Stock market

Vietnamese stock market attracts foreign investors 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | SGGP The Vietnamese stock market has reached nine year peak with the strong purchase from foreign sector, who has posted the net purchase of VND3,478 billion (US$153 million) on two bourses in the first quarter. On April 5, the VN Index hit 724.14 points increasing 8.64 percent over last yearend. Statistics by stock companies show that net foreign purchase was $106 million in March, the highest level since May 2014. So far, capitalisation in the Vietnamese stock market has topped VND2,260 trillion ($99.51 billion), equivalent to 50.3 percent gross domestic product (GDP) and up 16 percent over the end of 2016. It is the highest level since the Vietnamese stock market was established. Information from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam shows that capital mobilisation touched VND40.7 trillion ($1.79 billion) in the first two months this year. Of these, the value in February accounted for 79 percent. One of reasons for the increase has been up foreign investment funds. At a press conference early March, chair of the commission Vu Bang reported continuous net foreign purchase of local stocks. In January, the net buying value topped $18.4 billion, the highest ever. The most purchased shares in HCM City Stock Exchange (Hose) is VNM of Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company with the total net purchase of VND2,654 billion ($117 million) in the first quarter. Besides, stocks having large capitalisation and listed on bourses for a couple of months have also lured much foreign capital. They comprise NVL of Novaland Investment Joint Stock Company, SAB of Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation and VJC of Vietjet airline with the net purchase values of VND353.6 billion, VND340.9 billion and VND205 billion respectively. Of them NVL and SAB have officially been traded in HOSE since December last year and VJC has been listed for a month. Wiston Lu, an analyst from Phu Hung Securities Corporation, said that the stock market has opened many opportunities for investors with capital withdrawal and listing wave of large stated owned enterprises (SOEs). In addition, the extension of foreign ownership room is expected to lure more foreign capital flow. They have brought the stock market a volume of new capital attracting advantage especially when more large SOEs will list their shares on bourses this year, he added. Last year, the stock market officially saw the attendance of large state owned corporations such as Sabeco, Habeco, ACV, Seaprodex and Vinatex. This year it is expected to receive large scope listings from other stated owned enterprises with the drastic instruction by the government. Don Lam, director general of Vinacapital, says that SOEs equalisation and listing will continue benefiting the stock market and the state asset value. These important steps will create faith for investors and increase the market liquidity. Barry Weisblatt, director of analysis and study department of Viet Capital Securities Company, said that the stock market will continue welcoming large companies such as MobiFone and Petrolimex. In addition, the regulation requiring public companies to list on UpCoM is forecast to bring this bourse attractive shares from well-known companies such as PV Power, Techcombank, VPBank, Vietnam Airlines, Masan Consumer and FPT Telecom, creating a motive power for the market to increase points in 2017. New shares will make the market noisier because the 15.7 percent increase of the Vn-Index last year was partly due to stocks with large capitalisation value such as ROS and SAB listed by the end of 2016. Without these two stocks, the Vn-Index will increase only 8.5 percent, he said. Still, experts said that foreign capital flow has just concentrated on few large stocks such as VNM, SAB and VJC. The government should step up SOEs equitisation and urgently divest state capital from companies out from the list which the state hold shares. It will be difficult to lure foreign investors if the state just sells 5-10 percent shares of good companies because they cannot attend in the management. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176144/vietnamese-stock-market-attracts-foreign- investors.html

Foreign investors rush to buy stake in Vietnamese businesses 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vietnamnet The wave of foreign investors making capital contributions and buying a stake in Vietnamese businesses began in 2015 and increased significantly last year. FIA (the Foreign Investment Agency) said there were 654 deals of foreigners' capital contribution and share purchase in the first two months of the year, with the total contributed capital of $619 million, four times higher than that of the same period of last year. Foreign investors mostly targeted businesses in the manufacturing and processing sector with 220 deals made in the field, worth $292 million. The fields of wholesale & retail and vehicle repair also attracted foreign investments with 197 deals made, worth $124 million. Real estate was the third attractive sector which had 14 deals, valued at $60 million. HCM City saw the highest number of capital contribution deals (322 deals, $313 million), followed by Hanoi, Binh Duong, Nghe An and Quang Binh. In fact, foreign investors began buying into Vietnam's businesses many years ago, but the movement only became clearer in 2015. In M&A deals, for example, Vietnam's businesses seek capable partners in the context of global integration. From July 1, 2015 to July 20, 2016, foreign investors contributed capital and bought into 3,000 businesses with the total value of $2.9 billion. In 2016 alone, 2,547 Vietnam's businesses received foreign shareholders with foreign ownership ratios at over 50 percent or in conditional investment fields, valued at $3.425 billion in total. This occurred after the 2014 Investment Law took effect. Under the new regulations, foreign investors don't have to apply for investment registration certificates when contributing capital or buying into Vietnam's businesses. They only have to follow registration procedures at state management agencies. Analysts said simple administrative procedures have prompted foreign investors to buy a stake in Vietnamese businesses. However, Nguyen Tri Hieu, an economist, warned that state management agencies should not be too optimistic about the foreigners' capital contribution, because no one can say for sure if the capital will keep flowing into Vietnam in the last months of the year. The changes in the world's economies and unpredictable policies applied by the US administration are contributing to an uncertain atmosphere. If foreign investors are uncomfortable about new policies, they may withdraw capital from new emerging markets, including Vietnam. According to Hieu, simplified laws affect foreign investors' decisions. However, they will only make investments if they can see bright prospects in Vietnam's economy. Therefore, in order to encourage foreign investors to pour money into Vietnam, the country should try to enhance its national credibility. To date, Vietnam still is not among the countries that Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch have advised investing in. english.vov.vn/economy/foreign-investors-rush-to-buy-stake-in-vietnamese-businesses-347213.vov

VSD issues trading codes to 228 foreign investors 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vneconomy The Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) has announced the issuance of securities trading codes for foreign investors in March 2017. Accordingly, in March, VSD granted trading codes to 228 foreign investors, including 40 organisations and 188 individuals. In addition, VSD approved the change of information for 36 investors, including seven organisations and 29 individuals; and cancelled trading codes for two investors, including one organisation and one individual. Currently, the current total number of securities trading codes is 20,798 codes; including 3,247 organisations and 17,551 individuals. Previously, in February 2017, VSD granted securities trading codes to 200 foreign investors, including 44 organisations and 156 individuals.

Stocks set to rise on first quarter hopes 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Shares will continue to rise this week as investor sentiment remains positive, analysts say, driven by expectations that good earnings reports will be released in the "shareholder meeting season." Analysts with BIDV Securities Corp (BSC) say that the high expectations of good first quarter performances is directing the flow of money in the market towards companies that had been forecast to do well but are yet to produce expected figures. For example, steel producers' stocks are moving up after underperforming for a while. "The stock market will likely increase this week as listed large-cap firms are about to reveal their first quarter performances," said Nguyễn Ngọc Lan, head of the brokerage division at Agribank Securities Company. The market could increase further after blue chips ended Friday in the positive territory and foreign investors remained net buyers though their purchases declined sharply, Lan said. Foreign investors recorded a net buy value of VND225.6 billion in Vietnam's stock market last week, down 74.5 per cent from the previous week. It is not surprising that the benchmark VN Index has reached new heights recently, said Vu Minh Duc, head of individual customers division with Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC). The benchmark index has entered a development stage that could range between six and 12 months since it successfully overcame the mid-term resistance range of 690-695 points, he said. The short-term resistance level for the VN Index is 730 points for now and 750 points for the next one or two months, Duc added. However, BSC analysts have warned that the market could also face a correction if the released earnings reports fail to meet investor expectations. The market could also be pulled down by the pressure of profit-taking that targets stocks that have risen recently based on forecast first-quarter earnings. "The positive effects created by expectations for good earnings reports can decline..., then stock performances could be a mixed bag. "Investors should look for opportunities in stocks that have good, basic background information or are supported by good business news such as M&A deals and restructuring processes," VCSC analyst Duc said. An example last week was Sacombank. The bank's shares have soared nearly 18 per cent since March 28 after speculation emerged on its restructuring process. Vietnam's benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was up 0.7 per cent to close Friday at 727.95 points. The benchmark index finished 0.8 per cent higher than the previous week. The minor HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange fell 0.6 per cent to end Friday at 90.15 points. The northern market index has dropped 0.7 per cent week on week. Market trading liquidity increased from the previous week with an average of more than 259.4 million shares worth VND4.9 trillion (US$219 million) being traded in each session. Trading volume and trading value rose 0.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively over the previous week. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374337/stocks-set-to-rise-on-first-quarter- hopes.html#ztvimht14sPqGxhi.97

Oil price increases help pull VN Index up 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Vietnam's benchmark VN Index closed up on Friday, boosted by the energy sector on positive movement of oil prices. The benchmark index on the HCM Stock Exchange was up 0.7 per cent to close at 727.95 points, reversing from Thursday's decline of 0.1 per cent. Friday's increase also helped the VN Index finish 0.8 per cent higher than the previous week's closing level. Market trading liquidity rose strongly from Thursday with nearly 230 million shares traded, worth VND5.36 trillion (US$238.47 million). Energy stocks were the centre of attention on Friday as their performances were boosted by the rally of oil prices. Brent crude rose 0.7 per cent to trade at a one-month high of $55.26 a barrel, totalling a five-day rally of 4.6 per cent since March 31. The two listed energy firms on the southern bourse, PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD), gained 4.4 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. The banking sector was also positive on Friday with strong gains in the shares of Eximbank (EIB) and Sacombank (STB). EIB jumped 3.4 per cent and STB hit its daily trading limit of 6.9 per cent. Eximbank has released its documents for the coming annual shareholder meeting, in which the bank said it would consider selling all of its 165 million shares or 8.76 per cent stake in Sacombank. The southern bourse was also boosted by other large-cap stocks such as brewer Sabeco (SAB), Faros Construction Corp (ROS), dairy producer Vinamilk (VNM) and consumer goods company Masan (MSN). Plastic producers, IT firms and seafood companies also performed well. "The VN Index has got over the level of 725 points, however, the gains are not sustainable as declining stocks outnumbered gaining ones," BIDV Securities Corp (BSC) said in a note. It is unlikely that the benchmark index can extend its gains further, BSC said, adding that investors should be cautious and carefully observe the movements of macroeconomic conditions and global markets. The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange fell 0.6 per cent to finish at 90.15 points. The northern market index has dropped total 1.1 per cent in the last two days. More than 47 million shares were exchanged on the northern bourse, worth VND651.4 billion. http://www.vir.com.vn/oil-price-increases-help-pull-vn-index-up.html

HSX up while HNX down 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vn Economic Times Active afternoon sees VN Index close above 725 points on April 7. Main indexes on HSX finished higher on April 7 while those on HNX closed down. On HSX, the VN Index increased 4.73 points (0.65 per cent), the VN30-Index 6.55 points (0.95 per cent), and the VNMid-Index 0.02 points. The VNSml-Index fell 0.03 points. On HNX, the HNX-Index lost 0.56 points (0.61 per cent) and the HNX30-Index 1.00 points (0.61 per cent). The UPCoM Index increased 0.12 points (0.21 per cent) and the VNALL-Index 5.29 points (0.5 per cent). Liquidity on HSX reached VND3.4 trillion ($150 million), more or less the same as the previous day's trade, and on HNX was VND485 billion ($21.4 million), also virtually unchanged. The VN Index opened at 723.22 points and fluctuated before falling to its bottom of the day of 720.3 points mid-session then recovering to close the morning at 723.3 points. In the afternoon it again fluctuated before rising to 726.8 points then edging upwards to close the day's trade at 727.95 points. In food and beverages, BHN increased 6.7 per cent, MSN 3.1 per cent, SAB 1 per cent, and SBT 0.2 per cent. KDC and VNM fell 1.7 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively. In banking, STB hit its ceiling increasing 6.9 per cent, while EIB rose 3.4 per cent. CTG closed at its opening price and MBB and BID lost 0.3 per cent and VCB 0.1 per cent. In energy, GAS rose 4.4 per cent, PGD closed at its opening price, and CNG fell 0.9 per cent. In real estate, DXG increased 4.7 per cent, KBC 1 per cent, and VIC 1 per cent. NVL closed at its opening price, while FLC and KDH lost 1.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent. Among other large caps, HPG increased 1.3 per cent, ROS 1 per cent, and VJC 0.3 per cent, while MWG closed at its opening price. ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND754 billion ($33.3 million), followed by STB with VND331 billion ($14.6 million), HSG with VND142 billion ($6.2 million), and the largest cap, VNM, with VND128 billion ($5.6 million). On HNX, VCS fell 2.8 per cent and ACB 1.6 per cent. SHB, PHP and VNR closed at their opening price and PVS and NTP increased 1.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Foreign investors net sold on HSX by VND197 billion ($8.7 million) and on HNX by VND1.2 billion ($52,956). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/mnpwzcq9-hsx-up-while-hnx-down

Shares remain negative after holiday 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Shares closed in negative territory on Friday morning after the national holiday on Thursday as investors were cautious about current market conditions. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was almost unchanged, ending at 723.26 points. The southern market index closed on Wednesday at 723.22 points. The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange fell 0.7 per cent to close at 90.04 points, declining further from a drop of 0.5 per cent on Wednesday. Market trading liquidity was high with more than 148.2 million shares being traded worth VND3.48 trillion (US$154.7 million). Investors continued to increase their selling in blue chips and other large-cap stocks, putting heavy pressure on the stock market. Finance-banking stocks were the worst decliners. Six of the nine listed banks decreased between 0.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent each, including Vietcombank (VCB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Sacombank (STB). Shares of Sacombank dropped 0.8 per cent on Wednesday after local media reported that property developer Novaland decided not to take part in the restructuring of the bank. On the opposite side, energy stocks helped the market avoid declining further, with oil prices bouncing back strongly in recent days. PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) gained two per cent, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services (PVD) increased by one per cent and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) edged up 0.6 per cent. http://bizhub.vn/markets/shares-remain-negative-after-holiday_285338.html

HSC seeks to scrap cap on foreign ownership 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS HCM Securities Corporation (sticker HCM) is seeking its shareholders' approval to scrap the foreign ownership cap of 49 per cent to pave way for the company to be wholly foreign invested. The matter will be up for discussion at HSC's annual shareholders' meeting on April 24. In the document sent to shareholders before the meeting, the firm said that raising the foreign ownership limit could impose some restrictions on the business, but it could also boost the liquidity of the company's shares, and increase its ability to raise capital when required. HSC is the second largest brokerage firm on the HCM Stock Exchange in terms of market share, with 11.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2016. It aims to raise its brokerage market share to 12.3 per cent this year. The company is expected to raise its net profit target in 2017 to VND361 billion (nearly $16 million), up 19 per cent year-on-year. Its total revenue target is set 23 per cent higher than last year, of which income from brokerage services and margin lending account for 45 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively. The return on average equity (ROAE) ratio is targeted at 14.7 per cent, higher than last year's 13 per cent, and the earnings per share (EPS) is estimated at VND2,645, up 10 per cent year-on-year. The company also plans to raise its 2016 cash dividend rate from 12 per cent to 17 per cent. The first payment of 5 per cent was made on January 12 this year. In 2016, HSC posted a revenue of VND824 billion and net profits of VND304 billion, up 39 per cent and 43 per cent year-on-year, respectively. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176099/hsc-seeks-to-scrap-cap-on-foreign-ownership.html

Vietnam's PV Gas bags $65 million in Q1 net profit on rising revenue 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vnexpress The company reported revenue in the first quarter of 2017 rose nearly 7 percent from a year ago to VND15 trillion. PetroVietnam Gas Corporation, Vietnam's biggest listed energy firm, said Friday its net profit in the first quarter ending March stood nearly flat compared with the same period last year, a significant improvement after reporting an annual net profit fall of 44 percent in the same period a year ago. The HCM City-based firm, also known as PV Gas, reported January-March net profit reached an estimated VND1.476 trillion ($65 million), almost unchanged from a year ago while revenue rose nearly 7 percent in the same period to about VND15 trillion, it said in a statement, advising unaudited results for the first quarter. Last year PV Gas, the gas processing arm of state oil and gas PetroVietnam group, made a net profit of VND1.478 trillion in the first quarter, far below the VND2.66 trillion reported in the same period of 2015, as revenue fell 9.6 percent to VND14.04 trillion, based on the company's financial statement. In the whole of 2016, PV Gas said its net profit fell 14 percent to VND7.17 trillion as global crude oil prices decreased 15 percent from the previous year to an average $45 per barrel. This year PV Gas produced nearly 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the first three months, or 27 percent of its annual target, the statement said. Condensate and liquefied petroleum gas output have also reached around 30 percent of the annual targets for 2017, PV Gas said. Overall, Vietnam's natural gas output reached an estimated 2.52 billion cubic meters in the first quarter, down 8.9 percent from a year ago, government statistics show. In February, PV Gas signed an agreement with PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation to develop the second phase to tap gas at the Su Tu Trang (White Lion) field off the country's southern coast between 2020 and 2035. Gas output from Su Tu Trang, one of the four fields in block 15-1, could offset the country's declining natural gas output and helps meet Vietnam's rising demand for fuel in coming years. PV Gas is scheduled to hold its shareholder meeting on April 17 to discuss production and business targets for 2017. PetroVietnam, its parent firm, has already projected natural gas output this year to fall 9.4 percent to 9.61 billion cubic meters, and the crude oil output would drop 14.6 percent to 14.2 million tonnes, or 285,000 barrels per day. The Vietnamese government has planned lower crude oil output this year as it is stepping up the restructuring of the economy toward sustainable growth via expanding the sectors which do not rely on the exploitation of natural resources. PV Gas stocks closed up 4.4 percent at VND57,200 per share on Friday. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-pv-gas-bags-65 million-in-q1-net-profit-on-rising- revenue-3567127.html

TPG Asia sets to become the majority shareholder of VAS 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR Global alternative asset firm TPG has just entered into a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Vietnam Australia International School to become a majority owner. As part of this transaction, two private equity funds, Mekong Enterprise Fund II and MAJ Invest, will fully divest their holdings in Vietnam Australia International School (VAS). Founder Pham Tan Nghia will continue as a VAS shareholder after TPG's investment is closed. Leveraging TPG's expertise in Asia and in the education sector, VAS will continue to expand its campuses, improve the quality of its programmes, and further develop its staff to remain the market leader in the bilingual K-12 education segment in Vietnam. TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm with more than $74 billion of assets under management. TPG Capital Asia is the dedicated Asia platform for TPG, with investment professionals in Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, and Singapore, managing more than $6 billion in assets. As one of the first private equity firms to invest in Asia, some of TPG Capital Asia's past and current investments include 8990 Holdings, Cushman & Wakefield, Healthscope, HCP Packaging, Janalakshmi Financial Services, Lenovo, Myer, PropertyGuru, Union Bank of Colombo, and Wharf T&T. Across platforms, TPG's past and current investments in Vietnam include Proconco, Masan Group, and FPT Corporation. "VAS is a business that is uniquely adapted to the Vietnamese market. Its innovative educational model responds to the needs and preferences of the expanding middle-class, and it has a strong brand with great potential for growth," said Dominic Picone, managing director of TPG Asia. "VAS is a good example of the type of creative investment opportunities we look for in Southeast Asia, and we believe the business will thrive in partnership with TPG." VAS has more than 6,300 students across seven campuses in HCM City - a steep increase from the 2004 school year, when it had 400 students. It is now the largest private K-12 education group in Vietnam. The school system's growth has thrived since it introduced the Cambridge International Curriculum, which has led to an increase from 4,100 students in 2014 to its current total. With investments in new buildings and facilities such as the newly-opened Garden Hills campus and planned campuses in HCM City and Hanoi, the school system is bringing more educational opportunities to students throughout Vietnam. The growth of VAS has been achieved by a dedicated team of more than 1,300 high-quality Vietnamese and international teachers and staff, many of whom have been with the school since its inception. Many alternatives to public education have been opened in recent years in Vietnam, especially private schools teaching international programmes. VAS has created differentiation and a competitive advantage by pioneering the delivery of the Cambridge International Education in Vietnam, combined with the National Programme throughout all grades in HCM City. Students enrolling in the VAS bilingual programme have advantages in terms of knowledge, skills, certificates, and diplomas issued by the Cambridge International Examinations Council (CIE), which have permanent, worldwide currency. Students also receive the national Ministry of Education and Training- mandated qualifications. In particular, CIE's A Level Diploma at VAS helps many students save on costs instead of going abroad. VAS is also the first school to introduce the "7-core-value system" in its teaching methodology, using it as a guide for the students to develop strong values as well as prepare for success in higher levels of education and in life. "In the next three to five years, with the support of TPG, we will invest in the development and training of our staff, the further improvement in the quality of our service, the teaching-learning activities, and the facilities throughout the entire system," said VAS executive chair Marcel van Miert. "Regarding our expansion plans, VAS intends to open many more large-scale campuses in HCM City and other provinces. I am very honoured to continue to accompany the VAS staff and teachers who will carry out this plan." http://www.vir.com.vn/tpg-asia-sets-to-become-the-majority-shareholder-of-vas.html

VN Index just short of 730 points 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Index breaks through 730 on April 10 but then slips. Only the VN30-Index closed down on April 10. On HSX, the VN Index increased 1.92 points (0.26 per cent) while the VN30-Index lost 0.9 points (0.13) per cent. The VNMid-Index rose 6.78 points (0.74 per cent) and the VNSml-Index 1.12 points (0.14 per cent). On HNX, the HNX-Index gained 0.29 points (0.32 per cent), the HNX30-Index 2.22 points (1.36 per cent), the UPCoM Index 0.2 points (0.34 per cent), and the VNALL-Index 1.37 points (0.13 per cent). Liquidity on HSX reached VND3.4 trillion ($150 million), virtually the same as last Friday, and on HNX was VND659 billion ($29 million), 36 per cent higher. The VN Index opened at 727.95 points and reached 728 points early on before hitting its bottom of the day of 727.8 points. It then rose to 729.5 points mid-session before easing then recovering to close the morning at 729.5 points. In the afternoon it reached its peak of the day of 730.8 points mid-session before easing to close the day at 729.87 points. In food and beverages, SAB increased 2 per cent, BNH 1.1 per cent, and KDC 0.6 per cent. VNM closed at its opening price while MSN and SBT fell 1.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. All large banking caps fell: STB by 2.7 per cent, EIB 2.1 per cent, CTG and BID 0.6 per cent, and MBB and VCB 0.3 per cent. In energy, GAS and CNG closed up 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively, while PGD closed at its opening price. All large caps in real estate increased: DXG by 2.2 per cent, VIC 1 per cent, KBC and FLC 0.3 per cent, KDH 0.2 per cent, and NVL 0.1 per cent. Among other large caps, BVH increased 2.1 per cent, VJC 1.3 per cent, and HPG 0.3 per cent, while MWG and ROS lost 0.5 and 0.1 per cent, respectively. ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND1 trillion ($44.1 million), followed by CII with VND148 billion ($6.5 million), SBT with VND144 billion ($6.4 million), and the largest cap, VNM, with VND86 billion ($3.7 million). On HNX, SHB and PVS increased 8.6 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively. NTP and PHP closed at their opening price while ACB and VCS fell 1.6 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively. Foreign investors net sold on HSX by VND284 billion ($12.5 million) and on HNX by VND15 billion ($661,950). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/vn-index-just-short-of-730-points

Shares open new week's trade in positive territory 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Shares advanced on the two exchanges on Monday morning, driven by the growth of financial and real estate companies. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was up 0.3 per cent to end at 729.8 points. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index increased 0.5 per cent to reach 90.6 points. More than 125 million shares worth a combined VND2.3 trillion (US$102 million) were traded on the two markets. Lenders BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Sacombank (STB), insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) and Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) expanded. Large realty firms such as FLC Group (FLC), Novaland Investment Group (NVL), VinGroup (VIC) and Dat Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction (DXG) increased 0.7-2.2 per cent each. Several companies will hold their annual shareholders' meetings (ASM) this month and information surrounding these meetings is likely to have an impact on investor psychology. Analysts have warned the market could see a correction if the released earnings reports at these meetings failed to meet investor expectations. Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Binh Chanh Construction Investment Shareholding Company (BCI) are holding their ASMs today. ACB's shares were down 0.4 per cent to VND24,700 per share, while BCI stayed flat at VND25,200 apiece. Afternoon trade starts at 1pm. http://bizhub.vn/markets/shares-open-new-weeks-trade-in-positive-territory_285396.html

Foreign investors increasingly keen on securities 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Report from National Financial Supervisory Commission notes rising faith among foreign investors in Vietnam's economy and its stock market. The National Financial Supervisory Commission has recently released a report on the economic situation in the first quarter of 2017, which highlights an increasing trend among foreign investors to trade on Vietnam's stock market. This came amid a prominent event in March - the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates - and is likely to continue to increase in 2017. However, the Commission said that the impact of the US Fed's interest rate policy did not significantly affect foreign investment into Vietnam, as the interest rate difference between VND and USD deposits remains in favour of holding VND. In recent years, the stability of the USD/VND exchange rate has been an advantage for Vietnam in attracting and retaining foreign investors compared to many other countries in the region. The Commission stated that foreign investors continue to believe in Vietnam's economic outlook and its stock market, as evidenced by continued net buying during March, which reached its highest level since the beginning of the year, at $303 million. Total net buying by foreign investors since the beginning of the year stood at $554 million, including $418 million in bonds and $136 million in shares. The total value of portfolios held by foreign investors was estimated in the report at $23.4 billion at the end of the first quarter, up 14.8 per cent since the end of 2016. Foreign ownership in the stock market is estimated at 19.2 per cent and 6.2 per cent on the bond market. The report also noted that interest rates have fluctuated since early March. Liquidity in the banking system during the first quarter showed signs of slipping, mainly due to a lack of liquidity at some small commercial banks. However, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) adjusted liquidity via open market operations (OMO), making a strong net injection in January, absorbing large amounts in February, and offering continued support in March. As at March 28, the central bank had pumped in some VND12 trillion ($529.3 million). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/foreign-investors-increasingly-keen-on-securities

Saigon Tourist to auction stakes in loss-making Jetstar airline 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS State-owned tour developer Saigon Tourist will auction its entire holding of almost 363,800 shares of Jetstar Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Company this month, an amount equivalent to 1.14 per cent of the budget airline's capital. Jetstar Pacific's accumulated losses have mounted to VNĐ3.7 trillion (US$160 million) as of September 30, 2016, according to the figures released by Vietinbank Securities Co who is the deal advisory. The starting price is set at VNĐ15,000 ($0.66) a share, just a 13.6 per cent of the face value of VNĐ110,000 for a Jetstar Pacific's share. At this price, Saigon Tourist will book a loss of nearly VNĐ35 billion for this investment. All existing shareholders of Jetstar airlines are eligible to participate in the auction, scheduled on April 26. Difficult divestment Saigon Tourist's divestment is forecast to be difficult, especially following Jetstar Pacific's long streak of losses. Founded in 1991, Jetstar Pacific is Việt Nam's first budget airline, but its performance has been left behind by its rival Vietjet Air, which started operation in 2011. According to Vietinbank Securities Co's report, Jetstar Pacific earned total revenues of nearly VNĐ4 trillion in the first nine months of 2016, up VNĐ550 billion over the same period of 2015. However, it posted a loss of VNĐ346 billion during the period, a bad performance compared to a profit of VNĐ80 billion in first nine-months of 2015. It accumulated losses of nearly VNĐ3.7 trillion by the end of September last year, of which short-term financial liabilities have swollen to VNĐ1.8 trillion. The airline's equity capital shrank from VNĐ3.5 trillion to just VNĐ413 billion. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is its largest shareholder with a 68.85 per cent while Singapore- based Qantas Asia Investment Company Pte Ltd owns 30 per cent. Other two minor stakeholders include Saigon Tourist with a 1.14 per cent and Lương Hoai Nam, Jetstar's former general director, with a 0.01 per cent stake. In April last year, Vietnam Airlines and Qantas unveiled plans of pouring additional $139 million to double the size of Jetstar Pacific's fleet to 30 aircrafts over the next four years. Saigon Tourist reported a plan to offload Jetstar Pacific shares in 2015 but did not make it due to transfer restrictions. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374300/saigon-tourist-to-auction-stakes-in-loss-making-jetstar- airline.html#fY9p02U2QWFe5vVq.97

Vietnam: Kido Frozen Foods to list at $132m valuation 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Deal Street Asia Vietnamese food major Kido Group is looking at listing its subsidiary arm - Kido Frozen Foods (KDF) - in the second quarter of 2017 after the completion of its initial public offering of 20 per cent stake this month, the company announced over the weekend. Kido Group currently holds 99.8 per cent of KDF. The sale of its 20 per cent ownership in the frozen food subsidiary, slated for completion by April 19, will be followed by a 15 per cent divestment to business partners and company's employees, an executive with the firm told DEALSTREETASIA in an email interaction. KDF will not select strategic investors, this executive added. The target of the IPO is to attract external funding to KDF, the announcement said. The shares in the IPO are priced at VND52,000 apiece, based on "the adequate transaction value and the evaluation by financial agencies". This range values KDF at around VND3 trillion ($132 million). Viet Dragon Securities is advising the group on the IPO and listing. The brokerage house, in which Kido Group acquired part of stake in 2015, values KDF shares higher at VND64,700 each, projecting the company's revenue to expand 27 per cent to reach nearly VND1.8 trillion in 2017, which will potentially lead to a net profit of VND202 billion. KDF will be traded on UPCoM (unlisted public company market), a sub-exchange on the Hanoi listing bourse. The listing will take place in the second quarter (IPO and listing are different processes in Vietnam). Kido Group acquired the Wall's ice cream brand from Unilever in 2003 to establish KDF. The ice cream business has been contributing to a higher proportion of the firm's revenue. While Kido declined to name the investors who have submitted bids to buy KDF shares, which were reportedly oversubscribed by 3.6 times, the group's deputy chair-cum-CEO had earlier announced in a KDF roadshow late March that Unilever had expressed an interest in the IPO. Kido Group, which sold out its snack business to Oreo maker Mondelez for $460 million, has been focussing on the production of three main consumer products: frozen food - primarily ice cream, instant noodle, and vegetable oil - the line that saw the group acquire a majority stake at formerly state-owned Vocarimex. www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vietnam-kido-frozen-foods-to-list-at-132m-valuation-getting-no- strategic-investor-69851/

Mizuho to establish $252 million fund, eyes VN 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Mizuho Financial Group will set up an $252 million (28 billion Japanese yen) investment fund early this summer to invest in small- and medium-sized companies in Southeast Asia, Nikkei reported. The fund is targeting businesses in countries such as Việt Nam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Each selected SME will receive around $9 million (1 billion yen). Through this fund, the Japanese company may also support joint ventures between Japan and Southeast Asian nations, as well as send staffs to the firms. The group is likely to invest a total of more than 10 billion yen, while other companies such as Dai-ichi Life Insurance will contribute several billion yen. Other Japanese banks and European investors are also considering investing in the fund. Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, with its rising population and growing middle-class, which are boosting the region's economic growth. Mizuho is Japan's second largest financial group and among the top 20 largest financial groups in the world, with diversified investments in banking, stocks and investment funds. It has branches in Ha Nội and HCM City and is Vietcombank's largest foreign shareholder, with 15 per cent stake. vietnamnews.vn/economy/374370/mizuho-to-establish-us252 million-fund-eyes- vn.html#PQVzqxryQTgcR0wi.97

Korean funds invest in Appota 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Games startup receives Series 3 funding from Korea Investment Partners and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. Two South Korean investment funds have invested into the Vietnamese games startup Appota. It was successful in calling for Series 3 fundraising from the two funds: Korea Investment Partners (KIP) and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. "This deal was finalised in the past but we are only now officially announcing it," a representative from Appota confirmed with VET. This is the third round of fundraising for Appota, which has been in operation for more than five years. It previously received investment from VNP-Group (Series A) in 2012 and GMO Global Payment Fund and Golden Gate Ventures (Series B) in 2014. The third round also marked the first time a technology startup in Vietnam has received capital from investment funds in South Korea. Investment into Appota now stands at nearly $10 million. The new investment from the two funds will take Appota to a new stage, consolidating its leading position in the digital content distribution sector and creating the grounds for developing two other potential areas - advertising and financial technology (FinTech). Before investing in Appota, KIP also poured capital into a number of leading technology companies around the world, such as Kakao, Naver, and Super Evil Megacorp. Mirae Asset Venture Investment, meanwhile, is well known for its extensive portfolio of investments covering 270 companies, in sectors such as technology, mobile, finance, and consumer goods. "With this round of fundraising, Appota is on its way to reaching the $50 million startup milestone," said Do Tuan Anh, founder and CEO of Appota. "KIP and Mirae Mutual Funds not only provide the necessary funds to consolidate the platform and expand the scale of our services, they also bring a network of potential partners, insights into the gaming market, social networking, and financial technology, creating a solid premise for Appota to expand its business in Asia." Appota is a pioneer in the field of building mobile platforms in Vietnam with more than 30 million users worldwide, and the company is working with more than 15,000 developers, advertisers and service providers. It is also one of the three largest domestic games publishers in Vietnam. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/south-korean-funds-invest-in-appota

Coteccons reaps $176.2mn in Q1 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Growth of 27 percent in line with expectations, construction giant says. The Coteccons Construction JSC (Coteccons, stock code CTD) has announced that its business results in the first quarter of the year totalled VND4 trillion ($176.2 million), up 27 per cent year-on-year. The growth was in line with expectations, according to deputy general director Tran Quang Tuan. Total contracts were valued at VND8.7 trillion ($383.4 million), including in the second stage of the Ho Tram project, the Paihong factory, A&B Central Square Nha Trang, Dragonbay Ha Long, and Vinhomes Metropolis. Coteccons was also named among the best places to work in Vietnam's building sector, being in the Top 5 in leadership and compensation/ welfare. Tuan also announced the establishment of Covestcon Ltd, with charter capital of VND26 billion ($1.1 million). A wholly owned subsidiary of Coteccons, its main business lines are brokerage and trading. These are the first steps by Coteccons in carry out its investment activities announced last year. Covestcon will directly research and conduct real estate projects such as offices and resorts and will also take over potential projects announced by Coteccons in the past. Coteccons has also announced the postponement of its 2017 Annual general Meeting (AGM). Scheduled for April 13 at the New World Hotel in HCM City, the meeting has been postponed due to preparations by the Board of directors and the Board of Supervisors for the new term not being completed. The AGM is expected to be held sometime in the second quarter. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/coteccons-reaps-176-2mn-in-q1

Finance

Reference exchange rate up 5 VND 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA The daily reference exchange rate for VND/USD was set at 22,316 VND per USD on April 10, up 5 VND from the last working day of last week (April 7). With the current trading band of/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks on the day is 22,985 VND and the floor rate 21,647 VND per USD. The opening hour rates listed at commercial banks was almost unchanged from April 7. BIDV maintained its rates at 22,625 VND (buying) and 22,695 VND (selling) per USD, the same as on April 7. The rates at Vietcombank also stayed unchanged at 22,640 VND (buying) and 22,710 VND (selling). Meanwhile, Vietinbank kept its selling rate at 22,700 VND but raised its buying rate by 15 VND to 22,630 VND. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-up-5-vnd/109967.vnp

What's happening in the retail banking market? 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vietnamnet Many Vietnamese banks have reported high growth rates in retail banking in recent years. VietinBank has reported high growth rates in the retail banking with the outstanding loans increasing by 2.5 times in 2015 compared with 2014 and by 35 percent in 2016 compared with 2015. The capital mobilised by the bank by the end of 2016 increased by 21.2 percent compared with 2015, while retail turnover increased by 30 percent. After the restructuring, Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) has regained its strength in the retail banking market. In 2016, its pre-tax profit increased by 27 percent compared with the year before to VND1.667 trillion. According to the Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI), ACB's lending to individual clients in 2016 increased by 30 percent thanks to a large network and experienced workforce. Analysts noted that the bank's proportion in lending to individuals increased significantly (accounting for 53 percent of outstanding loans by the end of 2016, higher than the 49 percent by the end of 2015), while the loan-to-deposit ratio has improved (77 percent in 2016 vs 76 percent in 2015). They also commented that the increased investment in technology helps Vietnamese banks well exploit the retail banking market. With large networks and modern technology, banks can provide diversified retail banking products which increase the revenue. What are foreign banks doing? In late 2014, HSBC Vietnam told the local press that it found retail banking was a stable and less risky sector which can bring high revenue. By 2015, the bank had for five consecutive years led the market in terms of card payment revenue, according to Visa. However, the Number 1 position unexpectedly went to Vietcombank in 2016, while HSBC Vietnam fell into the third position. The commercial banks which hold the biggest market share reported by VisaNet include many Vietnamese names - Vietcombank, Vietinbank, Military Bank, ACB and Techcombank. Meanwhile, two foreign names are Citibank and HSBC. ANZ was recognised as the best retail bank in Vietnam in 2013. Some sources said ANZ is negotiating with partners on the transfer of its retail banking division. Three foreign banks and two Vietnamese banks have shown their interest in ANZ's retail banking division. The decision by ANZ could be a part of its plan to adjust business strategy. However, analysts commented that the Vietnamese retail banking market, where only 20 percent of the population has approached consumer finance services, is not as attractive as it may appear. http://english.vov.vn/economy/whats-happening-in-the-retail-banking-market-347203.vov

Vietnam banks' assets, registered capital 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Reuters April 7 The following table updates the assets and registered capital of banks in Vietnam, based on their latest published reports. NOTE: * Updated; unit: billions of dong FULLY STATE-OWNED BANKS MM/YR ASSETS REG CAP Agribank 12-16 *1,000,000.00 *29,126 #Vietnam Development Bank 12-14 324,526.87 14,159 #Vietnam Bank for Social Policies 12-16 *162,400.00 10,696 Dai Duong Bank 06-14 68,783.30 4,000 Global Petro Bank (GP Bank) 09-11 32,000.00 3,018 Construction Bank 12-11 27,171.30 3,000 Cooperative Bank of Vietnam 12-16 *27,068.00 3,394 State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) 10,000 NOTES: # are policy lenders * Assets value for Agribank is an estimated figure provided in an Agribank statement PARTLY PRIVATE BANKS: 31 MM/YR ASSETS REG CAP BIDV 12-16 *1,006,404.15 34,187 VietinBank 12-16 *948,699.02 37,234 Vietcombank 12-16 *787,906.89 35,978 Sai Gon Commercial Bank (SCB) 12-16 *361,682.37 14,295 Saigon Thuong Tin Bank 12-16 *333,294.84 18,852 Military Bank 12-16 *256,258.50 17,127 Technological & Commercial Bank 12-16 *235,363.14 8,878 Asia Commercial Bank 12-16 *233,680.88 9,377 Sai Gon Hanoi Bank 12-16 *234,785.82 *11,197 Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) 12-16 *228,770.92 9,181 Lien Viet Post Bank (LPB) 09-16 133,080.14 6,460 Eximbank 12-16 *128,801.51 12,355 Maritime Bank (MSB) 06-16 114,500.00 11,750 HCM City Development Bank (HDBank) 12-15 102,423.00 8,100 Vietnam Public Bank (PVcomBank) 12-15 98,605.44 9,000 Vietnam International Bank (VIB) 12-16 *104,516.96 5,644 Dong Nam A Bank (SeABank) 06-16 91,595.11 5,466 Tien Phong Bank (TPBank) 09-16 89,507.68 5,842 Dong A Bank (DAB) 12-14 87,108.00 5,000 An Binh Bank (ABBank) 06-16 70,352.54 5,319 Bac A Bank (North Asia Bank) 12-16 *75,938.15 5,000 National Citizen Bank (NCB) 09-16 57,798.58 3,010 Phuong Dong Bank (OCB) 12-16 *63,815.09 4,000 Viet A Bank (VAB) 09-16 52,896.61 3,500 Nam A Bank (South Asia Bank) 09-16 39,747.53 3,021 Viet Capital Bank 12-15 29,579.00 3,000 Kien Long Bank 12-16 *30,451.01 3,000 Petrolimex Group Bank (PG Bank) 09-16 23,110.82 3,000 Bao Viet Bank 06-14 20,857.70 3,150 Saigon Cong Thuong Bank (Saigonbank) 09-16 18,210.85 3,080 Vietnam Thuong Tin Bank (Vietbank) 12-12 16,844.70 3,000 FULLY FOREIGN-OWNED BANKS: 8 HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd 12-16 *71,138.05 7,528 ANZ Bank (Vietnam) Ltd 12-15 46,097.00 3,000 Shinhan Vietnam Bank Ltd 12-16 *54,955.15 4,547 Standard Chartered Bank (Vietnam) Ltd 12-12 24,071.70 *3,080 Hong Leong Bank Vietnam Ltd 12-14 7,013.80 3,000 Public Bank Vietnam Ltd 12-15 9,724.12 3,000 CIMB Vietnam 3,203 Woori Bank Vietnam INVESTMENT BY FOREIGN BANKS/INVESTORS in Vietnamese banks BNP Paribas 20 percent of Oricombank Commonwealth Bank of Australia 20 percent of VIB Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) 20 percent of ABBank Societe generale 20 percent of SeABank United Overseas Bank 20 percent of Phuong Nam Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ 19.73 percent of VietinBank HSBC Holdings Plc 19.41 percent of Techcombank Standard Chartered Plc 15.69 percent of ACB Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp 15.07 percent of Eximbank Mizuho Corporate Bank 15.00 percent of Vietcombank International Finance Corporation 4.99 percent of TPBank REGISTERED CAPITAL TARGET (billions of dong) VietinBank 49,209 Vietcombank 35,978 Agribank 31,000 Sacombank 14,852 Eximbank 13,591 Sahabank 11,197 ACB 10,273 Lien Viet Post Bank 9,000 HSBC Bank Vietnam 7,528 SeABank 7,466 Dong A Bank 6,000 VIB 5,500 An Binh Bank 5,320 Bao Viet Bank 5,200 OCB 5,000 NCB 4,510 Viet A 4,200 Nam A/Saigonbank 4,000 Kien Long 3,600 Date 2015 M&A, APPROVED BY SBV February 2 SBV acquires Vietnam Construction Bank March 23 Maritime Bank - Mekong Development Bank March 24 Public Bank Bhd to buy BIDV stake in VID Public Bank April 23 BIDV - Mekong Housing Bank April 25 SBV acquires Dai Duong Bank July 7 SBV takes over GP Bank M&A EXPECTED IN 2015 April 14 VietinBank - PG Bank April 20 Sacombank - Phuong Nam Bank July 10 Siam Commercial Bank to take over Vinasiam Vietnam caps foreign ownership in a domestic bank at 30 percent, with a 15-percent limit for a non-strategic investor. A foreign bank can own 10 percent and a non-bank investor that is not a strategic investor can own 5 percent. The government allows a foreign strategic investor to own 20 percent in a Vietnamese bank. In April 2015, the government said it would issue a decree soon to allow foreigners to own more than 30 percent of a Vietnamese bank. No further decision has been made since. The banking system includes 51 foreign bank branches, two joint venture banks, 16 financial firms and 11 financial leasing companies. There are also nearly 50 foreign bank representative offices. Vietnam, with a population of nearly 93 million, had issued 101.94 million bank cards at the end of March 2016, up 2.4 percent from the end of 2015, SBV data show. Vietnam allowed nine mergers and acquisitions in 2015 as part of the country's banking sector reform that started in early 2012. ($1=22,585 dong) http://www.reuters.com/article/vietnam-banks-assets-idUSL3N1HF2E9

Banks target to earn trillion dong profits 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu The documents for the annual general meeting (AGM) of Techcombank (scheduled to take place on April 15 in Hanoi) show that the consolidated pre-tax profit in 2017 is targeted to touch more than 5.020 trillion dong, the charter capital reaches around 14 trillion dong, the total asset is increased to nearly 280 trillion dong, the capital mobilisation swells 31 percent and the outstanding credit improves 16 percent. At the end of 2016, the bank's total assets were 235.363 trillion dong, increasing 22.6 percent from 2015 and reaching 106 percent of the plan. The pre-tax profit was 3.997 trillion dong, up 96.2 percent from 2015 and fulfilling 113 percent of the plan. The total mobilisation was 173.449 trillion dong, up 21.9 percent from 2015 and attaining 101 percent of the plan. On April 10, Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) will organise the AGM. The bank's Board of directors said the 2017 pre-tax profit plan is submitted to shareholders at 2.205 trillion dong, up 32 percent from 2016; the credit growth stands at 16 percent; the capital mobilisation from customers' deposits and total assets also rise 16 percent. Thus, after a period of accelerating restructuring, ACB is gradually returning to the new track with the profit target of over one trillion dong. At the end of 2016, the bank's pre-tax profit reached 1.667 trillion dong, increasing 27 percent from 2015 and completing 111 percent of the whole year plan. ACB's outstanding loan last year increased rapidly, standing at 21 percent. Meanwhile, HCM City Housing Development Bank (HDBank) will hold the AGM on April 21. Last year, the bank achieved the total pre-tax profit at 1.282 trillion dong, the highest ever, up 63 percent from the previous year. In 2017, HDBank strives to lend 123.491 trillion dong and to attain 1.643 trillion dong pre-tax profit. Techcombank's Board of directors said in 2017, it will move in the direction of increasing contributions from service fee collection out of the total revenue to minimise credit risks and the dependence on outstanding loans. However, the risk provision pressure still weighs on profit target. To achieve the profit plan set for 2017, Do Minh Toan, CEO of ACB said the bank focuses on the credit growth for individual customers and small businesses; enhancement of customer service quality to improve fee income from service activity. Besides, ACB also focuses on handling and recovering bad debts; restructuring resources. As per the assessment of HDBank leaders, the business environment in 2017 is more favourable when credit is forecasted to gradually improve but there also have certain difficulties. Therefore, the profit target that this bank sets for this year must be considered carefully. For the group of state-owned joint stock banks, despite the good profits last year, they are also cautious. For example, Vietcombank's total assets are targeted to rise 11 percent; its credit is aimed to swell 15 percent; the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio is controlled at less than 1.5 percent and the pre-tax profit only hikes 12 percent (up 23.4 percent in 2016). Meanwhile, Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) supposes that Vietcombank will continue to maintain high growth rate due to the reduction in provisioning costs and the acceleration of core business activities. As per the assessment of a financial expert, this year's credit is likely to continue improving, but banks can hardly expect to exceed the industry's room at 18 percent. The reason is the State Bank wants to actively control credit risks especially real estate ones. Meanwhile, profits of Vietnamese banks mainly come from credit (accounting for as much as 80 percent. Le Anh Tuan, director of Economic Research Division at Dragon Capital said annual profits are given priority by banks to put for risk provisions, especially in banks with high NPL ratio. That also means shareholders must sacrifice dividends.

Banks plan to raise charter capital in large number 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre The annual general meeting (AGM) of banks has begun. In the plans for 2017, a common thing of banks is the demand for capital increase. VPBank is expected to hold the AGM on April 10. The bank said it wants to increase a total of more than 4.8 trillion dong compared to 2016. After the capital increase at the beginning of the year, the bank needs to raise an additional of about 3-4 trillion dong for the remaining time of the year. "With the outstanding credit plan of more than 200 trillion dong and the impact of Circular 35/2016-TT- NHNN, to ensure the minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at nine percent, the bank's total equity must be at least 18 trillion dong. At the same time, with the target of ensuring the capital adequacy in accordance with internal governance standards as well as commitments with international partners and to prepare for business expansion plans for the following years, banks need to continue raising capital in their operations. With the bank's current charter capital at 10.765 trillion dong and the equity at about 15.4 trillion dong, in 2017, VPBank needs to supplement about 3-4 trillion dong to the charter capital to meet the bank's operational demands and ensure the compliance of safety ratios during its operational process". That is what VPBank leaders have sent to shareholders before the meeting. Techcombank - which is considered as a competitor of VPBank on the market - is also expected to increase capital in this year. Techcombank's charter capital is currently 8.878 trillion dong and it wants to increase to 13.878 trillion dong at the end of the year by offering shares for sale to existing shareholders. If the following plans are approved, VPBank and Techcombank will bring the capital to around 14 trillion dong, exceeding the capital scale of such banks as Eximbank, SHB and ranking behind only Sacombank (more than 18 trillion dong), MB (more than 17 trillion dong), SCB (nearly 14.3 trillion dong) in the group of private joint stock banks. LienVietPostBank is another bank that plans to increase capital in this year and has been supported by shareholders. This year, the bank will increase capital from 6.460 trillion dong to seven trillion dong through the issuance of 54 million shares, partly to make dividend payment to shareholders (38.76 million shares) and the remaining shares will be offered to the public or employees (15.24 million shares). ACB also plans to raise capital by nearly one trillion dong, from more than 10.2 trillion dong now. In the submission to shareholders to prepare for the meeting on April 10, the bank's leader said the capital increase is urgent because "new regulations of the State Bank are associated with the safety ratios such as credit granting with equity and charter capital. The capital increase will help banks increase the limits relating to credit granting to customers, supplementation of medium and long-term capital to finance credit activities, etc. and that the capital increase will help ACB improve financial capacity". Other banks have not had clear plans for the capital increase this year but SBV's regulations on safety limits are not for a single bank but the whole system. Therefore, to ensure the targets, banks have no other choice but to raise the chartered capital. The group of banks with super-small charter capital (less than five trillion dong) must be uncertain with the plans to raise their financial potential. Even, this pressure is even present and heavy for the largest banks in the system such as VietinBank, Vietcombank and BIDV as well as other private joint stock banks in the group of 10 banks that pilot applying Basel II since September 2017. And it is no exaggeration to say that the market will witness the charter capital increase "storms" of credit organisations in this year.

Q1 credit grows sharply 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | The Saigon Tmes Unlike in previous years, credit had risen to a record high of 3.14 percent in the year to March 23 compared to end-2016, up from 1.79 percent in the same period last year, according to the central bank. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said on April 5 that first-quarter credit went mainly to production and business activities, with outstanding loans making up about 80 percent of the total in the banking system. By March 23, money supply had increased by 3.36 percent and capital raising by the banking sector had picked up 3.07 percent against the end of 2016. Liquidity at banks was guaranteed and interbank operations went well. At present, the interest rates for deposits of six months or shorter range from 4.8 percent to 5.4 percent per year. For savings with tenors from six months to less than 12 months, the rates are 5.6-6.7 percent while those with a term of over 12 months are 6.7-7.4 percent. Lending rates now range from 6 percent to 9 percent for short tenors and from 9 percent to 11 percent for medium and long terms. For good clients, short-term loan interest rates are 4-5 percent. As for the restructuring of banks and the settlement of bad debt, the central bank said solving the bad debt issue continued to be a priority in the first months of 2017. Bad debt accounted for less than 3 percent of total outstanding loans in the system. Concerning the VND100 trillion credit package for high-tech agriculture at the request of the government, the central bank said it would issue a decision telling banks to make loans available from April 2017 with annual interest rates that are 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points lower than normal levels. This credit programme does not enjoy any subsidy from the government. It favours those having sound projects and business plans, and getting involved in high-tech agriculture and clean industry. The government has asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Justice to finalise guidelines for the issuance of certificates of ownership of assets on agricultural land so that those assets can be used as collateral for bank loans. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53343/Q1-credit-grows-sharply.html

Novaland backs out of Sacombank restructuring project 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Novaland Group (NVL) on Wednesday said it would not participate in the restructuring of Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) as planned previously, Thời bao Kinh tế Vietnam (Vietnam Economic Times) has reported. In December 2016, NVL had sent a letter to the SBV, expressing interest in participating in the restructuring of Sacombank. As per NVL's submission, the firm and its chair of board of directors Bui Thanh Nhơn proposed to acquire 20 per cent stake in Sacombank, equivalent to 360.7 million shares of the bank. Sacombank's charter capital is currently VND18.036 trillion. The market price of Sacombank shares as on March 24 was VND11,400 per share, which means that NVL will have to spend VND4.112 trillion on this acquisition. Explaining for the withdrawal, Nhơn said during the time waiting for the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s approval, a lot of negative information arose that was unfavourable to NVL. Restructuring Sacombank is a difficult task, which requires a lot of effort, money, time, transparency and determination as well as support from the central bank and the government, he said. According to Sacombank's financial reports, its non-performing loan ratio at the end of 2016 stood at 5.53 per cent of the bank's total outstanding loans. Recently, there have been reports that heavyweights such as New York-based investment bank Evercore Group, M&A consulting firm Redsun Capital Limited and Dặng Van Thanh, president of Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC), would likely participate in the restructuring of Sacombank. Sacombank is due to organise its annual general shareholders' meeting in April 28. The central bank has so far also required Sacombank to complete its management and administrative structure; continue implementing restructuring solutions to guarantee the rights and benefits of depositors; stabilise operations; and make sure its financial system is secure. NVL has VND7 trillion in charter capital, and 5,000 employees. The group currently operates two core businesses: real estate (NovaLand) and agriculture (Anova Corp). The capitalisation value of NVL is VND40.666 trillion, based on its share price on March 24. The company's shareholders include many foreign investment funds, including the Singapore government's GIC. vietnamnews.vn/economy/374187/novaland-backs-out-of-sacombank-restructuring- project.html#v8pyKIKCb4WKsw3h.97

Investor group to strengthen Sacombank 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The former chair of Sacombank, Dặng Van Thanh, and prestigious international partners will strengthen the financial capacity of Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) by increasing its charter capital by VND20,600 billion (US$907 million). They will also set up a Debt Settlement Committee to resolve the bad debts issue and recover assets, and use the available sources of income to provision for bad debts. It has also been reported that Evercore was recently authorised by competent authorities to access data from Sacombank and review and evaluate its performance to accurately assess the current status of the Bank. This would be the basis for mapping out a detailed, precise and specific restructuring plan and proposing specific mechanisms if necessary. Sacombank annual general meeting this year was the focus of attention of financial investors and the public due to the presence of wealthy investors, especially Thanh, the "father" of Sacombank. Thanh, returning to the financial and banking market after an absence of more than five years, and a group of foreign shareholders are considered to have a number of advantages over other suitors. With more than 20 years of experience working at the bank (1991-2012), Thanh is considered the "captain" who promoted the Sacombank brand both in the domestic and international markets. Evercore Group is a New York-based investment banking firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market cap of $2.8 billion, while Redsun Capital Limited is a consulting firm specialising in M & A. Thanh Thanh Cong Corporation (TTC) was the place where Thanh and his family cut their entrepreneurial teeth in 1979 before entering the finance and banking sector. It has interests in many fields, including real estate, energy, molasses, hospitality, and education. TTC was also the company Thanh turned to for developing together with his family after relinquishing the management of Sacombank in 2012. When Thanh exited Sacombank in May 2012, there were lots of rumours surrounding the bank's operations, especially about corporate loans given to TTC Group, which affected the reputation of his family. But in April 2013 Sacombank officially released information about these loans, revealing the company was repaying them on schedule. The restructuring plan requires the expeditious setting up of a transparent, professional and capable regulatory body to oversee the restructuring and financing efforts. Thanh is expected to bring with him the advantage of having successfully managed not only a bank but also several other businesses. The Sacombank brand with its solid foundation has always been a name that investors and both domestic and international customers are interested in, thanks to its advantages such as long-established operation and retail banking potential. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374240/investor-group-to-strengthen- sacombank.html#TYWIeP3LvGcAwibI.97

The highly speculated return of Sacombank's 'father' 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Tuoitre News It is common practice for personnel to emerge as a topic that attracts the most attention from financial investors before the annual general meeting of any bank. This year, Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) is the bank that earns the most spotlight with the appearance of many investors with strong financial strength, especially the presence of Dang Van Thanh, the lender's "father". Officially returning after more than five years of absence in the financial and banking market, Dang Van Thanh and a group of foreign shareholders have been considered to hold a number of advantages over other candidates. With more than 20 years of experience working at the bank between 1991 and 2012, Thanh is considered the 'captain' who promoted the Sacombank brand name in both domestic and international markets. Thanh's decision to participate in Sacombank's restructuring came from the support and trust of existing shareholders and prestigious international partners, particularly the Evercore Group and Redsun Capital Limited. Evercore Group is a New York-based investment banking firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market cap of $2.8 billion, while Redsun Capital Limited is a consulting firm specialising in M & A. Thanh Thanh Cong Corporation (TTC) was the place where he and his family cut their entrepreneurial teeth in 1979, before entering the finance and banking sector. The corporation operates in many fields, including real estate, energy, molasse, hospitality, and education. TTC is also the business where Thanh focused on developing with his family after the management transferring at Sacombank in 2012. At the time of Thanh's management transfer, May 2012, there was a lot of rumours surrounding the banking operations, especially corporate loans related to TTC Group, which greatly affected the reputation of his family. The rumours continued until April 2013, when a Sacombank representative released the official information that these loans are all in-term debts and have good credit history. To date, Sacombank brand, with the solid foundation accumulated throughout the 20 years under Thanh's participation, remains a bright spot for investors and customers to consider. With the current financial strength, the group of investors - EverCorp and Dang Van Thanh, has proposed to supplement the financial capacity of Sacombank by increasing its chartered capital by VND20,600 billion to fundamentally improve the safety activity indicators. The next step is to set up a debt settlement committee focusing on resolving bad debts and recovering mortgaged assets, and using the available income sources to make provisions for bad debts. Evercore has been recently authorised by competent authorities to access data, review and evaluate the performance of Sacombank to accurately assess the current situation of the lender, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. This will be the basis for the elaboration of a detailed, precise and specific restructuring plan, as well as proposals of specific mechanisms if necessary. It can be said that Sacombank today remains a name worth watching for investors, domestic and international customers, thanks to the advantages of operating platform and potential for retail banking development. Therefore, this restructuring plan poses an urgent requirement for the development of a professional, transparent, qualified, and capable administrative system to address the restructuring and financing efforts. This is considered a special advantage for Dang Van Thanh, who has successfully applied the 'executive management formula' in areas he has invested in. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40415/the-highly-speculated-return-of-sacombanks-father

Eximbank plans to sell entire stake in Sacombank 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vneconomy Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) has released the draft document for the 2017 annual general meeting (AGM) including the plan to sell the entire shares at Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank). Specifically, Eximbank plans to firstly meet requirements in the State Bank's Circular No.36 on limits and adequacy ratio in the operation of credit organisations i.e. "Commercial banks are only allowed to purchase and hold shares of another credit organisation at less than five percent of shares with voting right at that credit organisation". In 2016, the Banking Supervision Agency under the State Bank issued a document relating to Eximbank's share transfer at Sacombank. On February 17, 2017 Eximbank's board of directors had a resolution approving the policy of transferring shares at Sacombank. And in the draft document for this year's AGM, Eximbank's board of directors present the detailed share transfer plan. Currently, Eximbank is holding 8.76 percent stake in Sacombank. The bank's board of directors calculate that in case Sacombank's STB-coded share transaction is expected to increase more than the current price (12,400 dong on April 4, 2017, the time of drafting the document), it is likely that the total transaction value of STB shares will exceed 20 percent of Eximbank's charter capital stated in the latest audited financial report. Accordingly, Eximbank's board of directors is going to submit to the upcoming AGM the share transfer of the entire shares at Sacombank in case the total sale transaction value of these shares at Sacombank is from 20 percent or above compared to Eximbank's chartered capital recorded in the latest financial statement.

Reference exchange rate continues to rise 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate for VND/USD 22,321 VND per USD on April 11, up 5 VND from the previous day. With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 22,990 VND and the floor rate, 21,652 VND per USD. Meanwhile, the opening hour rates listed by commercial banks saw slight reduction. BIDV slashed both selling and buying rates by 5 VND, listing the buying rate at 22,620 VND and the selling rate at 22,690 VND per USD. At Vietinbank, the USD is bought at 22,625 VND (buying) and sold at 22,695 VND, both down 5 VND. Vietcombank kept its rates unchanged from April 10, at 22,640 VND (buying) and 22,710 VND (selling). http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-continues-to-rise/110030.vnp

The US dollar/dong exchange rate falls deeply in markets 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vneconomy On April 7, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) strongly raised the central rate between dong and the US dollar by 14 dong to 22,311 dong - the highest level since this rate was introduced and applied in early 2016. In general, the central rate rose 35 dong compared to the previous week as the result of seven consecutive increases. At the beginning of this week, the central rate continues to swell to 22,316 dong. Overall, the central rate has risen about 0.7 percent since the beginning of this year. However, the US dollar price as listed by commercial banks as well as on the interbank market continuously fell sharply in the past week. Specifically, the US dollar selling price of commercial banks at the end of last week and at the beginning of this week went down to 22,710 dong, decreasing about 120 dong compared to the stable range of 22,830 - 22,850 dong last March. The interbank market last week recorded the sharp decrease of US dollar price, down as much as 76 dong compared to the previous week, to about 22,670-22,676 dong. On the free market, the US dollar price slumped last week, down 60 down on the buying side and 55 dong on the selling side. The trading session at the end of last week recorded the selling price at 22,700- 22,720 dong/US dollar.

Banks remain keen buyers of government bonds 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Last year many banks, especially State-owned ones, partial to government bonds. The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) invested VND18.04 trillion (US$794.9 million) in them, BIDV, VND22.2 trillion, and Vietinbank, VND14.3 trillion. Among private lenders, VPBank invested VND55.3 trillion, MBBank, VND52.4 trillion, and VIB, VND26.5 billion. Market observers said in the first two months of the year the government successfully issued bonds worth VND54.11 trillion ($2.38 billion) for terms of five to 10 years. Analysts said the banks preferred the bonds since they were less risky than lending to businesses at a time when the health of many enterprises has not really recovered and banks' bad debt levels and need for provisioning remain high. Meanwhile, the secondary government bond market is developing quite strongly and is expected to grow further thanks to some new policies. Indeed, market liquidity is likely to skyrocket once the State Treasury is able to buy and sell bonds after Circular 10/2017/TT-BTC, issued by the finance ministry last February to supersede an older legal regulation on the bond trading market, takes effect next September. With respect to the functions of the State Treasury, the new Circular concurs with Decree 24/2016/ND- CP issued in April last year. The decree allows the treasury to buy back government bonds, local bonds and government-backed bonds with a maximum remaining tenor of three months to make the best use of idle funds. The treasury will also buy bonds strategically to balance demand and supply and increase liquidity. As for the lenders, they are in a sweet spot with respect to the bonds. For one, they are awash in liquidity, enabling them to invest in the bonds. Analysts think the banks' increasing investment in government bonds is a win-win situation considering the government needs humongous sums of money for public spending. Investors hunt for shares paying high dividends Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG),Vietnam's largest drug maker, recently announced a dividend payout of 35 per cent for 2016, 5 percentage points higher than the rate approved earlier. The company also plans to issue bonus shares at a rate of 50 per cent. While Coteccons Construction Joint Stock Company (CTD) has not yet announced its profit distribution plans, many investors are keenly interested in its shares since they expect high dividends. The company achieved a record turnover and after-tax profit of VND20.78 trillion and VND1.42 trillion last year, representing year-on-year increases of 62 per cent and 94 per cent. Its earnings per share has soared to over VND18,500. The industry paying the biggest dividends is aviation. For instance, Da Nang Airport Service Joint Stock Company (MAS) recently announced a second interim dividend of 40 per cent for 2016. Noi Bai Cargo Terminal Service Joint Stock Company (NCT) has announced a payout rate of 106 per cent. Hunting for shares of companies paying big dividends is a familiar practice on the stock market before the annual shareholders' meetings season begins. Analysts explained this rush by saying investors think companies paying good dividends run their business efficiently, have good management and manage their cash flows well. But other analysts warned that investors should focus not just on the dividends but also the companies' actual prospects. After all, some companies pay big dividends but their turnover and profits keep falling. The Noi Bai Cargo Terminal Joint Stock Company is one such. Despite its 106 per cent dividend payout in 2016, the firm's shares fell by 40 per cent after its profit declined by nearly 14 per cent. The analysts said short-term investors often focus on dividends but savvy, long-term investors always attach importance to the growth potential of a company. They focus on shares whose value has grown steadily over the years as have assets, turnover and profits. To make informed investment decisions, investors should carefully study the accounts and business activities of a company, they suggested. Inflation concerns According to a report from the general Statistical Office (GSO), inflation has been rising in recent months. In the first two months the consumer price index (CPI) has risen by 4.96 per cent year-on-year. It was up 0.21 per cent in February and 4.65 per cent compared to the same month last year. A CSO official said the inflation target of less than 4 per cent this year is already under pressure, since the prices of some products and services like power, education and healthcare would be adjusted based on approved roadmaps. Market observers said the upward trend in global oil prices and the rising dollar also put pressure on prices in Vietnam. Energy prices are predicted to rise again as OPEC members and major exporters have come to an agreement to cut production, contributing to inflation in many countries including Vietnam. The US economy has shown signs of strong recovery and the country's central bank, the Federal Reserve, has started to increase interest rates, causing the dollar to appreciate, including against the Vietnamese Dong. This trend is expected continue. Besides, the US's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership has hit Vietnam's exports, meaning there has been a drop in the supply of greenback in the market. Both factors are expected to put upward pressure on prices in Vietnam. However, while many expressed concern about a possibility of high inflation, others are more sanguine, saying there are no such signs yet. They contended that in 2017 aggregate demand, an important factor in inflation, is unlikely to go up. Many local and foreign organisations estimate economic growth this year to be only around 6.3 per cent, the same as last year. In the absence of rapid economic growth, high inflation is improbable, they explained. This means the National Assembly's goal of containing inflation at 4 per cent can be achieved. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/business-beat/374336/banks-remain-keen-buyers-of-government- bonds.html#u4R3DFzmWVwofmAb.99

Bank restructuring looks to 'transparent' owners 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu Last week, Novaland Group officially announced to withdraw from the restructuring plan of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank). Earlier, this group made a very detailed proposal including personnel coming from prestigious financial groups in the world. Explaining the withdrawal from Sacombank, Novaland also showed its sincerity. Dang Thanh Nhon, Chair of Novaland recommended, Sacombank was in desperate needs of a passionate "boatman" associated with real source of capital, a professional domestic and foreign management team that understood the restructuring of an international scale bank and could harmonise relationships rather than a competition for short-term benefits. The withdrawal of Novaland - an affluent investor, a newly arising billion dollar real estate giant - made many people to feel regretful for Sacombank. Many people say that despite the withdrawal from Sacombank, Novaland is still considering participating in the restructuring of another bank. Not only Sacombank, at present, many ailing banks need large investors to pour more capital to restructure, including the three zero-dong banks. If in the previous period, the capital increase for banks was only through several rounds of buying and selling shares, then the capital increase has now become more difficult when the State Bank asks new owners to have "real money" with transparent sources. There are not many such investors in the current market. Back to Novaland, it can be seen that though the capitalisation of this group amounts to several billions of US dollars, the rapid growth of this group in several recent years has caused many people to suspect. Despite the abundant source of cash, there are a large number of projects underway, and the amount of debt from banks is not small, so the capacity of this investor is still questionable. Not to mention, the involvement of "real estate" shareholders in banks' restructuring has so far caused a lot of concerns. In the past, many major shareholders owning banks were real estate investors and these are also the germs for "disasters" at banks. The Construction Commercial Joint Stock Bank is a typical example. As per many banking experts, the capital of many private Vietnamese corporations mostly depends on banks and data are not transparent. It is difficult to know exactly how much money private businesspeople deposit at banks and how much they really owe to banks. Therefore, the careful selection of investors involving in the restructuring of banks in phase II is very important, avoiding hazards as in the case of CB. The State Bank recognises that currently, the ownership, cross-ownership, the dominant groups of shareholders have gradually been controlled but in reality, there still have many risks as the control and manipulation of banking operations have not been thoroughly dealt with. Violations in the limitation of share ownership and cross-ownership, in spite of having been dealt with gradually, some credit organisations still have mutual ownership or cross-ownership with businesses. The reality shows that if shareholders participating in banking restructuring do not have the purpose of turning the backyard into a financial investment gate for their own companies, then there are high chances of success. Looking at TPBank, we can see the impressive success as this bank's restructuring is not only thanks to the real capital flow but also thanks to healthy shareholder structure. Do Minh Phu, Chair of TPBank cum Chair and CEO of Doji group asserted "We do not expect TPBank to be Doji's financial gate. We have seen the murky picture of cross-ownership and we adhere to the principle of avoiding double-risk effects". In contrast to TPBank, some banks whose shareholders are real estate owners participating in the restructuring, if not being bought at zero dong like CB, are also struggling to restructure. Currently, the State Bank is drafting the Law on Restructuring credit organisations and bad debt settlement. Accordingly, individuals purchasing bank shares must prove the legitimate source of income. At the same time, the State Bank also issues specific regulations to prevent the manipulation and usage of the bank's assets for a group of related companies.

Risk provisions remain principal burden on banks 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VIR Although their business operations have shown brighter prospects and many banks are planning to earn trillions in profit this year, the risk provision pressure remains a significant burden. A persisting challengeThe performance of banks during the past year has improved. However, due to the requirement of increasing risk provisions, including the giant volume of bad debts that have been transferred to Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) as well as newly incurred bad debts, some banks continue to see shrinking profits. Eximbank's chief executive officer Le Van Quyet said that in the context of the past year's difficult market conditions, in the second quarter of 2016, when the bad debts of the bank suddenly surged by 5.3 per cent despite a negative credit growth of 4.62 per cent, the bank adjusted its operation plan. Then, the risk provisions of Eximbank nearly doubled to VND324 billion ($15.4 million). Therefore, Eximbank's board of directors decided to adjust the 2016 pre-tax profit target to VND400 billion ($19 million), down 44 per cent, which the bank promptly achieved. Over the past year, Eximbank recovered more than VND2 trillion ($94.6 million) of bad debts and stopped selling to VAMC, but its profit target for 2017 remains modest, only up VND200 billion ($9.5 million) against 2016. Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB)'s risk provisions made up 92 per cent of its profit in the second quarter of 2016. It only earned VND94 billion ($4.4 million) in net profit, while its credit increased by 18 per cent. In 2016, SCB fulfilled the pre-tax profit target of over VND120 billion ($5.7 million) and recovered over VND3 trillion ($142 million) of bad debts. Therefore, SCB significantly reduced the total volume of bad debts sold to VAMC from VND17trillion ($804.6 million) to VND14 trillion ($662.2 million). According to a representative of SCB, this year, the bank continues to accelerate the process of bad debts settlement because the debt amount sold to VAMC remains the responsibility of the bank. The provisions pressure is still huge. During the past year, SCB set aside more than VND1 trillion ($47.3 million) for risk provisioning. "SCB's total provisions fund has increased by nearly VND5 trillion ($236.5 million) and its profit is mainly spent on risk provisions. Therefore, SCB's profit target for 2017 just equals the prior years, standing at about VND150 billion ($7.1 million). SCB cannot expect high profit because the bank has to focus on bad debts settlement," said Vo Tan Hoang Van, general director of SCB. Profits riding on bad debts settlement Nguyen Dinh Tung, general director of Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), said that OCB's non-performing loans (NPLs) are declining and falling below the average of the market. However, NPLs remain a concern. The profit of banks now depends on debts handling, because if bad debts are thoroughly tackled, banks can reduce risk provisions. Meanwhile, Do Minh Toan, general director of ACB Bank, said that by the end of 2016, ACB continued the strong restructuring of its asset structure, creating a concrete foundation for sustainable development in the future. ACB's capital adequacy ratio, liquidity, and asset quality are at a very good level. According to Toan, ACB expects that bad debts and provision expenses will continue to be strictly controlled, just like in 2016. The bank is determined to recover the debts related to the six companies of Nguyen Duc Kien, former vice chair of ACB. It is expected to handle around VND2.5 trillion ($118.2 million) of bad debts this year to reduce risk provisions. Credit demand this year is forecasted to be better than last year, and the actual system-wide creditin the first three months of the year rose by 2.81 per cent on year. However, according to OCB's Nguyen Dinh Tung, to balance the supply and demand of capital, client-businesses must give transparent information, so that banks can correctly assess their financial health. In fact, amidst the current market difficulties, many borrowers do not use capital for the right purposes, so the risk of bad debts is difficult to avoid, leading to high risk provisions. "Banking is different now. Banks are required to proactively acquire customers and compete in interest rates. Even the banks with good performance and low offering interest rates struggle with luring customers on board," Tung said. According to bank leaders, with the current market difficulties, if banks fail to choose the right time of collecting debts, they will miss the opportunity to recover debts and keep them at a safe level. As bad debts soar, banks require large risk provisions, cutting sharply into their profits. http://www.vir.com.vn/risk-provisions-remain-principal-burden-on-banks.html

Setting high profit targets, are banks too optimistic? 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| DTCK Last weekend, LienVietPostBank has just "begun" the 2017 annual general meeting (AGM) season of the group of commercial joint stock banks. At the meeting, LienVietPostBank's shareholders approved the 2017 business plans, with the target of 1.5 trillion dong pre-tax profit, increasing over 10 percent in comparison with 2016 (1.348 trillion dong); and the dividend payment rate raised to 12 percent. In addition, the bank also planned to increase capital from 6.460 trillion dong to seven trillion dong through the issuance of 54 million shares. On April 10th, VPBank will hold the AGM. According to the documents for the meeting, the before-tax profit target this year is 6.8 trillion dong, increasing 38 percent in comparison with 2016; total assets reaches 280.645 trillion dong; total outstanding loans and corporate bonds are estimated at 200.591 trillion dong. With this target of total outstanding loan, to ensure the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to be in line with the State Bank's regulation at minimum nine percent, VPBank's total capital must reach at least 18 trillion dong. VPBank's current chartered capital is 10.765 trillion dong, owner's quity is about 15.400 trillion dong, so in 2017, the bank has to supplement another 3-4 trillion dong to meet its operating needs. Documents for Techcombank shareholders' meeting which is scheduled to be held on April 15th also show that the bank plans to achieve 2017 consolidated before-tax profit with a growth of 26 percent in comparison with 2016, at 5.020 trillion dong. This year, the bank also plans to increase its chartered capital by five trillion dong, from the current 8.878 trillion dong to 13.878 trillion dong, bringing the total assets to nearly 280.000 trillion dong. Other banks also project profits to sharply grow over the past year. For example, on April 21st, HDBank will submit to the Shareholders' general Meeting the 2017 business plan with the before-tax profit target of 1.643 trillion dong, up 28 percent from 2016. Meanwhile, OCB plans to submit to shareholders the before-tax profit target of 780 billion dong, increasing 60 percent in comparison with 2016. Vietcombank's Board of director sets the before-tax profit target of 9.2 trillion dong, an increase of 12 percent in comparison with last year. The expected profitability of banks is similar to the survey result of business trends in the second quarter of 2017 for credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. This survey has just been conducted by the Focasting - Statistics Department (under the State Bank). Accordingly, 89.5 percent of credit institutions said that the business situation in the first quarter of the year has improved slightly. As much as 90.4 percent of credit institutions expect their before-tax profits to grow in comparison with 2016 with the expected average growth of the whole system to be much higher than the survey conducted in December 2016 (up 13.4 percent). The optimistic sentiment of the banking sector is grounded because the domestic economic situation in general and the performance of the sector are forecasted to be favourable. Economic situation report in the first quarter and forecast for the year 2017 of the National Financial Supervision Commission showed that the aggregate demand of the economy will improve better in the future, because after the direction of the government, the investment in key projects as well as the disbursement of capital for hi-tech agricultural projects will increase sharply in the near future. On the external side, although the United State may apply trade protection measures in 2017, with better prospects for the US and world economic recovery, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised the trade growth forecasting level of emerging and developing countries in 2017 by 0.1 percentage point. That means the trade growth of emerging and developing countries will increase from 1.8 percent in 2016 to 4 percent in 2017. Thus, Vietnam's export growth is likely to be higher than 2016. "On the other hand, the calculation of economic indicator of the National Financial Supervision Commission with seven component indexes shows that this indicator has had the third consecutive month to increase over 100 points. This signals the aggregate demand of the economy is still in the recovery phase", the report emphasized. At the conference on 2017 macroeconomics outlook that has recently been held by HSBC, Kim Eng Tan, Senior director of Sovereign & International Public Finance Ratings said that the attraction of foreign investment in Vietnam is benefiting amidst political instability of many countries in the area. Foreign investors play an important role in Vietnam's economic growth. Talking to the local Newswire Dau Tu Chung Khoan (or Securities Investment Review), a senior leader of the State Bank stated that the agency will manage the interest rate to match with macroeconomic developments, inflation and monetary market to stabilise the interest rate; continue instructing credit institutions to balance capital, keeping interest rate stable, reducing operating expenses and enhancing business efficiency in order to have conditions to reduce lending rate to share difficulties with borrowers while ensuring financial security in operation. Exchange rate policy continues to be implemented by the State Bank in a flexible direction, based on the developments in the interbank foreign currency market, the developments of exchange rate in international market, macroeconomic and monetary balances, and suitability to the monetary policy target. Specifically, the State Bank will administer measures to control the credit scale in line with the oriented targets while enhancing credit quality, creating favourable conditions for approaching credit capital; focusing credit on production - business, priority fields. "In which, closely monitoring the situation of granting credit to some potentially risky industries and fields such as medium and long-term credit, credit for a large group of customers, credit to the real estate sector, BOT, BT transport projects", said the leader.

VND0 takeover or bankruptcy? 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VIR The method of acquiring weak banks at VND0 is officially adopted on the draft law on supporting the restructuring of credit institutions and non-performing loan (NPL) settlement, composed by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). However, buying at the price of VND0 or boldly letting poorly performing commercial banks go bankrupt remains a dilemma. What to do with weak banks? On April 5, the Ministry of Justice held a meeting to appraise the law on supporting the restructuring of credit institutions and non-performing loan (NPL) settlement. One of the controversial contents of the draft is the compulsory purchase at VND0. These measures are adopted to weak banks placed under special control and given time to recover, but there is no effective recovery plan. According to the SBV's draft, this measure is only an alternative channel with an aim to avoid system breakdown in case other remedies prove ineffective. Finance and banking expert Can Van Luc said legalising the method of buying banks at VND0 will create a solid basis for the SBV to speed up the restructuring of the banking system. However, Luc also warned that this measure should not be deployed en masse. Meanwhile, lawyer Truong Thanh Duc, chair of BASICO Law Firm, said that this is a complicated, expensive, and unnecessary solution. "The purchase of banks at VND0 is only symbolic because maintaining a weak credit institution with negative chartered capital is very complex and costly, whether it is done directly or indirectly," Duc said. According to experts, the SBV offers a solution of purchasing these banks at VND0 (instead of allowing them to declare bankruptcy) not only to avoid the collapse of banks as well as the banking system but also to save credit institutions that may have good growth potential in the future. However, in fact, before the VND0 purchasing option, the SBV has set a 5-10 year roadmap for these banks to recover. If banks remain weak, they cannot be fixed. Then, if the SBV continues to maintain weak banks, it will lead to market distortions and affect the safety and health of the banking system. Moreover, the purpose of compulsory purchase is to protect the interests of depositors, not to save bankers. Therefore, the best measure is spending all resources on supporting depositors instead of the weak banks. If the SBV still does not want to declare a credit institution bankrupt, instead of buying it at a compulsory price of VND0, the State can announce that it would pay out the depositors, but there should be a deadline and the process may even last for several years instead of an immediate all-around pay-out. Weak banks should be allowed to go bankrupt Another solution to handle weak banks stated by the draft law is dissolution or bankruptcy. This measure is supported by some experts. According to lawyer Truong Thanh Duc, when it comes to weak banks, before the dissolution, bankruptcy or purchase at VND0 in line with the draft, the SBV has given a long time to sort themselves out, so their bankruptcy will not affect the security of the system. The compulsory purchase of VND0 is still costly and if the SBV later sells these banks at a higher price, it will not look good on the SBV, despite the significant capital SBV poured in to restore these credit institutions. In fact, over the years, some banks, such as Viet Hoa and APBank, have been quietly dissolved without so much as a ripple in the overall system. Although the solution of buying weak banks at VND0 adopted by the SBV (including Ocean Bank, GPBank, and CB) has been praised by lawyers, legalising as one of the critical solutions to tackle weak banks needs careful consideration. Economist Le Xuan Nghia said that the solution of buying a bank at VND0 recently successfully avoids system breakdown and keeps the trust of depositors. However, in the next phase, weak banks must gradually decrease both mobilisation and lending in order to avoid panic. Then, it is necessary to let some weak banks go bankrupt to set an example, instead of continuing to buy at VND0. Agreeing with Nghia, finance and banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said that the SBV should let the major banks with negative capital go bankrupt instead of buying them at VND0. Bankruptcy will reduce unfair competition on the market. Of course, according to the SBV, when applying the methods like bankruptcy, dissolution or purchase at VND0, the foremost principle is prudence and the maintenance of the system's security, as well as ensuring depositors' interests. http://www.vir.com.vn/vnd0-takeover-or-bankruptcy.html

Indebted banks may receive State support 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Draft SBV law allows use of State funds to settle bad debts. Weak credit institutions that were compulsorily acquired may receive funding from the government to increase their charter capital with zero long-term interest rates. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s draft law on supporting credit institutions to restructure and resolve bad debts, which is now seeking public opinion, is the first law to officially legalise the use of State funds to settle bad debts - a topic that has been controversial over recent months. "It's the same as taking from the poor to give to the rich," said Truong Van Phuoc, vice Chair of the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC). "Bad debt settlement is imperative as bad loans pose challenges to the economy, pushing lending rates to 9-10 per cent per annum though inflation stays at 5-6 per cent." Vietnam needs an estimated $25 billion for bad debt settlement in the next five years. The amount includes $10 billion to deal with bad debts bought by the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC). The remaining $15 billion will be used by banks for asset liquidation and risk provisions. The use of State funds to settle bad debt runs counter to the five-year financial plan to 2020, which was approved by the National Assembly (NA) in November last year. "State funds are not to be used for restructuring State-owned enterprises (SOEs), settling bad debts of State-owned commercial banks, increasing charter capital at credit institutions, or buying stakes in international financial institutions," the associated NA resolution stated. In 2015, the central bank found itself shoring up ailing institutions three times, turning VNCB, GPBank, and Ocean Bank into wholly State-owned entities in a move to negate any concern over the health of other banks. One point in the draft laws that may trigger conflicts of interest is that those involved in the restructuring process of weak credit institutions do not have any legal responsibility for the result of the process. They include central bank executives, members of the special supervisory board, and State-owned bank executives who were appointed by the central bank to assist weak credit institutions during the restructuring process. Senior executives from State-owned banks have become leaders of these distressed banks, with Vietinbank executives appointed to manage Ocean Bank and GPBank, while Vietcombank deputy CEO Nguyen Van Tuan joined VNCB in March 2015. Other than receiving zero long-term lending rates from the government, banks that were acquired compulsorily will also be able to take out special loans from the central bank also with zero per cent interest rates, and receive deposits or borrow from assisting banks. For example, VNCB can borrow from Vietcombank at zero per cent interest rates. The draft law also proposes bankruptcy as an option for weak credit institutions. "The government will decide the special lending rate upon the request of the central bank to pay depositors the remaining amount of their deposits (after they receive compensation from the deposit insurance system)," the draft law stated. Including bad debts managed by VAMC, the bad debt ratio in the banking system likely stands at around 8.86 per cent; three times higher than reported, the SBV's latest figures reveal. As at the end of 2016, the ratio of bad loans on balance sheets, those bought by VAMC from banks, and loans that may turn sour had reached 8.86 per cent of all outstanding loans, given the difficulties in dealing with assets used as collateral for bank loans and settling bad debts. On September 30, 2012, bad debts were put at 17.21 per cent. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/indebted-banks-may-receive-state-support

Dong liquidity cools down 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Liquidity of the Vietnamese Dong in the banking system has shown signs of cooling down over the past week. This has helped the central bank withdraw money from the banking system, a new report from the Saigon Securities Company (SSI) revealed. In its weekly report on the monetary market, SSI said the central bank last week withdrew VND8 trillion (US$352.4 million) from the banking system following four consecutive weeks of having to consecutively pump in a significant amount of money to support liquidity. However, interest rate in the inter-bank market last week still stood at a high level. The overnight rate closed the week at 4.55 per cent per year, inching down by only 0.83 percentage points against the end of the previous week. After rising in mid March, deposit rates listed at commercial banks last week remained unchanged, of which the rate for six-month deposits averaged 6 per cent per year and for 12-month deposits averaged 7 per cent, SSI reported. SSI forecast that interest rate could be kept stable and could even be reduced in the coming months if credit growth and capital mobilisation were balanced. The central bank is capable of managing this, SSI said. Lending from January to March 23 rose by 3.14 per cent against the end of last year while capital mobilisation rose 3.07 per cent, the central bank reported. In a meeting to assess the interest rate in Q1 2017, held last week, both the central bank and commercial banks said the interest rate has been steady so far this year and there was no pressure on interest rate hike. vietnamnews.vn/economy/374373/dong-liquidity-cools-down.html#2JGySbel0HykYFel.97

Interest rates decreasing 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu The leader of a plastic granule import-export business in Binh Tan District, HCM City said that his company's medium and long-term loan of 10 billion dong has been adjusted down by bank to nine percent per year (from 9.5 percent per year). "This is a pretty good signal for businesses like us", he said. The deputy general director of a paper company in the same area also said that the company has just borrowed a short-term loan to supplement its working capital with the interest rate of only seven percent per year. A few month ago, he said, with the same conditions, the loan bore the interest rate at 7.5 percent per year. Pham Ngoc Hung - vice Chair of HCM City Business Association said that with the medium and long- term loans, due to being calculated on the floating mechanism (base input rate plus amplitude) so over the last period, some banks lowered input rates, thereby output rates would also decrease. The State Bank of Vietnam's report on the monetary policy in the first three months of the year showed that lending rates in the past time were quite stable and popular at around 6-9 percent per year for the short term, 9-11 percent per year for the medium and long terms; for good customer, short-term lending rates are from four to five percent per year. According to a leader of a joint stock bank in the South, the base for the bank to reduce the lending rates is cheap resources and relatively abundant capital. In fact, over the past time, the management agency's record showed that there were many cases in which the interest rates was reduced 0.1-0.3 percent for all terms. VPBank has recently reduced 0.3 percent per year to 7.3 percent per year for the 15-month tenor deposit rates while the interest rates for 7-month and 12-month terms dropped 0.1 percent respectively to 6.9 percent and 7.1 percent per year. Or Viet Capital Bank also announced to reduce 0.1 percent for 18-60 month tenor deposits to 7.8 percent per year. Meanwhile, MaritimeBank reduced 0.2 percent of its 18-36 month input interest rates, from 7.4 percent to 7.2 percent per year. "Banks have the moves to reduce deposit rates as the liquidity of the system continues to be abundant. This is the good base for credit institutions to reduce lending rates", said the deputy general director. In addition, another mentioned reason was the competition for customers. Banks are trying to attract customers fiercely. "So, the interest rate is not a big problem for us, it is acceptable to reduce a few percentages of lending rates which would mean profitablity reduction as long as it attracts good customers", he said. With the above movements, different from the trend in recent years, credit has grown significantly since the beginning of the year. As of March 23rd 2017, the State Bank of Vietnam said that the credit of the whole system increased 3.14 percent in comparison with the end of 2016 (up 1.79 percent in the same period of 2016), focusing mainly on production and business (about 80 percent). The State Bank also said it would maintain the stability of the operating rates, through rational liquidity regulation to support credit institutions to stabilise interest rates, continue to direct banks to exercise cost reduction, enhancing business efficiency in order to have conditions to reduce lending rates. At the March regular government meeting taking place on April 3rd, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also stated that if the interest rate could not be lowered, it would not be raised either because with the total debt of more than 5.5 thousand trillion dong in the whole credit institution system, if the interest rate is reduced by one percent, the economy will save 55 trillion dong of financial expenses.

Picture of business operations at ANZ Vietnam not all pink 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| NDH ANZ Bank (Vietnam) Limited has recently released its 2016 financial report with a 51.1 percent growth in profit. The average income of each ANZ employee reached 70 million dong, equal to more than $3,000 per month. However, the business operation picture at ANZ Vietnam, when looking more closely, is not all pink. The after-tax profit of ANZ Vietnam in 2016 stood at more than 452 billion dong, one and a half higher than the previous year. The Return on Equity (ROE) was 10.53 percent. The Earning per Share (EPS) was more than 1,500 dong each. However, the main contribution to the profit growth comes from the forex trading activity. In 2015, profit from this activity was just more than 81 billion dong but this number tripled this year to 252 billion dong, including 142 billion dong from forex trading at spot rates and 110 billion dong from derivative contracts. This segment has "rescued" ANZ Vietnam's profits because the two business segments that brought the largest profits to this bank experienced negative growth last year. Interest income fell 8.45 percent to 1.840 trillion dong, resulting in the net interest income to fall nearly 100 billion dong, to over 1.230 trillion dong. The net interest income from services also decreased slightly by four billion dong, to 325.6 billion dong. The capital mobilisation and credit growth were negative. As of the end of 2016, customers' deposits at this bank were 32.636 trillion dong, down 2.9 trillion dong from the beginning of the year. ANZ Vietnam's total assets till the end of 2016 were approximately 39.065 trillion dong, down more than15 percent from the beginning of the year. Similar to many other foreign banks, with the advantage of foreign currency, more than half of ANZ's assets were used to lend other credit organisations but not customers. The lending to other credit organisations also decreased by more than four trillion dong to 18.950 trillion dong. Loans to customers also narrowed from the previous year to 13.960 trillion dong, down 13.5 percent. ANZ Vietnam's operating expenses in 2016 were 1.316 trillion dong, down 7.45 percent from the previous year. This bank spent 35 percent of its operating costs to make salary payment to employees. While other banks have fairly large number of employees, typically Kien Long Bank who has the same charter capital but the number of employees amounted to more than 2,000 people, the number of employees at ANZ Vietnam was just 568 people. The after-tax profit of Kien Long Bank was 121 billion dong last year, equal to 27 percent of ANZ Vietnam's profit. While the average salary and bonus of Kien Long Bank in 2016 was 12.25 million dong/person/month, the average salary and bonus per employee at ANZ Vietnam is therefore admirable at 70 million dong/person/month. This is only the average figure but the growth of income, though not too large (69 million dong/person/month in 2015) was a good thing for ANZ Vietnam's employees. However, the personnel story at ANZ Vietnam is not just full of pink. The personnel scale at this bank fell 13 percent after a year, with the net reduction of 85 people. Since October 2016, the mother bank ANZ has offered for sale the retail banking segment in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia. The buyer was DBS Bank. The reason for these transfers, as being told by international media, was to narrow some service segments in Asia. ANZ has expanded strongly in Asia before 2013 and used to expand other new business segments and purchase shares at local banks. However, after the arrival of the new CEO Shayne Eilliott, ANZ's strategy has almost shifted to the opposite direction i.e. divesting capital from small investments and focusing on core operations. The profitability indicators of ANZ Vietnam, although quite good, still seems to have not reached the effectiveness of this new CEO. In mid-March 2017, according to Saigon Times, ANZ Vietnam has confirmed that was promoting the retail segment sale and as many as five banks have shown their interest.

Vietnam: VPBank to divest 15pct stake in private placement this year 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Deal Street Asia Vietnamese lender VPBank is exploring a 15 per cent private placement to both local and international investors in 2017 as part of its plan to increase its charter capital by around 40 per cent to over VND14 trillion ($616.7 million). The price will be determined by mutual consent through negotiations between the bank and its investors, the bank told existing shareholders during a meeting on April 10. Under the plan, buyers will be required not to sell the shares for at least a year. In addition, VPBank is positive to list its shares on the HCM City Stock Exchange within this fiscal after a year-long delay. The ninth largest lender in terms of total assets told investors it expected the listing process to complete in the third quarter of 2017 at the earliest. However, the transaction is subjected to regulatory approval. The lender is hiring an advisory company for the process. Regarding the capital supplement to the parent bank, VPBank said, it was still in talks to sell a proportion of 49 per cent of its consumer finance arm, FE Credit. "FE Credit is growing strongly, and it needs to increase the funding source to assure the minimum capital adequacy ratio. In addition, the sale of 49 per cent of FE Credit will also provide more capital to the parent bank," VPBank said. The initial plan to partially exit the consumer credit unit was announced in 2015 but it is yet to be finalised. VPBank did not elaborate on the bidders and the price for FE Credit stake, while media reports have cited that a Japanese institution was negotiating for the major minority stake. VPBank claims itself as one of the most active lenders in attracting financial facilities from major global institutions, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Credit Suisse. By the first quarter of 2017, IFC, the World Bank Group's private lending arm, has completed a total of more than $200 million financing packages for VPBank, including syndicated loans and quasi-equity investment. Buoyed by such financial support, the Vietnamese lender is positioned to ramp up financial services for small businesses and the private sector in Vietnam. It is also targeting to become a top player in retail banking business and online banking platform, having empowered Vietnam's first digital bank called Timo, which has bagged a strategic investment from Canada's Sun Life Financial. http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vpbank-to-offload-15-equity-in-2017-69893/

ACB's Q1 pre-tax-profit at $26.23mn 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Asia Commercial Bank's AGM also hears of 2017 targets. The Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) recorded pre-tax-profit of VND595 billion ($26.23 million) in the first quarter of 2017, general director Do Minh Toan told its annual general meeting of shareholders on April 10. The bank also targets to increase its assets by 16 per cent this year, record credit growth of 16 per cent, raise deposits by 16 per cent, keep its bad debt ratio at less than 2 per cent, and record pre-tax profit of VND2.2 trillion ($97.041 million), up 32 per cent compared to 2016. The targets for deposits and credit growth are lower than actual results in 2016 while its revenue target is higher, which has raised some questions. However, Nguyen Van Dung, director of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Department at the SBV's HCM City Branch, said that "ACB has considered its targets carefully and I believe it will achieve them." He also said that ACB has properly classified its debts and reserve risk premium fund, which is 127 per cent of total bad debts. It has finalised its restructuring process, meeting the goals and roadmap. He also pointed out, however, that ACB has not resolved the bad debts of six companies, Vinalines' bad debts, and those of international banks, as well as processing mechanisms. The credit growth target of 16 per cent is lower than the rate set by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) of 18 per cent, but Dung said it may be adjusted during the year. In order to carry out the 2017 plan, the Executive Board said they will concentrate on certain solutions that focus on promoting credit growth among individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises. They will also introduce capital mobilisation measures, actively balance capital sources and use, and promote the quality of its customer care services. ACB will also focus on resolving and recovering bad debts, expand its network by seven transaction offices, and speed up the deployment of information technology projects. A dividend of 10 per cent is expected, totalling VND1.084 trillion ($47.81 million), with net profit of VND414.2 billion ($18.27 million). ACB's charter capital is expected to increase from VND10.273 trillion ($452.92 million) to VND11.259 trillion ($496.58 million) this year. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/acb-s-q1-pre-tax-profit-at-26-23mn

KienLongBank's profits plummet over the past 5 years 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre As of the end of 2016, total assets of KienLongBank exceeded 30 trillion dong, increasing 20 percent in comparison with the beginning of the year. KienLongBank's chartered capital remained stable at three trillion dong. Since the capital was increased three times in 2010 to ensure enough legal capital under the Law on Credit Institutions 2010, KienLongBank has not increased any capital over the past seven years. Customer loans reached nearly 20 trillion dong, increasing 21.8 percent. Customer's deposits reached 22.8 trillion dong, increasing 14 percent. Deposits balance and loans from other credit institutions also trippled in comparison with the beginning of the year, from 1.173 trillion dong to 3.477 billion dong. Despite the strong credit growth, bank's interest income increased slightly from 2.110 billion dong to 2.294 billion dong, while interest expenses soared from 1.287 trillion dong to 1.508 trillion dong, making the net interest income in the period fall 4.5 percent to 786 billion dong. In addition, the surge in operating and risk provision expenses contributed to "erode" KienLongBank's profits. The bank's total after-tax profits in 2016 was 121 billion dong, decreasing 27 percent in comparison with 2015. This was the fifth consecutive year tha KienLongBank's profits went down. The bank's business efficiency had been continuously "shrunk" since the peak in 2011. Not only that, in recent years, KienLongBank has spent a lot of money buying fixed assets, mostly to build headquarters, branches. The cash flow statement showed that the bank spent 1.501 trillion dong buying fixed assets and other long-term assets over the past three years, contributing to a doubling of fixed assets balance, from 662 billion dong at the beginning of 2014 to 1.315 billion dong at the end of 2016.

Corporate

Vietnam among top five foreign investors in Cambodia 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA With 183 valid projects worth 2.85 billion USD by the end of December 2016, Vietnam continues to be among the top five foreign investors in Cambodia. Vietnam is now the third biggest trade partner of Cambodia, with two-way trade reaching 3 billion USD in 2016. In the first two months of 2017, bilateral trade hit 624.1 million, up 21.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The two countries are striving to increase the figure to 5 billion USD. The figures were released by Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Thach Du at a recent business conference. He attributed thriving trade ties to the two countries' friendship, close geographic location and government support, adding that there is potential for further economic cooperation. Organised by the Vietnam Embassy in Cambodia, the conference gathered some 100 Vietnamese investors in the country, including the Vietnam Rubber Group and Metfone - an arm of the military-run telecommunication group Viettel. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-among-top-five-foreign-investors-in-cambodia/109878.vnp Vietnam ranked among top 10 countries in women business ownership - report 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vnexpress In developing markets like Vietnam, many women are engaged in entrepreneurship "either out of necessity or opportunity." Nearly a third of business owners in Vietnam are women, placing the country seventh worldwide and first in Southeast Asia in the Women Business Ownership ranking compiled by Mastercard. With 31.4 percent of entrepreneurs being women, Vietnam was ahead of high income economies like Spain and the US, while also faring better than its northern neighbour China. opportunity." Nearly a third of business owners in Vietnam are women, placing the country seventh worldwide and first in Southeast Asia in the Women Business Ownership ranking compiled by Mastercard. With 31.4 percent of entrepreneurs being women, Vietnam was ahead of high income economies like Spain and the US, while also faring better than its northern neighbour China. The credit card company found it "surprising" that Vietnam, a lower middle income economy, made it into the top 10 because another index, calculated using three different components, shows a different story. Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), which surveyed 54 markets worldwide, actually ranked Vietnam 19th worldwide. The country scored 65 points overall, which is a combined score encompassing three components: Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions, Knowledge Assets and Financial Access, and Women's Advancement Outcomes. As the Mastercard index has ranked Vietnam much lower than the Women Business Ownership list, the report listed Vietnam among countries that are performing "better than expected". opportunity." Nearly a third of business owners in Vietnam are women, placing the country seventh worldwide and first in Southeast Asia in the Women Business Ownership ranking compiled by Mastercard. With 31.4 percent of entrepreneurs being women, Vietnam was ahead of high income economies like Spain and the US, while also faring better than its northern neighbour China. The credit card company found it "surprising" that Vietnam, a lower middle income economy, made it into the top 10 because another index, calculated using three different components, shows a different story. Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), which surveyed 54 markets worldwide, actually ranked Vietnam 19th worldwide. The country scored 65 points overall, which is a combined score encompassing three components: Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions, Knowledge Assets and Financial Access, and Women's Advancement Outcomes. As the Mastercard index has ranked Vietnam much lower than the Women Business Ownership list, the report listed Vietnam among countries that are performing "better than expected". "There are unique internal market dynamics within each economy that draw out explicit entrepreneurial traits," the report explained. In developing markets like Vietnam, many women are engaged in entrepreneurship "either out of necessity or opportunity". They "tap on business segments that are usually non-knowledge or innovation- oriented [...] which effectively allow them to avoid financial, regulatory or technical constraints." Indeed, Vietnam's low rank in Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions, at 42nd place, indicates a relative lack of support mechanisms to enable women entrepreneurs to thrive. This component score is generally proportional to the economy's income as wealthier countries tend to have better infrastructure and institutional support in place. Meanwhile, Vietnam ranked fourth with a score of 86.6 in Knowledge Assets and Financial Access, only behind Singapore, New Zealand and South Africa. It shows that Vietnamese women entrepreneurs are relatively less marginalised commercially as financial customers and academically in terms of tertiary education. Vietnam's score, together with those of the Philippines (82.3) and Indonesia (82.0) were reported as "surprisingly but encouragingly high, driven mostly by a high tendency to borrow or save for business purposes, and high access to financial services/products," the report said. The country also made it into 8th place in Women's Advancement Outcomes, which measures women's progress and the degree of marginalisation they face economically and professionally as business leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and workers. Also among the top scorers in this component were the Philippines and Thailand, in first and second place respectively. Mastercard's study also identified some of the constraints facing women business owners, such as alack of financial funding, regulatory restrictions and institutional inefficiencies, lack of self- belief/entrepreneurial drive, fear of failure, socio-cultural restrictions and lack of training/education. http://e.vnexpress.net/infographics/data-speaks/vietnam-ranked-among-top-10-countries-in-women- business-ownership-report-3567471.html

HCM City Secretary promotes trade, investment in Japan 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Secretary of the Party Committee of HCM City Dinh La Thang is on a visit to Japan from April 6-15, aming to enhance trade and investment ties between the city and Japan. During the visit, Thang is scheduled to meet local authorities and businesses to seek cooperation in infrastructure development, transportation, tourism and high technology. The secretary will attend events promoting trade, investment and tourism in Osaka, Tokyo, Hyogo, Aichi and Nagano. Especially, conferences in Osaka and Hyogo are intended to call for investment in the city's key projects and introduce its potential for investment and tourism. He will tour several industrial parks and hi-tech agricultural and industrial projects in Japan. On April 6, Secretary Thang met with Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong in Tokyo where he updated Cuong on socio-economic development in HCM City. The city reported economic growth of 7.46 percent in the first quarter of 2017, higher than the same period last year, while about 85 trillion VND in tax payment was collected, Thang said. At the same time, it confronted several major challenges in terms of infrastructure, transportation, environment, food safety and security, he added. He expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Embassy will continue connecting HCM City and Japan so that more Japanese investment will enter the city. Last year, Japan ranked sixth among countries and territories investing in HCM City. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcmc-secretary-promotes-trade-investment-in-japan/109870.vnp

Thai Binh attracts many investment projects in agriculture 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA The Red River delta province of Thai Binh is scheduled to present licences to 11 investment projects worth 2,016 billion VND (87.65 million USD) at a conference to promote investment in agriculture and rural areas on April 8. The information was revealed by Chief of the provincial People's Committee Office Lai Van Hoan at a press conference in the province on April 7. According to Hoan, the province will also give approval to investors to conduct research on 19 projects worth 20,925 billion VND (909.7 million USD) specialised in hi-tech agricultural products and aquaculture. On the occasion, three projects on the construction of roads in the build-transfer and build-operate- transfer model with combined registered capital of 2,717 billion VND (118.1 million USD) will also receive investment certificates. Notably among the agricultural projects is a 7.8 trillion VND (339.1 billion USD) scheme on agricultural industrialisation and a chain of manufacturing, harvesting, processing, transporting and distributing farm produce on a 2,000ha area in Quynh Phu district run by a joint venture between THACO Group and Loc Troi Group. The event will also witness the signing of agreements on the provision of credit and social welfare packages worth 59 billion VND (2.56 million USD). Pham Van Xuyen, vice Chair of the provincial People's Committee, emphasized that it will be the largest- ever agricultural investment promotion conference in Thai Binh, laying a foundation for the province to make five breakthroughs in agricultural development in the future. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/thai-binh-attracts-many-investment-projects-in-agriculture/109914.vnp

Savills: M&As to continue in 2017 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vneconomic Times The competitiveness of Vietnam's real estate market is evidenced by increasing M&A activities and FDI, Savills' latest market review notes. The trend towards merger and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam's real estate market continues unabated, with the frequency seen in 2016 to be maintained this year, according to Savills' latest M&A review. The local real estate market has seen a host of strategic moves by investors in recent times, including M&As and development cooperation. Typical deals include Gaw Capital's acquisition of a series of high- value commercial properties from Indochina Land and Gamuda Land purchasing stakes held by local investors in the Celadon City project. At the same time, the market for M&A deals has been widespread in all segments, such as the joint venture between Chow Tai Fook and SunCity in the Hoiana resort and casino project in central Quang Nam province, with total investment of $4 billion, and Lotte's acquisition of Diamond Plaza. Savills has successfully consulted two major deals in HCM City. Though domestic investors have not attracted much attention compared to foreign investors, they play an important role in merger deals and development cooperation when they contribute market knowledge and experience in product development. Van Thinh Phat, VinGroup, Novaland, Sun Group, and a number of developers are also revealing themselves as strategic investors with long-term vision, by acquiring projects or land sites with potential and releasing products to the market that compete with those of foreign investors. A series of moves have been made by foreign investors, especially those from Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore. For example, an anonymous Japanese investor acquired 70 per cent of A&B Tower in HCM City's District 1 while the Creed Group, in association with two domestic investors, including Phat Dat and An Gia, has developed commercial housing projects. Singaporean investors are no less prominent in the market, with Keppel Land's participation in the Empire City project and CapitaLand increasing its ownership in The Vista project, while the most recent prominent deal was Mapletree acquiring the entire Kumho Asiana Plaza complex, one of the most prestigious sites in HCM City. In general, the exciting M&A activities in Vietnam's real estate market from large to small scale are clear evidence of credibility in growth momentum and a newly-sustainable development cycle, Savills noted in its report. With a view of Vietnam possessing many opportunities and potential, M&As will continue to be a form that the vast majority of investors will use to enter the market and realise their goals. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/savills-m-as-to-continue-in-2017

M&A activities of both domestic and foreign investors exciting in Q1/2017 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia| DTCK Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a term that embraces a variety of different economic activities such as merging or consolidating; acquiring shares to take over control the business; or acquiring assets. M&A activities are popular in almost every country in the world. In Vietnam, the value of M&A deals in the past three years has steadily increased, in which there were many large-scaled deals. Many experts forecasted that M&A in Vietnam will continue to boom in 2017. Considering the group of listed companies alone, from the beginning of the year, information about the possibility of large M&A deals has continuously been announced. For example, in late February 2017, the information about the discussion of the Indian state-owned iron ore company (NMDC) with Vietnam-based Masan Resources (MSR) to acquire a large amount of shares in Nui Phao polymetallic mine has created waves for MSR trading. This move of NMDC in particular, and foreign investors in general is considered not surprising as it is estimated that Nui Phao is the world's largest tungsten mine, with a potential ore reserve of about 66 million tonnes, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the global reserves. Masan Horizon is the current dominant shareholder of MSR with an ownership rate of 95.5 percent shares with voting rights, after the public offering took place in December 2016. The market predicted that the result of the acquisition of Nui Phao mine largely depends on the decision of Masan Horizon. Among the 10 big state-owned enterprises (SOEs) which the government asked the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) to step up capital withdrawal under the prime minister's Official Letter 1787/TTg-DMDN, the Vietnam Dairy Joint Stock Company (VNM) is a notable name which draws much attention of investors. SCIC is currently holding nearly 40 percent of VNM stake, equivalent to more than 80 trillion dong of market capitalisation and SCIC will continue to make divestments in 2017. In the first auction to sell 9 percent VNM shares owned by SCIC in late 2016, the F&N investors from Thailand purchased 5.4 percent, raising their ownership rate in VNM to 16.35 percent. After that, this group of investors continued to acquire more shares and raised their shareholding to 17.7 percent in early March 2017. As expected, F&N investor group will continue to be a familiar name in the following SCIC's auctions of VNM shares, with an aim to increase its ownership in Vietnam's dairy giant to a dominant level. Binh Minh Plastic Joint Stock Company (BMP) is also included in SCIC's list of 10 SOEs under divestment this year. SCIC is currently holding 29.5 percent of the firm, equivalent to more than three trillion dong of capitalisation value. The market is predicting that BMP is likely to maximise the room for foreign investors to 100 percent in the coming Annual general Meeting (AGM), to pave the way for SCIC's divestment. The biggest foreign shareholder of BMP is Nawaplastic Industries (Saraburi) Company Limited - a Thai company specialising in PVC pipe production, owner of 20 percent BMP shares. This foreign investor is also holding 22.7 percent stake of Tien Phong Plastic Joint Stock Company (NTP) - another plastic firm of which SCIC holds 37.1 percent stake, also being under the SCIC's priority list for conducting divestment. Thus, the divestment of SCIC in BMP or NTP is considered attractive to foreign investors, especially Nawaplastic Industries because if being able to acquire the shares offered by SCIC, this investor can take control of the two leading plastic firms in Vietnam. There are many other forecasts about large M&A deals to be carried out in 2017 in which buyers are foreign investors, as numerous SOEs such as MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation (MobiFone), PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), Saigon Trading Group (Satra) and Investment and Industrial Development Corporation (Becamex IDC) will conduct their Initial Public Offering (IPO). In addition, the State will accelerate divestment in large SOE such as Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverages Corporation (Sabeco), Hanoi Alcohol Beer and Beverages Corporation (Habeco), and Vietnam Airlines Corporation (Vietnam Airlines). In fact, these firms are all receiving attention of foreign investors. Vietnam's removals of many market-entry barriers for foreign investors in numerous fields have enabled the M&A market in Vietnam to welcome investment waves from Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the Europe, and the US, etc. More and more foreign firms have chosen M&A as a form to enter the Vietnamese markets. The major M&A deals in recent time have shown that foreign firms often target leading companies in Vietnam, those have large brand value and market share or possess natural resource advantages. Foreign investors are willing to pay higher prices than market prices to acquire shares of these firms. The participation of foreign investors in buying shares is considered helping increase the efficiency of State's capital withdrawal. Enterprises after divestment will have new sources of capital, new governance capacity, and enhancement in competitiveness and transparency, etc. However, there are concerns that the rising ownership of foreign investors in the leading firms of Vietnam may cause some sectors to be dominated by foreigners. Some concerned that foreign investors carry out M&A for the purpose of acquiring rivals, or owning and exploiting resources to transfer abroad. Meanwhile, M&A activities of local investors are somewhat quieter. However, they have continuously been implemented and been included in the development plans of many firms, because M&A is considered having advantages in many ways. M&A can help firms improve financial situation; perfect value chain; expand market share; penetrate into new fields without taking time to do research; and take advantage of the strengths of the available system and personnel, thereby creating resonance value, etc. In the field of banking and finance, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is finalising the Scheme to restructure the system of credit institutions (CIs) associated with bad debt settlement in the 2nd phase (2016- 2020) and detailed information has not been fully disclosed. However, the M&A deals of banks such as Habubank - SHB, PVcomBank - WesternBank, MHB - BIDV, and SouthernBank - Sacombank showed the effectiveness in restructuring, raising charter capital, handling bad debts, and expanding networks, etc. Accordingly, the policy to restructure the CI system in the 2nd phase is said to continue using M&A tool. On the other hand, conducting M&A is considered a self-demand of many banks. The first banking M&A deal in 2017 is expected to be the merger of PGBank into VietinBank. This plan was mentioned by VietinBank's Chair Nguyen Van Thang at the conference summarising 2016 business operation and implementing 2017 business tasks held in early 2017. Previously, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that it aimed to acquire a weak bank of Vietnam in the form of M&A. Since there are currently many small banks with legal capital of three to four trillion dong, including some weak banks in the market, M&A activities in the banking sector are expected to continue in the near future, in order to form larger and stronger banks. Regarding real estate sector, from the beginning of the year until now, information about the transfer and acquisition of real estate projects has continuously been released, especially those with slow progress and the lack of efficiency. For example, Van Phat Hung Corporation (VPH) has sold seven blocks of Lacasa Residential Complex (district 7, Hochiminh city) to An Gia Investment and the Creed Group investment fund in early March; and No Va Land Investment Group Corporation (Novaland) has been implementing M&A deals for suspended projects such as Icon56, Galaxy 9, The Tresor, Lexington, and RiverGate Residence, etc. In the consumption and retail sector, M&A activities are expected to continue being busy with the attractiveness of a 93 million-people consumption market. At the AGM on March 31st 2017, Nguyen Duc Tai, Chair of Mobile World Group (MWG) said that the group may conduct M&A with other retailers in 2017 via share acquisition or 100 percent buy-out. In the field of pharmaceutical and healthcare, many companies such as Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (IMP), DHG Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DHG), and Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company (DCL) are attractive to both domestic and foreign investors. On February 25th 2017, the Shareholders Committee of DCL approved the ownership rate increase of F.I.T Investment Joint Stock Company (FIT) to the maximum level of 80 percent via the sale of shares to existing shareholders. From February 27th to March 10th, FIT acquired three million shares of DCL, raising its shareholding to 69.95 percent and registered to purchase an addition of one million shares. Thus, in the last two years, from holding no shares of DCL, FIT has become a dominant shareholder of this firm. For listed companies, M&A can create waves of stock price increases which will benefit shareholders, such as the cases of VPH or DCL. Nevertheless, small shareholders may be disadvantaged and fall into the spin of the takeover and anti-takeover battles between giants. The typical examples are the conflicts of major shareholders in Education Financial Investment Joint Stock Company (EFI) in the recent time, or the failure to reach a consensus between the two major shareholder groups in Bibica Joint Stock Company (BBC). Regarding the M&A trend in 2017, many reports and analysts said that M&A activities will continue to be vibrant in 2017 and attract both domestic and foreign investors. In particular, there will be many deals carried out in industrial field, consumer goods, banking and financial services because there are numerous firms own valuable assets and are the suitable targets for other companies in the same sector to acquire or partner with, in order to increase the resonance value. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector, with leading firms under the State' divestment plan, is predicted to attract attention of foreign investors; and the transfer of real estate projects will continue to be exciting.

Vietnamese workers warned of 'robot threat' 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VN Business Robots are already being used at the 20-hectare Vinamilk actory in Binh Duong province. There are 19 robots and several workers. Everything runs on an automation process. Some robots carry packs to the filling room, while others take finished products to the storehouse. When robots begin to lose power, they automatically go to the battery charging area, where they install full batteries without the assistance of workers. Nguyen Chien Thang, director of Scan Pacific, an interior product manufacturer, who has received more orders from foreign partners in recent years, has decided to equip his newly built factory with an automated production line, which would help increase productivity by 4-5 times. Other large furniture companies in Binh Duong have also spent money on automation technology. A representative of Vi Dai, a supplier of machines and equipment, said the company's sales increased by 50 percent in 2016 because more wooden furniture manufacturers bought modern equipment to increase productivity and lower costs. Thanks to the automation production line, which has been running in the last 10 years, Minh Long 1 Porcelain Company has cut the number of workers from 400 to 20. To date, it has imported seven robots with the value of no less than 40,000 euros. Analysts commented that though it is costly to replace workers with intelligent robots, using robots in production lines is a growing tendency worldwide, including in developing countries like Vietnam. The World Economic Forum predicted 5 million jobs would be lost by 2020 because of artificial intelligence. The latest report from ILO shows that two-third of 9.2 million workers in the textile & garment and footwear industries in South East Asia are being threatened by robots. In Vietnam, ILO said 86 percent of textile & garment workers may lose jobs in the automation process, while three-fourth of workers in the electronics sector will be replaced with robots. Pham Thi My Le, president of Le & Associates, predicted that 80 percent of works would be undertaken by robots by 2020. The popularity of robots would prompt multi-national conglomerates to stop outsourcing to Asian countries and to make products in their home countries with automated production lines. If so, Asian countries, which now rely on doing the outsourcing for foreign companies, would suffer. Vietnam can attract foreign investments thanks to cheap labour. However, once robots replace large numbers of workers, that advantage will diminish. http://vnbusiness.com.vn/economy/8277-vietnamese-workers-warned-of-robot-threat.html

Vietnamese bakery, confectionery sector attracted to foreign partners 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The Vietnamese market is witnessing an increasing number of large bakery and confectionery companies, highlighting the sector's potential for foreign investors, Dieter Dohr, general director-cum-chair of GHM Company, said. The announcement was made at a conference held in Hanoi on Tuesday introducing Iba 2018, an international trade fair on the bakery sector. "Vietnam has many delicious and high-quality foods such as breads, coffee and tea. The event will help Vietnamese firms showcase their potential in the bakery and confectionery sector and also gain learning experience from foreign partners," Dohr said. He added that the fair is for large, small and-medium-sized enterprises. Iba 2018 will take place in Munich, Germany, between September 15 and 20 next year. The event hopes to attract companies from 165 countries. It will introduce machinery, equipment, state-of-the-art technology and material for the baking industry. Bakery and confectionery production lines will also be on display at the event. "In particular, the exhibition will focus on food safety and hygiene of the sector," he said. The organiser said technologies for bakery and confectionery production have been diversified. Producers, therefore, should regularly keep abreast of modern technologies and global consumption trend to improve their competitiveness and attract customers. Notably, many Vietnamese have been undergoing training on bakery and confectionery production in Germany, which will serve as an advantage for the country to expand business with foreign partners. "Local firms should be confident about bringing their products to international trade fairs," he noted. According to Business Monitor International, the nation's confectionery sector has experienced relatively high and stable growth rate and is forecast to earn revenue of VND40 trillion (US$1.8 billion) in 2018. China, the US and Cambodia were the top three importers of Vietnamese confectionery last year, followed by Japan and South Korea. China is set to maintain its leading position this year, with import growth estimated at over 40 per cent. Confectionery exports went up 15 per cent year-on-year in 2016 with export value of $532 million, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported. Export value in 2015 was $463 million. The trade fair is organised by the German Baker's Association and GHM Company once every three years. In 2015, the exhibition attracted the participation of over 1,300 exhibitors and nearly 78,000 visitors, of which visitors from Germany accounted for 36 per cent while the remaining came from foreign countries. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176089/vietnamese-bakery--confectionery-sector-attracted-to- foreign-partners.html

Vietnam determined to lower prices on brand name drugs 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Tuoitre News Over half of brand name drugs in Vietnam with expired intellectual property rights are still being sold at exorbitant prices while authorities fail to update their patent status and allow the production of cheaper generic versions of the drug. Deputy prime minister Vu Duc Dam has called for joint efforts from the Ministry of Health and Vietnam Social Insurance (VSI) to tackle the issue and lower drug prices, a move which would benefit both medical patients and the state welfare programme. Brand-name "privilege" Brand-name drugs are medicines that have been patented by pharmaceutical companies, providing them with protection from copycats. According to international conventions honored by Vietnam, patents for brand-name drugs are valid for 20 years, after which generic versions, equivalent to a brand-name product in dosage, strength, route of administration, quality, performance, and intended use, are allowed to be produced by other pharmaceutical companies. According to Nguyen Ta Tinh, head of the pharmacy and medical supplies division at VSI, brand name drugs are currently priced too highly in Vietnam compared to generic, category-one drugs - good quality drugs produced in close observation of European Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) standards. "For similar cancer-treating drugs using paclitaxel as the active ingredient, for example, a brand name drug costs VND5 million [US$223] per vial, while a generic category-one drug only costs VND1-3 million [$45-135] per vial," Tinh said. VSI vice president Pham Luong Son estimates that a brand name drug can cost between five and seven times higher than its high-quality generic versions, even after its patents have expired. Despite the patents for over 400 out of 700 brand-name drugs having expired, relevant authorities have been slow to re-categorise them into category-one drugs, a move that has cost patients and the state insurance budget billions of dong. "It's not difficult to check the patent status of a brand name drug," a health expert who asked not to be named told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. "All it takes is checking if generic versions of the drug are available in Europe, where intellectual property rights are strictly regulated." For the past four years, there have only been additions to the list of brand name drugs allowed in Vietnam. Meanwhile, no drugs have been removed from the list, regardless of their patent status, the expert explained. Brand name drugs enjoy a range of privileges, he explained, including almost guaranteed wins during pharmaceutical procurements, since the owner of the brand is the only one allowed to produce the patented active ingredient. This practice has been criticised as one of the reasons for rising medical costs in Vietnam. "Prior to 2012 when the old regulation on pharmaceutical procurement was still in place, drug related costs covered by medical insurance were at VND10 trillion [$446.43 million] per year," the expert said. "This number has tripled in recent years though the amount of people covered by medical insurance couldn't have tripled in such a short time." The best of both worlds Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam has demanded that a fixed ratio for brand name and generic drugs to be covered by state-run insurance programmes be introduced by the Ministry of Health and VSI, with the latter suggesting that the ratio be 7:3 for generic and brand name drugs respectively. However, the suggestion was met with concerns from practicing doctors, who said the decision on which drugs to be used for specific conditions should rest on the head of the medical institute or those immediately responsible for the patient's care, rather than being governed by a fixed ratio. "We are treating a patient with a fungal infection in their lungs, and brand name drugs were safer for use on this particular patient who happens to also have kidney failure," said a doctor from Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi. "Generic drugs would have posed health risks for the patient." "If the state insurance budget can't cover 100 percent of the costs for brand name drugs, it should at least pay the price as if a generic drug has been used instead," said Hoang Xuan Thanh, a physician at the intensive care unit of a hospital. "The patient who opts for brand name drugs can cover the rest." http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40422/vietnam-determined-to-lower-prices-on-brand-name-drugs

Indonesia turns it back on Vietnamese rice as crops at home flourish 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vnexpress Indonesia's rice imports from all destinations in 2017 are forecast to halve to 500,000 tonnes, based on USDA reports. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and a major buyer of Vietnamese rice, has not returned to Vietnam for new purchases this year, while its overall 2017 rice imports are forecast to halve to around 500,000 tonnes thanks to better domestic production, according to industry reports. Indonesia was among Vietnam's 10 biggest rice buyers in the 2010-2016 period, with imports peaking at nearly 1.9 million tonnes in 2011, based on data from Vietnam's agriculture ministry. But its purchases have been falling and Vietnam received no orders during the first two months of 2017, ministry data shows. Vietnam is the world's third-biggest rice exporter after India and Thailand. Indonesia is forecast to import 500,000 tonnes of rice this year, down 50 percent from 2016, as domestic milled rice output edges up 2.6 percent to 37.15 million tonnes "due to increased area harvested", a US Department of Agriculture attache said in a March 30 report. The report said increased cropping intensity and new land will help expand the harvested area this year to 12.24 million hectares (30.25 million acres), 1.2 percent above 2016 when Indonesia experienced a weak to moderate La Nina weather phenomenon. Given more use of high-yielding varieties, the report forecasts Indonesia's output next year will rise further to 37.4 million tonnes, leaving the country's rice imports unchanged. The forecasts pose a challenge to Vietnam's rice exports in 2017, with shipments in the first quarter already dropping 24 percent from a year ago to 1.2 million tonnes, a two-year low, the government has said. Hanoi maintains forecasts of a modest rice export volume for 2017, anticipating 5 million tonnes to be shipped, due in part to expected higher demand from top buyer China. Last year, Vietnam's rice exports fell to 4.8 million tonnes, the lowest since 2008. Malaysia, another key buyer of Vietnamese rice, is forecast to import 950,000 tonnes of the grain this year, unchanged from 2016, said a USDA report dated March 27. Last year, the country was Vietnam's 5th biggest rice buyer, after China, Ghana, the Philippines and Indonesia. The average export price of Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice eased 2 percent in the first quarter ending March from a year ago to $344 a tonne, free-on-board basis, and that on Thailand's 5-percent broken rice also eased the same pace in the same period to $372 a tonne, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said. Unseasonal rain in the past week has disrupted the harvest of the Mekong Delta's winter-spring crop, and quotations edged up slightly even though buying demand remains thin, traders said. The 5 percent broken rice advanced to $355 a tonne this week from $347-$350 last Thursday. Output of the crop, the biggest among the Delta's three crops grown a year, is projected to drop 1.3 percent from last year to around 10 million tonnes of paddy, the agriculture ministry has said. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/indonesia-turns-it-back-on-vietnamese-rice-as-crops-at-home- flourish-3566986.html

Tech startups are finding fertile ground in Vietnam's 'Silicon Valley' 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Dw.com Youth, innovation and investment are coming together in HCM City to foster a vibrant startup scene that the government hopes will help modernise Vietnam's fast-growing economy. Ate Hoekstra reports. On a Friday afternoon, the Information Technology Park on the outskirts of HCM City appears to be abandoned. But in one of the offices at the site, tech developers at the startup Mimosatek are working hard on technology that will help farmers with watering their crops. "With millions of farmers, agriculture is still one of Vietnam's most important sectors," Lan Anh Le, chief operating officer at Mimosatek, told DW. "The question is always how to know how much water is needed for the plants, so we designed a tool that makes irrigation automatic and measurable." Mimosatek is only one of many tech startups in HCM City, the economic centre of Vietnam. Over the past few years, thousands of young Vietnamese entrepreneurs have come to the city to start their own company - whether it is developing innovative apps, mobile games, e-commerce or other tech solutions. This emergence was quickly recognised by Vietnam's communist-led government. With an initiative titled 'Vietnam Silicon Valley,' it is allocating resources to create an environment in which startups can grow easily. Last year, the government said it would offer legal and financial support to 2,600 startups over the next 10 years. Combining youth, resources and innovation Bobby Liu of the Topica Founder Institute, a startup accelerator programme, said that Vietnamese are good entrepreneurs, but that's not the only reason why HCM City is on the rise as a startup hub. "Fifty percent of the population is below 35 years old and many of them have studied abroad," Liu told DW, adding that Vietnam was also a base for computer technology outsourced by international companies. "Combine that with a forward-thinking mindset along with low expenses for living," he said. And the Vietnamese government is hoping that more people will start their own company. deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue announced last year that Vietnam should have 1 million businesses by 2020, up from the current 500,000. But becoming successful isn't easy. An estimated 90 percent of startups fail, often due to a lack of funding. Mimosatek tested a pilot in June 2015. The company is now looking at the success of its tool, which farmers can control with a smartphone. "At an organic farm we recently compared the results with the past," said Le. "Now that this farmer is using our product, he uses 30 percent less water, 30 percent less electricity and he has 25 percent more crops." Experts say that Vietnam is full of opportunities for entrepreneurs. Like many economies in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is experiencing very positive growth and the World Bank estimates that GDP will grow 6.5 percent in 2017. The country has a domestic market of over 95 million people with average wealth growing in recent years. The education level is also improving. Growing potential for success One of the country's success stories is Ticketbox, developed by 33-year old Tuan Anh Tran. In 2013, he started the online platform with which people can easily buy tickets for concerts and other events. According to Tran, in the first nine months, Ticketbox grew 24 times its original size. The company recently expanded to Singapore and Thailand. "I never expected to be the owner of a company that is active in three different countries," Tran told DW. "All I wanted is to build something that would help Vietnam." The Ticketbox CEO believes his country will continue to offer opportunities to startups for the next three to five years. "There is a lot of potential here, and there are so many things you can do," he said. "If someone would offer me a good price for my company, I would probably make a deal and start something new." Tran expects his company will continue to grow. "We are now looking at other countries," he said. " Malaysia, Indonesia and even Myanmar all offer good possibilities." Ticketbox isn't the only company that has become a hit. Big Cat Entertainment, which produces online videos, was recently acquired by Asia Innovations Group. Thuy Truong sold her social app, Tappy, to Silicon Valley-based Weeby.co. And developer Dong Nguyen earned $50,000 (47,000 euros) per day with his mobile game Flappy Bird. Mimosatek hopes that by the end of the year 200 farmers will use its product. The company currently has 35 clients. "What we are doing is difficult," Lan Anh Le said. "For startups, there's always a high risk of failure. But as long as we have a group of committed, passionate and competent people, we can always start fresh." http://www.dw.com/en/tech-startups-are-finding-fertile-ground-in-vietnams-silicon-valley/a-38341348

Govt guidelines for Russia-Vietnam auto joint ventures 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Vietnamese businesses will have to put in at least 50 per cent of the charter capital if they are entering into automobile joint ventures with partners from Russia and Belarus. As per government Decision 08/2017/QD-TTg, a guideline for businesses on implementing the protocol signed between Vietnam and Russia on supporting automobile production in Vietnam, every authorised Russian business is allowed to be part of one joint venture, which will undertake operations for a minimum period of 10 years and a maximum period of 30 years. Russian businesses are not allowed to transfer their capital in the joint venture to a third party from a third country. The protocol was negotiated and signed based on the priority clauses for investment projects under the free trade agreements between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Under the agreement, Russian vehicle manufacturers such as KAMAZ, GAZ and UAZ can tie up with Vietnamese partners and set up joint ventures to manufacture and assemble trucks, cars with 10 seats and above, crossover utility vehicles (CUV) and a number of special-use vehicles. The joint venture enterprises will have to assemble cars in compliance with Vietnam's automobile industry development plan till 2020, with a vision towards 2030. The local supply rate will be 25 per cent for special-use vehicles, 30 per cent for trucks and CUVs, and 35 per cent for cars with 10 seats and above by 2020. The rate will be increased to 40 per cent, 45 per cent and 50 per cent by 2025, respectively. If the joint venture fails to meet the fixed local supply rate after 10 years of operations in Vietnam, its licence will be revoked. The joint ventures will also export to other countries, especially the Southeast Asian bloc, where there will be no import tax on automobiles, under the condition of 40 per cent localisation rate among members from 2018. http://bizhub.vn/news/govt-guidelines-for-russia-viet-nam-auto-joint-ventures_285362.html

Vietnam applies SRP rice production standards to increase competitiveness 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VOV5 Farmers in the Mekong Delta Region are welcoming the news that the rice production model pursuant to the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standards will be continued. The model was initiated by the Loc Troi Group, a leading provider of agricultural services and products in Vietnam, the World Bank's IFC, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the International Sustainable Rice Forum. The programme has been piloted for two crops, and has boosted local farmers' incomes. Le Ngoc Linh of Tan An hamlet in Kien Giang province is one of the households piloting the SRP model. He said he has higher returns from the family's 4.5 hectares, about $260 per hectare, thanks to strictly conforming to advanced production rules, using minimal pesticide, and reducing costs. "All the criteria are tough but beneficial to farmers. The application has created many differences. The new model provides offers an international standard of 46 criteria to replace our old ways of farming. The use of pesticides is one example. The SRP standards say pesticides must not leave a residue on the final product. Farmers must be aware of the issue and gradually change their old farming practices if they want a sustainable production," Linh said. Participants in the pilot programme said the 46 requirements seemed hard to follow at first but during the pilot process, the Loc Troi Group's agriculturists have worked side by side with farmers teaching them new farming techniques and practices. Duong Van Chin, President of the Dinh Thanh Agriculture Research centre of the Loc Troi Group, said "After training, the farmers see the programme's benefits. Plant protection waste is not seen in the fields anymore because now they understand that proper waste collection is good for the environment, productivity, and their own health. I believe the model will soon spread to other localities and made Vietnam's rice production more sustainable and efficient." The pilot programme shows that applying SRP standards can boost farmers' incomes, benefit the community, and protect the environment. Huynh The Nang, President of the Vietnam Food Association, underlined the involvement of businesses, especially following the success of the Loc Troi Group's pilot model. "I hope members of the Vietnam Food Association will study the SRP standards and work with the Loc Troi Group to scale up application of the criteria towards building a Vietnamese rice brand of high quality and competitiveness in international markets," Nang said. In the next two years, the programme will train 4,000 farmers in the Mekong Delta in new farming practices that improve rice quality, boost productivity, and protect the environment. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-applies-srp-rice-production-standards-to-increase- competitiveness-346977.vov

HCM City metro projects short on capital 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR The two urban railway projects Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien and Ben Thanh-Tham Luong, which were in the portfolio of important projects receiving national budget funding of at least VND10 trillion ($438 million) each, are confronted with a shortage of capital. Metro line 1 in trouble A shortage of capital is the key problem of both Line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) and Line 2 (Ben Thanh - Tham Luong) urban railway projects. The HCM City People's Committee is the developer responsible for the two projects. At the Metro Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien project, the developer has been slow to pay contractors and may have to pay interest on late payment. According to a report submitted to the Ministry of Transport at the beginning of March 2017 by Le Van Khoa, deputy chair of the HCM City People's Committee, the payments for four construction packages have been delayed since September 2016. The reason is that the ODA capital provided for HCM City was only VND592.693 trillion ($26 million), a much lower amount compared to the VND1.95 trillion ($85.17 million) payable for the contractors. To deal with the current shortage, HCM City had to withdraw VND600 billion ($26.3 million) from the city budget to pay in advance for the consulting companies and contractors. With the current progress, although package No. 1a was started in November 17, 2016, the authority cannot pay the contractors as promised. Accordingly, by February 15, 2017, HCM City's Urban Railway Management Boardwould have to pay in advance the amount of VND571 billion ($25 million). In case the developer fails to pay, the contract will be extended, which will result in numerous incurred additional expenses. Khoa said that the estimated ODA capital for Metro Line 1 is VND2.119 trillion ($93 million) in 2017. However, the project's capital has not been added to the country's plan on using ODA, which significantly affected the construction progress. By the end of February 2017, package No. 1b, used for the constructions of the stations between Saigon Opera House and Ben Thanh, was 41 per cent completed, while package No. 2 toconstruct the 17.1- kilometre stretch plus depots between Ba Son and Binh Duong was 65 per cent completed. Package No. 3 for the purchase of electromechanical equipment, locomotives, carriages, and railway tracks was 12 per cent completed. In general, the total disbursement of the project is VND10.9 trillion ($477 million), of which VND9.712 trillion ($425 million) is sourced from ODA. If the Japanese and Vietnamese contractors progress as scheduled, the total value of the completed parts in 2017 may reach VND5.320 trillion ($233 million). "The project should receive more ODA. It is essential to ensure the project's progress as committed, as well as to avoid other incurred expenses, late payment penalties, and lawsuits from foreign contractors," said the report. The 19.7-kilometre Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Line goes through District 1 (Binh Thanh), District 2 (Thu Duc), District 9, and ends in Binh Duong Province (Di An District). Of the total, the underground parts are 2.6 kilometres, and the overhead parts are 17.1 kilometres long. The total investment after three adjustments has increased from VND14.415 trillion ($631 million) to VND47.325 trillion ($2.07 billion). The construction of the overhead part has been on-going since August 2012. The maximum speed along the line will be 80 kilometres per hour on the underground sections and 110 kilometres per hour on the bridge. It is forecasted to begin test runs in 2019 and be officially put into operation in 2020. Metro Line 2 in a worse spot Although Metro Line 1 is in slow progress, at least it has a forecasted launching period, while Line 2, which is also managed by HCM City's Urban Railway Management Board, is struggling with investment adjustments and updating bid documents. Accordingly, the total investment of Metro Ben Thanh-Tham Luong is proposed to be VND47.605 trillion ($2.152,36 million), an increase of 56.6 per cent compared to the initial planned investment in 2010. The three biggest increases derive from land clearance, which rose from $119.38 million to $197.88 million; installation and purchase, which went from VND748.11 billion ($33 million) to VND1.198 trillion ($52 million); and reserves, which increased from $263 million to $368 million. By the end of February 2017, after six years of construction works, the disbursement was only VND700 billion ($31 million), including VND572 billion ($25 million) of ODA capital, which is equivalent to three per cent of the expected sum total. A representative of the HCM City Urban Railway Management Board admitted that implementation was slow compared to the promised schedule because the design has been adjusted. Additionally, the different instructions issued by the sponsors and the Vietnamese government on picking contractors and the elongated time for collecting feedback from sponsors also contributed to the slow going. As the most important Metro line in HCM City, the Ben Thanh-Tham Luong line will go from the new urban area Thu Thiem (District 2) and end in An Suong (District 12). It is forecasted that by 2025, it will handle 481,700 passengers a day. Besides the sharp increase in capitalisation, the launch will be delayed to 2024, despite initial promises to complete works by the end of 2016, as specified in Decision No 4474/QD - UBND approved by the HCM City People's Committee. "The HCM City People's Committee should review the implementation progress of each package used in these projects and have appropriate solutions to avoid the extension of process, which may lead to an increase in total investment, administration, and interest expenses, exchange rate risks, and fluctuations in construction material prices," an expert said. http://www.vir.com.vn/ho-chi-minh-city-metro-projects-short-on-capital.html

Soaring tra fish prices entice Mekong farmers 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS With prices of tra skyrocketing, farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are scrambling to breed the fish, paying little heed to warnings from experts. The price of the fish has been rising since before Tet (Lunar New Year) at the end of January and now stands at VND27,000 (US$1.2) per kilogramme, thought to be the highest level in the last few years. Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper quoted P., tra breeder in Soc Trang Province's Ke Sach District who farms them in three ponds, said he and his friends are looking for more ponds to breed more fish. "One of my friends in HCM City, who has no experience in tra farming, wants to lease seven or eight ponds to breed the fish." According to Phạm Thanh Nhi, head of the Hong Ngu District Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau in Dong Thap Province, because the prices of snakehead fish are falling, many local farmers have switched from it to tra. With so many farmers switching to tra, not surprisingly there is a shortage of juveniles for breeding. Their price has risen by VND20,000 per kilogramme from a year ago to VND40,000-50,000. Another cause for the short supply is that several breeders of tra juveniles switched to other fishes after suffering losses a couple of years ago, Vo Hung Dung, vice president of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP), told the media at a seminar on Vietnamese seafood in Can Tho city last month. The prices of adult tra are also rising because of the increasing purchase by China, he said. China accounted for 18 per cent of Vietnam's tra exports last year, 15 per cent higher than five years earlier. Nguyen Minh Nhị, a former chair of the An Giang Province People's Committee, said the volatility in tra fish prices is nothing new to fish farmers, but told them to be cautious since no one can be sure where the prices are heading. Some analysts said though increasing imports by China are driving prices up, there is no guarantee this trend would continue, and farmers could suffer big losses if the imports stop. The An Giang Department of Agriculture and Development has encouraged farmers to team up with processing companies to ensure their fish is sold. According to VASEP, in the first quarter of this year farmers in the delta bred 739ha of tra and harvested 672ha, which yielded 210,000 tonnes. They have been making handsome profits thanks to the high prices. But authorities have been warning farmers against uncontrolled expansion because historically tra fish prices have been volatile. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374266/soaring-tra-fish-prices-entice-mekong- farmers.html#PJijSKqsXjTpslqT.97

Industrial salt import limited to 102,000 tonnes 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has limited import quota for industrial salt to only 102,000 tonnes in a bid to support domestic salt production, the ministry's chemical department said. The decision will take effect from July 1 and last until December 31, according to the Cong Thuong (Industry & Trade) newspaper. Although the demand for industrial salt import is very high, MoIT still has to tighten import quota for salt so as not to affect the domestic salt industry, Nguyen Van Thanh, head of the chemical department, said. The salt import quota has been limited to 102,000 tonnes, but in practice, the actual quantity of salt allowed to be imported may be much lower than the quota, estimated to be just some 40,000 tonnes, Thanh said. According to the Agro-Forestry Processing and Salt Industry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first two months of 2017, the quantity of handmade salt reached nearly 2,600 tonnes while industrial salt touched over 11,100 tonnes. By the end of February 2017, the total quantity of stockpiled salt was estimated at some 400,000 tonnes. However, many enterprises producing chemicals and medicines continue to face a shortage of industrial salt. Salt produced in the country is mostly handmade and used for cooking and food processing, while enterprises need industrial salt refined from crude salt to use as the main raw material in medical products and chemical production. Therefore, enterprises are greatly in need of industrial salt, which has low domestic production due to a low-tech salt refining facilities, a chemical manufacturing company based in HCM City told Cong Thuong newspaper. http://bizhub.vn/news/industrial-salt-import-limited-to-102000-tonnes_285361.html

Is this a good time to enter Vietnam's booming market? 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Daily Times The weekend of April 1 and 2 marked 2017's first new residential project launch from Vietnam - RichLane Residences, Mapletree Investments' maiden condominium project in HCM City. For the largely Singaporean audience, the most riveting fact during the 25-minute presentation by Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, was that the starting price of $95,000 ($132,825) for a studio in the highend condo is equivalent to the price of a new Honda Civic in Singapore. The 243-unit RichLane Residences is a 29-storey condo tower that is slated for completion in 1Q2018. The architect and interior designer are Singapore-based CPG Consultants and Ong&Ong, respectively. Adjacent to RichLane Residences is an Oakwood-branded serviced apartment block. Incidentally, Mapletree purchased a 100 percent interest in Oakwood, a US-based serviced residences and corporate apartments provider in February this year. Both the RichLane Residences condominum and Oakwood serviced apartment blocks are part of Mapletree's Saigon South Place Complex, an integrated development on a 4.4ha site in HCM City's District 7 that is modelled after Mapletree's HarbourFront precinct in Singapore, which features office towers and one of the city state's biggest shopping malls, VivoCity. The first phase of Saigon South Place Complex is SC VivoCity, a five-storey shopping mall with close to 692,000 sq ft of gross floor area (GFA). The mall opened in April 2015 and is 94 percent leased currently, with many of the tenants being international brands. The development is a joint venture with Saigon Co.op. Within the second phase of Saigon South Place Complex is Mapletree's first office development in Vietnam, Mapletree Business Centre. Tenants in the 17-storey Grade-A office tower include Standard Chartered Bank, Vietnamese food manufacturer Uniben, textile company Far Eastern Polytex and IT services company SCC UK. There are plans for two more office towers at Saigon South Place Complex. The launch of RichLane Residences comes on the back of Mapletree Business Centre's official opening on March 22. Singapore's prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and Vietnam's deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung were guests of honour. Prime minister Lee was in Vietnam on a fourday official visit from March 20. "Singapore is Vietnam's top foreign investor so far this year, and we hope to have more investment projects in Vietnam," he said. On March 23, six agreements were inked to expand cooperation between the two countries. The CBRE Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey 2017 found that Vietnam is considered the most attractive market in the Asean region. Of those interested in investing in Vietnam, 33 percent were attracted to the strong economic fundamentals that drive rental value growth. In 2016, Vietnam registered its highest foreign direct investment inflow of $15.18 billion, which spurred GDP growth of 6.2 percent y-o-y. This strong foreign investment into Vietnam is expected to continue in 2017, says CBRE, and is largely attributed to several factors. A key factor is the liberalisation of foreign investment policies in 2015, such as the implementation of Decree 60, which removed the cap on foreign ownership in public companies. The lifting of the 49 percent foreign ownership limit in public companies boosted foreign sentiment and capital inflow into Vietnam. dailytimes.com.pk/business/09-Apr-17/is-this-a-good-time-to-enter-vietnams-booming-market

Thai firms gather power on Vietnamese real estate market 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre After conducting acquisitions of firms in plastic sector, the Siam Cement Public Company Limited (SCG) from Thailand has announced to acquire Vietnam Construction Materials Joint Stock Company (VCM) for $156 million. This is not the first deal of SCG in construction material sector. In 2013, SCG spent more than five trillion dong to buy the prime Group - which used to own large market share in the field of construction bricks and tiles. Not only SCG, in the previous time, the second largest cement brand in Thailand - Siam City Cement Public Company Limited (SCCC) used nearly $580 million to buy 65 percent stake of LafargeHolcim Vietnam. SCCC is a multi-disciplinary group of Thailand, focusing on three core areas including cement - building materials, petrochemicals, and packaging. Most recently, the Amata Group from Thailand invested more than $600 million in industrial real estate sector in Dong Nai. It can be seen that Thai investors have used mergers and acquisitions (M&A) form to quickly acquire the market of Vietnam. After retail sector, Thai investors have increasingly shown ambitions in real estate sector. Penetrating the building material market - the main source of raw materials of real estate industry - SCG aimed to dominate the real estate market in the near future. According to statistics of the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), Thai investors so far have made investment in 440 projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of about $7.7 billion, ranking the 10th out of 112 countries and territories having investments in Vietnam. Although the field of real estate construction has not been much mentioned in the investments of Thai giants in Vietnam, Thai investors have begun to present through various large M&A deals. Even the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), which has a large influence in agricultural sector, has also invested in Vietnamese real estate sector. Earlier last year, CP Group announced to pour $3.6 billion in Vietnam in the next five years, half of which will be invested in real estate and a retail chain. When setting foot in Vietnam's market 15 years ago, CPGroup invested about $350 million in agricultural and industrial sectors. The group is currently investing in retail, animal feed, and seafood processing and preparing to invest in real estate. Another example, which shows that Thai investors are eyeing real estate sector of Vietnam, is the meeting between Probus Opportunities Mekong Fund (headquartered in Thailand) and Hoang Quan Consulting Trading Service Real Estate Corporation (HQC). This is a step for the Thai firm to find out about the scale, investment activities, real estate business as well as the financial situation of HQC. In early 2016, KT ZMICO securities company of Thailand also corporated with HQC in social housing projects as well as other business activities. Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, KT ZMICO is a member of Krung Thai Bank (KTB), the largest bank in Thailand with total value of $4 billion. According to CBRE Vietnam, the residential and commercial real estate market of Vietnam has been recovering significantly since the global financial crisis in 2008. This is an opportunity to attract foreign capital, including ambitious investors from Thailand. Returning to SCG's business story, when the domestic construction material sector, especially cement is facing numerous difficulties, it is a good chance for SCG to negotiate the acquisition. In the recent time, cement industry has been listed as one of the industries having high rate of environmental pollution and its operation gradually restricted. Most of the operating cement factories are subject to environmental pollution problems. The State has issued plan to suspend the operation of the polluting factories. For example, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Quang Binh province has decided to suspend operation of Van Ninh Cement Plant for the reason that the plant discards untreated dust and smoke into the environment. That is the reason why many cement plants in Vietnam are being put on alert. In addition, the difficulties of the industry has forced cement companies to find buyers. From 2016 until now, Vietnam has put three additional production lines into operation, increasing the total designed capacity to 88 million tonnes. According to industry forecast, the capacity of cement industry will continue to rise as new large-scaled projects will be put into operation. With too many new projects, the cement industry will be redundant while the export plan is not very positive because cement of Vietnam is currently disadvantaged in price and local producers are struggling to find the way out. According to assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, although Vietnam has the largest cement industry in Southeast Asia with 58 cement plants and a total capacity of nearly 90 million tonnes per year, the country's export volume is much lower compared to Thailand, with only about 11 cement plants and total capacity of 46.7 million tonnes per year. However, the notable point is that the domestic consumption of Thailand only accounts for about a quarter of the total production. The advantage of Thai's cement industry is the long-time existence in the international market while Vietnam has only started to export cement and clinker since 2010. Thailand has a long tradition of cement producing and its competitiveness is quality and fast shipping. Thus, it is very difficult for Vietnamese firms to compete. Not to mention, Vietnam's cement is currently competing fiercely with Chinese cement, especially in terms of price. Many cement firms said that in the last two years, China's export of cement and clinker of China increased in volume while selling price declined. According to Chair of the Vietnam Cement Association Nguyen Quang Cung, in addition to competing with neighbouring rivals, in the near future, the cement export of Vietnam will continue to face difficulties when the exporting cost of domestic cement will rise higher due to the new regulations. That is why Thai investors are invading and acquiring Vietnam cement industry to gradually dominate and create power in the field of real estate.

City rental market continues slump 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Many investors in HCM City are struggling to rent their apartments as the market continues its tepid streak that began in early 2016, according to the Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper. For example, the owner of a luxury apartment in District 1 is renting a unit for VND24 million (US$1,054) per month, but he bought it for VND4 billion. To attract tenants, the owner, Hung, has furnished it for VND300 million. "The apartment is fully furnished and has a nice location, but it has been on the market for two months and only a few people have visited, and then they leave," Hung, the owner, said. Tran Thị Thuy is also renting an apartment in Chu Van An residential building in Binh Thạnh District. To lower rental costs, Thuy chose not to furnish the apartment and set the price at VND7 million per month. However, it has been three months and the apartment has not attracted any tenants. The townhouse segment in the city is also facing problems finding renters. Tuan, for example, has had problems renting his three-storey house located on Truong Quoc Dung and Nguyen Van Trỗi streets in Phu Nhuận District. He has lowered the rent to VND50 million per month from VND80 million. Though the "for lease" sign has been hanging outside for four months, not one person has called, he said. According to property website batdongsan.com.vn, rental prices for apartments in districts 2, 7, 9 and Binh Thạnh have also declined. For example, in Binh Thạnh District, monthly rent in Vinhomes Central Park, Sai Gon Pearl, Riverside, and Saigonland apartment buildings has been lowered by VND2-5 million per apartment. District 7, which has the highest occupancy level of all city districts, is also experiencing a price slump. In residential buildings like Phu Hoang Anh, Hung Phat, Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Era Town, a 60-70 sq.m apartment rents for VND7-10 million per month, compared to VND12-15 million last year. Several high-end properties like Him Lam Riverside and Sunrise City are seeing a price drop in rentals as well. Nguyen Huy Vu, head of BANVIETLAND Corporation, told Dau Tu that too many apartment buildings had been built in the city and that investors who bought apartments within the last eight years had been unable to resell them and are now renting them. With supply exceeding demand, the market has become even more competitive. Vu Van Sang, a private homeowner who rents three apartments in Phu Nhuận and Thủ Duc districts, said: "Part of the reason is that investors tend to buy apartments because of rental profit commitments made by housing developers. But it's the investor's job to find tenants, not the developer's. "On the one hand, this is good because it makes the market more professional, but, on the other hand, it increases supply. Amateur investors like me cannot compete with professional corporate players. No wonder the market is slumping." Sang said he planned to sell two of his apartments and find a new investment to get rid of the burden of his property loan. Le Hoang Chau, chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association, said the rental market would continue to face even tougher conditions because of the imbalance in supply and demand. Property speculators typically buy luxury apartments to rent, but most Vietnamese residents cannot afford them, while demand from expatriates living in the city is not high, he said. The uncontrolled purchases of apartments and investors' unrealistic expectations of the market have adversely affected the rental and property market, he added. "Just look at residential buildings at night. How many apartments have lights on and how many don't? The reality is that many residential apartments bought by buy-to-let investors are not occupied," Chau said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374024/city-rental-market-continues- slump.html#XqZP7BFMKFJY0e4F.97

C&W: HCM City to have more office-for-rent space in 2017 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VN Economic Times Latest C&W report notes significant growth in Grade A and Grade B office-for-rent space in Q1. HCM City's office market is expected to have over 180,000 sq m of new supply in the pipeline, of which more than half will be concentrated in the central business district (CBD), according to Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam (C&W)'s first quarter report on the city's office market. One Grade B office building was completed in the quarter, supplying an additional 23,000 sq m to the market. There are currently ten Grade A and 51 Grade B office buildings, providing approximately 194,000 sq m and 769,000 sq m of space to the market, respectively. The Grade A and Grade B office-for-rent markets are growing well, the report noted. Occupancy in Grade A increased nearly 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 5 per cent year-on-year, reaching 96 per cent. Meanwhile, Grade B recorded a 1 per cent increase quarter-on-quarter but represented only 95 per cent of the figure in the same period last year. The report showed that total market absorption saw a record increase of 29,000 sq m, up 66 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 723 per cent year-on-year. Grade B represented 88 per cent, accounting for nearly half of all new office space for lease. Absorption in Grade A also saw a significant recovery from the previous quarter's negative level, reaching nearly 3,400 sq m. Average rentals in both Grade A and Grade B remained stable over the previous quarter but increased on a yearly basis. Grade A rose by 5 per cent and Grade B 1 per cent. According to C&W, there will be 180,000 sq m of new leasing area in 2017, and all Grade A and more than half of Grade B supply will be concentrated in the CBD. Two Grade A office buildings scheduled for completion in the third quarter will provide over one-third of the total new office-for-rent area this year. The market will experience a period of six to nine months where there will be a shortage of supply with moderate rental increases before returning to a tenant's market in the second half of the year. However, there will also be pockets of spaces becoming available as tenants start relocating, helping to ease the limited supply. "We have seen strengthening in asking rents across the city in the past 12 months and the market will welcome some much-needed supply during the remainder of the year," said Alex Crane, general manager of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam. "Tenants should be preparing for a competitive market place as we will see more 'churn' of deals with a high number of big relocations. We have pent up demand from occupiers and the second half of 2017 will be a good time to strike competitive terms as landlords start to feel some pressure on their occupancy rates." http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/c-w-hcmc-to-have-more-office-for-rent-space-in-2017

Business Briefs April 10, 2017 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | * Hau Giang Pharmaceutical Company (DHG) has proposed to launch employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) of 500,000 to 600,000 shares per annum for the period of2018-2021. This is equivalent to 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent of the outstanding shares after the 2:1 bonus issuance, which will take place in the second and third quarter. The amount of ESOP shares will depend on actual business results during the fiscal period between 2017 and 2020. The lock-up period is two years, during which 50 percent of the ESOP will be unlocked after one year and the remainder will be available for trading after two years. * Hai An Transport and Stevedoring Company (HAH) targets a net profit ofVND150 billion in 2017, up 12 percent from last year, while its revenue is set to reach over VND600 billion. In addition, the firm will spend VND450 billion expanding its business and buying new equipment and issue 17 million new shares at a 2-for-l ratio to raise capital to VND402 billion this year. The company plans to issue 11.3 million new shares to pay dividend for shareholders at a 2-for-l ratio for 2016. * Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading Company (TCM) made a net profit of VND47 billion in the first quarter of this year, which jumped 114 percent year-on-year thanks to increases in revenue of garment products and profit margin of fiber products and a recent productivity improvement at its Vinh Long plant. Its revenue reached VND737 billion in the quarter, equal to that in the same period of 2016, said Viet Capital Securities Company. * Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI) will seek approval from shareholders to issue a maximum 10 million employee stock ownership (ESOP) shares at VND 1 0,000 each within this year. The shares will be offered to members of the board of directors, the management board, key staff of SSI and its affiliates to improve employee benefits and supplement its working capital. SSI will make 50 percent of the shares available for trading after two years and the remaining after three years since the issuance date. * Atlantic Ocean Invest Joint Stock Company has bought over 329,000 shares of GTN Foods Company (GTN) to secure a 25 percent stake in the enterprise.

VN products look to Argentinean market 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Representatives from the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Argentina this week had a working session with leaders of the Coto Group to explore opportunities for Vietnamese products to enter the South America country's leading supermarket chain. Pham Hong Trang, head of the office, said Coto products range from household appliances to handicrafts. This is a golden opportunity for Vietnamese goods to enter the Argentinean market. Once Vietnamese products are sold in Coto markets, it will help increase two-way trade, she said. Meanwhile, President of Coto Group Alfredo Coto said he wanted Vietnamese products on his supermarkets' shelves. Coto is interested in imports like household appliances, electronic products, handicrafts, wood furniture and coffee, he added. Coto is a chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets, established in Argentina in 1987. It is now one of the leading retailers in Argentina with over 120 branches and 20 others under construction nationwide. To date, the group has a 30.1 per cent retail market share in Buenos Aires and 18.3 per cent in the whole country. bizhub.vn/news/vn-products-look-to-argentinean-market_285368.html

PM okays $2.4b for major highway 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed to support construction of the North-South Highway with investment of VNĐ55 trillion (US$2.4 billion) sourced from government bonds during the 2016-2020 period. He has asked the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to conduct a pre-feasibility study and report its results to the government, the Giao Thong (Transport) newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a government Office announcement. The highway will be constructed using a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model that is transparent and highly effective, the announcement said. The government will also provide capital support for site clearance. The report said that a consultancy firm would be selected through a competitive bidding process to plan and design the highway construction. The final selection will be based on cost and feasibility of their technical designs, it added. The transport ministry will be responsible for directing the planning of component projects soon after the National Assembly approves of highway's master plan. It will also collaborate with the ministries of Planning and Investment, Finance, Construction and Justice, and the State Bank of Vietnam to develop investment mechanisms and policies for the project, the report said. It quoted the PM as saying the mechanisms and policies must both abide with regulations and attract investment. He has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to form a State council to assess the project. The PM has also instructed the MoT to review and adjust the plan on developing Vietnam's expressway network until 2020 (with a vision to 2030), towards developing the North-South Highway into 6-10 lanes instead of 4, as originally proposed. Road markers should be installed along the highway to manage land in accordance with regulations, the PM said. The PM's latest instructions follow the transport ministry's submission of three proposals last December on building the North-South Highway (from Hanoi to HCM City). http://www.vir.com.vn/pm-okays-24b-for-major-highway.html

VET holds Industry 4.0 forum 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vneconomic Times "Industrial Revolution 4.0 - Gain & Lose" forum on April 7 hears views on what the fourth industrial revolution may hold for the economy and society. A CEO Forum entitled "Industrial Revolution 4.0 - Gain & Lose" was hosted by Vietnam Economic Times on April 7 at the JW Marriot Hotel Hanoi to raise knowledge about the fourth industrial revolution among Vietnamese enterprises. First came steam and the first machines, which mechanised the manual tasks of our ancestors. Then came electricity, the assembly line, and the birth of mass production. The third industrial revolution came with the advent of computers and the beginnings of automation, when robots and machines began to replace human labour on assembly lines. And now we enter into the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, in which computers and automation come together in an entirely new way, with robotics connected remotely to computer systems equipped with algorithms that can learn and control robotics with very little input from human hands. This revolution introduces what has been called the "smart factory", in which cyber-physical systems monitor the physical processes of the factory and make decentralised decisions. The physical systems become the "Internet of Things", communicating and cooperating both with each other and with humans in real time via the web. "Eight-five per cent of the work at the Big 4 auditing firms right now is being done by computers," CEO of the FPT Group, Truong Gia Binh, told the forum, adding that intellectual workers will be affected first when Industry 4.0 kicks in. According to the CEO of the Garment 10 Company, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Industry 4.0 will definitely cut the number of workers needed in labour-intensive industries such as textiles and garments. Dang Viet Dung, CEO of Uber Vietnam, believes the substance of the fourth industrial revolution is the convergence of econophysics, digital economics, and biologics, based on the foundation of artificial intelligence. This will certain alter the industrial sector in the future, he added. On the other hand, "the application of modern technology will slowly creep up on each household, with even the smallest houseware to be connected to the internet, making life more convenient," Nguyen Hung, CEO of TP Bank, told the forum. A survey conducted by the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association revealed that out of its 2,000 members, 85 per cent were very interested in the fourth industrial revolution but some 79 per cent had done absolutely nothing to prepare. About 76 per cent said they did not understand Industry 4.0 and 55 per cent said they were still looking into it. Experts and specialists believe that for Vietnam to enter into Industry 4.0, there must be support in mechanisms and policies. Education, however, will have to be innovated. "Even though Vietnamese workers are skilled, they are somewhat lacking in critical thinking," CEO of Kirby Southeast Asia, Anup Kumar Dave, told VET. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vet-holds-industry-4-0-forum

Scantech rides the Industry 4.0 wave 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR 3D technology is the core technology of Industry 4.0, which will connect the Vietnamese business landscape even more profoundly with the world. Nguyen Minh Khoi, general director of Scantech Vietnam JSC, told VIR's Phuong Thu how this shift will transform business opportunities for his firm. What are the challenges for the manufacturing industry in Vietnam, in the context of foreign investors demanding more in the way of precision, cost saving, and quality? Vietnamese manufacturers are using a lot of out-of-date equipment and a high rate of manual labour. These disadvantages have limited product development and productivity, making it hard for made-in- Vietnam goods to compete with others. Right now, businesses that properly approach the 3D field are taking advantage of the shortened time and cost in research and development (R&D), risk, and labour, and are improving their own productivity by increasing manufacturing accuracy and quality, and lowering the cost of end-products. How have manufacturers in Vietnam embraced and adapted to 3D technology? In the last five years, 3D technology has only been involved in fields like the auto sector, technology products, and in art-related initiatives such as VR museums and sculpture. Fields with untapped applications include healthcare, the military, architecture, fashion, and consumer products. 3D technology is the core technology of the fourth industrial revolution. It has changed points of view and product thinking. It makes the productivity circle much easier, simpler, faster, more exact, and cost- focused. It also gives businesses more of a chance to join the global supply chain in all phases, such as R&D, design, moulding, testing, and manufacturing. With more than 10 years of experience in 3D, Scantech is now taking a big role in Vietnam's 3D industry. Through powerful cooperations with leading 3D companies from all over the world, we are constantly increasing our utility in all fields of business, such as health, art, archaeology, the defence industry, and aviation, and in daily life. What is the marketing plan of Scantech for the next three years, including the plan to bring and adapt 3D technology to Vietnamese industry? As one of the first firms in Vietnam focused on 3D data digitisation, Scantech's growth has been continuous. From 2012, Scantech focused on building up a specialist team to carry out its full comprehensive strategy. According to this strategy, in the next three years, Scantech will focus on becoming the leading company in supplying 3D equipment and services in printing, scanning, applications, and VR solutions in Vietnam, with a wide customer range including institutions, businesses, and individuals. Scantech wants to open more direct contact with partners and potential customers. Face-to-face meetings will help us know their requirements and needs better. At the Vietnam Manufacturing Expo (VME) 2017, we hope to understand more about VME's place in the machinery, technology, and trends of the Vietnamese market. Our staff will test samples and reduce service prices by 50 per cent during the exhibition. Customers will receive more information through live demos that they can apply to their fields. The key products which Scantech will present are 3D scanning and printing systems, and 3D applications and solutions. http://www.vir.com.vn/scantech-rides-the-industry-40-wave.html

Viettel holds upper hand in final phase of 4G race 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR 4G is going to be officially launched and this will open up a new race among Vietnamese network providers. Several years ago, network providers in Vietnam had different launching periods of 3G services. At the time, VinaPhone and MobiFone belonged to Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), and they had the advantage of being the first providers to officially launch 3G programmes. Only half a year after VNPT's 3G rollout could Viettel join the battle. However, in the 4G race, the situation has changed as four Vietnamese giants have similar launching periods. Talking to newspapers, Tao Duc Thang, deputy general director of Viettel, said that over the last six months, the firm has installed 36,000 4G base transceiver stations (BTS). This is a record number as there has been no network providers to install so many BTS in such a short time. The leader of Viettel said that the infrastructure has been installed and is ready not only for 4G, but also for 5G and 6G in the future. Viettel plans to launch 4G all over the country by the middle of April 2017. Also, Thang said that Viettel has the highest number of BTS among all mobile network operators, giving Viettel' 4G high speed, capacity, and large coverage, consistency, and stability. Meanwhile, a leader of VinaPhone stated that its preparations for 4G have been basically completed. Only half as many BTS as Viettel, VinaPhone's 15,000 BTS will ensure 4G coverage in key areas in all the cities of Vietnam. In particular, Danang will have about 400 BTS to serve its key events of the year, the Danang International Fireworks Festival and the Apec Summit 2017. Two other firms that have also been licensed for 4G, MobiFone and Gtel, have released little new information about their preparations. Some of their publicised news include SIM card conversion, which their competitors have already been doing for months. MobiFone said that it has installed 4,500 4G BTS. In 2017, MobiFone plans to launch an additional 8,000 4G BTS in 53 provinces. However, in the first phase, MobiFone plans to focus on big cities like Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Can Tho, and Danang. In the next phase, this network provider will extend 4G coverage to other provinces, rural and remote areas. "The implementation of our 4G programme will only be successful when customers are persistently connected at high speed. For this, we have to ensure that 4G is always available. If customers can connect to 4G for only one hour a day and are left with 3G for the remaining 23 hours, that is unacceptable," Viette's Tao Duc Thang said. He said the wide coverage is to ensure high quality to serve old customers and attract new ones, especially as customers are allowed to switch operators while keeping their phone numbers. Also, he added that the Vietnamese network market has changed significantly over the last decade. In the past, network providers competed by coverage and charges, leaving little room for brands to differentiate themselves. Thus, nowadays, to increase the competitive capacity, their strategies have to change, focusing on quality. http://www.vir.com.vn/viettel-holds-upper-hand-in-final-phase-of-4g-race.html

Prime minister orders crackdown on 'zero dollar' Chinese tours 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | DTI News Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to tighten management over cheap holidays for Chinese tourists. Since early 2015, cheap tour packages are being offered to Chinese tourists and Vietnam is one of the popular destinations for such tours. Chinese tourism firms offer very low tour packages for visitors. Visitors only have to pay for plane tickets and don't have to worry about accommodation or entrance fees to beauty spots. However, once in Vietnam, they are transferred to another firm. Their stay at hotels are cut short and the meals are cheap. They are also forced to go to overpriced shops or use services of such firms. Director of Vong Tron Viet Tourism Company Phan Dinh Hue admitted last year that so-called 'zero dollar tour' packages are being offered in Vietnam. A number of local tourism firms are supporting these packages. The industry is badly affected as visitors rarely want to return to Vietnam a second time. According to several experts, zero dollar tour packages are a trick to attract customers into spending a large sum of money on gifts and other services. However, most of the profits are returned to Chinese operators. Thailand has also cracked down on zero dollar tours which the country claims has led to losses of USD9bn. Three companies were shut down and 2,155 tour buses were seized and arrest warrants have been issued for nine people involved in the tours as of October 6. http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/50324/prime-minister-orders-crackdown-on--zero-dollar-- chinese-tours.html

HCM City supports startup businesses 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA The Department of Taxation in Ho Chi Minh city launched a programme to support startup enterprises on April 5. The programme was carried out at the city's tax office and five sub-departments in district 1, 3, Tan Binh, Tan Phu and Binh Chanh. The same day, the department also activated a portal to assist startups at http://www.hcmtax.gov.vn/. Head of the department Tran Ngoc Tam said the moves aim to carry out government Resolution No.35/NQ-CP issued on May 16, 2016, on supporting and developing businesses. The programme aims to provide startup businesses with tax information while creating a channel to ease concerns about tax policies and procedures and ensuring effective State tax management. It also aims to save time and money for businesses, mitigate troubles for tax payers and reduce tax violations. The portal provides documents on tax and administrative procedures, making it easier for enterprises to conduct e-tax declaration and payment. The municipal Department of Planning and Investment along with the Business Association, tax and certificate services agencies pledged to put forth practical policies to support startup businesses with free tax declaration services, tax declaration software, social insurance, accounting and corporate administration, among others. Director of the Department of Planning and Investment Su Ngoc Anh said non-State businesses are a financial force to boost the city's economic growth. Therefore, the department was committed to simplifying administrative procedures for business establishment. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-supports-startup-businesses/109873.vnp

HCM City stabilises market, ensures social welfare 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VOV5 15 years ago, HCM City was the first locality in Vietnam to carry out a market stabilisation programme, enabling city dwellers to buy high-quality essential goods at affordable prices. The 15-year-old market stabilisation programme has achieved its goal of ensuring social welfare and meeting low-income families' need for essential goods. Nguyen Thi My works in the Linh Trung I Export Processing and Industrial Zone, Thu Duc district. She said "The prices are reasonable. The quality of goods is improving, gaining consumers' trust." There are now 10,500 shops offering essential goods at subsidised prices, compared with only 240 shops in the beginning. 86 enterprises are selling rice, cooking oil, sugar, milk, and eggs. Many enterprises have developed distribution networks and brands and work with producers to ensure a steady supply of goods. Nguyen Thanh Nhan, director general of the Saigon Trading Cooperatives' Alliance, said "My policy is to invest in credible producers of food to ensure food safety and hygiene and a dependable supply of goods." HCM City is combining traditional and modern distribution systems and optimising trade infrastructure to improve the price stabilisation programme. Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of HCM City's Department of Trade and Industry, said "We are focusing on the quality of goods and goods' supply. A tool for tracing pork origins is being used and this will be applied to chicken, vegetables, and fruit. Subsidised goods should be of good quality." The city's market stabilisation programme is coordinated with a campaign to encourage Vietnamese to buy made-in-Vietnam products. http://english.vov.vn/economy/hcm-city-stabilises-market-ensures-social-welfare-346968.vov

Japanese investors to revitalise polluted canal in HCM City 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Tuoitre News A number of Japanese investors have agreed to help revitalise the eight-kilometer Xuyen Tam Canal in HCM City after a meeting with city leaders in Tokyo on Saturday. The meeting was part of the ten-day working agenda of a delegation of HCM City officials, headed by Party chief Dinh La Thang, in Japan to boost ties and seek cooperation opportunities for the southern Vietnamese metropolis and Japanese cities and businesses. At the meeting, a group of Japanese investors - Daiwa Housing, Mitsubishi, Fujita Engineering, and Oriental Consulting Group - showed particular interest in the city's canal renovation project. The project, despite its small investment, is vital to the livelihood of citizens living along the polluted canal, and is among the seven breakthrough programmes outlined by the municipal Party Committee in 2015, Thang said. The Xuyen Tam Canal, which snakes eight kilometers through Binh Thanh and Go Vap Districts, measures between 17 and 42 meters in width. The canal is the destination of about 40 percent of household sewage in Binh Thanh District, receiving around 40,000 cubic meters of untreated wastewater on a daily basis. A VND123 billion (US$5.5 million) plan to renovate the canal has been in place since as early as 2002, but was never implemented in reality due to multiple unfavourable circumstances. In March last year, the administration of HCM City approved a proposal to carry out a massive renovation project on the canal at a cost of VND5 trillion ($223.21 million), 70 percent of which would be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) loans. Party chief Thang promised Japanese investors that HCM City authorities will have site clearance finished within 15 months so that work on the project could begin as early as this year. The construction plan would be drafted by the municipal Department of Transport and become available next month, upon which it would be submitted to the city's administration for approval, Thang said. "HCM City is committed to commencing work on the canal in 2017 and having it done by 2020," the Party chief told Japanese investors on Saturday. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40439/japanese-investors-to-revitalise-polluted-canal-in-ho-chi-minh-city

Local firm to develop river bus routes in HCM City 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | The Saigon Times The HCM City government has given the green light to local firm Daily Co Ltd to develop river bus routes as a measure to cope with growing road traffic congestion in the city. Municipal authorities have asked the company to prepare for the launch of the first river bus service in the city in June, and offer reasonable fares to encourage commuters to use the new service. The city government said in a statement early this week that the forthcoming river bus service could contribute to easing road traffic congestion. The company will build river bus routes under the build-operate-own format. The first service will connect Bach Dang Wharf in District 1 and Hiep Binh Chanh Ward in Thu Duc District. The city has asked the firm to make minor wharf renovations and repairs to keep the landscape in the area intact. Since the wharf area is the converging point of waterways, roads and public transit routes, the company should have traffic jam prevention solutions. The company has also secured approval to develop three other wharfs, with one in Thu Thiem New Urban Area, one in Thu Duc District's Truong Tho Ward, and one in Tan Cang Tourist Area. The company is also weighing two other routes linking Bach Dang Wharf with Mui Den Do and Phu My Hung areas, both in District 7. The company will operate 10 boats with each able to carry 60 passengers on the 11-kilometer route between Bach Dang Wharf and Hiep Binh Chanh. It will take around 30 minutes to travel the entire route. The company will conduct two trips a day to transport an estimated 5,000 passengers. Tickets cost VND15,000 per ride. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53345/Local-firm-to-develop-river-bus-routes-in-HCM City.html

Hanoi wants Microsoft's help to become technology incubator 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Chair of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung has expressed his hope for cooperation with Microsoft to turn the city into a technology incubator. He made the remark while receiving vice President for Asia Public Sector at Microsoft Stefan Sjostrom in Hanoi on April 5, according to Hanoi Moi daily. He said the Vietnamese capital city's plan to build an e-government is being carried out on schedule and at the fastest pace nationwide. Hanoi attaches importance to building a startup ecosystem, especially in information technology, and wants Microsoft's cooperation in this field, he said. A software industrial park invested by Vietnam's Vingroup will be built in Hanoi soon, Chung noted, asking Microsoft to cooperate in making the park an innovation technology zone. He pledged that the local administration will provide the best possible conditions for the development of information technology. en.vietnamplus.vn/hanoi-wants-microsofts-help-to-become-technology-incubator/109872.vnp

Rent-a-Port NV further expand its business in Vietnam with green energy focus 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR On April 8, Rent-A-Port Green Energy inked the MoU with Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on wind and solar driven micro desalination to solve the problems of salinisation in the rice fields in the Mekong Delta. Rent-A-Port Green Energy is 100 per cent owned by Rent-A-Port NV, an engineering and investment company headquartered in Belgium, specialising in the development of marine infrastructures and industrial zones. Through its shareholders, Rent-A-Port can fall back on a wealth of in-house experience in the analysis, design, construction, development and management of port, logistics and marine infrastructures, green energy as well as industrial zones worldwide. Since 2008, the company Rent-A-Port NV, a subsidiary of CFE, part of the large French Concession Group VINCI, and of the successful listed industrial group Ackermans & Van Haaren - a member of the BEL 20 - the 20 largest companies of Belgium, took over all the shares of AIG, to become the major shareholder of the Dinh Vu Industrial Zone in Hai Phong city, Vietnam. Rent-A-Port keeps expanding it industrial zones not only in Hai Phong city, but also in Quang Ninh province, creating the Deep C industrial cluster of 3,000 hectares. Rent-A-Port Green Energy's management was the driving force behind the pioneering "far shore" wind farm C power. This was the first time ever that wind turbines was installed so far offshore (30 kilometres). The total farm capacity was approximately 360 megawatts. Rent-A-Port Green Energy have participated in several related power green projects in Oman, Belgium. The group starts investing in green energy for the sustainable development of Vietnam. These includes projects in wind-powered water desalination in Mekong River Delta and Hai Phong, pioneering in solar energy in north Vietnam, waste-to-energy modules in Dinh Vu and Uong Bi. Rent-A-Port is also looking at developing an inland waterway ports that diverts dangerous traffic on road to a safer and more ecological route by sea. In November 2016, Rent-A-Port Green Energy and Rent-A-Port Utilities, signed an MoU with the MARD on cooperation in wind-driven desalination for agricultural production in the Mekong Delta region. Accordingly, the Belgian firm and MARD will set up five demonstration wind-powered water desalination plants with the investment of $15 million, which are capable of providing fresh water for at least 200 hectares of rice fields in five locations across the Mekong Delta. Each demo plant consists of two water production units with a total combined peak capacity of 400 cubic metres per day. The salinity of the fresh water produced would be below 0.1 per cent, making it suitable for irrigation and even drinkable for the local people. "We are expecting around 250 such plants to be built in the region, as a part of supporting Vietnam in improving rice production and the livelihoods of the region's farmers. We are also willing to help Vietnam identify and seek the most suitable financing source for the development of such plants in the Mekong Delta," Marc Stordiau, managing director of Rent-A-Port said at the MoU signing ceremony. http://www.vir.com.vn/rent-a-port-nv-further-expand-its-business-in-vietnam-with-green-energy- focus.html

Vietnam attends international Halal showcase in Malaysia 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA The Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) participated in the 14th International Halal Showcase (MIHAS 2017) in the capital city Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia from April 5 to 8. Tran Thi My Hanh, deputy director of Hapro's HCM City branch, said that the company wants to study customers' interest and demand during its first participation in the event, while seeking partners to expand cooperation in the import and export of Halal products. Some of Hapro's products like candies and spices, along with cashew nuts, lotus seeds and taro from other Vietnamese businesses were highly valued by international visitors. Counsellor of the Vietnam Trade Office in Malaysia Nguyen Son Ha said the Halal market has immense potential for Vietnamese businesses, especially agricultural product exporters. The office will continue to support local businesses in entering Malaysia's halal market, he pledged. The MIHAS is a large-scale showcase on foods and services of Muslim-standard. The showcase drew 580 businesses from 33 countries and territories this year, including those from Asean, the Middle East and Europe. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-attends-intl-halal-showcase-in-malaysia-347187.vov

Businesses keen on clean energy plants in Dak Lak Province 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Many domestic and foreign enterprises have been granted investment licenses to develop solar and wind power projects in the Central Highlands of Dak Lak, according to the provincial People's committee. According to a national master plan on solar and wind power development to 2020 with a vision to 2030, Dak Lak province aims to bring clean energy capacity to about 5,250 MW. Wind power will be developed in Krong Buk, Cu M'gar, Krong Nang, Ea H'leo districts and Buon Ho town with a tentative capacity of 1,382 MW. The rest of the electricity will be generated at solar power plants. The HBRE Wind Power Company Ltd has invested $270 million to build a wind farm with total capacity of 120 MW in Dlie Yang Commune, Ea H'leo District. The farm, the first of its kind in the Central Highlands, is designed to produce 450 million KW of electricity per year. For solar power projects, Vietnam's Xuan Thien Company Ltd will invest $2.2 billion in a 2,000MW solar installation in Ea Sup District. Long Thanh Infrastructure Development and Investment Company has planned to invest $310 million in a 250MW solar installation while TH True Milk Group will build a 1,117 MW solar plant on an area of 1,117 ha in the same locality. Meanwhile, the US power group AES Corporation has spent $750 million on a solar factory, which will have the capacity to generate 300 to 500 MW in Ea Sup and Buon Don Districts. http://english.vov.vn/economy/businesses-keen-on-clean-energy-plants-in-dak-lak-province-347127.vov

Vinamilk sets revenue target of $2.25bn for 2017 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Nikkei Vietnam Dairy Products, or Vinamilk, is aiming for 51 trillion dong ($2.25 billion) in revenue and over 9.7 trillion dong in net profit in 2017 - year-on-year increases of 8 percent and 4 percent, respectively. The targets being presented to shareholders at next week's annual general meeting in HCM City are relatively humble compared to gains that sometimes exceeded 13 percent over the past five years despite stiffer competition from foreign and local rivals, including FrieslandCampina, Nestle, Abbott, TH True Milk, NutiFood, and IDP. http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/AC/Vinamilk-sets-revenue-target-of-2.25bn-for-2017

Vinamilk publishes growth targets 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) announced a growth target for the next five years of 10 per cent annually, with a 70 per cent increase in average production capacity by 2021. The company's 2021 goal for total earnings is set at VND80 trillion (US$3.58 billion), 75 per cent of which will come from the domestic market ($2.73 billion) and 25 per cent ($851.5 million) from foreign markets. Vinamilk's expected 10 per cent growth rate per annum from 2017 to 2021 is considered on par or above the market average. As for 2017, the milk company's current revenue goal is VND51 trillion ($2.28 trillion), an increase of eight per cent from 2016, whereas the 2017 desired post tax income is VND9.7 trillion ($434.7 million), an increase of four per cent from the previous year. The current average corporate income tax rate applied to Vinamilk in 2017 is 17.5 per cent, higher than the 16.7 per cent in 2016. In the long term, Vinamilk plans to lead the domestic milk market, expand their market share especially in the frozen goods sector and develop new sales channels. The company is also seeking investment opportunities through mergers and acquisitions in South East Asia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Between 2017 and 2021, Vinamilk aims to harvest a total of 157,000 tonnes of milk from its farms, with an additional 251,000 tonnes from individual farmers. Vinamilk released the targets in its report for the upcoming shareholders meeting for the first quarter of 2017, to be held on April 15. http://bizhub.vn/markets/vinamilk-publishes-growth-targets_285370.html

Vissan's 2016 revenue at $162mn 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VN Economic Times Recent shareholders meeting also agrees to high revenue and profit targets for this year. Meat manufacturer the Vissan Joint Stock Company recorded revenue of VND3.68 trillion ($162 million) and pre-tax profit of VND148.2 billion ($6.5 million), according to the company's financial report released at its shareholders meeting on April 5. The meeting also approved the dismissal of general director Van Duc Muoi. Replacing him on the board will be Huynh Quang Giau, from shareholder Satra. Nguyen Ngoc An, deputy general director, will be general director. Vissan targets high revenue and profit for this year, of VND4.5 trillion ($198 million) and VND156 billion ($6.8 million), up 23 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, against 2016. The company expects pork output to surpass 35 per cent compared to last year, reaching 28,500 tonnes, and processed food 19,760 tonnes, up 14.5 per cent. According to company leaders, it is trying to increase market share in the fresh meat market to 45 per cent in next few years. In the third quarter of this year, the company will also launch pork products that are free from antibiotics and have traceability, with 10,000 heads being raised at farms in Dong Nai and Ninh Thuan. All of this pork will be sold in the southern market. Founded in 1970, Vissan is among the country's leading producers and exporters of fresh meat, poultry and processed food. It possesses many advantages from a distribution network covering about 130,000 markets and more than 1,000 supermarkets and convenience stores. Its initial public offering (IPO) was held on March 7, with 11.32 million shares for sale, equal to 14 per cent of its charter capital and with an initial price of VND17,000 ($0.76). The IPO caught much attention, attracting 142 investors with purchase registrations totalling 63.6 million, or six times higher than the number of shares available. The highest bidding price was VND102,000 ($4.57). The Agriculture International Company (Anco) under the Masan Group overcame South Korea's CJ CheilJedang Company (CJ) to become Vissan's strategic partner. In October, the company traded on the Unlisted Public Company (UpCOM) market under the code VSN, with a total of 80.91 million shares and a registered stock value of more than VND809 billion ($36.2 million). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vissan-s-2016-revenue-at-162mn

Lottery firms in southern Vietnam found with massive non-core investment 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Tuoitre News All 11 lottery ticket companies in southern Vietnam have collectively channeled nearly VND1,000 billion (US$44.64 million) into sectors outside their main business, the Ministry of Finance's inspectorate announced. By the end of 2015, these 11 companies had earmarked more than VND1,078 billion ($48.13 million) for long-term financial investment, though only over VND80.8 billion ($3.61 million) was meant for their core business operations, the finance inspectors said. The combined non-core investment of these companies amounts to VND997 billion ($44.51 million), according to the inspectors tasked with examining the 2015 consolidated financial reports from the lottery firms. The finance ministry also noted that plans to increase the registered capital of the 11 companies by a total of VND4,137 billion ($184.69 million) are inappropriate and should therefore be carefully vetted. The companies had either asked to increase chartered capital more than they should, lacked convincing reasons for needing more capital, or intended to put the extra capital into non-core business ventures, according to inspectors. The finance ministry asked seven of the lottery companies to pay back a combined VND1,448 billion ($64.64 million) to the state budget for submitting improper capital increase plans, and VND431 billion ($19.24 million) for unpaid taxes and fees. The ministry inspectorate also demanded that the lottery companies withdraw from their non-core ventures in the near future, though the firms say the divestment process may take some time. The Tien Giang lottery firm, for instance, has invested a total of VND453 billion ($20.22 million) into different entities operating in the finance, water supply, and tourism sectors and says it can only withdraw from these non-core investments by 2020. Company director Ly Minh An said the investments were made before Vietnam banned lottery companies from investing outside their core business, adding that the company is speeding up its divestment processes. Nguyen Hoang Hai, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors, said the nearly VND1 trillion of non-core investments would have been of better used if they had been channeled into education or healthcare. Hai said the companies should be forced to withdraw from risky sectors, such as banking and finance, as "many provinces are still in need of money for social welfare projects." "If the non-core investment withdrawals come with losses, we should also find and sanction the individuals responsible for those investment decisions," he said. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40418/lottery-firms-in-southern-vietnam-found-with-massive-noncore- investment

Formosa's $10.5 billion Ha Tinh steel complex meets requirement to start blast furnace 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR The working group from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment complemented by a body of other scientists have concluded that Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co., Ltd (HFS), a subsidiary of Taiwanese Formosa Plastics Corp. meets the requirements for the first blast furnace to start operation. Deputy director of MoNRE's Vietnam Environment Agency Hoang Van Thuc announced the conclusion on April 4 at the meeting with HFS and the Ha Tinh People's Committee after the working group had carried out an investigation of the environmental protection components of the $10.5 billion steel and port complex in the central province of Ha Tinh. The experts asked that the company complete the remaining procedures to be able to start operation of the wastewater quality monitoring system, as well as compile a plan of action in case of an incident, and train workers in operating these components. They said that as of now, HFS has corrected 52 out of 53 of the violations identified by government agencies earlier. There is only one left, changing the technology from the current wet to dry quenching of coke, which HFS said would be completed in 2019. Originally, HFS's project was approved by authorities with dry quenching technology, but then the company one-sidedly switched to using wet quenching, which causes more pollution. The delegation said HFS now meets the requirements for the first blast furnace to start operation. It asked the company to complete the remaining structures and then the delegation will evaluate the whole complex before it reports to the MoNRE and the prime minister, who will then officially authorise HFS to start operation. In April 2016, fish were found dying en masse along the central coast of Vietnam. Consequent inspection identified the reason as wastewater released during HFS' test run. In late June, HFS said it would pay a compensation of $500 million for households suffering economic damage and for marine environmental pollution treatment of four provinces. According to the government's report evaluating the damages released at the end of July 2016, seafood exploited within 20 nautical miles of HFS's wastewater discharge pipe was wholly unmarketable and the price of products exploited within 20 nautical miles of the shores of Vietnam decreased by 30-50 per cent on-year. In the area of tourism, the four provinces saw about 50 per cent of pre-arranged tours cancelled and received 40-50 per cent less bookings than in the same period of 2015. HFS has started paying out the promised compensation, but many shortcomings were reported in the process. According to newspaper tuoitre.vn, there were cases where people whose livelihood is centred on fishing and related services and were directly affected by the Formosa incident were not compensated, while people who work in jobs not at all affected received hefty compensation, causing disagreements.Ư http://www.vir.com.vn/formosas-105 billion-ha-tinh-steel-complex-meets-requirement-to-start-blast- furnace.html

Ascott partners with BIM Group to develop condotel 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The Ascott Limited, among the world's largest international serviced residence owner-operators, has partnered with BIM Group to develop the first world-class condotel project in Quang Ninh Province under the brand Citadines. Citadines Marina Halong, consisting of condotels and luxury apartments, will make its debut this month. Located near the coast of Ha Long Bay in the province's most infrastructure-developed urban area, Citadines Marina Halong, with world-standard service quality and amenities, is expected to become the highlight of the northern property market's high-end segment. Le Minh Dung, director of the property business of Quang Ninh-based BIM Group, said: "The partnership between Ascott and BIM Group will contribute to boosting development of Quang Ninh Province's property market in particular and of Vietnam in general." "We hope Citadines Marina Halong will set a new quality standard for property products and create impetus for BIM Group to develop other projects," Dung said. Citadines Marina Halong has been introduced at a time when Quang Ninh is facing a shortage of luxury accommodation, receiving an increasing number of tourists every year. The Ascott Limited has been operating a number of world-class serviced apartment projects in major cities. - Photo BIM Group Statistics revealed that the province welcomed 2.62 million foreign arrivals last year but had only 18 hotels of 4 or 5-star categories, with a total of 3,200 rooms. With local authorities' efforts to improve the infrastructure system and promote the tourism industry and the landing of billions of dollars investment in tourism property developments, the northern province is expected to become a tourist hub in the northern region. With more than 20 years of developing projects in Vietnam, Singapore-based The Ascott Limited has to its credit a number of successful projects under the brand Somerset, such as Sumerset Grand Hanoi, Somerset West Lake and Somerset Chancellor Court. The group is currently operating nearly 4,600 apartment units in seven provinces and cities in Vietnam. Its Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascott Reit) earned revenue of $33 million in 2012. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176080/ascott-partners-with-bim-group-to-develop- condotel.html

Samsung to assist Vietnamese businesses in producing sophisticated electronic parts 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VIR On April 5, Samsung Vietnam officially kicked off their consultation programme for Vietnamese enterprises, assisting them in joining the component supply chain for the year 2017. According to the roadmap, the consultation programme started in 2015 with focus on industries such as printing, packaging, and plastic moulding. In 2017, Samsung will expand their field of consultation to hi- tech industries such as electric and electronics (PCB, speakers built into TV, wire harness and more) to help Vietnamese enterprises produce sophisticated electronic parts which have added-value and hi-tech content in the global supply chain. Samsung's target in 2017 will be to provide consultation for 12 Vietnamese suppliers, which would bring the total number of business consultees to 26 since the year 2015. And Samsung affiliates like Samsung Display Vietnam and Samsung Electro-mechanics Vietnam will join this programme for the first time. Also in this year, Samsung will launch a pilot model for tier-1 vendors to guide tier-2 vendors, creating a ripple effect in Vietnam's supporting industry. This turning point demonstrates the Samsung's commitment in increasing localisation rate, supporting Vietnamese businesses to get further involved in Samsung's component supply chain and contributing to the development of Vietnam's supporting industry. With 12 Vietnamese firms participating in the consultation programme in 2017, Samsung will continue to send South Korean experts experienced in the field of final product technology and production quality control to directly guide them for 12 weeks. The South Korean experts will survey and assess local firms for two weeks and directly consult and work with them in the following 10 weeks in reforming production procedures and complete all standards in the product and parts supply process for Samsung's factories in Vietnam. In response to the call of the government of Vietnam, which is raising the localisation rate and the presence of Vietnamese enterprises in Samsung's component supply chain, since 2015, Samsung's supporting programmes have helped increase the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises, bringing positive achievements in improving equipment efficiency as well as reducing inventory days and poor- quality stages. Through the consulting, all suppliers have achieved good results, including average 25 per cent reduction in defect rate and a 30 per cent increase in manufacturing capacity "During the past two years, Samsung has always endeavoured to support Vietnamese enterprises in increasing their competitiveness in production and product quality. The consultation expansion into hi-tech industry with the aim of assisting local firms in producing sophisticated parts and joining the value chain is a strong affirmation for Samsung's long-term and sustainable commitments in Vietnam," Han Myoung Sup, president of Samsung Complex Vietnam, said. This consultation programme is one of the Samsung's efforts to dramatically increase the number of local firms participating in its supply chain with 201 vendors in total (23 tier-1 vendors and 178 tier-2 vendors). They are participating in supply chain for three Samsung's plants in Vietnam, namely Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV), Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen (SEVT), and SEHC Complex in HCM City. It is expected that, Samsung's total number of tier-1 vendors will increase to 29 ones in 2017. Besides, Samsung Vietnam has also recorded the significant breakthrough in raising the localisation rate of products from 35 per cent in 2014 to 57 per cent at present. This year, the turning point in supporting programme for high-tech enterprises will promisingly create more opportunities for Vietnamese suppliers to join Samsung's global value chain as well as help Samsung achieve its goal of increasing localisation rate in 2017. http://www.vir.com.vn/samsung-to-assist-vietnamese-businesses-in-producing-sophisticated-electronic- parts.html

TH True Milk to invest in Dak Lak 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VN Ecomic Times Group to build fruit processing plant and solar power plant in central highlands province. The TH True Milk Group is looking to invest in new projects Ea Sup district in the central highlands province of Dak Lak. The Group is to build a modern fruit processing plant in the province with input materials primarily grown on land belonging to the Dak Lak Forestry and Food Processing Limited Liability Company and from joint ventures with farmers and cooperatives in the province. It also plans to invest in a solar power plant with a maximum capacity of 1,117 MW on 1,117 ha belonging to Dak Lak Forestry and Food Processing Limited Liability Company. The investment will be implemented in two phases: the first having a capacity of 117 MW and the second 1,000 MW. To speed up its investments, the Group will survey the location of the fruit processing plant. Regarding the solar power project, it has proposed that the province decide to approve the investment and submit it to the government for approval. Thai Huong, Chair of the TH True Milk Group, said that strategic investment in science and technology to focus on bringing high technology into the Group's production will bring into full play the local advantages to create a breakthrough competitive advantage, creating the basis for sustainable development. At a recent meeting between the Group and the province, Chair of the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee Pham Ngoc Nghi suggested that the Group quickly deploy the land use plan and survey the construction of solar power plants, and report to the province so it has a basis for reporting to the government. Chair Pham Ngoc Nghi also asked the Department of Industry and Trade to revise its power planning and study and supplement the Group's solar power project into the provincial power plan. The People's Committee unanimously decided to set up a steering committee to resolve and deal with difficulties facing enterprises when promoting and investing projects in Ea Sup district, thereby speeding up the tempo and creating favourable conditions for enterprises to invest in the area. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/th-true-milk-to-invest-in-dak-lak

Abbott rated among top 10 best places to work in Vietnam 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Abbott has been placed No.9 in the top 10 best places to work in Vietnam and No.1 best place to work in terms of Healthcare/Bio-Technology/Pharmaceuticals sector, in the ranking for 2016 by Anphabe and global market research company Nielsen. "It's great honour for Abbott to be recognised as No.9 Best place to work in Vietnam. This is a strong demonstration of our commitment and efforts in creating an ideal workplace for our talents to develop themselves," said Douglas Kuo, general manager of Abbott Vietnam. He added that the company believes that a healthy workplace inspires people to dedicate themselves in improving the quality of healthcare, offering the better healthcare solutions for Vietnamese people, allowing them to reach for their full potential and live their best life. As a global healthcare company with the commitment to help Vietnamese people live the best life through the power of health, Abbott believes that no one understands Vietnamese people better than Vietnamese people. And so, investing in local talents has been the core of its business, helping Vietnamese people access easily to state-of-the-art healthcare technologies and solutions of the world through Abbott's breakthrough products and services. During the 20-year presence in Vietnam, Abbott has been taking a locally-focused approach to develop local talents to their full potential. Currently, Abbott employs more than 3,400 people across Vietnam. The company offers a comprehensive offerings of health care, wellness and work/life benefits, as well as flexible work options such as job sharing, compressed work-weeks, telecommuting and flextime to help employees find success at work and home. In addition to its recognition among best places to work in Vietnam, Abbott is also trusted and highly appreciated by its employees as the employer of choice in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherland, Spain as well as China and Saudi Arabia. This year also marks Abbott's crucial milestones in building a healthy and best working place for its talents globally. For 32 years in a row, Abbott has been honored in the list of World's Most Admired Companies by Fortune, leading the Medical products & equipment industry as well as topping the category in almost all attributes regarding people management, social responsibility, long-term investment value, quality of products/services and global competitiveness. More importantly, diversity is highly appreciated at Abbott. The company's efforts to empower women leadership at work have been recognised by NAFE (The National Association of Female Executives), naming Abbott among "Top 60 companies for executive women" of 2017. These recognitions have reaffirmed the company's commitment in creating best possibilities for employees in order to maximise their potentials and positively make changes to their own lives and others through work that matters. As an innovation-driven company, Abbott appreciates the core value of people who can create and make changes. At Abbott, investing in people is not only the foundation of sustainable development, but also the first step towards a healthy community by building better career for all employees in the world, including Vietnamese talents. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/abbott-rated-among-top-10-best-places-to-work-in-vietnam/109868.vnp

Vietnamese startup scores series C funding 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Vietnam-based mobile platform provider Appota announced on April 6 it had successfully raised undisclosed funding for its series C round from two investment funds in the Republic of Korea (RoK), according to the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper. The two funds are Korea Investment Partners (KIP) and Mirae Asset Venture Investment. The current round brings Appota's valuation on track towards the 50 million USD mark and its total funding close to 10 million USD, founder and CEO of Appota Do Tuan Anh said. Earlier, the mobile platform provider received funding from Vietnamese VNP-Group for series A in 2012 and from Japan's GMO Global Payment Fund and Golden Gate Ventures for series B in 2014. Following the round, Sang-Ho Park, KIP director of investment at the Seoul-headquartered fund, will join Appota's board of directors. This round marks a first in terms of a Vietnam-based technology startup securing funding from RoK- based investment funds. "Besides the much-needed capital to fortify our platform and scale our services, KIP and Mirae will contribute their extensive and active network, along with their profound knowledge of the gaming market, social networking and financial tech to help Appota expand with confidence to other parts of Asia," Tuan Anh said. As one of the three largest mobile game publishers in Vietnam, Appota has offices in Hanoi, HCM City, Indonesia and Singapore. The company is one of Google's four partners in Asia to deploy the tech giant's Mobile Ad Exchange platform in Vietnam. It also has 30 million local and international users and five million monthly active users. Prior to investing in Appota, KIP has had a strong track record in investing in the world's leading tech companies, including Kakao, Naver and Super Evil Megacorp. Meanwhile, Mirae's portfolio comprises 270 companies worldwide across various sectors, such as technology, mobile, finance and consumer products. The holding groups of both KIP and Mirae Asset Venture Investment are present in Vietnam through their brokerage houses and wealth management units. KIP manages 26 venture and private equity funds with 1.5 billion USD in total assets under management (AUM), while the invested companies of the latter represent 350 billion USD AUM. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnamese-startup-scores-series-c-funding-347154.vov

Vietnamese game market enriches foreign gaming firms 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vietnamnet Analysts, comparing the Vietnamese game market with a pot of broth, say Vietnamese only get the oily film, while the nutrients nourish foreign firms. Vietnam has been the biggest game market in South East Asia since 2015. The total revenue of the game industry in the year reached $237 million, ranking sixth in Asia, after China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Also in 2015, mobile games alone brought turnover of $120 million with 170 games marketed, while only 70 games were marketed in the year before. The domestic mobile online game market made a big leap in 2016 when bringing 62 percent of total revenue. By the end of the year, Vietnam had had 36 million gamers, while the turnover had reached $300 million, for both PC and mobile games, an increase of 25 percent over the year before. However, only a small part of the sum of $300 million went to Vietnamese firms' pockets. Of the 10 most successful games in 2016, including Lien Minh Huyen Thoai (League of Legends), Vo Lam Truyen Ky mobile (Legend of Swordman) and MU Origin-VN, none of them is made in Vietnam. All of the games were imports, which means that Vietnamese game distributors had to pay big money for royalties and operation costs to foreign game firms, most of them from China. The same thing happened with 10 hottest games on mobile, console and PC (international versions) such as Clash of Clan, Call of Duty and Pokemon Go. In 2015, the revenue of the game market was $237 million. However, 80 percent of games were from South Korea and China. There was no purely Vietnamese name among the most popular games. The figures showed that Vietnam is the largest game market in South East Asia, but Vietnam is not the strongest game industry in the region. Many years ago, when Vietnam's game industry took shape, analysts once put high hopes on the development of the industry as Vietnam has good engineers and received encouragement from the state. But in the last 10 years, what Vietnam has done is just import and distribute foreign games. However, one can see some bright parts in the grey panorama of Vietnam's game industry. Most recently, Khu Vuon Tren May (Sky Garden: Farm in Paradise), Vietnamese mobile game, was honored at the 13th IMGA Global, an important event which took place in March 2017 in San Francisco. In 2016, Khu Vuon Tren May also received IMGA SEA people's choice award. In 2016, three games developed by Pine Entertainment were among top 50 nominations on App Stores. The list of 10 most interesting games on App Store included Politaire, also a product developed by Pine Entertainment. http://www.vir.com.vn/vietnamese-game-market-enriches-foreign-gaming-firms.html

Tra fish shipments to Spain decline steeply 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | The Saigon Times Vietnam's export of tra fish (pangasius) to Spain has fallen sharply since Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, stopped distributing the fish early this year. Revenue from tra fish exports to Spain in February plunged a staggering 46.7 percent year-on-year, according to a report of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). In the first two months of this year, tra fish shipments to the European nation plummeted 19.9 percent year-on-year to around $6.1 million. Tra exports to this market amounted to $121.8 million in 2008 and $122 million in 2009, meaning the monthly average export revenue reached over $10 million. VASEP said the situation had been aggravated by the growing competition between Vietnamese pangasius and white-flesh fish of some European countries like France and Spain since 2009. The European media has reported inaccurately on the Vietnamese tra fish sector, claiming that there is high risk of food hygiene and fish farms are polluted. In January a Spanish TV station aired video footage containing wrong information about Vietnam's pangasius farming industry but it led Carrefour to cease distributing Vietnam's tra fish in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. VASEP general Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe then told the Daily that export sales of Vietnamese tra fish might take a hit. Recent data shows that has become true. In the year to mid-February, tra exports to the European Union (EU) fell 17.6 percent to $25.2 million compared to the same period last year, according to the Vietnam Pangasius Association. Carrefour's decision to stop importing the fish from Vietnam is one of the reasons, said Vo Hung Dung, vice president and general secretary of the association. Local enterprises have no other choice but to guarantee high quality to win back EU consumers. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53346/Tra-fish-shipments-to-Spain-decline-steeply.html

Robins to run midnight sales on April 8 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Saigon Times Robins department store, a member of the Central Group Vietnam, will run a midnight sales programme on April 8 from 9:30 a.m. till midnight at its property in the Crescent Mall in HCM City's District 7. This is a special promotion programme to bring a unique shopping experience to customers with thousands of gifts and up to 50 percent discounts on hundreds of fashion, cosmetic, accessory and household appliances' brands like The Body Shop, Yves Rocher, Bobbi Brown, Kanebo, iBasic, Lovell, Vera, Triumph, Vascara, Lemino, Travel Point, JBL, SuperSports, Akemi, Jean Perry, Komonoya, and Sanrio. For shopping bills worth from VND700,000, customers will receive vouchers worth VND50,000 while customers with shopping bills worth from VND1.2 million will get vouchers worth VND100,000. The One Card's holders will be given Robins' pillows for any shopping bills worth from VND1.2 million (each customer can receive a maximum of two pillows). New membership card holders will get canvas bags, notebooks or Robins helmets. Furthermore, Robins also hosts a lucky draw for shoppers with their bills from VND1.2 million during the golden hours from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. Interesting prizes include TV Samsung 40", Bluetooth JBL speakers, iPad Mini 2 32G, and Samsung Galaxy J7 prime G610. This is the fourth time Robins has joined hands with the Crescent Mall to hold the midnight sales programme. http://english.vov.vn/economy/robins-to-run-midnight-sales-on-april-8-347098.vov

Affluent Vietnamese buy American lobsters, foreign fruits 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vietnamnet Eating American lobsters is now in vogue in Vietnam. They cannot be found at traditional markets and must be bought from online shops and shops specialising in distributing luxury imports. One kilo of fresh lobster is priced at VND1-1.3 million and one kilo of frozen lobster costs VND700,000 per kilo. Vietnamese prefer fresh to frozen, and prefer big lobsters weighing 1-2 kilo. However, American lobsters are cheaper than Vietnamese lobster, sold at VND1.2-1.9 million per kilo. American lobster was even cheaper than sausage in late 2010 when the lobster wholesale price was just $2.25/pound, or VND90,000 per kilo. However, lobster has become hot in Asian countries, including China, South Korea and Vietnam. Vietnamese in 2016 spent VND700 billion to import American lobsters, an increase of 200 times if compared with 2010-2016. In 2016, China imported more than $108 million in lobsters from America, surpassing the previous high of about $90.2 million in 2014, according to CNBC. Doan Hung pomelo is sold at VND20,000-30,000 per kilo, while Dien pomelo at VND30,000-70,000 and Buoi Da Xanh (green-skin pomelo) at VND50,000-90,000 per kilo. All of them are Vietnamese specialties favoured all over the world. However, Vietnamese now prefer the pomelo from the US and Australia, though the products are expensive at VND200,000-260,000 per kilo. The owner of an import fruit shop in Dong Da district in Hanoi said she can sell nearly 100 pomelos each day. Each pomelo weighs two kilos, so people have to pay no less than VND500,000 for each. Vietnamese also like Taiwanese custard-apple, Egyptian pomegranate and Japanese sweet potatoes, though they are more expensive than Vietnamese products. Taiwanese custard-apple is twice as large as Vietnam's product, priced at VND360,000-550,000 per kilo, 6-10 times more expensive. Egyptian pomegranate is called 'giant pomegranate', priced at VND240,000- 400,000 per kilo. Vietnam spent up to $194 million on fruit and vegetable imports between January and March 15 this year, or $2.9 million per day. In 2016, 45 percent of Vietnam's imported vegetables and fruits were from Thailand, while 25 percent was from China, with the remainder from other countries like Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. While Vietnam's fruits are popular among choosy consumers in the US, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, the products have to struggle to cement their positions in the domestic market. When asked why they accept to pay for imports, housewives said there is no need to worry about unsafe plant protection chemicals, because foreign farmers have to follow strict regulations during farming and preservation. US$1=VND22,000 http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/175879/affluent-vietnamese-buy-american-lobsters--foreign- fruits.html

Tour packages snapped up at international travel mart 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Promotion has become more crucial than ever for tourism development in a globalised, competitive market, vice minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Vinh Ai said. Addressing the opening ceremony of the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) Hanoi 2017 at the Friendship Cultural Palace on April 6, he noted greater professionalism in organising the event, as also more efficient mobilisation of social resources. This would uphold the capital city's status as a national and regional tourism hub, Ai said. As many as 650 enterprises and tourism management and promotion agencies from across Vietnam and 25 other are participating in the fair that will close on April 9. Around 60,000 visitors are expected to attend the country's largest annual travel and tourism exchange event, which focuses this year on theme: "Hanoi - Destination of Vietnam." Besides the participation of firms from traditional markets like Japan, Korea, Western Europe and Asean, the presence of travel agents from the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) would open up opportunities for Vietnamese tourism businesses to build networks, said Vu The Binh, vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association, chair of the organising committee. Over 150,000 low-cost air tickets and 20,000 package tours at reasonable prices are being offered by travel companies and airlines at the fair. On the very first day, the HCM City-based Saigontourist Travel Service Co sold about 300 tour packages, offering them at an attractive discount, said sales executive Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh. In fact, the company's Hanoi -Ha Long-Sunderworld Park tour, which was offered with a 20 percent discount, sold out in the first 10 minutes, she said. She attributed the tour's popularity to added curiosity about the location where some of the principal footage of the Hollywood blockbluster, Kong: Skull Island, was filmed. Local resident Nguyen Hoang Long told Vietnam News that he had waited from 7am in the queue to buy a promotion ticket offered by Vietnam Airlines for its Hanoi - Da Nang route, with round trips costing just 1 million VND (44 USD), 40 percent cheaper than normal. Apart from presentations on several tourism destinations, VITM 2017 also includes traditional arts performances, conferences and workshops on key issues related to tourism development in the country. VITM 2017 is organised by the Vietnam Tourism Association, in collaboration with the Hanoi People's Committee and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism. VITM Hanoi 2016 attracted over 58,000 visitors who bought over 15,000 domestic and outbound tours and around 30,000 air tickets. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/travel/176163/tour-packages-snapped-up-at-int-l-travel-mart.html

Jetstar upbeat about direct services to HCM City 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | The Saigon Times Jetstar Group's global head of sales Paul Rombeek has expressed optimism about the direct services which Jetstar will conduct from Sydney and Melbourne to HCM City from May given increasing air travel demand and expanding Australia-Vietnam ties. Rombeek told a press conference in HCM City on April 5 that Jetstar will become the only Australian carrier to fly direct between Australia and Vietnam with three weekly flights from Melbourne to HCM City from May 10, and four services a week from Sydney from May 11. Ticket sales for the new flights using Boeing 787 Dreamliner jetliners kicked off early this year and demand from Vietnam has been higher than anticipated. "Response has been extremely promising since we launched ticket sales in January," Rombeek said. He stressed the new flights will also stimulate inbound tourism, business and trade to Australia. "In the last 12 months, there has been a 21 percent increase in visitors from Vietnam to Australia and we expect to see that grow with the introduction of our low fares on the route." Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world and air travel demand is rising as seen on the HCM City-Singapore-Australia flights operated by partner airlines of Jetstar. Statistics showed last year saw international arrivals in this Asean country surpassing 10 million. Vietnam attracted around 320,680 Australian visitors last year, up 5.6 percent over 2015, according to the general Statistical Office. The number in the first quarter of this year grew 3.4 percent year-on-year to 95,160. Rombeek said Jetstar expects its low fares and direct flights will generate even more demand for holidays to Vietnam. "We understand tourism is a priority for the government, the economy and the people of Vietnam and we are proud to support them through these flights." Jetstar is committed to the new services and confident in their success, according to Rombeek. Fares of the flights start from A$159. Australia's Assistant minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Keith Pitt said Vietnam is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia for Australians, and that promoting international investment and tourism is his top priority. "The seven new weekly Jetstar flights connecting Vietnam and Australia's commercial centers will further boost our already strong bilateral relationship. In particular, these flights will help grow the links between our businesses and our people" said Pitt, who also attended the press conference on the launch of Jetstar's low-cost direct services from Australia to HCM City. Data of Vietnam's general Department of Customs showed two-way trade between Australia and Vietnam stood at $5.26 billion last year, up 6.5 percent from 2015. Of the total, Vietnam's exports to Australia fell 1.7 percent year-on-year to $2.87 billion and imports surged 18.3 percent to $2.39 billion. Vietnam sold crude oil, cameras and components, steel products, apparel and footwear, electronic products and parts, and furniture; and imported coal, minerals, cotton and fruits, among others. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53349/Jetstar-upbeat-about-direct-services-to-HCM City.html

Gamuda Land to launch The ZEN Residence this month 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VN Economic Times Luxury apartment project in Hanoi's Hoang Mai district to be officially introduced shortly. The ZEN Residence, Gamuda Land's third luxury apartment project, will be officially introduced this month at Gamuda Gardens Township, at Km 4.4 Phap Van, Yen So ward in Hanoi's Hoang Mai district. Anticipated to be one of the hottest real estate products in the market, The ZEN Residence encompasses all of the elements that have made Gamuda Land a success in past decades. With the aim of tightening the relationship between family members and neighbours, it offers residents high-quality and versatile facilities for both community and private purposes. The infinity pool, one of the highlights of The ZEN Residence's landscape concept, allows residents and guests to capture the beautiful scenery of the township from a special vantage point and relax among luscious greenery. Working towards providing the best lifestyle for residents and to ensure the safety of everyone, especially youngsters, a kids' pool has been woven into the design of the fifth floor, in addition to the spacious infinity pool. Simultaneously, an outdoor playground, a luxurious gym, and 3,000 sq m of retail space are among the special features of The ZEN Residence that few other projects possess. In addition to its overall master plan and detailed design, Gamuda Land emphasizes the importance and constant improvement of security systems at Gamuda Gardens township as well as at The ZEN Residence. With brand new technological advances to meet increasing customer demand, each unit at The ZEN Residence is equipped with a smart digital lock for the main door, which can be opened by a number of methods: key, access card, or password. The elevator system is monitored minimise access and ensure security. The architecture is in harmony with the design of other projects at Gamuda Gardens, i.e. Camelia Homes and Lily Homes. As the first township project of Gamuda Land in Vietnam, Gamuda Gardens is built on the four core pillars of "Design Quality", "Community & Amenities", "Healthy Lifestyle", and "Safety & Security". With a desire to provide an ideal lifestyle to an integrated township, Gamuda Gardens has become a prestigious community hub for Hanoians. Luscious greenery, high-end amenities, and modern facilities such as a resort-style clubhouse and tennis courts can all be found within the vicinity. Gamuda Land, a real estate corporation under Gamuda Berhad Malaysia, is one of the largest infrastructure companies in Malaysia. It marked its presence in Vietnam with its first project, the 500 ha Gamuda City in Hanoi. With total investment of $5 billion, Gamuda City includes five key components: Yen So Park, Gamuda Lakes, Gamuda Central, Gamuda Plaza, and Gamuda Gardens. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/gamuda-land-to-launch-the-zen-residence-this-month

Paraguay hopes to expand trade links with VN 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Paraguay wishes to further promote trade links with Vietnam, Ambassador Luis Fernando Avalos, director-general of bilateral policies at Paraguay's Foreign Ministry, told Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay Nguyen Dinh Thao at a meeting in Asuncion on April 7. Avalos suggested the two sides actively carry out inked agreements and consider signing new ones, towards laying a legal foundation for long-term cooperation between the two countries in the future. While speaking of Vietnam's experience made in its Doi moi (renewal) process, he affirmed that his country's recognition of Vietnam's market economy will contribute to expanding two-way trade in the future. For his part, Ambassador Thao expressed his hope that Paraguay will back Vietnam's proposals on considering possibilities of negotiating and signing a preferential trade agreement between Vietnam and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), which groups Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. He asked the two governments to further support the two countries' enterprises in seeking business opportunities and setting up partnerships in trade and investment. A delegation from 20 Vietnamese enterprises is scheduled to visit Paraguay for trade and investment promotion activities this July, Thao said, adding that a seminar will be held to introduce potential for cooperation and business opportunities in both countries. Meeting with Ana Chuang, the National director of Investment and Export Network under Paraguay's Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ambassador Thao invited Paraguay's enterprises to take part in the Vietnam International Food Industry Exhibition 2016 (Vietnam Foodexpo 2017) in November this year. He also suggested considering negotiations and signing of a memorandum of understanding on economic and trade cooperation between the two countries' industry and trade ministries. On the occasion, the Vietnamese diplomat also had meetings with Paraguayan enterprises, and responded to queries of the host country's television and radio stations on potential and opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. Vietnam-Paraguay trade in 2016 valued at 75 million USD, up 25 percent against 2015. Vietnam mainly exports coffee, sport shoes, electric fans, rubber, and rattan and bamboo products, ceramics and textiles to Paraguay. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/government/176169/paraguay-hopes-to-expand-trade-links-with- vietnam.html

Thua Thien - Hue attracts 140 investment projects 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Industrial zones in Thua Thien - Hue provinces attracted three projects in the first quarter of this year, raising the total number of projects to 140 with a total registered capital of VND64.3 trillion (US$2.83 billion) including 35 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $1.74 billion. To achieve the target of attracting 20 projects investing in industrial and economic zones this year, Thua Thien - Hue will focus on administrative reforms and creating favourable conditions for investors. Almost all industrial zones in the province have been filled with projects including 98.5 percent of the Phu Bai Industrial Zone; 74 percent of the Phong Dien Industrial Zone and its expanded area; 42.5 percent of the Phu Da Industrial Zone, among others. Notably, the province is establishing a Phong Dien garment and textile supporting industrial zone with an area of 400ha to attract investors in this field. The province prioritises attracting projects using advanced technology in the Phong Dien Industrial Zone, which will be provided with a full financial support for the clearance of unexploded ordnances left from the war in addition to tax and banking loan incentives. Enterprises investing in industrial and economic zones in Thua Thien - Hue will be offered with many preferential policies and investment support related to land clearance, land lease, clearance of unexploded ordnances, electricity and water supply, vocational training, tax incentives, and administrative procedures, among others. The province is boosting infrastructure improvement and investment promotion to foreign countries to attract more investors, contributing to local economic development. http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/50349/thua-thien---hue-attracts-140-investment-projects.html

Hanoi calls for environmentally-friendly, hi-tech projects 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Hanoi is calling for investment in environmentally friendly large-scale projects that use advanced technologies. According to the city's promotion programme for trade, investment and tourism in 2017, projects in urban infrastructure development, especially those that connect Noi Bai International Airport and Nhat Tan Bridge; hi-tech agriculture; retail and healthcare; as well as education and culture will be prioritised. The capital aims to execute more projects under public-private partnership agreements and draw more than $3 billion in foreign direct investment. It also hopes to have 80 per cent of applications for business registration done online and plans to pilot the granting of investment licences online. In addition, local authorities will enhance partnerships with other cities and provinces across the country to distribute high quality "made in Vietnam" products in the city and provide more support for local producers to improve product quality and help them access domestic and overseas markets. The city will continue promoting tourism at international fairs, with focus on key markets such as Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, as well as South Asia and the Middle East. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374364/ha-noi-calls-for-environmentally-friendly-hi-tech- projects.html#9Lw840WYQAP3eAYp.97

Demand for power up 12pct in dry season peak 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The demand for electricity in the second quarter of this year will increase by 12 percent as the peak of the dry season comes. According to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the power load can reach 600 million kWh per day, while the biggest capacity of the whole system can be 31,800 MW. To meet the demand, EVN will continue tapping coal and gas turbine sources, while using reservoirs reasonably to ensure enough water for lowlands and stably run coal turbines, including the Vinh Tan 2, and Duyen Hai 1, 3 thermoelectric plants. If necessary, the group will operate oil turbines to ensure supply. It will propose the Ministry of Industry and Trade assign the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and related units to ensure enough gas for power generation during the dry season. The group will also request the National Power Transmission Corporation to ensure safe operation to serve continuous transmission, especially the 500kV North-South transmission line. It is also necessary to raise public awareness of saving energy when the heat occurs in the three regions, especially in central and southern localities. In the first quarter, the total produced and imported electricity output was 44 billion kWh, up 7.7 percent year-on-year. The biggest capacity of the whole system reached 27,066 MW, up 10.6 percent from the same period last year. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/demand-for-power-up-12-percent-in-dry-season-peak/110011.vnp

Coal consumption improves in Q1 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Group (Vinacomin) sold 8.6 million tonnes of coal in the first quarter of 2017, up 3 percent compared to the same period last year. Of the total, 185,000 million tonnes were shipped overseas. Vinacomin released the figures while reviewing its operation in the first three months at a conference in the northern province of Quang Ninh on April 10. The group reeled in nearly 13 trillion VND (572 million USD) from coal sales and contributed more than 4.3 trillion VND (189.2 million USD) to the State budget. However, combined coal inventories came to 9.3 million tonnes, higher than the regulated amount of 8.5 million tonnes. Vinacomin deputy general director Nguyen Ngoc Co said the group has faced challenges selling its coal products due to high cost and coal imports from foreign countries. The business strategy for the next quarter will prioritise production restructuring with a focus on technology and adjust output according to market demand, he noted. Goals set for the coal sector in the second quarter included the exploitation of 8 million tonnes and selling of at least 9 million tonnes. At the conference, alumina business was also mentioned as a highlight of Vinacomin's performance in the first quarter, with the total output of over 312,000 tonnes, which was sold out. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/coal-consumption-improves-in-q1/109999.vnp

Coffee industry in Vietnam turns bitter 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VOV Nationwide coffee exports for 2017 are expected to fall 30 percent in volume with revenue climbing to $3.35 billion, said Do Ha Nam, vice chair of Vietnam Coffee and Cacao Association recently. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in turn estimated the export volume in the first quarter when compared against the same three months last year to have dipped 5.4 percent to 449,000 tonnes with revenue jumping 25.6 percent to $1 billion. Average prices in the first quarter ticked up 32 percent on year to $2,262 a tonne, said MARD, adding that Germany and the US were the two largest buyers with market shares of 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively. Markets witnessing sharp growth over the same period last year were Belgium (230 percent), the Republic of Korea (79 percent), the US (60 percent), Algeria (50 percent), Spain (34 percent), Germany (29 percent), the UK (27 percent), Japan (21 percent) and Italy (20 percent). Compared to the end of February 2017, the price of coffee Robusta in the Central Highlands at the end of March rose by $.09-US$.10 (US$ VND2,000-VND2,200) to $2.03- $2.07 (VND46,000-VND46,900) per kilogram. Coffee prices in Dak Lak, the largest coffee bean-growing province in the country, stood at $2.08- US$2.11 (VND47,300-VND48,000) per kilogram as stockpiles remain low. According to Nam, coffee prices look to continue to increase in the near term as farmers are holding back waiting to see if prices will rise even further. Despite the higher coffee prices, the profits per hectare remain lower than other alternative crops such as fruit trees and pepper - resulting in many farmers getting out of the coffee business entirely. Solutions to boost coffee exports The small production scale and lack of sophisticated skills of farmers have stopped them from becoming major players in the global market, said Nam, noting the lack of access to credit has prevented them from replanting with the latest varieties and newest technology. Meanwhile, farmers collectively have processed 10 percent of the total coffee output for the year but instant, roasted and ground coffee products, have not achieved a high volume, strong brand or the quality reputation to compete with top global brands. Huynh Quoc Thich, deputy director of Dak Lak Agriculture and Rural Development Department, notes that most actors in the coffee segment in the province have not paid sufficient attention to quality. He added that the existing sales prices have not incentivised coffee growers to produce high quality coffee. Meanwhile, he looks for exports to drop 25-30 percent this year. That won't turn around until actors in the segment comprehensively collaborate to promote brand recognition, food safety and boost added value, he concluded.4 http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176255/coffee-industry-in-vietnam-turns-bitter.html

Agriculture Ministry strengthens shrimp industry inspections 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS The National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), has said that it will coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to inspect and strictly punish those who illegally injecting foreign substances into shrimp. The inspection would be performed from April to May, Nguyen Nhu Tiep, head of NAFIQAD announced at the MARD's regular press conference, held in Hanoi this week. MARD was also reviewing, proposing, amending and supplementing administrative sanctions for violations of injection practices, Tiep said. The government has assigned relevant ministries to review solutions in order to be able to apply criminal punishment to this behavior, he added. He also said that localities should strengthen their cooperation in fighting shrimp injection. Despite the high administrative fine, shrimp facilities continue to inject substances into shrimp. Particularly, they often use agar-- a jelly-like substance, to improve their size, weight and visual appeal of their product. The current regulation on the administrative sanction of violations on food safety and hygiene allows fines of up to seven times the value of the goods if the violator is an enterprise and three times if the violator is an individual. According to the government's approved goal to control illegal injections into shrimp, all local shrimp farming, trading and processing facilities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang and Kien Giang will sign a commitment by the end of 2017 to abstain from shrimp injection, with the goal of putting an end to the practice in 2018. During a meeting with the shrimp industry in February, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the government has 'declared war' on the practice of injecting shrimp with jelly-like substances for illicit profits. Such practices have led to rejections of batches of shrimp exports by foreign importers. Inspectors in Bac Lieu Province recently discovered a local shrimp shop in Gia Rai Town injecting agar into 55kg of shrimp. The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development inspector seized all the shrimp and collected evidence to deal with the case under the law. Ha Van Buoi, chief inspector of Bac Lieu Province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the incident was among dozens of other cases of shrimp injection that had been discovered by authorities over the last two months. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176236/agriculture-ministry-strengthens-shrimp-industry- inspections.html

VN farm firms seek high-tech 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS As the Southeast Asian country is looking to boost a high-tech agriculture, firms are looking for modern technologies in the world to apply in farming production. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that the bottleneck of the agriculture sector was technology. He said his ministry was promoting connections with leading farming technology companies from Switzerland, the Netherlands and Israel as well as other countries with a developed agriculture sector to provide opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural firms to look for appropriate technologies. Many Vietnamese firms are now aware of that they should not import outdated machinery and technologies but look for advanced technologies. However, the most difficult thing is how to find the appropriate technologies. Luong Minh Tung, Chair of Yen Phu Beef and Dairy Cattle Breading Joint Stock Company in northern Ninh Binh Province, said that his company had a worry about how to preserve meat. In many countries, beef-preserving technologies were very good which could ensure meat quality up to three months, Tung said, adding that his company was looking for a partner with such technology. Nguyen Van Linh, Chair of Bac Giang Province People's Committee, said that the Northern Province which was known for lychee as a specialty and was promoting export of this type of fruit, expected to find a suitable preservation technology. The lychee harvest lasted only one month, inserting large pressure on consumption. Thus, lychee preservation technology was very important. A number of companies from Israel, the Netherlands, and Switzerland were also looking for providing technologies and cooperating high-tech agricultural production in Vietnam recently. Recently, more than 30 Israeli companies visited Vietnam to look for cooperation opportunities. Vu Kien Trung, general director of Khang Thinh Irrigation Technology JSC, sole agent of Israel-based Netafim in Vietnam, was quoted by the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper that drip irrigation technology was initially completely strange to Vietnam's agricultural production but now gaining more popularity. The newspaper quoted Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, Head of Vietnam's Permanent Mission to the UN and other international organisations, as saying that many Swiss corporations wanted to cooperate with Vietnamese firms in agricultural production, especially in processing. Swiss companies were especially willing to study and develop appropriate technologies for Vietnam and cooperate in technology transfer, according to Dung. The agriculture ministries of Vietnam and Holland were also looking to connect firms from both sides with the aim of promoting high-tech agricultural production. http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-farm-firms-seek-high-tech_285392.html

Number of multi-level marketing businesses drop to half 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS The number of multi-level marketing businesses has halved to 37 by end of March, following government crackdown over the past two years to ensure that they are operating correctly. The latest statistics with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) shows that the licences of 15 multi- level marketing firms were revoked, while 12 others closed down themselves, and three others temporarily halted operations last year. The number of people involved in multi-level sales total 637,637, a drop of 25 per cent compared to the end of 2015. However, despite a significant decrease in the number of multi-level marketing firms and sales people, the sector's revenue dropped by only 2.5 per cent to VNĐ7.8 trillion (US$346.7 million) in 2016. The Competition Management Authority said this indicates that social responses towards illegal multi- level marketing do not have significant impact. The revenues of multi-level marketing firms mainly came from sales of supplementary food (59 per cent) and cosmetics (24 per cent). About 31 per cent of the total revenue was used for paying commissions. On average, each sales person earned just VNĐ3.8 million per year, the Competition Management Authority said. Significantly, the returns of multi-level marketing firms were low, averaging 2.2 per cent, with more than 50 per cent of the firms reporting losses last year. The authority said these firms have not contributed much to the State budget. It is difficult to determine the true value of multi-level marketing products as all transactions are made on the basis of an agreement between sellers and buyers, so the government cannot intervene, the Competition Management Authority said. So consumers should be sensible and study products carefully before purchasing anything, it advised. Since mid-2015, the MoIT has been closely monitoring multi-level marketing businesses across the country to prevent illegal operations and to maintain a healthy business environment in the sector. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374366/number-of-multi-level-marketing-businesses-drop-to- half.html#t3jAEwkPH3uoEv3W.99

Can real estate market return to crisis? 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Dan Tri According to a recent market report from Vietnam Real Estate Association (VnRea), the real estate market in 2016 overcome the difficult period and entered the recovery phase with many prosperous signs of supply and demand. Real estate commodity diversified in all segments, especially in the high-end housing segment, booming in both supply and demand. Along with that, the confidence in the market rebounds, customers no longer wait for a discount and decide to buy on demand. Real estate business has been improved with an increase of four percent, higher than the 2.96 percent growth of 2016. At the same time, the legal document system has been improved and has worked effectively. However, VnRea supposes that the 2016 real estate market has revealed some issues that need to be monitored, adjusted so that the market develops stably and sustainably. In particular, the first mentioned issue is the structure of the real estate commodities is imbalanced. While the needs of majority of the population are medium and low-end housing segment (about 70 percent of the needs), most real estate projects in the market provide high-end housing, lacking of cheap commodities that suit the affordability of the majority of people with the demand for housing. In Hanoi and HCM City, there are very few new apartments whose prices are under 20 million dong/m2. In addition, the massive development of projects, especially in big cities, is not based on local's socio- economic development plan and demand in each period; the development of social housing is slowed down because supporting capital and policies relating to social housing have not been released or appropriately met. VnRea also supposes that the information and data system of the real estate market has not been improved, forecasts on the market are in shortage and are not close to the reality. This greatly influences the government's operation and the decisions made by investors become inaccurate and risky. "This is the main cause of the real estate market crisis in the period of 2009 - 2013 that we have drawn and adjusted, but those policies and adjustments are not effectively maintained and managed. Therefore, there are many potential risks to the balanced, stable and sustainable development of the real estate market", said VnRea. In the first quarter of 2017, VnRea supposes that the developments in the market show that although there are real estate segments are slowing down like high-end apartments, in other segments like affordable housing, condotel, the market witnesses the bustle right from the beginning of the year. The amount of FDI poured into real estate within the first three months of 2017 reached $7.71 billion, increasing 91.5 percent in comparison with the same period of last year and the sharply increased number of newly established enterprises show that the 2017 real estate market will continue to be stable as in 2016 and may be stronger due to government's effective policies that help the macroeconomics to have the best conditions for lasting and sustainable development. These factors will have a positive impact to the real estate market. In addition, good liquidity has also promoted the real estate market to transact better in 2017. However, VnRea still supposes that the 2017 real estate market still has some potential risks that need to be monitored including the supply - demand imbalance as mentioned above.

Mid, high-end segments dominate real estate sales in Q1 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Real estate prices remained stable in the first three months of 2017 with mid- and high-end segments dominating the market, according to the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Agency. The agency said the mid- and high-end products still accounted for the majority of new launches while there is a limited supply of low-cost housing projects. Vietnam's leading property developer, Vingroup, unveiled the affordable housing project Vincity on the outskirt areas of Hanoi last year in order to satisfy the increasing demand from local mid- and low-income buyers in the near future. About 1,000 successful transactions of mid- and high-end apartments were reported in Hanoi in March, up 17.6 percent from a month earlier, most of which are from projects Vinhomes Skylake Pham Hung in Cau Giay district, Gelexia Riverside and Sunshine Palace in Hoang Mai district, and Vinhomes Thang Long in Hoai Duc district. HCM City had about 1,100 mid- and high-range units sold in March, an increase of 22 percent from February. There have been few new launches in the southern economic hub since the beginning of this year, thus most of the supply relied on those that went on sale in 2016. High-end projects with big sales last month included Charmington La Pointe in District 10, Jamona Apartment in District 7, Lakeview City in District 2, and Vinhomes Centre Park Tan Cang in Binh Thanh district. Nguyen Tran Nam, Chair of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association, has warned of an imbalance between supply and demand in the country's housing market. The demand for low-cost apartments is very high but it is not easy for people to find those sold less than 20 million VND per sqm. There are still a poor real estate database and limited market forecast, he said, adding that these were also behind the real estate crisis from 2009-2013. en.vietnamplus.vn/mid-highend-segments-dominate-real-estate-sales-in-q1/110022.vnp

Off to a good start, but start-up education falls short 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS The start-up frenzy started in Việt Nam around two years ago with the government calling for more investment in the community and demonstrating political will with several pragmatic actions. The biggest move was the approval last year of the "Supporting the National Innovation Start-up Ecosystem by 2025" scheme, also known as Project 844. The scheme would pour an estimated VNĐ2 trillion (US$88.8 million) into around 2,000 hi-tech start- ups. The Hanoi People's Committee officially opened in January the VNĐ7 billion Hanoi Innovative Business Incubator of Information Technology (HBI-IT), while the HCM City Start-up and Innovation Fund (HSIF) was set up last summer. The fund aimed to raise VNĐ100 billion by 2020 to support local businesses founded by any entrepreneur below 35. Universities did not lag behind, losing no time in establishing start-up centres and encouraging students to take part in entrepreneurship competitions. The latest report of the general Statistical Office has announced the highest number of newly-established businesses in a quarter over the last six years. Quarter 1 of 2017 saw 26,478 businesses set up, which means more than 100,000 new firms just this year. It can be said safely that Việt Nam is on the track to becoming a start-up nation, but this statement needs to be qualified. The root Dương Van Ba, deputy head of the Student Affairs Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, believes that everything that has happened thus far is just "harvest at the top." The root of the solution, an ultimate transformation of Vietnamese entrepreneurship via the education system, remains problematic, he said. The MoET is planning to submit an ambitious plan to prime minister Nguyễn Xuan Phuc this month that will try to make sure that the current start-up frenzy does not fade into a disappointing gold-rush. The plan, "Supporting student entrepreneurship 2017-2010 with a vision towards 2025", aims at equipping college students with basic knowledge and skills on how to start a business, and more importantly, change the mindset of the students on entrepreneurship. "Most of the students now think of asking for a job after graduation, not creating the job themselves," said Ba, responsible for drafting the plan. "This stems from a lack of understanding about entrepreneurship. As long as they (students) get to know what entrepreneurship really means, they will have different ideas." The interesting part, also one that makes the plan stand out, is that every student - regardless of her/his major or which university she/he belongs to - have to learn about entrepreneurship. In other words, even medical or journalism students would need to learn some business lessons. "It is true that medical students would mostly work as doctors post-graduation. But they can also run a business selling medical equipment or a clinic, for example, better then those who've not studied medicine," Ba said. "We can open a business in any sector. What we need is educated students who have the spirit to do it. "The ultimate goal of the plan is to make start-up a universal concept, so everyone knows how to start and run a business." Strong seedlings Nguyen Trung Dung, CEO of BK Holdings - the enterprise network of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, which remain the first and only one of its kind in the country that supports college entrepreneurship, said Việt Nam should work on the entrepreneurial mindset of students before providing them the tools like accounting or marketing. He said students in the US or Europe focus on the application of knowledge to solve real-life situations since junior high school. They are taught using the STEM or STEMA education model, which integrates several subjects together. The first acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics; art and design are added on for the second. Vietnamese students have to study too much, including unnecessary subjects, Dũng said. "I always wonder why a city student has to learn how to raise pigs, but not more important things like how to manage finances, how to set up a company or how to file for bankruptcy," he said. The obstacle to having a successful start-up community in Việt Nam was no longer a question of money, Dũng said. The country has so far had several business accelerators or incubators that are likely to further expand in the near future, and investors are still hungry for potential start-ups that they can invest in. The environment exists, therefore, for start-ups to thrive. The 'missing link,' and the most important factor, is human resource. "We have a serious shortage of'strong seedlings'. There is no point to nurturing 'bad seedlings.' "And strong seedlings can only come from good entrepreneurial education." Abolish stigma Massachusetts-based Babson College, the top US institution on entrepreneurship education, has an interesting way of nurturing young entrepreneurs. The Babson freshmen, regardless of their majors, are divided into random groups and tasked with starting a business from zero. "And almost none of them succeed. But we are happy about that because they will learn much more from failures than they ever can from success," said Babson College President Kerry Healey. In the end, all student businesses are forced to shut down, so they learn how to open, run and close a business - essential lessons for future entrepreneurs, because a lot of business ventures are doomed to fail. "If you know how to do it, you are not scared anymore," Healey said. "The countries whose cultures have the most problems being entrepreneurial are the ones scared of failure, who find it humiliating to fail or uncomfortable to talk about problems when things do not happen the way you want it to go." With Confucianism running deep in its veins, there is a deeply ingrained culture of saving face in Việt Nam, a social stigma about failure that the younger generation still cannot escape. A report last year by the Global Entrepreneurial Monitor (GEM) showed that about 57 per cent of Vietnamese think there are good opportunities to start a business, while 73 per cent consider entrepreneurship a good career choice. Despite such promising perceptions, more than 45 per cent fear business failure. "Our belief is that if you were to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to learn how to think and act like one; not simply do the accounting, file the papers or run the business on a daily basis," Healey said. University funding Another key part of the new MoET entrepreneurship supporting plan is to encourage universities to set up start-up funds for students in need. Such funds will not be compulsory, said Ba, adding that it would depend on the financial capability of the universities. The MoET is open to the idea of the universities - most of which are public - partly funding students' start-up projects. Young and poor entrepreneurs are typically afraid of taking loans of hundreds of millions of đồng, Ba said. "We don't expect the universities to financially cover start-up projects 100 per cent. The funding would only act as an accelerator for the business idea," he said. Ngo Anh Tuan, the 26-year-old CEO of Boardgame Vietnam, which produces and distributes boardgames across Việt Nam, said that he doubted the efficiency of such funding. He said he supported the idea that universities should have fund for student start-up activities, but felt the money should be spent to create a platform for students to develop and realise their business ideas on their own. "Universities can provide books or materials on entrepreneurship, organise talk shows by experienced businesspeople, and act as a bridge between the students and investors," he said. "This would work much better than to give the money directly to the start-ups." Healey felt that a university should not carry a funding role. She said that it is the government, she said, which has the responsibility to train entrepreneurs in applying for funding and help financial institutions understand the needs of the entrepreneurs. Dung agreed that government should only issue policies and not act as a business investor, especially when taxpayers' money will be thrown into start-up ventures that, on average, have a less than three per cent chance of success. Private enterprises, or investors, should be the ones who will judge which seedling is bad and which is strong, Dung said. "In case the government wants to encourage start-ups via investment, it should play matching funds, follow the investment decisions of credible investors," he said. Singapore is a great model of matching funds, as the government-private investment ratio stands at 1:1. "The government should place its trust in the private investors, not the start-ups," Dũng said. http://vietnamnews.vn/opinion/in-the-spotlight/374342/off-to-a-good-start-but-start-up-education-falls- short.html#DjADSIgkXxiv7PKb.99

The hidden rich - who are they? 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Forbes has recognised two Vietnamese dollar billionaires, while Knight Frank's 2016 report says Vietnam has 14,300 millionaires with assets of over $1 million. The manager of a bank which is creating a banking product targeting the rich in Vietnam commented that the community of 'real rich people' in Vietnam has expanded rapidly. The phrase 'real rich people' doesn't mean people who 'look rich' with properties, cars and businesses, but owe big money or their businesses have incurred big losses. In the eyes of bank administrators, real rich people are those who have net assets of hundreds of billions of dong, and don't owe money to others. In Vietnam, a primarily cash economy, there are many hidden super rich people. They are not recognised by the public as they lead quiet lives. The banker said he knows a man who runs several companies that are not too big and too famous, but bring in stable income. "He leads a simple life. He drives a motorbike and drinks coffee at pavement shop. His children go to state-owned schools. But he has several hundred of billions of dong in assets," he said, adding that there are many such people in HCM City. Another man never sees his name appear in newspapers, but he is well known to bankers, who have tried to persuade him to deposit his idle money at their banks. The man owns tens of land plots in advantageous positions in the central area of the city. All analysts and experts agree that the number of rich people has been increasing rapidly. The UK-based Knight Frank, in 2017 reports, shows that Vietnam had 14,300 millionaires with net asset value of at least $1 million dollars in 2016. It is expected that the figure would be 38,600 by 2026, while it was 3,400 in 2006. As for multi millionaires, the figure was 150 in 2006 and rose to 610 in 2016, while it would be 1,650 by 2026. About 50 Vietnamese had assets of over $30 million in 2006, and 200 people in 2016, while the figure is expected to be 540 by 2026. The group of people with over $100 million comprised five members in 2006, 21 in 2016 and 57 members by 2026. In 2016, one Vietnamese national was reported with asset value of over $1 billion, while there would be three by 2026. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/175989/the-hidden-rich---who-are-they-.html

Business Briefs April 11, 2017 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia | * Export-Import Bank of Vietnam (EIB) has announced a plan to transfer its entire stake at Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (STB), citing the requirements for the capital safety ratio stipulated by the State Bank of Vietnam. According to the central, bank's Circular 36, banks are allowed to own a stake with voting rights of no higher than 5 percent at other credit institutions. EIB is now holding more than 165 million shares of STB, or an 8.76 percent stake. The management board of EIB will present the plan at the upcoming annual general meeting on April 21. * Coteccons Construction Company (CTD) signed new contracts worth VND8.7 trillion in the first quarter of 2017, resulting in a current backlog of VND31.5 trillion, up 17.5 percent compared to the end of last year. Vingroup (VIC) projects account for around 30-35 percent of CTD's backlog, said Viet Capital Securities Company. Large contracts signed in the first quarter included Ho Tram Strip (second phase), Diamond Island (second phase), Hilton Hotel, Vinhomes Metropolis and Paihong factory. CTD will delay by one month its annual general meeting, which earlier was scheduled for April 13, as the prepa- ration of documents for the event has taken more time than expected. The management board will also submit a plan to increase the foreign ownership limit to 60 percent at this meeting. * Thanh Vu Tay Ninh Joint Stock Company has sold over 628,000 shares of Bamboo Capital Company (BCG) to reduce its stake from 8.7 percent to 8.1 percent. * Saigon-Hanoi Insurance Corporation has acquired nearly 7.6 million shares of Saigon-Hanoi Bank (SHB) to hold a 0.68 percent stake in the lender. * Dong Nai Plastic Company (DNP) will send shareholders aplan for raising its capital to VND500 billion this year. DNP plans to issue 7.5 million shares for dividend payment at the 100-for-25 ratio and offer 12 million shares at a 100:40 ratio to existing shareholders at VND 14,460 each, much lower than the current price at around VND26,OOO per share. Besides, the enterprise will issue 500,000 employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) shares. In 2017, DNP looks to gain VND2 trillion in revenue and VND121 billion in after-tax profit, surging 40 percent versus the previous year.

KPMG OnDemand service launched 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times New service provides short-term secondments to meet business needs. KPMG, one of the Big4 and the leader in audit and professional services, has launched a new service to provide corporations and organisations with access to highly-trained professionals for short-term secondments. Aimed at helping to balance the level of business demand with workforce supply, KPMG Vietnam's OnDemand service gives corporations and organisations a reliable solution in the form of short-term secondments at competitive rates. Without going through the time-consuming recruitment and training processes, corporations and organisations will immediately have access to KPMG's worldwide professional knowledge, diverse skills, expertise, technology, and best practices. "We are very excited about this offering, which will complement the range of our services provided in Vietnam," said Warrick Cleine, KPMG Vietnam's Chair and CEO. "With the launch of KPMG OnDemand, we have moved another step ahead to become a truly one-stop shop for the business needs companies may struggle with, irrespective of their size and complexity. As a group of professionals who work with passion and purpose, we are here to help our clients anticipate tomorrow and deliver today." One major concern for many businesses nowadays is seasonality and unexpected demands that cannot be effectively managed through the regular recruitment process. These include the need for extra resources during end of month or end of the year deadlines, periods of leave, or simply filling a gap between one employee finishing and another starting. These needs may vary from week to week and often require immediate short-term human resources. Furthermore, KPMG Vietnam provides access to professionals with a wide range of capabilities, ranging from analysing and transforming data to designing more efficient and effective reporting, and assisting in administrative management tasks such as project support, logistics and functional reporting, to enable on- time and on-budget project delivery. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/kpmg-ondemand-service-launched

Da Nang makes changes to long-term plans 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The People's Committee of central Da Nang city has submitted amendments to its 2030-2050 socio- economic master plan for the prime minister's approval. The municipal administration said that the adjustment proposal seeks to set new development targets that match updated base indices prepared by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. It said that the previous socio-economic master plan until 2020, which was approved in 2010 based on 1994 statistics, has not kept pace with the rapid urban development experienced by the city over the last five years. The central city has also proposed changes in technical infrastructure plan that will be compatible with it becoming a key tourism site in central region with 'green' growth, information technology (IT) applications for a smart city by 2030 (with vision until 2050), environmentally-friendly waste treatment and renewable energy. In another proposal related to the city's traffic flow, Da Nang has asked the government for permission to build a 39km ring road connecting National Road No 14B and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This project would be part of the city's westward expansion during the 2017-2019 period. The city said the project would use 1.5 trillion VND (66.4 million USD) raised from government bonds and the city's budget. At a meeting of the city People's Council last week, Da Nang also announced plans to develop the Tho Quang Port into a major fishing port and seafood logistics centre in the central region. The port's piers will be rebuilt to accommodate high-capacity fishing and fisheries logistics vessels. The project, covering 19.7ha, will also include an international fishing port and a seafood wholesale market. The Tho Quang fishing port currently hosts 19,000 fishing boats, 23 seafood processing plants and 11 shipyard building centres. The city also plans to build a wastewater treatment plant with a daily capacity of 300cu.m. The city had submitted adjustments to its 2030-2050 master plan last year too, focusing on developing tourism as a core economic sector. Da Nang has been expanding its airport to host the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders Week, and welcome 10 million tourists this year. The government had issued special decentralisation regulations last year, giving the city greater autonomy over attracting investment and managing its budget. The city is a logistical hub for the central coastal region and the East-West Economic Corridor, which links Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam http://en.vietnamplus.vn/da-nang-makes-changes-to-longterm-plans/110007.vnp

Can Tho city hopes for French investment in agriculture 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Officials of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho introduced the local potential and advantages to French companies and called for their investment, especially in agriculture, during a meeting on April 10. They highlighted Can Tho's potential of agricultural production such as rice, fisheries and fruit, along with hi-tech agricultural projects that need investment. They expressed their hope that French businesses will come to seek investment opportunities here. Chair of the Can Tho municipal People's Committee Vo Thanh Thong said agriculture is a strength of his city as well as other Mekong Delta localities. Many products made in Can Tho have been imported by France and other European countries like agricultural and aquatic products, apparel and handicrafts. French firms should come to the city to invest in those areas in order to increase trade between Vietnam and France, he noted. There are six French-invested projects worth nearly 6 million USD in Can Tho. Meanwhile, bilateral trade has been on an upward trend. The city earned about 31 million USD from exports, mostly aquatic products, garments and handicrafts, to France in 2016. Its imports from the EU nation include pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, and agricultural medicine, Thong added. Can Tho has also carried out numerous cooperation activities in culture, education and health care with France. It expects bilateral relations will be intensified in the future, the official said. Martine Fumey, vice chairwoman of the World's No 1 Club, said the club gathers exporting companies in various industries of France, and they want to bolster partnership with Vietnamese businesses. Their visit to Can Tho this time aims to enhance connections with local firms and seek investment opportunities, thereby gradually turning French enterprises into a key trade partner of the city, said Fumey - chairwoman of the Ares company, which specialises in security device production. Jacques Aurin, secretary general of the club and president of the Baron de Madaillan AE company, said they are also interested in educational cooperation with Can Tho-based universities since education is a basis for economic development. After the working session, the French delegation visited some rice, fishery and fruit processing companies in Can Tho. en.vietnamplus.vn/can-tho-city-hopes-for-french-investment-in-agriculture/110015.vnp

Japan company helps Hanoi operate urban railway system 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Tokyo Metro, the leading subway company in Japan, has established a subsidiary, Vietnam Tokyo Metro, to help Hanoi manage and operate its urban railway system. Vietnam Tokyo Metro will share Japanese experience in operating the project through technical consultations and exchanges of information and human resources between the two sides. Metropolitan railway lines will be the backbone of Hanoi's sustainable development, director of Tokyo Metro Yoshimitsu Oku said, stressing the need for the development of the means of transport in the city. Tokyo Metro has also partnered with the Japan International Cooperation Agency in the "Technical assistance project to strengthen the regulator capacity and to establish an agency managing the operation and maintenance of Metropolitan Railway Lines in Hanoi City, Vietnam" http://en.vietnamplus.vn/japan-company-helps-hanoi-operate-urban-railway-system/109978.vnp

Forum focuses on women and the economy 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs held a conference in HCM City on April 10 to mull over a draft action plan on women and the economy in Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (Apec) in 2017. The event aims to prepare for the Apec Women and the Economy Forum scheduled to take place in Vietnam latter this year to enhance women's integration and economic capacity in a technological changing world. Deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam said the forum is expected to draw 500 delegates from 21 member economies as well as big companies and organisations. The event will focus on promoting gender equality for inclusive economic growth, increasing competitiveness and creativity for female-owned businesses, and narrowing gender gaps in human resources development. Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women Entrepreneur Council under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh said Vietnam needs specific and detailed legal documents on gender equality in businesses as well as a monitoring mechanism on businesses' female recruitment and training for female workers every year. A representative from HCM City's Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs held that it is necessary to eliminate gender prejudice, especially in the labour recruitment. Participants called on the State to devise more policies supporting female-owned enterprises to start business and access to financial resources. President of HCM City's Peace and Development Foundation Ton Nu Thi Ninh advised female entrepreneurs to optimise business models to improve vocational skills for workers and increase their competitive edge in the period of integration. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/forum-focuses-on-women-and-the-economy/110016.vnp

Smooth export breeze for wind towers made in VN 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS In a remarkable turnaround for the company, wind towers produced by CS Wind Vietnam can now be freely exported to the US market without fear of anti-dumping duties. The United States Court of International Trade (CIT) has reaffirmed a final decision made by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) that wind towers made by CS Wind Vietnam Co. Ltd (CS Wind) will be subject to zero per cent anti dumping (AD) duties. The decision marks a major success for the company, coming as it does five years after a prohibitively high AD of 51.5 percent had been imposed, making it all but impossible for it to export the towers to the US market. Now, with the CIT and DOC saying "they will not initiate any new administrative reviews of the AD order with respect to merchandise produced and exported by CS Wind," the company can resume exports to a main market. CS Wind had appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) to reverse the CIT's earlier decision, approving the DOC's use of packing weights instead of factors of production in calculating CS Wind's surrogate value, as well as the omittance of job work charges, erection expenses, and civil expenses for the company. According to the final decision, merchandise produced by CS Wind and exported by any other company, merchandise produced by any other company and exported by CS Wind and merchandise produced by any other company not related to CS Wind are not entitled to the anti-dumping duty exclusion. Any other company seeking to sell utility scale wind towers in the US market will attract a 58.49 per cent tariff. Previously, after several determinations, both the CIT and the DOC had found the company to have a weighted average dumping margin of 17.07 per cent, using surrogate financial ratios, which then went down to 17.02 per cent in 2015. The DOC started had conducting a less than fair value investigation into CS Wind's exports in 2013, having issued an official anti dumping duty of 51.5 per cent on CS Wind's towers. CS Wind Vietnam, the core manufacturer of wind towers for the Asian, South Pacific and US markets, has several factories in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province. vietnamnews.vn/economy/374195/smooth-export-breeze-for-wind-towers-made-in- vn.html#i91ouFmVgoMB6KGM.99

Outstanding enterprises honored at 2016-2017 VET awards 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Sixty-one FIEs pick up Golden Dragon Award while 100 Vietnamese enterprises receive Vietnamese Excellent Brand Award at ceremony on April 8. The Golden Dragon Awards and the Vietnamese Excellent Brand Awards were held on April 8 at the luxurious JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi. In attendance were government leaders, representatives from ministries, economic experts, and more than 500 CEOs from foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and Vietnamese enterprises, many of whom also attended the Vietnam Economic Times Group's CEO Forum on the previous day. Vietnam Economic Times, the organiser of both awards, presented 61 FIEs with a Golden Dragon Award and 100 Vietnamese enterprises with a Vietnamese Excellent Brand Award. These enterprises are proof that there are sound businesses overcoming the ongoing economic difficulties. All have strategic plans to improve their competitiveness in terms of human resources, technology, quality, and services, to enable them to actively seize opportunities and face the challenges posed by international economic integration. Many have been winners of a Golden Dragon Award for a number of years in succession, such as Samsung Vietnam, Chinfon Cement, Deloitte Vietnam, Unilever, and Honda. In the Vietnamese Excellent Brand awards, multiple winners included Vietinbank, Vietcombank, Viettel, Vietjet Air, Vingroup, Sun Group, MobiFone, Vinamilk, and the Hoa Sen (Lotus) Group. The Golden Dragon Awards and the Vietnam Excellent Brand Awards were initiated in 2001 to recognise and encourage enterprises that have recorded outstanding achievements. This recognition is considered from many perspectives, such as production and business activities, service provision, application of technological solutions for environmental protection, full implementation of tax obligations, ensuring employee rights, and actively participating in social activities. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/outstanding-enterprises-honored-at-2016-2017-vet-awards

Work begins on $35million plant in Binh Dương 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS A-Pro Tech Vietnam Co Ltd on Monday broke ground for the construction of a bike and automobile spare parts manufacturing plant in the southern province of Binh Dương. The $300 million project is financed by the Taiwan-based A-Pro Technology Co Ltd and will be operated by A-Pro Tech Vietnam Co Ltd GISA Engineering & Construction Joint Stock Company is the general contractor. The factory is being built on a 76,000sq.m plot in Đại Đăng Industrial Park. Once completed, it is expected to have an annual capacity of 300,000 bicycles, one million bike frames of different types, 100,000 tonnes of spare parts for bicycles, motorcycles and cars, as well as 50,000 tonnes of metal tubes. The plant is expected to become operational this December. vietnamnews.vn/economy/374379/work-begins-on-300 million-plant-in-binh- duong.html#4P6yiQZXxMRbwq4j.99

Ba Ria-Vung Tau: One more port receives large container ships 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Tan Cang Cai Mep - Thi Vai port in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau successfully received a 160,000 tonne container ship on April 10. This is the second port in the Thi Vai - Cai Mep port complex receiving 160,000-tonne ship. Earlier, Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) welcomed ships with capacity of 160,000 tonnes and over. Tan Cang Cai Mep - Thi Vai is a deep-water port in Tan Thanh district. It is allowed to receive ships of 160,000 tonnes starting from February 20 by the Vietnam Maritime Administration. Vu Kim Duan, director of the port said the first welcome of a 160,000-tonne ship showed the port's capacity to receive and provide loading and unloading services for international container ships. en.vietnamplus.vn/ba-riavung-tau-one-more-port-receives-large-container-ships/110028.vnp

50pct MLM companies report losses in Vietnam 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Saigon-Gpdaily Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported low efficiency in operation of multi-level marketing (MLM) companies with profit after tax averaging 2.2 percent and over 50 percent of them posting losses in 2016. The number of MLM companies reduced by 45 percent and salespeople dropped 25 percent. However the industry's revenue was down by only VND200 billion ($8.82 million) approximating 2.5 percent. Total percentage and other economic benefits paid to the staff of MLM salespeople reached VND2.4 billion. If the amount is divided equally among 640,000 salespeople, a person's average income is VND3.8 million ($168) a year. This proves that a very low ratio of the number are really selling goods. http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Business/2017/4/123983/

Ministry strives for sustainable development of tra fish 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA In an effort to ensure a sustainable development of the tra fish sector, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will support enterprises and farmers to boost links in order to improve tra fish quality to fulfill choosy markets' demands. After four years of implementation, a project of building a sustainable tra fish supply chain has proved effective with a 7-10 percent decrease in production costs of fish sapling rearing, breeding and processing. Thanks partly to the project, lots of breeding sites have met global standards. Still, the supply chain needs to improve its diversity and added value for more sustainable development. Links between stakeholders should also be enhanced to further the interests of enterprises and farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is also reviewing focused tra fish farming areas and breeding to improve the production quality. It's also paying heed to linking closed chains and expanding markets.4 http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ministry-strives-for-sustainable-development-of-tra-fish/109957.vnp

Ninh Thuan farmers make fortune with VietGap grapes 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Thanks to technical assistance and training from NinhThuan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in recent years, many farmers in the central province have successfully applied the VietGap model in grape growing. The model has helped improve economic efficiency and the quality of local grape products. Growing grapes under VietGap or Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practice standards poses plenty of challenges at first, as the plant requires special care, especially given climate change. Yet, thanks to strict compliance with technical procedures in planting, growing and harvesting, one hectare on average can produce about 30 tonnes of the fruit. As organic products, the wholesale price of grapes grown under the VietGap model is often 1.5 times higher than those without VietGap approval. Grapes have higher economic value compared to many other plants. Specifically, its economic efficiency is 8-9 times higher than that of rice. Therefore, applying VietGap model in growing grapes can help farmers make their fortune. Being fully aware of the grape's foothold position in the province's economy, local authorities have mapped out a 7,900-hectare area for grape growing.They also focused on developing new varieties and technical assistance for local farmers. http://english.vov.vn/economy/ninh-thuan-farmers-make-fortune-with-vietgap-grapes-347273.vov

Original(ity) sin: Apple asks unauthorised phone shops in Vietnam to remove logo 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VN Express The iPhone maker warns of legal action against copyright infringement and distribution of unauthorised products. American tech giant Apple has requested unauthorised shops in Vietnam to stop using its logo and trademarks and selling smuggled products. Vo Tran, Apple's legal representative in Vietnam, has sent a copyright infringement warning to several retailers in Hanoi and HCM City, which have been accused of using the famous Apple logo and product names such as iPhone, iPad and MacBook, without permission. The notice, issued late last month, said these shops at times also sold unauthorised Apple products. The use of Apple logo and product names has misled customers that these shops are authorised retailers, Apple said, threatening to take legal action against violations. Trinh Thai Duong, owner of a mobile retail chain in HCM City, said he received a similar notice from Apple four years ago. Duong said he has been running his business as normal after complying with the request. A lot of Apple products retailed in Vietnam are smuggled from Hong Kong and China, which are usually available sooner than the official ones distributed by Apple's official partners. Smuggled phones can also be cheaper. Apple reportedly opened a subsidiary company in Vietnam in late 2015, allowing it to import and distribute cellphones in Vietnam. Its products are officially imported and sold by a few local tech giants, including FPT and The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World). http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/original-ity-sin-apple-asks-unauthorised-phone-shops-in-vietnam- to-remove-logo-3567889.html

Sale of CBU cars up 114pct in March 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Sales of completely - built units (CBUs) increased 114 percent to reach 8,484 in March, according to the latest data released by Vietnam Automobile Manufacturer's Association (VAMA). More than 18,388 complete knock down (CKD) units were sold last month, up only 35 percent, said VAMA. Total automobile sales in March rose 52 percent from the previous month to nearly 27,000 units, despite people waiting for prices to further reduce. Of the total, 16,805 units were passenger cars, up 67 percent; 8,278 units were commercial vehicles, up 31 percent; and 1,789 units were special-purpose vehicles, up 45 percent. Domestic manufacturer Truong Hai Auto Corporation led VAMA members with 9,468 units sold, occupying 45 percent of the country's market share. Second was Toyota Vietnam with 4,679 units, 20.5 percent of market share. Ford Vietnam came third with 2,501 units, 11 percent of the market share. Total automobile sales in the first quarter of 2017 experienced a year-on-year increase of 8 percent to 64,729 units with passenger cars up 23 percent while commercial and special-purposes vehicles declined by 10 and 13 percent respectively. In addition, the number of CBUs sold expanded 41 percent while CKDs slid one percent. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/sale-of-cbu-cars-up-114-percent-in-Mar/109988.vnp

Airfare rules to stay, says Transport minister 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS The transport ministry has no plan to change the current regulations on airfares, minister Truong Quang Nghia has confirmed. Chairing a meeting with the ministry's Party Civil Affairs Committee on Friday, he said that airlines have room for airfare reductions, then "why don't we allow them?" Transport authorities instead should focus on strengthening State management of the aviation market, which is experiencing strong growth, he said. "We have to change our management mindset," Nghia said, adding that efforts should be directed towards ensuring maximum security, safety and service quality for end-users of aviation services. Management agencies should only see if airlines were offering discounted fares in accordance with regulations, he said. The pricing regulations for aviation services should be rational and acceptable (to all stakeholders) while helping improve tax collection for infrastructure investment, Nghia said. A proposal made by one airline to set a floor price for economy-class fares on domestic routes has been included in a draft document prepared by the ministry and released to gather public feedback. The document is set to replace the Ministry of Finance's Decision No 3282/QD-BTC issued in 2014. The proposal has raised concern among people and experts that the floor price would work against market rules, leading to unhealthy competition among airlines, affectring consumer interests. http://bizhub.vn/news/airfare-rules-to-stay-says-transport-minister_285385.html

Hanoi encouraged to create more attractive tourism products 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Hanoi's tourism industry has made many significant achievements in recent years, but its development has not lived up to its potential or its expectations, tourism managers and enterprise workers agreed at a conference in the capital city. Held within the framework of the ongoing Vietnam International Travel Mart at the International Exhibition Centre, the conference aimed to enhance tourism cooperation among nations, organisations, cities and provinces of high tourism potential. The event also created opportunity for state tourism organisations to receive constructive feedback and support to overcome difficulties. Vietnam's tourism in general - and Hanoi's in particular - have achieved obvious development. In 2016, the total number of tourists to visit the capital reached 21.8 million, increasing by 11 percent over 2015. Meanwhile, the figure of international tourists to Hanoi was 4 million, increasing by 23 percent in comparison with the previous year. The development has transformed economic structures and created job opportunities. It also has improved living standards, global integration and the national image. According to Nguyen Van Tuan, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism's general director, Hanoi possesses many tourism resources that make it a high quality destination. There are two options for Hanoi's tourism development: creating new products and renovating the old ones. In creating new products, the city has attracted many investors to launch large-scale tourism projects. However, to refresh available products like the old quarter, Sword Lake or cultural heritage sites, the tourism sector needs to improve their quality by investing in infrastructure and human resources. Nguyen Tien Dat, vice director of TransViet Company, argued that the pedestrian zone around Sword Lake, a temporary tourism product in the city, has not met its expectations. He suggested the introduction of more diversified cultural activities to enhance its attractiveness, like ao dai zone to display Vietnam's traditional dress or photo exhibition capturing each period of Hanoi. According to Nguyen Quang Lan, Chair of the Vietnam Tourism Association, Hanoi needs to construct more international-standard leisure centres. Moreover, it is important to organise the tourism zones within the city to clearly identify its major tourism areas. The conference also witnessed the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between Hanoi and other provinces including Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Dien Bien, Lao, Son La, Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh and Hoa Binh. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hanoi-encouraged-to-create-more-attractive-tourism-products/109953.vnp

Vietnam international tourism mart draws 61,000 visitors 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The four-day Vietnam International Tourism Mart (VITM) 2017, which concluded on April 9, saw the participation of 3,000 enterprises and about 61,000 visitors. According to the organising board, some 20,070 domestic and international tours were sold at the event for total revenue of 212 billion VND (9.35 million USD). VITM, the largest of its kind in Vietnam, attracted major Vietnamese travel firms, such as Vietravel, Vietrantour, Saigontourist and Hanoitourist, along with international firms from the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Cambodia. Among the most successful enterprises at the event were Vietrantour with sales of 15.7 billion VND (692,527 USD), up 15 percent year-on-year, TransViet with 26 billion VND (1.14 million USD), a rise of about 30 percent, and Hanoi Redtours with 21 billion VND (926,310 USD). The organising board said that a survey at the fair showed that 79.5 percent of participants were satisfied with the event, while 72.7 percent of the firms said that they will attend the fair next year. A street food festival was a highlight giving visitors a chance to enjoy dishes from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico, Italy, the US, the Philippines and Vietnam. Ten dishes, five chefs and five firms received awards, while the Vietnam Tourism Association honoured the first 10 travel enterprises to serve outbound tourists in 2017. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-intl-tourism-mart-draws-61000-visitors/109984.vnp

Muong Thanh Group inaugurates 5-star hotel in Phu Tho 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vietnam Breaking News Muong Thanh Group has recently inaugurated a new 5-star hotel - Muong Thanh Luxury Phu Tho in Viet Tri City, Phu Tho Province Located in the central Viet Tri City, Muong Thanh Luxury Phu Tho Hotel is built in 5-star standard featuring 199 hotel rooms, 3 luxury restaurants serving buffet breakfasts and banquets, 3 conference rooms with capacity of 1,500 guests. Besides, the hotel consists of karaoke rooms, fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool, spa and super market which meet the demands of entertainment and shopping. The operation of Muong Thanh Luxury Phu Tho Hotel will contribute to improving tourist accommodation system in Phu Tho, developing tours to the province; furthermore creating jobs for local people, and making a considerable contribution to provincial socio-economic development. https://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2017/04/muong-thanh-group-inaugurates-5-star-hotel-in-phu- tho/

Red iPhone 7 sales sluggish in Vietnam 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Privately run shop owners say the sales of red iPhone 7s have not been as high as expected, as consumers say the phone is expensive and the colors disappointing. The iphone appeared in Vietnam just one day after it hit the world market. The first arrivals were ones with 5.5 inch screen, while there was not the product with a 4.7 inch screen. iPhone 7 Plus Red has a white front cover instead of black as expected. The edge of the Home button is silver, not the color matching colors of phone covers as seen in other versions. Contrary to all predictions, the red iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have not caused a 'bout of sales fever'. Many iPhone fans said they were disappointed as the red version is too expensive, while it is not attractive as they imagined. "The supply is not plentiful, and there are not many buyers," said Phuong Thao from Hoang Ha Mobile. Nguyen Lac Huy, the representative of CellphoneS, said the high selling prices could be the reason why many people did not show interest in the products. The price of Red iPhone 7 128 GB remains unchanged, at VND20.5 million, or VND3 million more expensive than other colors, since it first appeared in Vietnam some days ago. The red iPhone 7 Plus is sold at VND24 million. Some shop owners commented that while the price is high, red iPhone 7 is not as beautiful as people thought. The red iPhone 7s now available in the Vietnamese market are the ones carried across border gates by travellers, or imported from unofficial sources. Authorised distributors said genuine products to be imported through official channels would be available in Vietnam in April. FPT Trading said the products would hit the shelves on April 6. Regarding retail prices, some retailers have set the price of VND20.9 million for red iPhone 7 and VND23.9 million for iPhone 7 Plus. Meanwhile, the FPT Shop which has the right to import products directly from Apple said red iPhone 7s would arrive in late April and the selling prices would be the same for all colors. iPhone prices vary in the Vietnamese market. iPhone 7 32 GB, the cheapest version, is sold by private- run shops at VND15 million. The products imported by FPT Trading are sold by second-class sale agents at VND15.9 million. Meanwhile, FPT Shop and The Gioi Di Dong sell it at VND18.7 million. Dau tu chung khoan quoted its sources as saying that the prices of red iPhone 7 would be decreasing soon when the supply increases. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-it/175878/red-iphone-7-sales-sluggish-in-vietnam.html

Mobile carriers enter final phase of 4G race 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Nhan Dan Though Vietnamese mobile carriers are all set to officially launch 4G services, for now, they are employing a range of strategies to attract customers. While some carriers are focusing on an expansive network, others are concentrating on key cities. Several years ago, mobile service providers were not exactly on the same page with regard to the launch date of 3G services. For instance, VinaPhone and MobiFone - both of which were then under the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) - had gained an edge by launching 3G services. Meanwhile, it took Viettel an additional six months to catch up. However, with the 4G race, the battleground is a stark contrast with competitive launch dates of the major carriers in Vietnam. At this point, all of them have not disclosed their dates and are still waiting for their contenders' moves. Viettel deputy general director Tao Duc Thang said the company has been scrambling to complete installation of 36,000 4G stations in the last six months, a record number in a record time that no carrier has ever achieved. He added that Viettel is also building an infrastructure system to prepare for future mobile technologies beyond 4G. Thang added that the firm would launch 4G services nationwide in April with the largest number of stations among the three major carriers, emphasising that Viettel's 4G network would not only flaunt high speed but will also be bolstered with extensive coverage, high bandwidth and stable signals. A VinaPhone representative informed that the preparations for the 4G rollout are basically complete. With 15,000 stations installed, the company's network will cover key areas of provinces and cities across the country. In Da Nang, there will be around 400 high-bandwidth stations to serve two major upcoming events - the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival and the 2017 Apec Summit. Meanwhile, MobiFone and Gtel, which have also been granted 4G licenses, choose to be quiet about their plans. What has been revealed so far is only a SIM swapping plan, which has been aggressively carried out by their competitors for months. MobiFone said it has installed 4,500 4G stations and would install an additional 8,000 stations in 53 provinces and cities this year. In the initial phase, MobiFone will focus mainly on key cities such as Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Can Tho and Da Nang. It plans to expand its 4G services to rural, mountainous and remote areas at a later phase. With the largest number of 4G stations to be installed among the three telecoms giants, Viettel's deputy general director Thang said it intended to offer its customers the best possible services. He emphasized that the rollout will be successful only if a high connection speed is sustainable - avoiding a situation where subscribers can enjoy 4G speed for just an hour with variable speed (between 3G and 4G) in the remaining 23 hours. He also stated that Vietnam's telecoms market has dramatically changed compared to the last decade. In the past, carriers competed in terms of network coverage and costs, but now, such factors are no longer the determinants. Therefore, carriers also have to change and they must compete in terms of quality. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-it/176142/mobile-carriers-enter-final-phase-of-4g-race.html

Grab Vietnam asks premier for help as taxi app rejected by Da Nang 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Tuoi tre News With the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang consistently saying no to Grab, an app-based taxi service, a representative of the Singapore startup has sought help from prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Da Nang is among five localities Grab is allowed to operate in under a two-year pilot scheme, allowing mobile users to flag a taxi via Grab Taxi or a private car via Grab Car, according to a directive signed by prime minister Phuc in October 2015. The other locales are Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa and HCM City. In February 2016, the Ministry of Transport, following the PM's directive, officially began the pilot operation of Grab Taxi and Grab Car in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang. However, in November of the same year, the Da Nang transport department sent a document to Grab Vietnam, asking the company to "stop contracting with local transportation companies," pending a decision from the municipal administration. The suspension in Da Nang has prompted Yen Hock Lim, an authorised representative of Grab Vietnam, to file a petition to PM Phuc, asking him to urge the central city's administration to allow the service to resume operating. Grab Vietnam has resorted to seeking help from the highest authority in the country after a previous intervention from the transport ministry was largely ignored by Da Nang officials. According to the company, on December 23, 2016 the transport ministry sent a document to the Da Nang administration, requesting them to create favourable conditions and provide guidance for Grab Vietnam to run their busines as per the PM's order. However, the Da Nang administration has since refused to give a green-light to Grab's services, according to Lim. The representative claimed Da Nang authorities had rejected Grab under pressure from local transportation companies, particularly taxi operators, who had seen their business dwindle owing to competition from the app-based rival. The Da Nang administration has requested an indefinite suspension of Grab services, which Lim said goes against the government's resolution on supporting enterprises from now through to 2020. The decision in Da Nang not only adversely affects existing investors in Vietnam, but also deters those planning to expand their business here, according to the Grab representative. In addition to defying the orders of the premier and the transport ministry, the Da Nang administration, by acting on complaints by local taxi operators, does not comply with the law on competition, Lim added. Competition law bans any agreement that leads to the prevention or restriction of other enterprises from entering a specific field of business. Finally, Lim said, the service suspension in Da Nang has had an adverse impact on Grab operations in Hanoi, HCM City, and de-motivated thousands of Grab drivers in both cities. Grab Vietnam is calling on the prime minister to insist that Da Nang follow his order by allowing the company to continue operating in the central city. The firm has also demanded that the justice ministry review the suspension decision by the Da Nang transport department and determine whether it is justified or not. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40454/grab-vietnam-calls-for-premiers-help-as-taxi-app-rejected-by-da- nang

Taxi firms have mixed views on proposed regulations 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Taxi companies have expressed mixed views on draft regulations drawn up by the Ministry of Transport to amend Decree No 86/2014/ND-CP, which concerns automobile transportation businesses. Decree No 86 stipulates that enterprises and cooperatives engaged in taxi passenger transportation must have a minimum of 10 vehicles. For those operating in special urban areas, a minimum of 50 vehicles must be available. Companies that provide transportation services for goods and passengers under contracts and undertake the transport of tourists by vehicles for a distance of over 300km must have at least 10 vehicles if they have offices based in central cities and at least five if their offices are located in other localities. A taxi is not allowed to operate for more than eight years in special urban areas and 12 years in other localities. In the draft regulations, which are being circulated to concerned ministries and agencies for opinions, the ministry has proposed to waive regulations on the minimum number of vehicles. It has also stipulated that a taxi is not allowed to be used for over 12 years regardless of the place of operation. Nguyen Anh Quan, chair of board of directors of Thien Phong Commercial Co Ltd, which runs Thanh Cong Taxi, said the number of taxis a business has partly reflects the quality of the business operations. "Taxi firms that invest in a large number of vehicles will have to pay attention to improve quality to attract passengers. If the minimum number of vehicles is removed, it can easily lead to snatching of businesses," Quan said. According to Quan, in 2015, some small businesses with less than 50 taxis in Hanoi had to merge with each other so as to fulfill Decree No 86. These enterprises have been working for some time now. Referring to the proposed age of taxis, Quan said taxis operating in Hanoi often spend more time on road than those in other cities, so their depreciation period is often shorter than taxis in other cities. Moreover, Hanoi is the capital, and clauses to maintain quality of taxi service must be stricter. Nguyen Hong Minh, vice-chair of the Hanoi Transportation Association and director of Nguyen Minh Taxi, said the clause that taxi businesses in Hanoi must have at least 50 cars is too rigid. This regulation will create discrimination against small- and medium-sized enterprises, he added. The Law on Business allows enterprises to do business not prohibited by law, provided they meet the State regulations, Minh pointed out. About the age of taxis, Minh said that regardless of where the taxis run, the quality of the cars must be certified by the Vietnam Register [an agency in charge of granting quality certifications for vehicles], and only qualified vehicles must ply, so there should be no difference in regulation for different places. "If there is such a difference, other cities and provinces will soon become Hanoi's landfill as businesses, after running vehicles in Hanoi for eight years, will open offices and branches in other provinces and cities and transfer their old cars there," Minh said. Statistics with the ministry show that majority of the taxi services are currently concentrated in major cities, particularly Hanoi and HCM City, and are recording rapid growth. Hanoi has more than 18,600 cabs managed by 88 businesses and cooperatives while in HCM City, there are nearly 10,900 vehicles operated by 23 businesses and cooperatives http://en.vietnamplus.vn/taxi-firms-have-mixed-views-on-proposed-regulations/110008.vnp

Vietnam Airlines ramps up 175 flights on reunification holiday 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will increase 175 flights on eight domestic routes from April 27 to May 3 to meet increasing demand during the National Reunification Day and International Labour Day. The extra flights will offer 180,000 seats, rising 25 percent against normal days and 15 percent from the same period last year. The additional flights are on routes connecting cities with big demand for travel such as Hanoi and HCM City with major tourist destinations including Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc. Of which, the Hanoi/HCM City- Da Nang will have the most added flights with over 100 trips, followed by Hanoi/HCM City- Phu Quoc island with 40 trips and Hanoi/HCM City- Nha Trang with 18 trips. According to a representative from Vietnam Airlines, tickets are on sale as usual and updated continuously. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-airlines-ramps-up-175-flights-on-reunification-holiday/110004.vnp

Economy

Q2 GDP growth forecast: 5.6pct 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Vietnam's GDP in the second quarter of this year is forecast to expand 5.6 percent or 6.27 percent, depending on two scenarios, expert said. Dang Duc Anh, director of the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCEIF)'s analysis and forecast department, said this at a discussion on the country's macro-economic growth forecast, held in Hanoi on April 5. Under the first scenario of 5.6 percent GDP growth, Anh said that processing and manufacturing industries in Q2 would grow higher than in the first quarter, and the slowdown of the mining industry would be lower than that in Q1. The foreign exchange rate would be relatively stable and credit growth would continue to rise in Q2, Anh said, adding that disbursement of State investment capital would be also higher than Q1. In the second scenario, the GDP would grow 6.27 percent in Q2, owing to the recovery of the mining sector, with exploitation output at the same level as 2016; the disbursement of State investment capital would be strong; and the processing and manufacturing industry would grow higher than it did during the same period last year. The Q2 GDP in 2016 expanded 5.57 percent. At the discussion, experts pointed out that Vietnam's economy would be influenced significantly by global scenarios such as the recovery of world trade and economy, oil price fluctuations and development of the global finance market in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike. In the domestic market, business confidence of local enterprises is stable, experts said. More than 50 percent of the firms expect their number of business contracts in Q2 to be higher than Q1. Investment by private and foreign direct investment firms is also expected to rise in Q2 owing to the government's efforts to improve the business climate. To meet the government's GDP growth target of 6.7 percent in 2017, NCEIF director Nguyen Thi Mai Thu suggested that the State work to further stabilise the macro economy to be able to create more confidence among investors and the business community. It will also be necessary to speed up the disbursement of State investment capital and government bonds, she added. The government should also closely monitor the implementation of tasks raised in its Resolution 19/2016/NQ-CP on improving the business climate and the national competitive edge, and on the action programme on economic restructuring in the 2017-20 period. Though exports are forecast to rise significantly in the next few months, expert Can Van Luc recommended that export firms be active in material resources. According to the general Statistical Office (GSO), Vietnam's GDP growth in the first quarter of 2017 was only 5.1 percent, lower than the 6.72 percent and 5.48 percent growth rates during the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Ha Quang Tuyen, director of GSO's national account department, said there are three reasons why the growth rate has been weaker than forecast in Q1. First, the lingering effects of drought and saltwater intrusion from last year led to a sharp drop in rice production, which led to a contraction in the plant cultivation sub-sector. Second, industrial growth slowed to 4.1 percent against 7.4 percent recorded in the first three months of 2016, mainly the result of a manufacturing slowdown. Notably, electronic production shrank 1 percent compared to the 11.3 percent growth last year because of Samsung's poor performance. Third, the mining sector has been hit by the government's attempts to balance growth and the exploitation of natural resources, as part of its drive to restructure the economy and renew the growth model. en.vietnamplus.vn/q2-gdp-growth-forecast-56-percent/109876.vnp

HCM City: Private sector to contribute 65pct to GRDP 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | The Saigon Times HCM City is looking to have at least half a million enterprises by 2020, of which major firms and those in the private sector will contribute about 65 percent to the city's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and 64 percent to the city's total investments by then. The city said in a report delivered at a meeting on Wednesday that it was planning to have 60,000 new enterprises this year and increase the number of enterprises citywide to 500,000 by 2020. Data shows local private and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) far outdid SOEs in 2005-2014 in terms of contribution to the city's GRDP. The gap of GRDP contribution between the state and private corporate sectors has steadily widened. In 2005, when the GRDP of the city was VND165 trillion, nearly VND58 trillion of it came from SOEs while private enterprises contributed VND43.3 trillion and FIEs VND36 trillion. In 2014, HCM City's total GRDP stood at VND852 trillion, with VND202 trillion of it sourced from the foreign-invested sector and VND422 trillion from the domestic private sector. In 2011-2015, investments by non-state enterprises accounted for some 61 percent of the total, while SOEs and FIEs represented 21 percent and 18 percent respectively, according to data from the HCM City Institute for Development Studies. To achieve the target of having 60,000 startups this year, the city government has pledged to carry out administrative reforms to make life easier for businesses, said a source from the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment. City and district authorities will organise regular public dialogues, at least twice a year, between their leaders and the business community. City agencies will have to abolish about 30 percent of their meetings to have more time to visit enterprises and listen to their recommendations. Administrative costs should be brought down to ease the business cost burden. Tran Thi Binh Minh, deputy director of the Department of Planning and Investment, said that to household businesses to upgrade themselves to companies, the city will consider shortening the time required for issuance of a business registration certificate to a single day. Household businesses will not have to pay any fees for registration of conversion into companies and all costs arising from their tax code registrations will be exempted in the first year. In addition, their staff will be offered training courses to improve their knowledge of startups and accounting while low-interest loans will be made available for them. HCM City will help all converted enterprises to find outlets for their products on the domestic market, with priority given to small and medium businesses that set up shop in export processing zones and industrial parks in the city, said Minh. HCM City vice chair Le Thanh Liem said there were now 302,000 firms active in the city. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53342/HCM City-Private-sector-to-contribute-65-to-GRDP.html

Vietnam should not aim to become industrial power: economist 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vietnamnet Vietnam should not continue to try to become an industrial power and instead should shift to developing agriculture and tourism, according to economist Le Xuan Nghia, head of the Business Development Institute (BDI). Nghia, who was deputy chair of the National Finance Supervision Council, said: "I have little hope that Vietnam would become an industrial power. That seems far-fetched. But it is very likely that Vietnam would become a great power in farm produce, and tourism thanks to its great advantages in the fields." The fourth industrial revolution is expected to create big changes in the global economy. It is expected that robots will replace people in many works, which will reduce the labour cost to less than one-third of the current cost. expected to create big changes in the global economy. It is expected that robots will replace people in many works, which will reduce the labour cost to less than one-third of the current cost. This would make it difficult to bring labour from the agriculture sector to the industrial sector in the future. Nghia hopes that Vietnam may become a power in agricultural production and tourism with clear advantages in tropical farm produce and natural wonders. In fact, developing hi-tech agriculture has been mentioned repeatedly by the government and experts in many recent conferences. The government has announced that a huge credit package worth VND100 trillion, the largest ever fund in the field, will be disbursed to help develop agriculture. Commenting about the policies to develop agriculture, Hoang Trong Thuy, an agriculture expert, said the biggest problem in agriculture development is the management bodies' thinking. The policy 'nguoi cay co ruong' (all ploughmen must be given land) has always been the ruling motto in Vietnam in the last many years since Vietnam began land reform tens of years ago. Not only impeding the transfer of agriculture land, the old thinking has made it impossible to capitalise land. No matter how large it is, land cannot serve as mortgage for bank loans. As a result, businesses lack capital to expand their production. Meanwhile, banks cannot set higher prices for land prices because the state only considers land as a means of production. "It is necessary to consider land as an input factor of production," Thuy said, adding that since land is still not an input factor of production, it is being wasted. Thuy said the land bank could be a good solution to help avoid the ineffective use of land. However, the tardiness in setting up the land bank is partially blamed on farmers, who try to keep agricultural land even though they have left and given up farming. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/175987/vietnam-should-not-aim-to-become-industrial-power-- economist.html

FDI inflows not improving quality of VN's growth 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Nationmultimedia THE LARGE foreign direct investment in Vietnam is not reflecting in the country's economic growth, officials said. The number of new enterprises established in Vietnam has gone up and the inflow of foreign direct investment into the country has increased, but the quality of national growth remains unaffected or diminished. After several decades, officials have begun to highlight the discrepancy between quantitative and qualitative growth, showing that an increment in the former does not lead to an improvement in the latter. Nguyen Bich Lam, deputy director of the general Statistical Office (GSO), says that despite the large amount of newly established businesses in 2016, goods and service production has yet to contribute adequately to national economic growth as expected. In a GSO financial report for the first quarter released last week, Lam notes that 35.4 per cent of new businesses in Vietnam are in the retail sector and car maintenance services, both of which do not generate any tangible product. Only 13.72 per cent of businesses In the first quarter of 2017, economic progress has been weak, with a GDP growth of 5.1 per cent, lower than the same period in 2015 (6.03 per cent) and 2016 (5.46 per cent). "About 97 per cent of newly registered businesses are medium, small and extra small. This means the average scale of labour force, capital and added value would ultimately diminish despite the rise in quantity," said Pham Dinh Thuy, director of GSO's Industrial Statistics Department. The large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam does not add to economic growth either, despite having higher productivity, he said. This is because FDI businesses focus on assembling products using imported materials, instead of domestically produced ones. Furthermore, domestic businesses are having trouble competing at home against imported products from China, Thailand or Malaysia, thus generating even less income and profit. Other difficulties cited by businesses include low domestic demand, financial troubles, lack of human resources and high interest rates, which deter them from making a better contribution to the quality of national growth. In 2016, over 110,000 businesses were registered, of which 98,757 or 89.7 per cent, became operational the same year. The total registered capital was 271.2 trillion dong (Bt419 billion), an 11.4 per cent increase in number and 45.8 per cent increase in capital from the year before. With another 26,478 businesses established in the first quarter of 2017, the number of newly opened enterprises has hit a record high in the last six years, according to the Enterprise Development Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. However, the number of dissolved businesses remains a matter of concern. From January until March 2017, 23,904 businesses had closed down, which is about 90 per cent of newly established ones. This is a 12-per-cent increase over the number of businesses that failed last year during the same period, 92 per cent of them small ones with registered capital of less than 10 billion dong each. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/aec/30311816

When more is less: VN growth deficient in quality 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The number of new enterprises established in the country has gone up and the inflow of foreign direct investment into the country has increased, but the quality of national growth remains unaffected or diminished. After several decades, officials have begun to highlight the discrepancy between quantitative and qualitative growth, showing that an increment in the former does not lead to an improvement in the latter. Nguyen Bich Lam, deputy director of the general Statistical Office (GSO), says that despite the large amount of newly established businesses in 2016, goods and service production has yet to contribute adequately to national economic growth as expected. In a GSO financial report for the first quarter released last week, Lam notes that 35.4 per cent of new businesses in Vietnam are in the retail sector and car maintenance services, both of which do not generate any tangible product. Only 13.72 per cent of businesses aree in the manufacturing sector, so real value contributed to the economy by new enterprises is limited. In the first quarter of 2017, economic progress has been weak, with a GDP growth of 5.1 per cent, lower than the same period in 2015 (6.03 per cent) and 2016 (5.46 per cent). "About 97 per cent of newly registered businesses are medium, small and extra small. This means the average scale of labour force, capital and added value would ultimately diminish despite the rise in quantity," said Pham Dinh Thuy, director of GSO's Industrial Statistics Department. The large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam does not add to economic growth either, despite having higher productivity, he said. This is because FDI businesses focus on assembling products using imported materials, instead of domestically produced ones. Furthermore, domestic businesses are having trouble competing at home against imported products from China, Thailand or Malaysia, thus generating even less income and profit. Other difficulties cited by businesses include low domestic demand, financial troubles, lack of human resources and high interest rates, which deterd them from making a better contribution to the quality of national growth. In 2016, over 110,000 businesses were registered, of which with 98,757 or 89.7 per cent, became operational the same year. The total registered capital was VND271.2 trillion (US$12.1 billion), an 11.4 per cent increase in number and 45.8 per cent increase in capital from the year before. With another 26,478 businesses established in the first quarter of 2017, the number of newly opened enterprises has hit a record high in the last six years, according to the Enterprise Development Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. However, the number of dissolved businesses remains a matter of concern. From January until March 2017, 23,904 businesses had closed down, which is about 90 per cent of newly established ones. This is a 12 per cent increase over the number of businesses that failed last year during the same period, 92 per cent of them small ones with a registered capital of less than VND10 billion ($449,000) each. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/176076/when-more-is-less--vn-growth-deficient-in- quality.html

Vietnam to halve corporate coverage of unemployment insurance to boost competitiveness 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VN Express The unemployment insurance fund has a huge surplus, estimated at nearly $2.5 billion at the end of last year. The Vietnamese government said it has agreed to cut half the coverage of unemployment insurance by employers to 0.5 percent of their salary fund to free up more funds for expansion and raising competitiveness. The government will also stop its contribution to the unemployment insurance fund thanks to its current huge surplus, leaving employers and employees the only contributors, it said in a statement Saturday. Under current regulations, employers, employees and the government each contribute 1 percent to the unemployment insurance fund, used to assist employees when they become unemployed, to facilitate vocational training or introduction and consultation of jobs. The fund is also used to cover health insurance for those who lose a job. The labour ministry will draft an amendment on the change and seek National Assembly approval for the reduction, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a government resolution signed late Friday. The agreement is in place thanks to "a huge surplus of the unemployment insurance fund in 2015, 2016 and [expected] in several subsequent years", the government statement said. It estimated the surplus at nearly VND56.5 trillion ($2.5 billion) at the end of last year, adding that by 2020 the fund will still be safe. "Along with the relatively high surplus of the unemployment insurance fund, it is necessary to amend the contribution to the fund to provide conditions for raising competitiveness and developing businesses," the government statement said. It was not immediately clear if the labour ministry could complete its draft for submission to the National Assembly's next session, which is scheduled to last a month starting May 22. Vietnam's economy this year has shown its first slowdown since 2014, with annual expansion slowing to 5.1 percent in the first quarter, based on government data. Hanoi has targeted to accelerate economic growth this year to 6.7 percent, from 6.2 percent in 2016. In order to better facilitate expansion, Premier Phuc has asked government officials to look at ways to raise the total investment for development to 35 percent of the gross domestic product, from 32 percent in the first quarter. Nearly 40 percent of the total investment comes from the fast expanding non-state sector. Last year the number of new businesses in Vietnam hit a record high of 110,000. Besides, some 600,000 small and medium-sized companies employ 52 percent of the workforce, based on Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry data. Even though Vietnam further reported a rising number of new businesses in the January-March period, most of them are small, officials have said. The unemployment rate among Vietnamese people in the working age stood at 2.3 percent in the first quarter of 2017, unchanged from the end of 2016 but up from 2.25 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2016, based on government data. e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-to-halve-corporate-coverage-of-unemployment-insurance-to-boost- competitiveness-3567263.html

Mekong Delta has good economic governance 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA The Mekong Delta has been evaluated as a region having good economic governance since the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was first announced 12 years ago, heard a workshop. The People's Committee of Vinh Long province and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) branch in Can Tho city held a workshop in Vinh Long on April 5 to analyse the PCI 2016 in the delta. In 2016, Dong Thap ranked third nationwide in the PCI. Other localities such as Can Tho, An Giang, Ca Mau, Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Soc Trang also witnessed improvements. Vinh Long, in particular, recorded 62.67 points in the PCI, ranking second out of the 13 Mekong Delta cities and provinces and rising from 19th to 6th sixth place nationwide. According to Secretary of the provincial Vinh Long Party Committee Tran Van Ron, the province has focused on improving the investment climate and administrative reform. Director of the VCCI Can Tho Vo Hung Dung said the PCI is an effective tool to manage the local economy because localities with PCI ranking improvements have seen better economic growth. Head of VCCI Legal Department Dau Anh Tuan said the Mekong Delta performed well on the PCI due to easy access to land, quick administrative procedures, a fair business environment and proactive provincial leadership in solving problems for enterprises. However, entrepreneurs expect the region to further improve labour quality and administrative procedures while increasing consultations with businesses to tackle difficulties, he said. The Mekong Delta spans 40,576 sq. km and has 13 cities and provinces, namely Can Tho, An Giang, Ben Tre, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Long An, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh and Vinh Long. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/mekong-delta-has-good-economic-governance/109887.vnp

Vietnam develops logistics services for exports 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VOV Logistics services play an important role in connecting transportation and socio-economic development. Logistics in Vietnam is gradually improving, helping domestic exporters and importers cut costs and increase their competitiveness against foreign rivals. Vietnam now has more than 1,300 logistics firms including foreign companies. The domestic logistics market is estimated at $22 billion per year, accounting for almost 21 percent of the national GDP. The annual World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report shows that Vietnam is ranked below many other regional countries because of lagging transportation services. According to the World Bank, Vietnam's logistics ranks 64th of 160 countries around the world and 4th within Asean after Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Vietnamese logistic companies are mostly small or medium-sized, scattered in different areas and lacking connectivity. "A lower transportation volume makes logistic costs in Vietnam more expensive than many other countries. It costs about $40,000 for logistics services in a populated area in the UK but the figure in Vietnam can reach $140,000," said Tran Anh Vuong, Secretary general of the Vietnam Private Economic Forum. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Export-Import Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Vietnam has sufficient conditions to develop its logistics industry thanks to its bustling export-import market whose revenues exceeded $300 billion last year. Improving domestic logistic services will create a major breakthrough for exports. "First, a legal framework for the logistics sector should be completed along with more policies to support its growth. Second, we'll upgrade transportation infrastructure ranging from bridges, roads, stations, and ports to warehouses and logistics centers," Hai said. The prime minister recently issued a decision to boost the competitiveness of Vietnam's logistics service by 2025, under which logistics will contribute 8-10 percent of GDP to make Vietnam one of the world's 50 leading logistics services providers. "We hope that logistics companies will receive the most favourable conditions to operate efficiently, including access to preferential loans. This is the foundation for SMEs to run well," said Chair of the Vietnam Logistics Association (VLA) Le Huy Hiep. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-develops-logistics-services-for-exports-346527.vov

Leather and footwear exports could reach $26 billion by 2020 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS Vietnam is targeting to earn between $24 billion to $26 billion from leather and footwear exports by 2020 under a revised plan for leather and footwear industry development until 2025 with a vision to 2035. The Ministry of Industry and Trade held a seminar in HCM City on April 7 to collect comments from experts and enterprises in the industry on the revised plan. According to the revised plan's overall objectives, the leather and footwear industry will develop at a high speed to maintain its position as one of the country's key export industries and create more jobs with improved incomes for workers. Implementing better corporate social responsibility and raising the number of trained labourers are other objectives of the project. Under the revised plan, the sector's annual production value is expected to grow by 11.62 per cent in the 2016-20 period, 8.87 per cent in the 2021-25 period and 6.04 per cent in 2026-35 period. In addition, it would strive to achieve an annual export growth rate of 10-15 per cent in the 2016-20 period, 8-9 per cent in the 2021-25 period and 4-5 per cent in the 2026-35 period, with export revenues expected to reach $24-26 billion by 2020, $35-38 billion by 2025 and $50-60 billion by 2035. It also targets to raise the local content rate in footwear products to 45 per cent by 2020, 47 per cent by 2025 and 55 per cent by 2035. Assessing the implementation of the master plan for Vietnam's leather and footwear industry development until 2020 with a vision to 2025, which was approved in 2010, Nguyen Mạnh Khoi, deputy director of the Leather and Footwear Research Institute, said after five years of executing the plan, the Vietnamese leather and footwear industry has developed strongly and made positive contributions to the country's economy. Some targets set out in the master plan have been implemented quite well, such as basically completing the equitisation of State-owned enterprises, and forming joint ventures and cooperating with all economic sectors, which created conditions for businesses in the sector to thrive. The sector has invested in upgrading equipment, building new large-scale plants with advanced equipment and technology to raise the production capacity for the sector, he said. Most of the companies have applied a management system in accordance with ISO 9000, ISO 14000, SA 8000, as well as perform corporate social responsibility. But some targets have not been accomplished, he said. For instance, the local content rate in products remained low at about 35-40 per cent, he said, adding that the number of enterprises applying automation in designing and developing products is also modest. Other targets, including the transformation of product structure and establishing a specialised industrial zone for the sector, especially for leather tanning, have not been done, he said. Delegates at the seminar said demand for raw materials would also surge strongly, and so if supporting industry is not developed in the coming years, the industry would have to depend greatly on imports, which would make it hard to accomplish its targets. There are some 1,700 enterprises in the sector in Vietnam, of which 800 are large. Foreign-invested enterprises account for 80 per cent of the sector's exports. Leather and footwear products are among Vietnam's key export items, with exports reaching $16.2 billion last year, accounting for 10 per cent of the country's total exports. They are expected to top $17.88 billion this year. The country is the third largest footwear maker and second largest exporter in the world. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374315/leather-and-footwear-exports-could-reach-26 billion-by- 2020.html

Hanoi expects to have 40,000 new enterprises in 2017 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA Hanoi expects to have 40,000 new enterprises in 2017, with about 30-35 percent of them operating in the innovation and creativity fields. The city also plans to establish a service area to support start-ups in the year. To realise the targets, the municipal authorities have taken various measures, focusing on administrative reform and preferential policies. Enterprises will be supported through programmes and projects, helping them improve competitiveness and build brands. Newly-established enterprises are expected to create jobs for 150,000 labourers, and contribute 40 percent to the city's GDP. Last year, the number of newly-established firms in Hanoi was 36,442. Most of these operate in real estate, health care and social assistance and education-training. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hanoi-expects-to-have-40000-new-enterprises-in-2017/109881.vnp

HCM City set on goal of 500,000 businesses by 2020 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA A HCM City leader has instructed all municipal departments and districts to map out specific plans and measures to encourage household businesses to transform into enterprises towards the goal of developing 500,000 enterprises by 2020. At a recent conference on implementing the business development plan, Le Thanh Liem, vice Chair of the municipal People's Committee also stressed the quality of businesses while working towards the goal. He told the conference that the municipal People's Committee has put forward strategic measures, with the focus on reforming administrative procedures, creating a favourable environment for startup and innovation businesses, and ensuring equality among businesses in accessing loans and business opportunities. Meanwhile, Tran Thi Binh Minh, deputy director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, stressed the need for synchronous measure to support both the operation of existing firms and the transformation of household businesses. She suggested that it is necessary to popularise the benefits of the transformation and provide assistance to household businesses in the form of consultation on business establishment and tax declaration procedures as well as help in product marketing. Sharing the same viewpoint, deputy director of the municipal Tax Department Le Duy Minh stated that his department has introduced a support programme designed specifically for start-ups, including both newly-established and transformed firms. Regarding the goal of 60,000 businesses in 2017, Liem said that it is feasible as the number of new enterprises is estimated at 43,000, while the municipal People's Committee assigned the target of transforming 20,000 household businesses for districts. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-set-on-goal-of-500000-businesses-by-2020/109905.vnp

Vietnam's transport ministry rejects airfare floor price proposal 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vnexpress The ministry has decided to keep the floor price at zero. Vietnam will not set a floor price for air tickets despite proposals by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and its subsidiary Jetstar Pacific, a government minister has said. "If airlines are able to lower their prices, why should we stop them?" Transport minister Truong Quang Nghia said at a meeting Friday. "Our job is to make sure price cuts and promotions adhere to the law," he told a ministry meeting. Regulations on air tickets will remain unchanged, and no floor price will be set. The ceiling price may be adjusted from time to time. Last month, Vietnam Airlines suggested a floor price for domestic air fares of between VND1.54 million and VND4.2 million ($68-$185). Jetstar Pacific, one of Vietnam's two budget airlines, proposed the floor be set at between VND600,000 and VND1.2 million. But VietJet Air, the country's only private airliner, said setting a price floor is not a common rule worldwide and is against Vietnam's competition law. Vietnam Airlines has been offering air fares starting from VND800,000, but cited a drop of nearly 20 percent in average spending per passenger as well as higher fuel prices and foreign exchange rates as reasons to introduce a floor price. Vietnam's aviation market has potential for expansion after annual growth of 29 percent in 2016, with passengers reaching 52.2 million, based on data of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. Cashing in on low fuel prices and budget airlines, the new Vietnamese middle class are flying in ever- greater numbers within Southeast Asia. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/vietnam-s-transport-ministry-rejects-airfare-floor-price- proposal-3567077.html

Transforming auto assembly to component manufacturing 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VOV Despite all the fanfare in the local media about the growing consumer demand for autos in Vietnam, domestic assembly of vehicles has always lagged far behind the country's Southeast Asian peers. Factually, Vietnam has never been a manufacturer of autos as many press reports profess, but rather a more accurate statement would be that the country has had a fledging automotive assembly industry. In 2015, the auto assemblers operating in the country churned out only an estimated 250,000 vehicles, compared to the more than 2.9 million imports from Thailand and Indonesia. Much of the lack of competitiveness can be attributable to the fact that the localisation rate for autos has historically been only about 10 percent, meaning that 90 percent of the components of the vehicle must be imported from other countries, which has always added substantial cost. The production cost per vehicle in Vietnam has been at least 20 percent higher than that of neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia for the past several years, the automotive assemblers in the segment have said. Had it not been for protectionist measures such as high import tariffs, they added, the industry would have died years ago as they have been the only thing that has kept it afloat. However, with the coming into force of the Asean Economic Community and once the border tax on auto imports is eliminated in its entirety - it will no longer make good economic sense to assemble cars in Vietnam. Logically, companies like Toyota and Ford will inevitably shift their production away to other countries Given that the auto assembly segment is doomed, Chris Humphrey, the managing director of the Asean- EU Business Council, has gotten out front of the issue and is promoting transforming the segment into a parts and component manufacturer for assemblers based in other countries such as Thailand and Indonesia. In other words, Humphrey is suggesting the industry transform from low value assembly work to high value component manufacturing. Currently there are some advocating for the Vietnam government to introduce legislation to create special consumption taxes on imported vehicles to raise funds to continue to subsidise or prop up the assembly industry. Humphrey argues that this really amounts to nothing more than trying to circumvent the Asean and other free trade agreements. Those that support these protectionist measures did not want free trade to begin with - and would have preferred bilateral trade agreements keeping in place protectionist measures for the assembly segment. But why anyone would go to such great lengths to protect unprofitable assembly work is hard to understand when there are much more lucrative alternatives. It is important to keep in mind that the forces driving the increased consumer demand for autos in Vietnam is the rise in the middle income ranks among the population, leading economists have said. The momentum in higher incomes among the populous can only continue by shifting the economy from low value to high value industries whether those segments be in the manufacturing, retail or any other sector of the economy. Vietnam imported 19,000 units in the first quarter of 2017, a 69 percent jump from the same three month period a year ago, customs data showed. The import surge comes as higher salaries and wages drive Vietnamese consumers to switch from motorbikes to autos, with more than half of the imported autos classified as midsize sedans, according to the same data. english.vov.vn/economy/transforming-auto-assembly-to-component-manufacturing-347206.vov

VNREA pushes for low-cost housing policy 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNS The Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA) has again proposed that the government formulate policies for developing small, inexpensive apartments smaller than 75sq m and cheaper than VND15 million per sq m. At its annual meeting held in the central Binh Dịnh Province last week, the VNREA drew up five proposals to be submitted to the government. The association has proposed the reduction of value-added and corporate income tax for cheap housing projects, and has recommended that such projects get preference for land funds and bank loans. VNREA's chair Nguyen Tran Nam said the market still faces risks such as unbalanced goods structure, meaning, the demand from a majority of the population is for mid- and low-cost houses, while most projects in the market are high-end. "The market lacks products that suit the finances of the majority. The two big cities of Hanoi and HCM City have only a small number of new apartments priced under VND20 million per sq m," Nam said. Projects, especially in large cities, are not coming up based on demand in specific localities. The development of social housing projects has been slow as capital and policies are not in sync with market reality. The VND30 trillion housing stimulus package, launched in 2014, supported low-income buyers, and people were given a preferential interest rate of 5 per cent for within 15 years. However, after the package period got over, no new credit policies have been introduced to encourage cheap apartment projects, said Phạm Sỹ Liem, former deputy minister of construction. "The government should focus on credit for the development of low-cost housing projects. Developers selling apartments for VND10-15 million per sq m should get access to preferential loans," he said. Liem pointed out that many countries have such policies in place to encourage low-cost housing projects. Last November, the association made a similar proposal to the National Assembly on the local real estate market after it met in October. The VNREA has also asked local authorities to determine the ratio of social, commercial and high-end housing projects, to balance the real estate demand. Based on real demand, localities should make decisions on granting land and construction. The association has also suggested a collaboration between the ministries and the State Bank of Vietnam to fix suitable credit resources and avoid concentration on only certain market segments. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/374296/vnrea-pushes-for-low-cost-housing- policy.html#uRMeIJWzjjHuFpl4.97

Vietnam's aging population expected to work longer in future 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | Vietnamnet The World Bank has estimated that by 2030, nearly one-fifth of Vietnamese will enter old age and around 40 percent of the population aged 70-74 will still have to work, mostly in the unofficial labour market. Nguyen Thi Be, about 60, from Thai Binh province, has been living and working as a housemaid for a family in Hanoi for nearly one decade. Thai Binh was considered the rice granary in the north. However, Be said, the rice fields in her homeland have been left uncultivated for years. It is because farmers now cannot earn their living only on field work. Be said there are many local people like her: they have left the countryside for large cities where they find the jobs as hired workers for factories or households. The income they get from the jobs is just high enough to cover their basic needs, but it is higher than the income from farm work. With no social insurance, no accumulative assets and no support from children, they have to work hard in difficult conditions, and in many cases, in conflict with the laws. Official reports all show that Vietnam is getting richer, but the number of people like Be has been increasing rapidly. A report of the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) on the economic growth in rural areas released in 2015 showed that rural people are getting poorer. In 2014, farmers' net income was VND51.7 million per annum, much lower than VND84.7 million in 2012. The number of rural people unsatisfied with their lives increased by six percentage points, from 50.1 percent in 2012 to 56.1 percent in 2014. Pham Quang Tu from Oxfram Vietnam warned that the situation may be even gloomier. The unemployment rate among the working-age population is increasing. The situation is unlikely to improve as private firms are struggling in the open market and meeting difficulties in accessing capital and technology resources. If the economy does not provide enough jobs for working-age people, the number of older people who still have to work to earn their living will increase. It is foreseeable that the 'golden population' period in Vietnam would be over in 10 years. By that time, the people at working age will become old, who, together with those losing their work capability, will be a burden on the pension fund. According to the World Bank, by 2030, nearly one fifth of the population will enter old age, while the figure would be 30 percent by 2050. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/175880/vietnam-s-aging-population-expected-to-work-longer- in-future.html

Vietnam among top five foreign investors in Cambodia 10/Apr/2017 Intellasia | VNA With 183 valid projects worth 2.85 billion USD by the end of December 2016, Vietnam continues to be among the top five foreign investors in Cambodia. Vietnam is now the third biggest trade partner of Cambodia, with two-way trade reaching 3 billion USD in 2016. In the first two months of 2017, bilateral trade hit 624.1 million, up 21.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The two countries are striving to increase the figure to 5 billion USD. The figures were released by Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Thach Du at a recent business conference. He attributed thriving trade ties to the two countries' friendship, close geographic location and government support, adding that there is potential for further economic cooperation. Organised by the Vietnam Embassy in Cambodia, the conference gathered some 100 Vietnamese investors in the country, including the Vietnam Rubber Group and Metfone - an arm of the military-run telecommunication group Viettel. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-among-top-five-foreign-investors-in-cambodia/109878.vnp

Apec adopts Support Industry Initiative 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member economies have adopted the Support Industry Initiative proposed by Japan and Vietnam. The initiative aims to evaluate polices and experience in developing Vietnam's modern support industry, through which Vietnam will partner with Japan and the Apec Policy Support Unit to devise a set of policy guidelines and good governance practices on Apec Support Industry, which are expected to be submitted to the Apec Joint Diplomatic-Economic ministerial Meeting later this year. Mac Quoc Anh, vice Chair and general Secretary of the Hanoi Small and Medium Enterprises Association, underscored the importance of the initiative because 97 percent of Vietnamese businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He said supporting SMEs is a necessary task, saying that they create jobs, value and stability while State- owned enterprises attract as much as 80 percent of domestic capital but create a mere 20 percent of value. Luong Hoang Thai, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Multilateral Trade Policy Department, described the development of the support industry as a strategic choice of Apec member economies. He added that one of the pillars of Apec Year 2017 is creating a driving force for its member economies to further integrate into the regional and global supply, manufacturing and value chain while promoting support industries and services. http://english.vov.vn/economy/apec-adopts-support-industry-initiative-347261.vov

Asean finance ministers commit to promoting economic growth 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNA Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have agreed to promote economic growth and financial integration, and strengthen financial stability in the region. The commitment was detailed in a joint statement, which was issued at the third Finance ministers and Asean Central Governors' Joint Meeting, which concluded in Cebu, the Philippines on April 7. According to the joint statement, Asean's finance ministers and central bank governors pledged to pursue the bloc's objectives to build a highly integrated and cohesive economy, which is competitive, innovative, and dynamic, through intra-bloc cooperation. They also committed to bolstering cooperation among regional countries, towards achieving the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by 2025 and establish a strong associated capital market of the region, and ensure effective development of Asean Green Bond Initiatives. Participants also adopted a financial initiative, which aims help Asean member nations access more financial products and services. They stressed the need for regional countries to reinforce their production sectors to meet domestic demand, saying that this is key factor to promote economic development in the region. Participants affirmed that policies related to economic restructuring, public expenditure, and financial stimulus programmes will help attract more investment flows to the region. During the meeting, measures to promote use of a common currency in trade transaction, investment and payment among Asean member nations was also tabled. Participants also focused their discussion on how to help the bloc's member nations enhance capacity to recover their economy after natural disasters. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/government/176176/asean-finance-ministers-commit-to-promoting- economic-growth.html

VN to reach GDP of 6.5pct this year 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is projected to increase modestly to 6.5 per cent this year and 6.7 per cent in 2018. This is according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Outlook 2017, released in Hanoi on Monday. ADB country director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick said agricultural output was expected to pick up in 2017, given the outlook for higher global food prices and a return to better weather. However, the sector continues to underperform relative to the rest of the Vietnamese economy, dragging overall growth down, he said. Agriculture has been a significant driver of growth, poverty reduction, food security and exports since the government began reforming the sector in the late 1980s. However, in recent years, in the face of growing international competition and low domestic labour productivity, the sector's growth has slowed to an average of just 2 per cent per annum since 2011. Labour productivity is seen as key factor. The report highlights that agriculture output per worker in Vietnam is one-third of Indonesia's and less than half of Thailand's and the Philippines'. "While Vietnam continues to address the worsening impact of climate change on agriculture, deeper reforms and higher investment in the sector will be critical to boost agricultural productivity and long-run growth that is inclusive and environmentally sustainable," Sidgwick said. "The most important thing is how to utilise the land. Land should be consolidated and the profitability of farmers should be improved," Sidgwick said. The report stresses that to transform agriculture, a number of major policy challenges will need to be addressed, including introducing greater competition in agricultural supply chains and post-harvest processing, developing rural infrastructure to support higher value-adding cash crops, adopting more sustainable natural resource management practices and better integrating climate change considerations into policy making processes. As Vietnam recovers from its most severe drought in a decade, boosting growth of the sector will be vital for the country to achieve its aspiration of becoming an upper-middle income nation by 2030. As for foreign direct investment (FDI), with record FDI in 2016 and new commitments, ADB says the disbursement is likely to rise in 2017 and 2018. In the first quarter of this year, the disbursement reached $3.6 billion, up 3.4 per cent from last year. The outlook also highlights that as growth strengthens, inflation is expected to edge up to 4 per cent this year and 5 per cent next year. The expected rise in world food and fuel prices, higher US interest rates and a stronger dollar will add to imported inflation. Another likely source of inflation is the continued implementation of the government roadmap on administered prices for education, health, electricity, water tariffs and minimum wages. Merchandise exports are seen rising by an annual rate of 10 per cent over the next two years as new foreign-invested factories start producing and new trade agreements take effect. "Imports are likely to rise even faster as larger FDI inflows draw in additional import of capital goods and manufacturing inputs. The current account surplus is thus expected to moderate to 2 per cent of the GDP this year and 2.5 per cent in 2018," the outlook noted. Public debt pressures have prompted the government to set ambitious targets for the budget deficit, reining it to the equivalent of 3.5 per cent of the GDP this year and holding it to some 4 per cent next year. However, most of the reduction in the fiscal deficit would be due to higher receipts from the sale of equity in State-owned enterprises, which the government treats as revenue. On the expenditure side, the government plans to cut recurrent expenditure by 6 per cent while raising capital expenditure by 36 per cent. "Achieving fiscal consolidation over the medium term will be challenging and require deeper tax reform, better revenue administration and much more efficient public expenditure," the outlook stated. vietnamnews.vn/economy/374410/vn-to-reach-gdp-of-65-this-year.html#Zi5g7Q8pKUoFbwQ8.99

ADB revises up Vietnam economic growth forecast for 2017 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress The new growth rate is still lower than the target set by the government of 6.7 percent last year. Vietnam's economy is projected to grow 6.5 percent this year, the Asian Development Bank said in a new report released on Monday, adjusting its forecast of 6.3 percent made in September last year. The bank said growth could pick up to 6.7 percent next year. With strong growth in manufacturing and services likely to continue, a modest pickup in agriculture and mining output should also give a boost to the economy, the Manila-based lender said. Manufacturing will be lifted by more new foreign-invested factories on the back of record foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursements pledged last year, according to the ADB. Construction will continue to benefit from high FDI disbursements for new factories, housing and continued high investment in transport and energy. Growth in services, strong in 2016, is projected to remain strong in 2017 and 2018, with tourist arrivals rising thanks to a new e-marketing campaign launched recently by the government. As growth strengthens, inflation is expected to edge up by 4 percent this year, and 5 percent in 2018. The expected rise in global food and fuel prices and higher US interest rates will add to inflation. Another likely source of inflation is the continued implementation of the government's road map on prices for education, health, electricity, water and minimum wages. Eric Sidgwick, ADB's country director for Vietnam, said agriculture has been a significant driver of growth, poverty reduction and exports since the government reformed the sector in the late 1980s by removing trade barriers and abolishing collective farming. But stronger competition from international rivals and low domestic productivity has slowed agricultural growth to only 2 percent annually since 2011, he said. The ADB also addressed the worsening impacts of climate change on agriculture, saying Vietnam is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with agriculture particularly at risk because it relies heavily on stable agro-ecological and climatic conditions. Aside from drought, water resources will likely be affected by increasingly unreliable river flow patterns, which force farmers to depend more on groundwater, it said. In November last year, the government set an economic growth target of 6.7 percent in 2017, and an inflation rate at 4 percent. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/adb-revises-up-vietnam-economic-growth-forecast-for- 2017-3568269.html

Agriculture reform vital for Vietnam to lift growth: ADB 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| DTI News A transformation of Vietnam's agriculture sector is vital for lifting growth and enabling Vietnam to graduate to upper-middle-income status, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a new report launched Monday. The Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2017 forecasts Vietnam's economy to grow by 6.5 percent in 2017 and 6.7 percent in 2018, as a result of rising activity in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, banking and tourism sectors. The report notes that continued record levels of foreign direct investment will boost domestic manufacturing while at the same time helping to lift Vietnam's export earnings even though global and regional trade flows will remain depressed. Vietnam's rapidly expanding middle-class, which is expected to double in size by 2030 to 33 million, will also help to push up consumer spending and boost retail activity. Agricultural output is expected to pick up modestly in 2017 given the outlook for higher global food prices and a return to more normal weather. However the report highlights that the sector continues to underperform relative to the rest of the Vietnamese economy, dragging down overall growth. According to ADB Country director for Vietnam, Eric Sidgwick, agriculture has been a significant driver of growth, poverty reduction, food security, and exports since the government began reforming the sector in the late 1980s. However, in recent years, in the face of growing international competition and low domestic labour productivity, the sector's growth has slowed to an average of just 2 percent per annum since 2011. The report highlights that agriculture output per worker in Vietnam is one-third of Indonesia's and less than half of Thailand's and the Philippines'. The report also emphasizes that as Vietnam recovers from its most severe drought in a decade, boosting growth in the agriculture sector will be vital for Vietnam to achieve its aspirations of becoming an upper-middle income country. "While Vietnam continues to address the worsening impacts of climate change on agriculture, deeper reforms and higher investment in the sector will be critical to boost agricultural productivity and long-run growth that is inclusive and environmentally sustainable," Sidgwick said. The report stresses that to transform agriculture a number of major policy challenges will need to be addressed - including introducing greater competition into agricultural supply-chains and postharvest processing, developing rural infrastructure to support higher-value adding cash crops, adopting more sustainable natural resource management practices, and better integrating climate change considerations into policy making processes. www.dtinews.vn/en/news/018/50353/agriculture-reform-vital-for-vietnam-to-lift-growth--adb.html

Garment, textile exports expected to increase by 10 per cent 11/Apr/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam's garment and textile exports may increase by 10 per cent this year if there are not adverse fluctuations in the global market, according to the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). Pham Minh Huong, Vinatex's managing director, said the garment and textile industry earned $28.5 billion from exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 5.2 per cent. Vietnam has advantages in making products for middle-class customers. With prolonged economic difficulties in the world market in recent years, the number of mid-end orders also fell, and importers shifted to import cheap products. That is why the industry's growth rate fell last year, she said. "But the number of orders increased significantly in the first months of the year, which is a good sign for the industry," she said. Vietnam's garment and textile sector has certain advantages, including diverse products, a higher level of quality and better skilled labour force than countries with a similar development level. In addition, with its steady production, ensured quality and delivery time and services, as well as stable political situation, Vietnam is considered a main destination for garment and textile products, she said. Pham Xuan Hong, chair of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting (AGTEK), told Vietnam News that many enterprises have many orders until the second quarter of the year. Enterprises were linking up each other to fulfill large orders, said Hong, who is also general director of Saigon 3 Garment Joint Stock Company. Hong said Saigon 3 expected to enjoy a growth rate of 10 per cent this year, with Japan being its largest importer. Both Hong and Huong believe that the industry's value addition has been low since enterprises mainly do sub-contracting work for foreign buyers, lack design capacity, and rely on imported materials. Domestic supply for fabric remains modest, Huong said, adding that domestic and foreign firms have invested more in fabric production to meet domestic demand. Speaking at a conference held on the sidelines of Saigon Tex 2017 held in HCM City from April 5 to 8, many delegates urged enterprises to switch their production methods to FOB (free on board) and ODM (original design manufacturer) to add value to products. Proceeding to higher production methods to enhance added value in products is an inevitable trend, said Nguyen Dinh Truong, deputy chair of the Việt Nam Textile and Apparel Association. Businesses should thoroughly prepare for such methods, focusing on material market research and producing on demand from their partners, he said. Some delegates at the seminar said they were afraid that the garment and textile industry would not reach its export target for the year amid drastic competition. In addition, the increase in labour costs has affected the competitiveness of businesses, said Le Quang Hung, chair and general director of Sai Gon Garment Trading Joint Stock Company. Huong said to retain competitiveness, enterprises need to invest more in modern technology with higher automation features to improve productivity, save energy consumption and protect the environment. In addition, they should develop similar products that compete with countries that have competitive advantages in those items, she said. Besides prices and quality, large buyers have also paid attention to environmental requirements of products when they seek suppliers, she said. http://bizhub.vn/news/garment-textile-exports-expected-to-increase-by-10-per-cent_285393.html

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