finance & business news 21 June 2021

FINANCE ...... 2 IPs in Dong Nai take measures to prevent COVID spread Reference exchange rate up strongly at week's beginning 2 from HCM City 35 Bank deposits grow slowly amid low interest rates 2 Contactless delivery in pandemic in HCM City 35 Delicate balance needed to address 's property Hairdressers, manicurists make house calls to survive Covid 36 risks: HSBC. 2 Coworking space companies respond to Covid with new solutions 37 Credit increases steadily, where has capital flown? 3 HCM City business premises rents continue downward spiral 38 TPBank approved to increase charter capital by VND1 trillion 4 Bac Giang compiles three scenarios for lychee WB warns of shrinking production amid COVID-19 outbreak 5 consumption amid Covid-19 39 Positive factors in place for economic growth in 2021 6 Points of sale in quarantine areas proposed to resume Vietnam's path to prosperity 8 operations soon 40 Will 24 years be enough for Vietnam to become a Free rides to COVID vaccination centres: Gojek's week-long offer 40 developed country with high income? 9 Japfa Vietnam donates $1 million to the COVID-19 vaccine fund 40 Overhaul in motion for ODA utilisation 11 Taiwanese footwear maker suspends 18,000 workers Multitude of options on table for further tax interventions 13 over Covid-19 linkage 41 Squid exports to continue to surge 15 Many provinces and cities ask for 5G coverage 41 Fertiliser prices continue to increase: MoIT 15 Vietnamese lychees confident of winning over consumer Feed price increase drives fish farmers to dispair 16 taste in Netherlands 42 Origin fraud may erode Vietnamese rice's prestige: insiders 16 E-commerce platforms unwilling to pay taxes on sellers' behalf 43 Garment production may slow down over Covid-19 17 Firms stand ready for digital transformation in agriculture 43 committed to cooperating closely with Vietnam Trading with a digital tint 44 for post-pandemic recovery 18 Breaking through prejudices holding back female founders 46 Argentina hopes for strategic partnership with Vietnam: HCM City proposes railway connecting Tan Son Nhat ambassador 19 and Long Thanh airports 48 Vietnam ready to assist Tanzania in agricultural development: Shophouse Metro Start on right track for completion ambassador 20 with Metro Line 1 48 VN to develop eco-friendly construction materials 20 HCM City lifts lockdown at SP-ITC container port 49 Experts support proposal to open fuel market to foreign investors 21 Helping others make informed decisions 50 Bac Lieu to expand large-scale agricultural production 22 CAAV discusses establishment of VN's first cargo airline 52 Long An improves efficiency of public investment 23 Vietnam Airlines gets nod to operate flights to Canada 52 Long An to have 4 new industrial clusters this year 23 Don't delay moves in developing a small business Many enterprises return to domestically-made raw materials 24 restructuring plan 53 Coffee chains still grow amid pandemic 25 First gas pumped out of Su Tu Trang oil field in phase 2A 54 Property market to face three big pressures: expert 26 Digital foundations for increased SME agility 55 Demand for industrial land frozen amid Covid 27 Thuduc House sells stakes in divestment spree 57 Resort real estate sales plummet over Covid-19 impacts 27 SABECO to support national football teams for one year 57 BIZ NEWS ...... 28 For Sanofi, environmental protection is part of business 58 VN Index hits new peak on strong cash flow 28 Norway provides $1.3 million for waste management Shares to move up but investors should be cautious 28 project in Vietnam 59 Beverage stocks face more challenges despite positive First outdoor festival held in Paris 60 results in Q1 29 International expo on support industries slated for October 60 Factors keeping capital flowing into Vietnam stock market remain unchanged. 30 Government urged to require universal Covid-prevention regulations in all provinces 31 Public transport vehicles and app-based cars suspended in HCM City 33 JUNE 20: Sinopharm vaccine arrivals in Vietnam 33 Technologya prong in COVID-19 response strategy 34

Intellasia Tel: +844 2213 2244 No. 21, lane 173/63/17, Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh Dist, Fax: +844 3759 2034 © All Rights Reserved Email: [email protected] Websites: www.Intellasia.Net www.TriTueAChau.com Vietnam finance & business 21 June 2021 FINANCE FINANCE Reference exchange 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA rate up strongly at The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,167 VND per week's beginning USD on June 21, up 19 VND from the last working day of previous week (June 18). With the current trading band of +/- 3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial bank during the day is 23,862 VND/USD and the floor rate 22,572 VND/USD. The rates listed at commercial banks all went up strongly. At 8:40 am, the rates at Vietcombank stood at 22,870 VND/USD (buying) and 23,100 VND/USD (selling), both up 40 VND from June 18. BIDV added 35 VND to both rates, listing the buying rate at 22,900 VND and the sell- ing rate at 23,100 VND/USD. During the week from June 14 to June 18, the daily reference exchange rate was adjust- ed down on Monday but then around to follow an upward trend until the end of the week. It ended the week up 49 VND compared to the rate on Monday./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-up-strongly-at-weeks-beginning/ 203362.vnp

Bank deposits grow 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS

FINANCE slowly amid low Bank deposits made by individuals in the first four months were up a mere VND120 interest rates trillion ($5.2 billion) year-on-year, the lowest rate of increase in the last six years. The increase was only half that in the same period in 2019, the year before the Covid- 19 pandemic broke out. Since the end of 2019, deposit interest rates have fallen by 1.5-2.5 percentage points. The State Bank of Vietnam has also cut policy rates as banks have large amount of cash while businesses struggle to borrow as a result of the pandemic's impacts. Analysts said people are withdrawing money from bank accounts to invest in stocks, a new asset class for many Vietnamese, as they seek to make quick profits in a booming market. Over 113,000 trading accounts were opened last month, the highest monthly figure ev- er. Trading on the main bourse, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, in May rose by 53 per- cent from December to VND438.75 trillion. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/bank-deposits-grow-slowly- amid-low-interest-rates-4296560.html

Delicate balance 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| HANOI TIMES needed to address The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is facing a delicate balance of curtailing excessive Vietnam's property lending to real estate developers while reducing imminent Covid-19 risks to the sector, risks: HSBC. according to HSBC. Referring the property sector as an increasing source of growth for Vietnam, the bank in its latest report noted real estate activity in the country accounts for 8 percent of the GDP, while the ratio in Asean is between 5 percent and 15%. "The memory of a housing bubble of 2007-12, which ultimately led to a prolonged banking crisis, looms large in the collective conscience. Even after a gradual recovery in the banking sector, real estate loans continue to account for a large proportion of bank balance sheets," noted the HSBC. While some banks do not have a specific classification on loans to the real estate sector, balance sheets of the "Big-4" SOE banks [Vietcombank, Vietinbank, BIDV, Agribank] reveal a key linkage with the associated construction sector, stated the bank. As the real estate market has been hit by the pandemic, there are signs that it is recov- ering. Although output fell in year-on-year terms in the second and third quarters of last year, it registered a strong rebound from the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, property prices continue to rise, partly due to accommodative monetary policy that offers low-interest rates and abundant liquidity, along with a sharp rise in the price of luxury condos, growing 9 percent year-on-year 2020 vs. a 4-5 percent price increase in the mid-end and affordable segments. Demand for luxury and high-end properties remains elevated, with their market share increasing from less than 30 percent of total units sold in 2019 to more than 70 percent in 2020. According to the HSBC, FDI data suggests that even though new FDI inflows into the

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real estate sector increased more than 200 percent year-on-year as of May, FDI was largely concentrated in manufacturing. "This means that price rises are mainly due to domestic investors," noted HSBC. Rising housing prices limit the central bank for further rate cuts Along with price rises, there has been a surge in credit channeling into the sector, prompting the SBV to called for commercial banks to enhance their risk management operations. Statistics data suggests that credit growth in the real estate sector accelerated to 15 per- cent year-on-year in January and February, exceeding the SBV's target of 12%. "If the property market shows more signs of overheating, there is scope for the SBV to do more, such as introducing more restrictive macro-prudential measures or further tighten its quantitative [credit] quota. That being said, there is also a risk that the most recent wave of Covid-19 may complicate the process, given the adverse impact on Vi- etnam's growth," stated the HSBC. Over the years, the SBV seems to have used the monetary policy as a tool to support FINANCE growth whereas it uses macro-prudential policies to manage property market risks, it added. "Still, we expect rising housing prices to constrain the SBV's ability to deliver any fur- ther rate cuts," added the HSBC, while noting fiscal policy should be tasked with the burden of providing immediate targeted support amid the latest outbreak of Covid-19. So far, the Ministry of Finance has proposed extending fee reductions for another six months until the end of 2021. " It is encouraging to see that the authorities are concerned that the housing market may run away from economic fundamentals, and are thus keeping an eye on the coun- try's real estate market. If needed, tighter macro-prudential policies could be used to further contain risks. That being said, this requires a delicate balance, given increasing downside risks to growth," concluded the HSBC. https://vietnamnet.vn/en/business/delicate-balance-needed-to-address-vietnam-s- property-risks-hsbc-747528.html

Credit increases 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| BAO DAU TU steadily, where has According to Nguyen Tuan Anh, director of the Credit Department for Economic Sec- capital flown? tors under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), by the end of May 2021, the credit growth of the entire economy was about 4.9%. Thus, credit has recovered strongly compared to the same period of 2020 (two percent) and is close to the normal level compared to the time before the Covid-19 occurrence (the credit growth in the first five months of 2019 was nearly six percent). Although commercial banks have not released their financial statements, many banks said that their credit in the first five months increased very positively and proposed for an extension of credit growth limit. Nguyen Thanh Tung, deputy general director of Commercial Joint Stock Bank for (Vietcombank), said that as of May 20th 2-21, Vietcombank has used up more than half of its limit for the whole year and is expecting to get a loosening from 10.5 percent to 14%. In addition to Vietcombank, many other banks have also estimated to have used at least two third of their credit growth limit for the whole year and requested for an ex- tension of the credit growth room. The questions are whether it is unusual when credit grew by nearly five percent in the first five months of the year in the context when the economy is still heavily affected by the epidemic, whether capital has flown into securities, real estate sectors, or wheth- er banks have shaken hands with businesses in debt rollover. Talking to reporter of Bao Dau tu, Dr Dinh The Hien an economist, said that with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the first half of 2021 forecasted at 5.8%, the credit growth of five percent is reasonable, as banks' capital has helped GDP grow. The problem is about the credit quality, whether the credit flows have been directed in the right direction. A part of the credit has possibly been poured into difficult businesses with bad debts.

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"Credit has not been able to flow into production and business areas normally as in the 2017 2018 period because many businesses are stagnant and the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment is also slowing down. Therefore, the current credit, in addition to flowing into production and business, has partly flown into businesses which are stuck in debts and have to borrow to repay debts," said Dr Hien. The credit is recovering positively. However, the real estate market has several time been in a fever since the beginning of the year, while the stock market liquidity is cur- rent at a record high. There are opinions that the capital is flowing from bank credit to risky investment channels instead of being poured into production and business. Talk- ing about this, economist Dr Dinh Trong Thinh said that the SBV is controlling credit to real estate and securities very strictly. The massive inflows of capital into these two markets in the first half of 2021, according to Thinh, were not from bank loans, but from other channels (personal savings, margin loans from securities companies, etc.) "The economy is recovering fairly positively thanks to the good epidemic control of the government, along with the support of Circular 03/2021/TT-NHNN on debt restruc- FINANCE turing. The credit demand, thus, is much better than before. In the context when the SBV is strictly controlling lending to risky areas, Dr Thinh believes that credit is flow- ing right into production and business areas. Meanwhile, leaders of Commercial Joint Stock Bank for Agriculture and Rural Devel- opment of Vietnam (Agribank) and Vietcombank also affirmed with Bao Dau tu's re- porter that credit has mainly been poured into priority areas. In Agribank, real estate loans only account for over 1.3 percent of the total outstanding credit. Meanwhile, this number in Vietcombank is also not high, focusing on individual home buyers. Vietcombank's representative said that the reason for the strong credit growth in the first five months of 2021 is the good control of epidemic, and implementation of vacci- nation, making people and businesses feel secure to make investments and do busi- ness. In Vietcombank, the credit in the first five months focused on personal consumer loans' production and business loans; loans to businesses producing essential products such as renewable energy, garment and textile, leather shoes for export, petroleum trading, etc. The record high capital inflows into the stock market (approximately one billion US dollars per session) makes many people believe that capital has flown from bank credit to securities. However, the SBV's leader affirmed that the SBV has set limit for securi- ties loans. In fact, the outstanding loans to securities in the banking system was less than one percent, far from the allowed limit. For real estate credit alone, the SBV said that the real estate growth rate is much lower than the previous years, reaching 1,800 trillion dong by the end of April 2021, and also mainly serves the needs for buying houses of people. The business real estate loans (speculative) only account for 35 percent of the total outstanding real estate credit. The SBV's deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu affirmed that the SBV has taken strong measures on banks with signs of sharp increase in real estate loans. With the strong management measures of the SBV, Dr Hien believes that banks are more cautious with real estate credit. "Real estate credit is under strict control of the SBV, and the cash flows to securities sector are only short term. Therefore, I believe that the capital flows into production and business areas in the near future will not be affected," said Dr Hien.

TPBank approved to 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| DAU TU ONLINE increase charter The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued an official document approving Tien capital by VND1 Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) to increase its charter capital by one tril- trillion lion dong, bringing the total charter capital of the bank to more than 11.716 trillion dong. The additional capital will be mobilised in the form of private placement of shares approved by the bank's general Meeting of Shareholders at the end of April 2021. This capital increase will continue to help TPBank strengthen the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), enhance corporate capacity and increase the bank's resistance to difficul-

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ties of the economy, especially when TPBank has completed applying all three pillars of Basle II standards. The additional capital will also help the bank have a solid foun- dation to achieve its target of 5.8 trillion dong of profit this year, up by 32 percent com- pared to 2020. The business result report for the first quarter of 2021 showed that TPBank's total as- sets increased by 22.38 percent compared to the same period of 2020, reaching over 216 trillion dong. The mobilisation in market 1 was more than 144 trillion dong, up by 36.06%. The fast growth in total assets and mobilisation has strengthened the bank's capital base, facilitating the expansion of business activities. The total operating income of TPBank during this time was approximately 2.8 trillion dong, up by 15.17 percent compared to the first quarter of 2020. In the first quarter, the bank attained a pre-tax profit of over 1.422 trillion dong, up by 40.87 percent over the same period of last year. The net profit from service activities of TPBank in recent time has become one of the bright spots, showing the high efficiency of bank's diversification of revenue sources. FINANCE The bank's net income from services in the first three months of the year increased by approximately 80 percent over the same period of 2020. With the sharp rise in profit in the first quarter of 2021, TPBank continues to be includ- ed in the group of banks with the highest efficiency of capital use in the system. The bank's Return on Assets (ROA) was 2.16%, while the Return on Equity (ROE) was 26.24%. The capital use's efficiency of TPBank in the first three months of 2021 was also seen more clearly in its efforts to optimise capital, with the Cost to Income Ratio (CIR) falling from 39.69 percent in the end of 2020 to 35.2%. In the recent report on TPBank, Bao Viet Securities Company (BVS) has mentioned that TPBank has an optimistic business outlook in 2021. In addition to an outstanding digital banking platform, we like TPBank with its combina- tion of good liquidity and capital ratios, positive profit growth prospects, strong Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and improved asset quality," BVS's report emphasized.

WB warns of shrinking 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA production amid Vietnam needs to pay special attention to promoting development of industrial produc- COVID-19 outbreak tion and retail as both sectors may continue to be affected by COVID-19 outbreaks, accord- ing to the World Bank (WB). The bank said in a recent report that the fourth outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the sharp- est rise in the number of COVID-19 infections since the pandemic broke out in Vietnam early last year, forcing the government to carry out tougher travel restriction measures, es- pecially in main urban centres and several industrial parks. According to the report, industrial production in May exhibited high resilience by expand- ing by 1.6 percent month-on-month, but retail sales dropped by 3.1 percent as they were affected by social distancing and closure of shops. Vietnam's external economic position slightly eroded in May due to respective declines of 6.7 percent and 20 percent in merchandise exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments from the previous month. Domestic prices increased by 0.3 percent against April, driven by higher global commod- ity prices while credit expanded at a slower pace due to weakening economic activities and slightly higher interbank interest rates. The State budget registered a surplus of 86 trillion VND (3.7 billion USD) in the last five months, equivalent to 49.7 percent of the target set for the year, pushing the State revenue to rise by 15.2 percent year-on-year. Total budget expenditure decreased by 3.7 percent year-on-year to 581.6 trillion VND, mainly due to the decrease of public investment disbursement (down 16.5 percent year- on-year). The lack of materials for production causing high prices is one of the reasons behind the delay of public investment projects, WB experts said. Exports may also be affected by production contraction in some industrial zones, they add- ed.

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The Vietnamese government needs to consider adopting a more appropriate fiscal pol- icy to support individuals and businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis as well as to stimulate domestic demand if the ongoing outbreak is not contained quickly./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/wb-warns-of-shrinking-production-amid-covid19-out- break/203212.vnp

Positive factors in 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VIR place for economic The country's economic growth in the first half of the year is expected to remain lower growth in 2021 than expected due to the pandemic affecting production and business. However, whether the economy can ensure its growth target for the whole year remains in ques- tion, with some international forecasts still proving upbeat. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has reported to the govern- ment a fresh scenario for economic growth for the first half of 2021, based on positive performance of the economy in the first five months in defiance of difficulties caused

FINANCE by the health crisis. The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) forecast that the economy will likely grow 5.8 per cent on-year in the first six months, or 1.31 per cent lower than the target of 7.11 per cent set in the government's Resolution No.01/NQ-CP released on January 1 on key tasks for implementation of the socioeconomic development plan and state budget estimates for 2021. However, the expected 5.8 per cent rate, if realised, will also be far higher than in the same period last year, when GDP grew 1.81 per cent on-year, also the lowest six-month rise of each year in the 2011-2020 period. "The momentum for economic growth in 2021 will come from the industrial-construc- tion sector and the service sector, especially the processing and manufacturing indus- try, a rise in investment and expansion of trade activities," said minister Dung. The MPI forecast that in the first six months, while agricultural production will climb 3 per cent on-year, industrial production will ascend 7.8 per cent on-year. Total retail and consumption service revenue is forecast to rise 7.1 per cent on-year, and the serv- ice sector will likely expand 5 per cent on-year. "The number of newly-established enterprises is expected to increase at a low level, at only 1.6 per cent on-year, but the volume of newly-registered capital will soar by 34.8 per cent as compared to the same period last year," minister Dung said. Affected production Difficulties caused by the health crisis still lingered in the first five months of 2021, forcing the MPI to propose a reduction in the target of economic growth for the first half of the year, despite the fact that domestic production is bouncing back. The 1.31 per cent reduction in economic growth will mean a loss of about 400,000 direct jobs. So far this year, key input products for the economy saw a big reduction in pro- duction. For example, state-owned reported that in 2021 so far, its production has reduced on-year. Exploitation of crude oil hit 4.54 million tonnes, down 9 per cent in which exploitation of domestic oil reached 3.78 million, down 9 per cent, and exploi- tation of overseas oil raked in 760,000 tonnes, also down 9 per cent; exploitation of nat- ural gas hit 3.47 billion cubic metres, down 13 per cent; production of nitrate 627,900 tonnes, reducing 17 per cent; and assorted petrol 2.77 million tonnes, down 14 per cent. PetroVietnam's export turnover in the first five months was $781.9 million, down 2 per cent on-year. In which, export of crude oil was 3.77 million tonnes, down 2 per cent. In another case, state-owned Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) also reported that in the first five months of 2021, its total revenue is esti- mated to be $2.16 billion, down 9 per cent on-year. In which revenue from coal sales hit over $1.26 billion, down 11 per cent; revenue from electricity production and sale was $247.4 million, down 8 per cent; and revenue from other business sectors sat at $248.7 million, a 15 per cent reduction. Moreover, Vinacomin's coal production also declined on-year, including rough coal (16.9 million tonnes, down 6 per cent), and con- sumed coal (17.74 million tonnes, down 11 per cent).

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However, electricity, one of the vital inputs for the economy, saw an on-year increase. According to state-run Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), its total industrial gross output in the year so far hit over $6.39 billion, up 8.06 per cent on-year. Produced and purchased electricity is estimated to be nearly 100 billion kilowatt hours, up 7.1 per cent on-year. EVN's commercialised electricity in the five months is estimated to be 90.14 billion kWh, an 8.06 per cent on-year increase. In which, electricity for agro-forestry-fishery activities accounts for 3.9 per cent, electricity for industrial and construction activities holds 55.91 per cent, and electricity for households occupies 31,5 per cent. The rate for hotels is 4.5 per cent. EVN's revenue from electricity sales for January to the end of April is estimated to stand at $7.24 billion, up 11.06 per cent on-year. According to the General Statistical Office (GSO), the economy's production and dis- tribution of electricity to the end of May expanded 8.3 per cent as compared to that of only 2.1 per cent per cent on-year in the corresponding period of 2021. "COVID-19 has seriously hurt domestic production. However, production is strongly FINANCE recovering and we need to boost this recovery," said prime minister Pham Minh Chinh at a government cabinet meeting held a fortnight ago. Optimistic forecasts According to the latest Economic Outlook report from Oxford Economics, commis- sioned by chartered accountancy body Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and released last week, despite the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases, Vietnam's growth outlook remains optimistic and the economy is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the second quarter of 2021, with GDP forecast to grow at 7.6 per cent in 2021, one of the highest in the region where GDP will rebound strongly to 4.8 per cent in 2021, after contracting 4.1 per cent in 2020. "Singapore and Vietnam are expected to continue leading the region in recovery. De- spite a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam, which has affected its manufactur- ing sector and export industries, its economy is predicted to rebound swiftly once restrictions are lifted," the report said. Standard Chartered Bank has also freshly projected that Vietnam's GDP will grow 6.7 and 7.3 per cent in 2021 and 2022, respectively. "Vietnam's economic fundamentals remain robust. The country has been one of the world's best-performing economies during the pandemic. That said, we are closely watching the domestic COVID-19 situation," said Tim Leelahaphan, economist for and Vietnam at Standard Chartered, in the bank's recent Global Research re- port on Vietnam's performance. Vietnam began vaccinations on March 8, with about one million of the population of 96 million having been administered one shot. Wider vaccination rollout is a precon- dition for a tourism rebound and a sustainable economic recovery, according to Stand- ard Chartered. The bank's economists pointed out that trade data has maintained the positive mo- mentum. In the first five months of 2021, Vietnam's total export-import turnover is estimated to have reached $262.2 billion, including $130.9 billion from exports up 30.7 per cent on- year, and $131.3 billion from importsup 36.4 per cent on-year. Also according to the GSO, up to the end of May about 55,800 enterprises were newly established, with total registered capital of $33.84 billion and employing 412,400 new labourers, up 15.4 per cent in the number of enterprises and 39.5 per cent in registered capital. Furthermore, 22,600 businesses also resumed their operations, up 3.9 per cent on-year. According to an AHK World Business Outlook Survey released in mid-May, 47 per cent of German businesses in Vietnam intend to expand their activities in the country up from 22.7 per cent in spring last year, and 50 per cent assume an increase in employ- ment in 2021/2022 up from 27.3 per cent in spring of 2020. About 65.8 and 73.7 per cent expected the country's economic and business situation to get better this year. However, MPI minister Dung took great caution when talking about the economic

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outlook for the second half of the year. "The pandemic remains quite complicated, so there will be risks for the economy's out- look in the latter half of the year when businesses' activities will remain difficult, though their performance is significantly improving," he added. "Thus, the successful containment of COVID-19 will be a very important driver for the economic recovery and outlook in the second half of the year." https://vir.com.vn/positive-factors-in-place-for-economic-growth-in-2021-84899.html

Vietnam's path to 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET prosperity The Vietnam 2035 Report, issued by the and the World Bank (WB), points out that if Vietnam doesn't carry out reform, the average income per cap- ita will be no more than $4,500 per annum by 2035. Under the 13th Party Congress Resolution, Vietnam is expected to be a developing country with technology towards modernisation by 2025, surpassing middle income

FINANCE status. It will be a developing country with a modern industry and higher average in- come by 2030. And by 2045, when Vietnam celebrates the 100th anniversary of its es- tablishment, it will be a developed country with high income. Le Anh Vinh, vice director general of the Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences (VNIES), the goals are based on human resources and stable economic growth. To become a high income country by 2045, Vietnam needs to maintain a high GDP growth rate of 7-7.5 percent per annum as calculated by Ministry of Planning and In- vestment, higher than the average 6.7 percent in 2016-2019, and increase the average income per capita to over $7,000 by 2035 from $2,052 in 2014. Manufacturing and processing industries The strong rise of the UK in the 19th century, of the US, Germany and Japan in the mid- 20th century, of South Korea and Taiwan in the late 20th century and of China recently, shows that manufacturing and processing industry development is the way to growth and the key to prosperity. A new opportunity has opened for Vietnam to rise as the world enters the 4.0 indus- trial revolution. Vietnam, as a latecomer, bears a lighter burden from the past on its shoulders, and is less burdened by facilities left by previous industrial revolutions. This will allow it to adapt to new situation, new model and new infrastructure more quickly. In the 4.0 era, the countries with more problems to solve will have more opportunities to develop technologies. In Africa, which has few banks and people have few bank cards, Mobile Money has been developing strongly. Just within a short time, the non-cash payment method has become popular, leading to high use of e-commerce. It took developed countries hun- dreds of years to popularise non-cash payments. The 4.0 industrial revolution will help the poor. In principle, small enterprises don't have many opportunities. But Alibaba, for example, changed this by creating a com- mercial platform that gives access to all people and reaches the global market, which in the past could be done only by large enterprises. In Vietnam, Mobile Money can help people in border areas sell oranges and bananas at high prices, because urbanites are willing to pay more for safe products. Meanwhile, students in remote areas and islands can study with the best teachers in the country. Vietnam is now classified as a lower middle-income income country with many exist- ing problems that need breakthrough solutions. The great advantage of Vietnam is that it has a high number of digital technology firms (60,000 firms now and 100,000 by 2025 under the Make in Vietnam strategy). These in- clude powerful technology companies and companies that shifted to technology de- velopment after commercial success. They develop products and bring technologies to every province, every commune and reach every corner of life. There are not many countries with this advantage. are clever, quickly adaptable and flexible, and can tailor technologies

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and products to fit every subject and situation. Nguyen Van Dang from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics said the digital economy is one of the key solutions to create a breakthrough for Vietnam's economy. Dare to reform, take risks Many localities have set goals and designed plans, seeking a new growth engine to realise the goals mentioned in the Party Congress Resolution. Ben Tre has designed a plan on developing toward the East, mobilising and using effec- tively all resources for rapid and sustainable development. The locality aims to become a well developed province in the by 2025 and in the country by 2030. Quang Ninh authorities have decided that manufacturing and processing industry will be the pillar of the province. The first resolution of the provincial Party Committee in the new tenure emphasized the development of the industry in 2020-2025. The journey of Vietnam stepping out of the group of countries with low income in 2008 and becoming the fourth largest economy in Asean shows the extremely important role of technology. FINANCE Keun Lee, a renowned researcher, who has studied the countries that successfully over- came the middle-income trap, pointed out that the only way to overcome the trap is en- couraging innovation and building technological capability (The Art of Economic Catch- up, 2019). The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), in the draft plan on economic restructur- ing in 2021-2025, repeats the words innovation and creativity many times in the document. The Vietnam Report 2035 also says that strong technological breakthroughs eldewhere will have an impact on Vietnam. However, a modern national innovation system will pre- pare Vietnam well to be able to take full advantage of opportunities and control challenges. However, the digital economy and innovative economy model still lack space for creativ- ity. Many innovative ideas on new technologies and production optimisation have not been recognised because of rigid laws. Addressing the issue, minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung believes that it is necessary to use a new management method with the sandbox mecha- nism, which will allows new models under the supervision of state agencies. Vietnam needs to build a law on venture investment specifically designed for innovative activities. If traditional policies continue to be applied to innovative businesses, existing problems will never be settled radically. In the digital era, new technologies are created continuous- ly. If businesses have to follow all the procedures at the current rate of speed, opportunities will be missed. https://vietnamnet.vn/en/feature/vietnam-s-path-to-prosperity-745735.html

Will 24 years be enough 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET for Vietnam to become The 13th Party Congress Resolution says Vietnam aims to become a developed country a developed country with high income by 2045, when it will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the country's es- with high income? tablishment. This means that Vietnam has 24 more years to reach that goal. And it will be very difficult to turn this into reality if Vietnam still cannot become a 'developing country with modern industry and higher average income' by 2030. Core technology Dang Vu Chu, former minister of Industry, said Vietnam cannot become a country with modern industry if it doesn't speed up the development of core technology. Chu, 81, was minister of Light Industry and then minister of Industry for 12 years. He was a special politician who was a a member of three cabinets under three PMs (Do Muoi, Vo Van Kiet and Phan Van Khai) and has a lot of experience from different de- velopment periods. He has been keeping a close watch over the country's industrial development though he retired 20 years ago. Chu affirmed that in order to have a modern industry, Vietnam needs to develop core technologies very early. Vietnam laminates steel, but cannot manufacture steel from ingot steel; it manufac- tures automobiles, but cannot design engines; it makes electronics, but just does as-

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sembling and doesn't have microchip manufacturing technology. And Vietnam is one of the few countries with rare earth natural resources. He said the time when Vietnam felt satisfief with doing outsourcing for foreign enter- prises to generate jobs is over. The country can't develop modern technology with as- sembling only. Chu said he is happy as Hoa Phat Group can earn big money thanks to the steel price in- crease of 40 percent. The steel manufacturer can manufacture steel from ingot steel, and there is no need to import ingot steel as it had previously. He said that it is a core technology, and that this is the most radical thing for the country to develop a modern industry. However, Vietnam needs more such complexes to create healthy competition. "Private enterprises seem to do better than state-owned ones, if comparing Hoa Phat with Tisco, one of the 12 mega loss-making projects," Chu said. The Party and the State need to pay special attention and create favourable conditions for the private sector to develop. He praised the fact that the Party has released an important FINANCE resolution dignifying the role of the private sector. It has been serving as the driving force of the national economy. He pointed out that in order to develop the fledging automobile industry to catch up with some countries, the State should help the supporting industry with necessary policies. This is also the key problem of many other fields. Tailoring shop for the world Chu is concerned about the textile and garment industry, which never left his thoughts during his working years. Coming from the textile and garment industry, he affirmed that the core technology of the industry needs to begin from the weaving industry, spinning, and fashion design at a level to make Vietnam known to the entire world. Only by doing this will Vietnam be able to have its own input materials and its strong brand in the world. If not, it will forever just do outsourcing for other countries. Chu said the textile and garment industry is developing very rapidly with 2.5 million workers. However, Vietnam's fabric brand remains weak. It is difficult to export fabric to choosy markets such as the US and Europe at times just because Vietnam uses imported accessories. Chu mentioned the story of Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing, who came to Vietnam some days ago. The politician suggested that Vietnam should think of becoming a 'kitchen of the world' and consider this one of the choices to build a national brand, be- cause Vietnam has great advantages in farm produce and food processing. "The idea should be studied and researched by the country's agricultural sector. As for the textile and garment industry, perhaps Vietnam should think of becoming a tailoring shop for the world," Chu said. Vietnamese input materials Why not become a tailoring shop for the world as Vietnam's textile and garment exports are at a high level? To succeed, according to Chu, it is necessary to build a core technology for Vietnam's tex- tile and garment industry, i.e building weaving, fiber and yarn factories with Vietnamese characteristics. If Vietnam cannot make its own input materials and control this, it will forever be passive in organising production. Textile and garment sector has export turnover of $10 billion a year (Vietnam wants to ex- port $39 billion worth of textiles and garments this year, the same as last year, according to Vinatex). It is one of six industries with this export turnover level. Vietnamese have only 24 years to become a developed country with high income. Though the goals are believed to be within reach, they will be unattainable if Vietnam doesn't set proper plans and make every effort. https://vietnamnet.vn/en/feature/will-24-years-be-enough-for-vietnam-to-become-a-de- veloped-country-with-high-income-746698.html

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Overhaul in motion 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VIR for ODA utilisation Low and slow disbursement rates were the biggest limitation and one of the reasons for reducing the efficiency of ODA attraction into Vietnam. On the back of sobering performances in the disbursement of public investment and official development assistance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is currently working on a new draft decree that aims to simplify related regulations and speed up disbursement and, in turn, economic development. The North-South high-speed railway line one of the nine projects prioritised by the Ministry of Transport to be included in the draft railway network plan for the next dec- ade has a total capital demand of up to VND112.3 trillion (4.89 billion). In which, the two sections Hanoi-Vinh and Nha Trang-HCM City will be built in advance. Dang Quyet Tien, director of the Corporate Finance Department under the Ministry of Finance, said that using official development assistance (ODA) is one of the ways to ensure capital for the construction of a high-speed railway, a project that promotes

FINANCE growth of many industries. Vietnam has been considering ODA an important source of capital in building infra- structure, acquiring scientific and technical achievements, and developing human re- sources. Data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) showed that Vietnam accumulated over $85 billion in ODA and concessional loans. Of which, $7 billion were non-refundable aids, and over $70 billion came from loans with interest rates below 2 per cent, while another $1.7 billion were loans with lower interest rates than commercial ones. Total disbursed capital reached nearly $65 billion. During the last five years, Vietnam received over $12.5 billion in ODA and concession- al loans, and about 80 per cent of that was mobilised through the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Ex- port-Import Bank of Korea, the French Development Agency, and the KfW Develop- ment Bank. Low and slow disbursement Low and slow disbursement rates were the biggest limitation and one of the reasons for reducing the efficiency of ODA attraction into Vietnam. In the 2016-2020 period, ODA loans and foreign concessional loans that were adjusted according to the Nation- al Assembly's resolution amounted to about VND360 trillion ($15.65 billion). By the end of 2019, the total allocated capital in the state budget estimated for the 2016-2019 period was VND244.3 trillion ($10.62 billion), equalling 67.9 per cent of the adjusted plan of the whole period. But the amount disbursed and accumulated until 2019 was just VND133.04 trillion ($5.78 billion), a mere 54.5 per cent of the plan, according to the MPI's data. Vietnam is currently implementing five large public investment projects that are using ODA capital and are subject to binding conditions. These projects are three urban rail- way projects in Hanoi and two metro projects in HCM City. All five projects cost more than expected and are behind schedule. The total adjusted investment has reached more than VND178 trillion ($7.74 billion), even excluding the Yen Vien-Ngoc Hoi route of Hanoi's metro as its investment capital has not been approved. If including that, the total investment capital for these six routes would be over VND243.4 trillion ($10.58 billion). The pandemic has slowed implementation progress because most activities of ODA projects were associated with foreign factors, from importing equipment to mobilising foreign experts. Some projects also saw slow disbursements due to problems caused by changes in mechanisms and regulations. Last year, the central province of Quang Tri signed no new loan agreements with donors for ODA projects, but there have been 17 ongoing projects with a total capital of over VND919 billion ($39.96 million), of which the coun- terfunding amounted to VND163.85 billion ($7.12 million) with foreign participation of VND755.96 billion ($32.87 million). However, the changes and adjustments in Decree No.68/2019/ND-CP from 2019 on management of construction investment costs led to the appraisal of technical design

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documents and construction drawings taking longer than expected which, in turn, af- fected the projects' progress of bidding, awarding, and disbursement. Reworking the rules ODA disbursement rates have not been satisfactory partly due to problems with pro- cedures and regulations. Meanwhile, the MPI's report on the orientation of attracting and managing the use of ODA and concessional loans 2018-2020, also warned that Vi- etnam has graduated from concessional loans under the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) in 2017, as well as of the ADB in 2019. Thus, Vietnam may have to double the principal repayments of the current IDA and ADB loans. Prof Dr Nguyen Mai, chair of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-Invested Enterpris- es, said that implementation capacity is one of the reasons leading to slow ODA dis- bursements. "Commonly, project preparation is sketchy, and many ODA projects have to adjust and extend a project's loan agreement," he said. According to current regulations, project extensions and adjustments are associated with the general investment policy. Mai said that the process of adjusting the invest- FINANCE ment policy is often complicated and lengthy, leading to the fact that though some projects have been arranged, they could not withdraw as related procedures were in- complete. According to Mai, it is necessary to review the detailed allocation of each project's es- timate, ensuring its disbursement needs. In case a project's implementing unit realises that it is not capable of disbursing funds, it is recommended to cancel or transfer the estimate to another project with more availability. Mai also noted, "The management agency should focus capital on projects with good disbursement progress, and those that need to be completed soon and whose dead- lines are about to expire. The shortcomings in the handling of ODA could be remedied through new legal pro- visions. The MPI is currently developing a draft decree amending and supplementing Decree No.56/2020/ND-CP from May 2020 on management and use of ODA and con- cessional loans of foreign donors. This draft proposes 10 amendments and supplements related to the simplification of documents and procedures in financial management and cost estimates related to con- struction investment. Along with that, the draft decree contains more regulations on the use of residual capital for ongoing and new projects to increase efficiency and sus- tainability, as well as the disbursement and payment for projects. If the decree is adopted, the new regulations could clear out the bottlenecks in the dis- bursement of public investment capital and avoid wasteful actions like in previous years. The MPI is trying to complete the draft this year, including consulting with ODA donors and promulgating it according to the Ministry of Justice's regulations. "It is necessary to amend legal regulations to increase investment efficiency and dis- bursement rates," said Dr Nguyen Xuan Thanh from Vietnam's Fulbright University. According to Thanh, the delay of key investment projects is a serious problem for me- dium- and long-term economic growth as they limit the expansion of production ca- pacity. "Economic activities in major economic centres and people's quality of life are at risk of serious decline if infrastructure bottlenecks are not resolved," warned Thanh. To increase investment efficiency, Thanh recommended that the country keeps in mind the lessons of state governance on the use of ODA loans, starting with contractor selection over project preparation to implementation. In 2018, former prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed and promulgated Decision No.1489/QD-TTg approving the orientation to attract, manage, and use ODA and con- cessional loans of foreign donors for the 2018-2020 period, with a vision to 2021-2025. According to this decision, in the next five years, foreign loans would be used to focus on several key areas to ensure the maximum promotion of economic growth. Thus, it would be necessary to have a rigorous, objective, and transparent appraisal and eval- uation process according to international standards and in line with the reality of Vi- etnam. The draft decree to replace Decree No.16/2016/ND-CP and Decree No.132/2018/ND-

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CP on the management and use of ODA and concessional loans from foreign donors will be posted on the MPI's website for at least 30 days so that agencies, organisations, and individuals can participate in comments. Furthermore, comments and suggestions can also be sent to the Department of Exter- nal Economic Relations under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Submissions can be sent via mail to 6B Hoang Dieu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi. Phone: 024 384 543 63; and email under [email protected]. https://vietnamnet.vn/en/business/overhaul-in-motion-for-oda-utilisation- 746936.html

Multitude of options 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VIR on table for further tax With the current outbreak still not entirely controlled, the government stands at a com- interventions plicated crossroads as it needs to choose between further state budget security and continued support for the business community.

FINANCE If taxes and land rents continue to be extended as a form of direct support for business- es, the state's budget revenue may come under more pressure. But an intervention to help businesses could support the economy in recovering more strongly after the pan- demic, especially since the government is working intensely on pandemic prevention and promoting expanded vaccination. Tax payment extensions, as well as beneficial land rent policies, are a matter of con- cern, but not a new policy. Vietnam has had three extensions for tax and land rent since the pandemic broke out in early 2020. However, the most recent outbreak in Vietnam has engulfed the ongoing efforts to revive the country's production. The government has issued Decree No.52/2021/ND-CP dated April 19, extending the deadline for payments of VAT, corporate income tax, personal income tax, and land rents in 2021. The extension period of five months for VAT lasts until June. Nguyen Tu Anh, director of the general Economic Department of the Central Econom- ic Commission, said extending tax payment dues and land rents is a good policy. In- stead of collecting taxes immediately, the state has granted businesses a credit with zero per cent interest to maintain production, without complicating tax policies, and even reducing policy profiteering. In addition, data from the general Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Fi- nance also shows that the tax authority has extended payment dues for nearly 185,000 taxpayers last year, with a total amount of about VND87.3 trillion ($3.8 billion). This shows that the government is trying to counter price increases of goods like steel, con- struction materials, and other items that play an important role in infrastructure devel- opment. Keeping the balance With the government's tax and land rent payment extensions, analysts are concerned about the negative side of the policy. "This form of support is not very effective for those businesses in real difficulties, es- pecially when they lack working capital and cash flow," explained Anh. "Profits and negative side effects could come from those businesses that need direct support from the state's policy." Negative effects could occur from both sides, the implementing organisation and en- terprises, as they may have insufficient resources to evaluate, examine, and monitor all related processes, he added. If such support is carried out ineffectively, businesses that need it will not receive it, and those that do not need could receive support. To date, vexations and negativity continue to exist in tax collection, although it has de- creased year by year. About 30 per cent of businesses say they still must pay special fees for tax officials, according to a report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry from December 2019. However, Anh does not think that such support policies are effective in a short time. Therefore, it may be necessary to focus on dedicated government support packages. According to him, as there is now another outbreak troubling the nation, "businesses will benefit more if the government extends the implementation of the tax and land

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rent policy until the end of the year." In principle, he argued, the state should support businesses to endure the pandemic. The damage will be much greater if businesses continue to go bankrupt. "However, the extension of tax and land rent will also slow down state budget reve- nue, while the implementation of this policy is also very complicated and expensive," Anh said. The target audience for such policies is large. Luu Duc Huy, director of the Policy De- partment under the general Department of Taxation, however, said that there should be no general survey to determine businesses eligible for the extended benefits. Micro- and small enterprises have accounted for 93 per cent of the total number of operating businesses. In addition, businesses in other industries and business households are also subject to these benefits. According to Huy, the tax authority is managing eligible business according to risk management mechanisms and conducts inspections whenever taxpayers show signs of risk. FINANCE "This helps self-identify the taxpayers. Those who are not subject to these extensions but still benefit from it will be handled following the Law on Tax," Huy said. The government is standing in the middle of a fork in the road. On the one hand, it wants to help people and businesses to withstand the pandemic. On the other, its abil- ity remains weak as there are many bankrupt businesses or those threatening to go bankrupt without paying taxes. Proposals to extend the extension and further reduce taxes also require considering the resilience of the state budget as this is also used for combatting the pandemic and handling the otherwise shrinking revenue sources. Lining up interests Economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said that there must be a harmonisation of interests. "The extension of tax and land rent for businesses is necessary, but balancing the budget is also important," he said. The state budget has been affected by the pandemic since last year, and the govern- ment's revenue is limited. In 2020, the budget revenue stood at only 96.35 per cent of the estimate, according to the State Treasury. According to Hieu, businesses are under a lot of stress because the pandemic has slowed down consumption and production, while input material prices have in- creased in turn. Compared with the first five months of 2020, prices for iron, steel, and cement have increased by 35-40 per cent, and those for corn, beans, and rice bran in- creased up to 70 per cent. Meanwhile, the current gasoline prices also exceeded VND19,000 (83 US cents) per litre, an increase of nearly 14 per cent compared to the end of 2020 and more than 60 per cent compared to the same period last year. Also in the first five months of 2021, the market recorded 59,800 enterprises suspend- ing their operations for a definite time, an increase of 23 per cent over the same period. Thus, on average, nearly 12,000 businesses withdrew from the market every month, equivalent to 400 businesses every day. According to Hieu, the government needs to "soon take measures to harmonise inter- ests between itself and the business community." The government, within its budget, "should defer taxes and land rents for another year and, along with that, review the conditions for tax extensions and land rents so that businesses in need can access it. For example, the conditions on procedures and declarations of enterprises related to land need to be more open." In principle, businesses should be responsible for paying taxes within their means, but according to Hieu, the government needs to reconsider the subjects for tax exemption, reduction, and deferral. Some companies take advantage of these tax policies to make a profit. Though they can pay taxes, the policy allows them to benefit. "If we don't control the pandemic well, this year the number of businesses going bankrupt could rise to hundreds of thousands, causing a significant deficit in the government's revenue," said Hieu. Tax revenue data from the General Statistical Office shows an increase of nearly 12 per cent in the last five months. The current outbreak is gradually being controlled while

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the expansion of vaccination has been accelerated. Tu Anh reckoned that there is a high possibility that production and business activities can soon stabilise again. The government's timely support could also help businesses in this endeavour. https://vietnamnet.vn/en/business/multitude-of-options-on-table-for-further-tax-in- terventions-746935.html

Squid exports to 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS China continue to According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), surge squid and octopus exports to China have grown continuously in the past three years. The export value of squid and octopus in 2020 soared by nearly 61 percent compared to 2019. In the first four months of this year, squid and octopus exports to this market rose by 21 percent, exceeding $9.7 million. This year, the Covid-19 pandemic in China has been partly controlled, and the Chinese government has gradually loosened isolation measures, so its demand for imported

FINANCE squids and octopuses has also recovered. Squid and octopus products continue to be the main seafood export commodity group of Vietnam to China. According to VASEP, the country's seafood exports in the first five months of this year reached nearly $3.3 billion, up 14 percent year-on-year. Accordingly, seafood exports of 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta nearly touched $2 billion, accounting for 60 per- cent, and seafood exports of six provinces and cities in the region accounted for 18 percent with $602 million. https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/squid-exports-to-china-continue-to-surge- 92896.html

Fertiliser prices 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNS continue to increase: Fertiliser prices are forecast to continue to grow for the rest of the year, caused by a MoIT number of factors including higher shipping costs, a representative of the Chemical Department said. Speaking at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)'s monthly press conference held on Thursday, Luu Hoang Ngoc, deputy director of the MoIT's Chemical Depart- ment said: "The fertiliser price fluctuation in 2021 is similar to that in 2008, and the pric- es will continue to increase from now until the end of the year." The main factor pushing up prices is higher cost to hire shipping containers, while im- ported fertilisers, such as diammonium phosphate (DAP), mono-ammonium phos- phate (MAP) and urea, are mainly transported on containers. Currently, the cost to hire shipping containers has increased five times compared to the previous year. In addition, fertiliser supply in Southeast Asia has declined as many factories have en- tered the period of maintenance. The price of raw materials has increased on the world market so the price of domesti- cally-made fertiliser products has also soared, according to the Chemical Department. At present, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) manages production, trading, and import-export of none organic and organic fertilisers. However, "the MoIT manages import-export activities and the domestic market, work- ing closely with MARD to ensure supply," Ngoc said. According to Le Trieu Dung, director of the MoIT's Trade Remedies Department, the strong increase in prices started early 2021. The reason has been mainly due to the in- crease in cost of material for production of DAP and MAP fertilisers, of which the price surged by two times for sulfur and 30 per cent for ammonia. However, after assessing supply and demand, the MARD and MoIT have found that there is enough fertiliser supply for domestic use. "The supply of fertilisers, especially DAP fertilisers, is still enough for the domestic needs," Dung said. "Specifically, the import of DAP and MAP fertilisers from the beginning of the year to now increased by 50 per cent, while the domestic production also increased by about 30 per cent."

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In addition, the prices of domestically-produced DAP and MAP fertilisers are between VND8-10 million per tonne, lower than the price of imported fertiliser at VND14-15 million per tonne. This is also a factor helping to stabilise the domestic market. Over the past month, the MoIT has taken safeguard measures for imported DAP and MAP fertilisers to protect domestic production. After an investigation on import ferti- liser, the ministry has issued a decision to impose taxes on those products from 2017, according to Dung. In the future, the MoIT will continue to coordinate with the MARD to monitor the fer- tiliser market and have measures to stabilise the market. bizhub.vn/news/fertiliser-prices-continue-to-increase-moit_325236.html

Feed price increase 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS drives fish farmers to The prices of animal feed generally and fish feed particularly have continuously in- dispair creased whereas the growth rate in the consumer market is low due to the impact of

FINANCE the Covid-19 epidemic, sending fish farmers in the Southern Province of Dong Nai fell into despair since the beginning of the year until now. Accordingly, a 25-kilogram bag of the bran has increased by VND 30,000 from the be- ginning of the year. Nguyen Van Ngoc, an owner of a fish-raised farm in La Nga commune in the Southern Province of Dong Nai's Dinh Quan District, said that at this time in Dinh Quan district, the price of aqua feed increased by 20 percent-25 percent compared to the beginning of the year; however, traders have offered the old price of fish in the pond. In La Nga commune, a number of farming households have reduced their farming area by 60 percent and the amount of fish by 40 percent compared to the previous crop. Currently, a kilogram of snakehead fish in La Nga fetches VND38,00039,000, while a kilogram of perch costs VND 23,000, and a kilogram of red snapper is sold at VND40,000. The selling price is VND2,000VND8,000 per kilogram even lower than the production cost. With this selling price, farmers will be saddled with huge debts which will increase shortly because they are unable to repay the loan. Many fish farming households in Trang Bom District have lately stopped raising fish because of heavy losses. A representative of a company in Trang Bom District said that raw materials such as corn, soybeans for animal feed production in the country are mainly imported from foreign countries presently. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the supply of raw materials for animal feed has been interrupted; worse, many countries have been losing their crops, leading to a scarcity of raw materials, pushing up the prices. Accordingly, the Dong Nai Farm- ers' Association has petitioned for timely support policies for farmers. https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/feed-price-increase-drives-fish-farmers-to-dispair- 92917.html

Origin fraud may 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA erode Vietnamese High prices of rice sold in the domestic market and for export in the recent past have rice's prestige: insiders fueled risks of origin fraud, influencing the prestige of Vietnamese rice in the global market, insiders have warned. Export prices of Vietnamese rice have stayed high so far this year, helping the five- month export turnover fall down by only five percent despite an 11.3-percent drop in volume. By mid-June, businesses imported 304,000 tonnes of rice from India via ports in HCM City. The volume included over 112,000 tonnes of 100-percent broken rice, 54,000 tonnes of unhusked rice and 12,000 tonnes of husked rice for animal feed production, and 126,000 tonnes of five-percent broken rice, according to the municipal Department of Customs. The large import of the five-percent and completely broken rice from India is attribut- ed to the fact that their prices only stand at some 400 USD and 280 USD per tonne, about 100 USD per tonne lower than prices of the Vietnamese counterparts.

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Besides, under the AseanIndia Trade in Goods Agreement, five-percent and 100 per- cent broken rice from India is entitled to an import tariff of zero percent. Given this, Indian rice imported into Vietnam boasts much more competitive prices than Viet- namese rice. Notably, the surge in rice import from India has been accompanied by an increase in origin fraud. The HCM City Department of Customs said it has detected several signs of fraud and violation by rice exporters and importers. Phan Van Co, Marketing director of the VRICE Co. Ltd, noted many enterprises have imported white rice from India to polish, mix it with the white rice of Vietnam, and then export the grain to foreign markets under the name of Vietnamese rice, which has seriously affected the prestige and brand of rice from the country. As a consequence, some partners have suspended buying rice from Vietnam, he noted. Some companies have also imported the grain from India and sold it as Vietnamese rice at higher prices in the domestic market, Co went on. FINANCE Pham Thai Binh, general director of the Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC, attributed the high prices of and customers' preference for Vietnamese rice in foreign markets to ef- forts by the whole system, from farmers to processing and exporting companies, and economic diplomacy by the government, ministries, and sectors. Therefore, only one batch of goods with origin fraud can have severe impact on the prestige and brand of its entire export sector, he noted, pointing out that due to import- ers' suspicion over the origin of Vietnamese rice, export prices have declined fast re- cently, from 520530 USD per tonne in the last winterspring crop to 470480 USD at present, while the number of export orders has also been decreasing. If this problem lingers, domestic rice prices will continue the downward trend, causing losses to farmers, honest exporters, and the entire rice industry of Vietnam, Binh add- ed. Co recommended authorities adopt mechanisms for monitoring imported rice, strictly dealing with violators, and publicising the names of businesses committing fraud. The HCM City Department of Customs said the customs force has stepped up collect- ing and analysing information about rice importers and exporters so as to detect fraud in a timely manner. It has also proposed the general Department of Vietnam Customs to ask the Ministry of Industry and Trade for more details about export rice of Vietnam and fraud warnings, and for additional regulations on rice export./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/origin-fraud-may-erode-vietnamese-rices-prestige-insid- ers/203291.vnp

Garment production 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS may slow down over The textiles and garment sector is likely to be impacted by the Covid-19 situation get- Covid-19 ting more complicated across Vietnam. Industry insiders say the pandemic situation in HCM City, in particular, will drag the sector down in the remaining months of the year. The pandemic has already penetrated some industrial parks in HCM City, so if staff of garment and textile firms get infected, work would stop and fulfillment of orders would slow down, said Pham Xuan Hong, head of HCM City Association of Garment, Textile, Embroidery and Knitting (AGTEK). Garment and textile firms are labour-intensive affairs with many workers concentrat- ing in certain places, so the risk of Covid-19 breaking out in factories is very high, said Le Tien Truong, chair of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), add- ing that the production chain is likely to be broken amid the outbreak. Vinatex has 150,000 workers nationwide, with most of its affiliates having an average workforce of 2,000 each. In the first three waves of Covid-19, no Vinatex affiliates reported any Covid-19 infec- tion. In the ongoing fourth wave, some enterprises in the northern province of Bac Ninh and the central city of Da Nang have reported infected workers. "This is the first time in 18 months of Covid outbreaks that workers in Vinatex affiliates

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have been infected with the disease, forcing them stop production and face considera- ble losses," the Vinatex chair said. If production comes to a halt due to Covid-19, goods delivery will be delayed, causing losses for producers and exporters, he said. Affected enterprises will have to shift to transporting goods by air, instead of by sea to ensure timely shipment. This would make the shipment prohibitively expensive, Truong noted. Vinatex and AGTEK have proposed the government prioritises vaccination against Covid-19 for garment and textile workers. Most of garment and textile firms have said they are willing to cover all vaccination costs. Vietnam's textiles and garment export turnover reached $5.8 billion in the first five months, a year-on-year rise of 4.8 percent. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/industries/garment-production-may-slow- down-over-covid-19-4297015.html FINANCE Singapore committed 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA to cooperating closely Singapore is committed to cooperating closely with Vietnam so that both countries can with Vietnam for post- emerge stronger post-pandemic, Singaporean Foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan pandemic recovery said ahead of his trip to Vietnam to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) High Lev- el Policy Dialogue from June 20-23. In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency's correspondents in Singapore, the minister noted that Singapore and Vietnam have a close Strategic Partnership an- chored by strong political and economic relations, warm people-to-people ties, and wide-ranging cooperation. He described the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks in seven locations across Vietnam as icons of the two countries' excellent economic col- laboration. The minister went on to say that the two countries also work closely in many regional and multilateral fora including Asean and the UN, and share a common interest in promoting a free, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system. He stressed that despite the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, trade and investment ties between Singapore and Vietnam remain strong, calling at- tention to the fact that Singapore was Vietnam's largest source of Foreign Direct Invest- ment in 2020 and also the first quarter of 2021. "We have supported each other during this difficult time, including by exchanging do- nations of medical supplies and working together to keep regional supply chains open. Both countries are also fully committed to vaccine multilateralism, as well as the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines. We have also collaborated closely with Vietnam during Vietnam's Asean chairship in 2020 and non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council in 2020 and 2021," Balakrishnan said. According to him, as the two countries prepare to reopen their borders, they can con- sider how to gradually and safely resume travel between Vietnam and Singapore. "I believe that this will have a positive impact on our economic recovery. In the longer term, we can jointly explore ways to strengthen supply chain resilience and regional responses to future pandemics. We look forward to further enhance our Strategic Part- nership by pursuing new areas of collaboration, such as clean energy, technological in- novation, and the digital economy," the minister said. The Singaporean FM said he is glad to be visiting Vietnam again, and he looks forward to discussing with the new Vietnamese leadership ways to grow the two countries' substantive relations, and exchange views on regional and international developments of mutual concern. https://vir.com.vn/singapore-committed-to-cooperating-closely-with-vietnam-for- post-pandemic-recovery-84955.html

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Argentina hopes for 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA strategic partnership The new Argentinian Ambassador to Vietnam, Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino, has af- with Vietnam: firmed his country's willingness to upgrade its relations with Vietnam to a strategic ambassador partnership, especially when the two sides are preparing to mark the 50th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2023. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency after presenting his credentials to President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Beltramino expressed his honour to be appointed Ambassador of Argentina to Vietnam and pledged all-out efforts to continue promoting the solidarity, friendship, and cooperation between the two countries, which set up their comprehen- sive partnership in 2010. Valuing the flourishing extensive cooperation, he highlighted its three pillars of polit- ical dialogue, trade, and technical collaboration. The ambassador noted the political dialogue mechanism has been deployed in the form of all-level mutual visits, especially those at high levels.

FINANCE Meanwhile, he went on, the two economies are complementary to each other, and Ar- gentina is ready to diversify products to meet Vietnam's demand. On the other hand, the Southeast Asian nation also boasts a number of high-quality products like technol- ogy, textile-garment, and footwear, which are all popular in his country. The seventh meeting of the inter-governmental committee on economic-trade and sci- entific-technological cooperation will take place in August to discuss trade opening, Beltramino announced. He applauded the effectiveness of bilateral technical cooperation over the last two dec- ades, noting the implementation of 15 joint projects in various fields, including indus- try and agriculture, which are the strengths of both Argentina and Vietnam. The diplomat also talked about bilateral collaboration in forensic anthropology, in which the South American nation has been helping Vietnam to identify war martyrs. Expressing his delight at the growth of the comprehensive partnership through multi- ple signed agreements, the ambassador highlighted potential fields for future cooper- ation, such as high tech and satellite services for peace purposes, for examples, supporting the study of soils, meteorology and agricultural production efficiency, of which Argentina holds competitive advantages. Beltramino also highly spoke of the two countries' mutual support for each other and exchanges of views in addressing the world's emerging challenges, namely climate change, human assistance, peacekeeping, observation of UN Charter and COVID-19 response. He expected Argentina and Vietnam will strengthen ties to together tackle these challenges for the benefits of the two peoples. He took the occasion to congratulate Vietnam's national football team on advancing to the third round of World Cup qualification for the first time. He proposed the two countries to cooperate in training players, saying promoting relations between their football federations and football clubs is a good idea, which will not only boost the de- velopment of the sport in Vietnam but also contribute to tightening the bilateral ties. Argentina, on the other hand, is very interested in developing badminton, a very pop- ular sport in Vietnam, he said. Argentina was one of three Latin American countries, together with Cuba and Chile, to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam before 1975. The bilateral diplomatic ties were set up on October 25, 1973. Argentina is now Vietnam's third largest trade partner in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico, with two-way trade reaching 3.95 billion USD in 2020, an increase of 4.3 percent from the previous year. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, the bilateral trade to- talled 440 million USD in the first two months of this year, of which Vietnam's exports to Argentina hit 174 million USD, up 164.52 percent year-on-year. https://vir.com.vn/argentina-hopes-for-strategic-partnership-with-vietnam-ambassa- dor-84956.html

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Vietnam ready to 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA assist Tanzania in Vietnam is ready to provide technical support and share experience in agricultural de- agricultural velopment with Tanzania, Vietnamese Ambassador to Tanzania Nguyen Nam Tien development: said during a recent meeting with the host country's minister of Agriculture Adolf ambassador Faustine Mkenda. At the working session in Dodoma capital on June 17, Tien said the two countries boast considerable potential for cooperation in crop cultivation, animal husbandry, aquacul- ture, and forestry. He also introduced Vietnam's agricultural strengths to the Tanzania minister, noting that Vietnam earned more than 41 billion USD from agricultural exports in 2020, with the US being the largest importer, followed by China, the EU, Asean, and Japan. Congratulating Mkenda on his reappointment as minister of Agriculture, one of the most important economic sectors in Tanzania, the diplomat expressed his delight at the recent strides in the countries' relations and spoke highly of the outcomes in bilat-

FINANCE eral cooperation in bilateral and multilateral aspects For his part, minister Mkenda highlighted their countries' sound relations throughout history, noting that in agriculture, Tanzania prioritises developing crop varieties and animal breeds, boosting production supporting services, increasing irrigation, ex- panding markets for agricultural exports, providing finance, and managing diseases He asked Vietnam to share experience in developing such key farm produce as rice, coffee, tea, and cashew nuts while calling on Vietnamese enterprises to invest in build- ing agricultural processing factories in his country. The two sides shared the view on the importance of signing agreements, firstly those on double taxation avoidance and investment facilitation and protection, so as to cre- ate a legal framework for bilateral cooperation. Ambassador Tien also welcomed Tanzania attending a VietnamAfrica conference on agriculture to be chaired by the Southeast Asian nation in late 2021./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-ready-to-assist-tanzania-in-agricultural-develop- ment-ambassador/203348.vnp

VN to develop eco- 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNS friendly construction Associate Professor Dr Le Trung Thanh, head of the Vietnam Institute for Building Ma- materials terials under the Ministry of Construction discusses the development of Vietnam's eco-friendly construction materials and solutions to help the sector become sustaina- ble in the future. Ten years after the prime minister's Decree 567/ QD-TTg on the development of Viet- nam's eco-friendly construction materials until 2020, what has the sector achieved? The sector has made significant progress. Firms have invested in modern technology and machinery to produce a wide variety of products. By the end of 2019, there were over 2,000 adobe brick factories in the country with a total annual output of 12.6 billion units, which accounted for over 30 per cent market share, a largely improved position compared with just eight per cent in 2010. Also, there were over 1,400 concrete brick factories with a total output of 9.4 billion units annually, most of them employed modern technology and production methods, which help produce high-quality products. Advanced construction materials, including autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC), are being produced by domestic firms such as Viglacera and Tan Ky Nguyen with a total output of 800,000 m3 annually. Relatively new products such as acotec partition panels are being produced within the country at an annual output of 3.2-4.5 million m3 with VinGroup leading the field with eight production lines. Not unlike other sectors, construction materials have also been hit hard by the pan- demic. By the end of last year, a large number of firms, mostly small-to-medium in size, were forced to close due to plummeting demand. Our most recent report showed just over 1,600 firms remained operational with many having to cut back on produc- tion to stay afloat. What can be done to support the remaining firms?

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We must introduce more support policies including tax cuts for eco-friendly firms. At the same time, heavier tax burdens must be put on traditional production methods to encourage firms to move away from them and help level the playing field as it's typi- cally more expensive for firms to carry out new technology and machinery. Governmental agencies must step up on quality control for construction materials. Se- vere penalties should be handed out to violators. For this to be a viable path, officials must seek to improve their knowledge on quality indexes for different materials. We strongly advise officials to attend regular training on such topics as the sector is chang- ing rapidly. There has been a growing trend toward using more eco-friendly materials in construc- tion globally. Are Vietnamese firms ready to adapt to this? We expect to see major changes taking place within the sector in the near future. Eco- friendly materials and energy saving are the name of the game and this is in line with society's approach to balance socio-economic development and the preservation of natural habitats. FINANCE Construction materials can no longer be just extracted from nature entirely. Greater ef- forts in reducing the burden on natural resources and recycling used materials, as well as everyday waste, have been seen taking place all over the world. Vietnam Green Label, a governmental ecolabeling scheme established by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2009, has set up 17 standard indexes. Two of which were dedicated to rating the level of eco-friendliness for paint and ceramic construction materials. Two additional indexes for concrete and bathroom ceramics have also been introduced by the Ministry of Construction. We hope this will put pressure on firms to seek out new and more eco-friendly tech- nology and production methods, which help us preserve natural resources and reduce energy consumption. https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/977561/vn-to-develop-eco-friendly-construction- materials.html

Experts support 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES proposal to open fuel Eight experts have thrown their weight behind the Ministry of Industry and Trade's market to foreign proposal to allow domestic petrol and oil traders to transfer their stakes of no more investors than 35 percent to foreign investors. The proposal is part of a draft decree amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree 83/2014 on petrol and oil trading. The ministry has sent the draft decree to the government for approval three times. During the third time in March, 24 of 25 comments from government members ap- proved the draft decree, while one disagreed. However, the government asked the ministry to seek consultancy from experts for some contents of the draft decree, including the proposal to allow foreign investors to hold stakes of up to 35 percent in local petroleum businesses. "We sought advice from eight economic experts and all of them supported the propos- al," a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Thanh Nien newspaper. "The government should open the fuel market to foreign investors. This will help do- mestic petrol and oil businesses mobilise capital and take advantage of the manage- ment experience and business culture of foreign investors," said Assoc. Prof, Dr Ngo Tri Long, one of the eight experts. "The stake transfer restriction at 35 percent will help limit the interference of foreign investors in the business activities of local petrol and oil firms," he added. A leader of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is in charge of compiling the draft decree, said the proposal does not vi- olate international commitments and prevailing regulations. "Therefore, the proposal to allow domestic petrol and oil traders to transfer their stakes of no more than 35 percent to foreign investors is suitable with the current situation," he said. After receiving support from economic experts, the Ministry of Industry and Trade

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will send the draft decree to the government for approval for the fourth time. Since it joined the World Trade Organisation in 2007, Vietnam has opened its doors to foreign investors to join most of its major sectors, including electricity and aviation. Foreign investments in various large State-run firms have contributed to improving the governance of enterprises, raising business efficiency and competitiveness and pushing up the value of the firms. https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/82625/experts-support-proposal-to-open-fuel-mar- ket-to-foreign-investors.html

Bac Lieu to expand 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA large-scale The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu plans to expand large-scale production and agricultural the use of advanced techniques to improve agricultural yield and quality and raise production farmers' incomes from now to 2025. The provincial People's Committee targets production of 1.17 million tonnes of paddy,

FINANCE including 190,240 tonnes of organic paddy, a year by 2025. It plans to expand large-scale rice fields to 100,000ha, or about half of the province's total rice area. Farmers participating in large-scale rice fields will have contracts with rice companies that will ensure stable prices. It also plans to produce 600,000 tonnes of seafood a year by 2025, with half of that being shrimp. About 20,500 tonnes of organic shrimp will be produced a year by 2025. It targets breeding more pigs, buffalo, cows and goats, and 3.5 million poultry a year by 2025. The province, which is the delta's largest salt producer, plans to produce 55,000 tonnes of salt a year by 2025, including 7,000 tonnes of high quality white salt. It also targets having 103 new agricultural products certified under the country's one commune one product (OCOP) programme by 2025, taking the province total's OCOP products to 171 products. The second phase of its hi tech agriculture zone for shrimp breeding is expected to be completed by 2025. Pham Van Thieu, Chair of the provincial People's Committee, said that zoning projects would be cancelled if they are not feasible, and land used in ineffective projects or by investors with insufficient financial capacity would be taken back. The province will mobilise capital from official development assistance (ODA), for- eign direct investment (FDI) and other sources, and develop insurance systems to re- duce risks in agricultural production. It will also encourage startup investors in agriculture and rural development. It will help farmers to access technology and markets, and transfer advanced tech- niques to farmers who grow rice and breed aquatic species and animals. The province, which is one of the delta's largest shrimp producers, breeds shrimp un- der intensive, superintensive, and riceshrimp farming models, among others. The riceshrimp farming model is used mostly in Phuoc Long and Hong Dan districts and Gia Rai town. It offers farmers a high profit of 4050 million VND (1,700 2,200 USD) per hectare a crop, according to the district's Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Devel- opment. Farmers have learned how to create shrimp ponds, manage the breeding environment, and use advanced breeding techniques. The province has encouraged rice farmers to use new varieties like ST 24 and ST 25. These are two of the best rice varieties in the world and are highly resistant to saltwater intrusion, alum affection and disease. Infrastructure investment To reach its goals, the province plans to speed up investment in many infrastructure projects, including irrigation and climate-change adaptation. Luu Hoang Ly, director of the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Devel- opment, said: "The province will put into use major projects that cope with climate change." These include new river embankments in Bac Lieu city, erosion-prevention embank- ments in estuary and coastal areas in Ganh Hao town and Dong Hai district, and ero-

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sion-prevention embankments in Bac Lieu city's Nha Mat sea. A sluice system to prevent tides and flooding in Bac Lieu city and nearby areas will also be built. The province will also create mud flats and plant mangrove trees to prevent erosion near the Nha Mat sea, and recover protective forests along the province's coast. It will build fishing ports that also serve as storm shelters for fishing boats. Other nat- ural-disaster prevention projects will be launched, and investment priority will be giv- en to upgrading and building river and sea embankments. The province will also mobilise investment capital from ODA and publicprivate part- nership (PPP) resources to develop logistics infrastructure, especially the Bac LieuHa Tien expressway and the Ho Chi Minh Road section. Bac Lieu is cooperating with the neighbouring provinces of Soc Trang, Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau to build transport projects that will promote linkages in the delta. It is also speeding up the widening and upgrading of many roads in its com- mune and rural areas./. FINANCE https://en.vietnamplus.vn/bac-lieu-to-expand-largescale-agricultural-production/ 203323.vnp

Long An improves 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNA efficiency of public Over 1.14 trillion VND (49.5 million USD) have been disbursed in the southern prov- investment ince of Long An since the beginning of this year, or 21.9 percent of the target, equiva- lent to 65.7 percent recorded in the same period last year, reported the provincial Department of Planning and Investment. Director of the department Huynh Van Son said the province allocated over 5.2 trillion VND to projects this year, more than 3.5 trillion VND of which are managed by the province and the remaining by districts. The sum was used for major socio-economic development and breakthrough pro- grammes, and key works. The province also earmarked capital to deal with social welfare and national defence- security issues, as well as cope with climate change. Beneficiary projects must be in the list of mid-term public investment plan for the 2021-2025 period. To improve the efficiency of public investment in remaining months of this year, Chair of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Ut asked district authorities step- ping up online bidding and disbursement, ensuring openness, transparency, fairness and efficiency in line with the law. The locality will also continue effectively dealing with difficulties in site clearance, compensation and offer support in resettlement, particularly in major projects, he said./. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/long-an-improves-efficiency-of-public-investment/ 203298.vnp

Long An to have 4 new 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNS industrial clusters this Long An Province is set to get four industrial clusters this year, Vinh Khang, Tan My, year Tu Phuong, and Hiep Hoa, according to its Department of Industry and Trade. Their developers are expected to clear the lands by the end of this month and then be- gin construction of infrastructure for wastewater treatment, traffic, water, drainage, and electricity, which are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Once completed, they will add nearly 200 hectares to the province's availability of in- dustrial lands. The province has 16 industrial parks with a total area of over 2,282ha and average oc- cupancy of 89.2 per cent. They house 796 foreign projects worth a total of $7.857 billion and 831 local ones worth VND92.32 trillion ($4.02 billion). It is also home to 22 industrial clusters with an occupancy rate of 86.5 per cent. There are 647 projects with a total investment of VND16.128 trillion ($701.2 million), includ- ing 60 foreign ones worth $209.6 million.

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According to its Department of Industry and Trade, the province's industrial cluster development plan for until 2020 envisaged having 62 industrial clusters with a total area of more than 3,100ha by then, but currently only 22 industrial clusters have been put into operation. The department said it would focus on completing the province's industrial cluster de- velopment plan for 2021 30 to attract more investment. Besides, it would monitor and ensure developers of infrastructure in the clusters finish the work in time, it added. http://bizhub.vn/news/long-an-to-have-4-new-industrial-clusters-this- year_325239.html

Many enterprises 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS return to domestically- Sixty percent of raw materials for domestic production are imported. Annually, from made raw materials June to September is the time for enterprises to import raw materials. However, this

FINANCE year many enterprises are facing difficulties when the prices of most raw materials have climbed fairly high. Back to domestic supply Tran Viet Anh, vice Chair of HCM City Union of Business Associations, said that the prices of imported plastic materials delivered in April rose by more than 30 percent compared to the end of last year. In May, the price of ABS plastic pellets set a record high after advancing for 12 consecutive months, up about 130 percent-145 percent, de- pending on the market. In addition, other plastic materials, such as GPPS and HIPS plastic pellets, also increased from 100 percent to 120 percent. This price increase has stunned many enterprises amid the context that the purchasing power is declining. Nguyen Dang Hien, vice Chair of HCM City Food and Foodstuff Association, also in- formed similarly but said that there was good news. Previously, food processing en- terprises had to import up to 60 percent of raw materials, but since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, many enterprises have returned to seek domestically- made raw materials. As one of the largest producers of milk and dairy products in Vietnam, Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) always needs a large amount of fresh milk for production. To take autonomy in the supply, the company has been cooperating with 6,000 dairy farmers and investing in building 13 dairy farms, along with the merger of Moc Chau Milk Company to have a total herd of 150,000 dairy cows. Not stopping there, Vinamilk recently officially put into operation a dairy farm in with up to 8,000 dairy cows. The farm can supply more than 120 tonnes of milk per day, equivalent to nearly 44,000 tonnes of milk per year, supplementing a large vol- ume of raw materials for Vinamilk's factories in Vietnam and abroad, helping the com- pany to be more proactive against the imported raw materials. Along with Vinamilk, many enterprises producing food, foodstuff, and essential goods have also returned to search for available domestic raw materials. Before the pandemic, these enterprises often preferred to choose imported raw materials because of their low prices. Currently, the price of domestic raw materials is still high, but en- terprises can save shipping costs. Moreover, authorities and many localities have quickly supported farming house- holds to link into cooperatives and joint ventures to stably supply raw materials in large quantities for enterprises. This is also an important factor for enterprises to return to domestic raw materials. However, as for raw materials that cannot be produced domestically, enterprises are forced to import them at high prices. Those materials include preservatives and PVC film. Worryingly, the prices of these materials have soared by tens of percent com- pared to the same period last year. This is forecasted to negatively affect the purchas- ing power of the market, which is falling sharply due to the resurgence of the Covid- 19 pandemic. Switching products flexibly According to Dr Huynh Thanh Dien from the University of Economics of HCM City,

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in case that enterprises are forced to import raw materials, the market must accept the price increase of goods. The disruption of the supply chain, along with the fact that countries strengthen trade remedy measures and increase anti-dumping duty, will also cause the raw material prices to escalate globally in the near future. The increase in the selling prices due to rising raw material prices will trigger short-term shocks to the market. The current survey shows that raw materials supplied from the Chinese market are still cheaper than other markets. Therefore, besides looking for more sourc- es of imported raw materials, enterprises need to have firmer negotiations and con- tract signings with suppliers from the Chinese market. Dr Huynh Thanh Dien also said that the government and functional agencies need to have appropriate and timely support solutions for enterprises quickly. As for FDI en- terprises operating in the supply chain, the increase in raw material prices always has a commitment roadmap, as well as strict regulations, so the level of damage in the mar- ket will not be significant. For the remaining enterprises, according to Dr Huynh Thanh Dien, authorities need to FINANCE accelerate support packages, especially the loan package with incentive interest rates. On the other hand, tax rescheduling and tax reduction policies need to be implement- ed more effectively. Enterprises are longing for the State to reduce value-added tax and support vaccination for workers soon because it decides the survival of enterpris- es. However, in the opposite direction, enterprises must also understand that the sup- port resources from the government are limited, and hard to support all enterprises amid the context that the budget revenue is also affected by the pandemic. Therefore, enterprises need to actively reduce fixed costs, make the most of the policy that allows tax payment rescheduling and deferral. Most importantly, enterprises need to flexibly switch products to suit the current needs. https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/many-enterprises-return-to-domesticallymade- raw-materials-92901.html

Coffee chains still 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNS grow amid pandemic Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, competition between coffee chains in Vietnam has become increasingly fierce with more giants trying to grab a slice of the lucrative market. Masan, owned by billionaire Nguyen Dang Quang, Novaland of Bui Thanh Nhon and Tran Kim Thanh's Kido have all heated up the billion-dollar market by entering recent- ly. In May, The Sherpa, a company owned by Masan, purchased 20 per cent of Phuc Long Joint Stock Company, which owns the Phuc Long brand, one of the country's most fa- mous tea and coffee chains. As the firm spent $15 million on the deal, the Phuc Long chain was valued at $75 million, a number that surprised many people, according to some insiders. Set up in Bao Loc City, Lam Dong Province in 1968, Phuc Long expanded into the retail beverage business in 2012 from its three traditional stores in HCM City in the 1980s. Currently, the firm has 60 stores in HCM City and seven in other localities. After the deal, VinCommerce, another Masan member company, will set up a kiosk serving Phuc Long's products at its chain VinMart+, which has more than 2,200 stores across the country. Earlier, realty firm Novaland Group launched a new ecosystem of Nova Consumer to develop the food, beverage and nutrition segment with a closed food production chain from farm to fork. The group has invested more than $200 million to bring together many famous consumer brands in its ecosystem, including PhinDeli coffee. Last year, Vietnamese people spent about VND53 trillion ($2.28 billion) on tea and cof- fee, a growth rate of about 10 per cent annually, an extremely attractive number for chains. Local brand The Coffee House opened 24 stores in the first quarter of this year and plans to open at least another 50 this year to increase its total nationwide to nearly 230 at end of the year and 1,000 by 2025.

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Dinh Anh Huan, chair of The Coffee House, told Vietnam News: "Creating delicious coffee products to serve the local Vietnamese is key to developing the business." Huan said maintaining customer relationships was extremely important for the firm so it focused on developing the customer experience. With savvy, young customers, the firm has built and worked with delivery apps to offer convenient services. He added during the fourth outbreak of COVID-19, though it had to limit and then stop serving customers in-store, online platforms had enjoyed a lot of use. Besides its 'Legend' brand, Trung Nguyen Coffee is trying to expand its E-Coffee franchise chain, a small coffee stall targeted at takeaway customers, and plans to open 16 more stores nationwide. Most recently, confectionery firm Kido said it was also about to enter the coffee market. Though Kido did not reveal which coffee segment it would join, the firm announced it would start offering coffee products this year. Foreign firms have also shown interest in the local market. Previously the largest local brand with about 340 coffee shops across the country alongside FINANCE the most revenue and profit, Highlands Coffee is now owned by Jollibee Group, a Filipino giant in the chain restaurant business. Other foreign names in the local market include Starbucks, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Thailand's Cafe Amazon. With a plan to expand its stores in Vietnam, Cafe Amazon told local media that Vietnam was one of 10 markets outside Thailand where the parent company was expected to spend up to $2.5 billion to expand in the next five years. Among the chains, Highlands Coffee led the market in term of sales with VND2 trillion in 2019, followed by The Coffee House with VND863 billion, then Starbucks with VND783 billion, Phuc Long with VND779 billion and Trung Nguyen with VND409 billion. Due to the growing middle class in Vietnam, Euromonitor Worldwide valued the local coffee and tea retail market at more than $1 billion. The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Asso- ciation reported the rapid increase in the number of coffee chains has boosted their con- sumption to more than 10 per cent of the country's coffee output. As the per capita coffee consumption in Vietnam is only a third of the global average, the association sees the market as very attractive for both domestic and foreign businesses. http://bizhub.vn/news/coffee-chains-still-grow-amid-pandemic_325238.html

Property market to 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS face three big The property market will become more volatile in the second half of the year with low li- pressures: expert quidity, a listless secondary market and higher prices, an economist has predicted. The number of transactions in both the primary and secondary markets would decline by 30-50 percent, Huynh Phuoc Nghia, vice dean of the HCM City University of Economics's international business faculty, told VnExpress. The flow of money into all segments like apartment, villa, shop-house, and land has slowed down due to the psychological impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, he said. Prices are rigged by intermediates and investors in secondary market, so investors would find it difficult to make big profits this year, he said. Meanwhile, flows of money into the realty market are mainly loans, especially short-term ones, he said, noting that recent land fevers have driven property prices to the inflated lev- el, inciting many investors to borrow money to buy real estates to resell them. Inflated prices of real estates have resulted in bigger bad debts which not only become a burden for the property market, but also affect the whole economy, because it takes a dec- ade or more to solve bad debts, Nghia stated. The State Bank of Vietnam, the country's central bank, should tighten monitoring credits for the real estate sector, the expert said, noting that the credit growth in the sector has al- ready reached 15 percent in the first months of this year, compared with the ceiling rate of 12 percent set by the bank. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/industries/property-market-to-face-three-big-pres- sures-expert-4296575.html

Intellasia 21 June 2021 26 / 60 Vietnam finance & business 21 June 2021

Demand for industrial 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS land frozen amid The industrial property market has slumped as a result of the latest Covid-19 outbreak, Covid but industry insiders expect a strong recovery as soon as the pandemic is contained. HCM City chair Nguyen Thanh Phong recently convened a meeting with industrial land developers to find out about the difficulties they face. They told him that one of the challenges was the high cost of land which increased rents and made the market less attractive. Nguyen Van Be, chair of the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Au- thority, said the industrial real estate market has nearly been frozen since the latest wave began at the end of April, with prices not increasing and few companies renting new lands to expand. In the southern industrial province of Long An, the number of industrial investments in the first five months fell by seven from the same period last year to 58. Industry insiders there said in the last two months demand for industrial land has fall-

FINANCE en by 50-60 percent. John Campbell, head of industrial real estate at property consultancy Savills Vietnam, said the rising number of Covid cases, especially in HCM City, has contributed to the fall in demand as companies cannot visit locations to check them out due to social dis- tancing. But demand would recover just like it did after the previous Covid waves were con- tained. Dozens of new industrial parks were approved in the first quarter, including five in the northern province of Bac Ninh, each costing hundreds of millions of dollars to de- velop. In Long An, around 1,500 hectares of lands are set to be cleared for industrial purposes this year to attract foreign investment, especially in the textile and garment, footwear and animal feed industries. Dong Nai plans to build three new industrial parks with a total area of nearly 6,500 ha. Other localities that have received approvals for new industrial parks are Vinh Phuc and Hai Duong in the north, Quang Tri and Quang Nam in the central region and Vinh Long in the south. Foreign investors remain interested in developing industrial land thanks to Vietnam's success in containing Covid. Several deals have been signed this year. Singaporean real estate developer Boustead Projects paid $6.9 million to acquire a 49 percent stake in Khai Toan Industrial to develop its property at Yen Phong Industrial Park. ESR Cayman Limited, a major developer in the Asia-Pacific, tied up with local player BW to develop 240,000 square meters of land at the My Phuoc 4 Industrial Park in the southern province of Binh Duong. As of the end of the first quarter this year Vietnam had 370 industrial parks with 115,200 ha, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/industries/demand-for-industrial-land-frozen- amid-covid-4296595.html

Resort real estate sales 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS plummet over Covid- Only 19 percent of new beachfront villas were sold in May as the real estate segment 19 impacts felt the impacts of the latest Covid-19 outbreak. Up to 116 resort villas from six projects came into the market in May, 2.2 times that of the previous month, according to real estate consultancy DKRA Vietnam. The new villas are located in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the south-cen- tral province of Binh Thuan and Phu Quoc Island in southern Kien Giang Province. However, only 22 units of the new supply were sold. Meanwhile, a total of 193 new houses and shophouses in coastal areas were put on sale in May, down 72 percent from the previous month. This new supply was in the three markets of Phu Quoc Island and the south-central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Binh

Intellasia 21 June 2021 27 / 60 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam cautious investors should be Shares tomoveupbut flow peak on strong cash VN Indexhits new BUSINESS Intellasia BIZ NEWS Many smallandmediumstocks Many 2.9%-5.2%. soaredby HSG and Among the steel stocks, TLH and SMC shot up to their ceiling prices, while NKG,POM close. the at percent 3.2 key driv among was VHM developer Housing lion shares. while lender VCBmadeastrongrise andre In the group ofbankstocks, Over 58 million shares valued at VND2.8 trillion were traded in block deals. sion. over 5 trillion,up inboth VND23.7 percent volu losers.Trade 138 winnersand 249 with by17.85 close,the index At the main jumped Exchangeuptoday, Stock June 18,to Strong cash flow into bankand steel stoc 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES over-covid-19-impacts-4296428.html https://e.vnexpress.net/news der controlandvaccination becomeswidespread,it said. be boostedin market can 19 situation.The said furtherdevelopmentsintheresort It about theinvestors hesitant Covid-19 thefourth that explained DKRA Thuan. Ofthese, only81units were so week but investors should adop Securities companieshaveforecast thatth 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| maintain an increase and movetowards astr the Index would VN likely itwas said (BOS) Joint Company Stock Securities BOS index's uptrend," it said. zone of1,400points.Therefore, investors "However, the buyingforce mightincrease in the coming points towardsthetarget of tinue sessions. 1,400 According toSSI Securities Incorporation (S lastworth week, VND23.9 tr were million shares of770.9 average An week. 1.93per last It gained cent intotal points close Friday at1,377.77 On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), theVN Index gained 1.31 per cent, to flow.html https://english.thesaigont stocks were among the best performers. finished toth the day contributed up and Other largecaps such assecurities comp hands. shares16.7 changing million lead the SHB alsotook mild rise.Lender a Among the bank stocks, NVBended at the a close,inchingup at the points at 318.73 HN 109 gainersand84decliners, the With matching volume of30millionshares. Financial firm FIT wasalsoone ofbiggest ga shares traded. FLC became themost actively traded stoc FLCwith maintaining propertygroup its imes.vn/82629/vn-index-hit trillion (US$1 billion). resort realestatemarket. HDB, EIB, BID, MBB and TCB were in positive territory, territory, inpositive were and TCB MBB BID, EIB, HDB, /business/industries/resort- , the highest milestone sofar. alsobecamecashmagnets t risk managementmeasures. a new record of 1,377.77 points. record of1,377.77 new a ld, a 84 percent month-on-monthdecline. ld, a84percent anies SHS and MBS and service company THD company service andMBS and anies SHS should focuson risk ma ks pushedtheVNIndex of the Hochiminh realdepend estatemarket ontheCovid- will e growth of the index, while many steel the index, while e growthof slight 0.52 percent fromthe session earlier. aded on the southern exchange each session k on thesouthern marketwith53 million growth momentum and closing up3.1%. e stock market's uptrend may continue this this continue may uptrend market's e stock X-Index of the Hanoi Stock Exchange stood Hanoi StockExchange X-Index ofthe the long run as the pandemic is brought un- the pandemic isbrought run as long the outbreak, whichstartedApril27, hasmade on thenorthern bourse by liquidity, with reference price, while SHB and BAB made volume and valuefromthe previous ses- when theindexapproaches the resistance ported amatchingvolumeofover3.2mil- me totalled over 809 million shares worth sharesworth 809 million over me totalled SI), the SI), Indexhasthe tocon- VN impetus onger resistance area at 1,3801,400 points. 1,3801,400 onger resistance area at iners, rising by 2 pe 2 by rising iners, points, or 1.31%, against the day earlier, the dayearlier, 1.31%, against or points, ers of the southern bourse, improving s-new-peak-on-strong-cash- real-estate-sales-plummet- and moved attheend, up rcent and reporting a nagement duringthe 21 June 2021 28 / 60 28/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam in Q1 despite positive results more challenges Beverage stocksface Intellasia other big beer producer inVietnam, alsoreco cording to this plan, Sabeco a targetofnearlyVND33.5 trillion netreve in MeetingofShareholde general At thisyear's VND986.2 billion. resulting inaga million), (US$253.6 VND5.86 trillion Similarly, Hanoi Beer Alcoho per centoftheprofit plan. that as ofMarch31,thecompan nies inproducing beer, report Corporati Beverage and AlcoholBeer Saigon months oflastyear. last year.Beer output more was year in the firstfivemonthsof in year per cent month-on-month inMay. However,theincreased index 12.8per cent overthe toThisindex the ofindustrial led production ( COVID-19, includingre socialdistan imposed provinces some May In morehas toface challeng Despite the positivebusiness results in the fi VNS INTELLASIA| 21/JUN/2021 "From atechnicalpoint ofview,VN Inde the among investorsthanbefore," it said. is stillrelatively "The buyingdemand age level ofthe last 20tradingweeks. with reduced liquiditythe prev to compared week last rallied themarket said (SHS) Company Stock Joint Securities Saigon-Hanoi said. stopped," VDSC not "The spreadofsmartmoneyhas tors' sentiment. VN Indexset anewpeakwithmanystocks (V Securities JointStockCompany Viet Dragon tomovetowardstheshort-term the oldpeak bu enter anew market may "Technically, the ties andsteel have helpedVNIndex reachanew high. correction intheearly sessions SecuritiesMB Joint Stock Company (MBS) believes themarket hasrecovered after the points in the early sessions of this week tothe However, the according company, in cautious_325246.html http://bizhub.vn/markets (VND) rising 9.8percentand Se SSI cent,Saig per 14.4 up (VCI) The financial group alsoperformed well with (DCM) rising 6.6percentand KimGroup(NKG)gaining4.2per Nam cent. per cent, HoaSen Group(HSG)up7.3per ce up7.5 (DPM) My Fertilisers Phu including stocks, bymaterials followed They were (PLX) climbing4.6percentand Binh SonRefinery (BSR)increasing 8.8 pe 6.6 per up (GAS) as PetroVietnamGasJSC Energy stocks gained themost last week, mainly thanks tothe increase ofpillars such session on June 21toassessthetr still is Therefore, it dropped. liquidity momentumover gaining theindex's "However, around 1,400 points," it said. for an anopportunity opens 1,375 points strictions in gatherings and dining out. dining and gatherings in strictions /shares-to-move-up-but es in the near future. es inthe has accomplished17.5percent on-Hanoi Securities Co(SHS) l and Beverage Join Beverage l and 2021, while the IIP declined 14. 2021,IIP declined whilethe ed a significant improvement. asignificant ed than 1.7 billion litres, up 11.7 up billion litres, than 1.7 y's net revenue rose 19per cent of June. Thereturn ofleadin PV Oil (OIL) up 3.5 per PV Oil(OIL)up cent. end oftheVNIndex," it said. curities Co(SSI) strong. However, there was more caution necessary toobserve movementsin more the before confirming the short-term uptrend. extension of the uptrend with the targetwith theextension oftheuptrend r cent, Vietnam NationalPetroleum Group rs, thecompanypassedth rst quarter of 2021, the 2021, rst quarterof on (Sabeco, SAB),one ofthe leadingcompa- cent, PV Power (POW)rising 2.1 per cent, rded a goodperformanceinthefirst quarter. nue and nearly nearly VND5.3 nue and dex may retest the old peak of 1,3701,375 dex mayretesttheold of1,3701,375 peak rising tonewpriceranges, boosting inves- cing measures to contain the new wave of of wave new the contain to measures cing x endinglastweekab IIP) of the beverage industry to fall by 0.5 by0.5 fall to industry beverage the IIP) of llish waveafter successfully surpassing ious week, but still higher than the aver- than but stillhigher ious week, target at 1,4201,450 points,"itsaid. at 1,4201,450 target nt, PetroVietnam CaMauFertiliser JSC gainers like Viet Capital Incorporation gainers likeViet t StockCorporation -investors-should-be- DSC) said at the end of last week, the the week, last of end the at said DSC) 1,375 pointsisnotdefinitiveand the in of 38 per cent in profit after tax to tax 38 percentinprofitafter of in up 2.7cent. per of the revenue plan and 18.6 plan and of therevenue up 10.2 per cent, VNDirect VNDirect cent, per up 10.2 per compared per compared to the first five Its financial results showed showed financial results Its 6 per cent in the same period 6 percentinthe g stocks like banks, securi- year-on-yearto more than beverage industry still beverage industry ove thethreshold of (Habeco, BHN), an- (Habeco, BHN), e business plan with with plan business e trillion in Ac- trillion profit. 21 June 2021 29 / 60 29/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam remain unchanged. Vietnam stock market into capital flowing Factors keeping Intellasia "Meanwhile, the fact that international or fact thatinternational "Meanwhile, the investors would join stockmarket. 2022, more the break and therollout ofthe vaccination prog tothe out- According face of in ofthe VFCA, the serious Covid-19 the nature fourth est report on the local stockmarket. Associati The VietnamFinancialConsultant would remainunchanged. until late 2021, especially asfactors he that stock marketcontinuestobean Vietnam's face certainrisks. The mid-term outlook of the 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| HANOI TIMES sults-in-q1_325245.html http://bizhub.vn/markets/beverage-stocks-f The lack tourists isalsoaffect of terials affectconsumption may demand and prices.product only recover in 2022. For the beer industry, thew therecoveryof forecastthat tiously With thecurrent developments ofthepandem cent forthe year, fromVND20, postedKhanh HoaSanestBeverage moremodestgrowth,(SKH) JSCshares up11per tomarkets. from factory large with groundwater quality of5,000 a plex with capacity will the In 2021, build company a Sanna beve per cent since the beginning oftheye Sanna Khanh Hoa Beverage JSC (SKN)shar (on administrative for penalties water, healthy drinks because these products On the contrary, investors are looking at cent. per 17.3 down Dinh Beer (BBM) JSC HanoiNam percent, 17.4 and fell (HAT) JSC Trading Beer Stocks ofSABandBHN's subsidiaries repo of theweek, down 16.3 per cent sharesweretradedat VN BHN Meanwhile, to April and16.5per cent since the beginningofthe year. SAB shares closed lastFriday at VND171,200 per share,down 4.3cent per compared to witness a positive break through. season forbeverage is aperfect summer though On thestockmarket, there havebeenreduct tively. profit after hascompleted25.5pe Habeco tax, this year'stargetofnearlyVND5.4 With year. last ofVND47. tax company postedaprofitafter VND1.4 trillion, up78 per cent over the sa statement, financial quarter's first In its "The State Bank ofVietnam (S "The State to lookforinvestmentchannels, includingth The VFCA also pointed out the current low-in port market development," itadded. the localeconomy with estimated GDP growth major markets intheEurope and USare recovering. Another factoristhatlocal enterprises ha icies to supportpeople and businesses affe products per hour. The goal of the project is to use good is touse project The goaloftheper hour. products market remainsinvestors may but inshort-term, bright,market BV) is expected tomaintain BV) is 900 to VND23,200 last Friday. last VND23,200 to 900 ing the industry products' consumption. alcoholusers drivingtraffic). reserves, to reduce the cost reserves, toreduce compared toearlier thisyear. ar, rising from VND9,200 toVND18,500. ar, rising fromVND9,200 Habeco saiditsrevenue reachednearly trillion in net revenueand VND255 billion in ve gradually adapted to a new normal, while companies producing soft drinks, mineral mineral drinks, soft producing companies hole industry will be slow, anddemand will ganisations providing attractive investmentchannelfromnowon me period of last year. Consequently,periodthe oflast me lp attract capital to flow themarket toflow into capital attract lp cted bythepandemic," stated theVFCA. rted asimilartrend. For example, Hanoi ace-more-challenges-despite-positive-re- besides the thepriceepidemic, ofrawma- D64,000 pershare D64,000 on the last tradingday es, whichlisted on UPCOM, surged 101 ions sincethebeginning oftheyear.Even on (VFCA) madetheassessmentits in lat- 6 billion while it hadlost VND98.3 billion e stockmarket,withhigher profitreturns. rage factory in Song Cau Industrial Com- Industrial Song Cau in rage factory ramme, scheduled to complete by late are not affected by Decree No. 100/2019 notaffectedbyDecreeNo.100/2019 are terest environmentasa factor forpeople r cent and 19 per cent ofitsplan, respec- ic, the expert team of SSI Research cau- of expertic, the team of 6.5-7.1 percent would furtherpercent of6.5-7.1sup- would stocks to reverse course, it is difficult difficult is it course, reverse to stocks its current interest rate pol- oftransportingproducts a positiveoutlookon 21 June 2021 30 / 60 30/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam provinces regulations in all Covid-prevention require universal Government urgedto Intellasia first five months of 2021, In a draft report to the prime minister ab ply anti-epidemic on measures thei notallowed to arbitrarilyap- should be and citiesand provinces control, vention and The governmentshould develop nationwid 21/JUN/2021VIETNAMNET INTELLASIA| correction ph VFCA saidashort However, the added. risk ofcorrection,"it strong boostfromstocksof at arapidrateof expands the market "As may facecertain risk "The mid-term outlookof the market remain from theirforeignpeers and takethe Vn-Index to a new height. of li the pre-taxprofit first quarter,In the The governmenthas been asked toextend access support. identify need the subjects to exactly that su needtobe theregulations Enterprises say ple, companies are only eligible if more th amend somerequirementsbelieve whichthey First, procedures on access togovernment that the solutions 12 groupsof stock-market-remain-unchanged-747524.html https://vietnamnet.vn/en/bus pose long-termrisks. also could stock marketout ofthe alsonoted theforeig The association that losses while themarket continues to rise," theVFCAwarned. and emotional of financialknowledge "Lack VFCA expects the market wouldbe extrem the ofcapital themajority in With market thing" forVietnam's stockmarket in the long term. pacts of a record net-sell amount ofVND ofarecordnet-sell pacts amount investor from local inflows capital The huge market growth," it said. "Individual investors dominated the market few tradingsessions. million) in 2020 to trillion(US$301 VND7 on June4. With market sentiment on the rise The Vn-Index roseby7percent in Mayto Investors face risks in short-term VFCA. asserted the are disclosed," ond quarter to 17xonce"The ratioisforecasttomoderate 29-30x. countries such those ofneighbouring pared to the rangeAt present, Vn-Index'sin P/Eis the the stated VFCA. into stock market," tobe inflows forthechanneled capital tivation (P/E) ratioofthebenchmarkthe pricetoearnings improve Vn-Indexandserves asmo- "A strongprofitgrowthinthesecond qu to continue rising sharplyin the last base of year-on-year.the low Given Enterprises want thedelay of the 2percent taxreduction. registration tomobile and for2020 employment insurancepremiums 50 percent reduction forpayments forsocial income the corporate including 2021, end of s," stated theVFCA. the Ministry ofPl steel, banks,andsecurities companyhaveheightened the this second added. it quarter," iness/factors-keeping-capital-flowing-into-vietnam- business community has suggested. has community business r own, officials haveproposed. sted non-financialfirms out enterprise development in 2020 and developmentin2020 the enterprise out arter ofVietnamese enterprises wouldhelp n investors wouldkeep pullingthemoney 30 trillion bill (US$1.3 of 18.5-18.7x, consideredof 18.5-18.7x, notexpensivecom- coming from new investors,akaF0,the nearly 10 percent nearly 10percent with in the month a past VND28 trillion (US$1.2 billion) in the past past inthe billion) (US$1.2 trillion VND28 an 50 percent of workers have lost jobs. lost ofworkershave percent 50 an 1,328.05 and continued to go up to 1,374.05 to1,374.05 andcontinuedtogoup 1,328.05 compiled inaclearand compiled realistic way soas support policies.Enterp anning and Investment(MPI)summarised support packagesfor support pport, and to make it easier and quicker to quicker to it easier pport, and and make payment for thetrade union feeor afeere- ely vulnerable to negative information. tonegative vulnerable ely secondare expected profits quarter, "their e universal regulations on Covid-19 pre- universal regulations e business results of public firms in thesec- in firms public of results business insurance, andhealth insurance andun- s were enough to offset the negativeim- enough tooffset were s tax and land rent payment extension,the and landrent tax and were the decisive factor behind the from increase afour-fold saw , liquidity s bright, but in the short-term, investors investing could lead to many suffering suffering to lead many could investing as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia at and Malaysia Thailand, Indonesia, as are too strict and not feasible. Forexam- andnot too strict are ase to calm ase tocalm down the 2021; and to continue the50percentau- andtocontinue 2021; ion) since early 2021 2021 early ion) since surged by 157 percent surged by157 businesses until the until businesses rises have asked to asked rises have market is "a good good "a is market 21 June 2021 31 / 60 31/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia ernment and National Assembly (NA) toallowthe delay oftradeunion fee payment In addition, MPIhasalsosuggested that havealsobeensuggested. for2021 toVND1,000 VND2,100 duction for autos that newly re A zero percent VAT for six months for transport firms, a 50-percent registration tax re- cut service fees, stimulate demand fields most seriouslyby hit Covid-19, such astourismand hospitals. would This help tobeapplied by50 percent in2021, to the was business VAT tocut asked the MOF enue ofno more thanVND200billion. operatives, publicnon-business units andot IncomeTaxby30pe the cutting Corporate 2021 It proposed thattheMinist tax, feeand land rent. MPI hasasked theprimeminister to assignmi enterprises who regularly have togo ab with priority given toworkers in Industrial Zones, foreign specialists, andworkers in vaccination programme,to speed up the plan ona asked toworkout has been MOH operation.hinder enterprises' the soas measures throughout country, onasked toissue instructionsbeen MOH has to reach the dualgoals of fighting Co to assignministriesandbran In thedraft, theMinistry of Planningan unev and satisfactory thattheimprovements caus Enterprises said products and services. sector so that technologyfirms can access tupsdevelop; to set and atransparentopendata mechanismon sources ofthepublic They want the government toapplythesa for theirproduction and business activities. Enterprises haveasked to someamend legal and create favourable conditions for peop the formofcertificate. There should be a including certificates, vaccination onissuing regulations universal toset necessary It is thegovernment. accompany Enterprises wanttospeedupthe vaccinati there centers satisfying The force shouldincludenot only vaccinati gramme. necessary also is It MOH. the by forcetosatisf vaccination to expand the accepted vaccines of list the on based vaccines buy to with vaccine suppliers innegotiating the totake initiative allowed be also They should Health (MOH)instructions. prises should beallowed to They havealsoproposedspeedingupvacci products.for enterprisestheir whendistributingproblems fighting measures, because the arbitrary appl Cities andprovincesprohibited shouldbe provided. tion is to en acrossthecountry Covid-19 fighting The business community said that the go ing cameras on transportautomobiles prior to July 1. July 1);andthe take effecton expected to works,utilities publicand worksseaport in(which isareas inHCMCity bordergate They haveaskedtoreview andclarify the duction of 1percent. en atalllevels. quirements setby MOH. ry ofFinance (MOF vaccinate theirstaff in accord ches andrelated organisationsto continue joiningforces gister for service,andanair-fuel from transport cut , and support domestic , andsupportdomestic travel. vid-19 andensuring economicdevelopment. y theneeds of a large-scale vaccinationpro- road forbusiness and meet foreigners. d Investment (MPI) asked the prime minister to avoid excessive local-only rulesexcessive which local-only to avoid the Vietnam LabourFederation ask the gov- QR Codeonthe tobettercontrol certificates vernment needs thesa Ministry of Transport's regulation on install- regulation on Ministry ofTransport's digitalresources to develop innovative to independently apply their ownpandemic to independentlyapply le to travel within Vietnam and abroad. Vietnam and within le to travel sure that accurate and thataccurate sure transparent informa- regulation on fees for using infrastructure infrastructure onfeesforusing regulation ndbox mechanism tohelptechnology star- on process and arewillingto support and on centers but also hospitals and medical hospitals and also on centersbut nations forworkers atenterprises. Enter- her organisationsthat had 2020 total rev- ed by administrative reform remainun- by administrative ed classification documents that have ication ofdifferent ) should compile the draft resolution on nistries and branches topropose cuts in rcent, to be applied to enterprises, co- enterprises, to applied be rcent, to ance with theMinistry of rules for the application of rulesthe application for me regulations on me regulations measures has caused caused difficulties 21 June 2021 32 / 60 32/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS in HCM City suspended based cars vehicles andapp- Public transport finance& business Vietnam Vietnam in arrivals vaccine JUNE 20:Sinopharm Intellasia ic Covid-19, but said there is insufficient tr insufficient thereis said but ic Covid-19, jabsSinopharm's two are 72.8 intheJourna published A study nam, Vietnamese people to study and work in work and study to people Vietnamese nam, Group Co.,(Sinopharm), Ltd is dedicatedto for emergency us vaccine wasapproved by Sinopharm Covid-19 China. with areas bordering in living those distance between people to1. also suspended The municipalauthoritieshave the Covid-19 pandemichitVietnam in early 2020. This isthesecondtimethat ration. with Covid-19preventi ply services, bothpassenger taxi for transpor rising with cope to inemergencycases. tohospitals ry patients measures prevention The decision isnotappliedtovehiclesdesign pandemic tougher city's Covid-19 infections. the of part is this said June 19 urgent directivereleasedon an In people over1,500 citywide. fected and app-basedcars June 20tocurb from The HCM City authorities have suspended public and inter-provincial buses, taxis, to ahaltsince theCovid-19pand havecome City) (HCM City masstransitnetworkinHCM that secondtime This is the 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| HANOI TIMES vention-regulations-in-al https://vietnamnet.vn/en/feature/governmen firms. and in2020 2021; and 50percent fee reduction The vaccine, which is developed by Chinese Chinese developed by is The vaccine,which Vietnaminrived on June 20asthe Chinese government's donation. of China-madeSARS-C batch of500,000 doses A China. nam, Vietnameseworkin people studyingand administer be would vaccine made-in-China The TIMES HANOI INTELLASIA| 21/JUN/2021 317792.html themunicipaladministrationhasbl Previously, three people. five to http://hanoitimes. id-19 outbreak. time ofwriting,Vietnamhasdocume At the April. since late were cases country, ofwhich80 Ministry ofHealthhas 20, the As ofJune the restarebein Forty-one new cases in the southern metropolis are detected in quarantined areas, while count to second place nation count tosecond Health,the new According totheMinistryof 19. on June vaccine doses 836,000 AstraZeneca herd immunity as soon aspossible, following The municipalauthorities alsofocusonthe ac these loca Binh TanandHocMon,as g contact traced. ed by the World Health Orga World Health ed bythe vn/public-transport-vehicles-and-ap l-provinces-747019.html mass transitnetworksinHCMCity on regulations, including mask on regulations,including wide in the ongoing wave, surpassing Bac Ninh Province. Bac NinhProvince. surpassing wave, ongoing in the wide 5 meters fromtwome 5 percent and 78.1perc percent l of the American Medical Asso l oftheAmericanMedical detectedinHCM emic hit Vietnam in early 2020. tions have become new virus hotbeds. confirmed 130 domesticin confirmed ial data elderly from and vulnerable groups. the novel coronavirus spread, which has in- which the novelcoronavirusspread, t andgoods delivery, but drivers must com- nted 9,850communitycasesinthefourthCov- night, themunicipalPeople's Committee vaccinating Chinese citizens working inViet- working Chinesecitizens vaccinating Neither does it affect app-based motorbike motorbike app-based affect it does Neither state-ownedNati China patients havepropelle the kick-offof amassinoculation drive with celeration of Covid-19 vaccination toreach of celeration China, and re China, g inChina,near andinhabitantswho live nization (WHO) on May 7,2021. on nization (WHO) t-urged-to-require-universal-covid-pre- flea marketscitywide, shortened the safety in December 2020 and waslisted BeijinginDecember2020 ated bylocal transport authoritiestocar- ockaded six quartersin and MOTexempttolls that for transport oV-2 Vaccine(VeroCell),Inactivatedar- ed to Chinese nationals working inViet- toChinesenationalsworking ed City that has recorded 1,481 carriers City thathasrecorded ent effective at pr effective ent ters, andlimitpublic p-based-cars-sus sidents in need, inneed, especially sidents donning and health decla- and health donning ciation inMayshowedthat have come toahaltsince d the HCM City'scase d theHCM fections in the whole fections in eventing symptomat- onal Pharmaceutical onal Pharmaceutical thetwodistrictsof pended-in-hcmc- 21 June 2021 33 / 60 33/ 2021 June 21 gatherings from 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam HCM City spread COVID from toprevent measures IPs in DongNai take strategy COVID-19 response Technologya prong in Intellasia Busy trade occurs daily between HCM Cityan trade occurs dailybetween Busy cent toHCM City. 867587.vov https://english.vov.vn/en/society/technol coronavirus in thecountry. have broughtintoplaytheir roleincontri scientists who the country'ssenior developed by wereof thoseproductsA number contact. direct lecting waste,thusminimising transporting workersin health to replace Notably, medical and delivery robots havebe with the pandemic combat. testing kitsan products suchas nological Many other businesses contacts. ofCOVID-19 thetracing in assisting importance its proving compan and software acybersecurity BKAV, sites andcrowdedplaces. intelligence artificial with (IoT) of things University HCMCityhasunveiledatechnolog ness oftechnologyinthefigh tracing,and declaration, Health contact te 21/JUN/2021VNA INTELLASIA| http://hanoitimes.vn/june-20-sinopharm-v from thecurrent 100,000/day. day per samples 500,000 to capacity testing its improve will the city that, with Along intheshortesttime. to stopthe clusters transmission The widespread lockdown is aimed to minimise contact to enable the local authorities Committee for Covid-19 PreventionandControl. of themunicipalPeople's Duong Committee A Chair todeputy according pandemic," the fight to measure thestrongest is This gency. emer- an for except out go not do are, you where stay to is lockdown of principle "The areas. which meansthatthestay-at-homeor level, the restrictionsraisedRegarding countermeasures, toonemore HCMCityonJune20 donated byRussia. AstraZenecaFacility, impo fromCOVAX the Thus far, Vietnam has received three ki in more 70countries. than plied through thegovernment'sdonation an Sinopharm hasproducedroughly450milli ment board, said that ment board,saidthat local face businesses Pham VanCuong, deputyhead of Dong Na inthe hotspot country. COVID-19 the currently largest is third andthe against COVID-19 tect themselves industrial Nai Province's Businesses inDong 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| Meanwhile, a group ofscientistsfromthe circumstances. forspecial plans response up gear mechanisms for monitoring people entering make forecast developmentson thepandemic's in the Vietnamandthe world, setup prongs of the COVID-19 responseprongs ofthe COVID-19 PrimeMinh Chinhrecently affi ministerPham Control, saidhis team has continuallyappl tion responseteam attheNationalSteerin Deputy minister ofScience andTechnology have also created a number of hi number of have alsocreateda t againstCOVID- strategy inthenewperiod. nds of Covid-19vaccines namely Sinopharm; to concurrently manage people in quarantine ogy-a-prong-in-covid- d vaccines and commercialised them tohelp commercialised d vaccinesand food, medicine, andessentialgoodscol- buting to the successful combat against the against combat tothe successful buting g Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and g CommitteeforCOVID-19Prevention sting appshave proving been the effective- accine-arrivals-in-vietnam-317794.html risk oftransmissionfromHCM City, which Medicine Faculty at d ahigh risk because ied technology toeval on doses, including 100million doses sup- der was imposed in affected and high-risk high-risk and affected in imposed was der Vietnam and thoseunder quarantine, and i Industrial ZonesAuthority'smanage- Bui The Duy, head of the quick informa- d export. The vaccinehas been available rt, and donated by Japan; andSputnik V parks are takingstrictmeasuresto pro- y, developed Bluezonethe app that is en put into use at quarantine sites sites so as en put atquarantine into use rmed that technology is one of the three one ofthe that technology is rmed d Dong Nai so there is a riskof COVID Dong Naisothere is d ical solutionthatcombinedthe internet 19 in Vietnam. 19 in nh Duc, who is also gh-quality scientific andtech- the Vietnam National the Vietnam 19-response-strategy- the province is adja- provinceis the uate the situation, head ofthecity's 21 June 2021 34 / 60 34/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam pandemic inHCM City pandemic Contactless deliveryin Intellasia city_325231.html http://bizhub.vn/news/ipsin-dong-nai-takem ranked sixthinexports. is amongthetoppr Nai production might suspend and evaluate COVID-19risks in their workplac in is ZonesAuthority Industrial Nai The Dong The provincealsocarrying outrand is at pandem perature taken All workers who enter the province have to make a health declaration and have their tem- and pick-up and drop-off locations. from HCMCityhavetoregister their busnu workers their transport buses to Businesses using work. for the province who enter virus recently has made both made has recently virus GrabBike driverin that a The information NEWS SGGP INTELLASIA| 21/JUN/2021 re issued has Province Nai Dong Meanwhile, stay safe. The company also hashealth that his company hadbeen raisingstaffawareness about thepandemicand how to Vi Vinh, operationdirector ofFujitsu Le Duc to theirhomesinother areas. returning of instead Nai in Dong canstay workers and experts that so spaces living ing COVID. Theyhavebeenfollowingstri from Businesses attheindustrial parks aretrying overthelasttwoweeks. City patients The province has identified 111 F1 cases authorit with working began immediately Industrial Amata City's Bien Hoa or F0)in On June8theprovince recorded thefirstF1 contact with localsin the province. who workinDongNai residents City HCM Phan Huy AnhVu, director of the province's some of whom reside in HCMCity andtravel backand forth every day. entering the province's 32 industrialparks commerce activities formation raises questions on the pandemic prev them topick up. he of infront ready packages leaves the she monthsShe ago. said thatcurrently, whenever shereceives calls from delivery workers, few a online business doing started District, Vap Go in 58, Thanh, pandemic, the to Due or receive fooddirectly, hecannotreject themeither. arealsosomewh delivery workers advance by bank accounts or Hoang,afood online. Nguyen These days, eateries are not allo before. drivers as ofgatherin when tired instead diately he feels thisishismain because income-generating day ters. Despite the pandemic,he still regularlyopens the appand receives customers every as cannot he and people, of alot carry to have he pandemic, the during situation work about his fullofcoat 23-year-old driver, a upwas Hung, me Picking a ride. Grab appto book the Iopened morning, Saturday On havetowork Afraid, butstill ping online. are encouragedto limit "Doing that is to respects your health and your family," she said. she family," your and health your respects to is that "Doing ovinces in Vietnam in terms of ovinces inVietnamterms ic inspection stations. ic inspection activities in areas vulnerable activitiesinareas ride-hailing driversan e-wallets and contact and restrict e-wallets and facemask inaccordance wi delivery worker, said that ma that said worker, delivery wed toserve diners directly, at feeling safe. However, forcustomerswho However, safe. pay bycash at feeling om COVID-19tests at industrial parks. clinic rooms with areas. clinicroomswith quarantine HCM City wasinfected HCM with the SARS-CoV-2 and around 5,600 F2 cases related to HCM HCM to related cases F2 5,600 and around r house and stands2 meters away, waiting for that employmore than 1.2 millionworkers, ies to trace and quarantine contacts. ies quarantine totrace and the spreadofCovi Park. The local Centre for Disease Control for Disease The localCentre Park. easures-to-prevent-c tomaintainproductionwhilestayingsafe ct preventive measures, with some prepar- ct preventivemeasures, with case (close contact with an infectedcase (closecontactwith person structing businesses to carry out inspections businesses tocarryout structing k his passengers to keep a distance of 2me- of a distance tokeep passengers his k g in the street to chit-chat with his fellow with in thestreet tochit-chat g mberof workers platesandprovide alist etnam at Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park, said Park, 2 Industrial BienHoa at etnam and tested positive forCOVIDhave had gulations to manage Department of Health, said that some some that said Health, of Department es and dormitories. Th anddormitories. es job. He said that he would go home imme- home go would he that said He job. ention inthedelivery lamented that the nature of hisjobisto lamentedthatthenatureof d users worried. Inthecontextthate- worried. d users exports and production.In 2020 it to COVIDtransmission.Dong when receiving when so peoplecan onlyorder food ny people make payments in payments make people ny th regulations. When I asked th regulations.WhenI ovid-spreadfrom-hcm- d-19pandemic, this in- HCM City residents residents City HCM activitywhenshop- e province said it e province said 21 June 2021 35 / 60 35/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 food. Hence, BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Covid to survivehouse calls make manicurists Hairdressers, Intellasia "Our job is the same but we have to travel a lot more so it is more challenging," a barber barber a challenging," more is it so more lot a travel to have we but same the is job "Our https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/contac soon. There are many opinions thatdelivery work comp vention measuresand letter torequestride-hailinganddelivery year,theDepartment this inMay Previously, lota toserveneedsthe ofthe people. hailing drivers in the city. They are at high According totheDepartmentofTransport of ers. Now they stop working, andit wi extrato earn the ma income,drivers thisis find otherorhave switched tosellfruits demic. Somedrivers have turned offthea shared theirworries when carrying passenge safety concerns. Onfo due to stopped working situationThe pandemic istense, sosome before,than he totryhisbest. but has times thingsdo not go well, he also feels money.the Healwayseven wearsafacemask, eateries and delivering it, he keeps his di to m have theydonot that so mediary point ing service companyoffers. The two parties wi orders. Asfor blocked areas, he uses the c ing the texts healways the delivery, via tomers. Healwayscarries hand sanitiser an delivering goods, delivery workers mustke Ho Thong, a40-year-old Grab'spartner, said orders,has tocancelthesometimesbeca he goods for them. Althoughdoing that isti If they could not, he suggestedhiscustom customers to called his not, then blocked or searched forinformationthat whether the place he was going todeliver goods is deliveryhe isafoodthe day,andduring wo deli Giang, a35-year-old ble andfriendly, but now all wi often came deliveryously, the ofgoods During these days, in the street, ride-hailing drivers still hustle back and forth. Previ- Keeping safety for both ty," one post by asaloninThanh ty,"one post "We'll bring mirrors, masks,protective shields, andrubber gloves toensureyoursafe- portation. day by barbersoffering to visitcustomer On a Facebook group with 1,400 members in fourth wave of hitCovid Vietnam twomonthsago. million around VND10 income of His monthly ing amid thepandemic." choice but to provide services "Sinceth He told VnExpress International: has had his business disrupted, and he ha aha 27, For amonth now NguyenThaiHoang, their closed shopsremain due tothe Covid-19 pandemic. Barbers in Hanoi andHCM City are going to 21/JUN/2021VNEXPRESS INTELLASIA| 92932.html very worker in District 8, said that he works for a postal unit unit postal a for works he that said 8, District in worker very ly with safety rules. must be quick to prevent the pandemic. Tang Truong Tang the pandemic. quick toprevent must be at ourcustomers'homes. It Xuan District District with 20barberssaid. Xuan ll also affect theirbreadand butter. jobs. Except forthosewho becomeride-hailing tired because everything tired because app or calls his customers toconfirm the s' houses for VND50,000-100,000 plus trans- plus for VND50,000-100,000 s' houses tless-delivery-in- temporarily ride-hailing drivershave stance and washes his hands after receiving hands after and washeshis stance me-consuming and costlythannormal, and ontactless delivery feat service providers toensureCovid-19pre- in livelihood for most of the remainingdriv- most of in livelihoodfor pp, notaccepting Some passengers. drivers s begun tovisit his customers instead. ers asking their acquaintances to get the get to asking theiracquaintances ers risk of exposure because they have to move have they risk ofexposurebecause e city ordered salons to close we have no th greetings, and everything was comforta- eet each other. When taking food fromthe each other. Whentaking eet use ofthe pandemic, he has to acceptit. ers should be vaccinated against Covid-19 Covid-19 against bevaccinated should ers d does not talk tocustomers.d doesnot mak- Before ep adistanceof2metersawayfrom cus- verify iftheycould rker at night. Hesaid that he usually stipulates that thecompany that when Hanoi, there are around 20 posts every of Transport ofHCMCitysentanofficial of Transport customers' homes to make a living as a customers' homesto make HCM City, there are 170,000 active ride- City,thereare170,000 HCM rs and delivering g rums andgroupsofdrivers, drivers also when taking a nap. Hesaidthat some- irdresser inHanoi's Long Bien District, ($435) has fallen by 90 percent after the after the percent hasfallenby90 ($435) ll agree to put the package at an inter- an at the package ll agreetoput 's theonly way weearn aliv- pandemic-in-hcmc- receive the packages. oods during thepan- ure that theride-hail- is more complicated ismore 21 June 2021 36 / 60 36/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam solutions Covid with new companies respond to Coworking space Intellasia The firstCovidwaveinVietna rise. the has beenon demand forcoworkingspace that press for general manager Tol, Balder WeWork's rising bysome15 percent in2020, Do said. The number of clients inthe capital hastr Hanoi, butsincemid-2020 Early lastyear, Toong'soccupancy ratewas ices," he said. "The pandemichashelpedusbecomesharpe fore itopened. Its CEO, DuongDo,said75percentofthenew District 1. coworkingspace in rated anew1,250sq.m Dist City beforeHCM days few A that eq lack for firms City, re inHCM cirCo threefacilities With veiled aservice called temporaryofficefor This monthDreamplex, whichhasfivecowo services andeven prepared forexpans Coworking space inVietnam have operators 21/JUN/2021VNEXPRESS INTELLASIA| house-calls-to-survive-covid-4296289.html https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/ "It's good Istillhaveajob." them. intention ofcanceling no he has tomorrow and who has totakecare of his mother and gr But hairdressersputting areconcerned about newspaper. City HCM Luat Phap he told tion," are shops to customers' homesmeans "Going olation ofCovid-19 regulations. minimum distance of two meterswhen doing ha for Diseas the HCMCitycentre of director However, authorities haveexpressedconcer customers hairdressing andnailservices at home toearnsomemoney. pay rent,"the40 to time for to ask "I had forherfamily. ofincome the source is main which In HCMCity'sTan Binh On socialmediathere are alsomany offe tohave "It was uncomfortable Le hallway ofmyapartment," Manh Hung, get soI salon nearmybuildingisopen, "No closed. Many people havenothad a proper haircu reopen." "We still havetorents pay sothisthe is best in Hanoi's Ha DongDistrict w City in and October 4inNovember. District Dreamplex has announced plans to open ane Wink Hotels for three projects inDaNangandCanTho. facility inHCMCityandpl coworking space operatorsSome are readyto he said. ditional ones, spaces, and small companiesnow tend toseek the pandemicHowever,th prolonged, when terprises allowed their staff towork fromhome. uipment and technicians. and uipment District, last month Mai had to District, Maihad last month they have risen sharply. they haverisen anning more in Hanoi and DaLatto cooperate with mandated social distancing mandated socialdistancing ho askednotbe identifiedsaid. neighbours walkbyand star m lastyear onlyslightlyaf ion after thepandemicis controlled. economy/hairdressers-manicurists-make- -year-old woman said. She has beenproviding said. She -year-old woman rs for nail, spa and skincare services. andmother, has three customersbooked for ipled duringthe pandemic, with revenues cently provided an online meeting solution centlyan onlinemeeting provided e Control, said people cannot maintain a said peoplecannotmaintain Control, e we can dowhile we wewait foreverything to t since theend ofAprilwhen everything companies withapayroll of leastfour. at and Southeast Asia, told VnEx- 80 percent in HCM City and 70 percentin Cityand70 80 percentinHCM who lives inHoangMaiDistrict,said. n aboutthis. Nguyen HongTam,deputy rking spaces in Hanoi and HCM City, un- Hanoi andHCM rking spaces in a to trimmyhairin barber come the and r and more flexible in designing ourserv- indesigning more flexible r and ey began to pay attentiontocoworking to ey began launched anumberofCovidresponse food ontheHoang, for theirfamily. table expand. Toong is about toopen a new w facilityeach in HCM City's Thu Duc still operating, and this is also a viola- a also is this and operating, still flexible working spaces instead of tra- of instead spaces working flexible office in District 3 was booked even be- even booked was 3 District in office rict 3after an earlierone in March ir andnails,ther shut her hair and nailsalon, in early June, Toong inaugu- June, in early Toong fected demand as many en- as many fected demand e, but Igot what I needed." 21 June 2021 37 / 60 37/ 2021 June 21 efore thisisavi- 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam spiral continue downward premises rents HCM City business Intellasia tinue-downward-spiral-4296367.html https://e.vnexpress.net/news number ofinfections. A VnExpress survey found that many HCM many HCM that found survey A VnExpress trend. year's downward continuing last April, started wave late Covid-19 Business premises rents in HC 21/JUN/2021VNEXPRESS INTELLASIA| spond-to-covid-with-new https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/in property experts. more suitable for startups or enterprises wi But thefirms facechallengesinachievingsu tions inVietnam's latest cor City,home HCM to 13 million people, has hardships amid the pandemic, whichwill "Both landlords and leasersshouldnegotiat for along time. the beneficialmore for tancing periodwas The rents ofhouses on Ky Dong fourth Covid-19wave. busi their because forreductions landlords sawthese percent in2020 fall further 40-50 He said that cutting down therent byhalf, said thatcutting He value. lose lords haverefused tolowertherents because He expected that the house rents crisiscoul he said. due tothe previous outbreaks, and are now suffering more fromthefourth outbreak," "Houses thatarerented outforrunningbusi recorded. was20-30 andJune CityduringMay HCM in ing courses andbusiness consulting services, told VnExpress that the average rent cuts of Nort Trang MinhHa,chair dropped by11-18percentinApril over March, estateReal trading siteBatdongsan.com.vn outbreaks. previous percent during 70 to is undercontrol.Previously, BinhThanhDist shopping by malls reducing theirrent by Mall operators inBinhThanhdistrict have percent. 30 Nhuan Districtshavebeen unabletofind housesownersMeanwhile, ofdowntown many street Khoi starting June. Dong and Mau, Tung Ho Khang, Landlords whoownhousesin the central area he added. be rene will rent for July House in June. District, saidhi Thanh Nguyen, who rents ahousetohisrun busine been suspended since May 31 when thecity landlords agreed to reduce house rents to s landlord loweredrent theby -solutions-4295946.html onavirus wave since late April, since late onavirus wave /business/industries/hcmc-business-premises-rents-con- h Star Asia, a company providinghumanresourcestrain- h StarAsia,a M City have fallen M City fallen the by upto50percent have after fourth Street in District 3 fell by half month.The over last by half Street inDistrict 3 fell gotiated depending on the Covid-19situation, dustries/coworking-s 50 percent starting May until the pandemic tenants despite having support the tenants whosebusinesses have reduce losses on both sides," said Ha. said on sides," both losses reduce landlords than leaving the thanleaving property vacant landlords or not collecting rents or not this May and June, with tenants asking the withtenantsasking andJune, May this nesses had been suffering becauseofthe so far Covid-19infec- recorded 1,527local th a workforce of30or fewer, according to has reported that demand for rental homes demand forrental has reportedthat supported restaurants thatrent spacesin d prolong further, adding that someland- prolong further, adding d stainable growthsinceservicedofficesare e and support each other to overcome the s have alsoreduced rentsby20-30percent launched asocial launched distancing campaign. nesses have been unable tofind tenants nesses havebeen City's houses whose re ss at the Hang Xanh intersection inBinh rict's mall operators hadcutrentsrict's malloperators byup they areproperties afraidthattheir will percent, with 50 percent the highest cut cut the highest percent 50 percent, with while demand for kiosks fell 25 percent. 25 fell kiosks for demand while ofDistrict1, including Huynh Thuc in District 1, 3, 5, Binh Thanh and Phu 20 percent in May and 30percent 20 percentinMay and having the second-highest havingthe pace-companies-re- during the social dis- social the during cut their rent theirrent by 20- cut nts had fallenby nts 21 June 2021 38 / 60 38/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS amid Covid-19 lychee consumption for scenarios three Bac Giang compiles finance& business Vietnam Intellasia Meanwhile, over 1,600 tonnes were shipped Meanwhile, over1,600tonnes 95 percent, or47,500tonnes, whiletheremain Regarding exports, China isexpected tohold thelion's share in terms ofvolume, with ers, mobile points of sale, and online marketplaces. chains at supermarkets and shopping malls, processing companies, wet markets, trad- wholes to distributed be will lychees The set as tonnes, willbe 130,000 harvest, or If the pandemiclingers but itsscope remain markets. export and between local both equally divided be will yield the total repelled, is Covid-19 scenario,if In thefirst sands ofconfirmedinfections, mo The province has become a hotspotofCovid- st ofits forthe scenarios sales three vised The northern province of Bac Giang, dubbe 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS has announced.The fruit soldforab which was domestically consumed, the Bac As ofMay25, sales of early-ripening lychee the main crop beganat around June The harvesttimeforearly-ripening lychees kets, processing companies, and wet mark markets would uphalfofits entiremake mainly ea Yen district,which grows Tan In processing and export firms,and 2,000 About 80,000tonneswillbesenttowhol consumption. be primarilydomestic forto tonnes oflycheesis to export activities all forcing life, pects of if th scenario, inthe worst-case Meanwhile, Singapore. Thailand, the and Europe, US, Australia, generate 125,000tonnes,and82 to hoped is which standards, under VietGAP are haoflychee cultivated 15,200 Some from tonnes oflychee 135,000 tonnesofearly-ripening 45,000 than 180,000 tonnes,anincrea province has around 28,100 haoflycheesthis According tothe provincial Department of cial trade channels. ficulties facing Bac Giang in fi Bac Giangin ficulties facing Chi Minh Pham Prime minister 2020was thefirst year thefruitexported wasJapan.to grow better andbear plants drugs, whichhelp not harmfulonthe environment astheyar lycheesOrganic "Thieu" posses small seed. its spherical shape, bright, thin, andred skin with varieties other from itself distinguishes lychee "Thieu" Giang, ofBac astaple As designated for exportto the US and Au tonnes ofthefruit 3,600 combined a note, Of consumption-amid-covid19-92912.html https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/bac-gian the consumption of the province's agri He previously taskedtheMinistry of Indust lack ofhuman resources, and la se of15,000tonnescompared ghting Covid-19 in a spirit of spirit a in Covid-19 ghting the main crop on 22,050 ha. on crop the main lychee harvestedon an esti s many advantages,suchbeings as safeforcustomers, nh has asked ministries and ag has asked ministriesand nh ck of policies and mechanisms". ck ofpolicies ha underGlobalGAP standards. stly in its industrial parks. industrial inits stly 10 and will last until July 20. July until last and will 10 out VND20,000-VND35, cultural products, especially lychees. products, especially cultural tonnes tobe sold on e-commerce platforms. stralia and the challenging Japan market. thechallengingJapan stralia and ide specifically for the domesticmarket. esale markets,another 30,000 tonnes to ale markets, major firms with distribution firms ale markets,major aple in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.Covid-19face oftheaple inthe output, whileother output, channels like supermar- cease, the estimated total yield of 180,000 of 180,000 yield total the estimated cease, ets each would for15-20percent. account e free fromresidue of plant protection Agriculture andRuralDevelopment, the fell between May 20 and early fellbetween 20andearly June, May while g-compiles-three-scenarios-for-lychee- sales of the fruit will become favourable as as becomefavourable will ofthefruit sales rly-ripening lychees, salesatwholesale d Vietnam's "kingdomoflychee", has de- ry andTradewithremo e pandemic deals amajorblowtoall as- s had reached 3,176 tonnes,nearly half of Giang Department of Industry and Trade ofIndustryGiang Department s largely under control,70percent of the to Vietnam's northernto Vietnam's , thick, white, sweet, and juicy flesh, and and flesh, juicy and sweet, white, , thick, ing 2,500tonneswillbe are expected to be harvested in orchards orchards in harvested be to expected are year with yearwith more an estimated output of 19 outbreaks in recent times, withthou- inrecenttimes, 19 outbreaks tastier, sweeter, and more fragrantfruit. mated 6,050 haalong with notciting "lack of money, to lastyear. Thisincludes 000 per kilogram. 000 per encies to tackle the dif- encies totacklethe neighbour viaoffi- ving difficulties in shipped to Japan, shipped 21 June 2021 39 / 60 39/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS operations soon resumeproposed to quarantine areas Points of sale in finance& business Vietnam fund COVID-19 vaccine to the $1 million Japfa Vietnam donates offer Gojek's week-long vaccination centres: Free ridesto COVID Intellasia resume-operations-soon-92898.html https://sggpnews.org.vn/business/points-o antine areas. There hasbeen no information about thereopening day. Covid-19casesenteredthe because suspected st and supermarkets, havinghalted supermarkets, and JuneBy 16, inHCMCity,therepo were46 tine, blocked, and surrounding areas. the tostabilise out solutions to resume operationsafter meeting therequ ditions for consideration toal department alsoaskedforthe recommendations erations temporarily for theprevention an try and Trade asked for information on points Accordingly,of supply toensureasmooth Covid-19 pandemic at week-long-offer_325234.html 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/free-rid we the can do our the pandemic." fightagainst tosupport city's part "We hope more withthis campaign, that people and will be inclined to get vaccinated ments with easeandremove any transportation barriers to vaccine access. part to supporttheeffort by enabling ou avai vaccines governmentin City making HCM tant layerofprotectioninourfightagainst Duc, generalmanager ofGojek Phung Tuan receivevouchers the intheiraccounts. and25will New users whodownloadtheGojek 19 andsign also betweenJune app up be schedule. automatically vaccination government's city with line in 25 June until use for be available and will 19 vouchers of pair The from COVID-19vaccination centres. worth VND40, ride vouchers two with City HCM in customers its all provide would it said Gojek app hailing Ride 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| People'sof ThuDu Committee Control,the for Disease centre City theHCM ofHealth, Department to themunicipal HCM of and Trade The Department ofIndustry 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| SGGP NEWS Japfa Vietnam handed over Japfa Vietnam poses and with practicalefficiency. the VF contribution. Healsoaffirmed that etnam FatherlandFront(VFF) CentralCommi Speaking at the event, Secretary of the tinue itshigh economic recovery momentum," added Widjaja. that of COVID-19. I believe few coun beenamonga always has "Vietnam Widjaja, generaldirectorof Japfa stand with Vietnam during th thecommitment With to of thepopulation. etnamese government withaview to offeri to the esta initiative appreciate "We highly ery. government toaccelerate vaccination for the people asa recov-condition foreconomic land FronttocontributetheCOVID-19 distribution systems in the city. the in systems distribution Vietnam will contain the spread of the pandemic andcon- of the spread will contain Vietnam $1 million to the Central Co million to the $1 circulation ofgoods, 000 each motorbikeridestoand for 000 (US$1.7) booking low the resumption ofoperat ese hard timestoovercome thepandemic," said Arif c City, and districts on stre districts on c City,and operations. Of which, 36po Comfeed Vietnam, at the ceremony. Party CentralCommitteecum Presidentof Vi- r users to get to their vaccination appoint- r userstogettheirvaccination es-to-covid-vaccinati Vaccine Fund,working withtheVietnamese F would allocate the money for the right pur- the right for the money allocate F would added to every user's Gojek accountonJune added toeveryuser's blish the COVID-19 Vacci blish d controlThe oftheCovid-19pandemic. COVID-19. We appreciate theeffortsof COVID-19. We ints ofsale, includingconvenience stores f-sale-in-quarantine ng the vaccination least three-fourths ng thevaccination to at doing sustainable business, we always essential goods, the irements as recommendedcarryirements as tohelpit Vietnam, said: "Vaccination is animpor- said: "Vaccination Vietnam, tries succeeding in containing the spread in containing tries succeeding ttee Do VanChien highly praised Japfa's of salethatarerequired to suspend op- lable to its citizens, and want to do our and wantto citizens, lable toits ores or pointsofsaleare in the quar- City has just sent an official dispatch dispatch an official has justsent City that need tobedonemeet all con- food, and foodstuffs in the quaran- inthe and foodstuffs food, mmittee ofVietnamFather- mmittee ngthening theprevention of ions and the expected date ints ofsale hadtoclose on-centres-gojeks- -areas-proposed-to- Department ofIndus- ne Fundofthe Vi- 21 June 2021 40 / 60 40/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam coverage cities askfor5G and Many provinces linkage workers over Covid-19 maker suspends 18,000 Taiwanese footwear Intellasia pends-18-000-workers-over-co https://e.vnexpress.net/ne virus wavehit 27. on April Dong Naihas so farrecorded three confirme new Covid-19cases. vaccine-fund_325209.html http://bizhub.vn/corporate-n processed foods under theJapfa Best brand. tion factories, over 300livestockbreeding curre the since1996, company Entered Vietnam before entering theirworkplaces. masks, face wear workersto asked all and sure stable production andbusiness as planne toprotectthe offices he and farms factories, The company hasstrictlycarr for shopping, thuspreventingthe spread of the virus. delivery servicevia Now and Grabappsto Vietnam Best brand ofJapfa theJapfa City, Particularly,tionwide.context ofthe inthe VND450 milliontothosefigh donated threetonnesofchicken, 650kgof to supportfarmersandareashithardbyth activities timely and many practical has undertaken the company COVID-19, break of The province found two Covid-19 cases Satu workers. prises employingmorethan 620,000 Dong NaiProvince has 31industrial zones across thesouthern provinces of Dong Naiand Binh Thuan. worker. employs 300vehiclestopi The firm is alsotracingthose whotraveledIt in Vietnam. Tr accordingtoLeNhat the entirefactory, has suspended The company 18,403 workersst suspected Covid-19 case, had her sample taken and is awaiting results. wo The firm with27,000employees. Nai-based thewife of a susp found authority Health with contact er havingclose Over 18,000 workers ofPouSungVietnam 21/JUN/2021VNEXPRESS INTELLASIA| As partofJapfa Vi Chien. mote areas," said cially for the workers, thep to used tobuyvaccines will be "The money The 5G trial The 5Gtrial depended onthestrategy plan Giang. and Bac Bac Ninh industrialas parks such te 5G having highest percentageofpeople and HCM Hanoi as such cities age inbig marketneeds ofthe the However, basedon year. tel, VNPT,MobiFone hadoffici Telecommunications The Vietnam cy to deploy5Gcoverage intheirprovinces. direct corporationstourgentlyassessthe Many provinces have requested the Minist 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| etnam's etnam's corporate socialresponsib ws/business/companies/taiw oor, the disadvantaged in the society, and the people in re- asuspectedCovid-19case. ews/japfa-vietnam-donates- ting the pandemic on the front line and needy people na- people front lineandneedy ontheting the pandemic iedand controlmeasures atits outpandemic prevention vid-19-linkage-4296808.html ally tested commercial 5G services from November last last from November 5Gservices commercial tested ally Authority (VNTA) said enterprises including Viet- including enterprises said (VNTA) Authority the same vehicle carryingtheCovid-19linkage the samevehicle demand, feasibility, and investment efficien- City which have dense populations and the and populations City whichhavedense rminals nationwide and some localities with with localities some and nationwide rminals wash their hands and take their temperature hands theirtemperature their take and wash ected workingattheDong Covid-19 case uong, chair of the labo pork and81,200 chickeneggsworth nearly farms and some 40 shops selling meat farms andsome40shopssellingmeat and e pandemic. Specifically, Japfa Vietnam has has Vietnam Japfa Specifically, e pandemic. were temporarily suspended dueto awork- social distancingmeasuresapplied in HCM and production andbusiness plan of each ry ofInformationan has alsoreceived orders and offered home , telecom businesses are focusing on cover- and one high-techzone, with 1,400 enter- serve people with free vaccinations, espe- serve peoplewithfree help customers restricted from going out alth of labourers and at the same time andatthesame en- alth oflabourers ck up over 10,000 staff in remote areas inremote staff ck upover10,000 d Covid-19 casesince the fourth corona- rday, ending its 45-d rday, endingits d. It also has disinfectedalso d. It itsworkplaces rker, who came in close contact with the contact came inclose rker, who arting Saturday morning to disinfect disinfect morning to Saturday arting ntly operates sixan ility commitment, commitment, since the ility out- anese-footwear-maker-sus- 1 million-to-the-covid-19- d Communicationsto ur unionofPouSung ay streak without without ay streak imal feed produc-imal 21 June 2021 41 / 60 41/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam on sellers'behalf unwilling topaytaxes E-commerce platforms Netherlands over consumer tastein winning confident of Vietnamese lychees Intellasia taste-in-netherl https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnamese-lyc ported products./. pan, and the Czech Republic, among others, wh the fromthe also fruit Apart has Netherlands, intotheDutchmarketin further years. inroads coming With those encouraging signs, Vietnamese Netherlands,fruit fromwhichthe willbe first time freshlycheesofVi the this is said inthe Netherlands, ofVietnam Diep, Vo ThiNgoc Counsellor Trade imported lychees for Vietnamese NetherlandsE-commerce websitesofthe andFr air inthenextoneortwoweeks. by shipped bemade, andthebatchesare scheduledto and Norway, forbetween hundreds ofkilo As aresult, lychee orders from supermarke and won over great interest fromtheirowners. Earlier, the sample lychees hadbeen sent to all Asian supermarkets in the Netherlands and Germany. Airport on June 17for distributiontoAsian Ha district,were farmedinThanh Ha that The fruitsforsale atthis supermarket come Hung Supermarket inSpijkenissecity. ImportExport BV the LTP companyhave To advertise Vietnamese lychees, thetrade ahead. time to make and receivedwarmresponse, expecting Fresh lychees fromVietnamhave hitthesh 21/JUN/2021VNA INTELLASIA| http://bizhub.vn/tech/many to providemobile services using 5Gtechnology. This would direct and guide mobile businesses to prioritise infrastructure investment sure feasibility. develop plansfortelecommunications infrastr be needto that areas tify busine mobile with co-ordinate actively tions The authority also suggested thatthede vative digitaltechnologies. parks, and concentrated information tec It is expected that priority will be given to deployment in industrial parks, high-tech network. deploy 5Gmobile of Information andCommunicationswould stud VNTA said that on thebasis of test results areas. residential and parks in industrial tions tourgently approve and directprovin last yearalsodirectand BinhPhuoc ministryDak Lak askedcorpora- telecomto the department ofinformationan is This provincesan time not that the first enterprise, saidVNTA. dens. taxes on behalf ofbusiness individuals will are afraid platforms e-commerce said Experts behalf oftheirsellers,but they are E-commerce platformslike Ti 21/JUN/2021VNEXPRESS INTELLASIA| ands/203355.vnp prioritised for infrastructure infrastructure for prioritised -provinces-and-cities-ask etnam have been imported via anofficialchannelimportedhave beenetnam tothe ki, Shopee, Lazada and Sendo will have to pay taxeson will havetoSendo ki, Shopee,Lazadaand d communications ofmanypr by LTP Import Export BV. proposing this regulation is scrapped. is regulation this proposing hnology parkstodeploy partments of information and communica- partments ofinformation d citieshavepetitionedfor5Gcoverage. The distributed to neighbouring countries.distributed toneighbouring hees-confident-of-winning-over-consumer- organised a tasting programmeatThanh i Duong province, andarrived at Schiphol and proposals of enterprises, the Ministry ofenterprises, proposals and from thebatchofnearly1tonnes oflychees grammes and one tonne each, have been elves of a supermarket in theNetherlands in supermarket of a elves lychees will hopefully continue making lychees willhopefullycontinue create excessive costs and personnel bur- create excessive costsand office ofVietnamintheNetherlands and ts in the Netherlands, , Germany, cial departments to develop 5G cial departmentsto networks develop 5G supermarkets in the supermarkets in sses inthe area and theauthority to iden- been successfully exported to France, Ja- exportedtoFrance, beensuccessfully that making tax statements and paying andpaying statements tax making that ucture development in the area to en- to ucture developmentinthearea ance havealso swiftly received orders the in market into this inroads further ich all have strict requirements for im- for requirements have strict all ich y and grant licences to enterprises to enterprises to licences grant y and -for-5g-coverage_325221.html investment investment to develop5G ovinces suchasPhu Tho, Netherlands, France, breakthrough inno- 21 June 2021 42 / 60 42/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam in agriculture transformation digital Firms stand ready for Intellasia 203287.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/fir promotion./. ries of matters, including pest management, di 1,more th since June to him, commerce (runby platforms Voso talk about theselli to took the occasion Post) (Vietnam Corporation Post Vietnam of the members of the council from Hao Quang Chu Participants from different locali fromdifferent Participants master it, serving information an master it,servinginformation said it isalsonecessaryfortheagricult Hoan transparency. andde affecting supply negatively mation is Developmen Minister of andRural Agriculture or quality, toensure pliers He saide-commerce platforms can help connect farmers withconsumerstrusted sup- and household nationwide, theminister added. infras and capacity Businesses' and ru formation inagriculture formation andCommunic IT firms are ready tocomplete e-commercepl VNA INTELLASIA| 21/JUN/2021 pay-taxes-on-sellers-behalf-4296941.html https://e.vnexpress.ne shoppers. first-time online prompted19 pandemic has manyenterprises withthe comply regulations inst Department ofTaxation,eral saidthereca Medium Enterprises, Business Households andIndividuals under the ministry's gen- Ta ThiPhuong Lan, deputy Vietnam. including region, Asian intheSoutheast edented counts, identity cards, taxcodes and addresses. They said such a regulation is unprec- said theycannot control and haveno inform pl e-commerce some of representatives The just providetechnologyinfrastructure toconnect buyers and sellers. deductions forse larations and According toVECOM,e-commerce platforms thousands ofbusi e- affect heavily would and feasible not is E-commerce Associ The Vietnam do so on the sellers'behalf. and VAT shouldpay ($4,348) August 1. Individual sellers that have an annual income of at least VND100 million forms willon thesellers' havetopaytaxes Many sellers on e-commerce platforms have Vietnam, and thetransaction valu On average,3.5 million transactionsare percent on-year percent on-year to $11.8billion, market retail online the joined so andTrade, in 2020, Industry of Ministry According toareport by the Department of tocreate a shetold VnExpress. most suitable tions roadmap, the Ministry ofIndustry andTrade andth Tax authorities will work with e-commerce of are capable which plied toplatforms ness individuals. t/news/business/industries/e-c igin, and competitiveprices. ations Nguyen Manh Hung at a teManh Hungata ations Nguyen an 4.5 million people havepurcha an 4.5million ms-stand-ready-for-digital-tr head ofthe Tax Administrati , boosting,growth the the e-commerce local of sector18 by tructure are also qualified to qualified tructure arealso personal income tax,ande-commerce platformsshould ral developmentral 18. heldonJune representing 5.5percent representing of th llerswith theLawonPersonal inline IncomeTax.They ties said they arelookingfor saidthey ties alysis and prod ead of starting right from Au of startingright ead Viettel Post)and Postmart ation (VECOM)hasrecently e has been increasingsteadily. managing sellers' revenues, shenoted. made on e-commerce in platforms eachday me 53percentoftheVietnamesepopulation n be a roadmap for e-commerce platforms to commerce platformsaswellhundredsof E-commerce andDigitalEconomy under the behalf, under a new regulation taking effectregulation new taking behalf, undera e MinistryofInformationandCommunica- ng of lychees from Bac Giang province on e- on province Giang Bac from lychees of ng ural sector tostartbuildinga database and sector,mand inthe hencefor aneed data atforms includingChotot and Batdongsan platforms and relevant watchdogssuch as atforms for farmers,unveiled minister of In- saster warning, warning, saster brand to do business online while luring many luring onlinewhile do business to ation about sellers' revenues, bankac- been dodgingtaxes, plat- e-commerce t Le Minh Hoan said unclear market infor- market said unclear Hoan t Le Minh uction planning. are notsubject tomakeincometaxdec- ommerce-platforms-unwilling-to- ansformation-in-agriculture/ on Department on Small and bring farm produce to each toeach produce farm bring digital transformationinase- e totalretailsales.TheCovid- leconference on digital trans- digital on leconference sed the fruit from thesesites. fruit sed the (run by VnPost).According (run gust 1. gust It can befirstap- said that the regulation thatthe regulation said protection, and trade 21 June 2021 43 / 60 43/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS tint Trading withadigital finance& business Vietnam Intellasia using livestreams forpromotion. using livestreams porting farmers and ranchersacross the coun to coordinatewith VietnamPostCorporat To furtherpromotethe digitaltransformation farmers. fromdomestic ucts on Shopee's e-commerce platform, as well as the ShopeeFarmprojectto supportpeople's their qualityof life. Since April, Shopee, across provinces and cities to expand their business, increase income, and improve ofcommunityconnection proj implementation form's core valuesistoserve theunderpri Ha Phuong, sales director for the northof agricultural productsofSonLa, HaiDu with coordination etrade hasbeenpromoting Within the cooperative framework withS product promotion and imagebuildi products on issues such asopening stor holds,cooperatives, andlocal businesses inS Shopee tostep agreed with Vietrade has through thischannel.sumption con- effective support and gradually building capacity professional improve to also by thisBacked directive, Vietrade prom ket. distribution andenhancedcons Ho Trade Nguyen Industry and No Directive published newly the Meanwhile, knowledgeand skills inconsulting, of cooperativesandfarmers.Moreover, ther platforms stillfacesma merce Phu, directorVu Ba general ofVietrade Removing difficulties tint Trading withadigital ternational agencies. guiding, andcarry out practical activities building onsalesandtradepromotionmethod on activities havefocused by Vietrade.Its In recent years, the renewal oftrade pr market but domestic consumed inthe pr fruit Many of plantations. hectares 73,000 currently thetreecult fruit second-largest 19 has lowered demand and caused issues in and mangoes withanoutputofhundreds harvesto enterthe La hasbeenpreparing Son of information. and Trade(MoIT), which helpswithproduct by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vie ThelistingonShop to HanoiandHCMCity. on Shopee's e-commercepl officially listed of Sonmountainous provinceThe northern themwith the necessarytraining. supporting form Shopeetoenable farmers to sell local produce on awider scale, inaddition to plat-the popularsalessecuredthe agency platforms.another dealwith has Assuch, an Agency undertheMinistryofIndustry internati inthedomestic and services To further promote andstrengthen theposi 21/JUN/2021VIR INTELLASIA| ny challengesto theli due umption of domestic agricult ng Dien aims tocreate favourableconditions inthe customer care, andconsumer trends." ng on this e-commerce platform. on thise-commerce ng onal markets, the VietnamTrade Promotion also exported to many large markets. large many to exported also omotion methodshas been quickly organised said, "Marketing localproducts on e-com- es andmanagingcust ong province, andsomeother localities. otes cooperation withe-commerce platforms -by-step train and consult business house- and consult -by-step train together with its partners, has implemented implemented has partners, its with together based on coordination with domestic andin- d Trade has beenworkingwithe-commerced Trade hopee and other e-commerce platforms, Vi- vileged. Therefore, Shopeewillincrease the ivation area inthecountry,nearly with ion (VNPost) to deploy a programme sup- a programme ion (VNPost)todeploy solving difficulties for businesses; capacity Shopee Vietnam, saidthatone of the plat- of thousandstonnes.However, COVID- atform, withdistribu tion of high-qualityVietnamese goodsand La's plum and Yen Chau's mangoarenow YenLa's Chau's plumand oducts ofthe province are not only widely access and consumption oflocalproducts access andconsumption e isalackofhuman resources withIT ee's popular platform ee's popular t season of fruits such asplums,longans,season offruits t on Laand other localities withpotential partners in thesupplychaintopromote promote high-quality try to sell safe agricultural productsby try to sellsafeagricultural traceability, labelling, and transparency the distribution offresh fruit. SonLais in trade promotion, Vietradealso plans trade) underthe Mini .08/CT-BC dated May 25 by minister of 25byminister May dated .08/CT-BC ects, creating opportunitiesforfarmers s in the digital era;anddisseminating, s inthedigital mited e-commerce ural products in the mar- omers for successful omers forsuccessful tion currently limited is being supported agricultural prod- stry of Industry 21 June 2021 44 / 60 44/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 capabilities capabilities BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia https://vir.com.vn/trading-w an quality, innovation, are recognised asnational brands,followingthe core value of the scheme whichare businesses topart activities andencouraging Over the years, the Ministry of Industry products and services and quality b aims programme trade promotion to build of Industry and Trade responsible forth 2003/QD-TTg of in asthe 2003 only programme The prime approved minister the Vietna product traceability." farmin with inworking households farming alsosaid, Thuy "Vietrade is developing atr products are provided withcorrect an their warranting traceability, on product businesses guiding gradually is rade andtransparencyofproduc agement quality Vietrade, saidthatby promoting products Nguyen ThiMinhThuy,director Sendo. Shopee, and nation, the agencyhas set upbooths on e- toboosttrade efforts prom Vietrade's Amid markets. international and in regional products recognised as 283 hassteadily increasedthe programme from30 and corporate value. Thenumberofenterpri have become aware oftheimportantrole of Va Vietnam Through participatinginthe amongthe mostva place top 100 33rd na result,Vietnam's As a 2019. the fastestgrowthinnational brand valuein toareportby According Brand Finance, in Vietcombank onthelist. appearing billion, withmanyrenowned suchas names by ue ofthetop50companieslisted Fo peared intherankingsofinternational or Proof forthesesuccessesis th ternational arena. competitiveness, contributing and buildan awareness helped toraise have businesses.groundVietnamese ofmany Th competitive pressure,tense thedomestic opportunities to Vietnam hasbeen creating Deeply integrated with globalmarketsthro digital economy,society,and nation." an ofagricultural formation trans- digital the in people accompany to ecosystem closed a complete also will we es, ex the With floor. e-commerce the on farmers capacity transformation and prove the digital agreement with Son La People's Committee Le QuocAnh, deputy general Digital tradepromotion demands. ofconsumer filment market trends and requirements, thereby or them conditions to for to favourable create tion and sales skills vialivestreams andsupport VietradewillcoordinaIn thisprogramme, d pioneering capacity. trademark nationalbrands,many of which haveresonated d rural areas, thus hoping to rural areas,thushoping d ith-a-digital-tint-84950.html e factthat,by 2 director ofVNPost, said,"The tional brand value increased by nine places, resulting in resulting places, nine by increased value brand tional to constituting Vietnam's pres to constitutingVietnam's ofthe InformationTechnology Applicationcentre of oost foreigntrade and competitiveness. luable national brands inthe world. d sufficient information toconsumers. rbes Vietnam stood already around $12.6 already stood rbes Vietnam andTrade hasbeen carryingout promotion e programme. This uniquelong-terme programme. This and m Value Programme m ValueProgramme with Decision No.253/ lue Programme, many localcorporations ganisations. But by 2020, the total brand val- brand thetotal 2020, Butby ganisations. market is nolonger thedominantplay- commerce platforms such as Lazada,Tiki, commerce platformssuch 2020 Vietnam was Vietnam one ofthecountries with 2020 directly contact customers and bettergrasp directly contactcustomers through Vietrade'srepresentation, the man- aceability system to guide cooperatives and cooperatives system toguide aceability te with VNPost to train totrain inpromo- farmers te withVNPost ugh bi- and multilateral trade agreements, agreements, ugh bi-and trade multilateral Vietnam's image asacountry with high- Vinamilk, Sabeco, MobiFone,Viettel,and e trade promotion activities ofVietrade trade promotion e export goods andservices. morein- export Amid brands as the key to increasing product asthekeyto increasing brands otion of domestic brandsfromacrossotion of the ganising aneffective production andful- g diaries and using QR codes tousingserveg diaries and and Vietrade is ourcommitment to im- d developlocal toincreasetheir brands theworld, up29 per cent compared to ses recognised as na t informationisensured. Moreover, Viet- 000, noneoftheVietnamesebrandsap- icipate intheselection ofproducts that perience and strength of large enterpris- bring agricultural products of domestic in 2008 to 124 businesses in 2020, with 2020, in businesses 124 to in2008 thegovernmentto the assign Ministry the application of a traceability system ofatraceability theapplication contributetobuildinga signing ofthecooperation tige and position in the in- in position and tige tional brandswithin 21 June 2021 45 / 60 45/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS back femalefounders prejudices holding Breaking through finance& business Vietnam Intellasia uted intheUnited States, However, shegaveuphercushy corporate ness &YogaCenters Vietnam. global brand atSpinMasterGlobal, manager She has served as assistant brand manager Vu isaveteranwhohasfilled seniormana Vietnam. etnam by appearing on theshowat the end Innovative Knowledge in2021,Laboratoryof Marina TranVu, one of the 21 female entr Breaking throughprejudices holdingbackfemale founders women in putting a disadvantage. eotypes andprejudices heavily still is stage thestartup However, velopment. Vietnam's GDP each year, women are becomi Making up nearly 50per cent 21/JUN/2021VIR INTELLASIA| influence in theVietnameseeconomy asvote According toPhamKhanhLinh,founder ofLo ideas. their business alising roles characteristics womenalso mean that and with limitedprogrammesaccess tosupport andpolicies. Besides, pre-definedgender theyare of enterprisesinthecountry but Women-owned enterprises inVietnam accountsfor26.5per centofthe total number the only Asian representative inthe global top10. the highestpe with among thecountries sixth According tothe Mastercard Index of to fa coming face are more ofthem ment isonthe rise,theincreasingnumberof women faceinstartinga business. In a co firs certainly notthe Vu is Difficulty findingsupport Vu. said asayoung startingabusiness," that woman startups to take off, there are deeply ingrai are deeply off, therestartups totake peoplefirs many while in 2019, Tech inAsia In fact, female-owned businessesfinditmuch shared. Linh remain," will women leaders and tradeoffs. However, I hope that in a star of common difficulties fromthe"Apart the fromaround tested world. model a and tried nam, replicating cult toconvincebusinesspa she explained,adding a woman," am I because th have beentold very"From the beginningI women. two fields industries, and trucking itisation Since establishing Logivan, Linhhas been fa women. for field ing dem and success pursue to ties brings to life, to her family and loved one woman liesnotinher familybackground, st overcome theprejudices surrounding them," she said. "I believe that the value of a Vu shared, "There are many women who are prestigious international pr established as Although only ago. two years stitutes such as straws, knives,and spoons Australia, Canada, t or only person to raise their voice about thechallenges voice their only persontoraise t or ess agencies such asForbesandBusinessInsider. rtners that shecandevelop this "Uber fortrucks" in Viet- hort timeago, EquoVietnam' of the labour force and contributing about 30 per cent of 30 percent and contributinglabour forceof the about onstrate their capabilities, and capabilities, onstrate their ce withdiscrimination and prejudice. Women Entrepreneurs 2020, Vietnam ranks 10-20 years, none of these prejudices about untry like Vietnamwhere thestartupmove- slanted towards men, with deep-rooted ster- deep-rooted men,with towards slanted mainly micro-and sm s. should Women be given more opportuni- epreneurs to watch highlighted by Female epreneurs towatchhighlightedby ned prejudices that make gement rolesatseveral largecorporations. from used coffee grounds and ricegrass position toproducedi at Unilever, at Unilever, brand manager LGGlobal, at that withmenthan that are moreassociated women starting up a business means that meansthat abusiness womenstartingup t think of capital as the No.1 difficulty for for difficulty astheNo.1 capital of t think of May to raise capital for startup Equo tup, women have to make more sacrifices cing the abundant stereotypes in thedig- stereotypes cing the abundant atus, or her life partner but on what she or herlifepartneratus,but on d byAsia'sleading at I know less about the transport sector less about I know at and Vietnam, drawingthe attention of surprised theaudience ofShark Tank Vi- very smart but are not brave enough to very arenotbraveenough smart but rcentage of female entrepreneursfemale rcentage of andis and head of marketing at California Fit- California at marketing of head and harder to access capital in the very first theveryfirst in access capital to harder ng an important driver of economicof de- ng animportantdriver givan, one of the 15 startupswithgreat givan, oneofthe face more difficulties thanmen in re- more face difficulties that this has made it particularly diffi- particularly it made has this that s products arenowdistrib- s I aspire to be able to do beable I aspireto all-sized enterprises technology newssite sposable plastic sub- it anunevenplay- 21 June 2021 46 / 60 46/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Long Thanh airports Tan Son Nhat and railway connecting HCM City proposes Intellasia The proposalwasincluded inthecity's su 4b. line is underconstructioninthe neighbouring pr City and the inHCM Airport International of womenholdingseniorproportion leadersh women re have Since morethan 38,400 2017, isexpectedtoreachat least 27 businesses a business.women will be supportedtostart Vietnam's NationalStrategy on Gender Equa ment, operation, andtechnical machinery management. re aretraditionally that ing uppositions Currently, 90per cent ofemployeesatPham for many other women," said Pham. a certainamountofrespect frommen,theywi help womenbecome more braveandproact willexperience success theyin wouldnotsee if theycanHowever, that sheaffirmed stores, Pham also hadtoovercome disrespect and bullies. from longer business tripsthatmen can and help fromher husband. However, her responsibility for their children kept her luckier than most other female startupentrepreneurs as shereceived alot of support inVietnam" leat of founder "Made Pham, Mai members. offamily thesupport without lonely quite Family responsibilities require womentowork housework as men." Theyhave to they toshoulder. have bility qualityand careerterms ofjob in development also stemsfromthedouble responsi- from Valentina Barcucci, laboureconomist housework. spend only10.7hoursonsuchtasks.Nearly ing clothes, cooking, shopping, andtaking shows that women spend an average of 20.2 labourforceA surveyofVietnamese by childbirth. in participate to opportunities fewer far have ness. Womenalsolackopportunitiestopart women then formen as they have totakeca hard it as for twice make prejudices long-standing ofcapital, issue the to In addition Lack ofmotivation mainly because they donotown collateral themajorityofwomen toWISE, ha According businesses. comes tobusiness, therefore, manyinvest due toprejudices. Investors thinkthatwo (WISE), said that only2percent of venture stages. TuThuHien, CEO oftheWomen'sInit The HCM City government has government The HCMCity 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES to the Trang Bom-Hoa Hung railwayand 2 inThuDucCity Hung Ring and con- No. to theTrangBom-Hoa Road Accordingly, HCM Cityproposedtherailway reported. media the local Authority, Railway period wi plan inthe velopment 2021-2030 male-founders-746937.html https://vietnamnet.vn/en/b Thornton Vietnam. Grant reportcent, by according toa2020 39 per usiness/breaking-through-p proposed studying a railwa proposed studying overcome these challenges, women founders served for men such aswarehouse manage- take. Whilebuildinga andopening take. brand the International Labour Organisation (ILO) International LabourOrganisation the per cent by 2025 and percentby2030. percentby2025 30 spend more thantwice as much time doing ors willunconsciouslyfavourmale-owned ggestions to thenationa ggestions men thanmen arewhen lessambitious it th a vision to 2050 drafted by the Vietnam bytheVietnam drafted th avisionto2050 or havetheirname capital investment reaches female startups care of the family andchildren while men the ILO,affirmed: "I Long Thanh InternationalLong Thanh Airport,which hoursperweek cleaningthe house, wash- ovince ofDongNai by lengthening metro icipate intrade activities promotion and ive. Successfulwomenwillnotonlyearn re of their families a fifth of mendonotevenspendtimeon a fifth 's business are women. They are also fill- ceived support to st to ceived support The rate of female directorsowners of of female or The rate training or exchange next to familyand anyotherway."Starting abusiness will hergoodsshe brandLecas,said was that Entrepreneurship and forStartups iative lity defines that by 2025, about 20,000 20,000 by2025, about lity definesthat would run along Pham Van Dong wouldrunalong PhamVan Street ll also be able to support and create jobs jobs create and support to able be also ll ip positions in busine ip positionsin ve little access to credit from banks, banks, from credit to access little ve more and theirmoreoften startupjourney is rejudices-holding-back-fe- y linking the Tan Son Nhat Tan y linkingthe on the family assets. while runningabusi- nequality forwomen art a business. The art abusiness. l railway systemde- sses inVietnam is 21 June 2021 47 / 60 47/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Metro Line 1 completion with for Start onrighttrack Shophouse Metro Intellasia and soundand op systemsand from SouthKorea The shophouse area is designed as a pede A new shopping mecca Apave. unit pervision andquickpaymentprocedures.uments The c inte with in line is developed Star Metro returnsMetroStar isexpectedtogenerate forinvestors. high Shophouse tion. an bridge connectingthe project and Metro Stat pedestrians. Manyinvestors havedecided tocashinwhenproject onthepedestri- the l 100m bridge willbe The pedestrian tion. struct apedestrianbridgecrossingHa HCM City Department ofTransportforth Shophouse MetroStarisbecomingmore attrac and profitcialpotential,value especially forbusiness andservice activities. itors.the pedestrian Locatedin area,Metr Star will accommodateallshoppingandente Connecting withMetroStation10viaamodern way. investors' wishlist due toits prime locati houses alongMetro Line 1and Shophouse Me With ThuDuc City being established, inve ness or quicklyrent theproperty out. portunities andhigh liquidity they offer by Shophouses only account forasmall portion at MetroStar. houses projects along Metro Line 1whichhavereac buck inthereal estate market. This ha cial distancingperiodinHC "Bottom fishing"hasbeen oneofthetrendi 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES this, City Besides also HCM proposed theMi Than City-Long the HCM and Thanh lightrailwa nect totheThuThiem-Long planning, thusaffectingmanyprojects in The solution will create anew route whichha areas and Rach Chiec and AnPhuintersections. pass through densely populatedareas suchas the ThanhDaand An Phu residential govern City the HCM to according However, connecting the two airportsbylengthening metroline Nos. 2 or 4b. Earlier, the consulting firm hadproposed ometer metro line was designed to be anunderground one andhave three stations. and LangChaCaIntersection inTanBinhDi project, No. 4 Dossiersthe metroline for Tan SonNhatInternationalAirport. connectionline 4b the ofmetro firm tostudy nhat-and-long-tha https://english.thesaigontim ferry. place anexisting Dong NaiandHCMCityare also working on a cial road 25C withalengthofover with anestimatedinvestmentof expanded To connect the two theHCM City-L airports, executed. As forthe other solution, the second metro li spanning the Saigon Ri nh-airports.html ver must be added. es.vn/82628/hcmc-proposes- M Cityas buyers are seekin h-Dau GiayExpressway. h-Dau 14 kilometers will be developed. s cannonedattention toproperty prices at noi Highway and connecting with Metro Sta- rnational standards with complete legal doc- legal complete with standards rnational on facing the largest pa facing thelargest on connecting Gia Dinh Park o Star shophouses will bring about commer- will bringabout o Starshophouses e UrbanRailway Management Boardto con- the city. In addition, ong and3mwide,willbe roofed for strian street complex equipped with light two plans for the development ofarailway the two plansfor est searchphrasesonGooglethe so- during stors are paying more attentiontoshop- are paying stors nearly VND10trillion. Moreover, provin- allowingowners to theirown open busi- ne project has been approved and is being hed an all-time high, most notably shop- most notably an all-timehigh, hed of urban projects, despite thebusiness op- ong Thanh-DauGiayExpresswaywillbe with the T1, T2 and T3 terminals ofthe T2andT3 the T1, with strict, are being completed. The 3.2-kil- The are completed. strict, being nistry ofTransport rtainment activitiesofresidents and vis- erated byexperienced coordinators. It ment, thelengthenedmetro ment, line 4bwill s yettobe inthe urban included city's onstruction is guaranteed by French su- tive followingthe ofthe recentapproval tro Star hasbeen shootingtothe top of ion 10isofficiallyli y at anintersectionNo. 2 y of RingRoad overpass, the pedestrian areaoverpass, atMetro thepedestrian plan to build the Cat Lai theCatLai Bridge to build to re- plan g the biggest bang for their railway-connecting-tan-son- two railway bridges bridges railway two rk along HanoiHigh- direct aconsulting censed forconstruc- in GoVapDistrict 21 June 2021 48 / 60 48/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam informed decisions Helping othersmake container port lockdown atSP-ITC HCM City lifts Intellasia completion-with-metro-line-1.html port.html https://english.thesaigontim country. entire import ber 2016,hasbecomeoneofthemost The SP-ITCInternational Container Terminal dwt. 45.000 to of up ships ing on capable located River of is Theportis and receiv- the Dong City. Nai port inHCM The SP-ITC InternationalContainer Terminal ing hand sanitisers andkeepingasafe face of wearing the including measures trol People coming totheportmustcomply via online channels and theport Shipping lines and businesses are encouraged to make their transactions with the port ates toensure the safety of its employees been have the port All areasat early thismonth. quality ofa anemployee is case suspected ing Joint StockCompanyoperator ofSP-I the cording toNguyenThaiQuang, general dire June locked downon temporarily was The port for Covid-19. than more has resumedoperationsafter City, The SP-ITCInternationalContainer Termin 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES https://english.thesaigontim Website: https://metrostar.vn 65 090 789 Hotline: For more information about Metro Star, please contact: interest for thecompound buyers. price,increasing selling subleasing shophousesfor1-3 years with the year of oneafter 20 percent of profit imum comm months and for upto12 interest rates the product'sde The value.of 70 percent In particular,ShophouseMetroStarbuyerswi tocreateatop- ny functions living with Modern shophouses ensure profitable busine the urbanareas. companied by a diverse and concentratedsource ofcustomers inside and outsideof superior totraditional townhouses thanks models with modern interior design and infrastructure. The new shophouse model is benefits thanks owners to to the maximise The reality in the worldand Vietnam shows of famousbrands, which is theoriginof trian alleysofless 500m in length. than metro trainstation. The neighbourhood has Similar toShophouseMetroStar,Myeongdong ping meccafeaturing fashion, en draws inspirationfrom Myeongdong district Having been living in Vietnam formorethan Having been living in enterprises. and public of infavour the policies sound in formulating munity, developingahealthie com- thebusiness anactive role insupporting hasbeen inVietnam playing The media 21/JUN/2021VIR INTELLASIA| es.vn/82617/hcmc-lifts-loc es.vn/82636/shophouse-metro Fanpage: Fanpage METRO STAR r investment environment, andhelpingthegovernmentr disinfected. The port has al 's website, eport.sp-itc.com.vn. tertainment, and street food. tertainment, and physical distance from each other. distance fromeach physical However, Myeongdong is hometothousands notch livingenvironmentforthe owners. with Covid-19infectionprevention and con- many trendsworld. oftoday'syouthinthe veloper will supports and the crew ofvessels coming totheport. inspection company that workedattheport delicate combination of combination delicate to asynchronous infrastructure system ac- operation. The developer operation. also commitsto masks, completing health declarations, us- masks, completing healthdeclarations, al in Phu Huu Ward, Thu Duc City, HCM DucCity,HCM Thu Ward, in Phu Huu al a chessboard shape includingsmallpedes- ant seaports not just in HCM City but the the but City HCM in seaportsnotjust ant TC International ContainerTerminal,the it tobuying shophouses back with a min- that shophousesinurbanareaswillhelp ctor ofInternational Transportand Trad- is the first international private container in Seoul, which is the most famous shop- the mostfamous in Seoul,whichis ss opportunities while creatingaharmo- , whichcameinto operation in Septem- 20 years,Hong Sun,vicechairof the Ko- 300 300 workers attheport tested negative rental price equal to 10 per cent ofthe10 per to rental price equal ll receive loan support from banks up to up banks from support loan receive ll 13 13 due toaCovid-19case.Ac- probable district islocatednexttoMyeongdong kdown-at-sp-itc-container- so adjusted the way it oper- it way the adjusted so -start-on-right-track-for- hophouse buyers with traditionalbusiness 21 June 2021 49 / 60 49/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia public to develop themselves. In his direction, In his public todevelopthemselves. makingit sectors, obstructionsinthese lighted for theirmember regulations making policies, and foreign business associationshavealways not on that VIR isalsoamongthenewspapers portant sources im- most the of one However, localities. and agencies, ministries, from reports as such es, information not onlyfrom itshundreds ofmember companies, butalso from other sourc- benefits of investors and firms. To make such proposals, EuroCham has sourced different its busi help Vietnamameliorate to aimed is thepolicy Vietnamesegovernmentto proposals aspec Whitebook, its released In recent years the European Chamber ofCommerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) hasannually helpsenterp This government. fr aslaws as well policies, and directions, c investment and business in theVietnamese role important extremely an played has The media of journalists. help to the thanks solved th to an memberenterprises zones, industrial KorCham has oftenaskedthe medi many of investor the Ltd, Co. resmart logisticsparks,innovation and and HSDC at president and CEO is He VIR. mation abouttheVietnamese market, andwher readsnewspape habitually Sun and English fluently. can speakandreadbothVietnameseBusiness inVietnam(KorCham), of rea Chamber tee for the 2015-2020 tenure, and the provinci and the tenure, tee forthe2015-2020 pro-business voices, contributing an proposals tothelegislature At the National Assembly,many owned enterprises makinglosses. also played animportant pa ic development,withthest socioeconom- national to has contributed press the development, of a century nearly Over Hismove others. many among economy, digital against fighting investment, to solutions toseek and localities ministries Since he took office as Vietnamese prime mi agement. policiesand the implementationof cluding government asacriticalchanne th of in theexistingcontext the govern mation channelsfor enterprises, andbusiness enterprises Along with information Effective channel as we public andpolicymakers, often usedtheeffective mediaan as channel has Vietnam in Commerce of Chamber American the example, For agencies. authorised Last week, the Party's Inspection Commission hancethe economy's growthand the nation's international prestige. to the government'sgreatefforts Duong's Party Standing Committee for the 2015- Committeefor Duong's PartyStanding and carryoutretrospective di The Party's InspectionCommission foundthat National Assemblydeputy Delegation posed on Tran Van Nam, who isthe provincial Party Secretary and head of Binh Duong's Party Civil Affairs Committee for 2016-2021. The for 2016-2021. Affairs Committee Party Civil is the media. e pandemic. The media is acknowledged by the Vietnamese Vietnamese by the is acknowledged media The pandemic. e rong development ofthe business community. The media has e governmentministries. and rt in helping the government in helping the rt COVID-19, tourism,infrastruc d the government. Moreover, the media hasalsofeatured its sciplinary measures sciplinary measures ial book hundreds of pages thick featuring the chamber's chamber's the featuring thick ofpages ial hundreds book rise leaders make decisions on investment and business." and investment on decisions make leaders rise ment toconductitssocioeconomic monitoring, especially l showcasingthe ofbusinesses views on various issues, in- ll as authorised agencies. ll as support enterprises and invest and enterprises support rs every day. "The media can provide me exactinfor- "The mediacanprovideday. rs every tocreatingamorebusiness-fr deputies have also arti havealso used deputies a to help convey a tohelp , and many other relevant members. relevant other many and , om the Party, theNati om theParty, guidelines, thus thus helping guidelines, improve stateman- solve many problems in solve manyproblems nister, PhamMinhmanyrequired Chinh has ness and investment clim investment and ness to deliver its comment to deliver limate. Enterprises can search and development parks inVietnam. search anddevelopment ly EuroCham,but alsomanyother domestic suggested thatauthoris companies,andprop theroleofmedi read and sought info readandsought difficult for investors, enterprises, and enterprises,and the for difficult investors, al People'sal Party Civil Affairs Committee , ministries, and central agencies. The book cameafter reading the provincial Party Standing Commit- 2020 tenure, and the pr 2020 tenure,andthe the media is also one of the official infor- official of the one also is media the measures werealso e my projects are going well," Sun told told Sun well," aregoing projects e my for the southern province of Binh Binh of province southern the for the voiceofits ov in discovering manystate- indiscovering "Many proposals have been "Many proposals ture, human resources, and cles as partcles as of their policy iendly climate in line with inline climate iendly onal Assembly, and the and onal Assembly, ors, in a bid to further en- further to abid in ors, a highlighted. is often osals to Vietnamese- and proposals tothe rmation from before articles which high- receive information, receive information, the sectors ofpublic the sectors ed agencies consider er 9,300 South Kore- er 9,300 ate, and protect the ate, andprotect proposed to be im- proposed tobe 21 June 2021 50 / 60 50/ 2021 June 21 ovincial People's 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam first cargoairline first establishment ofVN's CAAV discusses Intellasia https://vir.com.vn/helping-others- tributions tonational socioeconomic development. morality good having journalists with ety, Moreover,press offices mustcontinue their effectiveness. press circlewith veloping theVietnamese must alsocontinueimplementingtheir They tional Party Congress and abou Press officesmusthave understaprofound It isstrongly expected that the media will more professional, wi become moreand have newed theiroperations, with The media hasreflected thevoiceof pe imprin good stories havingleft publ the state, contributingtodirecting the th conveying and infeaturing the initiative the media,especially keypress agencies of createdhave bymanyfa been Such successes niversary of Uncle Ho'sdepa tenure, birthdayanniversary 2026 the 113th and Assembly elections ofthe15th National many ma ceeded inorganising Despite numerous difficulti Nguyen Trong NghiaHead, Central Co tional construction and protection." the na- society, helpingboost inthe optimism confidence and to create society inorder tofeatur importance needs toattach great and the regulati inline with policies ciety He hasasked the mediatofocusonfeaturing information aboutthe economy and so- develop vehemently. to els, willalsocontinue of transmission Technologies instorageand arestr IT personalisation rect contactand allsectorsand societ impacting oftheeconomy According tothe state president, Industry 4.0 and rapid ICTdevelopment are greatly public." the of forum highly valuestheroleof the press, which when he acted as theprimeminister. He st State PresidentNguyen Xuan role An important of thestate. The mediacontinue Production Corporation, creating grave cons andassetsat land,capital, and managing well as for 2016-2021 and other as Nam me Transport (MoT)on a project to establis The CivilAviationAuthorityof 21/JUN/2021VNA INTELLASIA| considered after theaviation market recove Cuong addedthe MoT's policy has clarified JointAir Cargo StockCompany. IPP from to invest intheproject cation director Vo CAAV deputy praising the application for anairtransp praising theapplication said: "TheCAAV wouldconsultwiththe Mo commercial flig operate and of2021 quarter for answering IPPAir Cargo, a basis To have expected to benext year. Huy Cuong announced theagen es caused by theCOVID-19 rture fornationalsalvation. diversified content andhigher quality, andjournalists Phuc often underlined the importance of the media oftheimportance Phuc oftenunderlinedthe jor events such as the 13th ts in the mindset of readers. of mindset the ts in Vietnam(CAAV)recentlyre t theParty andthe state's about opinions the press. s toreport on the violations. make-informed-de mmission for Information and Education mmission forInformationand h the first cargo h thefirst ai state-owned Binh DuongImport-Exportand ort businesslicense for IPP Air Cargo." ongly changing the way the mediaoperates. way ongly changingthe modernity, professionalism, humanity, modernity,professionalism, and ons ofthePartyand state. "The press is "the key information channel and alarge channel key information is "the ing good sides and bright examples in the the Partyandthestate.Themedia hastaken continue enhancingcontinue thisglorioustradition. and skills, andwho ople. Pressoffices have significantly re- ated the that always Party and state the rs from the COVID-19 rs fromthe nding aboutthe resolution ofthe13th Na- mbers had violated regulations regulations mbers violated on using had ic opinions, withmanytypesofnewsand Party and policies ofthe and e directions development intoexamples good for soci- hts inthe second quarter of2022, Cuong sound and images, andmultimedia mod- of PresidentHoChi and Minh, an- 110th that establishing anewairline would be ctors including the very important role of roleof important thevery including ctors tasks, contributingto equences andlosses in moneyandassets whichhopes togetapprovalinthethird all-level forthe2021- all-level people's councils T for moreT guidance on building and ap- th strong political stance expertise. stance and th strong political y. New trends in the media such asdi- y. Newtrendsinthemedia cisions-84946.html pandemic, Vietnam has suc- has pandemic, Vietnam National Party Congress, the rline inVietnam. cy had received anappli- cy ported tothe Ministryof can make further con- can pandemic's impacts, building upandde- 21 June 2021 51 / 60 51/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam plan business restructuring developing asmall Don'tmoves in delay to Canada nod to operate flights Vietnam Airlinesgets Intellasia to-canada.html https://english.thesaigontim year. this States operate 12flightsto bring Vietnamese citize Early thismonth, Vietnam Airl extended forone month,untilNovember15, 2020. last year, but only for three m Previously the national flagcarrierreceived patriate Vietnamese citizens fromToronto. on June11,foran unlimited time period an Vietnam AirlinesisthefirstVi country. to theNorth American flights Canada tooperate icate fromTransport Airlineshas carrier Vietnam flag National 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES 203318.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/caav-discusses-establishment-of-vns-first-cargo-airline/ a profitfromthe fourth year sinc mi 71 with arevenueof cargo, The IPPAirCargo Joint Stock Company hop Vietnam. chain shifting, logisticsservices are considered ec the contextdeeply oftheintegrated In than is muchhigher goods In addition, thelocal logistics system is not and AirbridgeCargo. Cathay Cargo the handsofinternationa in market shareis In the aviation sector, Vietnam has no carrier th with share, market of percent 20 than enterprises wereop logistics 30,000 adding logist local said group of the A representative millionUSD). (100 VND of2.4trillion investment atatotal airline first the cargo establish to like would Nguyen, confirmed theIPPAir Cargo Joint On June4, the Import-ExportPanPacifi an market airtransport tic andinternational saidthiswaswhyitproposed thegovernmentfocus onrestoringThe MoT thedomes- could only operateataratio of less port market in 2022 would be only approximately equal to 2019 and the local airlines scenario, tothemost optimistic According to74 pe equal passengers, million It was th estimated bytheendof2022, that industry. aviation thelocal impacted greatly Vietnam, sector. In aviation jobs inthe ket demand would decrease by 80percent in year, theIn On April21last Don't delay moves in developing asmall business restructuring plan small business insolvency reforms. much small business withtoo If youhavea 21/JUN/2021VIR INTELLASIA| wide-bodyaircraft, forthese flights. Thefirst Vietnam Airlines willuse the Boeing 787 Toronto and Vancouver chosen The airline isdrawing upaplan to organi Airlines cancarrypass engers and cargo toevery airport inCanada. ternational Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast mar- (IATA) Association Transport ternational Air the world average, which leads to low competitiveness. tolow leads which average, the world es.vn/82637/vietnam-airlines onths from July 13toOctober13.The onths fromJuly certificate was later llion USD in its first year an etnamese carriertogetthis certificate, whichtookeffect ines also received apermit from the USauthorities to as the major destinations. e the first flightis operated./. rcent of the reported forecast. than 50percent compared tocapacity. the MoT reported COVID-19pandemichas c Group(IPPG),chaire e rest held by about 30 foreign companies. se flightsbetweenVietnam andCanada,with onomies, alongwith the tendency of supply or theAirbus A350, which areitsbiggest been granted a Foreign Air Operator been Certif- granted aForeignAirOperator yetdeveloped and the cost oftransporting the indicators for the Vietnamese air air trans- theVietnamese for the indicators e total transportation market will reach 78 market willreach transportation e total debt, you will need toknowabout thenewwill debt, you erating in Vietnam andaccounted forless d numberofflights. l cargo airlines such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, DHL, FedEx, UPS, as such airlines l cargo d notconsider anynew airlinesuntil2022. Stock Company, a member ofthegroup,a Stock Company, ns back to thecountryfrom the United a certificate to operate flights to Canada tooperateflights to Canada a certificate specialisedpercent88 ofthe incargoand es totransportabout115,000tonnesof the near future, threatening 25 million 25 threatening future, near the ics hasnotyet exploite flight isset totake one of the fields with great potential in oneofthefieldswithgreatpotential -gets-nod-to-operate-flights- d is aimingto begin making d by JohnathanHanh Therefore, Vietnam off on June 30 to re- June 30 off on d its full potential, potential, full its d 21 June 2021 52 / 60 52/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia turing. sonal liability exposure as adirector and you have insolvency concerns, it isimperati succeed likelyto reasonably plan isviableand The optionsareextensiveand itisimportant financing arrangements and sa key trading partners, suppliers, to c your plan would want Furthermore, you separate investment, or otherwise incl consider takingonafreeze on debts followed by services.might and companies Moreover,expanding thescopeofproductsbusiness or to view a with resources existing ploying Your small business restructuring plan might embrace thedownsizing and/or rede- orat an ag full or the implementationofcomplexsecured debt tosell assets, ofdifficult for realisation the allow This would period. ed for a particular alsoWea simple suggest repaymentplan retiring). and/or exiting safely while loss financial serious of risk the igating if there debts is compromise and of a business sale the finalise to strategies exit as well as assessment, viability a and stabilisation able den illness, death, orincapacityofkeyma The restructuring plan shouldwell prepare shareholders;ners, members,wider familygroups. or directorsand or should haveplansto Businesses advances. First of all, the plan could include a compromise of debts with repayments to be made made be to repayments with debts of from future profitsor revenue, compromise a include could plan the all, of First what itcould include and when it cantake plan restructuring business small A sis. wh agreat solution is this Inaddition, sure. involvedand plan mightalsoreducethecost An facing. are companies distressed which A small business restructuring plan could cut the length of the insolvency process Considerable benefits ing meaning better outcomes forstakeholders and creditors. risk andexposure. This improveschance the The faster youtakeaction,themore opport debt, wagesandentitlements. or unable to pay vent, such as notenough cashtopay debts, insol- is a company that signs many There are insolvency). potential of sign first the at encourageThe reforms aimto distressed businessesto seek assistance early (meaning administration. administrator makesallofthe and insolvencyprocess,asopposedtoth It is essentially adebtor in possession (dir and carryoutplansotherwiseknow this areamust in practitioner appointed An documented restructuring with plan creditors. retain controlofday-to-day forms, owners are eitherinsolvent or businesses that small relatesbusinessplanthe small restructuring The to reforms forfinancially distressed plan. restructuring termine which scenarios would warrant de- to requirements meeteligibility our who with clients havebeenworking We tion. caused bythepandemichas le thedamage tourism, and hospitality such as inindustries businesses for Particularly reed percentage. ft manybusinessowners in decisions in the day to day today day inthe decisions withothe or incombination le leasebackscenarios. and or otherstakeholders suchas may be appropriatetocarry out. n as debtagreement. a corporate uding debt forequi debt uding the development of a small business business ofasmall the development e voluntaryadministration regimewhere an improve thechances ofasuccessfulrestruc- nagement personnel withinabusinesstoen- ensuring ongoing viability by pivoting the ectors retain control) restructuring model where a freeze on repayment is implement- no way to raise extrafunds,cannotpay tax effective implementation of a restructuring arestructuring of implementation effective trading operations while implementing a trading operationswhile unity you have tominimiseyour personal restructure duetoa dispute between part- work with company creditors to develop develop to creditors company with work ich could save small businesses out ofcri- small businesses could save ich crisis managementinresponse tothe sud- likely to become insolvent. Under the re- ve that youactprompt manyforms. There examplesof aresome ontain partnershipsor s ofimplementing asuccessful restructur- to think and act strategically to the ensure to actstrategically and think to partly takethe edge ofthefinancialpres- likely to be a shortfall (for example, mit- example, (for a shortfall be to likely , as is required under the legislation. If If the legislation. under is required , as refinancing to pay creditorseitherin refinancingto an influx of new ca of aninflux ty arrangements. ty running ofthebusinessin adifficultfinancialsitua- r asset realisations or cash or cash r assetrealisations lessors as wellvendor lessors joint ventures with ventures joint ly tomitigate per- pital or equity via 21 June 2021 53 / 60 53/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam agility for increasedSME Digital foundations field in phase2A Su Tuof Trangoil First gaspumped out Intellasia http://bizhub.vn/news/firs capital expenditure investme onDecember6, Phuc minister NguyenXuan The plantodevelop theWhiteLion oilfield and gasreserves intheco coast of Vietnam. Itis considered as one of The White Lion field is located in Block 15 SK andGeopetrol. The project is operated byCuuLongJOC. between PetroVietnamandthecontractingparties, including PVEP, Perenco, KNOC, The oil andgasexplorationcontract ofBl 2a_325240.html tween Vietnamese business an importantachievementanda was this On behalf of foreign partners, President of vant ministries. PetroVietnam, PetroVietnam Exploration to the ofthe part efforts its company and Cuu LongJOC'sgeneral directorNguyen Van in thegaspurchase and sale contract the of thedrilling tocomplete partners PetroVietnam highlyvaluedtheeffortsof contributing and parties, involved all was theflagshipinoil andga Addressing theevent,PetroVietnam'sgenera schedule. the occasionwasheldonline, markingtheop Amid thecomplicated developmentsoftheCOVID-19pandemic, aceremony tomark Su TuTrang (White Lion) The Oil and GasGroup(PetroVietnam)on Frid 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| https://vir.com.vn/dont-delay sponse tothe pandemic. to act with duediligence andcarehas neverchanged throughoutthe government's re- is importantfor position, it Whatever the creditors. such as stakeholders its law), will be required toensure asuccessfu restruct business enced andflexiblesmall The right mix of pragmatic andsolutions-ori restructuring process. ing practitioner. Appropriate adviceisvital tr seek last minuteto theDo notleave it tion process. er other optionsincludingvoluntary liquid If thecreditors reject therestructuring pl tors. of thebusinessandit can continuetradin rest business small If creditorsapprovethe eration of insolvency andthe extent ofa There are varioustechnicalelements to dete Eligible businesses need foragility and Cl resilience. Warrick the highlighting small, and large for businesses bag mixed a in resulted has COVID-19 21/JUN/2021VIR INTELLASIA| plan-84949.html ntinental shelfofVietnam. oil field inphase 2A. tgas-pumped-out-of es and foreignpartners. nt of nearly $138 million. s exploitation activities inVi activities s exploitation -moves-in-developing-a-sma and field development plan, he said. he plan, development field and about $10.4 billion to the State budget. State the billion to $10.4 about well onschedule,ensuring their commitments usted advicebusiness fromasmallrestructur- an, thecompanyanditsdirectorsmay consid- ners, along with the maximum support from ners, alongwiththemaximum company's liabilities at a point company's liabilitiesatapoint in time. ock 15-1 was signed on September 16, 1998, 1998, 16, on September signed was ock 15-1 Cuu Long Joint Operating Companyandits Long JointOperating Cuu g with protectionsfromparticipating credi- directors to remember that the requirement the directors torememberthat by liquidator (registered uring practitioner eine, chairand CEO of symbol of the success Production Corporati -1 of the CuuLongBasin off thesouthern Perenco Vietnam Gill Perenco Vietnam the areas with the highest potential for withthe potential oil the areas highest ructuring plan,the directors retain control ation, suchasthene l outcome for thebusiness in distress and before seeking to access the small business business thesmall toaccess seeking before in phase 2A wasapproved bythen-Prime rmining eligibility, including the consid- the including eligibility, rmining 2019, with a total expected consolidated expectedconsolidated total with a 2019, ented advisers, withanexperi- together l directorLe ManhHungsaidBlock 15-1 eration oftheproject 16 daysahead of Que attributed thesuccessofproject -su-tu-trangoil-field-in-phase- ay welcomed thefirst flow ofgasfrom etnam, bringingbenefitsto ll-business-restructuring- w streamlined liquida- streamlined w ful cooperation be- on (PVEP) andrele- es d'Argouges said KPMG in Vietnam KPMG 21 June 2021 54 / 60 54/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia petitors, but those who survive but thosewho petitors, Like in any economic shock, thestrongest will survive. We willsee adrop off incom- survive. other business models to be successfuland th companies. Justlookatall the SMEs g have SMEs if Additionally, downturn. vive a intellectual property.perience andare These financial structure andkey resources typically humanresources butalsocustomer ex- place. Werecommend building To survive the pandemic, or anydownturn, time. capita less and potentially of services, range ability to deal with changes and shocks. SM The biggestdifference betwee pandemic. the managed toflourishduring and havebeen while startup tech sector the system because of markdowns, lack of to to and hospitality Those in patterns. similar If sectors,you lookateconomic thepand the situation? have been handling (SMEs) enterprises medium-sized and small- you think do How their growth flowing into logistics. the biggestwinnerse-commerc wereprobably services professional for goes Thesame bust. few weeks with theoutbreaks in the country, last these from Apart intact. remained largely have sector industrial the like impacted terns andconsumer behaviourchanged; however, other areas that could have been Disruptions wereacutely felt, particularly others areinthe middle. and hospitalitylosing e-commerce among in anysituation and the spectrum is clearl some down. The same can be said for the larger market. There are winners and losers up, someservices with for KPMG, both hotand cold were disruptions the Altogether, tohelpwithtransactions. KPMG With investors unable tocome to Vietnam, remained strong, which hasimproved relian On the and assistancewasmuted. support the economy. For example, duringthelock changesbrought disparate fo The pandemic has times. the disruptionhasshownusthat work to justpickupwheretheyleft willing However, our people arevery young and tech-savvy and proved extremely flexible, the lackofcoherenceamong ourpeople. and lockdowns from that. Thenegative impactswere mainly For usatKPMG,the pandemic had the potent them. serve to client the from remote locations andare aware that we tion of technology and new mindsets. Wear The biggestchangeinmy book has been th would you say were themostimportant impa The past year has revolved almost entire Digital foundations for increased SMEagility mid-sized groups. TomNg sharedwith VIR's and , ood leadership, they can adapt with more agility than big withmoreagility ood they adapt leadership, can n SMEs and large business has been theirresiliencebusiness has n SMEsandlarge and and strengthening these foundations, including a solid solid a including foundations, these strengthening and will find themselves inastronger positionto pick up wecanmaintainoperations at haverapidlymovedinto e-commerce and ly aroundthe pandemic. COVID-19 What urists, and fewer people going shopping shopping urists, and peoplegoing fewer emic impacts follow on SMEsandstartups y visible during the pandemic, with tourism the pandemic,withtourism y visibleduring during the lockdown ph Es have more limited resources, a narrower other hand,mergersan uyen the key takeaways for smaller and uyen the keytakeawaysforsmaller they rely more on service providers like like theyrely more on providers service down periods,the demand fortaxaudit e acceleration ofagilitythroughthe adop- at the office and continue online. In away, at theofficeandcontinueonline. able to adapt the fastest and have even have the fastestandable toadapt urism have had the biggest shock to their biggest shock havehadtheurism the otherswhodid not have theagilityto l to act as a buffer to support themover tosupport as l a buffer act to e nowconfident inourability to work SMEs need to have their fundaments in to havetheirneed fundaments SMEs ce on professional transaction services. exports and transport have have all andtransport stayed exports ro- , banking,andthe securities market, but felt as a business interruption from the felt abusiness as interruption the things that enable businesses to sur- that enablebusinessesto the things cts forKPMGandthemarketingeneral? do not havetobe physically infrontof e andelectronic shopping,withmuchof ial tobe ial very itwasfar negative but the greatest winners while so many greatestwinners thewhilesomany r different services, given the shiftsin even inthemostdifficult d acquisitionshave ases asbuyingpat- 21 June 2021 55 / 60 55/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia https://vir.com.vn/digital erating alarge fleet oftrucks and warehouse network across the country. unlock growthand customer feedbackto of chai cold inthe ofintegrated vider field novative e-commerce solutionfor itsrosterof closed its Series Afunding round toaccele intheprogramme, a Vietnam-ba ipating partic- after by companies For instance, and now. havebecomelarge successful which In thepastfive years, ourKPMGNEXTteam global and our inVietnam KPMG within selves,teams, their andtheir business. Weal achi sothey can leaders business namese the pe Through theprogramme,we nurture sustained highperformance. NEXT, dedicated to helping Vietnamese entrepreneurs andstartup founders achieve In addition, we are alsopartneringwi leadership. more effectively acrossalltheentitiesnati mate the business with digitaltechnologies. As tion flow inorderto make informa- improve to efforts country. Wealsomade per regionand lockdown period and distributionchannel,c On the commercial side, we tookastrategi cles, sizeoftheopportunities. and quantifying the suite ofinitiativestheacross Orderto Cash, policies and procedures, conducting transa practices, governance, and performance.Th specialists, was engaged to identify opport Our restructuring team, consisti regulations. tion This was exacerbated by the investments Like manyothercompanies,ofourcl How is KPMG supporting clients andSMEs in this transformation? interest. investor This showsthatthespirit of innovation wa been big and quite successful capital-raising startup investorshave averyother hand, ag as foreign investment toattract it difficult restricteddegree,startups frommeetingan isthe tobe Another ecosystem forthe ideas pandemic. by the been impacted ent factors.Oneistheknowledge and enthus andSME ofthestartup The drive digitalisation sphere. intothedigital operations take smoother adoptionjourney.Theystillneed for operations, they are looking at much Now thatstartupsandentrepreneurs no longerneedtoinventnecessaryenvironment and reducetheircapital outlay. This has enabled entrepreneurs includingst Web Se ofAmazon the launch with years, tremendous a been growingat Platforms have digital journey? resources. limited have SMEs say did you ity, through optimising operations SMEs in greater numbers are now looking to market sharewhichwould havebeen imposs -foundations-for-increas better decisions, improve governance structures, and auto- decisions, improvegovernancestructures, better onsidering differen digitalisation. While this is a key measure of theiragil- of measure akey is this While digitalisation. ng of management consultingng ofmanagement th SMEs under a th SMEs calledKPMG programme n logisticslearned howto harness the power -reduced capitalexpenditure and a far sed e-commerce enabler has successfully eve and sustain high performance for them- network tosupporttheiracceleration. required to uphold new COVID-19preven- investors could notenter Vietnam. On the onwide, in order to strengthen theirmarket rvices anddifferente-commerceplatforms. s unhampered bythepandemic, along with unitiesfor improvement inworking capital rate itsrevenue growth and develop anin- c approach on theproductportfoliolevel d developing ecosystems. It has also made d developingIt has ecosystems. ctional level data analysis, developing a developing analysis, level data ctional drive their product roadmap. Now it is op- is it Now roadmap. their product drive ients havebeenaffectedbythepandemic. moderate amounts of capital,however, to commercialised. The pandemichas, to a is comprised a review of the businesses' ile mindset themselves, so there stillhave overcome disruptions by streamlinig and artups and SMEs to plug into platforms artups and to intoplatforms SMEs plug rsonal andprofessional growthofViet- PurchaseForecast toPayand toFulfilcy- hashelped over 200 businesses, manyof so connectthemtotheexpertise thatlies iasm oftheentrepreneurs, which hasnot transactions by tech startups and SMEs. and SMEs. tech startups by transactions How difficult itfor is to begin them the difficult How ible without the stress of a pandemic. stress of ible withoutthe blue-chip blue-chip clients. Another service pro- t timing scenariosdepending on the a result, the clients were able to operate to theclients wereable aresult, pacein Vietnam in the last couple of sector stillrelies on anumber of differ- ed-sme-agility-84947.html , financial,tax, legal and 21 June 2021 56 / 60 56/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS spree stakes in divestment Thuduc House sells finance& business Vietnam teams for one year national football SABECO tosupport Intellasia be the only cable TV that produces andbr to proud is "VTVcab shared: VTVCab, of Nam,generaldirector Bui Huy Meanwhile Cup. Suzuki AFF the2018 events including tional as 2020 Tien Phong Newspape 2020 TienPhong as Games (SEA Games) in2019.Ithasalso sp Vietnamese SABECO previouslysponsored the opment strategy. been ake sponsorships havealways Sports help inthedevelopment ofViet "This partnership willbring "This Beer,"Secretary.VFF generalLe HoaiAnh, said "We are happy topartnerwithsuchapr third roundof WorldCup qualifiers success invariousinternational competitions the Vietnamesena last fewyears, Over the director.SABECO general bringingcountry,"Bennett Neo,and sharetheirgoalofglorytothe said success "We areproudtosupportthenational footba forboth andOlympicsquads the U22, U23 exclusive sponsor inthe beer industry of As partofits sponsorship, Friday. on (VTVCab Sport)inHanoi Joint StockCompany Development VTVcab Sport and SABECThe sponsorshipsignedbetween was sor theVietnamnational footballteams for one year. The SaigonBeer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporati 21/JUN/2021VNS INTELLASIA| vestment-spree-4296434.html https://e.vnexpress.net/news An, Long Hanoi, Hue,DaLatand City, According tothecompany,ithascarried out billion ($13.9 million), but managingto pany's financial report forthefirstquarter companies, andfocusing onspearheadsectors structuring itsaffiliates, reorga ThuducLe ChiHieu,the House chair,said biggestlossoperation.the inits30-year of tax arrears estate developer saw thereal to pay VND396 billion in tax arrears for VA 2020 disinvestmentfollowsthecompanybeingorderedinlate rapid House's Thuduc TriInvestment the and VicoQuang Binh ThuDucServiceTam LimitedSong HyGia Company, Lai the LimitedCompany, Earlier, the property developer had sold allitsentirestake inthree local firms of the GLS shareswill fetchthecorp (GLS)forVND5,000 Company Lotus Securities A few daysearlier, Thuduc House registered twomonths. inthelast of VND11,500-13,000 of aroundVND200 billi priceofatle it hopes for a selling It said (Fideco). Corporation ofHCMCity percent ofthe stakeitcurre The HCM firm City-based announced that it and registered todivestfromtwo Housing development corporation ThuducHousehassold stakesinthreecompanies, 21/JUN/2021VNEXPRESS INTELLASIA| on. Fidecoshares have been traded on thelocal bourse at prices ntly holdsinthe ForeignTradeDevelopment &Investment running from June 2021to Ju further support toandmotiva /business/companies/thuduc-house-sells-stakes-in-di- oration aroundVND15 billion. nising its apparatus,selling r Marathon National Champions Marathon National r namese football as awhole." others over thelastsixmonths. &Mineral Joint Stock Company. for the first time forthefirsttime in history. ast VND12,000 ($0.52) per share for a turnover turnover a per sharefor ($0.52) VND12,000 ast earn after-tax profits ofVND28 billion. and in the US state ofCalifornia. and inthe state US ominent Vietnamese brand ominent such as Saigon the men's and women's national teams, and oadcasts allworldwide and national most- onsored variouslocalsporting eventssuch tional football team has seen tremendous of this year shows sales falling to VND320 toVND320 falling sales shows year this of T refunds andlate payment. collectionThe y part of SABECO's 4Csustainable devel- report a loss of VND310 billion last year, loss ofVND310billion a report national andinternational competitions. corporation has this year prioritised re- O, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) . Most recently, the team advanced tothe theteamadvanced . Mostrecently, more than 40 real estate projects in HCM 40realestateprojects HCM more than in ll teams in their journeytowards greater would sell over 16 million shares, or 43 on (SABECO)hasagreed a deal tospon- to transfer all of its stake in the Golden like real estate and auxiliaries. Thecom- like realestate andauxiliaries. delegation to the 30th Southeast Asian Asian Southeast the30th to delegation per share.Asaleofoverthreemillion ne 2022, ne 2022, willbethe SABECO stakes inpoorly performing tion for, ourplayers, and hip aswell interna- 21 June 2021 57 / 60 57/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam business protection ispartof environmental For Sanofi, Intellasia company managedtocut 14 tonnes theuse toreduce firm targets Through itsprogramme toeliminate wa plastic safe andsustainablemanner. grammes toreduce its waste Its pharmaceuticalplant in and products its renewing and designing of people and the environmen impacts negative minimise to effort an In Reducing theenvironmental footprint print ofitsproductionand busi and human ability capacity, its mobilising "On thepath togenerating positiveimpact di country Turan, Emin says sibility," Vietnamyears, isstri Sanofi forover60 inVietnam drugmaker and a company pharmaceutical multinational "As a change lives. tion programmesto the drug firmhas enactednumerous pro-so responsibil social corporate ty. Byintegrating and environmenta attended tosocietal ways ec fromimproving abetterlife, apart For 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES year_325215.html http://bizhub.vn/corporate-n ment." ofthe insupport effect media's the imise partner. Itisanhonourtowalkwith SABEC the paving in football, interest significant "Aside from content distributionacross a mult watched sportsleagues,aswellall the firm's annual CSR activities CSRactivities to spre annual the firm's disabledchildrenand orphans, and donate tial part ofits budgetengageto incharit underprivileged helping heartinto Putting Action forthe health and community's happiness 40%. carbon of2.3 thousandtonnes site, eliminate rice huskbiomass, allowing projectsetetnam's HCMCityteam.The is to Ne isthe"Rice Mobilisation fundis Planet One of three winningprojects selected for projects. tainable led bySanofi's InnovationLabhelped thepart The programme featuringboot camps, ha programme. sites in 29countries participated in the firm's environmental sustainability ideation environment.Th toahealthier contribute gramme to put intoactionideas and projec three milli worth launched afund nofi has of theglobal group's drive toprotectMother f environmental the tocut efforts In fact, tion and Recycling"programme. tonnes of plastic waste over thepastfewm aging in whilecarrying outthe 2020 "Cart In addition, thefactorymadeareduction of Thu Duc City in HCM Cityis DucCityinHCM Thu ving tofulfillits long-ter Sanofi's factoryinHCMCityto ews/sabeco-to-supp by recycling or reusing the of plastics at the factory to of plastics atthefactory t during its operations, Sanof ness activities," Turanadded. of plastics in rector of SanofiVietnam and Cambodia. matches involvingVietnamese national matches teams. ad love and kindness to needy people. to needy kindness ad loveand able programmes to offer financial supportto ootprint conducted at Sanofi Vietnam is part at SanofiVietnam conducted ootprint onomic performance, Sanofi Vietnam hasal- Vietnamese nationalfootball team's achieve- from raw materials and wastes on the health wastesonthe and from materials raw way for VFF to become a long-term strategic strategic tobecome long-term forVFF a way is year, more 500employeesfrom63 than on Reduction" programme, and recycled 30 on Reduction"programme,andrecycled ckathons, anddesign thinkingworkshops services to create a healthy society. healthy a create to services w Green," SanofiVi- which isaprojectfrom the inauguralyear and financedbySanofi's on euros for the"PlanetMobilisation"pro- resources to minimise environmental foot- s on thesociety, the drugmaker has been ts comingfromitsemployees tofurther onths this year through its "Waste Reduc- "Waste its onths thisyearthrough people, Sanofi always sets aside a substan- a aside sets always people, Sanofi ciety initiatives andenvironmental protec- O as a supportingpartnerinordertomax- gifts tothelonely and elderly. These are 470tonnesofcartonpaper used for pack- l issues to create values for thecommuni- values l issuestocreate dioxide ayear andreduce steam costs by Earth. As amajorglobal As Earth. drugmaker, Sa- carry out the first green and large-scale green and the first carry out ity (CSR) into the core of its operations, the operations, into core ofits (CSR) ity icipatingsus- teamsideas into turntheir itude of platforms, VTVcabconfirms its ste that was kick-started years ago, the yearsago, kick-started ste thatwas ort-national-footba its production. its m commitment to social m tosocial respon- commitment zero Lastyear, by 2022. the plastic and paper waste ina launching a series of pro- of series a launching i Vietnam is constantly re-i Vietnam isconstantly become afossil fuelfree ll-teams-for-one- 21 June 2021 58 / 60 58/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam festival heldinParis Vietnamese cuisine First outdoor in Vietnam management project million forwaste Norway provides $1.3 Intellasia management-project-in-vietnam.html https://english.thesaigont UNDP ResidentRepres erate the achievement of alow-carbon and models, innovation andpolicyadvice, the ne thatbybringingtogethersu "We believe ities and businesses ofthecircular economy principles. an effective enabling when supportedby Through capacity the project,community formal sector in waste environmental an that respect lection centers Phase 2ofthe project responds to theneed for scaling up local waste andrecycling col- behind." totake tocombat plastic Vietnam action pride inourpartnership"Norway takes wi Ambassador toVietnamGrete Lochen. of-business-.html Featuring some 25 Vietnamese associations and businesses in France, for example, COVID-19 eased thorities contextofthe in is veryimportant the po part in the commonefforts totackleplasti local more that is great It expanded. ing "We areof very Phase happywiththesuccess in fivelocalities, QuangNinh, Binh of Up aSocialisedModel project, "Scaling The project isacontinuation of the firs Dinh Province. ment ofthe Material Recovery Facility, wh It willalsofosteranecosystem-levelappr inthe sector. model fishery a management waste and formal workers project isaimedatdeployingandtesting in gramme (UNDP)signed anagreement for The Norwegian Embassy in Vietnam andthe United Nations Development Pro- the circulareconomyinVietnam. fostering waste management models ed andinclusive The government ofNorwaywillprovide$1.3 21/JUN/2021 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES https://english.thesaigontim representativeVietnam. the ofSanofi lives of people andcreating "With great ambition for social th against try's fight lion to households inthe central region affect contributor totheFurthermore, comm asa disease. congenital heart free specia Vietnam wereprovided areas in rural in children 2,000 which through programme, Outreach Clinic the Rural out carry 2021, SanofiVietnamdona In and to child atOncologyHospital Children's patients Hospital. Through itsannualDream forChildrenprog It was the first Vietnamese It wasthe Vietnamese cuis first partnership with Foyer Viet by hosted was festival cuisine Vietnamese A 21/JUN/2021VNA INTELLASIA| e Covid-19 pandemic. collection and segregation. collection and entative inVietnam. entative imes.vn/82640/norway-provid -induced restrictions. -induced nam at La Place Monge inParis, France onJune19. es.vn/82662/for-sanofi-envir more positive and sustainable values in the future," says ted VND250 million for the VinaCapital Foundation to Foundation VinaCapital million for the VND250 ted impact strategy, Sanofi Vietnam commits to bettering tobettering Vietnam commits Sanofi strategy, impact ine festival heldoutdoorin Duong, Binh Thuan, Binh Dinh and Danang. Binh Dinhand Binh Thuan, Duong, t phaseofthesucce st-pandemic green recove communities, particularlywomen, will take stainable and inclusive waste management management waste and inclusive stainable waste, build back greener and leave no one leavegreener and waste, buildback environment andtheadoptionbymunicipal- oach of value chains oach ofvalue Domestic Waste and Plastic Management", Domestic and Waste Management", Plastic c waste andbuildacirculareconomy. This unity, SanofiVietnam donatedVND1.3bil- terventions, including direct support for in- terventions, includingdirectsupport ich will be piloted in Quy Nhon City, Binh Nhon City, piloted inQuy will be ich the project on June 17. This three-year June 17.This project on the th UNDP Vietnam and of the government Vietnam th UNDP circular Vietnam," saidCaitlin Wiesen, lty healthcare andmedical treatment for d social standards, whileengaging thein- ramme, over 1,000 giftsets ramme, over1,000 are presented for waste management will be enhancedmanagement willbe for waste w phase of the project will further accel- project willfurtherphase of the w the Associationof Vietnamese People in by empowering the informalsector and ed by storms last year and tothecoun- and year last storms ed by million for a project to scale up integrat- toscaleup million foraproject 1 of the project and to see theprojectbe- the project andto 1 of es-us$13 million-for-waste- onmental-protection-is-part- ssful Norway-funded Norway-funded ssful Paris, shortly after local au- local after shortly Paris, through the establish- ry," said Norwegian ry," said 21 June 2021 59 / 60 59/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam slated for October for slated support industries on International expo Intellasia support industries,which sets atargetof The governmenthas issued a resolution on 5,000sq.m. The previous edition comprised250booths welcome 20,000 visitors. partners and supplierslearnofnew technologies. The three-day expo hopesto 2021 offers achancefor supporting industry enterprises toshareexperience, seek new the under Agency Industry the by Hosted velopment willcompriseProgramme, nearly300 booths. The upcomingevent, whichwillbe the se Hanoi. in Centre forExhibition(ICE) isscheduledtotake 2021) place (VIMEXPO https://en.vietnamplus.vn/in 2030./. percent by 70 and by 2025 port thatmeet 45 percentof products do InternationalSupportThe Vietnam Expoon 21/JUN/2021VNA INTELLASIA| paris-867636.vov https://english.vov.vn/en/cu th shipment of from thefirst are Thanh BinhJeune alsointroduc temporary art enjoy spring rolls),and tron""bun bocuon" (beefnoodlesalad),"nem Visitors were provided achance tohavea country. an of Parisians attention attracted the event and FrancePlumfoot,Thanh BinhJeune, Tra Art,TramTram, Bibol, noi, Kit, Ba Banh End lture/first-outdoor-vietname tl-expo-on-support-industrie ed Vietnamese fresh lychees e fruit fromVietnamFrance. to performances byVietnamese artists. mestic production andconsumptiondemandmestic Vietnamproducinghi cond heldunder theSupportIndustryDe- Ministry of Industry d Vietnamese expats living in the European the European in living expats Vietnamese d taste ofVietnamese iconic dishes, such as measures to promote thedevelopment of from 170 enterprises areaof on adisplay enterprises 170 from from October 27-29 at the International the International at October 27-29 from Industries andProc (fresh spring rolls), and"nemran"(fried se-cuisine-festival-held-in- s-slated-for-O at theevent.Thelychees and Trade, VIMEXPO ghly-competitive sup- ghly-competitive essingManufacturing 21 June 2021 60 / 60 60/ 2021 June 21 21 June2021 ct/203328.vnp