economic partners. Vietnam's exports to the market rose 31 percent to $15 billion last year. Bilateral trade is expected to reach $100 billion by 2020.According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the ROK's exports to Vietnam reached nearly $48 billion last year, accounting for 8 percent of the country's total export value. This is an impressive figure as it was just nearly 4 percent in 2014.Vietnam became one of the ROK's top ten export markets in 2009 for the first time with an export value of more than $7 billion and surpassed Japan to be the third largest ex-port market of the country in 2015.http://english.vov.vn/trade/two-rok-retail-groups-seek-trade-opportunity-in-viet-nam-369862.vov

Korean food firm Jooan Holdings sets foot in Vietnam


Targeting the potential food manufacturing and distribution sector in Vietnam, Jooan Holdings Corporation from South Korea has decided to established a branch in Hanoi before establishing a $1.2 million food manufacturing and processing plant in Viet-nam.The launching ceremony was organised this morning and the branch is named Jooan Foods Corporation."Before deciding to open the branch in Vietnam, Jooan Holdings Corporation spent a long time studying the food market, the eating habits as well as the taste of customers in Vietnam. We see great opportunities to develop in Vietnam," said Yi Sanghoon, CEO of the head office of Jooan Foods Corporation.Foreign investors find the food sector attractive, especially South Korean firms like CJ and Daesang that acquired domestic food firms to consolidate their presence in Viet-nam.In order to compete with the existing competitors, including South Korean firms in the market, the company will focus on the quality of the products instead of their prices.Besides, the company will study and pioneer supplying new products. Thus, custom-ers will find numerous products that are totally new to the Vietnamese market among the company's products.In the framework of the launching ceremony, Jooan Foods Corporation and HT Food Co., Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the food dis-tribution sector in Vietnam."After two years of studying the distribution of South Korean foodstuff in Vietnam, we met Jooan Holdings Corporation whose products we found to match the taste of Viet-namese consumers. After seeing the modern technology lines at Jooan's plants in South Korea with our own eyes, we decided to cooperate with the firm," said Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, deputy general director of HT Food Co., LtdWithin six months after establishing the branch in Vietnam, the company plans to en-ter into a cooperation with T&T 159 Food JSC to build a food manufacturing and processing plant in Vietnam.The plant will manufacture products according to the orders of the company's part-ners. The plant's products will be exported to South Korea and other countries. The in-itial investment capital of the plant is expected to reach $1.2 million.http://www.vir.com.vn/south-korean-food-firm-jooan-holdings-sets-foot-in-vietnam-56864.html

Vingroup enters higher education space with new private university


Construction of VinUni to begin this year, probably in Hanoi, and be completed in two years.Vietnam's leading property developer Vingroup has officially announced its entry into the field of higher education with the establishment of the new, private, non-profit Vin University (VinUni).


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The group announced on March 5 that the new university is expected to be built in Ha-noi starting sometime this year and hopes to officially receive applications from stu-dents for the first course from 2020.VinUni will focus on education and training in the three key fields of Business, Tech-nology, and Health Sciences, according to Vingroup, which announced it will also car-ry out strategic cooperation with Ivy League universities in the US such as Cornell and Pennsylvania.By cooperating with world-leading universities, all training programmes at VinUni are aimed at achieving international quality standards. The university is geared to-wards meeting global ranking and classification standards in higher education such as Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education.According to Vingroup, students will be given the best opportunities to study with professors and lecturers from leading prestigious universities, research institutes, and hospitals, as well as access to state-of-the-art education technologies, simulation equipment system, and laboratories.VinUni will also create the best conditions for students to experience education at in-ternational universities and to intern at member companies of Vingroup and other leading companies in the country.After the success of the inter-level Vinschool model, which the group started in 2012, VinUni will be a private, non-profit university and established under international standards and integrating into the world's elite models of higher education.Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc earlier approved the establishment of VinUni. He assigned the Ministry of Education and Training to coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies in appraising the establishment scheme in accordance with the provi-sions of the laws on investment, construction, and education and training, and related legal provisions. The appraisal results then will be submitted to the prime minister for consideration and decision.http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vingroup-enters-higher-education-space-with-new-private-university

Vietnamese workers abandoned by Korean employer promised new jobs

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

15 companies have agreed to take in the unfortunate workers after their employer dis-appeared without paying them salaries.Authorities in the southern province of Dong Nai have made arrangements to protect the rights and interests of nearly 2,000 workers at a local garment factory.Workers at Texwell Vina Company have been in limbo since their Korean employers reportedly left Vietnam right before the Lunar New Year holiday without paying their January salaries.At a meeting with the provincial People's Committee on March 5, Dong Nai Labour Union said it would help the workers terminate their contracts with Texwell Vina and apply to other firms in accordance with the regulations."15 companies have agreed to take in the workers. Tomorrow morning, their HR peo-ple would come to Texwell Vina to receive their applications," the leader of the union said.The workers' crisis first grabbed headlines early last month after hundreds of workers gathered outside the Texwell Vina factory at the Bau Xeo Industrial Zone in Trang Bom District for days to demand their pay. The protest prompted provincial authori-ties to fork out VND7 billion (US$308,000) to cover half of the workers' overdue sala-ries so they could come home and celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet).After the holiday, the factory's leaders still did not return to Vietnam and the Korean Consulate in HCM City told authorities the factory's parent company in the Republic of Korea has also been shut down.This is the latest in a series of cases where employers have absconded from Vietnam's southern industrial zone ahead of Tet to avoid paying holiday bonuses to their work-ers. Earlier this year, more than 600 workers at a garment firm in Saigon staged a strike for more than a week to demand their wages after their Korean employer disappeared.


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According to the HCM City Labour Federation, as of January 2018, at least five busi-nesses still owed wages and social insurance contributions from 2017 to around 900 workers, who were unlikely to be able to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), which started on February 16, due to empty pockets.Another 200 businesses claimed they had a difficult year and would have problems paying holiday bonuses, it said.Vietnam's economy grew by 6.8 percent in 2017, the highest rate in a decade, but that hasn't benefited everyone.Vietnam raised its minimum wage by around 7.3 percent last year to VND3.75 million per month, the lowest nominal jump on record. The government has approved another increase of 6.5 percent from mid-2018.Last year, a third of the 2,600 workers surveyed by Vietnam's Institute of Workers and Trade Unions said their income was barely enough to live on, while 12 percent said their wages simply did not cover basic expenses, forcing them to work extra hours.http://english.vov.vn/society/vietnamese-workers-abandoned-by-korean-employer-promised-new-jobs-369839.vov

Vietnam's billionaire count doubles to 4 on Forbes' rich list

07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

Chairmen of steel and automotive corporations are the latest Vietnamese to crack into Forbes' list of world's billionaires.Vietnam has doubled its number of billionaires from last year to four in Forbes maga-zine's recently released 2018 list of world's richest people.Pham Nhat Vuong, owner of real estate conglomerate Vingroup and Vietnam's first billionaire, enjoyed his sixth consecutive appearance on the list, being the world's 499th richest person this year. Vuong also retained his position as Vietnam's richest man with a net worth of $4.3 billion, a $1.9 billion increase compared to last year.CEO of budget carrier VietJet Air Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao also had her second ap-pearance on the list as the 766th richest person in the world. Vietnam's richest woman had an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion, nearly three times her wealth when she made her debut appearance last year with $1.2 billion.Forbes magazine's list this year also sees the debut appearance of two other Vietnam-ese: Tran Ba Duong, chair of Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) and Tran Dinh Long, chair of Hoa Phat Corporation.Duong, 57, was ranked 1339th in the list with a net worth of $1.8 billion. He founded Thaco to sell cars in 1997 and the company later started assembling cars for foreign brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot, as well as producing its own buses and trucks. Thaco became the biggest car company in Vietnam with a 32 percent share in the au-tomobile market by 2016, according to Forbes.Meanwhile Long, 57, was listed as world's 1756th richest person with a net worth of $1.3 billion. He founded Hoa Phat as an equipment and parts distributor in Hanoi in 1992. The company is currently considered the biggest steel maker in Vietnam, provid-ing the market with office equipment, steel pipes and construction steel.Fish sauce magnet Nguyen Dang Quang, who was named Vietnam's third billionaire in January by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, didn't make the Forbes list. Bloombeg es-timated the chair and founder of Masan Group's total assets at $1.2 billion.Topping the Forbes list this year was Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who became world's first centi billionaire with a net worth of $112 billion, up $39.2 billion from 2017. Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder and last year's richest person, dropped to second place with a net worth of $90 billion.Gates is followed by Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett ($84 billion), CEO and chair of luxury goods empire LVMH Bernard Arnault ($72 billion) and Facebook cre-ator Mark Zuckerberg ($71 billion) rounded out the top five.This is the 32nd year Forbes magazine has compiled its list of world's billionaires. This year's list sees a record 2,208 billionaires with a combined wealth of $9.1 trillion, an 18 percent increase from last year.The US still had the most billionaires with 585, followed by China with 476.


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Fines of USD22,400 for illegal mining


Authorities in the central highlands province of Kon Tum has issued fines of VND500m (USD22,400) to a group of eight illegal gold miners.The youngest miner is only 16 years old and the oldest is 77. Five miners were fined VND60m, with the remainder fined VND70m each. Their equipment was also seized and the miners were asked to restore the environment.On January 22, the inspectorate of Kon Tum Department of Natural Resources and En-vironment and the provincial environment police caught the miners red-handed and discovered a tunnel under the passion fruit garden of Nguyen Van Ly in Ngoc Hoi Dis-trict.The tunnel is about 100 metres long and 1.1 metres wide. There were five people work-ing in the tunnel when the police arrived. About 10 tonnes of gold ore was found at the scene.According to Ly, two men proposed to mine gold in his passion fruit garden early this year, saying that he'll get his share when they can sell gold products but nothing has been made yet. Ly was also fined for illegal gold mining in 2013.http://dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/55466/fines-of-usd22-400-for-illegal-mining.html

Vietnam joins Foodex 2018 in Japan


Foodex is Asia's the largest exhibition dedicated to food and drinks across Japan and the whole world.Up to 20 participating businesses come from cities and provinces with strength in agro-fisheries such as HCM City, Hanoi, Nghe An, BacGiang, NinhBinh, Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Can Tho, KienGiang, Lam Dong and Ca Mau.On display are Vietnamese specialty fruits, vegetables, processed aquatic products and fish oil, organic pepper, seedless lemon, rice-derived food, cakes and fruit drinks.Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export to Japan hit 130 million USD in 2017, up nearly 70 percent.The four-day exhibition attracts 3,350 firms from 80 countries and territories world-wide, and 85,000 visitors.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-joins-foodex-2018-in-japan/127480.vnp

Hoi An International Food Festival to feature 12 famous chefs


The third International Food Festival will be held from March 14-17 in the ancient city of Hoi An, Quang Nam province, with the participation of 12 famous chefs from around the world.The chefs are members of the World Association of Chefs' Societies (WACS) and come from numerous countries including Germany, Sweden, Russia, Portugal, Greece, the US, Malaysia, India and Vietnam.They will cook many delicious dishes from the available local ingredients found in Hoi An and every night one of the chefs will introduce a typical dish at the 'Big dish' area.Foreign music bands will provide a wide variety of street programmes and there will be a culinary carnival, which is expected to attract a large amount of visitors.Hoi An city was recognised by the WACS as Vietnam's food capital in 2017. The annual event aims to promote the image of the culture and tourism of the ancient city, to both domestic and foreign visitors.The festival will offer an opportunity for local chefs to gain experience form leading global culinary experts.dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/55476/hoi-an-international-food-festival-to-feature-12-fa-mous-chefs.html

Can Tho kicks off Women Startup Day


The Women's Union of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho launched the Women Start-up Day on March 6 to celebrate the International Women's Day (March 8) and encour-age the women to start businesses.The Women Startup Day will have a series of programmes to support the women's


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startups between 2018 and 2025 as they are facing a number of barriers in skills, re-sources and ability to use advanced technology.The support will be provided for all women living in the city with a business idea, those wanting to start a business, new cooperatives and startups owned by women, and female entrepreneurs clubs. Priority will be given to women living in difficult cir-cumstances, or from ethnic minority groups, or with disabilities.From March 2018, the city will select innovative and feasible startup ideas to provide support in branding, funding and training.The city's Women Union will introduce women with startup ideas to participate in vo-cational training courses that offer knowledge in startups. It will also give them legal assistance in registering trademarks to original inventions, patents or local specialties.It will work with banks and credit institutions to give women entrepreneurs better ac-cess to funding and organise regional and international trade promotion events to help them improve their businesses' competitiveness.Can Tho sets to raise awareness of career and startup issues among 70 percent of its women, support the establishment of at least 20 cooperatives managed by women, and advise and aid the development of 1,500 newly-found enterprises owned by women.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/can-tho-kicks-off-women-startup-day/127457.vnp

Fair showcases high-quality Vietnamese products in An Giang


A trade fair displaying high-quality Vietnamese products opened in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on March 6.The six-day event has attracted the participation of 150 businesses, which are showcas-ing household appliances, food, medicine, apparel, and handicrafts, among others at 350 booths.Visitors to the fair will have a chance to enjoy discounts, gifts, game shows, and musi-cal performances.The fair also features a seminar and training course on technological application for startups, as well as exchanges between producers and consumers.The event is the first of a series of similar fairs to be held nationwide in the near future.The fair is co-organised by the High Quality Vietnamese Product Business Association and the Centre for Trade and Investment Promotion of An Giang province.https://en.vietnamplus.vn/fair-showcases-highquality-vietnamese-products-in-an-giang/127473.vnp End


finance & business news 7 March 2018 Intellasia_Finance... · 07/MAR/2018 INTELLASIA| VNA The State...

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