finance & business news 23 October 2017

FINANCE...... 1 Quang Ngai told to identify strengths to attract investment 32 Reference exchange rate up 6 dong at week's beginning 1 HCM City inks tourism deal with 3 Mekong Delta provinces 33 Central bank policies expand foreign reserves 1 Sweden sees VN as potential market for its eco-friendly 9-month credit growth reaches 12.16pct 2 wood materials 34 VEPR: 21pct credit growth target a challenge 3 Vietnamese, Turkish enterprises seek to boost connectivity 34 Work towards a stable financial system, PM tells Apec 3 BIZ NEWS ...... 35 Apec 2017: Finance minister meets IMF deputy manager 4 Business Briefs 23 October, 2017 35 Apec 2017: VN needs Apec economies' experience in ROS sends VN Index up 35 financial inclusionAPEC finance 5 VN Index falls on intraday selling 36 Improve policy framework to promote consumer finance 5 Vietnam is among best-growing stock markets 37 New moves at consumer finance companies 7 Khanh Hoa beverage firm to join UPCoM 37 Will growth in consumer finance continue? 7 SME Vietnam Network to connect and support SMEs 38 Female borrowers in bank loans 1.4 times higher than male 8 International coffee brands quit Vietnam due to filtered Next generation of risk-weighted assets requires swift actions 9 down profits 39 Vietnam, US seek stronger financial cooperation 10 Vietnamese IT workforce highly evaluated 40 Vietnam, Australia sign MoU on financial cooperation 11 Overseas Vietnamese call for more government support Early forecast for banks' profits in 2017 12 for hi-tech agriculture 40 Life insurers prepare for InsurTech wave 13 Electronics group to focus on social responsibility 41 HDBank profit grows 279pct in Jan-Sept 14 Instant messaging 42 Vietcombank has strongest balance sheet in Vietnam: Asian Women contribute to social wellbeing, economy: researcher 44 Banker 14 Defense Ministry hands over land to HCM City traffic projects 46 Vietcombank appoints first foreign director 15 Ministry expresses doubts over $3-bn HCM City road project 46 Kienlongbank attains 191.56 billion dong of pre-tax profit in Nhi Thien Duong 1 Bridge opened to traffic 46 the first nine months 15 Some luxury hotels reportedly taking losses 47 Chubb Life Vietnam raises charter capital to over 1.244 trillion VinFast announces two most favourite cars 48 dong 15 Foreign investors eye golden land plot of unfinished 'Reasonable chance' for TPP at Apec 2017 16 Vung Tau-Paradise 48 Prime minister lays out tasks for FTA implementation 17 Tran Anh revenue plunges after leaked merger information 49 Vietnam boosts Agriculture 4.0 18 Samsung targets 50 Vietnamese first-tier suppliers by 2020 50 Exports to Apec: 'A golden opportunity' 18 Potential tapped 50 Bright prospect for tea exports in final quarter 19 Japanese travel agency to help build resort complex in VN 52 Vietnam earned $154.3 billion from exports 21 Abbott Vietnam: blazing trails in local healthcare 53 Exports of top 10 commodity groups surpass $111 billion 21 Vietjet offers discounted tickets to Taiwan 54 Vietnam earns $5.1 billion from auto parts exports 21 Savills to manage two new Vimefulland projects 54 US gains second largest tax sum from Vietnam exporters 22 JLL to manage Sun Grand City Thuy Khue Residence 55 China intensifies import of Vietnamese farm produce 23 Caravelle Saigon Hotel takes delivery of E 200 cars 56 Vietnam spends over $1.6b on importing automobiles 23 BMW recalls bikes in VN 57 Petroleum supply expected to be plentiful from 2018 23 Honda Vietnam makes bank on Vietnamese motorcycle market 57 Petrol price falls slightly 24 5 Seasons: condotel of choice for long-term living 59 Salt price doubles, middlemen benefit 24 Ben Thanh Market a Saigon shopping heaven where Pork prices set to rise as end of the year supply dwindles 25 haggling rules 60 Automobile manufacturers are anxious for new government policies Annual HCM City furniture design contest launched 61 26 Vietnam International Motor Show 2017 to display luxury yachts 62 Science for economic development 27 Vietnamese firms join Mega Show HK 2017 62 BT projects awash with loopholes for interest groups 28 METALEX Vietnam attracts record number of industrial visitors 62 Govt: ICT market holds high growth potential 28 As quick as they can 29 International energy currents 31

Intellasia Tel: +844 2213 2244 No. 21, lane 173/63/17, Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi Fax: +844 3759 2034 © All Rights Reserved Email: [email protected] Websites: www.Intellasia.Net www.TriTueAChau.com Vietnam finance & business 23 October 2017 FINANCE FINANCE Reference exchange 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIET BAO rate up 6 dong at The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) set its reference dong/US dollar exchange rate at week's beginning 22,465 dong/US dollar on the morning of October 23, up six dong compared to October 21. With the current +/- 3 percent dong/US dollar trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,133 dong per US dollar and the floor rate is 21,785 dong per US dollar. Major commercial banks' rates saw slight fluctuations in the early morning. Vietinbank listed at 22,670-22,750 dong/US dollar (buying-selling), down 10 dong in buying price. BIDV kept the exchange rate unchanged from October 21 at 22,680 dong/US dollar for buying price -22,750 dong/US dollar for selling price. Vietcombank set 22,680 dong (buying) and 22,750 dong (selling), per US dollar, un- changed from the end of last week.

Central bank policies 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS expand foreign Adoption of appropriate policies by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has helped it buy reserves a large amount of US dollars to increase the nation's foreign reserves, industry insiders FINANCE said. Last week, commercial banks sold a significant amount of dollars to the central bank after the latter used futures trading tools to buy foreign currencies and reduced its buying price for the greenback for three consecutive sessions. Vneconomy.vn reported that the central bank purchased as much as some $1 billion just in one day at the be- ginning of last week. With the futures trading tools, commercial banks can sell the foreign currency to the central bank in the future at the current price, without worrying about prices going down later. The central bank's purchase has also created more choice for commercial banks so that they can be more active in balancing foreign currency flow and capital demand. The buying price for the greenback at the central bank's head transactions office on Oc- tober 10 was quoted at VND22,720 per US dollar, down VND5 from the fixed price set in end-June and VND20 below the upper limit of VND23,121. This is the first time the central bank has made such a move since it initiated a new fix- ing mechanism for the USD/VND rate in January 2016. Since the start of this year, the bank has raised the buying price three times-- in Janu- ary, April and June. Below ceiling Meanwhile, the bank continues to keep its selling price of the dollar VND20 below the ceiling, indicating it is ready to intervene in the market and keep the USD/VND steady until the end of this year. According to experts, it is not a random move. The aforementioned decision on adjust- ment came after a nine-month trade surplus was fixed. Vietnam not only offset the cu- mulative trade deficit since the beginning of the year but returned to remarkable surplus. Foreign investment in Vietnam had high disbursement rate and foreign cur- rency continued to increase. In the world market, the US dollar strongly depreciated and prior to that was the Fed's decision on not to increase interest rates. Meanwhile, with regard to the reference bas- ket on the basis of which Vietnam is calculating exchange rate, many currencies got stronger, specially the Chinese yuan. In the banking system, foreign currency status accumulated and was relatively posi- tive in the last three months, partly reflecting the reality that the dong-US dollar inter- est rate swap has been in negative status for a long time. Therefore, the central bank decided to create a new operating rhythm, promoting the defreeze of those accumu- lated resources. http://bizhub.vn/banking/central-bank-policies-expand-foreign-reserves_289642.html

9-month credit growth 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH reaches 12.16pct On October 19, 2017, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said the overall credit growth has increased right from the beginning of the year and the credit growth in the first

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nine months of 2017has improved 12.16 percent from the end of 2016. This agency also said this is a relatively high growth rate compared to some recent years. This figure is much higher than the estimate of the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC). Earlier, in the report released on October 5, NFSC estimates that as of the September 2017, credit swelled 11.5 percent from the end of 2016. With this growth, about 668.8 trillion dong credit was disbursed to the economy in- stead of the previous figure of 632.4 trillion dong. Good credit growth in the first nine months of 2017 is the reason for the profit of the banking sector to achieve positive results. As per NFSC's report, the accumulated af- ter-tax profit in the first nine months of the entire banking sector reached about 47 tril- lion dong, up 39 percent year-on-year. Before putting for risk provision, profits improved about 30.2 percent year-on-year. Many commercial banks have started to announce business results in the first three quarters of the year with decent growth. The pre-tax profit in January-September of VPBank as per its recently released finan- FINANCE cial statement touched 5.635 trillion dong, up 78 percent year-on-year. KienLongBank earned 153 billion dong profits, 10 times higher than the same period last year. Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPB) estimated that profits reached 1.450 trillion dong, up 67.5 percent year-on-year, of which, the third quarter alone contrib- uted 540 billion dong profit. TPBank said its first nine month profits hit 807 billion dong, exceeding the whole year target of 780 billion dong. Sacombank also estimated consolidated profit to touch 1.1 trillion dong, doubling that of last year and surpassing the whole year target of 585 billion dong.

VEPR: 21pct credit 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES growth target a Three-quarter figure of 11.02 percent leaves much to be done in fourth quarter, Viet- challenge nam Institute for Economic and Policy Research macroeconomic report notes. As at September 20, credit growth had reached 11.02 per cent since December 2016, higher than in the same period in previous years (10.8 per cent in 2015, and 10.5 per cent 2016), according to Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR)'s macroeconomic report for the third quarter. The figure, however, is much lower than the target set by the government for the year. "This will be a challenge for the realisation of the credit growth target in the fourth quarter," a representative from VEPR said. Mobilisation growth reached 10.08 per cent, lower than the 12 per cent recorded in the same period of last year. The shortage of lending capital created by lower mobilisation will be a barrier for the State Bank of Vietnam's monetary policy in the last quarter, especially in reaching the targeted 21 per cent credit growth for the year as a whole. Interest rates may increase, but it is continually difficult to mobilise deposits. Because the SBV bought a significant amount of foreign currency in the third quarter, of about $3 billion, to increase reserves, liquidity in the banking system remains plentiful, as proven by the decline in interbank interest rates since the second quarter. Rates rose slightly late in the third quarter, by less than 1 per cent. As reported in Sep- tember by the National Financial Supervisory Commission, liquidity in the banking system is currently sound, with a credit/ system ratio of 87.2 per cent. Cash demand in late 2017 will also increase pressure on banks' liquidity and affect in- terest rates, which may cause barriers to lending interest rates falling by 0.5 per cent. "The SBV should follow the market tightly to provide liquidity support as soon as pos- sible," the representative from VEPR said. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/vepr-21-credit-growth-target-a- challenge

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Work towards a stable 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS financial system, PM Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for stronger cooperation and coordina- tells Apec tion in policymaking among Apec's member economies towards establishing a stable financial system and achieving sustainable development. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 24th Apec Finance ministers' Meeting (FMM) in ancient city of Hoi An, Quang Nam Province, on Saturday, he noted that the meet- ing was the most important event under the Apec Finance ministers' Process (FMP). FMP is a forum for Apec member economies to address regional macroeconomic and financial issues as well as domestic and regional financial policy priorities. Phuc said the FMM was taking place in the context of global economic recovery as well as improvement in trade, investment and finance. However, the region faced many challenges, given the slowing trade, increasing trend of protectionism and use of non- tariff barriers as forecast by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), he said. The Asia-Pacific region, which has several of the world's leading and dynamic econo-

FINANCE mies, continues to be a driver of global growth, but economic growth and productivity in some economies was still low, Phuc said. "Practically, not all members of society benefit from globalisation and trade liberalisa- tion and investment," he added. The PM also stressed the negative impacts of climate change on economic develop- ment. Besides, the region is seeing some hotspots that may threaten peace, security and sta- ble development of the region, he said. "I hope that the ministers will continue their efforts to coordinate policy and provide practical solutions for implementing policy priorities and addressing difficulties and challenges in achieving the goals of a stable financial system and sustainable develop- ment," the PM said. Four financial cooperation priorities have been set for Apec 2017: long-term invest- ment in infrastructure, base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), disaster risk financing and insurance, and financial inclusion. Through the year, Apec Finance ministers have actively cooperated to promote deeper economic integration, creative and inclusive growth and enhancing the competitive- ness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The PM said that Vietnam has made great strides in the last 30 years of its economic renovation process. From an under-developed economy, it has advanced to become a middle-income country in 2010, according to the World Bank. Vietnam has set a gross domestic product (GDP) target of 6.7 per cent for 2017, higher than 2016's 6.21 per cent. Inflation will likely be kept at below 5 per cent, budget deficit below 4 per cent, and public debt below 65 per cent of GDP by the end of the year. Exports are expected to top $200 billion, up 15 per cent year-on-year, while disburse- ment of foreign direct investment is estimated at over $15 billion, up 18 per cent year- on-year. By the end of September, stock market capitalisation had reached 93 per cent of GDP, a record since the markets' establishment in 2000. The GDP growth set for the period of 2016-20 is at 6.5-7 per cent per year. PM Phuc said the public finance sector as well as development of the financial market have contributed significantly to these positive results. He affirmed that Vietnam will continue to renovate it economy, especially the financial sector, towards improving ef- ficiency and competitiveness, and ensuring sustainable growth. Top Apec finance officials on Saturday issued a joint ministerial statement on regional financial cooperation and implementation of priority tasks through the year. http://bizhub.vn/news/work-towards-a-stable-financial-system-pm-tells- apec_289640.html

Apec 2017: Finance 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA minister meets IMF Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung had a meeting with Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy deputy manager manager of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on October 20 on the sidelines of the ongoing Apec Finance ministers' Meeting (FMM) 2017 that is underway in Hoi An

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city, the central province of Quang Nam. Dung highly valued Mitsuhiro Furusawa's attendance at the FMM 2017 and related ac- tivities, lauding IMF's report at the discussion on regional macro-economy, which pro- vided an overview on global and regional economic and financial situation. He praised the IMF's role in making regular review on Vietnam's macro-economy and reform process, especially in giving comments on the country's fiscal policy and the stabilisation of the financial system. He thanked the IMF for supporting Vietnam's economic growth through credit pro- grammes and technical support, especially in tax policy and tax administrative man- agement. The institution's assistance in expertise in budget, treasury and tax has greatly contrib- uted to the macro-economic stability of Vietnam, helping the country renovate its im- portant public financial policies and institutions, he said. The minister also spoke highly of the IMF's Technical Assistance Office (TAOLAM)'s help in strengthening the finance ministry's capacity in macro-economic governance, FINANCE currency, financial statistics and public financial management. In the future, Vietnam hopes to continue receiving the IMF's support in fiscal stability, budget management, public debt settlement and State-owned enterprise reform, per- sonnel training, said Dung. He also expressed wish that the lender would design a mechanism to strengthen tech- nical dialogue with the finance ministry to match their demand and capacity. For his part, Mitsuhiro Furusawa showed special interest in Vietnam's hosting of Apec 2017, lauding the finance ministry's efforts in chairing activities of the Apec FMM 2017. Highly valuing the cooperation between the ministry and the lender over the past years, he affirmed that the institution will continue fostering collaboration in profes- sional issues of shared concern and sharing its experience in prioritised matters that Vietnam has proposed during the FMM. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/apec-2017-finance-minister-meets-imf-deputy-manager-in- quang-nam/119815.vnp

Apec 2017: VN needs 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA Apec economies' Vietnam needs experience shared by Apec member economies to promote financial in- experience in financial clusion, deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Thi Hong has inclusionAPEC said. finance Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of the Apec 2017 Finance and Central Bank Deputies' Meeting in Hoi An, the central province of Quang Nam on Oc- tober 20, Hong stated that over the past year, the SBV has closely coordinated with rel- evant ministries and agencies, Apec member economies, and international organisations in holding numerous effective and practical activities, especially confer- ences and forums on different aspects of financial inclusion. The central bank will study the Apec economies' practices to serve the development of a national strategy on financial inclusion, she added. According to her, the strategy should highlight the central role of customers, focusing on those who come from vulnerable groups such as the poor, people living in remote areas, women and small- and medium-sized enterprises. While implementing the strategy, it is necessary to use financial technology (Fintech) to boost financial inclusion, especially in the context of the booming fourth Industrial Revolution, she said. Hong also stressed the need to promote cross-border credit information exchange, say- ing that the building of a successful cross-border credit information exchange model will contribute to ensuring equality and transparency in investment cooperation, as well as minimising risks from unbalanced information. In an interview granted to the Vietnam New Agency at the 24th Apec Finance minis- ters' Meeting also in Quang Nam on October 21, Finance minister Dinh Tien Dung said that financial inclusion is an important content to be submitted to the upcoming Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang city in November.

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As the host of Apec 2017, Vietnam has proposed and received high unanimity of Apec members on four priority themes in the financial sector, including Long-term Invest- ment in Infrastructure, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance, and Financial Inclusion. Participants to the meeting discussed the outcome of cooperation in long-term invest- ment in infrastructure and adopted a policy statement on diversifying financial re- sources and promote the private sector's engagement in infrastructure investment in Apec economies, he said. Financial investment in infrastructure is an immediate as well as mid- and long-term target to serve sustainable economic development, he said, adding that the Apec Fi- nance ministers reached consensus on financial mechanisms and policies to attract re- sources from the State and other economic sectors, both at home and abroad, to infrastructure investment. Established in 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Forum comprises 21 economies, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), FINANCE Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/apec-2017-vn-needs-apec-economies-experience-in-finan- cial-inclusion/119875.vnp

Improve policy 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS framework to promote Consumer finance has significant room for growth in Vietnam, however it is essential consumer finance to improve the policy framework to ensure efficiency, transparency and sound opera- tion of the financial system and the whole economy, heard a conference in Hanoi on Thursday. The International Conference on Consumer Finance in Vietnam was organised by StoxPlus, a leading financial and business information corporation in Vietnam, with support from Nikkei Inc, from Japan and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. Experts agreed that the consumer lending market has high potential in Vietnam, given the low penetration and significant size of the population that remained unbanked and unserved despite increasing income. However, the policy framework for consumer finance needed to be improved amid rapid development of financial technology (fintech), which was enabling disruption, so as to enhance access to credit, decrease the unofficial credit sector and develop fi- nancial inclusion. Statistics of the State Bank of Vietnam revealed that total outstanding consumer loans were at VND960 trillion (US$42.1 billion), or 15.7 per cent of the total outstanding loans in the economy, in 2016, of which VND74 trillion was provided by finance com- panies. Nguyen Thi Hien, deputy director of the Banking Strategy Institute, said at the confer- ence that Vietnam had significant room for consumer finance. She cited the World Bank's statistics according to which the population with loans ac- counted for 46.84 per cent in Vietnam, but the percentage of population with loan at financial institutions was much smaller at 18.45 per cent. Nguyen Quynh Lan, the Business Information Unit's managing director, StoxPlus, cit- ed findings of the StockPlus' Vietnam Consumer Finance Report, which stated that the "real" consumer finance market actually provided by consumer finance companies was still very small at $3.3 billion. Given the market potential, the market was becoming increasingly competitive for seven current playersFE Credit, Home Credit, HD Saison and Prudential Finance, as well as Toyota Finance, JACCS Vietnam and Mirae Asset Financedue to new entrants, including Mcredit, Lotte Card, and upcoming players with a new business model. Disruptive model According to Lan, fintech enabled the emergence of a disruptive business model for

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consumer finance companies, which would introduce opportunities to lower interest ratesthe top concern of consumers and reach wider market coverage. The consumer finance market was also moving away fast from the offline channel, in- cluding physical point-of-sale (POS) and direct sales agents, to online and mobile, such as e-commerce website, social media (Facebook, Zalo, Wechat) and mobile apps. Lan said Vietnam needed a clear framework for financial intermediary, fintech and peer-to-peer lending, as well as customer protection in the digital area of consumer fi- nance, adding that current regulations were only applicable for finance companies. In addition, consumer finance companies should leverage the application of Big Data and omni-channel for targeted customer offers, Lan said. Nimish Vinaykant Dwivedi, director of FE Credit's Credit Card Business Centre, said: "Digital transformation an exciting journey has just begun. To increase reach to the masses and unbanked customers, leveraging technology is the key." He added that technology would help ensure not only convenience but also security. According to Reet Chaudhuri, financial and banking expert of McKinsey & Company, FINANCE Vietnam's fintech entrants were relatively new and primarily focused on payments, with only a few players focusing on lending. He pointed out that the fintech ecosystem was still small with 48 players, of which only four offered direct lending and four crowd-funding. "Vietnam should accelerate development of the fintech ecosystem in a controlled fash- ion and increase customer choice," he said. For peer-to-peer, it should be encouraged in Vietnam but a clear regulatory framework with safeguards needs to be put in place, he added. Experts at the conference also said it was essential to develop a customer database for credit organisations to access at reasonable cost while leveraging the application of modern technology in service delivery, management and promoting service quality. Nguyen Tu Anh, deputy director of the central bank's Monetary Policy Department, said Vietnam would study to develop a harmonised and reliable policy framework for the development of consumer finance and inclusive finance. StockPlus projected the consumer finance market growth would return to the normal rate of 20-30 per cent after posting 44 per cent growth during the past three years. http://bizhub.vn/banking/improve-policy-framework-to-promote-consumer- finance_289638.html

New moves at 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET consumer finance Techcombank plans to sell Techcom Finance and MCredit has been renamed MB Shin- companies nei, signs that the Vietnamese consumer finance market continues to attract investors. Techcombank on September 29 announced the transfer of its Techcom Finance under a board of management decision. South Korean press reported that the buyer in the deal is Lotte Card, a subsidiary of Lotte Group, which has invested in many business fields in Vietnam. According to Maeil Broadcasting Network, the two sides have come to an agreement on a capital assignment deal worth 87.5 billion won, or VND1.734 trillion. The amount of money Lotte Card to take over the finance company is 2.89 times higher than the share face value. Techcom Finance, with charter capital of VND600 billion, was initially established as a finance company belonging to the chemical manufacturer Vinachem and later taken over by Techcombank in January 2015. Also according to Maeil Broadcasting Network, in Lotte Card's eyes, TechcomFinance is the company which has a license to issue credit cards. The credit card is exactly what the South Korean company targets. Meanwhile, Prudential is going to sell Prudential Finance, the first 100 percent foreign owned finance company in Vietnam. A report shows that the company had a network of 300,000 clients by October 2016 and its charter capital had reached VND616.2 billion by the end of 2016. Reuters quoted its sources as reporting that Prudential wants the price of $150 million, or VND3.4 trillion, 5.52 times higher than the charter capital based on the nominal price.

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The common factors of both the deals is the high selling price, which, according to an- alysts, shows the attractiveness of the Vietnamese consumer finance market. A lot of new moves have been taken at other finance companies. MCredit, a finance company belonging to MBBank, has changed its name to MB Shinsei because of chang- es in the shareholder structure. Military Bank's ownership ratio has decreased from 100 percent to 50 percent. Shinsei Bank from Japan now holds 49 percent, and Xuan Thanh Construction & Development 1 percent. FE Credit belonging to VP Bank has successfully increased its charter capital from VND2.79 trillion to VND4.494 trillion. The finance company, which now holds 48 per- cent of the market share, has been continuously raising its capital since June 2014 when it bought the company from Vinacomin. Maritime Bank, after taking over Vinatex's finance company in 2015, has renamed the company FCCOM. The consumer finance market has been growing rapidly with value up to VND744 tril- FINANCE lion by June 30, 2017, accounting for 12.4 percent of the total outstanding loans of the national economy. The outstanding loans by finance companies have reached VND97 trillion, or 13 percent of consumer loans. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/188537/new-moves-at-consumer-finance- companies.html

Will growth in 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| TRI THUC TRE consumer finance Consumer finance is one of the fastest growing markets in Vietnam in recent years. The continue? total scale of modern consumer credit currently hits 960 trillion dong, accounting for about 15.7 percent of the total outstanding loans of the entire system, of which the group of consumer finance companies reaches 74 trillion dong and is the group of credit organisations having the highest outstanding consumer loans in three recent years, averaging at about 44 percent. At the International Conference on Consumer Finance in Vietnam this morning in Ha- noi, Dr Nguyen Thi Hien, deputy director of the Institute of Banking Strategy under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said consumer credit is still in its golden period for development. Dr Nguyen Thi Hien said the growth of this sector is positively supported when the average income of Vietnamese people is expected to swell to 50 million dong per per- son per year. Habits are also changing, especially among young people, who mainly shift from savings to lending to purchase essential necessaries. General director of McKinsey & Company Reet Chaudhuri said that the development of the consumer finance sector is still large, coming from informal lending channels such as from family or friends. Along with that, the government is also introducing policies such as low-cost housing, housing for low-income people, which will also stimulate demand for consumer loans. McKinsey & Company expects retail loans to grow 25-30 percent in the next five years. However, although the market is still very potential because the market penetration is still low and the numbers of people who have not used banking services in Vietnam are significant, there still exist many challenges. Regarding interest rates, consumer lending rates are higher than commercial loans. Consumer lending rates of commercial banks range at 11-20 percent. At financial com- panies, interest rates range from 20 percent to over 50 percent. Credit card loans or mortgaged home loans often have the highest interest rates. How to reduce interest rates on consumer loans? According to experts, there are many solutions to reduce interest rates including the need to build, upgrade, complete data- base and exploit the best technology for all parties, reducing the burden on borrowers. The State Bank should prioritise this for the sustainable development of the consumer finance market. Do Hoang Phong, general director of the National Credit Information centre of Viet- nam (CIC) indicates that the credit information coverage currently accounts for about

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35 percent of Vietnam's population, of which the group aged over 15 accounts for as much as 60 percent. This personal credit information is available thanks to information that credit institu- tions when implementing loans have pushed to CIC's system. The top five largest fi- nance companies (Home Credit, FE Credit, HD Saison, Prudential, etc.) pushed up to the system the information of 14.3 million individual customers. In addition, according to experts, credit institutions still have not exploited the poten- tial in rural areas. The people in these areas still have not really assessed financial sys- tem.

Female borrowers in 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH bank loans 1.4 times *On average, there are 46.84 people accessing loans out of 100 people higher than male This information was shared by Dr Nguyen Thi Hien, deputy director of the Banking Strategy Institute, at the International Conference on Consumer Finance organised by

FINANCE StoxPlus on the morning of October 19. Specifically, according to World Bank's data, the level of access to credit by Vietnamese people through the survey of loans in a year is 46.84 percent but the proportion of peo- ple having loans at financial institutions is 18.45 percent. This also means that a large number of people borrow through other forms, such as pawn shops, black credit, rel- atives, etc. Also as per the deputy director general, the habit of Vietnamese people is also chang- ing, especially in the group of young people, who have shifted from savings to borrow- ing to buy necessities. This is also one of the reasons why the people's access to credit is increasingly higher. As per Do Hoang Phong, CEO of the National Credit Information centre (CIC), the coverage of credit information now accounts for about 35 percent of Vietnam's popu- lation (93.7 million people), of which the group aged more than 15 reckons for as much as 60 percent. This personal credit information is obtained through the information of credit institu- tions who during the process of carrying out the loans, have pushed to CIC's system. Phong also said that the top five financial companies have pushed up to the system the information of 14.3 million individual customers. Regarding the level of access to credit, there are also differences between groups of women/men, the elderly/youth, high/low income, especially credit through banking channel. The percentage of women having loans is 3.5 percentage points higher than that of men. At the same time, the percentage of women borrowing through banking channel accounts for 21.33 percent, 1.4 times higher than the proportion of men. The access to credit through official banking channel of the youth is just more than three percent out of a total of 44 percent of young people having loans. The percentage of older people accessing loans is higher (23.02 percent). *Who is borrowing the most? Accounting for about 15.7 percent of the system's total outstanding loans, the consum- er credit scale currently reaches 960 trillion dong. Consumer loans are still mainly im- plemented via the system of commercial banks. The group of consumer finance companies has consumer credit scale of 74 trillion dong and the highest loan growth rate in three recent years, an average of 44 percent. Regarding the age structure, for consumer credit loans at financial institutions, the most popular borrowing age is 31-40 years old. This is also the age group that borrows the most through commercial banks. Meanwhile, at consumer credit channel via fi- nance companies, the group of borrowers aged 18-30 years accounts for nearly 60 per- cent, while the group of people aged 31-40 years only reckons for nearly 30 percent of the total number of customers. Regarding customers' income, the group of customers borrowing via consumer com- panies having the income of 5-10 million dong per month makes up as much as 65 per- cent. This is also the group that accounts for the largest proportion in the current

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consumer loan structure. The loans are mainly valued from 100 million dong to 500 million dong/item, mainly through commercial banks because under the current regulations, outstanding loans for a customer at that finance company do not exceed 100 million dong. At the same time, the total value of loans below 10 million dong or 10-50 million dong/item also ac- counts for a large proportion. More than half of consumer loans are used to finance the home purchase and repair. The purpose of borrowing to purchase durable goods now accounts for 24 percent. Electronics or transport vehicles are also preferred items purchased by consumer loans.

Next generation of 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR risk-weighted assets PwC's Global Basel IV Lead last week shared the international experiences with Viet- requires swift actions namese banks' leaders when talking about new approaches for risk-weighted assets.

FINANCE The State Bank of Vietnam's Circular No.41/2016/ TT-NHNN has been deemed a pro- gressive move to introduce a new generation of risk-weighted assets (RWA) in capital adequacy regulations for Vietnamese banks. Circular 41 is widely known as the first to adopt Basel II standards in Vietnam. However, the major shakeup of the circular is the adoption of the revised standardised approach for credit risks, drawn from the latest revisions to the Basel Framework, referred to as "Basel IV". For global banks, Basel IV has been changing all existing methods for the calculation of RWA, regardless of the type of risk and regardless of whether a bank uses standard- ised approaches or internal models. This means that the total calculation of capital ra- tios will change. "Circular 41 has adopted the latest generation of credit risk RWA introduced in the Ba- sel standards for implementation in Vietnam. This reflects the forward-looking vision of the banking supervisory authorities in leveraging the leading practices on RWA for the benefit of the Vietnamese banking sector," Martin Neisen, PwC's Global Basel IV Lead, said at a workshop held by PwC Vietnam for Vietnamese bank leaders in Hanoi and HCM City last week. "The benefits include improved risk sensitivity of capital requirements, a better link between the standardised approach and the internal model approach, and enhance- ment of policies and procedures. The new approach also brings a greater opportunity for the banking supervisor to compare capital adequacy among banks, thus ensuring safety and stability for the whole banking system," Neisen said. "Elsewhere in the world, international banks are dealing with unprecedentedly comprehensive changes in RWA with the advent of Basel IV. To overcome the challenges, many are adjusting their capital management strategies and restructuring their asset portfolios, products, and operational models." RWA calculation can reveal some fundamental challenges that banks might face, such as a lack of capital, and business strategies or asset portfolios inappropriate for achiev- ing capital optimisation. Vietnam's banking sector is starting a new journey with the implementation of the next generation of RWA as per Circular 41. PwC's experience with RWA implementation in international and Vietnamese banks shows that the new RWA approach is by no means an easy and simple task. It requires a thorough understanding of the RWA methodology, detailed data collection and processing, and a robust RWA system. This process could take nine to 12 months, or up to two years in large banks. After the RWA calculation results are in, banks will be able to identify their own prob- lems and take action. However, after they have decided to change their business strat- egy or restructure their asset portfolios, it could take banks one to two years before any capital optimisation impact shows, Neisen said. That means that it could be a two- to three-year journey in total for banks to comply with Circular 41. "Non-compliance with capital adequacy regulations is not an option for banks. The compliance is to demonstrate their financial and risk management capacity, and deliv-

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er the transparency level that the market, investors, and credit rating agencies expect," Dinh Hong Hanh, Financial Services Consulting director at PwC Vietnam, said at last week's workshop. "Regardless of your bank's size, non-compliance with Circular 41 by the date it goes into effect could cost you your advantage among your peers in the eyes of the market, the investors, and the credit rating agencies. The clock is ticking and Circular 41 takes effect in just over two years. There is no time left for hesitation," Hanh said. "Compliance will only be possible if you start the RWA implementation now and give 100 per cent of your focus to this important transformation," she added. http://www.vir.com.vn/next-generation-of-risk-weighted-assets-requires-swift-ac- tions.html

Vietnam, US seek 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA stronger financial Vietnam expects the US to accelerate the ratification of an agreement on double taxa-

FINANCE cooperation tion avoidance and facilitate negotiations for a governmental agreement on coopera- tion and assistance between customs agencies, said a high-ranking official. Vietnamese minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung made the suggestion during a meet- ing with David Malpass, Under-Secretary for International Affairs at the US Depart- ment of the Treasury, on the sidelines of the Apec 2017 Finance ministers' Meeting (FMM) in the central province of Quang Nam on October 20. While briefing the US official on Vietnam's economic situation, Dung said Vietnam has made concerted efforts to rise from a low-income economy to a middle-income nation in the region. The country achieved a 6.41 percent economic growth rate in the first nine months of the year and the figure is forecast to reach 6.7 percent for the whole year, while the in- flation rate is kept below at 5 percent, he said. However, Dung noted that the Vietnamese economy has been still facing challenges like unsustainable growth, poor quality of public investment and budget collection failing to meet spending needs. Regarding future orientations, Vietnam will improve financial legal regulations, fine- tune tax laws such as corporate tax, special consumption tax and individual income tax while promote restructuring and ensure state budget balance, he said. Enhancing public debt restructuring and management, and ensuring the synchronism of financial and insurance markets, and accounting and auditing services will be other tasks, Dung said, adding that Vietnam will also step up the equitisation and increase supervision of state-owned enterprises. At the meeting, Dung and Malpass discussed cooperative relations between the two countries, including cooperation in the fields of tax, insurance, securities, capital mar- ket, accounting and auditing. Malpass said that the US Department of the Treasury will further boost cooperation with Vietnamese Ministry of Finance for mutual benefit and development. Talking with Vietnam News Agency reporters after the meeting, Malpass said: "Rela- tionship of the US and Southeast Asia is always one of the top priority discussions. Trade imbalance between the US and Vietnam can be improved and we discussed the trade relationship that does not damage US enterprises and workers. We also welcome Vietnamese enterprises in the US and we are looking forward to promoting trade in the future." https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-us-seek-stronger-financial-cooperation/ 119817.vnp

Vietnam, Australia 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA sign MoU on financial Vietnam's Ministry of Finance (MoF) and The Treasury of Australia will step up finan- cooperation cial cooperation as per stipulated in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked by minister Dinh Tien Dung and Treasurer Scott John Morrison. The MoU was signed on October 20 on the sidelines of the Apec 2017 Finance minis- ters' Meeting (FMM) which is being held in the central province of Quang Nam from

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October 19-21. Accordingly, the MoU will create a framework for the two sides to carry out coopera- tion between the two agencies. It will help them review and evaluate cooperation so as to make adjustments and further enhance the efficiency of collaboration. During a bilateral meeting with the Australian official before signing the MoU, minis- ter Dung thanked Australian experts for assisting the MoF in preparing contents for the FMM. He described the signing of the MoU as a milestone in bilateral cooperative ties, in which the MoF's staff will have opportunities to learn state management experience from Australia and seek consultancy in building financial policies and implementing new legal documents in Vietnam. The MoF's staff will also have chances to take part in further training programmes or- ganised by Australia as well. Dung voiced his hope that Morrison will support Vietnam in issues of mutual concern and benefit at regional and international forums. FINANCE The two ministers also exchanged views on the Asean-Australia Special Summit slated for March 2018 in Sydney. Dung lauded the initiative to organise the summit, affirming that this is a significant progress step to diversify cooperation channels between Australia and Asean member states, including Vietnam. Through the summit, Australia and Asean nations will tighten cooperation in the fields of mutual interests, especially regional and global issues, Dung added. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-australia-sign-mou-on-financial-cooperation/ 119820.vnp

Early forecast for 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK banks' profits in 2017 The third quarter (Q3) business results of banks have gradually been disclosed with many positive points. In the context when lending has been expanding and the bad debt settlement has been accelerated since the issuance of Resolution 42/2017/QH14, etc., many banks are forecasted to exceed their profit targets for this year. However, it should be noted that these indicators are not very high. As one of the banks having the largest bad debts in the group of joint stock banks after merger, with the efforts to restructure and handle bad debts, Saigon Thuong Tin Com- mercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) has recorded significant improvements. Specif- ically, in the first nine months of 2017, the total lending and mobilisation funds of the bank respectively reached 221 trillion dong and 330.7 trillion dong, up by respectively 13.4 percent and 9.2 percent compared to the beginning of the year. In addition, the pre-tax profit of the parent bank was estimated at 900 billion dong while its consolidat- ed profit was 1.1 trillion dong, doubled the same period of 2016. As of September 22nd 2017, the total assets of Sacombank reached nearly 360 trillion dong, up by 9.3 percent compared to the early year. With this results, the one trillion dong pre-tax profit target assigned by Sacombank's shareholders committee is completely feasible, said a leader of the bank. He added that since in its heyday five to six years ago, the annual profit of Sacombank was approximately three trillion dong, the one trillion dong profit this year, thus, is just a "comfort" level. Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank (LienVietPostBank) is also drawing atten- tion of the market. vice President of the Board of directors (BOD) cum general director of the bank Pham Doan Son said that in the first nine months of 2017, LienVietPost- Bank estimated to obtain 1.450 trillion dong of profit, nearly completing the annual tar- get of 1.5 trillion dong set in 2017. Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank has been through a fairly favourable period, which is one of the few differences of the banking sector. Luu Trung Thai, vice Presi- dent of BOD cum general director revealed that by the end of Q3 2017, MB recorded 285.772 trillion dong of total assets and 3.902 trillion dong of pre-tax profit. In 2017, MB expected to complete its target to reach 274.5 trillion dong of total assets, 211.5 trillion dong of mobilisation fund, and 4.3 trillion dong pre-tax profit (5 percent exceeding the

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plan). In the lower top, Q3 financial statement of Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) achieved nine-month profit of 807 billion dong after risk provisioning, ex- ceeding the annual profit goal of 780 billion dong. The bank's current outstanding credit is 67.056 trillion dong, up by nearly 20 percent compared to the beginning of the year, completing 97.8 percent of the annual plan. Moreover, the credit quality of TP- Bank was well controlled with bad debt ratio of below 0.8 percent; while its total mo- bilisation fund also rose by nearly 21 percent compared to the beginning of the year, completing nearly 95 percent of the annual plan. Report on the business results in the second quarter 2017 of Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) showed that the bank's pre-tax profit in the period reached 380 billion dong, up by 25 percent compared to the same period of 2016, com- pleting 51 percent of the annual plan. In the first half of the year, the credit growth of VIB was nearly 16 percent, close to the assigned credit growth limit. Recently, the State Bank of Vietnam has approved VIB to loosen this limit to 24 percent. FINANCE With higher credit growth limit, VIB's leaders said that the bank will exceed its profit plan this year. According to information, VIB aims to attain pre-tax profit of 750 billion dong, up by 7 percent compared to 2016. Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) fore- casted that VIB will record a net profit of nearly 700 billion dong in 2017, and the bank's credit growth may reach 24 percent, while mobilisation growth will be 15 percent, etc. Although Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has not announced the Q3 busi- ness results, with good result in Q2 (494 billion dong pre-tax profit) and positive fore- cast in the period, the bank's leader confidently said that the pre-tax profit plan of 780 billion dong in 2017 is within reach. The survey results on business trend of credit institutions (CIs) and foreign bank branches released by the Department of Forecasting and Statistics (State Bank of Viet- nam) pointed out that the outstanding credit of the economy is expected to speed up, reaching 6.07 percent in the last quarter of the year (higher than the 5.91 percent actual increase in the last quarter of 2016 and the 5.09 percent increase in the previous quar- ter); and reaching 17.02 percent in 2017 (higher than the 16.3 percent expected in the previous quarter but still lower than the realised number of 18.25 percent in 2016). Dr Nguyen Tri Hieu an economic expert said that lending remains the main activity that brings profits to the entire system. The notable point is that the management of bad debt risks in lending in the recent time has been controlled fairly well, thereby putting positive pressure on business results. This is a fairly good sign, said Dr Hieu. Sharing the same view, Ngo Dang Khoa, director of Bond trading and foreign ex- change at HSBC Vietnam said that "although the 2017 credit growth target was raised to 21-22 percent, I believed that Vietnam is unlikely to fall into a massive credit growth trap like before, as the lessons on the consequence of bad debts in period of 2000-2010, when credit developed at an average of 32 percent, are still very clear". Both the regulators and market have since improved their capacities in terms of mon- itoring, governance and operation in order to prevent such incidents. In 2017, SBV has controlled credit, instructed to shift the credit structure in the direction of focusing capital on business and production areas, and limited lending to risky areas, etc. According to SBV, lending to the economy has continuously increased since the first months of the year, steadily across the months. As of September 20th 2017, the credit growth was 11.02 percent compared to 2016 a high level compared to the recent years (while it was respectively 10.46 percent and 10.78 percent in the same period of 2016 and 2015). However, the credit structure concentrated on production and business ar- eas, in which the lending to some key economic sectors and priority areas saw higher growth than the general growth of the system. In particular, the lending to agriculture and rural areas as of August 2017 reached 1.222 trillion dong, up by 17 percent compared to late 2016, accounting for about 20.2 percent of the total lending to the economy. The lending to the four remaining priority areas (as of late August 2017) was 207.001 trillion dong for export sector, up by 8.14 percent; 35.012 trillion dong for high-tech application enterprises, up by 25.12 percent; 153.837

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trillion dong for prioritised industries, up by 18.9 percent; and 1,292 trillion dong for small and medium enterprises, up by 7.49 percent.

Life insurers prepare 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK for InsurTech wave Representative of generali, a major European finance and insurance group said al- though there is a clear distinction in the development trend between Asia where In- sureTech focuses on distribution and developed countries where the company focuses on improving efficiency and connecting with customers, Asia gathers all necessary conditions to become the hottest area of the global InsurTech wave. That is the growing middle class, the high density of smart phones, the decrease in ef- fectiveness of traditional insurance distribution channels. Asia region has grown strongly in the past decade, contributing 37 percent to the glo- bal GDP and is forecasted to surpass Europe and North America by 2025 (45 percent versus 34 percent).

FINANCE "Asia is currently the third largest market in the world and is forecasted to lead in 2025. European and North American markets will look to Asia to capture the development and innovation trend. The insurance industry also has similar expectations", said gen- erali's representative. Currently, generali is focusing on growth in Asia. The group will continue investing strongly in technology, brand and the people to bring about increasingly better serv- ice. The group is applying generali NPS programme, a global programme that is imple- mented in generali's 35 markets. In Asia, the programme has been launched in China, India, Indonesia, Thai Land and now Vietnam, followed by Malaysia and Hongkong. From this application, based on customers' feedback, the group will identify and re- cover bad aspects, addressing the root causes, simplifying procedures, eliminating un- necessary steps, granting suitable decision-making right to employees. Meanwhile, Prudential Vietnam has introduced PruBot Chatbot form of insurance consultation. PruBot is developed based on Facebook Messenger platform. AIA is making efforts to digitalise in order to meet the market dynamics and custom- ers' demand in Asia. "For life insurance sector, when the total annual income of an individual exceeds $10,000, we believe that they are potential customers. The group of people attaining this income is growing in Asia. Therefore, this is the most potential market. Many European and American groups want to enter this market, especially Vietnam the market where middle and upper classes are growing more strongly than anywhere else in Southeast Asia, said Ng Keng Hooi, CEO cum Chair of AIA Group in his recent visit to Vietnam. "The fact that we put into use iMO application, an interactive application on mobile phones that helps change the way our outstanding agent work, will be a huge leap for- ward in digital technology this year", said Ng Keng Hooi.

HDBank profit grows 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES 279pct in Jan-Sept HCM City Housing Devel- opment Bank (HDBank) has re- ported year-on-year profit growth of 279 percent in the first nine months of 2017, well above the target for the whole year. According to a report on HD- Bank 's Januar y-S eptember per- for mance, the bank made over VND1.9 trillion (US$83.55 million) in pre-tax profit. The bank's return on equity (ROE) and return on as- sets (ROA) were 1.18 percent and 18.01 percent respec- tively. The bank also saw a 22 percent rise in in- dividual customers and a 14 percent spike in corporate clients in January-Sep- tember. Besides, 19 new branches and transaction of- fices were opened in the period, taking the total to 240 nationwide. HD SAISON Finance, a joint ven- ture between HDBank and Japan's finance corpora- tion Credit Saison, had served 3.4 million customers at 10,000 offices in the year to end- Sep- tember. The company has the most customers and transaction points in Vietnam.

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HDBank's total assets had reached VND174.6 trillion as of the end of this month, up 26 percent over the yearago period and reaching 98 percent of this year's target. Th e bank mobilised a total of VND156.4 trillion, up 27 percent year-on-year. Its total outstanding loans amounted to VND104.2 trillion, 97 percent of the target for all of 2017, while its bad debt ratio stayed low, at 1.14 percent. Given positive results in the first nine months of this year and favour- able economic conditions of the country in the final quarter, HDBank expects to obtain a consolidated pre-tax profit of VND2.4 trillion this year, up 107 percent versus last year. ROA and ROE will be 1.43 percent and 20 percent respectively. In the first nine months of the year, HDB ank held nearly 400 training courses includ- ing those on manager training and advanced business English. In addition, the bank has got approval from the State Bank of Vietnam and the State Securities Commission to list its shares and pay a 2016 dividend of 9 percent for shareholders. Last month, HDBank received Asia Money's award for best bank in Vietnam. Its annu- FINANCE al report has won a gold prize from the League of American Communications Profes- sionals (LACP). http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56677/HDBank-profit-grows-279-in-Jan-September- html

Vietcombank has 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA strongest balance The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) was sheet in Vietnam: named as the bank with the strongest balance sheet in Vietnam by The Asian Banker, Asian Banker a finance and banking magazine. This is the second consecutive year that the bank has received the title, which was awarded in a ceremony to honour the 500 largest banks in the region. The ranking was based on a detailed and transparent scorecard that ranks commercial banks on six areas of balance sheet financial performance; the ability to scale, balance sheet growth, risk profile, profitability, asset quality and liquidity. Vietcombank was also named Vietnam's best bank, best trade finance bank, best FX bank for corporates & financial institution in 2014, and Vietnam's best bank in 2015. In 2016, the bank's total assets reached 787.9 trillion VND (34.7 billion USD), up 16.8 percent year-on-year, with pre-tax profits of 8.52 trillion VND (375 million USD). https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietcombank-has-strongest-balance-sheet-in-vietnam- asian-banker/119809.vnp

Vietcombank 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA appoints first foreign The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) on Oc- director tober 20 appointed Thomas William Tobin as Retail Banking director, the bank's first foreign senior executive. In his remarks at the appointment announcing ceremony, Vietcombank Chair Nghiem Xuan Thanh said the bank targets to earn the No.1 Retail Bank of Vietnam title by 2020 in its long-term strategy. Thanh expected that with 30 years of experience in finance and banking and deep un- derstanding of the Vietnamese and the global markets, Tobin will create break- throughs in the bank's retail banking and help it achieve the goal. Tobin, a Canadian national and a postgraduate alumnus of MacMaster University, previously worked as Regional director for North Asia of Visa, a global payment tech- nology company. He also held managing positions in HSBC. He is a professional in e-payment, retailing and property management, wholesale and commercial banking. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietcombank-appoints-first-foreign-director/119822.vnp

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Kienlongbank attains 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK 191.56 billion dong of According to the recently announced consolidated financial statement of Kien Long pre-tax profit in the Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Kienlongbank), by the end of the third quarter of 2017, first nine months most operating indicators of the bank recorded steady growth, completed and exceed- ed the planned targets. Specifically, the total assets of Kienlongbank reached 34.407 trillion dong, completing 93.31 percent of the plan, up by 15.01 percent compared to 2016. Meanwhile, the bank's outstanding credit was 23.591 trillion dong, completing 95.51 percent of the plan, up by 19.35 percent compared to 2016. The bank's consolidated pre-tax profit was 191.56 billion dong, completing 76.63 per- cent of the 2017 plan. The bad debt ratio of Kienlongbank was controlled at 0.86 percent, while all operating indicators complied with regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV); many prod- ucts, services and promotional programmes for customers were continuously imple-

FINANCE mented; and transaction network and living standards of the bank's employees steadily improved. Kienlongbank has registered to be traded on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM). With positive results achieved in the first three quarters of the year, Kienlongbank aims to exceed all the business targets approved at the bank's 2017 annual sharehold- ers meeting.

Chubb Life Vietnam 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK raises charter capital to Chubb Life Vietnam has officially announced to increase its charter capital by over 79 over 1.244 trillion billion dong (equivalent to 3.5 million USD). The company's charter capital is over dong 1.244 trillion dong and equity is over 1.888 trillion dong at the time of announcement. Chubb Life Vietnam has recently been approved by the Ministry of Finance to expand its business in scope in the segment of health insurance products. Lam Hai Tuan Chair of the Board of directors cum general director of Chubb Life Vi- etnam said that the objective of Chubb Life Vietnam is to provide projection and finan- cial safety to customers. This capital increase will contribute to enhance Chubb Life Vietnam's solid financial foundation in order to continue developing its potential markets, increasing the qual- ity of services and personnel, as well as launching better financial solutions to Viet- namese families. In the past few months of 2017, Chubb Life Vietnam has continuously invested in ex- panding infrastructure, upgraded its 26 branches and established an addition of 13 transaction offices. As of September 2017, the company had over 500 employees and over 23,000 business representatives working in 61 offices across the country. With strong support and outstanding financial strengths from the Group, Chubb Life Vietnam will carry out many important projects in the near future, continue to expand its distribution channels and diversify its products and services.

'Reasonable chance' 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR for TPP at Apec 2017 After US President Donald Trump announced the US' withdrawal from the Trans-Pa- cific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, history's largest trade deal to date congregating around 40 per cent of the world's economy seemed to have fallen through. However, the eleven remaining member states decided to go ahead with the deal and may well reach a revised agreement at Apec Vietnam this November. On March 15 in Vina del March (Chile), TPP member states held their first meeting since the US' withdrawal, expressing their determination to realise the deal. Since then, negotiators showed little signs of stopping, with Japan and New Zealand stepping up as the primary proponents of carrying through the deal, and have agreed upon ham- mering out the deal by the November Apec Summit in Danang, Vietnam. The Apec meetings in Vietnam have indeed served as an important platform to further

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TPP negotiations. In the May Apec Trade ministers' Meeting in Hanoi, participating ministers assigned their trade officials to prepare an assessment of the options availa- ble to realise the TPP. Additionally, the November summit in Danang will be the mile- stone to see decisive action from members, potentially culminating in the signing of an agreement or on agreeing to sign one. Alan Bollard, executive director at the Apec Secretariat, told CNBC that there is a "rea- sonable chance" that leaders will actually sign a document in November or agree on signing one. However, there are a number of obstacles in front of the historic deal, one of them being the Japanese lower house elections on October 22. As a major driver behind negotiations, a potential change in the country's political set- up would effectively take much of the wind from the TPP's sails. "Japan has been leading a lot of this renegotiation, and so we've yet to see who the new government will be and what their views will be," CNBC cites Bollard, a former gov- ernor of New Zealand's central bank. "It's not to say that will change, but there'll be some last-minute scrabbling around." FINANCE Originally, US President Barack Obama was a strong supporter of the TPP, which he aimed as a tool to remove international barriers to trade and investment, connecting 40 per cent of the world's economy. However, President Trump's decision to withdraw forced TPP member economies to reconsider the grounds of the deal. Mexican Foreign minister Luis Vindegaray was cited as saying that any future accord will have to be of the same "high quality" as the TPP in terms of labour regulations, en- vironmental regulations, intellectual property protection, and other requirements. Ad- ditionally, any replacement deals would have to come "in the short term," hence the rather tight deadline for decisive action by November. Chilean Foreign minister Heraldo Munoz, who hosted the meeting in Vina del Mar, saw the pact as a potential tool to "generate more certainty" at a time of "protectionist tendencies in some parts of the world." With the words of Alan Bollard, there is a reasonable chance the leaders will actually sign a document or agree on signing one in November in Danang, reviving member economies' dreams of a historic trade pact, removing trade barriers between the most dynamic and some of the largest economies around the globe. However, a lot is still going on behind the scenes, with the US and members still evaluating their stances. http://www.vir.com.vn/reasonable-chance-for-tpp-at-apec-2017.html

Prime minister lays 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA out tasks for FTA Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has set facilitating business and export activities as implementation an urgent task to realise free trade agreements (FTAs) Vietnam has signed. In Directive 38/CT-TTg, PM Phuc, also head of the National Steering Committee on In- ternational Integration, assigned ministries and ministerial-level and government agencies to channel resources into effectuating the FTAs. It is also necessary to simplify administrative procedures and develop the "one-stop- shop" mechanism to shorten licensing duration, cut export costs and accelerate cus- toms clearance, he said. Apart from amending and scrapping regulations unsuitable with commitments of the FTAs, ministries and agencies should propose measures to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to protect Vietnam's rights and interests in case the FTAs are violat- ed. The regulations of the FTAs should also be made clear to different sectors to avoid mis- understandings, the leader said, adding that intellectuals and experts should be helped to assess the impacts of international integration on Vietnam. The competitiveness of sectors should be evaluated to devise plans aiming to promote those with a competitive edge and adjust production of less competitive sectors and businesses, thus maximising benefits generated by the FTAs, the PM said. The MoIT was also assigned to work with other ministries, agencies, institutes, associ- ations and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to make the best use of incentives offered by FTAs in each sector. The outcomes will serve as a basis to

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roll out activities helping Vietnamese enterprises take deeper steps into regional value chains. PM Phuc also asked the ministry to work on non-tariff measures like technical barriers and trade protection measures allowed in the World Trade Organisation and FTAs to protect the rights of domestic firms in the face of fierce competition with foreign rivals. He also suggested the ministry intensify, renovate and diversify trade promotion ac- tivities, update product and market information, and expand distribution channels, with attention paid to FTA members. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was urged to monitor regional and international polit- ical, security and economic developments, as well as Vietnam's foreign relations to forecast and propose measures for issues that may affect trade ties between Vietnam and its FTAs partners. PM Phuc requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment to partner with other ministries and agencies to review domestic business conditions, making them suitable with relevant international treaties. FINANCE Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to increase internation- al scientific and technological studies to apply advances in production, while paying attention to intellectual property protection. People's Committees of cities and provinces need to raise awareness of local firms about international economic integration in general and FTAs in particular. The VCCI should strengthen integration capacity and competitiveness of its member businesses, promote ties with foreign counterparts to help its members seek promising partners and expand business networks, and exchange information and experience in FTA implementation with its foreign counterparts, PM Phuc said. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/prime-minister-lays-out-tasks-for-fta-implementation/ 119807.vnp

Vietnam boosts 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5 Agriculture 4.0 Vietnam has made great strides in boosting agricultural development. Its agricultural production value, added values, product volume, and exports have grown. Vietnam is taking advantage of the 4.0 industrial revolution to develop clean, smart, and effective agriculture. The term Agriculture 4.0 was first used in Germany. Analogous to Industrial Revolu- tion 4.0, Agriculture 4.0 stands for the integrated internal and external networking of farming husbandry, fisheries, and forestry. Agriculture 4.0 has boosted agricultural growth in many countries. Smart digital tech- nology has been applied widely in Vietnam's agriculture sector. For example, remote sensing technology has been employed to forecast storms and droughts. Digital technology is used in forest protection and forest fire warning sys- tems. Gene technology and remote sensing technology are used in high-tech agriculture, greenhouse, and livestock production projects. Tran Van Khoi, Acting director of the National Agricultural Extension Centre, said, "It's necessary to apply high technology in agricultural production, particularly bio- technology, new materials technology, automation and mechanisation technology, and information technology. Those four technologies are the key to agricultural devel- opment." At a recent Vietnam Farmers' Forum themed "Farmers ready for Agriculture 4.0", dep- uty prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue said that the 4.0 Industrial Revolution is an irre- versible trend. He said Vietnam will approach Agriculture 4.0 in a smart way based on selecting ef- fective and profitable sectors and ensuring safety for the environment and people's health. "We need to mobilise the combined strength of all sectors at all levels and the close co- ordination between management agencies, scientists, enterprises, and farmers. We also need to strengthen communications to create consensus and increase social

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awareness about implementing this important policy," he said. The deputy prime minister asked state management agencies, scientists, enterprises, and farmers to identify priority technologies and areas for short, medium, and long- term development. He stressed the need to focus on human resource training to boost Agriculture 4.0. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-boosts-agriculture-40-360788.vov

Exports to Apec: 'A 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR golden opportunity' The exports of many of Vietnam's key commodities, such as telephones and compo- nents, textiles, footwear, and agricultural and fishery products, have been greatly boosted thanks to the country's efficient exploitation of major markets in Apec econo- mies. Key markets for exports "We will continue to conquer the markets in the US, Australia, and Japan to increase

FINANCE export revenue in the near future when the production lines in new manufacturing plants will be ready to run at full capacity," Phan Trung Kien, director of Phuc An Nh- ien Food Co., Ltd (HCM City), said when talking about exploiting potential export markets. The three markets mentioned by Kien currently account for 70 percent of the total ex- port value of vermicelli, dried rice noodles, dried mussel, and rice paper products made by Phuc An Nhien. The Apec currently makes up 60 percent and 80 percent of Vietnam's total export and import value, respectively. In many other enterprises, the contributions of these major markets to overall exports also follow similar patterns since the export structure of Vietnam largely concentrates on a handful of specific markets, such as the US, Japan, Korea, and China, that is, on large-scale economies in the Apec. Over the first nine months of this year, Vietnam has reported eight commodity groups which achieved an export turnover over $1 billion to the US market. Textile and garment exports reached $9.25 billion, up 9.5 percent compared to the same period last year, and accounted for nearly 30 percent of the total export value to the US. The US is the largest market for Vietnamese textile and apparel imports. In 2016, the export turnover of this commodity group to the US hit $11.45 billion, up 4.6 percent against 2015, making up 48 percent of the total textile and garment export turnover of the whole country. Vu Duc Giang, chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), said that the growth of textile and garment exports largely stems from major markets in Apec economies, namely the US, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Meanwhile, footwear exports to the US in the first nine months reached $3.76 billion, up 13.7 percent compared to the same period last year and accounted for 12 percent of the total value of Vietnamese goods to the US. In 2016, total exports reached $175.9 billion. Of this, four markets, including the US, Ja- pan, the ROK, and China, contributed $86 billion. Specifically, exports to the US grew to $38.1 billion, up 10 percent; Japan brought in $14.6 billion, up 3.4 percent; the ROK yielded $11.5 billion, up 29 percent; and exports to China hit $21.8 billion. Phone and components exports, despite decreasing by 7.4 percent on-year, maintained a turnover of $2.89 billion. Seizing the chance to boost export activities According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Apec's 21 member economies account for 59 percent of the world population and more than 50 percent of the total GDP and 57 percent of global trade, making it an exceptionally sizable and potential market for Vietnamese enterprises. Promoting trade liberalisation and trade facilitation in the Apec has opened up great opportunities for the business community in Vietnam, especially small- and medium- sized enterprises.

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Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of MoIT's Import-Export Department, said that in re- cent years, the Vietnamese business community has been taking full advantage of these opportunities to effectively access and exploit the Asia-Pacific market, brought about by the country's cooperation with the Apec. In particular, Vietnam's export turnover to Apec's member economies has been in- creasing steadily, from $98.37 billion in 2014 to over $119.69 billion in 2016. According to MoIT, 13 out of the 15 free trade agreements signed by Vietnam involve 18 Apec member economies. Seven Apec member economies, namely the US, China, Japan, the ROK, Hong Kong-China, Malaysia, and Singapore, are among Vietnam's top 10 export markets. Over the first eight months of this year, the export value of aquatic and fishery prod- ucts to the ROK reached over $475 million, an increase of 27 percent compared to the same period last year. As Vietnam's traditional seafood export markets are increasingly demanding, the ROK market appears to be more open to Vietnamese exporters. FINANCE Nha Trang Seafood-F17 JSC said that over the first half of this year, the company's ex- port value to the ROK hit $20 million out of a total $95 million gained from overseas exports. F17 employs about 2,000 workers. Its net revenue in 2016 reached VND1.107 trillion (US$48.77 million), up 37.9 percent on-year. "The ROK continues to be a key market for the company's strategy to increase its ex- ports in the 2017-2018 period and the next few years," the representative of F17 said. http://english.vov.vn/economy/exports-to-apec-a-golden-opportunity-360827.vov

Bright prospect for tea 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV exports in final Vietnam is the world's seventh largest producer of tea, and the fifth biggest exporter. quarter 124,000 hectares are cultivated, harvested and the crops send to 500 processing facili- ties throughout the country eventually producing 500,000 tonnes of dried tea each year. It is forecast that increasing global demand will help spur Vietnam's tea exports in the remaining months of this year. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam earned $164 million from exporting 103,000 tonnes of tea during the nine-month period, up 12 percent in volume and 11.2 percent in value against the same period last year. The three biggest importers of Vietnamese tea were Pakistan, Taiwan (China) and Rus- sia, accounting for 51.5 percent of Vietnam's total tea export value in the first eight months of this year. Pakistan is the biggest importer of Vietnamese tea products, which just made up 2.2 percent of its total imports. Furthermore, exports to the country dropped in both volume and value last year and in eight months of this year. The decline was attributable to limited types of products (mainly black tea, green tea and tea materials), the low quality of the products and generally unattractive designs and poor branding, resulting in a lack of competitiveness in the Pakistani market. Despite being the seventh biggest tea exporters in the world, Vietnamese tea products are primarily exported to easy markets, that is to say markets with lower product qual- ity demands. Not many products are produced in Vietnam which meet the stringent export stand- ards set by demanding markets like the US and the EU. That's why the country's tea exports just make up a small proportion of the global pur- chasing power. Prospects for remaining months According to market research, the global tea market was valued at $24.3 billion last year and is forecast to hit $37.5 billion by 2025 with an annual average growth rate of 5 percent in the eight years 2017-2025. This sharp boost in value is largely thanks to a wider awareness of the health benefits

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associated with drinking tea, as well as lifestyle changes worldwide. However, excessively hot weather reduces the tea output of big producers and export- ers like Kenya and India, leading to the shortage of global supply. Sri Lanka, the world's leading tea exporter was seriously affected by recent devastat- ing floods, which halt exports from the island nation. This will leave a sizeable gap in the market; one that Vietnamese tea is expected to fill. The shortage of global supply will also push up the export price of Vietnamese tea, bringing an added short term bonus to Vietnamese tea producers. Despite this advantage, the Vietnamese tea industry still has to contend with a number of difficulties. There are no products of sufficient quality penetrate the demanding markets com- bined with the other challenges such as high production costs, poor processing tech- nology, low quality standards, and the weak branding of Vietnamese producers and it is clear to see that the industry has plenty of room to improve. Planting and processing procedures have not been followed closely, resulting in low FINANCE quality products. The situation is not helped by the fiercely competitive nature of producers who, de- spite enjoying tax incentives, are withstanding pressures from technical barriers, par- ticularly in terms of food hygiene and safety. In order for the tea industry to develop into a competitive global force and be able to export to demanding markets, changes have to be made from the ground up. Suggested changes are wide ranging, from encouraging planters to join higher quality, sustainable supply chains to businesses improving their product designs and brand- ing. If Vietnamese tea is ever to penetrate the highly lucrative markets of the US and the EU, significant improvements will need to be made. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/188714/bright-prospect-for-tea-exports-in- final-quarter.html

Vietnam earned $154.3 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS billion from exports The country's total import-export turnover in the first nine months of the year reached more than $308.3 billion, posting a 21.3 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the general Department of Customs. The export turnover in the period between January and September posted a 19.8 per cent rise to $154.3 billion, compared with the same period last year. The exports of 10 key staples brought over $111 billion out of the total turnover. Phones and spare parts took the lead with an export turnover of $31.54 billion, fol- lowed by garment and textiles with $19.21 billion, and computer and electronics spare parts with $18.54 billion. The shoe sector earned $10.64 billion from exports in the nine months, while machines earned $9.31 billion, and seafood brought in $5.99 billion. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has forecast that the exports of the 10 key products would be positive in the end of the year months. For example, the exports of phones and spare parts would continue to grow, as the world's large producers were investing in Vietnam leading to stable production. The export of computers and electronics products in the first nine months of the year rose by 40 per cent from the same period last year, because businesses in the industry have expanded their market shares to other countries and territories, such as South Ko- rea, Asean, Canada, China, Taiwan and Russia. Exports to traditional markets, includ- ing the United States and Japan have been stable. The products are expected to grow further in new markets, especially, in small ones that do not have famous brand names. http://bizhub.vn/news/viet-nam-earned-us1543 billion-from-exports_289626.html

Exports of top 10 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV commodity groups Exports of ten key groups of products made up over $111 billion out of the two coun- surpass $111 billion try's total export value of $154.3 billion in the first three quarters of this year, according

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to the general Department of Vietnam Customs. Telephones and components topped among export products with $31.54 billion, trailed by garment (US$19.21 billion), computers, electronics and components (US$18.54 billion), footwear (US$10.64 billion), machines, equipment and tools (US$9.31 billion), seafood (US$5.99 billion), wood and timber products (US$5.54 bil- lion), means of transport and tools (US$5.1 billion), fibres (US$2.63 billion) and fruit and vegetables (US$2.63 billion). The Ministry of Industry and Trade forecast a bright prospect for export growth of the ten commodity groups in the near future. Telephone and component exports will con- tinue to grow as world manufacturers are operating stably in Vietnam. Exports of computers, electronics and components rose by 40 percent in the period and continue to increase in the next months as businesses have successfully expanding markets and boosting exports to regional countries including the Republic of Korea, Canada, China, Taiwan and Russia and maintaining growth in traditional markets such as the US, Japan and China. These products have also many opportunities to con- FINANCE quer new markets, especially small markets where famous brands do not exist. http://english.vov.vn/trade/exports-of-top-10-commodity-groups-surpass-us111 bil- lion-360736.vov

Vietnam earns $5.1 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES billion from auto parts Vietnam earned $5.1 billion from exports of auto parts and accessories this year to exports date, growing 16 percent over the same period last year, and gaining a trade surplus in the industry, according to data of the general Department of Vietnam Customs. The country is increasingly exporting automobile parts to many countries with ad- vanced automotive industry such as the US, Japan and Thailand, according to the cus- toms data. The report showed that Japan spent $1.56 billion buying autos and auto parts from Vi- etnam in January-September, up 13.2 percent year-on-year, while the US spent $865 million and Thailand $245 million on such imports from Vietnam, increasing 52 per- cent and 2.1 percent year-on-year respectively. Such data shows that Vietnam also has auto parts producers taking part in global sup- ply chains. However, most of the products have been manufactured by foreign-invest- ed firms, said analysts. The country has spent big on auto and auto parts imports but the export revenue from the products was even higher than the import turnover in the period. As Vietnam exported $5.1 billion worth of autos and auto parts in the first nine months of the year, the country spent $3.83 billion on auto and auto part imports in the nine- month period, down 12.4 percent versus the year-ago period. The import figure is fore- cast to continue going down in the remaining three months of the year. According to the Institute for Industrial Policy and Strategy, despite a large importer of autos and auto parts, Vietnam has also shipped an equivalent volume of auto parts and accessories to other countries. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56668/Vietnam-earns-US$51 billion-from-auto- parts-exports.html

US gains second 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES largest tax sum from Total tax collections by the US from Vietnamese exporters take the second position af- Vietnam exporters ter China although Vietnam ranks 12th among the largest suppliers of commodities to the world's largest economy, an American expert said yesterday. Nate Herman, senior vice president of supply chain at the American Apparel and Footwear Association, told an international seminar on product safety and compliance issues in HCM City yesterday that Vietnamese exporters had paid more than $2.2 bil- lion in duties in the year to August. During this period, Vietnam exported goods worth over $30.16 billion to the US, accounting for a mere 1.99 percent of America's total im- ports. Therefore, Vietnam ranks second, behind only China among 15 countries paying the

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highest import tax amounts in the US According to the vice president, the amount of import duties from Vietnam made up 10.11 percent of the US's import tax revenue in the eight-month period. He suggested Vietnamese exporters are losing their competitiveness compared to their rivals in other countries and territories in the same period, due to exorbitant tariffs. In particular, developed countries like Canada, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom and France fetched higher export revenues than Vietnam in the US market, but paid much smaller tax sums due to lower rates. For example, Japan shipped goods worth over $89.2 billion to the US and took the fourth place in export earnings but merely paid around $1.56 billion in taxes. He added textile and garment products take the lead in Vietnam's exports stateside in terms of revenue, though the Southeast Asian nation is at a disadvantage, as the US has pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. However, the sector still has competitive advantages. He forecast the export growth rate of commodities from Vietnam to the US will out- FINANCE strip the rates of its competitors, even if Vietnam does not benefit from any trade in- centive programmes and free trade agreements. Jon Fee, senior counsel at Alston & Bird LLP, said Vietnam had seen respective rises of 8.74 percent and 11.83 percent in shipping apparel and footwear to the US in the 12 months to 31 August. Behind China, Vietnam is the US's second largest provider of these products, he noted, adding that American retailers and consumers are aware of Vietnam's plus points in terms of quality, price and delivery commitment. Other US experts said at the seminar that Vietnam will face more difficulties in ship- ping goods to the US as the current administration is tightening regulations and stand- ards over the safety of imported products in a bid to reduce America's trade deficit. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56663/US-gains-second-largest-tax-sum-from-Viet- nam-exporters.html

China intensifies 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA import of Vietnamese China has allowed Vietnamese agricultural and aquatic products to be exported farm produce through Mong Cai border gate in the northern province of Quang Ninh, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The ministry requested Mong Cai city to get well-prepared to facilitate exports of the products to China. The ministry said it will invite leading Chinese enterprises involved in agricultural and aquatic products to visit mango orchards in the southern province of An Giang and dragon fruit orchards in central provinces in late October. Trade between Vietnam and China reached 71.9 billion USD in 2016, a rise of 7.9 per- cent from the previous year. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/china-intensifies-import-of-vietnamese-farm-produce/ 119808.vnp

Vietnam spends over 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| TIEN PHONG $1.6b on importing In the first half of October, Vietnam imported the total value of goods worth over $8.2 automobiles billion. Of which, the items with the highest import value include computers, electron- ic products and components ($1.4 billion); machinery, equipment and other compo- nents ($1.2 billion); telephones and components ($846 million); fabrics ($445 million); iron and steel ($381 million); petrol ($284 million), according to the statistics of the gen- eral Department of Customs. Notably, Vietnam automobile market continues showing gloomy signs when in the first 15 days of October, there were only 2,511 cars of all kinds imported, with a total value of $61 million, of which, there were only 526 nine-seat cars and less, 25 more than nine-seat cars and 1,595 trucks. Cumulatively, since the beginning of the year till October 15, Vietnam spent more than $1.6 billion to import 74,112 completely knocked down cars (CBD), of which, nine-seat

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cars and less reckoned for 34,098 units; more than nine-seat cars had 516 units and trucks had 31,053 units. Earlier, as per the statistics of the general Department of Customs, Thailand again sur- passed Indonesia to lead car import market. Statistics show that in September, Thai- land exported 2,765 automobiles to Vietnam with the average value of about 433 million dong per unit. China ranked the second with 1,100 cars exported to Vietnam with the average value of about 861 million dong per unit. Notably, in September, no French car was imported to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Cambo- dia suddenly had two cars imported to Vietnam. Generally, in January-September, Thailand still led exported auto market with 26,599 units, Indonesia ranked the second with 15,860 units, followed by South Korea and China.

Petroleum supply 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET

FINANCE expected to be No longer solely dependent on imports, Vietnam now can make petroleum products plentiful from 2018 to satisfy domestic demand at its local oil refineries. It is estimated that, due to economic growth in the next five years, the total petroleum demand in Vietnam would be 6.5 million tonnes and 8.5 million tonnes of DO. Vietnam has one operating oil refinery, Dung Quat, which can churn out 2.746 million tonnes of petrol and 3.068 million tonnes of DO. The investor is planning to expand the oil refinery to raise the capacity from 6.5 million tonnes of crude oil to 8.5 million tonnes. The expansion is scheduled to be completed by 2021. The second largest source of petroleum supply is Nghi Son Refinery which will be put into commercial operation in 2018. With designed capacity of 10 million tonnes of crude oil a year, it can provide 2.3 million tonnes of petrol and 3.7 million tonnes of DO. The condensate plants PV Oil Phu My, Sai Gon Petro, Nam Viet Oil and Dong Phuong can provide 690,000 tonnes of petrol a year. From 2018, the total petroleum supply from the two largest oil refineries in Vietnam would be 6 million tonnes of petrol and 7 million tonnes of DO, equal to 92 percent and 82 percent, respectively, of domestic demand. Vietnam will import 0.8 million tonnes of petrol and 1.8 million tonnes of DO from re- gional countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and China. The use of domestically made petroleum products will bring benefits to both distribu- tors and consumers. The products that BSR (Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company), the operator of Dung Quat, is providing have great competitive advantag- es compared with imports. Petroleum distributors will not have to worry about exchange rate fluctuations if they distribute Dung Quat's products (when importing products, they have to make pay- ment in US dollars). They also can ask for flexible deliveries, and shorten the time for transportation and procedures. And they do not have to pay import tax. To boost sales, BSR plans to sell products at the storehouses it rents, especially in the south, apply different delivery forms and increase transport by land, according to BSR's general director Tran Ngoc Nguyen. A report from the Vietnam Oil and Gas Institute shows that BSR's petroleum products have better quality than the Vietnamese standards. According to Vietnamese standards, the maximum sulfur content of petrol is 500 parts per million but BSR petrol has sulfur content at 30-135 per millionths, lower than the required 500 per millionths. Vietnam's standard allows up to 2.5 percent of benzene and aroma in petrol, with the content of benzene in BSR petrol 1.15 -1.46 percent. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/188429/petroleum-supply-expected-to-be- plentiful-from-2018.html

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Petrol price falls 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA slightly The prices of RON 92 petrol and bio-fuel E5 fell by 124 VND and 97 VND per litre, re- spectively, as from 4:55 pm on October 20. Following a joint decision by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, the prices of diesel 0.05S and kerosene dropped by 434 VND and 104 VND per litre. Under the joint decision, RON 92 and E5 are sold at no more than 17,875 VND (0.78 USD) and 17,634 VND (0.77 USD) per litre, while the ceiling prices of diesel 0.005S and kerosene are 14,410 VND (0.63 USD) and 12,999 VND (0.57 USD) per litre. This is the 20th adjustment of fuel prices this year, with nine falls, seven increases and two times unchanged. The ministries said the global price of RON 92 during the last 15 days to October 20 was 66.983 USD per barrel, while that of diesel 0.05S was 68.142 USD per barrel. They also decided to keep using the price stabilisation fund for RON 92 at 130 VND

FINANCE per litre, and for E5 biofuel remained at 110 VND per litre. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/petrol-price-falls-slightly/119828.vnp

Salt price doubles, 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS middlemen benefit The price of salt has risen this year but middlemen, rather than farmers, have benefit- ed. According to Bac Lieu Province's Agriculture and Rural Developemt Department, the price of salt has doubled in comparison with early this year. However, farmers are not enjoying profits from the price increase because 43,000 tonnes of salt are being kept at dealers' stores. Nguyen Van Khoi, a salt maker in Dien Hai Commune, Dong Hai District said: "Deal- ers bought all the salt right after harvesting. We have recognised that they bought at a lower price than the market, but we needed money to live and had nowhere to keep the salt." The price gap is estimated at around 30 per cent. There are few salt makers who have a big enough storage and enough money to be able to keep their salt after harvesting. Most produce on a small plot of land, have no place to store salt and therefor often have to accept a low price offered by the dealers. The price of salt fluctuates and is often not enough for the farmers to live on. Many households have to do other jobs besides making salt. Nguyen Truong Han, head of the Dong Hai District's Agriculture and Rural Develop- ment Sub-department explained that the salt price has increased because Bac Lieu Province decided to reduce the salt making area. "Only dealers benefit from the price hike," he said. The price hike also happened in the southern province of Ninh Thuan, the biggest salt maker in the region with 3,600ha in cultivation. For the last few months, unusual rains have reduced the supply of salt and increased the price. Dealers who recognised the situation bought at a low price and now earn a big profit. In Ninh Thuan, salt makers can produce 50 tonnes for each hectare if the weather is favourable. http://bizhub.vn/news/salt-price-doubles-middlemen-benefit_289624.html

Pork prices set to rise 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA as end of the year As the number of pig breeding households continues to drop, a shortage of live pigs supply dwindles could result in high pork prices later this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The ministry estimates that pig herd numbers have declined by 10 percent year-on- year as of September this year. Pork production in the third quarter was 522,000 tonnes, down 2.3 percent compared with the previous year. The situation has resulted out of a long-term plunge in pork prices. The foot-and- mouth disease outbreak in a number of northern provinces was also a reason for many

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farmers deciding to stop breeding pigs. According to the MARD's Department of Livestock Production, pig farmers are also not interested in expanding their pig herds due to unstable pork prices. The department estimates that the number of pig breeding households is predicted to reduce by a third, or between 800,000 and 900,000 by the end of this year. After nearly 4,000 pigs were found injected with sedatives at the Xuyen A Slaughter House Complex in HCM City recently, pork prices fell to VND25,000-27,000 (about $1.1) per kilo in Dong Nai, he said. A similar situation has happened in pig farming areas in Hanoi, with many house- holds going bankrupt or shifting to other businesses. Tran Van Minh, a breeder in the capital city's outlying Dan Phuong district, is among them. He was among the bigger breeders in the district, but his farm stands empty now. Over the past two years, the household business has operated at a loss as pork prices con- tinued to fall. They even sold valuable property to continue investing in pig farming. FINANCE Now they are bankrupt and hundreds of millions of ng in debt, owing money they spent on feed, veterinary medicines and other things. "We've lost everything. We are too old to be employed by companies so we look for- ward to receiving assistance from the government," Minh said. Nguyen Kim Doan, vice chair of Dong Nai Poultry Association, warned that the high number of households quitting pig breeding would result in rising unemployment in rural areas, with most of the people affected being those too old to work in companies or enterprises, and incapable of doing hard work. "About 40 percent of small scale big breeders, amounting to tens of thousands of households, have gone bankrupt. This has created difficulties for local authorities in generating employment and in ensuring social security and order," Doan told the Nong thon ngay nay (Countryside Today) newspaper. Nguyen Duc Trong, deputy director of Department of Livestock Production, said they haven't got the exact number of households who've quit pig breeding or correct figures from big businesses like the CP (Charoen Pokphand) Group that have large number of sows and pig herds. He said it was normal that prices go up and down in livestock breeding sector. For example, pork prices increased constantly from 2011 to early 2016. There was a time it reached VND52,000 (US$2.3) per kilo. The prices started dropping from the end of last year, he said, adding that it has affected a lot of farmers. "I assume that the pork prices will increase from now until the end of the year if the number of pigs herds keeps dropping. However, the increase will not be as steep or sudden as before," said Trong. Several breeders have turned to exports because of low consumption and prices in the domestic market. Trong said the ministry would try its best to create favourable con- ditions for exporters. "At present, we export about 40,000 tonnes of pork per year, via eight enterprises from Hai Duong province and Hai Phong city." "The ministry plans to establish disease-free zones to reduce production costs and fa- cilitate pork export to markets like Europe. This is an urgent matter so the ministry is determined to do this," he said. http://english.vov.vn/economy/pork-prices-set-to-rise-as-yearend-supply-dwindles- 360742.vov

Automobile 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET manufacturers are Ministries have been proposing many solutions to develop the automobile industry, anxious for new but no official decision has been made. government policies HTCV, a joint venture between Thanh Cong Group and Hyundai Motor, presented it- self before the public some days ago. The company will manufacture, assemble and distribute Hyundai commercial vehicles with capacity of 12,000 passenger vehicles and buses and 30,000 trucks a year.

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HTCV's factory is located in the large-scale automobile manufacturing complex in Ninh Binh province. Not only Thanh Cong, but Truong Hai Auto has also taken steps to expand production and assembling of cars. The largest Vietnamese-invested auto enterprise has nearly completed a factory to make Mazda cars. It has the capacity of 100,000 products a year, slated for March 2018. Most recently, VinGroup, a real estate developer, started construction of an automo- bile factory in Hai Phong City. The factory, once operational, will make Vinfast cars with the capacity of 500,000 products a year. While Vietnamese enterprises are moving ahead with investment activities to scale up production, foreign invested enterprises will not make any move at this moment. Workers at the enterprises said they don't know if the assembly factories will keep working in the future as they have heard that the enterprises will import cars instead of assembling cars in Vietnam. An MOIT (Ministry of Industry and Trade) report on the status of the automobile in- FINANCE dustry in Vietnam showed that the localisation ratio of cars with up to nine seats is 7- 10 percent only, much lower than the 65-70 percent in other regional countries. The ra- tio is 80 percent in Thailand. It is estimated that 80-90 percent of major materials for making car parts must come from imports. Pham Van Tai, deputy CEO of Truong Hai Auto, said Vietnamese automobile manu- facturers are facing big difficulties. "To successfully localise production, the output needs to be large enough. In order to have output, manufacturers need to lower the selling price to boost sales. However, they can only lower the selling price if they have a high localisation ratio. And to have high localisation ratio, the output needs to be high enough," he said. "This is a vicious circle," he said, adding that the development of Vietnam's automobile industry not only depends on manufacturers but also on the state's policies. Sources said that new tax policies have been drafted and put on the table of appropri- ate agencies. However, there is no new policy to date, three months before January 1, 2018, when Vietnam has to cut the import tariff to zero percent. The decree stipulating conditions for manufacturing and assembling cars has not been issued, though it was initially planned to take effect in July 2017. http://english.vov.vn/economy/automobile-manufacturers-are-anxious-for-new- govt-policies-360829.vov

Science for economic 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES development In developed countries, science has innovated strongly. In other words, economic growth is closely connected to scientific and technological advances. Therefore, Viet- nam which hosts the 21st Annual Conference of the Asian Science Parks Association (ASPA the 211st) has chosen the topic "Science Parks in Empowering Growth Quality and Competitiveness of National Economy." The Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) is organising the conference from October 19th to 21st. As many as 400 delegates, including 90 from 11 countries and territories such as Japan, South Korea, Iran, Turkey, the United States, Russia, Bhutan, Taiwan, Singa- pore and Malaysia, are attending the event. The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Bank, or Agribank, is the sponsor of the event. The conference features 28 speeches, with five presentations at the plenary session and the remainder at the parallel sessions, which are delivered by local and international speakers, according to the organiser. SHTP is to discuss five key topics science parks in life science and technology devel- opment towards better quality of life; Asian science parks: opportunities for develop- ment cooperation; venture capital for startups in science parks; Internet of Things in science parks: a new smart city model; and usage of renewable energy for sustainable development and environmental protection. Associate Professor Dr Le Hoai Quoc, head of the Saigon High-Tech Park Management

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Board, says ASPA the 21st is an opportunity to learn about various models and brand- new organisations of science parks and cities in Asia. The conference is also a chance to inform international guests of the city's efforts in the development of science and high technology to improve the quality of growth and the competitiveness of the na- tional economy towards a modern, industrialised and knowledge-based model, and promote the domestic development and application of high technology. Therefore, ASPA the 21st opens up an opportunity for Vietnamese managers, scien- tists and academics to gain hands-on experience in the growth of high technology. It also showcases the vision of city leaders in developing science and technology, and stages an event for the scientific and technological community at home and abroad. Within the framework of the conference, SHTP is expected to strike cooperation and investment promotion deals with science parks in Japan and South Korea, among oth- ers. The move is to partly promote the growth of the scientific and technological sec- tors in HCM City and Vietnam as a whole. Notably, the conference introduces typical images and products of the host and ASPA FINANCE members to the international hi-tech business community. Foreign participants can learn more about the culture and history of the city, and visit some hi-tech companies at SHTP. In parallel with the annual conference, there is a meeting of the ASPA Management Board which aims to review ASPA's one-year activities and set out new goals for the coming years. Besides, ASPA members appoint a new vice chairperson, vote for annu- al awards for those engaging in outstanding activities, and select a new host of the 22nd ASPA conference which will take place next year. This is not the first time HCM City has hosted an ASPA conference. In 2012, the city held the 16th ASPA conference which paid special attention to science towards sus- tainable and value-added production technology, and introduced environmentally- friendly hi-tech product models. Vietnam has three ASPA members, namely the Sai- gon Hi-Tech Park, the Danang Hi-Tech Park and the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park. Apart from the ASPA conference, SHTP will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its es- tablishment later this month. This is an important milestone in the park's development process. The event is slated for October 29 at the labour culture house of the park. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56671/Science-for-economic-development.html

BT projects awash 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES with loopholes for Projects developed in the build-transfer (BT) format have nourished interest groups interest groups and led to corruption, heard a conference held by the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) in Hanoi on October 19. According to SAV auditor general Ho Duc Phoc, BT projects are easily abused by in- terest groups to make huge gains and occupy a lot of land at low cost. BT projects are funded and carried out by private investors in exchange for public land. Phoc said awarding no-bid contracts for private investors is the norm in most BT projects. But many of these investors are financially and professionally weak, so their projects often fall behind schedule, leading to cost overruns. Deputy director of the Auditing Training Institute Nguyen Dinh Hoa said there are currently no thorough reports on BT projects and their efficiency in Vietnam. The Ministry of Transport currently oversees only four BT projects worth more than VND16 trillion (US$704 million), with two of them in the maritime sector. Meanwhile, there are numerous BT projects under the jurisdiction of municipal or provincial gov- ernments. According to a report of the Hanoi People's Committee, 16 BT projects that had been carried out in the city prior to 2015 had total investments of nearly VND28.9 trillion. Data of the government Inspectorate shows that there had been 63 BT projects in Hanoi as of 2012. The number of BT projects developed in the city since 2014 is 24. Le Huy Trong, chief auditor of the Specialised Audit Department No V, said some in- effective BT projects include the Hanoi Museum and the Yen So sewage treatment plant.

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Citing Yen So sewage treatment plant project as an example, he said the project should have been developed in the traditional way whereby land is auctioned and proceeds are used to fund the plant. The legal system for BT projects is still incomplete, with lots of loopholes. Besides, BOT projects are developed by private investors without effective supervision and management of governmental agencies. Information about the projects is not transparent, especially about approval process, investor selection, construction progress and land. According to Trong, land value accounts for less than 50 percent of the investment of BT projects, and the remainder comes from the State budget or G-bonds. "We should put up land for auction in BT projects to make them more effective," Trong said. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56672/BT-projects-awash-with-loopholes-for-inter- est-groups.html FINANCE Govt: ICT market 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES holds high growth The government has urged ministries to create a favourable environment for business- potential es investing in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, saying the market holds high growth potential, heard an ICT investment forum on October 18. Speaking at the Vietnam ICT Investment Forum 2017 (VIF 2017), deputy prime minis- ter Vu Duc Dam said Vietnam is in the stage of golden population with over 90 million people, of them more than 60 percent under 35 years old. There are 52 out of 100 Viet- namese having access to the Internet. Dam said Vietnam's ICT sector has huge development potential as global ICT revenue accounts for 8 percent of the total retail revenue compared to a mere 3 percent in Viet- nam. At present, the country has about 600,000 enterprises, but only 4 percent of them are active in ICT businesses. "Although there are not many ICT firms in Vietnam, investment in ICT would benefit other sectors and contribute to the development of the entire economy," Dam said. According to Dam, the government has asked ministries to review ICT regulations to support enterprises that invest in ICT and allow them to use ICT infrastructure for business expansion. The government has asked the Ministries of Information-Communications, Education- Training, and Labour-Invalids-Social Affairs to take drastic steps to develop human re- sources in the sector. Recently, many associations have teamed up with these minis- tries to build special ICT training programmes to supply manpower for enterprises, Dam said. Deputy PM Dam said he expected that after VIF 2017, there would be more ICT projects in Vietnam, especially in hardware and software production, and information technology application. Vietnam has been an attractive destination for foreign ICT investors. In 2016, the ICT sector generated total value of $67.7 billion, with exports hitting nearly $60.8 billion, with foreign-invested firms accounting for the bulk. At the forum, minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said that apart from promoting investment in Vietnam's ICT sector, the ministry will pro- mote cooperation in ICT development with Asean countries in the near future and as- sist domestic ICT companies in investing in foreign countries. Themed "Investment in the Digital Economy Transformation", VIF 2017 focused on recommendations for policies that facilitate the sustainable ICT development, calling for more investment in ICT, and connecting foreign investors and corporations with local businesses and startups. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56653/Govt-ICT-market-holds-high-growth-poten- tial.html

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As quick as they can 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES With just a few simple steps on a computer or smartphone, Pham Huong Lan, the own- er of a sportswear shop in HCM City's District 1, is able to arrange delivery of her prod- ucts to customers within a day. She downloaded a delivery app on her smartphone and it's proven to be very useful for her shop. Each order in the inner city costs just VND10,000-VND30,000 ($0.4-$1.3) for shipping to customers. "Our clients are ready to pay the extra because it's conven- ient and saves time," she said. Booming market Lan joins thousands of online shoppers in benefiting from rapidly-growing express de- livery services in Vietnam. Customer confidence is commonly regarded as the greatest obstacle facing e-commerce businesses but has also become a "precious" asset these businesses are keen to acquire. "Vietnamese people appreciate the importance of speedy goods delivery, especially

FINANCE those in major cities," Nguyen Tran Thi, Co-founder and CEO of Giao Hang Nhanh, told VET. Domestic and foreign businesses who can deliver faster and have better service quality, he said, will win the trust of customers. According to a recent report from Euromonitor, e-commerce revenue in Vietnam is ex- pected to reach $2.86 billion by 2020 and the scale of its e-commerce market may in- crease seven-fold by that time. Online retailers need high quality logistics and transportation solutions to expand their operations. "E-commerce booming presents a great opportunity for forwarding businesses in gen- eral and fast shipping in particular," said Thi. Vietnam has a young population and a high proportion of people using smartphones and the internet. There were more than 23 million "Connected Spenders", who have the ability to access the internet and are willing to spend their discretionary income, in Vietnam in 2016, according to Nielsen Vietnam's latest study, and that number is ex- pected to nearly double to 40 million in 2025. More sizeable, their spending will also rise, from $50 billion annually to $99 billion over the same time period and, by 2025, they are expected to account for half of all con- sumer spending. Meanwhile, "Vietnam's e-commerce market has huge and relatively untapped poten- tial for local retailers, e-tailers, and marketplaces," said Charles Brewer, CEO of DHL eCommerce. "In 2016, total e-commerce spending hit $1 billion despite barely over 50 per cent of the population being online. With e-commerce spending expected to grow at around 23 per cent per year between now and 2020, local e-tailers need scalable, high quality logistics solutions with nation- wide coverage more than ever before." Figures from the Vietnam E-commerce Association (Vecom) show that e-commerce shoppers paying online in 2016 accounted for only around 8-15 per cent of sales, while cash-on-delivery (COD) was 85-90 per cent. "This makes COD a must-have feature for e-commerce to succeed," said Thomas Har- ris, Managing director of DHL eCommerce Vietnam. "That, combined with concerns about the hassle of returns and refunds, has made growth an uphill battle for many lo- cal e-tailers." Major players Express delivery has become a gold mine for logistics enterprises and a range of global giants along with local startups jumping into the market has triggered fierce competi- tion. DHL eCommerce, a division of the world's leading logistics company, Deutsche Post DHL Group, launched nationwide domestic B2C delivery operations in mid-July in HCM City. It offers domestic delivery nationwide around the country, managed by hubs and de- pots strategically located throughout the country. It supports next-day delivery in HCM City, Hanoi, and other primary markets. At the same time, Yamato 365 Express, a joint venture between Yamato Holdings, one

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of Japan's largest door-to-door delivery service companies, and Vietnam's 365 Express, last month announced the launch of its flagship temperature-controlled service in Vi- etnam. Masaki Yamauchi, President of the Tokyo-based Yamato Holdings, said it will start offering refrigerated delivery services in the country, first working with restau- rants and other businesses before moving on to consumers. "Vietnam's growth rate of over 6 per cent makes the country a particularly attractive market," he told the launch ceremony in HCM City. Dinh Vinh Cuong from Yamato 365 Express told VET that the joint venture was cre- ated to provide freight and other optimal services to individual and business custom- ers. "Demand for cold supply in Vietnam is quite high and ranks seventh in the world," he said. "Loss rates are at 25-30 per cent, however, mainly due to the transportation of cold transfer in Vietnam remaining limited." As one of the leading companies in the forwarding market, Giao Hang Nhanh is plan- ning to increase its market share to 16-17 per cent with 2,000 forwarders over the next two years. FINANCE The company now has 86 freight stations, covering major cities nationwide and with a "compensation regardless of reason" policy attracting customers. "Giao Hang Nhanh is trying to take advantage of market opportunities to develop and complete our serv- ices," Thi said. Yamato 365 Express and Giao Hang Nhanh are just two of many enterprises now in- volved in Vietnam's rapid shipping market, which has boomed in line with the popu- larity of e-commerce. Startups such as ShipS, Giao Hang Gia Re, Ninja Van, and Bagasus are also players of note, and many large companies in different sectors are also trying to enter the market. The rapid delivery market, which had just five or six players in 2013, now has more than 60, from small- to large-size. Thanks to the potential, every business has its own development strategy to gain mar- ket share. Viettel Post is trying to increase its share, with the goal of becoming a leading delivery company in Vietnam. It has 860 post offices and 1,200 transaction points, cov- ering all communes and districts around the country, and opens a new post office eve- ry day on average. To improve delivery capacity, it has invested in more than 80 new vehicles of all types, bringing its total to more than 500, enabling it to execute large domestic and interna- tional contracts. Along with expansions in HCM City and northern Phu Tho province, Viettel Post will have nine key centers and four other centers in the major cities and provinces of Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, and Nghe An, as well as more than 60 small branches around the country. A survey by US market researchers Temando found that more than 80 per cent of cus- tomers hope for delivery within a day, with 61 per cent hoping for even faster delivery. "We are now promoting the application of science and technology in management and operations, which helps us cut costs by 10-12 per cent," said Thi. "We are also investing in more technology, with the AhaMove app, to help our customers access faster deliv- ery services." According to Nguyen Thai Son, CEO of Tiki.vn, the biggest difficulties for e-com- merce businesses are technology, warehousing, and human resources. "Delivery serv- ices should be both fast and at a reasonable price, as this would help enterprises gain sufficient capacity to compete," he said. "To resolve the issue, Tiki is renovating its technology and using algorithms to precise- ly forecast customer demand." Harris understand that express delivery and COD are the main factors in determining the success or otherwise of forwarding companies. "We recognise that having a fast and reliable delivery service won't solve all issues, which is why we've tailored our nationwide network to seamlessly handle cash pay- ments with next day cash remittance and returns, to take the burden off local e-tailers so they can fully focus on growth and customer experience," he explained. One shipping startup said that with a population of about 8 million people, as in HCM

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City, securing just 10 per cent of transport demand would result in a profit. In order to secure their fair share, businesses are concentrating on delivery speed and complete services. The country's largest ride-hailing network, Grab, has offered Grab Express in HCM City since 2015, with prices of VND15,000 ($0.6) for the first five km in the inner city and delivery within the hour. Most online retail platforms offer free delivery when customers buy above a certain minimum price as part of their competition strategy. For example, Tiki has free deliv- ery for purchases of more than VND150,000 ($6), while Lazada Express began a pilot last year on free delivery nationwide, as a step towards providing customers with eas- ier access to online shopping. Yamato 365 Express, meanwhile, revealed that it will focus for the time being on cus- tomers who have demand for cold storage. Its "Cool Ta K Bin" service is of Japanese standard and been used in many countries around the world. "Yamato 365 Express will register for PAS standards (the highest in cold services) and apply them in Viet- nam," Cuong said. The company is also preparing to launch a special service dedicat- FINANCE ed to e-commerce, called giaohangthutien.com. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/188787/as-quick-as-they-can.html

International energy 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR currents Energy is one of the sectors in Vietnam receiving significant attention from foreign in- vestors. Mark Edmunds, Asia Pacific Oil and Gas leader and Southeast Asia Energy and Resources head at Deloitte, speaks with VIR's Hong Quang about the opportuni- ties for foreign investors in this sector. What segments of Vietnam's oil and gas sector are attracting foreign investors up- stream, downstream, or retail? Many foreign investors are interested in such segments as oil, natural gas, and infra- structure projects. Those who have strengths in utilising technologies, for instance in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, or know how to develop gas resources would be successful in the Vietnamese market. Deloitte's clients in Vietnam, many from Japan, the US, and the UK, see the potential of Vietnam and want to be part of the growth story. Some of them have invested a lot of capital in the upstream business, while others are very interested in the retail busi- nesses to be close to consumers. In today's digital world, organisations have access to large amounts of data that they can use to better understand their consumers. In the US, where credit cards are widely-used for payments, real-time data from their credit card purchases provides great insights into their spending habits. Some Vietnamese oil and gas companies are offering stakes to foreign investors. Are foreign investors interested in state divestments in this sector? I have shared with many US companies that if they want to do businesses in foreign countries they have never been to, they need a good partner they can trust, and build- ing that trust takes a long time. Trust is not about money, it is about building a connection and understanding the business, who they are and whether both parties can work together as partners. One way to build trust is to work together on smaller deals first. It is important that a foreign company finds the right partner in order to succeed. Coal-fired power is the main source of electricity in Vietnam and will remain so for the foreseeable future. It is estimated that Vietnam needs $40 billion in capital to develop power sources and the national power grid between 2016 and 2030. Is coal the right choice for the country given its fast-rising power demand? I am not positive on coal. In 2006, when I took my first trip to China, I saw many bicy- cles in Beijing. However, three months ago when I returned to Beijing, I saw cars eve- rywhere and there is significant air pollution due to coal-fired electricity generation and steel production. The Chinese government is smart to know that the energy produced from coal-fired

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power is more affordable now than other energy sources, and it creates jobs. However, if they can reduce coal-fired power output to let's say 45 per cent from 55 per cent of total energy and replace it with renewable energies and natural gas-fired electricity generation, it would reduce the level of air pollution significantly. In the US state of California, with 40 million people living there, the state has moved away from using coal-fired electricity generation to natural gas-fired power genera- tion as part of their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Even the air in Los Angeles, with millions of cars on the roads each day, is much better than it was 20 years ago. I believe that the market share of natural gas compared to coal will increase in the next 10 years in Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and China. Vietnam is giving priority to the development of renewable energies. What are the op- portunities for foreign investments in this area? Renewable energies have been subsidised for years around the world, especially in the US and Germany. FINANCE There is a bright future in particular for solar energy because the costs of solar energy panels are going down. The use of solar energy is growing, but it will never account for 50 per cent of the total. As I know, Vietnam is looking to increase the total solar power output to 0.5 per cent of the national electricity generation in 2020 and to 3.3 per cent in 2030 under the coun- try's revised Power Development Plan VII. If Vietnam can increase the solar power output to 5-15 per cent, it will be good for the country and the government to focus on that. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/188487/international-energy-currents.html

Quang Ngai told to 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA identify strengths to The central province of Quang Ngai should specify its strong sectors and products so attract investment as to devise an appropriate investment attraction strategy, deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung said at the province's investment promotion conference on October 20. Quang Ngai attracted more than 88 investment projects with total registered capital of over 74 trillion VND (3.25 billion USD) between January and October this year. Six of the projects are foreign direct investments (FDI) worth 275 million USD. The 10-month project number rose by 37 while total investment capital surged 11 times from 2016. Provincial authorities reported that to achieve that outcome, they have created the best possible conditions for investors by issuing numerous preferential mechanisms and policies such as those relevant to land rental, site clearance, infrastructure, manpower training, and administrative procedures. Local officials said the province is situated in a strategic location which is part of the key central economic region. It boasts a synchronous infrastructure system, including Dung Quat deep-water seaport an important gateway for import and export activities that is able to handle 100,000-tonne vessels. Meanwhile, the Dung Quat Economic Zone, covering more than 45,000ha, is one of the five coastal economic zones receiving the government's prioritised treatment. The province has also established many other industrial parks, industrial clusters and craft villages with infrastructure meeting investors' demand, according to Quang Ngai authorities. Speaking at the conference, deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung applauded the province's ef- forts and achievements in socio-economic development and investment attraction. He noted certain difficulties facing Quang Ngai but also recognised its advantages and potential. He told provincial authorities to draw investment into the processing and manufacturing industries, particularly support, oil refinery and chemistry, metallurgy and energy sectors. Quang Ngai should develop sea-based economic activities, especially marine transporta- tion, seaport services, sea and island tourism, and fisheries. It is also necessary to develop hi-tech agriculture and develop farm-to-table chains for farm produce, Dung added.

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The deputy PM also underlined the need to enhance Quang Ngai's connectivity with nearby localities, especially Da Nang city, to devise development directions and poli- cies for each locality as well as the central region. By doing so, investors in Quang Ngai will benefit from advantages of not only this province but also the whole region. He asked for more efforts to develop infrastructure and human resources, step up sci- ence-technology application, enhance administrative reforms, and encourage start- ups. Deputy PM Dung also called on investors to adopt long-term business strategies and adhere to their commitments while investing in Quang Ngai. They should live up to their corporate environmental and social responsibility to ensure sustainable develop- ment. At the conference, the provincial People's Committee presented investment de- cisions for 14 projects, including a dairy cow farm, a trade and supermarket centre, a hi-tech organic agricultural chain, and a gas liquefaction plant. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/quang-ngai-told-to-identify-strengths-to-attract-invest- ment/119819.vnp FINANCE

HCM City inks 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS tourism deal with 3 A tourism package in the works will take tourists across Long An, Tien Giang and Mekong Delta Dong Thap provinces HCM City and the three Mekong Delta provinces of Long An, Tien Giang and Dong Thap have signed an agreement to develop a "one journey, three destinations" tourism package. The deal was signed on Saturday during a meeting among officials of the four admin- istrations in Dong Thap. The tourism route, which starts from HCM City and spans Long An, Tien Giang and Dong Thap, will take tourists through the most notable attractions at each stop. In Long An, tourists will have the chance to visit the Tan Lap floating village and a cen- tre for research and conservation of medicinal plants, while enjoying local dishes made from a signature kind of freshwater algae. The highlight of the tour's stop in Tien Giang will be a pagoda visit and a treat to a wide variety of locally grown tropical fruits. In Dong Thap, visitors will be taken to a unique archeological site as well as the Tram Chim National Park, home to more than 220 species of bird including the endangered red-crowned cranes, and enjoy drinks and dishes made from the lotus plant. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of HCM City's Department of Tourism, asserted that the city's coordination with tourism authorities in Long An, Tien Giang and Dong Thap was a concrete step toward the goal of offering city tourists immersive experiences of the countryside lifestyle through well-designed routes. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together," said Le minh Hoan, Party chief of Dong Thap, reciting a famous African proverb. https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20171022/ho-chi-minh-city-inks-tourism-deal- with-3-mekong-delta-provinces/42204.html

Sweden sees VN as 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS potential market for Sweden's wood materials industry sees Vietnam's wood processing industry as a po- its eco-friendly wood tential market for its eco-friendly, competitive and sustainable materials, speakers at a materials seminar said. "Sweden will be a potential source of additional materials for Vietnam, with the import value currently increasing," said Huynh Van Hanh, vice chair of the HCM City Hand- icraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA). Hanh spoke at a seminar held in the city's District 7 on Thursday as part of the 12th Vietnam International Woodworking Industry Fair at the Saigon Exhibition and Con- vention Centre (SECC) from October 18-21. About 50 Swedish sawmills suppliers, Vietnamese wood producers and many others attended the seminar. Pereric Hogberg, Sweden's Ambassador to Vietnam, said that Sweden's sustainable

Intellasia 23 October 2017 34 / 63 BUSINESS BUSINESS BIZ NEWS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam October, 2017 Business Briefs23 boost connectivity to seek enterprises Vietnamese, Turkish Intellasia ty/119789.vnp ofVND 1.09 trillion, up and 1.09trillion,up 3.56-fold 4.8-fo ofVND PDRJanuary-September, earned apre-ta from VND3.1 strongly in thequarter, surging Everichsale ofthebuoyed bythe Infinity inthethird quar 145 billion ofVND tax profit Develo Real Estate Corporation Dat * Phat in billion VND489 tween January and September, KDC report frozen foodsegmentaccountedfor24percen from twoleadingcooking oilenterprises sa the higher than times 4.6 of2017, quarter * KIDO Group Corporation (KDC)postedover Investment Corporation (MWG) to reduce its * CDHElectric Bee Limited has.registered to after-tax profit, up41 percent and 46perc looks tion. In2017, VND3.5 NLG to make VND20,000 to VND15,000 ing shareholdersat * NamLongInvestmentCorporation (NLG)pl 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| Turkey, theleadingtradepart Association (AKIB).Products Exporters' Turkey's City and in HCM (VCCI) chapter The eventwasjointlyorganisedbytheVi ticipation ofnineTurkishfi par- the with 19 October on City HCM in held was exchange trade Vietnam-Turkey A 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA wood-materials_289632.html http://bizhub.vn/news/sweden-sees-vn-as-p production needs. bi $1.7 Lastyear, billionby about $10 2020. billion $7 exports wereestimatedat Vietnam's materials, according toHanh. st growing is industry furniture Vietnam's the EU. ex key Its Asia. 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Itsrevenue kish-enterprises-seek ent versus the previousent versus yearrespectively. trillion in revenue billionin trillion inrevenue and VND503 pment (PDR) estimated that it made apre- that it made estimated pment (PDR) eadily, resulting in increased demand for demand increased in resulting eadily, llion ofwood materials for were imported wing wood processing industry,wood processing andtherewing ld year-on-year and meeting 57.5 percent 57.5 and meeting ld year-on-year me period last year, backed byearnings Mediterranean Furniture, Paper,Forest portChina, Japanand markets arethe US, ed over VND5trillion in revenue and tween economic wood production and re- woodproductiontween economic otential-market-for-its-eco-friendly- sawn wood, exports 13 million of total 18 total of wood, exports13million sawn ther toraisetrade ther two-way to 4billion sell over 479,000 shares of Mobile World World sharesofMobile sell over 479,000 ent, footwear and electronics, tothe electronics, Mid- and footwear ent, rs to supply high quality and sustainable and rs tosupplyhighquality sustainable t of its total revenue in the period. Be- the period. in of itstotal revenue t ter ofthisyear, upll-foldyear-on-year, holding from 0.96 percent to 0.8 percent. billion from period thesame of2016. In last year andare expected to increase to each toraise capitalforland accumula- VND2.1trillion inrevenuethethird ans to issue 31.4 million shares to exist- million sharesto 31.4 issue ans to East, is the gateway for Vi- East, isthegatewayfor million USD, ranking -to-boost-connectivi- 23 October 2017 35 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam intraday selling VN Indexfalls on up ROS sends VNIndex Intellasia * Khanh Hoa Sanest Beverage Company will Beverage Company Sanest * KhanhHoa placement. Companyinaprivate Joint Stock The ing price firm alsosold of D30,000. 550, 63 investors at 1.4millionshares bought At the HanoiStockExchange. shares on million * CamRanhInternational Airport Service Comp ny. http://english.thesaig per floorpriceofVND31,100 plunged toits over 14 million sharestraded. Incontrast, its upperlimitofVND4,500firm wentupto performeron thenorthern was the best KLF 2.28 million shares and bank stock ACB with 1.9 million shares. shares instock tr thegroup with 4.9 million at their refe key stocks lostorclosed Most billion. worth VND585billion transacted, includin with theHNX-Indexfalling 0.31 percentat The Hanoi meanwhile,market, shed as inve bourse with matching volumeof14.7million shares. chemicalproducer share. Theagricultural a ofVND11,900 price ceiling uptoits went HAI slid, stocks speculative many While shares changing hands, followedbySTB traded MBBwasthemost ground. actively Among bankstocks,STBwastheonlygainer. ashare percent lower at VND13,200 4.5 million shares. However,highdomestic KBC, anurban project developer, saw the bi hands. Incontrast, HSGadvancedwith down1.56 percent atVND37,800 the stock In thesteelsector, foreign investors netsold when pressure selling strong faced also Five majorstocks BIDVCB,SAB, VNM,and MSNdeclined, though. Manybluechips hands, up14.8 percent and 13.8 percent Therewere169.3millionsh company SAM. firm MSN,CaMauProvince-b sumer goods Turnover on the HCMCitymarket kept improv shares. million 4.8 totalling volume matching poin the VNIndexup0.15percent at 828.93 The construction firm's winningstreak extend October 19, thus contributing to the Hochiminh StockExchangerally. by market 10 leadingstocks one oftheROS, 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES stake. ofVND27,800 each. TheState holds public enterprises,or unlistedmarket for respectargetsand 33percentofthefull-year The benchmark index also stepped back from also steppedback The benchmark index percent.intraday growthof0.55 its from The benchmarkIndexedged down0.25 VN perc stocks. dence weakened towardstheend ofthe sessi confi- as investor October 20 Minh StockExchange on Chi the Ho declined on Shares 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA ontimes.vn/56676/ROS-se over 16.8 million shares at millionshares over16.8 with 5.12 million shares with 5.12millionshares traded. matching volumeof the VN Index touched the 830-point level. the VNIndex the830-point touched against the previous session session respectively. theprevious against around VND50200 each, well above the start- wellabove each, the VND50200 around rence prices.liquid Lender SHBwasthemost UPCoM, on October 25 at thereferenceprice at onOctober25 UPCoM, and BID with over twomillionshares. with and BID over PIV, which operates in the finance sector,the finance in PIV, whichoperates took the lead by liquidity on the HCM City aded, followed by property firm HUT with with HUT firm property by followed aded, 109.08. There were million 48.9 109.08. There shares g small block deals worth nearly VND17 VND17 worthnearly deals block g small a share with 3.8 million shares changing shares 3.8 million sharewith a ts. ROS closed at VND132,100 a share with share a VND132,100 closed at ts. ROS stock inthe group with over 6.3million a share and took the lead by liquidity with lead byliquidity shareandtookthe a 000 shares toSouthern Airports Services ares worth VND4.1 trillion changing trillion VND4.1 ares worth over1.25millionshares ofHPG,sending demand helped the stock end aslight0.4helped stock thedemand capitalisation, rose to its ceiling price on price ceiling rose toits capitalisation, share with volumeof1.7millionshares. stors scrambled tosell large-cap shares, tively, said Viet Capi Viet said tively, ggest foreign net selling volume, atover volume, netselling foreign ggest and ased tradingfirmCMV industrial market as the trading andfood as trading market service the on, resulting in the decline of large-cap of large-cap inthedecline on, resulting float nearly eightmi CTG movedflatand allother stockslost a 0.15 percent gain madeon Thursday. ed fored a16thconsec nds-VN Index-up.html the firm's initial public offering in July, ing, helpedbylargeblockdeals of con- ent to close at 826.84 points, retreating points, ent to at826.84 close any isseeking approval to trade eight 1.6 million shares. the firm, or a 51 percent or a51 the firm, ta SecuritiesCompa- utive session, lifting llion shares on the llion shares 23 October 2017 36 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam markets best-growing stock Vietnam isamong Intellasia https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vn-index-f VND. Nearly 43.6 million shares were traded down 0.9 percentafter one trading week. all ga also erasedThe northernmarketindex percent. 1.5 of decline three-day a totalling points, On the Exchange,the Stock Index Hanoi HNX slumped percent to endat 108.14 0.86 points. 824 range fo supportive short-term the nearest 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIETNAMNET "The VN Index could fall further inearly se VND. billion 144.3 after announcing itspre-tax profitinthe pa MWG dropped3.4percent from itssix-day rall and DHGPharmaceutical Co (DHG). (MWG), World Mobile tailer Among declining stockswere ThanhC to ofthe30 basket,two-thirds In theVN30 fell 0.42percent. performance ofthe top 30 companies byma Blue-chip stocksunderperformed on October making days, weak incoming the in rise may stocks large-cap in Selling he said. large-cap stocks, especially condition, the market trading Sellingpressure dominated thestockmarket when the session was ending. pressure rose selling session of as inthe the week trading last slightly closed down the in said Bach Xuan Tran analyst BVSC numbers. 19's in were up16 percent figures The trading VND (211.7 millionUSD). sharesweretraded than196 million More (BVSC). was quite poor andselling pressure was hi declinin and gaining between The imbalance number ofgainingones. The marketbreadthwas quite It advanced total0.7percent over the week. Analysts fromSSI(SaigonSecuritiesIncorp businesses with capitalisation va In other markets such asMalaysiaandTaiw were netbuyers inthe first eightmonths of the year. Bloomberg commented thatVietnamwas an mi $650 Ofthisamount, Council. net purchase value of $1.31 billion, acco Foreign investors have alwaysbeen netbuyers only in2016. trillion was VND3 value average trading while the tember 8. The sessions withtradingvalue of VN Indexofficial Theginning oftheyear. The Vietnamese stockmarket has been pros Luu Hung fromthe Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI) from bigcorporations willcr the continuedpurchase offoreign investor The continued increase of theVNIndex (whi eate sustained growth in the market, according to Pham eate sustainedgrowthinthemarket,to according brewer Sabeco (SAB), logistics firm Gemadept (GMD) (GMD) firm Gemadept logistics (SAB), brewer Sabeco the VN Index break its supportive ranges, Bach added. positive with178declining lue of over $1billionby2018. lue of over llion was disbursed for stocks. alls-on-intraday-s on the northern bourse, worth 479.8 billion northern bourse,worth on the rding to the National Finance Supervision National rding tothe when the VN Index wasmainlydrivenby both volume and value compared toOctober compared andvalue both volume ly surpassed the 800pointthresholdonSep- ly surpassed company's daily report that the VN Index reportthat theVNIndex daily company's p stocks declined whil declined p stocks short-term if investor confidence remained on the southern bourse, worth 4.76 trillion r the benchmark indexis 819 between and r thebenchmark s and the accelerated state's disinvestment gh, accordingto Bao VietSecurities Co st quarter fell 17 percent st fell17percent year-on-year to quarter VND5 trillion are regularlytrillion are VND5 year, seenthis orated) believe that ssions next week," Ba pering beyondexpectations since the be- rket capitalisation and trading liquidity, liquidity, trading and capitalisation rket an, investors sold more than bought dur- ins made in the first two sessions, closing the firsttwo made in ins and investors became more cautious with ch hasexceeded the800pointthreshold), g stocks suggested investor confidence investor confidence suggested stocks g exceptional case as foreigninvestors ong TayNinhSugar Co (SBT),digitalre- 20 as the VN30 Index, which tracks the the whichtracks Index, the VN30 as 20 y of total 8 percent. DHGlost2 percent inthelasteightmonths the with total elling/119855.vnp stocks, nearly double the double nearly stocks, Vietnam may have30 Vietnam e onlynineadvanced. ch said, adding that adding that ch said, 23 October 2017 37 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam and supportSMEs connect Network to SME Vietnam UPCoM firm tojoin Khanh Hoabeverage Intellasia stock-markets.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine years. four owned enterprises (SOEs). Itis expected that Foreign investors can alsoseek opportunitie nounced its plantodivestshares th increase will investors foreign that lieve Vietnamese investors make up80 percent of Council. pervision billion,accountingfor of $100 57.4 percent etJet, PetrolimexandVPBankhashelpedth The presence ofshareslarge conglomera sation value ofover $1 billi lion is on the rise. Five yearsago, VNMof http://bizhub.vn/markets/khanh-hoa-bev to holdanIPOafter Cohad its Dien KhanhSanest IPO on June 29, 2016. The company became the secondsubordinate completed.is plan the equitisation The company will be renamed Khanh HoaSa the governmentwillhold51 employees and shares, equaltoa 3.8Another1.24 million per unidentifi an to cent ofitscapital 21 per IPO,After the KhanhHoaSanest Beverage plan total a to purchase who signedup The IPOdrew the participation ofeightin per share. share andboughtforanaveragepriceofVND27,937 At the IPO, the company's shares were sold shares million eight September: offered thecompany to thenumberofshares Hoa SanestBe Khanh amount ofshares The earned The company VND222.7 bill on 25. share per October (US$1.23) under shares on code UPCoM Thesh SKH. incharte billion with VND330 The company, firm. ha company that alimited-liability remains thefirstcompanyto Company, willbecome Company, subs Hoa SanestBeverage Khanh Market(UPCoM). Public Company Unlisted on the Company approved th Hanoi StockExchangehas The 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS Hung from SSI notedthat the number of stoc pointsearlierby theendof year or next year. Securities HCM City believes Meanwhile, may reach the1,000 point peak by mid-2018. cash flow tothe Vietnamese stock market wo the HCMCity Diep, directorof Nguyen Hong market inthe region and even better than Viet the Securities, Viet Ban to According ing six months. ing sevenmonths, while in thePhilippines and South Korea, netsales were seen dur- (SMEs) on Saturday was launched in HCM Ci on Saturday was launchedinHCM (SMEs) networkA toconnectand support Vietname 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS on. Butnow, the figure is20. or 24 per cent ofitscapital. 24 per or in enterprisesin2017-2020. 406 of more 20.6million than shares. ion ($9.8 million) from theIPO. ($9.8 million) ion ed strategic investor at VND23,000 per share. ed strategicinvestoratVND23,000 ss/188356/vietnam-is-a erage-firm-to-join namese stockmarketwasthebest growing Thailand, Indonesiaand the Philippines. GDP,accordingtotheNationalFinanceSu- stitutional investors and 285 individuals, 285 investors and stitutional that the Indexwillreach920or that VN 960 eir presenceinVietnamastheStatehasan- Vinamilk was the only share with capitali- only sharewith the Vinamilk was se small and medium- se small sized enterprises and medium- ares will start trading at VND27,800 ares willstarttradingatVND27,800 tes such as Sabeco, s not fully transformed into ajoint-stock s notfullytransformed e market growrapidlywithtotalvalueof at the starting price of VND23,000 per startingpriceofVND23,000 at the e listingofKhanh HoaSanest Beverage verage Cowilltrade on UPCoM is equal ty inorder to drive 130 companies will have IPOs inthenext will have companies 130 s from the equitisation and IPOsofstate- total transactions. However, analysts be- analysts transactions. However, total ks with capitalisation capitalisation ks with trade shares onthestockmarket whileit idiary of Khanh HoaSalanganes Nest per centofthecompany's chartercapital. nest Beveragenest Joint StockCompanyafter uld still be plentiful, while the Index VN plentiful, be still uld r capital, will trade nearly eight million at its initial public offering (IPO) inmid- (IPO) offering public initial at its cent stake, will be sold to the company's company's the to sold be will stake, cent unit of KhanhHoa Salanganes NestCo Branch ofSHS Securities,believes that s to sell around 6.93 million shares orsell around 6.93millionshares s to -upcom_289637.html Habeco, Novaland, Novaland, Vi- Habeco, the country'seconomy. mong-best-growing- 23 October 2017 38 /63 value of over $1bil- 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam profits filtered down due to brands quit Vietnam International coffee Intellasia fordable prices. Trung Nguyen and hadalready esta Highlands ness remained toughbecause domestic rivals Even after thechain allowedits franchise in kets. a businesshad beendevelopedthat model Gloria the firstfranchiseeof Nguyen PhiVan, opening inHanoi and HCM City. Co Jean's Gloria year,Australia's this Earlir thecountry tolosses. andleaving the plug due mestic shopsbecauseof the affordable prices do- prefer fans coffee Local market. lucrative potentially this into tap to have struggled nowdrinkpeople coffeeaspartofthei Many erage. ing to coffee shops and develo and shops to coffee ing grow a 30s, isamong who isinhis Quan, Nguyen. and Trung the price local Highlands like stores in The cost ofacappuccinoatSt Quansaid. let," "The price offered by foreign coffee chains cheaper cappuccino. Highlands' interior is comparably sophis coffee atHighlands. of his friends rarely visit the American franchis on thesame few hundredmeters away Only a most full shopis Coffee Highlands an shining, is arrive. Thesun to friend his Le Quan is agreen atatable sitting under to pull onthei theplug foreign Some coffee chains havebeen outmat 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNEXPRESS http://bizhub.vn/news/sme-vietna Overseas Bank Limited. launching ceremony,SMEVietnam Ne At the expandingbarrier theirfor port, whichis production. lenges such as ashortageofupdatedtec Networcentre andSME Vietnam According toDinhThiPhuong, director oftheVietnamese Entrepreneur Development new jobs. a million more create half year, Each than SMEs force. labour cent 40 per than more companies, contributing accounti SMEs, Vietnam has more than600,000 funding schemes. lending and to accessexclusive chance pore) and United Overseas Bank Limited, thenetwork's members also willhavea Under the special supportfromVietnam products and services. names, brand its membersimprovetheir activities willhelp many the network, In other countriesintheworld. The network'swill members exchangebusiness opportunities within the country and terprises. Asso the Vietnam centre under Development Network is being established followingthe administration andmanagement IIunder gove Nguyen ceremony, at launching the Speaking smes_289641.html r Vietnameseventures. arbucks is more than VND100, is morethan arbucks ping a taste for what's viewed as a trendy Western bev- Western as trendy a viewed what's for ataste ping k, SMEs are still facing many difficulties and chal- and difficulties many facing still are SMEs k, m-network-to-conne ly of young and trendy people. hnologies andlimitedaccess to financial sup- ticated and modern, butit offers amuch ing numberof Vietnameseconsumers flock- Chamber of Commerce (VietCham Singa- (VietCham ofCommerce Chamber d the seating area outside thewestern-styleseating area d the parasol sipping acappuccino, waiting for ffee pulledout of Vietnamafter 10years of like Starbucks does not really suit my wal- in Australia forthe localregional and mar- guidance ofthe Vietnamese Entrepreneur Vietnam to adapt to the local market, busi- market, tothelocal toadapt Vietnam , so some international chains are pulling arepulling chains international , sosome includingTheCoffee House,PhucLong, e, preferring to havetheircups e, preferring morning r daily routine, but foreign coffee chains chains coffee foreign but routine, daily r Jean's in Vietnam, blamed itsdemiseon blamed Vietnam, Jean'sin ched by local competition, forcingthem ched bylocal ciation of Small and ofSmall Medium-seized ciation En- twork signed an agreement withUnitedtwork signedan street is a Starbucks store, but Quan and Quan but store, Starbucks isa street Van Cuong, deputy head of bureau of of the GDP and using 51 per cent of the and using51percent of theGDP blished their dominance by offering af- rnment Office, said thatSMEVietnam ng for 97.5 per cent of the country's ct-and-support- 000 ($4.3), ne ($4.3), 000 23 October 2017 39 /63 23 October2017 arly double double arly BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam evaluated workforce highly IT Vietnamese Intellasia Companies in Vietnam should pay attention attention pay should in Vietnam Companies perts at universities andcompanies worldwide. to participatein comes Vietnamese startups support to built anecosystem Denyse Cardozo,executive director ofthe US innovativeditions foran programmes workers, andhighlyqualifie IT enterprises alsoagreed thatitisimport in investment low labour, low-cost Enterprises taking partin thesurvey said they decided toinvest in Vietnam due to percentfirms highly offoreign IT said asurveyoftheIT outsourcing sector Nguyen CongAiataudit, and tax adviso ness ProcessOutsourcingcenters. sources, a decisive factorbehind their deci s ITfirms international centers, local and international hi-tech corporations, domest At the conference that kicked off in HCMCi vanced technologies quickly and IT rated Vietnam's highly Conference 2017 intheVietnam Experts participating In 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES to-filtered-down-profits-3658741.html https://e.vnexpress.net/news al at products said. reasonable prices",Quan "There aretoo manychoices. Iwill remain eign chains and local brands that have The highdensityofco he said. raise costssignificantly. Higher costshave coffee beans, coffeechai and international Vietnam, amajorexporter of RobuHesaid competitive. In addition,high costofimportingcoff the for aprofitable SeanTNgo, coffee outlet, The rate is one of the highest inSoutheas metre. business districts in the second quarter of 2 According toareport by property firmCB prices, making theircoffee le retail cost of the haveraised land on rents premium that high said insiders industry in of failure the reasonfor Talking about Factors behind thedownfall start-upin its 1996. and TrungNguyen, whichhas opened more has over 130outlets, TheCoffee House, wh dwarfed international brandshavebeen The years. has openedamodest Starbucks Coffee giant tering the market eightyears before. Bean TeaLeaf, & as oflate last year, ha Other foreign coffee chains havealsost suffered from losses and stiff competition. ting downitsseven-yearbusinessinVietna andrestaura cafe Singapore-based Last year, ffee outletsincities hasalso d trainers. Thegovernmentshouldcreate favourable con- /business/international-coffee-brands-quit-vietnam-due- ss competitive than local ones. technology and startup technologyandstartup comp have goodmanagement skills. valued Vietnamese ITmanpower. infrastructure andtaxincentives. infrastructure d develop new startup incubators. westernised their services, Ngo said. d opened only 15outletsinVietnam after en- formation OutsourcingTechnology (VNITO) ruggled toexpand. California-based Coffee howed interest in Vietnam's IT humanre- t Asia, which make the locations unfeasible make thelocations unfeasible which t Asia, CEOofVF Franchise Consulting, said. ry serviceprovider KPMG VietnamCoLtd ant for IT firms to have talented and skilled skilled and have talented ITfirms to ant for ns often use imported Arabica beans that ee beans has made international brandsless ee beanshasmade driven manycustomers todomesticbrands, by the company showed morethan90 that loyal to local shops, shops, local to loyal ic IT enterprises and startup incubation and enterprises ic IT 017 rose 7 percent to nearly $140 per square persquare tonearly$140 rose7percent 017 sions to invest in IT Outsourcing and Busi- to invest inITOutsourcing sions RE Vietnam, therent RE Vietnam, manpower, saying they could adopt ad- adopt they could saying manpower, sta coffee, imposeshighimporttariffs on ternational brands in the domestic market, market, inthe domestic brands ternational ich has injusttwoyears, opened 30shops m. Astatement fromthechainsaidithad training coursesto getexperience from ex- ty on October 19 with with on October19 ty to investment, legalconditionsandcoop- nt chainNYDCcloseditslastshop,shut- Silicon Valley Forum,said the forum has 24 outlets inVietna 24 than a thousand shops in Vietnam since in Vietnam thousand shops than a by local firms such as Highlands, which which Highlands, as local firms such by made the competitionbetween for- made anies. Silicon Valley wel- which offer internation- s in Saigon's central central s inSaigon's m in thepast four the participationof 23 October 2017 40 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam for hi-techagriculture government support formore call Overseas Vietnamese Intellasia Other overseas Vietnamese delegates atth VietnameseOther overseas he said. build should alsohelp enterprises city The necessary tostudy technologie processing Post-harvest processing technology has been tion process, seeds and traceability of High-quality agricultural production should ornamental fish. methods in other countries such as countries methods inother es products, agricultural high-value velop rector of the HCMCityBiotechnology Centre, Nguyen Quoc Binh, anoverseas Vietnamese ment is not sustainabl planti technology usedin thanks tohigh "In Vietnam, some farmers can earn up to and other partners, he added. rooms onanareaof 5-10ha.However, the Lam saidhe wasdeveloping a herbal-park tohelpinvestors. ment shouldhave policies crew 10suchma An agricultural needs about each. (US$440,170) cost uptoVND10 billion obstacles, such asthe expense ofimported and High-techTec Agriculture overseas Vietnameseinthean Tony Lam, said. he farmers," just not role, leading a play prises "Because high-techagriculturalinvestment have been duction chainsand enterprisesSome and cooperatives have begunproducing seeds to form closed pro- to Xo. according inagriculture, operating Cityhasatotalof740enterprises, HCM 73 agriculture in thecity. culture andRural Development, the meeting called for more investment in high-tech Organised by the city's Overseas Vietname City". inHCM development ricultural ed.html overseas businesses titled a conferencemore attendedXo spokeat by mals with higher economic efficiency ani- and was other plants reduced, while rice cultivation In recentyears, ineffective he toldVietnamNews.ern region," development andsupply for the centre come a "The cityhasidentifiedhigh-t productivity andsust nologiesits agricultural torestructure se partment, saidthe city was Duong HoaXo, deputy directorofthe city City. HCM in 19 October on with greater added value that More investment inhigh-tech agriculture is 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56667/Vi Japan's Shonan Industrial representatives ofSiliconVa Alliance VNITO Conference2017, VNITO At partnerstobe eration technology with ainable development. e isnotstable," as theoutput he said. Promotion Foundation. Promotion "Overseas Vietnamesepropose applying bio-technology aswe lley Forum,VietnamITDe ech agricultureasamajorindu buildingagricultural safe br can competeglobally, hnologies LtdCompany, notedthat the city faced afew Japan, Australia andtheNetherlands. were cultivatedand bred, he added. origin should be certified, hesaid. be certified, should origin able tooperate in the US, said Cardozo. ng and husbandry. However,husbandry. thisng and develop- ctor, with the aim of achievinghigher VND15 billion ($660,000) profit per year profitperyear billion($660,000) VND15 project needs supportfromthegovernment etnamese-IT-workforc s and post-harvest processing support. and post-harvestprocessing s pecially vegetables, US, who ischairand CEO oftheUS Farms machines manufactured after 2011, which after 2011, machinesmanufactured e meeting discussedhi 's Agriculture andRuralDevelopment De- se andtheDepartmentCommittee ofAgri- cooperatives and 229 cooperative groups groups and cooperative cooperatives 229 than 100 delegates from State agencies and agencies and delegates fromState than 100 factories to process vegetables and fruits, vegetables and factories toprocess project specialisinginmedicinalmush- needed to produce high-qualityexports requires a large amount alarge requires cater tothe and city produc- market, the has signed cooperation agreements with agreements cooperation has signed livingformer inCanada,anddeputy di- chines, he said, adding that the govern- the that adding said, he chines, overlooked, he said, said the city tode- should issue policies of crop and animal strains in the south- in of cropandanimalstrains speakers said at a conferencespeakers saidata held velopment Group (VIDG) and velopment Group(VIDG) ands to meet rising demand. rising meet to ands ideas to boost high-tech ag- high-tech ideas toboost ll as other advanced tech- other advanced ll as stry and is striving tobe- striving is and stry fruits, flowers and e-highly-evaluat- gh-tech agricultural gh-tech agricultural 23 October 2017 41 /63 23 October2017 adding thatitwas ofcapital,enter- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Instant messaging Instant responsibility social on focus Electronics groupto Intellasia responsibility_289639.html http://bizhub.vn/news/electroni nam director Chang-Hee Lee. their individual workplaces, but also throug their practicesformanaginghumanresour wherev influential are companies Multinational ers themselves". businesses can recruit, train, andpromote th said. "By investing in labourers and fulfilling social responsibilities inlabour relations, partic in relations labour and general in ity thestandards of "The rightimplementation bour andemployment persist. facilitating growthandthe adoption ofnew has hadapositiveimpactontheeconomiesof The expansionofthemultinational electroni today. tomo from years, employeesin2005 46,000 The totalnumberofemployeesintheindust 2014. only 256 enterprises in2005, while the numb Vietnam's electronicsindustryhas been grow practices. electronic ente (VEIA) tohelp Association In the past, VCCI has cooperated with th specia pay will VCCI that form a is sibility of"The establishment anelectronic corpor The coalition will enable participants to ex mony. global integration," criterion for said important cialresponsibility enterprisesof ingeneralelectronic and enterprises inparticular isan integration, the contextofinternational "In and the International LabourOrganisation (ILO). The coalition isbacked by the Vietnam Friday. launched inHanoion practices companies organise A coalitionofelectronics 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS t-support-for-hi-tech-agriculture.html english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/bu Chanh District. Binh Commune, VanHai Pham in Parkforbreeding(170.4ha) High-tech Agricultural Commune, CuChiDistrict Expansion ofHigh-techHortic Cu ChiDistrict. High-tech Agricultural Park District Parkforaquacultur Agricultural High-tech ment inthefollowing: The HCM City Agricultural High-tech Park Management Board is calling for invest- With five yearsofexperience intheonlin With and hundreds of comments. lines. new clothing her online tointroduce 33-year-old Three daysaweekat8pm, the effect an to be Livestreams haveproven 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES for post-harvesting (23.3ha) in Phuoc Vinh An Commune, Commune, VinhAn Phuoc in (23.3ha) for post-harvesting siness/188711/overseas-vie ultural and Agriculture Park(200ha) inPham VanCoi cs-group-to-focus-on-social- Chamber ofCommerceandIndustry(VCCI) ive method of reaching out to customers. out to method ofreaching ive e ILO and the VietnamElectronicIndustries e business, sheapplie ate network whichfocusesonsocialrespon- l attention in the upcoming time," he added. hethe upcomingtime," l attentionin Her livestreamsusuall rprises apply socially periences andstrengthen training, said Loc. besides standards on quality besidesso- andprice,standards on owner oftheStyleshop,NhuHaiHa, goes e (89.7ha) in Long HoaCommune, Gio Can e (89.7ha)in ular isa very important requirement," Loc ces haveatremendous impactnotonlyon and legal regulations onsocialresponsibil- re than 327,000 in 2013 and about 500,000 500,000 about and in2013 327,000 than re cs firms' cross-bordercs production network e creativity and responsibility ofthework- responsibility and e creativity ry has also increased seven times in eight ineight times seven increased also has ry h theglobal supply chain, said ILOViet- technologies, but concernstechnologies, relatedtola- but er has increased to1,021 enterprises in d to promote socially ing rapidly in recent years. inrecentyears. ing There rapidly were developingcountriessuchasVietnam, Vu Tien Loc, VCCI'schair, at the cere- er they invest and operate.Therefore,er theyinvestand tnamese-call-for-more-gov- s manytools on Face- responsible labour y attract 15,000 views 15,000 y attract responsible labour labour responsible 23 October 2017 42 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia helps KOLs attract a wider audience andmake astrongimpression on customers, to be able and the product with compatible appearance an have must they image, brand's the represent KOLs because addition, In have specific knowledge about the produc intr livestreams Laneige's of all almost As up. bein important, accordingtoChi, the most choose therightKOL foreachlivestream. Lane Based on the product and thecustomer segment, acompany's will team marketing factor in successful livestreams. sionsare stars, and hotInstagrammers, be Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs)people who in on content. forlivestre professional touch.preparing In trigger discussions among thei Livestreams were initially only Facebook users recording videos andposting them to Key factor attheSTCo manager Marketing Tinh, Thuy Thi Nguyen said methods," advertising traditional using by more than "We approachandadvertise to anaudience it to usingthe GalaWechoice Awards and He as well as Ha, Ngoc Ho like agencies Livestreams not only workwith products, customers. younger targeting those ly Mo fruitful, are so livestreams 6, comments and views reached152,000 Total Viet Anh. ny achieved great success in its livestreams for theSamsung J7Pro Hunter with actor used thefunctiontolaunchnew products Along with Laneige, MobiFone, one of thela Group in Vietnam. Digital Chi, Quynh Nguyen to according nearly doublewithin24 hours ofbroadcasts new Each re its produces sinceJanuary. Korea, brand fromSouth cosmetic A popular exceeding expectations andmarkin er being clearevidence of the impactlive themethodto touse continues treams, Biti's Brand manager atBiti's KID, emphasized. Af "The number of followers oftheCampaign ha audience. substantial since the conducting first DreamPractice is (Biti's) Company Stock Tien Joint The Binh ofboth activities the advertising accounts. sonal Facebook Livestream has b livestreamsare and 40,000 10,000 Between livestreams areconsidered to bethe latest and best method for online retailing. Google,andInstagram,according YouTube, peoplenowsellonlinein 100,000 than More Trendy advertisements customers. Her revenue hasgrownsince adoptingthenewtrend. to livestrefrom posts andvideos onFacebook Like manyotherVietnamese peopledoing products and see great results," she said. "Since usingthelivestream function onFaceb book and websites but prefersusing biFone now uses them for almo biFone nowusesthem r friends, but then r friends, companies but gave large the practice a mmunications Joint StockCompany. private shopsand large enterprises. g abreakthrough for the company. livestreams tosell her products. ceives around4,000commentsand sales can ineken Green Room, GalaVietnamTopHits, streams cancreate,streams with sales ofthe shoes g a sound knowledge of cosmetics and make knowledge and ofcosmetics sound g a Marketing AssociateattheAmorePacific Campaign in 2016 and found they attract a found attract in2016 they and Campaign oduce andreview products, itsKOLsmust or broadcastpressconferences. Thecompa- changed and has few years a for een around auty bloggers,orvloggersare anecessary business onlinenowadays, Hahaschanged t as well as those of similar brands. with singerNooPhuoc Thinh, marketing advertise events, boos events, advertise broadcast each day on fanpagesandper- am, most companies create a detailed plan plan detailed a create am, mostcompanies numbering in the millions, which is many Hunt- Biti's introduce newproducts,with fluence customersandpurchasing deci- interact with customers. High interaction interaction High customers. with interact and up to 413 per cent the following day, day, centthefollowing to413 per and up rgest telecoms companies in Vietnam, has Vietnam, in particular on Facebook, Zalo, onFacebook, in Vietnam, particular to Vinalink Media's to Vinalink a perfect example. It has usedlivestreams It perfect example. a Laneige has used livestreams to promote used livestreamsto Laneige has ter realising the positive effects oflives- the ter effects positive realising ook, I've found it's the best way to sell ams inorder to attract and interact with 818, with nearly 2,000 shares. withnearly2,000 Because 818, s risen significantly," Le TangGia Phu, ige has setcertain criteria foritsKOLs, st allst its events,especial- Vinalink Survey,and ting their exposure. 23 October 2017 43 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia apps tomeet demand." stead of just one camera, as now," he said. can carried livestreams be "This meansthat upgraded The functionwillbe etnam. continue will livestreams that Ha believes other advertisingyoung people,so strategiesneeded.may also be he added, isthat they can't reach allcust not nece "The bestchoiceis who they engageastheir KOL," he said. be quite difficult todecide who is a"suita problems for the brand if they becomeembroi As anexperiencedbrand manager, Phupo event," Hanh warned. "It isnecessary tocarefully have anegative effect on aproduct'simage. offensiveroom forcontentconsideredto without rose But thereisno money." timeand which saves licensing, quire any l broadcast anddecide forhow to best time thanrelying "Rather ing time. onamedia ou more have they said Worldwide, POPS of CEO Explaining whyagenciesarenow moving ready purchased it are especially valuable. commen customers."Positive teraction with simplestquickest and "Livestreams arethe said. be a big gap between image appearing the earlywas easy inthe cebook trust, moresothanother advertising tools. Livestreams alsohelps vendorsmore easilyinteract with and securecustomer people livestream isits KOL." post," he noted. "Livestreams are free forus to10million to$44 "It cancost VND5 ($220 Ha. to year, accordingpresence overthelast ing they foremost, Firstand better option. much Compared to other advertingmethodsused bet A better the event and conductalivestream, which major eventofVinalinkMedia, The "Switzerland Watch Week" of CalvinKl increaseadded. sharply," he "Sometimes theKOL receives abonusif he Ha, CEO of Vinalink Media, toldVET, usuall advertise their products them to to use keen biggest strengthsKO One ofthe brand. theBiti's views about peopleand change young among established anewbrandidentifica Thanks to Son TungMTPand good preparatio main customer segmentforHunter. had agreatHeBiti's customers, effecton he Phu said it invited SonTung MTP, afamous campai livestream latest its about In talking while in order tosave on costs marketing its Chisaying tion events, with Laneige, however, onlyusesKOLsin brand hopefully resulting in higher sales. ssarily a famousperson." Anothe ssarily control interactionand set upstandard criteria foreach thorns. As livestreams don't requirelicensing,thorns. Aslivestreamsdon't is there days, butnow too many people are doingit and there can invited Vietnamese actor Ma still having thedesired impact. Ls possesstheir is hugefollowing, somost brandsare tion, makingiteasierfor in tomulti-medialivestreams. 2018, ble" KOL. "Brands mustthink carefully about omer andtendtoonlyworksegments with be broadcast, while ignorant comments can "Selling products, especi team needs a reasonable plan to use KOLs use plan to reasonable needs a team "There willalsobe professional livestream to livestreams, Nguyento livestreams, Huu Vinh Hanh, said, especially young people, who arethe said,especiallyyoungpeople, on Facebook and the actual product," Ha attracted 100,000 over30minutes. viewers attracted 100,000 to be themethod bestbe to ofadvertising inVi- ong," she said. "Livestreams also don't re- alsodon't said. "Livestreams she ong," way to reach customers, because of the in- out usingmany cameras or fly cams, in- create KOLs inted outthat can actually 0) togenerate5,000 likes on a Facebook or she attracts alarge sales or sheattracts audience and . The cost of having . Thecost ers atpresentandthe greatest cost ofa gn, which launched Biti launched which gn, are cheaper, which is behind their increas- is behind are cheaper,which ts on products from those who haveal- identification campaign identification nowadays in Vietnam, livestreams are a are a livestreams nowadaysinVietnam, ein andTissot, he went on, which wasa tlet's schedule, agen young singer in Vietnam, to be it's KOL. y represents 5 to 10 per cent of an event. event. per centofan 10 5 to represents y ns, Biti's accessedhi led in some type of scandal. It can also also can It ofscandal. type insome led controlover content as well as publish- r limitationoflivestreams, nh Truongtotakepartin to stay abreast of trends a KOL, Nguyen Tuan Tuan Nguyen KOL, a cies canchoosethe s huge fan base and and base fan s huge 23 October 2017 44 /63 23 October2017 ally clothes, Fa- ally clothes, via 's Huntershoes, s andrealinterac- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam economy: researcher wellbeing, social Women contribute to Intellasia tise or dealing with consumersbusinessor dealingwith partners. or tise arewomenners includesuppliers whothink while working with partners, individuals or There isalsobullyinginthe workplace, others. to work do notdelegate own and their they oftenworkon they of personality, In terms work. do small-scale just and they bold, act or big think to dare not do they so successful, being about guilty feel usually women educati their children.families and Dueto Vietnamese society still holds abias that facewh do women difficulties Which (since they work). are incharitable moreactive thegovernance chargeof en towork,take as owners meansencouragingis obvious thatencouragingwomentoact morewom- It also muchbiggerand company tope the turns bo number offemalemembers rectors, the companie my study, at to osystem. According Definitely, encouragingwomento businesses. other organisationsand recruited and promoted at foreign businesses inVietnam is very high compared to role intheirfamiliesandattheworkplace we highlyby their valuedare colleaguesbeca At foreign-invested businesses and inte influence.small-scale workwithoutbig fact that womenarefree towork. Theonlypr Vietnam isacountry where gender equality world. wh better is in Vietnam figure the although is very firms The numberofwomen-owned moting thestart-upmovement that Vietnam ispushing? the population. Is encouraging women to star of uphalf women make while forthe still account majority enterprises Male-owned and corporate soci come entrepreneurs andengage in leadersh They tendtosupportethical business prac any businesses do. products and services, creating shareholder value, and reinvesting in theeconomy like ute to thewell-beingof society aswell the of half are they Simply, my? What isthe role offemaleentrepreneur toVietnamNews Thang gave Agency recently: roleof about the is interview an Below University. Assoc. said economy, the CentreforSocial InnovationandEn of the as well as being Women makeupabouthalf of theworld's po 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/bus will bevideos. near 2019, technology expertspredictthat,by a nology willalsobringabout In tandemwith the developmentoflivestre the way,livestreamsto seemcertainon 4G and with internet inVietnam, the strong developmentoftechnology and the With al responsibility. world and half oftheworkforc are generally too meticulous and seekperfection. Hence, raft of changes inraft ofchanges digital start businesses is crucial in the current start-up ec- start-up current in the crucial is businesses start iness/188770/instant-messaging.html en starting and running businesses? running en startingand businesswomen and the firms they run that s andwomen-ownedenterprisesinanecono- become more popular inthecountry. aphenomenon facing many businesswomen rnational organisations Prof and Dr Truong Thi NamThang, director the economy bygenerating jobs,providing women shouldfocuson taking care oftheir use they work very hard and balance their and balance they workveryhard use trepreneurships at thetrepreneurships NationalEconomics and create more financial andsocialvalues and createmorefinancial on from an early age and society's notions, and age on fromanearly tices;women tobe- therefore, encouraging en considering other many countries in the ams, breakthroughsin image tech- transfer ip can promoteethicalbusinesspractices organisations,part- especiallymen.These has been promoted, as seen throughthe small compared to those owned by men, those ownedby compared to small ll. It is noteworthy that the rate of women that therateof noteworthy It is ll. ards ofards directors and less capable of masteringless capable technical exper- oblem is that society has just let them do let them isthatsocietyhasjust oblem pulation and contribute to society's well- tosociety's andcontribute pulation rform better financiallythanother firms. ly 85per cent ofcontenton the internet t factor businesses animportant to pro- s withfemale head oftheboardsdi- content marketing, and many content marketing,and e in Vietnam. They contrib- They e inVietnam. , Vietnamesewomen managing boards is 23 October 2017 45 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam HCM City road project doubts over $3-bn Ministry expresses projects HCM City traffic hands overlandto Defense Ministry Intellasia The MinistryofNational Defe 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES whic appreciate thesemoves, I these moves? Small- andMedium-sized Enterprises (SME) SupportLaw. Whatdo you think about Women's Union Central Committee, or theinclusionof women-owned firmsinthe the businesswomen, 2017-2027 business, asseen through prime minister The Vietnamese governmenthasshown de for buildingbusiness brands. bility activities, charitable work, and improvement of living standards, which is useful resolving crises. Women-owned enterprises of have goodenduranceandresistanceto They Which advantages do women havewhen they run businesses? other. same the they have Even women,although long route will include 9.5 kilometres in inner-city districts. ininner-city 9.5kilometres include will route long ommended to beimplementedunder the form The MPI has asked HCMCityauthorities toconsider theproject whichhasbeen rec- avenue. billion USD3 Group's proposaltoconstruct a The MinistryofPlanni 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS of three piecesof land in Go a docume government hasalsosent The city totheairport. leading stations and 50kiosksalongTruongChinh Previously, theMinistry of Tan SonNhatInternationalAirport. inthecity land The totalarea of military District 12. to buildMetro LineNo. 2 linking BenThanh Air Defense Forceandmilitary-r The siteisadjacenttoTanSonNhatInte op trafficinfrastructure. metersin nearly 7,400square er/119812.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/women-contribu verymuch! you Thank is enforced. how thelaw ertheless, I'm stillwaitingfora decree on owned businesses if different companies meet all criteria for receiving support. Nev- Law, Support SME the that reasonable is It programmes insteadofsimplypursui society. However, the VietnamWomen'sUn among womenby providing funding and prom City-traffic-projects.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56664/De has not been handed over. Vap Districtthe branch inGo of the landforconstruction year. However, this project overpassconstructionunder arethe steel to completethe Two remainingbranchesof be taken back. 319 by Corporation managed smaller areas Accordingly, 1,800 square metersofland ThaiSonandNguyen Nguyen Kiem streets. ng andInvestment (MPI) has rais National Defense has asked the city to remove three gas the citytoremovethree asked National Defensehas Vap District to build a steel steel a build to District Vap Tan Binh District to the HCM City government to devel- to City government HCM to the District Binh Tan nse on October 19 handedover on October nse h have taken the leadindeve taken h have plan on supportforfemale un LungLoConstructionwill beused Corporation. It ng movements like in the past. movements likeinthe ng rnational Airport and managed by the Airand is 1,000hectares,includin managed by Military Hospital 175, 175, plus Hospital byMilitary managed Nguyen Xuan Phuc's commitment to assist toassist commitment XuanPhuc's Nguyen the law's implementationguidelines tosee fense-Ministry-hands-over-land-to-HCM approved in June 2017, prioritises women- prioritises 2017, inJune approved and the Border Guard High Command and theBorder will HighCommand Guard gender, sometimes do notsupporteach termination to support womentostart tosupport termination te-to-social-wellbeing-economy-research- Street toease thepressureon theroads nt to the ministry proposing the handover to theministry proposing nt stress, good customerservice, and skill in ion shouldorganise more substantive Market in District 1 and Tham Luong in Tham inDistrict 1 and Market ten actively engage in social responsi- actively engageinsocial ten of build-transfer (BT). The59 kilometre oting theirrole in the economy andin overpass at theintersectionof ed concerns over Tuan Chau over Tuan ed concerns start-ups oftheVietnam loping the start-up spirit spirit the start-up loping aplotof land totalling g land inandaround g land 23 October 2017 46 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam losses reportedly taking Some luxuryhotels traffic Bridge openedto Nhi ThienDuong1 Intellasia fic.html said that this should be carefully c carefully be should this that said Regarding TuanChauGroup's proposalfor JSC, whichowns MovenpickHanoihad incurr er 5-star hotelinHanoi, has Kiet LyThuong 83 A HotelatNo Movenpick areafor40years. metersof WestLakesurface square 24,088 ri the includes This $7million. worth capital Vietnamese GTC. The Long Thang and laysia ajointventure between is This T.P.C Develo of took aloss respectively, and 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIETNAMNET http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56673/Nh Binh ChanhDistrict, andHCM City Nhi ThienDuongBridgeisanimportanttraf The bridge upgrade project was completed three earliermonths than expected. structure. and lamppostsonthebridge were keptunchange Nguyen Xuan Vinh, director ofUrban Traffi lion), sourced fromthe city's budget. The bridge, meterslongand meters800 12 ing toPhanTheHien Street. streets,the in andNguyen VanCuaends at The bridge starts from the intersection provinces. with southwestern City HCM Transport on October 19openedtotraffic Nhi ThienDuong 1 Bridge whichconnects Urban ManagementTraffic AuthorityNo. 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES to tobe has submitted ment capital The MPI said that forprojects whichneed at ci 2020 andthe planning by development The groupalsohastoclarify whether the pr experience. and ity some contentssuch to clarify the investor City Department HCM tothe According MPI, the publicinvestmentcapital hasalso recommendedusingarou The group eq hectares, 12,398 of reciprocal landfund a enue alongtheSaigonRiver. Tocarryoutthe tobuild theav- authorities City GroupproposedtoHCM thisyear, Tuan Chau In July In 2014-2015, Lang NghiTamhad Lang revenue In 2014-2015, equity had been minu seen losses cutinto stockholder equity. By Ltd, the Co Tam Tourism Development Nghi years. According to theVietnam Industry Intercontinental HanoiWestlake isthe unique hotels havebeen taking losses. fees, some high luxury at services providing and positions inadvantageous Located 3-bn-hcm-city-road-project.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine tendering would be required. the projectalso noted isnotli that The MPI as well its impact on thecity. HCM Cityhastoseekopinions s (-) VND875 billion. VND875 s (-) reported asurprisingly high for the projectimplementation. from differentministries andagencies forthe project VND41.7 billion and VND26.5 billion. andVND26.5 VND41.7 billion onsidered given HCMCi the National Assembly withsouthwesternprovinces. of TungThienVuong, Tuy Ly Vuong and ss/188771/ministry-expresses-doubts-over-- ty's overallsocio-economicplanning. Research & Consultancy (VIRAC), Lang as documents to prove the investors'prove as documentsto capac- the end of 2015, the company's stockholder the end the stockholder of 2015, company's wide, costs VND163 billion (US$7.17 mil- billion(US$7.17 VND163 wide,costs of VND345.5 billion of VND345.5 an i-Thien-Duong-1-Bridg 4 under theHCMCity Departmentof sted for the appointment of contractors so for theappointment of sted c Management Authoritysigns4, said No. lead- road a and 50 tersection ofHighway ght to use 7,899 square meters oflandand meters square touse7,899 ght pment Ltd,belongingBerjayato from Ma- ualpercent tothe5 ofcity's total area. oject is suitable for HCM City's transport City's for HCM is suitable oject the land fund of 12, fund of the land fic route connecting districts 5 and 8with fic routeconnecting districts5 least VND10 trillion of the public invest- ofthe trillion VND10 public least project, the firm asked the city toprovide city askedthe firm project, the nd VND10 trillion (USD454.5 million) of trillion(USD454.5 VND10 nd street inthecentral area ofHanoi, anoth- partner contributes25percent ofcharter of Planning and Investmentneeds to ask legal legal entity set uptorunthe has hotel, hotel has been reporting losses in recent ed an accumulative loss of VND258 bil- loss ofVND258 ed anaccumulative d to retain the historical values of the retaind tohistorical valuesof the loss. By June 30, 2017, Roxy 30, 2017, loss. ByJune forconsideration. ty's limited land. 398 hectares, the MPI the MPI hectares, 398 d VND378.4 billion, d VND378.4 e-opened-to-traf- 23 October 2017 47 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam cars favourite two most VinFast announces Intellasia Vingroup deputychairNguyen VietQuang sine andConventionCentre, Hanoi. on Octobe ceremony willbeheld The award praise fortheirfashionable, liberal and mo public received also models 18 remaining the designs, voted most the two Besides tional prideand scored thehighest pointsfrom Vietnamese consumers. of to thetop from headlamps the link and introduction of the V-shaped stylised iconthe These twocarshaveastrong, luxurious an ofnearly tal 62,000 votes,accounting fo 02car 13,833 the SUV had car lovers.votes from Specifical maximum and tothevoteresult, 02 According Sedan USD). 1.1billion (48,298 attotal VND the prizes,valued zeroed inonthetwomostwantedSedanan VinF comments, 10,000 more than two mill attractingAfter 14daysofvoting, most group,announced thetwo has automobile thefirstVietnamese VinFast, 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA quotedaSavi Local newspapers to VinaProperties in 2008. foreign percent a100 CoLtd, Hotel Saigon Ramana Hotel Saigonwas named AmaraSaigon billion by2014and the stockholder equity to Cafebiz,NgoiSaoViet,whichownsthe According aloss. incurring also is City, hotelin HCM a4-star Saigon, Hotel Ramana An Thinh Trade &Production Servicehas 36 percent. and percent 15.47 has &Trade Investment Phu Hung Vietnamese while stake, percent Roxy JSChaschartercapitalofVND145billi games. in 2016eased its losses, but they camemo The VND26billionworthofprofitRoxyma with 38machines. foreigners reserved for In addition, there is a prize- roomsconference andprovidesfoodservices. leases services, offersMovenpick room before, the hotelreported had dro stockholder equity lion, whilethe with thetastesand demands oftheVietnamese market. wo modern andcatchupwith the beautiful, points for VinFasttouse indecidingprod tionPioneer. Therefore, theresults of the vote willbeone oftheimportantreference he retail, vacation, estate, ing real can beusedtopurchase and VinID cards ers VND per voucher and 100VINID gift cards as two vouchers worth 50 million VND per wi VinFast alsodeterminedtheaddition, In predicted correctly the time and thetwomodels. ratings for worth 500millionVND. Thiscustomerhadth Pham Minh Ly, fromHanoi, defeated nearly 02models. 02 or TorinoDesign'sSUV taking-losses.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine points YoYto74percent. cupancy of5-star hotels increased by 4percentage points QoQ and 10 percentage votes, respectively. a loss of VND300 billion.loss ofVND300 a winning electronic game areawithinMovenpick's campus lls Vietnam's Q1 report as althcare, education and althcare, education agriculture. ast's public contest to select the most favourite cars contest to select themostfavourite public ast's favourite carmodelsinVietnam. favourite ss/188535/some-luxury-hotels-reportedly- manufacturing complex opened by Vin- complexopenedby manufacturing stly fromthe prize- pped to minus (-)VND91 (-)VND91 pped tominus uction samples, ensuringuction samples, Vinfast cars are had dropped to minus (-)VND209 billion. had droppedtominus(-)VND209 ly, the Sedan 02model got 22,396 votes and the carthese twomodels have aroused na- ofa gross VND548 loss hotel, hadincurred dern styles, especially ion visitors, nearly 62,000 participants and and participants 62,000 nearly visitors, ion d dynamicdesign.In particular, the with SUV 02models SUV of Ital owned company. Later, it was transferred worth 2million VND per card. The vouch- nnersvaluable awards,other such ofthe Vingroup's products and services, Vingroup's includ- products de in 2017 and the VND16 billion it made billionit VND16 the and de in2017 d SUV models, along with thewinnersof d SUVmodels, voucher; 30 vouchers worth 10 million said VinFast's motto said VinFast'smotto r 22, 2017, at the Almaz International Cui- International Almaz the at 2017, r 22, on, inwhichRoxyAssetsLtdholdsan45 rld standards, along with being suitable being suitable with along standards, rld 62,000 towinonevoucher 62,000 participants firstletterinVietnam's name on thelogo e most accurate selection in the shortest in theshortest selection e mostaccurate r 36.2 percent and 22.4 percent of the to- in the pastas it belongedtoAmara saying that saying that the average oc- winning electronics is StyleSafetyInnova- Pininfarina's Sedan Design received the the received Design 23 October 2017 48 /63 23 October2017 billion. Two years BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Paradise unfinished Vung Tau- golden landplot of eye investors Foreign Intellasia project. invest theTaiwanese after disclosed be will The winnerthe golden seizerace ofthe to two investmentplansonthe land fund. Meanwhile, Housing Development and Tradin Thuan district. inCai areainTan interest ininvesting Mep Ha Geleximco expressed Furthermore, oping anurbanarea, tourism, and sportscomplex onthe land plot. the provincialleaders and relevant authorit with session working a held (Geleximco) JSC Import Export general Hanoi Previously, include VinaCapitalIn These other heavyweigh However, numerous Holdingswas expectedSebrina torevive th Liability Company. One MemberLimited seaport sector in the portunities representativesIn 2015, of Sebrina Holdings arrivedto Vietnam to find investment op- pore. Itcurrentlyhas a repres ings has 20years ofexperience intheener Holdin is Sebrina investor The potential first ince. hectare area is considered the only golden land At present, numerous domestic and foreig area. with BauTrung connection theprojectwill create a that confirm yearsand three within the construction complete 25 percent ofwhichcomes fromthe investor Accordingly, investorshavetoconfirminvest project. At the time, the province issued criteria to select investors. Simultaneously,the province called fo has complete to investor the for time tend the provincestages.only decided But,the the project'slicenceto ex- torevokeand agreed the provincelicence toextendtheproposed In April2016,whentheproject's investment plemented. andtheconstructi use, into come area have However, since then only the27-holegolf JSC. Service Tourism ternational Development &Investment, while the remain of capital $97 investment tal to the develop 220-hec certificate investment & Investme ParadiseDevelopment In 1991, the golden landplotofthe unfi Numerous domestic and foreign investors ha 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIR https://en.vietnamplus.vn/ www.binhchonmauxe.vinfast.vn. mined the winners transparentlyand declared them on itswebsite tryTrade andrepresentatives and ofcustom In the presence ofVietnamTrade Promotion tic and foreign suppliers. signingwithbigglobalpartne nomic Zone, with the schedule, suchas building the fa Alongthe withVinFastalso poll, is urgently completingworkaccordance items in na, Zagato, Torino and ItalDesign. studiosPininfari- cardesign renowned world four from VinFast for specifically signed fr The VinFastcarvotecontestwasconducted vinfast-announces-two-most- million, 75 percent ofwhichwouldcome from Paradise vestment Management Ltd, entative office in HCM City. inHCM office entative . In early 2016, it becameth it 2016, early . In nished VungTau-Paradise project. ts are in line to take over. the procedures to liquidate theproject. ctory in Hai Phong's Dinh Vu-CatHaiEco- gy, property, and logistics sectors inSinga- sectors logistics and property, gy, land plotunderVungTau-Paradise project course, a38-room hotel, andwater sport r other investors topourmoney intothe n investors eye the project because the220- or completes the procedure to liquidate the or completesthe proceduretoliquidate on of the remaining stages has yet to beim- to yet has stages remaining on ofthe rs and promoting cooperationrs andpromoting withdomes- nt Company from Taiwan was granted the the wasgranted Company fromTaiwan nt ies tolearn aboutthe procedure of devel- project.unfinished VungTau-Paradise e certificate expired, the Taiwanese investor gs Pte., Ltd from gs Pte.,Ltd Sebrina Singapore. from Hold- so that it could completethe unfinished tare Vung Tau-Paradise project with a to- a projectwith Tau-Paradise tare Vung s' equity. Besides,the investorshave to ers, the contest'sorganising board deter- ve expressedtheirambition totakeover Agency'sIndus- officers,Ministry of the ing 25percent from Ba Ria-Vung Tau In- om October 2 to 16, with 20 vehicles de- vehicles 20 16, with to 2 om October Sauarea plot leftattheBai of the prov- g JSC (HDTC) proposed theprovince at least $2 billion in the project, at least favourite-ca Novaland, andVingroup. e strategic investor of Hanel investor e strategic 23 October 2017 49 /63 23 October2017 rs/119872.vnp BUSINESS merger information merger plunges afterleaked Tranrevenue Anh finance& business Vietnam suppliers by 2020 Vietnamese first-tier 50 Samsung targets Intellasia The general director said Sams The general directorsaid be 27 mere a with plexes, has atotalof Vietnam Samsung as signalde as well home appliances, for air-conditioners and washing machines, number ofVietnamese suppliers to29 by th the toraise target its realise helpSamsung may which step astrategic is this added He event. this like to exhibitions thanks a strongdeterminationhave toinnovate them 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES billion ($34.1mi VND776 In itsfinancialreport for thesecond quar according tonewswire Vnexpress. Anh to suffer lossofVND5 an accumulated hticker TAG on HNX)and Mobile WorldInve Leaked information about themerger betw 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIR As many as 24 Vietna of thecomplexinparticular aims toseek Vietnamese suppliers who show Heldthe HCMCity by DepartmentIn of an exhibitionat the SamsungElectronics saidShimWonHwan,generaldi 50 by 2020, Samsung Vietnamaimstodouble the number tion.html http://www.vir.com.vn/tran-anh-revenue-plunges-after-leaked-merger-informa- Dien may chainXANH in the northern region. Ha TrungTinisalsooneofthesenior lead the and tosupport business ties charge of signing transactio as itsnew Trung Tin Ha appointed Vo also Apart fromassigningVu Dang Linhtosteer management activities as Tran TranAnh'srepresentatives. by be signed as managerevenuesandexpenditures, except Accordingly,sign loan Linhwasauthorisedto or another 2018 until decision ismade Dang point Vu Linh aschieffinancialoffi Board ofdirectorsAccordingly, theAnh. of Besides, MWG hasimplemented thefirst step the acquisitionwillbe of sale. Details the plan agreementon acquisition a mutual the Tran XuanKien, chair of TranAnh, said th According to the latest information about waiting forshareholders'approval. However, inlate August,partiesbothconf tronics chain. "hasnearlyfinished MWG that only admitted detailedinformation the time, had yet to In early August, rumourstook billion VND5 ($220,053). secondperformance inthebleak quarter, brin ($80.1 million). The positive business results the thisyear, of six months In thefirst ($325,678). deficit ofVND7.4 billion mese suppliers who took part inmese suppliers took part who ing Vietnamesecompanies. llion), decreasing 11 per cent on llion), decreasing11percent n dealsand agreements between Tran Anh and third par- and Samsung Vietnam asawhole. ung hasofferedits support toVietnamese suppliersthat Anh'sCFO and accountholder. flight that MWGwill acqu 100 first-tier direct suppl first-tier direct 100 operations ofTransystem. Anh's coders, and other automatic equipment. other automatic coders, and . Linhhas since been ofMWG 2013. CFO net accumulated revenue wasVND1.82 trillion net accumulated dustry andTrade theexhibition andSEHC, announced bythetwosidesthisOctober. ter,revenue of Tran Anhreportedanet the M&A dealbetween the M&A Tran Anhand MWG, be released and a representative of MWG be releasedanda ofMWG representative HCM CityComplex(SEHC)on October19. At the Linh same time, will carry out other cer from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 30, September to 2017 1, cer fromOctober ers ofMWGandiscurrentlydirector the at leaders of both enterprisesat leaders ofboth reached have irmed the acquisition plan, which was still still was which plan, acquisition irmed the een TranAnhDigital World JSC (Tran An- Tran Anh has signed thedecision to ap- and TranAnh's shareholders approved deputy general director. Tinwillbein e end More of thisyear, 50 by 2020. and billion inthe ($220,053) first six months, printed circuit boards andother circuit for printed TVs the firm's corporate finances,corporate Tran Anh thefirm's in the first quarter helpedtooffsetthe in the quarter first rector of Samsung Vietnam Complex, Vietnam at rector ofSamsung stment Corporation(MWG)causedTran selves to improve their competitiveness, gingaccumulated loss inthefirst to half great potential to join the supply chain tojointhesupply potential great forloancontractswhicharerequired to negotiating" on the purchase of an elec- purchase of negotiating"onthe contracts on behalf of Tran Anhaswell on behalfof contracts in taking over the business fromTran of its first-tier suppliers to in Vietnam suppliers first-tier of its the event specialise inmotorsthe event -year, leading to an after-tax leadingtoanafter-tax -year, iers at its production com- at itsproduction iers ire Tran Anh. However, at ire TranAnh.However,at 23 October 2017 50 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Potential tapped Intellasia of what's needed inamajor city, according to Minh. th is in provinces incinemas Investing erage. th have increased 15percentover City HCM expensive inSoutheastAsia. Inparticular, retail floor rentals inmajorcitiessuchas real estateconsultants CBRE investorsable location,negotiat mustthen cal specifications relating to floor areaandsc prime finding is market One probleminthe movies easier." to tunity create anewmodel servesma that ticket prices compared toincomes in the country," said Minh. "We haveagreat oppor- tential, while many modern cinemasonly there alot is and of is po- growing market film "Vietnam's Media. Beta like terprises cities or even less thanhalf,is a goodstra cinemas inprovinces, where ticketsare sold foreign cinema chainsespecial nowdominate, cinema market. Whileit was decisionThe toliberalise themovie industry New player, new strategy a solidpace. at developing Media from Hong Kong, worth VND600 an investment signed and recently brands, axy CinemachainandGalaxy as Studios Investme fromVietnam capital in investment changed the complexion ofVietnamchanged cinema ple whohave never seen blockbuster movieson the silver screen before. It's also The expansionofBeta Cineplexhasbrought distributing 15 foreign teredinto the production and distributi ince, and twoinMyDinhThanh dist Xuan prov- Hoa province, innorthernThanh Nai Dong Hoa city insouthern in Bien others ($ billion ofVND10 investment total with Since afterthelaunch of 2015, its he toreveal, tions total to ten. declined bringing Long Xuyen,BetaMedia willalsoopen and eral directorof Beta Corp., told VET that inits plans for this year, besides Bac Giang come late September and October. Bui Qu Giang province willhavethe to opportunity People in northern Bac province Giang and Long XuyencityintheMekong Delta's An amark. truly well made segment andhas and Mediamarket enteredVietnam'sBeta cinema 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES suppliers-by-2020.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56666/Sa tion complexes. may sothat they become di capacity their to supportproduc group aims Therefore, SamsungVietnam is always on nies in supportingindustriesdonotmeet their requirements. small scale which makes it less appealing toinvestors. Besides, amajority of compa- the phone manufacturingindustryinVietna for suppliersthatmay join their direct su Samsung andother auto andelectronic conglome inVietnam. industries porting supplie key may attract Samsung importantly, films aroundthe country. pointedout that rentals inVietnam are amongthe most controlled byState-owneden the first Beta Cineplex in northern Thai Nguyen city, city, the Thai first Beta Cineplex innorthern Nguyen tion and management activities at local firms and raise raise and firms local at activities management and tion billion ($27.5 million). Thes billion ($27.5 on offilms, producingfive films and pply chains, duetothe poor developmentof tegy for new players, tegy fornewplayers, es well as many foodand beverage (F&B) 500,000), Beta Media Media has builtandopened Beta 500,000), rect partssuppliers forSamsung'sproduc- msung-targets-50-Vietnamese-first-tier- focus on thehigh-end segment with high e a reasonablerental. Arecent report from agreement withBlueHK, a financial group ang Minh, founder of Beta Mediaandgen- ofBeta ang Minh,founder ny types of customers, making goingto the ny typesofcustomers, the lookoutforpotentialsuppliers. The in1995opened up a new era in Vietnam's a newformofentertainment tomanypeo- reen height to be met. After finding a suit- erefore cheaper, atabout 60to70percent two otherBetaCineplexloca- cinemas, at market. Beta Mediamarket. re Beta locations forcinemas, m, or the domestic auto market has a auto market or thedomestic m, for just two-thirds of the price in larger e past year, or three times the market av- market year, orthree timesthe e past go to a Beta Cineplex for the first time time go thefirst aBetaCineplex to for asanew playerfocusingon the budget nts Group(VIG),aninvestor in the Gal- ly those from SouthKorea. Investing in rs contributing to thegrowthofsup- ricts inHanoi.Ithasalso officially en- rates saidtheyfind tolook rates tough it terprises for many decades, terprises formany e are major steps inBeta are major e pecially domestic pecially domestic en- 23 October 2017 51 /63 23 October2017 ceived $3.5million as there aretechni- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia holds great promise. According toHollyw peoplebeing the on therise, young among have saidthatwithrevenue growing20to In general,however, Vietnam's cinema market ed. pensive cinemas may turn away some people standard ofliving, ther when has manydrawbacks.Transaid that inexpensive cinemasinprovinces Building large citiesbut also in invested inth boldly has Cinema Vietnam inces," Le NgocTran, Marketing director at inprov- and cities insmaller especially met, butnot being increasing is ment demand cities and provincesaroundthe country, with two cinemas beingin HCM City'sDistrict7an City. HCM and Hanoi major citieslike besides Lotte CinemaVietnamhas also expanded it 2015. arou at profit with 2015, in cent higherthan po It areas. remote and cities second-tier in the next four years toupgradeand expand theSouth in May, Korean company said it 42, country with the in 313 to total brings its in HCMCity's District 1, CGV openedits 50th cinemacomplex in Viet for Beta Media. The development of the twolargest cinema per cent, accordingtoareport from KDB Da 10 with Platinum cent, per 30 of 98 per cent:CJ CGV Viet the end at playersas byfivemajor inated of atotal screens 86, with 510 and cinemas of 2016,figures from the VietnamCinema 26 with in2009, Vietnam in screens cinema According tothe Ministry ofCulture, Spor Competitive market ing movies. Thisisanew option said. for customers." Minh it," recognised also have others ente as an Cineplex Beta tobuild "I decided surely segment, cinema low-cost the in tial Cineplex together, watchingamovieand also As anewform of entertainment inprovince ly equalthe cost ofthetickets. two on ($4-$5) will spendVND100,000-150,000 salesand ticket enue, with advertis together as wellfastfoodandpopcorn. Sellingfood more diverse manner. In all ofits cinemas ar In its business strategy, Beta Media wants tomer base." scr where city, a of suburbs in the cinemas open to prefer I "Therefore, said. Minh cinema," a to live people where from distance of inSouthKorea."Theratio one-twelfth Vietnamese persongoes tothe cinema is just the region. According to figures from Beta Vietnamese peoplegoing to thecinema,howev of number average people. The are young most ofwhom now exceeding90million, And Vietnamisconsidered tohavegreat po manyprovinces, to meet recreation demand." e will be higher demand as rega as demand higher be will e with five modern cinemas and 404 seats. The new openingfivewith moderncinemasand404 seats.The nam (CGV),with 43 per cent per cent, Galaxy Cinewith9per cent, and BHD with 6 of 2016, which held a combined market shareheld acombined market 2016, which of 500 seats. The local cinema market was dom- eeningquality good films creates aloyal cus- Department (VCD) show, there were138 (VCD)show, Department 25 per cent a year and entertainment needs 25percentayearandentertainment its cinema complexes in Vietnam, including including cinemacomplexesinVietnam, its e construction of new cinemasnot only in ood Reporter magazine, Vietnam is on the to develop the Beta Cineplex brand in a sted $79 million in revenue $79 in million inrevenue 3.3 sted 2016, per ts, and Tourism, there were less than ts, andTourism,100 therewerelessthan rtainment centre ratherthanjustforwatch- planned to invest some $200 million over million $200 some to invest planned Media, theaverage the numberoftimes a cinema-goersto is cinemas low due to the in Hanoi and 65 in HCM City. By the end end By the City. 65inHCM and Hanoi in people havegreater demand or ahigher tential for development, withapopulation tential for development, nd $4.1 million, almost triple compared to triple million,almost nd $4.1 Lotte Cinema toldVET. LotteCinema Vietnam, "Lotte ewoo, a South Korean securities company. securities company. Korean a South ewoo, development of cinemas inthecountry development ofcinemas complexeshascreated amajorchallenge is a reasonable strategy to adopt but also but adopt strategy to reasonable is a ing. Onaverage,two people at the cinema 795 795 released seats. statement In anofficial s cinemacomplexes in certain provinces e Foodfair areas with hot pots ordimsum e Foodfairareaswithhot s, the whole headtoa family can Beta nam in September, at Parkson DongKhoi in nam one-sixth of the average in Malaysia and and inMalaysia the of one-sixth average atits cinemas brings inconsiderable rev- 31 cinemas and 21,000 seats."Entertain- looking for quality products," she products," add- forquality looking eating out. "If I've recognised the poten- I've recognised eating out."If It entered Vietnam in 2008, with its first its with 2008, in entered Vietnam It d District 1. It now has a presence in 20 20 in presence a has now It 1. District d is attractive for investors. Analysts Analysts forinvestors. attractive is soft drinksandaboxofpopcorn, near- er, is lower than in other countries in rds services.in inex- "Investing , LotteCinema Vietnam with 23 October 2017 52 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam healthcare trails inlocal blazing Abbott Vietnam: complex in VN to helpbuildresort Japanese travelagency Intellasia vn_289614.html http://bizhub.vn/property/japanese-travel- In Vietnam, H.I.S. has opened three offi employees. of 14,380 of 2016, the company's revenue was 523.7 billi was523.7 revenue thecompany's 2016, of stake majority also holdsa It around theworld. the national scale through many initiatives th through manyinitiatives scale the national Abbott ishonoured topartner with MoH in ad powe the through life possible best their live mi healthcarecompany,Abbott's "As aglobal health. people's and improving tecting, industry signif with inthehealthcare years is given which Memorabilia, Medal ister's GeneralDougla manager ofAbbottVietnam their contributionstothedevelopment of healthcare inVietnam. good workoflocaland foreign organisati Health (MoH The Ministryof country. its long-term commitment andsignificant su branch ithas303 offices inJapanand230 1980, in Established tours. inaffordable specialising group, travel a is H.I.S. Tokyo-based ble. lion yen($89.44million)each year, proving mi three Bosch, openedin2010,has Ten Huis successful. be likely would region ahigh abletoattract is already nu City, with beautifulharbours and beachesgu He thenexplained that Ranhis Cam conveniently located justone hourfromHCM ment forthe entertainment and recreation business. veloping economies like Vietnam's, higher forde- that said Sawada a ofsuch model, and profitability thepossibility In assessing ture, alsocurrently under H.I.Smanagement. Ten Bosc Huis neighbourhood similartothe a induplicating investor interested is Vietnamese unnamed the toSawada, According to five including billion), $1.8 (about yen Vietnamese grouptobuild alarge-scale resort with aninitial investment of200billion Asian Review toldtheNikkei that Sawada of KhanhHoa. province coast inCamRanhthecentral complex and hotel aresort develop would H.I.S. Co, Ltd(H.I.S) President Hideo Sawa 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS http://vneconomictimes.com/arti es," he believes. respondents, islocation."This showsthepo descreen and superior sound. The least im awi- ithas as whether such factors including cinema, of the thequality was Following customers choosing which cinemastogoto, according to80.7 per cent of respondents. He also mentioned a survey revealing that ti expecteddoub is to fice revenueinVietnam clearly going throughaboom. Minh citedfigu list of countries withanannualbox office The Ministry ofHealthrece 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIR ntly presented the Excellence Award to Abbott VietnamAwardpresented theExcellence for toAbbott ntly in AsiaPacific Airlinesand part of Skymark Airlines. As ) annually grantstheExcell ) annually cle/business/pot ces in HCM City, Hanoi and Da NangCity. and Hanoi ces inHCMCity, six hotels, ofwhichHISwillbuildtwo. six mber ofvisitorsper of million.The is more than$100 market ons, companies, and in NGOs, individuals to recognise individuals who serve over 20 serve over individuals who to recognise portant factor, nominated 15.1per by cent incomes have created afavourableenviron- agency-to-help-build-resort-complex-in- icant contributionstohealing, caring, pro- his travel agency would cooperatewitha da recently confirmed that the company le compared to 2015, to over $200 million. toover$200 le comparedto2015, tential ofinexpensive cinemas inprovinc- r ofhealth. In Vietnam over the lastyears, that that profita- such themeparkmodels are h theme park in Japan's Nagasaki Prefec- park inJapan'sNagasaki theme h s Kuo wass Kuo awarded withtheHealth min- cket price isthemostimportantfactorin llion annual visitors, visitors, earning about 10 bil- llion annual pport in improving healthcare healthcare in the pport inimproving on yen ($4.6 billion) wi ssion isto helppeopleallovertheworld at helpbuild bet- the Vietnameseat people aranteed to draw visitors, and the since visitors, todraw aranteed dressing Vietnam's he res indicating that, in 2018, total boxof- total in2018, res indicatingthat, cities offices in141 ential-tapped ence Award to showcase the ence Awardtoshowcase year, the park model across 66 countries 23 October 2017 53 /63 23 October2017 th of a global total th ofa althcare needsat BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Taiwan to discounted tickets Vietjet offers Intellasia veloping a quality improvemen a quality veloping project,part ofVietnam'sbroader This in hospitals. nutrition ofclinical the improving quality in Vietnam: to supp MoH with partnered Abbott In 2016, through aseries of workshops withsupportfromAbbott. nal nutrition guidelines tohealthcare From July-October, the ministry dissemin year. this March in launched nutrition guidelinesforpregnant tional Usingits wealth ofnutritionexpertise, Abbo pregnant women andlactatingmothers". tocombatthis issue and MoH work towards deficiencies inmothers during pregnancy cally address thehighlevelsof stuntingma One ofcompany's the key commitmentsis to with local solutionsthatmeetconsumers' changing needs. and anticipate aheadofthe stay country' etnamese, the company alsoworks with loca that pharmaceuticals trition, andestablished Along with thecompany'sbreakthroughproduc oflife. people's quality the inenhancing commitment For over20 years, AbbotVietnam hasconsis qualitythe oflife. out through collaborations wi are tailor which initiatives, Vietnam's bott tackle thenationalhealthcare challenges. A needed to are the government'sefforts, companies contributionsfrom Along with at scale andcarryout pr ity Vietnam isamongthe fa said. Kuo communities," stronger and lives ter At the fair and Vietjet's pavilion, visitors can participate in a lucky draw, take partin take draw, in alucky can participate visitors Vietjet's the pavilion, and At fair 2018. from November 1, toMarch 31, 2017 international routescable onall toKaohsiu airfares,promotional availablefromnoon The Travel inTaiwan. Fair 2017 beingisThis donetocelebrate Vietjet's tober 22. discou Vietjet isoffering40,000 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA http://www.vir.com.vn/abbott-vietnam-blazing-trails-in-local-healthcare.html ture. nam andseesmany more opportunitiesfor committedcompany remainsglobe. The toinvesting inthelong-term Viet-of health hasbeenable Abbott to haveameaningful By leveraging its extensive expertise in nutrit better livesandstronger communities. ingrants million) ($10.2 billion VND230 th foundation, its and In Vietnam, Abbott activities. outreach community including ofways, inavariety ranges The commitment to improving the health an tributions arelinked to the over nomic Cooperation (Apec), healthy ageing an The company is also actively supporting Vietnam's priorities in the Asia-Pacific Eco- topatients. benefits tangible To date, the QIP has beenin implemented stest ageing populations eventive healthprogrammes. th local organisations to improve publichealthcareand local organisationsto th nted ticketsstartingatzero dollars, fromnowuntilOc- t programme (QIP) for clinic all goals ofMoH. and objectives professionals inhospitals across Vietnam National StrategyNutr on participation in the Kaohsiung International Kaohsiung inthe participation women and lactatingwomen and mothers whichwas and productdonationstohelp people build s unique healthcare challenges,s uniquehealthcare responding e AbbottFund,have provided more than ated these groundbrea ed totheneeds of the country and carried and lactation. Abbott partnered the Abbott with and lactation. seven key hospitals na seven key lnutrition in children caused bynutritional impacton healthcarepublic acrossthe ng, Taipei, Taichung and Tainan(Taiwan) ng, Taipei,Taichung partnerships and developments in the fu- developments in partnerships and prime example ofthatcontribution isAb- the "improvement of nutritional status for status the "improvement ofnutritional tently beeninVietnamwithitslong-term l stakeholders, including governments, to including l stakeholders, ortpressing onanother theministry need tt collaborated with MoH to establish na- to establish MoH with collaborated tt d well-beingofpatients and consumers improve maternal health, and tospecifi- and health, improve maternal help enhance the quality of heathenhance forthe qualityof help Vi- ion, as well as othe well as ion, as d food safety. These initiatives and con- safety. Theseinitiativesand d food to 2pmatvietjetair.com, will be appli- ts in diagnostics, medical devices, nu- , with apressing ne al nutrition in hospitals. r areas ofhealthcare, king national mater- tionwide, bringing tionwide, ition, focuses on de- ition, focuses 23 October 2017 54 /63 23 October2017 ed toachievequal- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Khue Residence Grand CityThuy JLL tomanageSun projects new Vimefulland manage two Savills to Intellasia and-projects http://vneconomictimes.com/article/proper City. in HCM in Hanoi,and Saigon Pearl, Th ment portfolio includes projects such as cy, andresident solutions. Inaddition to Be also offersfacilities mana Savills managesover 2.5 sqminVi million serv management best quality ering the pr experience inthenational unmatched our have been selected by so ma been selectedby have services toprovide much is higher-quality property itconsiders said Head ofSavillsPropertyVu KieuHanh, of residents." erate and manage these projectsin the mo busy dayatwork," headded. "Webelieve Sa and The Emerald willbecome ideal places fo scale eco-livingenvironments natural space and with mounting air pollution it's become essential to havemore up- lacking increasingly is Hanoi that Group, said Vimedimex CEOof the Dung, Le Tien cost efficiencies, andthe customer experience. staff, adoptingspec cialist manageme high-quality provide will Savills permarket, among others. cilities include theAnSinhInternational Thang LongAvenueandringroadswillenable of the ly locatedatLotCT8inthecentre The Emerald will have two30 Street. Duong DinhNghe Thang LongAvenue,and Street, comprises 66 shop-houses and has convenient develo shop-houseBelleville isacommercial Located atLotB4intheNamTrungYennewurbanareaHanoi'sGiay district, Cau is readyin2019. hand-over The Emerald,when and manager of two new Vimefulland projects in Savills Vietnam has been offi i tostart of Belleville Management 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietjet-offers statement. inits said Vietjet attractive," and ones becausethe weather makesinternationa the also is This discovering. and travelling "Taiwan is in the processofchangingseasons games towin interesting gifts andta Internationally-renowned managementfirm al standards. Real estate manager to operate Residence 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES dence and premises at Sun Thuy Khue dence andpremises atSun Plaza Centre. Commercial apartmen handing over in Sun Group resent as trainingunder well Khue,as Thuy Plaza Su at staff management all provide It will agement servicesforthegroup'sfive-sta partnership withthe Sun Group to provide gement, financialmanagement ific management solutions toimproveproject operations, management as a customer-orimanagement as ny prestigiousdevelopers over cially selectedbytheVimedimex Group as the property -story blocks with 1,344 -story blockswith1,344 lu with healthcareoptions nearby."WehopethatBelleville e Avalon, Vista, Riviera Point, andMasteriThao Dien mmediately, andofThe mmediately, Emerald in2019. ke photos withflightattendants. -discounted-tickets-to-taiwan/119857.vnp Richland Southern, BIDV Tower, and Artemis BIDV Tower, and Richland Southern, ices toBelleville andThe Emerald." My Dinhnewurban area r projects inHanoi's Tay Hodistrict. Management of North and Central Vietnam, Central Management ofNorthand Hospital, Marie Curie School, and a Big C su- and aBig Curie School,Hospital, Marie n GrandCityThuyKhueResidence andSun and Sun PlazaThuyKhueunderinternation- and st efficient wayandenhance theenjoyment etnam. Alongside property management,it etnam. Alongsideproperty ideal season for giving love to your dear lovetoyour giving for season ideal than the usual. than theusual. "This isakey reason we JLL's international standards, and will rep- ty/savills-to-manage real estate consultancy and propertyman- real estateconsultancy lleville and The Emerald, Savills manage- Savills TheEmerald, and lleville nt services andadedicated team of spe- vills has the experience and quality toop- experienceandquality the vills has pment withclassicFren pment ts at Sun Grand City City KhueResi- Thuy ts atSun Grand operty market, we are confident in deliv- in confident are we market, operty r people to kick back and relax after a after relax back and kick to r people Hanoi: Belleville, starting immediately, Jones LangLaSalle l destinations appearmore interesting , which is the bestthe, whichistime oftheyearfor access to Ring Road 3, Mac Thai To Thai Mac 3, Road to Ring access easy access toall partsof the city. Fa- xury apartments. Convenient- , pre-management consultan- entated business and its aim its and entated business the years," she said. "With -two-new-vimefull- (JLL) has signed a in TuLiem district, 23 October 2017 55 /63 23 October2017 ch architecture. It BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam E 200 cars Hotel takesdeliveryof Caravelle Saigon Intellasia the E-Class notonlyofferssm the E-Class tion as well as increase passenger safety. The 9G-TRONIC transmission equipped on an chassis lightweight a owns model new This design andfunctionality. access theInternet in the car. to the ability as well as Vietnam for mapexclusive a3D with GPS and system igation of 590W. The new E-Class is the only model Passengers canenjoythehigh-f inspired by yachts, allowing bolsters to be er, wood and aluminium. Theseatsonthe E- space given asmartarrangement ofthecluste the "Sensual Purity,"on therenownedBased and economical fuel consumptionof just of Intelligence" E 200 selected the past in segment sedan luxury mid-size The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a familiar name decided toupgrade the Mercedes-Benz chau In order to offer the most luxurious moment sible for thewhole fromdistribution process The Mercedes-Benzdealer, authorisedVietna partner 5-star a Hotel, Saigon Caravelle to Mercedes-BenzVietnam (MBV)ha 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES With thepresence ofpremiumbrands such right nearBach m ofspace ParkandWestLake. Thao to betheidealvenueforholdingla promises expand toov lanes, Thuywill Street Khue near is when future, ThamStreet Hoang Hoa the Hanoi People's on Committee forthe planning BuoiNghia Do intersection, inthe needs ofnearly 19,000 customers in Tay Ho first in the open Khue will Thuy Plaza Sun ices. JLL will also help set up systems for oper the twoparties," saidStephenWyat pr and will services "We havehigh quality centre of first commercial ence atthe dence will give residents a fi services in accordance with international standards, Sun Grand City Thuy Khue Resi- expectedKhue, whichis toopennext year milest a is time, it the same "At Group. Sun Ho Tay Real Estate DevelopmentInvestmentJointStock Company, a member of the welcome Sun Grand Cityresidents," saidNg prestigious with the "The signingceremony khue-residence http://vneconomictimes.com/article/proper tocome. Lakesegmentinthetime West dominate the high-end hou onlycreatewavesinthe will not city. Backedbytheprestigiou is deemedResidence apioneering projectthatwi with five-s development apartment A luxury enjoy will high-end services and convenience right on theirdoorstep. Residence Khue Thuy City Grand Sun at residents in, move they as soon as an select suppliers will JLL the Sun Group, and otherentities involvedinthe manageme complexandcommercialcentre,management oftheapartment workingwith agencies ve-star living spacewitha by Caravelle is abreakthrou Caravelle by ooth operation,butalsobrin s SunGroup,according to realestateexperts, the block idelity Burmester(R) via13sp s officially handed over s officiallyhanded t, general director large scale inthe Thuy Khue area." over sixlitres per 100kilometers. ations, service organisa er 20meterswide Plaza and Khue Sun Thuy one in the launching of Sun Plaza Mall Thuy Thuy Mall Plaza Sun of launching in the one adjusted totightly fit with passenger bodies. . With quality manage of MBV since its firstoperationinVietnam. since MBV of ovide thebest in the cooperation between quarter of 2018 and is expected to meet the is expectedtomeetthe and of2018 quarter d coordinateinmanagi 20 years. Especially, the new"Masterpiece years. Especially, 20 ty/jll-to-manage-sun-grand-city-thuy- as CGV cinemaandHa as CGV and BaDinh districts. Under the policy of management firm JLL isinpreparation to in the segment to be equipped with a nav- a with be equipped to thesegment in nt andoperations process. Together with s to visitors to HCM City, Caravelle has s tovisitors to City, Caravelle HCM rge scale events, with more than 4,000 sq sq 4,000 morethan with rge scaleevents, Class arecompletely a wonderful design ffeur service withthenew E 200 cars. m Star Automobile Ltd, has beenrespon- m StarAutomobileLtd, tar utilities, SunGrand City Thuy Khue to after-sale service fortheautomobiles. expandedto50meterswidewitheight interior of the E-Class offers anopen rs and such high as class materials leath- uyen VietHung, general director of the sing market in 2017 but will continue to to willcontinue but 2017 sing marketin d is designed to reduce noise and vibra- that has always taken the lead the taken in lead the has always that ll enrich lifestyles in the centre of the ll enrich lifestylesinthecentreof ofJLLVietnam. professional shopping professional shopping experi- gs about faster acceleration gs aboutfaster gh intermsoftechnology, two units of the new E 200 E two unitsofthenew eakers with a total output output total a eakers with ment andoperations tion, andoperations 23 October 2017 56 /63 23 October2017 ng associatedserv- i Cangrestaurants, BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam motorcycle market Vietnamese onmakes bank Honda Vietnam VN BMW recalls bikesin Intellasia http://bizhub.vn/wheels/bmw-re system. suspension Adventure motorcyclesduetoafaulty R1200GS had BMW also In September2017, recalled The timetocheck and fix errors on each takesaboutonevehicle hour. The recallprogramme will end 27,2018. on September to testand tighten bolt the bearings. motorcycles, whichwas to recall the prod In order toensure thesafety ofusers andth corner, driveson rugged terrain ordecelerates. pan), Asian HondaMotor (Thailand), andVE Vietnam wasestablished in 1996 Honda as recorded at VND7.965 trillion ($350.88 million). of total dividends and profits paid by this tr which was tooverVND10.117 equivalent Most noticeable in this report is the amou businessfrom activitiesoperation and officially VEAM theendofSeptember 2017, At Honda Vietnam. Vietnam Engine tribution of This figure is calculated based on the divi after-tax company, profit offici its as very successfulyearforHonda was a 2016 Billion-dollar profits 2016, reaching thebillion-dollar mark. figures doubling or triplingon-year. Partic da vehiclesare bringing amountain ofprofit The convenienceofridingamotorcyclean 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIR pin to theframeare loose, theywillseriou suspension system. Therefore, if theboltsth These boltsareused todirectthe rear ofthe pivot pinboltsmayloosen. BMW's official distributorin Vietnam,due BMW hasrecalled all80ofitsMotorrad RnineTmotorcycles soldthrougheuro Auto, 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS 200-cars.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56675/Ca event. important this in ities Economic Cooperation2 cific Caravelle isoneofthetophotelstohostth gon River. tral tone,equippedwithfull-length windows hotel owns 335 gorgeous, modern rooms,wh commercialand centers,stillCaravelle offers its guests aunique relaxingThe space. locati atastrategic Situated architecture of Caravelle. the beautyof andelegance modernity is now renovation, thegreat of stage theearly the city.After the historyof downs in and ups Caravell City, HCM Located inthe heartof said. he aspect, every in NCAP) O ( euro Programme Assessment Car New euro the as safecar The E-Classisanoutstandingly at mind sengers tosettheir "The new E-Classis such anoptimal accomp Choi Duk-Jun, managingdirector of Merc restduringthejourney." on asitis, surroundedby th and Machinery Agricultural 017 (Apec 2017) meetings and holding various key activ- various holding meetingsand 2017) (Apec 017 calls-bikes-in-vn_289633.html ally exceeded the billion-dollarally exceededmark. January 1, 2016 to January 23, 2017. 23, toJanuary 2016 January 1, nt of dividendsandprofitspaid to VEAM, dends paid inproportion tothe con- capital uced from August 2014 to November 2016, toNovember2016, 2014 uced fromAugust joint venture belonged to Honda Vietnam,ventureto Honda belonged joint edes-Benz Passenger Cars Vietnam, said: e international delegates attending Asia-Pa- attending delegates e international ravelle-Saigon-Hotel-takes-delivery-of-E- sly affect safetywhen d Vietnamese people's admiration forHon- e Saigonhasexperienced nearly 60yearsof e benefitsofconsumers,euroAutodecided ularly, Honda'safter-ta ularly, it hasfar surpassed th illion ($445.68 million). The illion ($445.68 largest fraction to an issue where the right-side swingarm to anissuewheretheright-sideswingarm Vietnam, Vietnam'slargestmotorcycle a joint venture between Motor (Ja- Honda a jointventure all and all 79 of itsMotorradlineR1200GS vehicle, as well as the fulcrum forthe rear at connect the right-side swingarm pivot the right-sideswingarm at connect added tothe magnificentancient French any for hotelsand asithelpspas- resorts to the company, with each tothe with year's profit company, ich are fully decorated in soothing neu- fully decoratedare insoothing ich AM to manufacture two main products: overlooking thecityorromanticSai- released thefinancialstatements for its e OperaHouse, luxury shops Corporation (VEAM)in the vehicle enters a vehicle enters the e 5-star standardsof e 5-star 23 October 2017 57 /63 x profit peakedin x profit 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia ous models. In big cities likeHanoiand HC scooters an automatic peoplelike "Vietnamese Vi the voracity with impressed was very ards so high-classvehiclemo Talking with VIR, general di general VIR, with Talking accounting for 85 per centofthe company's total revenue. the do still is segment the biles, motorcycle automo- and motorcycles both selling and manufacturing is Vietnam Honda While ly. top of theone Vietnam isalsoconsidered nam or SYM. far ahead ofcompetitors,including Yamaha million motorcyclesandscooters, occupyingabout 70percentofthemarket,reaching morethan20 After years ofoperation in whole market. and 2.1millionunits in sales Motorcycle peryear. motorcycles lion Honda Vietna The totalproductioncapacityof Good incomefromlatestautomatic models far. so Vietnam in investments its surpassed significantly years three last It is not difficult to see that the high pr plant. auto million second plant, $120 to build athird vested more million inthefirs than $290 tered capital. Throughout itsoperation in Upon itsestablishment inMarch1996,Hond lion) in2016,asmentioned above. VND8.92 trillion ($392.95 milli recorded at VND2.313 trillion ($101.89 mill profitshare,H In proportionwithVEAM's announced bythecorporation. publicly as in2016 million) ($325.99 trillion VND7.4 roughly to before surging million), di million). By2015 ($30.58 Vi profit VEAMreceivedfromHonda The announced bythecorporation. publicly as in2016 million) ($325.99 trillion VND7.4 roughly to before surging million), di million). By2015 ($30.58 Vi profit VEAMreceivedfromHonda The VND24 trillion, over one mated that Honda Vietnam's after-tax profit Thus, throughsimple arithmetic on the basedresults publishedby VEAM,it isesti- with the remaining 70 per cent belonging totheother Honda partners. contribute VEAM motorcycles automobiles. and rural areas. In 2017, when the average income of Vietnamese people is expected to in- people isexpectedto Vietnamese of average income2017, whentherural areas. In sales have not only experienced rapid growth in urban areas, but also risen sharply in an upward trend in the spending habits and incomeofVietnamese people.Scooter Takeshi,Yano president that ofVAMM,said marketin2018. cent ofthe motorcycle 60 per about makeup will scooters that Itis inthe forecast market. sold motorcycles stable 50-55 percentand at to continued only hovered around 45 per cent. In 2016, In 2015, scooters accounted for over55per cent transmission motorcycles. manual compared to towitness continued th in 2016, the market Vietnam Associ Besides, accordingtothe Minoru Kato,former general dire per year, against the total 3-3.3 million units units per yearforthe 3-3.3 million againstthetotal per year, billion dollars, in2016. vided profits hadincreased vided profits hadincreased rectors of HondaVietnam also dels kittedoutwithmodern on), and continued to rise to VND24.5 trillion ($1.08 bil- trillion($1.08 toriseVND24.5 on), andcontinued ctor of Honda Vietnam, said. of HondaVietnam, ctor ofits HondaViet t manufacturingplant, $65million in the etnamese people buy and use motorcycles. peopleetnamese buyand Vietnam, Honda Vietna ation ofMotorbikeManufacturers (VAMM), outnumber that ofthe transmission manual four markets global- Honda motorcycles for Vietnam, Honda announced that it had in- it had announced that Vietnam, Honda factory, andanother $60 million inthenew the proportion of scooters remainedfairly etnam in 2014 reached VND694.2 billion reachedVND694.2 in2014 etnam billion reachedVND694.2 in2014 etnam onda Vietnam's after-tax profit in 2014 was profitin2014 after-tax Vietnam's onda minant and profit most ion). By 2015, Honda Vietnam's profit hit Vietnam's profit Honda ion). By2015, e significantgrowth of automatic scooters M City,citizens have Vietnam, SuzukiVi fromthe Vietnamese a Vietnamonlyhad$62.9millionofchar- recentbetween 1.9 have fluctuated years the highgrowthrate of scooters reflects of the total sales, ofthetotal m's three motorcycle factories is 2.5m's threemotorcyclefactories mil- d tend and tohigh-class to shift luxuri- d 30 percentof thecharteredcapital, to VND2.676 trillion ($117.89 to VND2.676 trillion ($117.89 to VND2.676 nam has earned justover the technology are sellingwell," thatthe admitted company while manualvehicles etnam, PiaggioViet- m hassoldover 20 better livingstand- marketwasabout 23 October 2017 58 /63 23 October2017 able business line, BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia are injured intrafficaccidents each year.71 Mai also cited statistics, saying that more intensivelyments aremotorcycles. occupiedby type on thecity'sroads.93per cent oftrav also emphasizedUniversity ofTechnology, Associate ProfessorPhamMai, Xuan formerDean ofTrafficEngineering HCMCity at on roads as they always have to compete for space with motorcycles. lion units. Thus, it is getting more difficult In HCMCity, thenumbermotorcycles of is about 11millionmotorcycles registered in the city. it percent, of 10 growthrate average annual iting personal vehiclesincluding restrictions vehiclesincluding personal iting mi to efforts to the respect with Besides, Mai. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Myanmar have al Myanmar Hong Kong,Singapore, and cycles in big cities and there great theyalso cause commuters. However, tran popular formofprivate "Motorcyclesa are mented. the down areslowing motorcycles "Indirectly, cent. per 7-8 by development of level the back Citypulling HCM nually hasreached over$6.1billionon average, an- by motorcycles caused damage thetotal that implies experts by made calculation A juries). motorcycles (including collisions withpedest now at riskofhuge tr For instance, Hanoi hasmore mi than five gardless ofthe underdevelopment op and business production lengths tooptimise curate forecasts, the markethas also seen motorcycle companies going into great ceeding theplannedtarget by 25percent. Apar However, by 2016, thenumberofvehicles 2020. in2008, Viet andTrade istry of Industry planforthe industry to development motorcycle According published the by the Min- Vietnamese individuals ow was 2016 endof by the etnam VAMM statisticsshowthat the of number City. HCM and Hanoi like cities big in especially rapidly, increasing is ontheroads torcycles In directproportion with the A fearoftrafficjams nance inthe Vietnamese market. to This, the company. for profits higher business imply alarger number ofHonda's proportion ofautomaticscooters and ex Obviously, as thecostof pr motorcycles.exceeding manualtransmission sales scooter will grow by 50 per cent. that over is it predicted promisingly, More VND55-60 climbed to reached anaverage million ($ VND35-40 representativepr Piaggio Vietnam,thea of Moreover,to increasemotorcycle pricesalsoshowedatendency in2016.Accordingto grow stronger. $2,600 per capitayear, crease toabout affic jams as thenumberofprivat million ($2,423-2,643). Honda Vietnam is thriving on Honda Vietnamis oduction hasnot changedconsiderably, the increases in the ned a private motorcycle. ned aprivate sults suggest thatit wasthe success ofmotorcycle manufacturers,the volume ofmo- about 45 million units. This means that one of every two oneofeverytwo Thismeansthat million units. 45 about oftransportinfrastructure. some extent, some has reinforced Honda's domi- nimise pollution and tr pensive vehicle models in production and nam was tohave36million motorcycles by 1,542-1,762) perunit,which now by has 1,542-1,762) than 8,000 peopledieandtensofthousands llion motorcycles and 500,000 and llion motorcyclesand cars is 500,000 for buses and otherpublicvehiclestotravel hasalready reached 45millionunits,ex- ice of automatic scooters in Vietnamscooters in in2007 ice ofautomatic the demandforhigh-end will motorcycles el lanes or the city's sidewalks andpave- motorcyclesthe streetsofVi- on circulating the next seven years, the scooter market per centofthese acci on a rapid uptake, reaching nearlyreaching uptake,on arapid 7.4mil- that motorcycles arethedominantvehicle is projected thatby is projected on motorcyclesis one ofthe goals set by harm to society. China has banned motor- banned has harm tosociety.China vehicles sold tothe andtherebymarket rians, othervehicles, ready introducedsimi growth rate of the city," one expert com- expert one city," the of rate growth sport chosen by the vast majority of city erations in order to maximise profit, re- maximise profit, erations inorderto makingup13.4 per centoftheGDP of t from difficulties in dealing with inac- with dealing in difficulties from t e vehicles issoaring. Withan these trends, with automatic these trends,withautomatic right step. Otherplaces like affic congestions, lim- 2025, Hanoiwillhave dents were caused by dents werecaused and self-inflicted in- self-inflicted and 23 October 2017 59 /63 23 October2017 lar policies," lar policies," said BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam living forlong-term choice of 5 Seasons: condotel Intellasia high-end furniture. room apartment in thecentre of ThanhXuan bil VND1.6 ofonly a price Firstly, with tions to ensure profitability for investors. Considered anew moveinreal estate inve Sustainable profit laundry. and services, food housekeeping, as such services, lated free timeand enjoy luxurious living at th The project alsolooks forward tohelpingresidents make the mostof theirprecious can access. Se 5 amenities, local to several This five-starcondotelalso lightandapanoramic vi ample natural ed thanks to the reasonable room layout an to thereasonableroomlayout ed thanks expand- spaceis York.Apartment New Manhattan, in buildings of apartment style tan apartmentconstruction technology. Each is The projectwasdirectlyexecuted byHoa of long-termliving. pose co are400 by HoldingsVietnam. TNR There 5 Seasonsis located the Gold within TNR services Five-star facilitiesand opportunities. profitability servicesinterms 5 Seasons'qualified of de c careful and ofstudy a period Following lu who wanttorent come customers of thecondotel segment gradually moving fr invest one ofthemanytrendy Vinh isjust just short-term re "buildingmodelunder of the that weredevelopedHanoi forliving," ratherthan for modation forlonger durations.Therefore, Iha that mycondotels can serve "The tourism market has been showing signs Nguyen HoangVinhofHanoi, w oftheresort industry. great potential years,past Over the condotelprojectsha Long-term luxury dented investment opportunities. A pioneer inHanoi'shigh-end condotel 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VIR and environm traffic congestion tothe the According on plan Strengthening the twobig cities. tential bothinprofitearnings Nha Trang cities,and on Phu Quoc Island. Ith invested "Ihave said: years, three past the ket.html http://www.vir.com.vn/honda-vietnam-make consideredingloccal authorities by finalised andplansmight be thisOctober. be- also is future near the in areas metropolitan in motorbikes limiting City, HCM For 2030. cease the circ bystep step and port system, shall be commensurate with the infrastructure and service capacity of the public trans- At the same time, local authorities will set type. date, by in thecity and area (district), an record will Hanoi with avisionto2030, laxation," Vinhsaid. provides a great varietyofex a provides not only as resortsfor a shor and tocashflowgeneration." asons offersninefreelifetime ental pollution in Hanoi inHanoi du pollution ental ho has invested inaseries xury apartments xury apartments for a longduration. lion ($70,300), customers canown lion ($70,300), a two-bed- ew ofthecityat thesame time. market, 5Seasonshas market, introduced unprece- ve been flourishing in Vietnam due to the to flourishing inVietnamdue ve been Season luxury apartment complex, managed complex,apartment managed Season luxury Binh Construction GroupConstructionBinh JSC,usingmodern eir own homes by offering several home-re- onsideration, Vinh wasfinallyconvincedby onsideration, ors who have quickly caught ontothetrend quickly ors whohave out zones formotorcyclerestrictions,which ulation of motorcycles in urban districts by in urbandistricts ulation ofmotorcycles stment, 5Seasons fully converts the condi- sign and utilities,along withsustainable in a lot of condoteland projectsinDananga lotof in d classify the total number of motorcycles d the sizeable glass su d thesizeableglass designed after theirrefutably metropoli- Management ofRoadVehicles toreduce ndotels at withthepur- at 5 Seasons, built ndotels om tourist hubs to the big cities towel- tothebigcities om tourist hubs district with full facilities and imported of saturation.Meanwhile, Ihavelearnt s-bank-on-vietname ve been lookingfor condotelprojects in ink this type of property has huge po- type ofproperty has this ink clusive services. In addition t period, but also as accom- utilities that only residents residents only that utilities ring the 2017-2020 period 2017-2020 ring the of condotelprojects over rfaces whichensure se-motorcycle-mar- 23 October 2017 60 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam haggling rules where heaven Saigon shopping Ben Thanha Market Intellasia "Souvenir shops are generally notthe to place ily on theirvisitstoVietnam. souvenir other and themarket to trips His bargain! Don't be shy! We were told by a local tour guide to bargain down to 65 percent percent 65 to down th at shopping years, sharedthat bargain to guide tour who anAustralian Mark Young, Meanwhile, local a by told were We off. Enjoy! (not quiteforme, Id shy! be Don't bargain! "Tourist attraction. Boughtnutsand dried deal," good a want you if items "Go here if you're intobargainhunting. Ha annoying. found it an saw it some Thanh market, ence atBen who leftco the hundredsofpeople Among is amust," said one reviewer. interesting placesinHCM of the"One most do inHCMCity. According toTripAdvisor, Ben ThanhMarket the market. buyers should equipthemselvesbe prepared In reviewingBenThanhmarket, bothLonely Bargaining isamust could use thiswineholder", sushi andnoodlessoIboughtchopsticks.Myda "I wasthinkingaboutwhatmy family and statue. two pairsofchopsticks,awoodenwine from Leila Scheffers,atourist shopping destination forforeigntourists. the market, as found atanyothercan't be Thanh Marketoftenclaims Ben at The sellers souvenirs.' Market andfind themselves lost amongst the overwhelmed tofeeling tourists often admit brocade, arejusta few of itemssold the Postcards, key chains, decorations, paintings, wooden crafts, scarves, ceramics, and "We wantedto buy things that will landscapes. famous ents opted forbalm, lacquer wooddecorati While Serena'sto buyaback daughterchose were blownawayby the variety of the mark had alsovisited four The familyof bring home in Barcelonafor friends and family. children spent nearly anhourinBenThanh In theafternoonbeforeleavingVietnam,Span for thefaintofheart. no-go for foreigntouristswhoquickly realise th Ben Thanh Marketisundoubtedly the most Price tags are hard tocome byinSaigon's most famous market 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS http://www.vir.com.vn/5-seasons-condotel-of-choice-for-long-term-living.html as theleading realestateinvestors many at least VND300million in profit per year. With this profit, 5 Seasons is considered by thelease With of VND price years. eight within capital back buyers' earning potentially peryear, ment value Moreover, profitgeneratedbyleasingacond she told Tuoi Tre News. Tuoi Tre shetold 15-25 millionper condotelper theNetherlands, wandered themarket before settlingon on't likebargaining)," Julie W added. Christian L commentedonTripAdvisor. e tourist market just isn't for him. for isn't just market e tourist goods sold in the market's stalls. remind usofVietnam," Serenasaid. at Ben Thanh. Both foreign and Vietnamese holder,two ceramicteacups,Buddha and a at never-ending hagglingmakesthevenuea project in Hanoi in terms ofprofitability. project inHanoiterms place has alwaysbeenplace considered aunique interesting experience while the others interesting experiencewhile shops are limited to taking friends andfam- taking friends to are limited shops fruits. Can try before you buy. Pleasebeforefruits. do you Cantry friends would like. I havefriends who like mments regarding their mments regarding City, shopping is good herebutbargaining City, shopping ons, and pop-upcardsfeaturingSaigon's et a few days prior and admitted that they that andadmitted days prior a few et ggle with 50 percent initial price off priceoff on all percentinitial 50 with ggle pack andclothesfromthemarket,par- Market inDistrict 1 hunting for gifts to famous marketinHCMCity, especially that the market sells exclusive goods that that goods exclusive sells market the that the first time they step into Ben Thanh Planet and TripAdvisor emphasize that that emphasize andTripAdvisor Planet tobargainfromthe moment they enter otel canreach 12.7 per cent of the apart- has lived in HCM City for nearly four nearly for City inHCM lived has iard MarcVilaSerena, hiswife,andtwo go if you want qualityof- products,want but if you go hundreds of stalls li hundreds of stalls ranks 40 among thingsto ranks 40 more than250 d likes winesoitwouldbeniceifhe month, investorscanearn ning the 'alleysof 23 October 2017 61 /63 23 October2017 bargaining experi- BUSINESS contest launched design furniture Annual HCMCity finance& business Vietnam Mega ShowHK2017 Vietnamese firms join display luxuryyachts MotorShow 2017 to Vietnam International Intellasia Lasting until October 29, the show is show October29, until the Lasting cars ofparticipatingbrands. ture Swif Russ driver famous by performances tor have will visitors area, display the Outside event. atthe played unique ancient Especially, models and luxu ton on a space ofover 10,000 sq.m. G4 Rex- SsangYong 2.0is,and XV Subaru VolvoXC60, TheNew Beetle Dune2017, gen and the launch ofnew models such as Vo Motor lovers will witness the unveiling of special versions of Audi TT andAudi Q3 son, Triumph and Royal Enfield, and yachtbrand Flyer. will see three imported brands to be pres Mercedes-Benz, Subaru,Volkswagen, Volvo, Organisers said inaddition to brands. andyacht of13auto, motorbike pation hibition and Convention in Centre (SECC) Motor Show2017 The Vietnam International 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA launched_289629.html http://bizhub.vn/news/annual-hcm firms andmade into products. competit past from entries winning Many held atthe2018 VIFA-EXPO. De is deadline forsubmittingentries The vironment-friendliness and commerci eight designerswhose entries meetthecontest the first roundwillgothrough to the second round. From then the jury willchoose in The ideas samples". 20 best "Making and idea" "Design betwo rounds: There will Phu Nguyen Chanh niture design, The 15thannualcontestis open toalldesi try and international designers. tify and nurture talented designers andc Sponsored by the American Hardwood Export City. competition organisedby the Handicraft Hoa Registration isnowopenforthe2017-18 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS ping-heaven-where-hagg https://tuoitrenews.vn/new explained. cheap," he ten friends and familywanttobuyforalo He added that the four-day fair offered offered op fair the that four-day added He and Macau. of economic-commercial affairs) oftheCons Duy Nguyen said and toys, appliances hold The Mega Show Hong Kong is amongthe larg producingproducts rightattheir booths.also materials such as rattan, bamboo, wood, se Vietnamese handicraftandhousehold goods China, fromOctober20-23. mentally-friendly products at the Mega S 80 Some booths of40Vietnamese handicra 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNA ling-rules/42176.html s/business/20171022/ben-tha nine familiar brands such as Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, nine Land brandssuch familiar as Jaguar, Audi, ong, Hawa deputychair, said. -city-furniture-design-contest- expected to attract 125,000 visitors. 125,000 expected toattract al, creative and aesthetic values. and al, creative aesthetic onnect themwith thewoodfurniture indus- cember 15and award ceremony the will be ent forthe Harley-David- namely time first lkswagen Passat Volkswa- lkswagen Passat 2017, BlueMotion how Hong Kong2017held in Hong Kong, and Wood Industry Association ofHCM and WoodIndustry ion have been boughtbywoodworking gners and students interested in wood fur- portunities for businesses to introduce and and tointroduce for businesses portunities a chance to see adventuresome Subaru mo- Subaru achancetoseeadventuresome t ofpeople, sothey only wantsomething ft andgift firms are showcasingenviron- HCM Cityon October 25,withthepartici- dge andshells. Vietnamesecraftsmenare ry motorboat ry motorboat Flyer 7.7willbealsodis- ulate general of Vietnam in Hong Kong Kien, deputy Consul-General (in charge (in Kien, deputyConsul-General DFM and SsangYong, this year's event t from the astest-drive UK aswell signa- (VIMS 2017) will open at the Saigon Ex- Saigon the at willopen 2017) (VIMS are made ofenvironmentally-friendly Mai (Apricot Blossom) furnitureMai (ApricotBlossom) design criteria in terms ofapplicability and en- est trade fairs in Asia for gifts, house- Council, the competition aimstoiden- competition the Council, nh-market-a-saigon-shop- 23 October 2017 62 /63 23 October2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam of industrial visitors attracts record number METALEX Vietnam Intellasia Suttisak Wilanan,deputymana nologies andhigh-qualityindu It showcasedadvanced metalw tunities. came tosource professional visitorswho The recently concludedMETALEXVietnamin 23/OCT/2017 INTELLASIA|VNS 119879.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnamese ritories. Itis expected to receive 4, features 2017 HongKong Show The Mega and orde contracts cured bigexport promote their products tointernational mark "More and more trade visitors are alsoco Nam. in Vit status asoneofthemostimportant indust "Group visitor numbers roseby7per cent numbers of12,565. new visitor reportedrecord 2017 Vietnam METALEX hibition ter three informative trade fairdays, Vietnam's international metalworkingtrade ex- End visitors_289631.html http://bizhub.vn/news/metalex-vietnam- Exhibition andConventionCentre. dustrial Components & Subcontr The annualexpo was heldconcurrently with of Korean technologies to Vietnam providesagreat opportunity for Ji TaikChung, chair oftheKorea Associat to explore business opportunities potent withstrong ufacturer Federation understandstheimportanceof eral oftheSingapore Manufa internatione ofthe of A representative to directlymeet customer's demands." nect with many potentialclients and partne "Thanks to METALEXVietnam, we couldexpa and ournew project to customers. proudly introducedlatestproductssuch Toshimichi Kuronuma, director of Mitsumi was a good place to"meet anddiscuss manage regional Hasuka, Taiki Si China, Japan, nantly from Vietnamese manufacturers." ngapore, Korea,andThailand." ial. Therefore, we always encourageour localcompanies we always ial. Therefore, cturing Federation,"T said: strial strial grade brandsfrom25countries. parts from 500 r ofAIDA(Thailand)Co., orking solutions,latest electronics the assembly tech- ging directorofReedTrad more than 50,000 visitors this year. this visitors 50,000 more than acting Vietnam, fromOcto acting and collaborations inVietnam." rs on the first day ofthe event. -firms-join-mega-s onal pavilions, Lam Joon Khoi, secretary-gen-pavilions, LamJoonKhoi, onal with many peoplefromour industry." attracts-record-number-of-industrial- as injection items and electronic components and electronic as injectionitems ion of Machinery Industry, said:ion ofMachineryIndustry, "METALEX ming fromabroad( new technologies and seek businessoppor- ry events for the manufacturing community community rythe manufacturing eventsfor our members to demonstrate our memberstodemonstrate the potential to 275 groups underlining thetrade fair's to 275 groups underlining technology andregards Vietnamasaman- rs. Moreover, I found it a good opportunityMoreover, rs. Ifoundita Vietnam Co., Ltd, sa twoothers,ElectronicsAssembly and In- 200 businesses from 33 countriesand ter- from33 businesses 200 ets, and many Vietnamese firms have se-many Vietnamesefirms have ets, and nd our businessnetworkaswell con- HCM City received City more 12,500 HCM than he SingaporeManufacturing how-hong-kong-2017/ Ltd, said Metalex Vietnam Ltd, saidMetalex ex, the organiser, said: "Af- said: organiser, the ex, ber 12 to 14 at the Saigon Saigon 12to14 at the ber 34 countries), predomi- 34 countries), id: "This time we 23 October 2017 63 /63 23 October2017