finance & business news 19 June 2017

FINANCE ...... 1 Vietnam, Indonesia boost economic, energy cooperation 38 Reference exchange rate up 7 VND at week's beginning 1 Central Highlands localities court RoK investments 38 Greenback changes little despite Fed rate hike 2 Hai Duong province calls for investment in agriculture 39 Credit support programme benefits 4,000 firms in HCM City 2 Ben Tre: New cooperatives to form agricultural value chains 39 As bank share prices soar, investors make more deposits at banks 3 BIZ NEWS ...... 40 Online banking in Vietnam is safe, secure and convenient 4 Business Briefs Jun 19, 2017 40 VN banks look to tap into big data 5 Foreigners spur transactions 40 Zero-dong banks promote themselves as fully state-owned Stocks rise on bargain-hunting 41 banks to attract customers 6 Derivatives market expectations downplayed 42 Card users are unreasonably charged 6 State to retain 51pct stake in Becamex 43 City banks create $5b link-up programme 8 Vietjet Air takes first step to list shares in New York 43 TPBank launches eBank BIZ 3.0 8 PNJ to sell over 9.8mn shares to open 40 stores 44 Sacombank's AGM to be officially organised on June 30 9 KIDO completes industry switch 45 PVcomBank registers to sell 12.5m PVI-coded shares 9 KIDO Corporation plans big for 2017 45 300 million KLB-coded shares to be traded on Upcom on Vietnam 4th in Asia-Pacific for online shopping 46 June 29 at 10,000 dong each 9 Users allowed to transfer Vietnamese domain name 46 Rocky road 10 Expressway construction in Vietnam costlier than elsewhere 47 Bao Viet opens first financial supermarket 12 HCM City to name and shame tax-evading Facebook shop owners 48 Vietnam ranks 47th in Global Innovation Index 13 Microsoft urges local firms to shift to cloud computing 48 Vietnam looks to accelerate reform 13 HCM City, Microsoft step up cooperation 49 Unsatisfactory GDP leaves Vietnam in middle-income trap 14 Private investors needed for wastewater treatment projects 49 Annual report gives VN macroeconomic scenarios 15 PM orders halt to golf course construction at Tan Son Nhat Experts: Vietnam yet to take full advantage of FDI 15 airport 50 HCM City lures 2.15 billion USD in FDI in six months 16 Nha Trang residents tricked into buying mortgaged villas 50 Hi-tech exports soar 80pct in H1 17 River bus route in service next month 51 VN eyes export boost through Chinese border 17 Airport overload puts airlines in trouble 51 Australia agrees to re-import processed shrimps from Vietnam 18 Bamboo Airlines has yet to produce financial confirmation US refuses shrimp entry from Vietnam for banned antibiotics 18 statement 52 US has trade deficits with most Asian trade partners 19 CAAV denies Viet Bamboo rumour 52 Rice prices increase in both domestic, foreign markets 19 Vietnam Airlines to spend $96mn on aircraft this year 53 Vietnam's aquatic product growth likely to be challenged in 2017 20 HK eyes $2bn entertainment project in VN 54 Govt unable to spend on investment: deputy PM 21 Japanese retailer Aeon to launch English version of Low disbursements blamed for growth slowdown 21 AeonEshop.com 54 Minimum wage increases continue to fall far short 22 FPT reportedly selling distribution business 55 Land pooling policies urged 23 First 7-Eleven store inaugurated in town 55 HCM City to seek NA endorsement for special financing Time to refresh 56 mechanism 24 Firms reject clean production initiative 57 VN targets parity between FDI, domestic firms 25 La Casta project opens at VND47 million per square metre 57 Promoting SMEs as a driving force for economic growth 26 HP launches next-generation printers in Vietnam 58 Farmers blamed as they suffer falling prices 27 Beautiful beach faces destruction in Hoi An 59 OVs scientists propose measures to boost IC industry 28 CBRE Vietnam wins three 1st prizes at Asia Pacific E-commerce deemed lucrative market in Vietnam 28 Property Awards 59 Boosting bird nest industry in Vietnam 29 VN start-up wins Mekong innovation grant 60 Green light turned on for private economic groups 30 Workshop promotes digitalisation in SMEs 61 Midterm VBF: Problems persist for FDI enterprises 31 Lychee week kicks off in Hanoi 61 Prospects for the aviation industry 32 Nghe An: Cua Lo Trade and Tourism Fair opens 62 Grass is greener 32 Expo trio to promote localisation in Vietnamese supporting Competition among retail giants more intense after 7- industries 62 Eleven's market entry 34 European Art of Living exhibition opens 63 Small rice export businesses to get support from new decree 36 International workshop discusses food safety for export 64 Northern region holds major aquaculture potential: conference 36 Vietnam ETE & Enertech Expo 2017 set to open 64 Localisation of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam is only half of Premier Village Danang Resort Has New Executive Chef 65 China's 37 Russia willing to cooperate with VN during Apec Year 37

Intellasia Tel: +844 2213 2244 No. 21, lane 173/63/17, Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi Fax: +844 3759 2034 © All Rights Reserved Email: [email protected] Websites: www.Intellasia.Net www.TriTueAChau.com Vietnam finance & business 19 June 2017 FINANCE FINANCE Reference exchange 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA rate up 7 VND at The daily reference VND/USD rate on the first day of the week (June 19) was set at week's beginning 22,417 VND per USD, up 7 VND from the end of last week. With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied for commercial banks during the day is 23,089 VND and the floor rate 21,745 VND per USD. The opening hour rates listed at commercial banks saw slight fluctuations. While Vietcombank kept both rates unchanged from June 16 at 22,655 VND (buying) and 22,725 VND (selling), BIDV raised both rates by 5 VND to 22,655 VND (buying) and 22,725 VND (selling). Techcombank maintained its buying rate at 22,630 VND, the same as on June 16, but reduced its selling rate by 5 VND to 22,735 VND per USD. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-up-7-vnd-at-weeks-beginning/ 113511.vnp

Greenback changes 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

FINANCE little despite Fed rate Although the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised rates by 25 basis points, the dong-US hike dollar exchange rate saw little change, with the greenback firmer against the domestic currency before quickly stabilising given supportive macro factors. On Wednesday, strong foreign currency buying sent the dollar up on the local market as people were expecting the Fed's rate hike decision and a subsequent response by the State Bank of Vietnam. However, the dollar declined shortly after the decision was made on June 15. The inter-bank rate was VND22,695 per dollar in the morning, down VND8 against Wednesday. Local banks quoted the dollar at VND22,725 per dollar, dropping VND10 versus the previous day, before revising it down to VND22,690-22,695 in the after- noon. On the informal market, the dollar was sold at VND22,700, which was unchanged from Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the central bank cut the central rate by VND3 to VND22,405 per dollar, al- lowing banks to trade the dollar in a range of VND21,718 and VND23,801. According to bankers, the Fed decision caused little change to the dollar price as the nation has had huge liquidity in foreign currency and dong. Besides, the domestic cur- rency is backed by some macro-economic factors. Before the Fed meeting, expectations for the Fed rate rise and the State Bank of Viet- nam's response, coupled with speculative factors, had led banks to increase dollar buy- ing. Banks had maintained a strong buying position for two days. However, after the Fed raised rates on June 15, the dollar price was seen stabilising thanks to large foreign in- vestments into Vietnam and big foreign currency holdings at big companies and banks, a foreign currency trading expert at a local bank told the Daily. According to the expert, the dollar appreciation was mainly driven by speculative fac- tors rather than real market demand. Therefore, the macro-economic factors are still supporting the dong-dollar exchange rate stability. Due to speculation, some banks wanted to sell foreign currency following the Fed rate hike, so the dollar might decline in the next few days, even on the informal market. Dollar lending rates were almost unchanged on the inter-bank market, staying at 2.2 percent per year for the overnight tenor, 2.5 percent for one week, 3.6 percent for one month and 2 percent for three months. On the global market, the dollar also weakened slightly against other currencies. Meanwhile, dong lending rates on the inter-bank market dropped, having gone up slightly by 10-20 basis points at tenors from overnight to three weeks two days ago. The lending rate for the overnight term was 2.13 percent a year, 2.43 percent for one week, 2.93 percent for two weeks and 3.43 percent for one month. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54540/Greenback-changes-little-despite-Fed-rate- hike.html

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Credit support 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA programme benefits More than 4,000 enterprises in HCM City were provided with credit loans worth over 4,000 firms in HCM 124.3 trillion VND (nearly 5.47 billion USD) in the first five months of this year under City a cooperation programme on credit support between businesses and commercial banks. The information was unveiled at a conference connecting banks with businesses in the city, which was jointly organised on June 16 by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in HCM City, and the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank). Initiated in HCM City in 2012, the programme has expanded to other localities nation- wide. It was included in the National Target Programme on supporting business de- velopment by 2020. According to the SBV's HCM City branch, the programme significantly contributed to promoting production and business activities of local enterprises through helping

FINANCE them easily access preferential loans. Vice director of the SBV's HCM City branch Nguyen Hoang Minh said the central bank will continue supervising the implementation of credits under the programme. This year, apart from capital for the business field, the programme will focus on agri- culture, high-tech businesses; start-up enterprises, and firms turned from business households. Deputy minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa hailed the municipal author- ity for its efforts to encourage commercial banks to provide their credit support for en- terprises operating in support and high-tech industries and small and medium-sized enterprises, which usually meet difficulty in accessing loans. At the conference, Vietinbank's HCM City branch signed a credit support contract with total committed loans reaching over 8 trillion VND (352 million USD). From 2012 to the end of April this year, Vietinbank lent 310.8 trillion VND (nearly 13.7 billion USD) to 2,496 customers. From the beginning of this year, the total disbursement of Vietinbank's HCM City branch for local enterprises under the programme hit over 49.2 trillion VND (2.16 bil- lion USD), leading among commercial banks joining the programme./. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/credit-support-programme-benefits-4000-firms-in-hcm- city/113442.vnp

As bank share prices 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET soar, investors make Tens of trillions of dong have been poured into bank shares as investors hope prices more deposits at will continue to rise thanks to reasonable policies on resolving bad debts. banks A strong cash flow has been going to shares, which is helped the VN Index climb to the 750 point threshold, a 9-year high. Most bank shares have seen prices increasing by 20-100 percent in the last few months. VCB, BID, CTG, ACB, MBB and STB are the most wanted shares. SHB shares of the Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Bank increased by nearly 50 percent in price in the last two months, while NVB of National Citizen Bank rose by 100 percent in the last nine trading sessions, STB of Sacombank by 15 percent in the last month. Meanwhile, MBB of Military Bank has seen the price increase of 45 percent in the last three months, ACB by 55 percent in the last six months and VIB by 20 percent after a short time. If investors made deposits earlier this year, they will have profit of 3-3.5 percent. Meanwhile, if they buy bank shares with money, the profit will be 10 times higher. Bankers and financial investors also want to buy bank shares. Pham Doan Son, CEO of LienVietPostBank, has said he wants to buy 5 million more shares, while SCIC failed to buy 2 million MBB. In the last one or two months, tens of trillions of dong worth of bank shares have been traded on official bourses, helping set new records in trading value. Just within three days, $1 billion worth of shares were traded, which had happened only once in the last 10 years.

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Analysts commented that though the stock market is now 'scorching hot', it is quite dif- ferent from 10 years ago, when 'share bubbles' were seen. The stability of the cash flow into the market and into bank shares shows this. Though the stock market grew rapidly in the first five months of the year with a growth rate of 12 percent, there has been no sign of cash flow decline. Foreign inves- tors have recently even increased purchasing. The bank share price increases are backed by positive information. Nguyen Nhat Tien from VnDirect commented that investors are optimistic about banks' performance as more reasonable solutions to deal with bad debts have been put forward. The National Assembly is considering a draft resolution on settling bad debts with many deputies showing their support. SSI Research said the resolution would give banks more choices in dealing with mortgaged assets. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/180186/as-bank-share-prices-soar--inves- tors-make-more-deposits-at-banks.html FINANCE Online banking in 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV Vietnam is safe, secure Banking and shopping online is increasingly becoming more popular but consumers and convenient should take some simple steps to protect from fraudsters who might attempt to swipe their cash, say the experts. Mobile apps now allow consumers to conveniently transfer money and make retail purchases whether online or instore, said Tran Quang Hung, a representative of the Ministry of Information and Communications at a recent workshop in Hanoi. However, it is still necessary for consumers to exercise a little effort and possess some basic knowledge of computers and the Internet to stay safe and secure while banking online. Here are some of the safeguards that Vietnamese consumers should take to protect themselves while banking or shopping online as submitted by the experts at the con- ference. Updated operating system Consumers should always keep their Windows, Mac or Android operating systems updated to the latest version as threats from viruses and fraudsters often take advan- tage of vulnerabilities in outdated software packages. Install antivirus software They should also install antivirus software and make sure it is continually automati- cally kept up to date as new viruses appear daily. Arbitrary passwords Always use a combination of arbitrary letters and numbers as words, names and phrases for a password. One clever way is to memorise a familiar sentence and then use the first letter/number of each to form the password. For example, 'my son and daughter were born on November 9 of 11' would result in a password of msadwboN9o11. Try adding special characters (@ for at, $ for s) to im- prove password strength, which might change this example to m$adwboN9o11. Also, always make sure to change the password from a secure terminal after a public terminal is used. Never follow links Always type in the web address (URL) to access the website of a bank. Never click on a link from an e-mail. That is how 'phishers' work, they re-direct a consumer to a ma- licious site resembling the portal of the bank and steal the information provided to il- legally access the account. Also, note the beginning of a bank internet address will change from 'http' to 'https' when a secure connection is made. Be wary of suspicious pop-ups that appear during a banking session. Log out immediately. Don't, in response to any mail, provide a banking user ID, password or credit and debit card number. Keep the cache clean Browsers save pages viewed on a mobile or computer so they can be accessed quicker

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if the user wishes to view again, such as when the 'back' button is used. By clearing the cache after visiting a bank account website, it ensures no one else can view the infor- mation. Also, never select the option on the browser that stores or retains user name and pass- word, i.e. auto complete. It would be easy for a fraudster to access that information on a mobile or computer. Never open emails from unknown sources Never open email offers from an unrecognisable source. If such an email is accidental- ly opened, don't reply to it or click any links within the email or open any attachments. Exercise caution around public computers Be cautious when using public computers or shared computers. Public computers, in- cluding those at libraries, internet cafes, and schools are traditionally on open net- works that can be surreptitiously monitored. Always log out of bank websites Always log out when finished using a bank website. After accessing a bank or any sen- FINANCE sitive website where bank account information was shared online always log off the website and close the web browser. Online banking in Vietnam is safe Online banking in Vietnam is as safe and secure as anywhere in the globe, said Colonel Tran Van Doanh of the High-tech Crime Investigation Division at the workshop. Lastly, consumers should check their phone settings and always lock their phone when not using it to prevent unauthorised user access, said Colonel Doanh. This will also buy them some time if the phone is stolen to alert their bank. http://english.vov.vn/economy/online-banking-in-vietnam-is-safe-secure-and-con- venient-351564.vov

VN banks look to tap 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS into big data To successfully deploy big data in the banking sector, there must be a comprehensive strategy using professional teams who have deep understanding of both finance and technology, said Nguyen Kim Anh, deputy Governor of State Bank of Vietnam. At a conference on Thursday in Hanoi, Anh said that digital data was becoming a new resource and big data was playing an important role in the banking and finance sec- tors. The conference, titled "Big data for banking and financial industry," was organised by the Banking Academy of Vietnam. At the workshop, participants focused on big data technology from a variety of per- spectives. They discussed the latest technology and ways for banks and financial insti- tutions to optimise the application of big data into information systems. Through the discussion, experts shared hopes that they could identify the opportuni- ties and challenges of big data to improve the productivity, quality and efficiency of financial and banking operations. The fourth industrial revolution is taking place across the globe and having a strong impact on all aspects of socio-economic life, according to the experts. It promises to create more opportunities and an impetus for the country development of each nation or organisation. The fourth industrial revolution with Internet of Things, automation and artificial in- telligence has brought digital data to the centre of the business world. Digital data had become a very important resource from which businesses can gener- ate revenue and provide new application ecosystems, services and digital products, said Anh. "Therefore, digital data will grow and become an important industry in the fourth in- dustrial revolution," he added. At the workshop, the deputy governor also said that the specificity of banking is cre- ating a huge amount of data from structured data such as transaction histories and cus- tomer records to unstructured data such as customer activities on Internet and mobile banking application.

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"Applying big data to exploit the data will bring significant competitive advantages and efficiency for the banking and finance sectors," he added. In addition, Pham Anh Tuan, director of Vietcombank's tech modernisation depart- ment, said that data in the banking system and those collected from the outside include many types. These include structured data, semi-structured data, and unstructured data. "The current banking data is unstructured, which meets all big data standards in vol- ume, movement and diversity," Tuan emphasized. The representative of Vietcombank also said that when banks as well as financial insti- tutions identify data with great value, they must consider data assets of the bank. "In other words, data must be treated like any bank assets, which have to be taken care of and ensured on asset security." http://bizhub.vn/tech/vn-banks-look-to-tap-into-big-data_286969.html

19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| ZING.VN

FINANCE Zero-dong banks promote themselves as In 2015, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) decided to compulsorily acquire the entire fully state-owned shares of GPBank, OceanBank and VNCB at zero dong. After the acquisition, SBV banks to attract transformed their operation models into 100 percent state-owned limited liability customers banks and appointed personnel from Vietcombank and Vietinbank to support, renam- ing VNCB into CBBank, and changing the brand identification of GPBank. At the time of being compulsorily acquired by SBV, all these three banks faced ex- tremely difficult situation with the accumulated loss of tens of trillion dong and nega- tive equity. For example, at the time of being acquired, VNCB had an accumulated loss amounting to 27 trillion dong and negative equity of 24 trillion dong. The real value of VNCB shares was negative 80,000 dong per share. OceanBank also had the bad debt amounting to more than 15 trillion dong, accounting for 49.84 percent of the total outstanding loan; the accumulated loss of nearly 10.2 tril- lion dong and nearly doubled negative equity. As of April 2, 2015, GPBank's had 12.280 trillion dong accumulated loss and negative 9.195 trillion dong equity. The outstanding loan dropped sharply to 6.669 trillion dong, of which 45.37 percent was bad debt. As per SBV's report, after having 100 percent capital acquired and getting people to support, this group of "zero dong" banks have stabilised again. The reality shows that almost all doors of these bank's transaction offices and branches have advertising banners emphasising that they are "100 percent state-owned banks". Referring to the website of a bank being compulsorily acquired by SBV at zero dong, all positions introducing capital mobilisation and lending programmes noted that they are "100 percent state-owned banks". Many customers comment that the state's acquisition of zero dong banks help them feel more assured when trading here. "When OceanBank was an ailing bank, I was very worried that it would affect my de- posits here. Currently, this bank has become a fully state-owned bank, so I feel more assured that the state is responsible for them. Transactions still take place as normal without being affected", said Huy Thanh (Ha Nam province). Meanwhile, many customers said since these banks were acquired by the state, they dared to continue using the services. Ha My (Cau Giay district, Hanoi) said since the State acquired GPBank, she had the courage to deposit into this bank. "Previously, I used to withdraw my deposits from this bank but after SBV's acquisi- tion, I feel more assured to deposit because of being guaranteed by the State. The bank's service after being acquired is also better. Previously, it was very difficult to withdraw a large amount of money and now, most transactions are very well respond- ed", said My. As per the latest business results about the operation of the three zero dong banks, as of the end of June 2016, Ocean Bank's personal deposit mobilisation increased nearly

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30 percent, loans to personal customers grew 24 percent from the end of 2015. Also as per the latest data from GPBank, as of the end of June 2016, the bank's deposit balance increased 8.7 percent from July 6, 2015. Meanwhile, CBBank reached the de- posit balance of approximately 29.552 trillion dong and the net increase in capital mo- bilisation in the first half of 2016 touched 2.497 trillion dong. This bank also sold 500 billion dong bad debt to VAMC and continued to sell more.

Card users are 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THANH NIEN unreasonably charged H.Van (from District 7, Hochiminh city) has recently booked a vacation in Thailand for about 9 family members at a travel agency in District 3 (Hochiminh city). When using credit card to pay a deposit of 30 million dong, she was informed to be charged at 3 percent of the total amount, equivalent to 900,000 dong for card payment. "I did not agree, but the staff said that the bank charges the company and thus it has to collect from customers, so do other travel companies", said Van. She added that the

FINANCE one-time payment charge of the bank equals to the annual fee. In the end, as carrying insufficient cash, Van had to pay a total of 30.9 million dong and was filled with anger for being overcharged. Similarly, M.Phuong (from District 9, Hochiminh city) said that she was charged at 2- 3 percent for using card to buy mobile phones, watches and cosmetics. Recently, after selecting clothes worth about 3 million dong at a store for mothers and babies at Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, she was required to pay 2 percent charge, equivalent to 60,000 dong for using credit card. She refused to make the card payment and paid in cash because the charge was unacceptable. Not only direct payments, online payments of credit cards are unreasonably charged. Q.Anh (from District 3, Hochiminh city) was also charged at 2.7 percent for using phone cards on thanhtoanonline website for using credit card. Meanwhile, if using ATM card or Internet Banking for online payment, the charge is 880 dong plus 1 per- cent. If buying air tickets online on Vietjet website, payments by credit cards or ATM cards are both charged a 55,000 convenience fee per passenger. Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Hochiminh city branch confirmed that the above charging is contrary to regulations. However, fi- nancial expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said that since this field is left open and charges for credit card payments are not managed. According to statistics of the Association of Bank Cards of Vietnam, the revenue of international card usage as of late 2016 reached about 224 trillion dong. Assuming that half of this revenue is paid in Vietnam and all the card accepting units charge a fee of 1-3 percent, customers could suffer a loss of about 120-360 billion dong. "The stores cannot take advantage and immoderately charge customers", said Hieu. Tran Quang Thoai an expert in the card market said that when being charged, custom- ers can bring the invoice to the card issuing bank to recover the money. According to regulations, the card issuing bank will work with the payment bank and force the card accepting unit to pay back the money. Thoai said that many customers have done so and the money was paid straight to their credit cards. The reason of this situation is that for each transaction, the bank will have to pay fee to international payment organ- isation, at the same time it also charges for system equipment. However, instead of self-paying the fee, the bank charges consumers, and even gained extra. General director of Dong A Commercial Joint Stock Bank (DongABank) Nguyen Thanh Tung said that "since banks provide modern equipment and means of payment to businesses in order to attract customers to spend, it is normal for businesses to pay a fee". According to a director of a bank, he has received many complains about the charge by card accepting units but he could not help because there was no evidence such as invoices, etc. He added that although many banks have reduced the charge for businesses to 1-1.5 percent due to fierce competition, numerous businesses still avoid the charge and want customers to pay for it, and that is out of the reach of banks. In Dr Le Dat Chi's point of view, unlike the units which operate in the form of flat-rate

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tax, businesses setting Point of Sale (POS) via banks are required to declare and report revenues and invoices. The revenue will considerably increase and lead to many costs, such as the higher taxes. Businesses seek to compensate by asking consumers to pay a fee. Some units even refuse to sell products or require customers to pay in cash if cus- tomers do not agree with the fee. From the perspective of a seller, Ha owner of a cosmetics shop in District 2 (Hochim- inh city) said that if customer buys a product worth 20 million dong by card, the shop has to pay 300,000 dong to its bank because the payment charge is 1.5 percent. The shop will have to bear this cost if customer do not pay this charge. Ha added that she has suggested banks to lower the fee for several times but her bank refused to do so. However, Hieu said that it is unreasonable if requiring banks to share this fee, as banks have fully calculated sufficient costs for information technology, equipment, and fees paid to international organisations, etc. Meanwhile, Thoai said that the cost of invest- ing in card infrastructure is very expensive and it takes at least 3-5 years for banks to be profitable at a card accepting unit, not to mention the banks having limited number FINANCE of credit cards, which are often charged at high rate by card organisations, forcing them to charge higher fee from businesses.

City banks create $5b 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS link-up programme A banking-enterprises link-up programme in HCM City has enabled 4,138 businesses to borrow over VND124.3 trillion (US$5.5 billion) from banks in the first five months of this year, a conference heard on Friday. "The banking enterprises connection programme has actively and directly affected the production activities of the local business community," Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s HCM City office, said. "Businesses have been able to approach capital with proper interest to expand and de- velop their business." Minh said in future the SBV would continue to monitor the credit available for busi- nesses, organise link-ups and provide credit support for production, export, support industry, food processing and small and medium-sized enterprises and promote lend- ing to enterprises based in industrial and processing zones. "This year the banking enterprises link-up programme will focus on agriculture, high- tech application, household businesses that expand into enterprises and start-ups." According to the SBV, complaints from businesses about difficulties in getting credit had reduced, and in fact banks are meeting with enterprises to find customers since they are awash in funds. Deputy minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa hailed the fact that HCM City can instruct banks to lend to small and medium-sized enterprises, which otherwise find it very difficult to get credit. "The country has created the most favourable conditions for enterprises to do busi- nesses well, and I hope the banking enterprises connection programme will keep de- veloping and help enterprises, reducing their difficulties." At the conference, organised by the city People's Committee, the SBV's HCM City of- fice and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietin Bank), Vietin Bank signed contracts with 100 enterprises to provide credit of VND8 trillion ($354 million). HCM City has been having this programme since 2012. It has since been expanded throughout the country and was recently added to the National Target Programme to support enterprises. Sixteen banks are part of the programme in HCM City. http://bizhub.vn/banking/city-banks-create-5b-link-up-programme_286967.html

TPBank launches 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS eBank BIZ 3.0 Tien Phong Bank Joint Stock Commercial Bank (TPBank) on Wednesday launched its eBank BIZ version 3.0 offering several breakthroughs in ebanking services for busi- nesses.

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Companies using the eBank BIZ 3.0 can carry out almost banking transactions with digital signatures without going to the bank. The eBank 3.0 has been supplemented with many new functions such as international money transfer eGlobal, credit granting, guarantee and open letter of credit (LC) aim- ing to become TPBank's key products in digitalising banking transactions. The biggest breakthrough was to integrate digital signatures in e-transactions instead of traditional certifications of Hard Token, eToken and SMS OTP to increase security. In addition to normal services including deposits, payments and money transfers, businesses will not need to go to the bank for credit granting, guarantee and LC. For- eign currency trading will be also implemented online. TPBank is the first local bank in Vietnam to provide international money transfers online. TPBank's general director Nguyen Hung said all of the transactions could be imple- mented online on a computer or mobile phone. The eBank 3.0 is available on the App Store and Google Play. http://bizhub.vn/banking/tpbank-launches-ebank-biz-30_286906.html FINANCE

Sacombank's AGM to 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THOI BAO KINH DOANH be officially organised Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank, coded STB) has official- on June 30 ly announced the organisation of the annual general meeting (AGM) for the fiscal year 2015-2016 on June 30, 2017. Earlier, this bank had twice planned to organise AGM but had to postpone. One of the most important contents at this meeting is the re-election of the Board of directors (BOD) and the Control Board for 2017-2022 term. Sacombank used to announce the list of seven candidates for the BOD. However, two out of seven members have withdrawn including two personnel relating to LienViet- PostBank i.e. Nguyen Duc Huongdeputy Chair of Macadamia Association, currently Chair of LienVietPostBank and Nguyen Thi HongCEO of Lien Viet Securities JSC. So far, the list of candidates for this bank's BOD remains unknown. At the time of becoming candidates for Sacombank's BOD, Nguyen Duc Huong re- signed from the position of vice Chair of LienVietPostBank. However, after withdraw- ing from the self-nomination in Sacombank, Huong returned to take over the Chair position of LienVietPostBank, replacing Duong Cong Minh. There were many rumours around the new candidates in Sacombank's Board of direc- tors. The former Chair of LienVietPostBank Duong Cong Minh is expected to be the candidate for the upcoming Board of directors. As of the end of May 2017, Sacombank's total assets increased 5.8 percent from the be- ginning of the year, reaching more than 348 trillion dong. The capital mobilisation from economic organisations and the people rose eight percent, reaching more than 312 trillion dong and accounting for more than 97 percent of the capital proportion. The credit activity grew nine percent with the outstanding loan of nearly 213 trillion dong, of which loans to priority sectors improved 20 percent from the beginning of the year. In May alone, the bank attained the pre-tax profit of 102 billion dong, raising the accu- mulated loss in five months to 404 billion dong, equal to 89.8 percent of the full-year plan set in the scheme approved by SBV. In the revenue structure, the income from profits still accounted for the largest proportion with nearly 67 percent of the total.

PVcomBank registers 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| INFONET to sell 12.5m PVI- Vietnam Commercial Joint Stock Bank (PVcomBank) has announced the registration coded shares to sell 12.5 million of PVI-code shares out of the total of more than 13.74 million shares that it is holding (6.18 percent) to restructure the investment portfolio. The transaction is expected to take place from June 16 to July 14, 2017. Earlier, from April 5 to May 3, 2017, PVcomBank registered to sell three million PVI- coded shares but it could only sell 137,300 shares as the market was not favourable. Pri- or to this transaction, PVcomBank owned over 14.59 million PVI-coded shares. Right after that, PVcomBank continued registering to sell three million PVI-coded

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shares from May 12 to June 9, 2017. At the end of the transaction, PVcomBank could sell only 710,500 shares, reducing its ownership rate to 13.74 million shares. After the price decline in April, PVI-coded shares rose in May to 33,700dong/sharethe highest level in recent yearsand also surpassed the peak in March when PVcomBank began to intend to withdraw capital from PVI.

300 million KLB- 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE coded shares to be June 16, Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) announced the share listing of Kien Long Joint traded on Upcom on Stock Commercial Bank (Kienlongbank). June 29 at 10,000 dong Accordingly, 300 shares of this bank will be traded for the first time on Upcom since each June 29 with the stock code of KLB. The reference price on the first trading day will be 10,000 dong per share. As per Q1/2017's consolidated financial statement, Kienlongbank's total assets reached 32.216 trillion dong, up 5.8 percent from 2016; the loans to customers touched 21.750

FINANCE trillion dong, up 10.04 percent; the customers' deposits improved 7.3 percent, reaching 24.567 trillion dong. The bank's business operations in the period did not see much fluctuations while op- erating costs swelled as much as 19.2 percent, causing the bank's net profit to reach more than 77 billion dong only, down 6.9 percent year-on-year. However, as a result of over 72 percent cut in provisioning costs, the bank recorded the pre-tax profit to swell 11.9 percent from the same period last year, touching more than 72 billion dong. In 2017, Kienlongbank approved targets on total assets of 36.5 trillion dong, total mo- bilised capital of 32.5 trillion dong, outstanding loan of 24.7 trillion dong, pre-tax profit of 250 billion dong, and dividend payment at eight percent.

Rocky road 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC IMES Eximbank's restructuring process has been anything but straightforward. Since the crisis in 2012, when total bad debts, mostly in the real estate sector, hit VND280 trillion ($12.5 billion), equivalent to a staggering 11 per cent of GDP, Viet- nam's banking sector has been aggressively restructuring its operations, leadership and loan books in response to the large number of non-performing loans (NPLs) plaguing the industry. Most if not all banks had to sell their NPLs to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) to clean up their balance sheets. From a shareholder perspective, this was not good news, as most banks had to signif- icantly scale back their earnings and were forbidden from paying dividends. Only in 2017 were a handful of banks, including the Orient Commercial Bank (OCB), given ap- proval to pay a cash dividend. Eximbank, however, remains unable to do so. In its re- cent annual general meetings (AGMs), the bank failed to get its shareholders on board with regard to its restructuring and dividend plans. Internal conflict As its name indicates, Eximbank's operating strengths are in the areas of export-import trade finance and international settlements. The bank is also involved in loan asset management and liquidation services, securities brokerage, and real estate investment services through affiliate companies and subsidiaries. Apart from the State, which holds 51 per cent, Eximbank has two other major shareholders: Japan's Sumitomo Mit- sui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Vietcombank, with 15 per cent and 8.19 per cent, respectively. Once a leading commercial lender, the HCM City-headquartered bank is undoubtedly the case study for the continuous fight over control between large shareholder groups. In a letter sent to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and relevant authorities last July, Dang Phuoc Dua, who represents a group with a 10.3 per cent holding, accused the Board at that time of working ineffectively and not respecting shareholders. "They are not sufficiently responsible, which has led to a decline in financial activities and a loss in market share," the letter stated. The smoldering conflict at Eximbank has remained unresolved for quite a period of

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time. In 2015, it postponed its annual Board meeting three times, to the end of July. The matter was so serious that the State, via the SBV, eventually stepped in and assigned staff to Eximbank's Board. Accordingly, Le Minh Quoc, a former executive at the State-owned Vietcombank, took the helm as Chair in late 2015. With deep experience from leading BNP Paribas in Vietnam for several years, he was widely considered to be commercially oriented and grounded and a suitable candidate to strengthen Ex- imbank's operational efficiency and brand equity while expanding its customer base. But shareholders, again, did not hold consistent views with regard to the restructuring and growth plans of the bank. Eximbank held its annual meeting twice in 2016, with both failing to gain a quorum of 65 per cent of shareholders. An extra-ordinary share- holders meeting was then scheduled for August 2 but was postponed, as the central bank requested the bank check information regarding shareholder group rights to nominate candidates to the Board. Like most other Vietnamese banks, Eximbank last year focused on recovering and re- solving major NPLs under the SBV's guidance. According to its 2016 consolidated fi- FINANCE nancial statement, NPLs rose from 1.86 per cent from end-2015 to as high as 5.3 per cent as at the end of June, before falling to 2.95 per cent as at the end of December, thanks to the conversion of bad debts to bonds from VAMC. "Although the level of VAMC loans is higher than the sector-wide average of 5 per cent, it is worth mention- ing that Eximbank has been more transparent in their bad debt disclosure than other banks," a domestic banking expert told VET. A low net interest margin of 2.9 per cent, which was lower than the bank's average of 3.3 per cent in the years before restructuring, took Eximbank's after-tax profit to a mod- est $13.5 million at end-2016. It incurred higher operational costs during the year, of about 60 per cent of total income, for resolving its NPLs. The bonds issued by VAMC for $310 million worth of NPLs are being amortised at 10 per cent per annum, which Eximbank is costing at a rate of $30 million to $35 million every year. On a positive note, the bank saw better-than-expected business performance during the first quarter of this year, posting VND170 billion ($7.48 million) in pre-tax profit and VND136 billion ($5.98 million) in after-tax profit. Customer loans had increased 0.52 per cent since end-2016 to VND86.43 trillion ($3.8 billion) while customer deposits were up 7.75 per cent quarter-on-quarter to VND110.3 trillion ($4.85 billion) as at end- March. The bank cut down its risk provision expenses in the quarter, which accounted for 91.8 per cent of its operating profit, to only 43.8 per cent during the first three months, making pre-tax profit rise 5.6-fold year-on-year to VND170 billion ($7.48 mil- lion) as at March 31. New Eximbank It has taken much longer than anticipated to complete the first phase of its restructur- ing, but with the success of the most-recent AGM in April, the bank's shareholders are now on board and have tasked the new Boardconsisting of three representatives nom- inated by VinaCapital, including Chair Quoc, as well as two representatives from SM- BC, two representatives from the central bank, and two independent board memberswith building a "New Eximbank" over the next four years. A May 3 meeting between deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue and Ryuji Nishi- saki, Head of the Emerging Markets Business Division at SMBC, made it clear that Ex- imbank cannot solely dictate its own fate. "Eximbank has been a leading joint stock bank and does not have the experience to make a major change by itself," newly-elect- ed Board Member and also Head of the New Eximbank plan, Yutaka Moriwaki, told VET, adding that the bank itself needs to motivate good and capable staff or even re- cruit talent from outside while maintaining cost efficiency. Having touched on the matter at a press conference held ahead of the 2017 AGM, Moriwaki said the absence of a sound business strategy and low staff morale caused by frequent leadership changes are unresolved issues facing Eximbank. This, though, will be dealt by the "establishment of a fair and transparent human resources system, including setting key performance indicators (KPI) and performance evaluation proc- esses (PEP) to motivate staff," he said, adding that the restructuring plan will reorgan-

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ise the decision-making process so that the responsibility of every manager and staff will be made clear. Building the New Eximbank also relies on leveraging its wide distribution network, consisting of 209 locations and 265 ATMs, to expand its retail banking business, while also focusing on trade financing via the establishment of a wholesale banking division and short-term working capital loans to strengthen the bank's traditional small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business. "At the same time, the bank's credit risk management and NPL collection will be strengthened," Morawaki said, revealing that SMBC has already sent a trade finance expert to lead the wholesale banking division. The new Board projects 54 per cent profit growth this year with an acceleration of cred- it growth and an expected slowing of growth in loan provisions. The ongoing restruc- turing activities and the bank's new strategy is set to support the expansion of lending activities, with a focus on retail and SME customers. Credit growth is expected at 10- 15 per cent this year, while the net interest margin will be maintained at the same level in 2016 as the bank competes with competitive lending rates. The bank also targets bet- FINANCE ter management of operating costs to reduce the cost-income ratio (CIR) to below 60 per cent amid the pressure of developing retail banking activities. Half-success Not all activities of the previous Board can be forgiven. A recovery option proposal for previous fraud regarding the business activities of EximlandEximbank's real estate de- velopment armwas scrapped by shareholders at the latest AGM. Two years ago, an in- spection conducted by the SBV's Banking Supervision Agency found that Eximbank lent funds to Eximland and the loans were then used to buy real estate from the bank itself. With Eximbank's closing account increasing its income as at December 31, 2013 by VND1.11 trillion ($49.26 million), on which it paid tax, set risk provisions, and paid dividends to shareholders from 2010 to 2013, the inspection team said the closing of the booking account for that income while Eximbank was still managing and using real estate did not follow the accounting regime at that time. Furthermore, the new Board was unsuccessful in winning shareholder approval for its remuneration and expenses proposal for 2017. This could be explained by two things: the overpayment of remunerations for the old Board from 2013 to 2015, which are yet to be recollected, together with the zero dividend payout to shareholders in 2015 and 2016. Now that its AGM has finally ended, the new Board can fully focus on Eximbank's business activities. Still, shareholder disapproval proves just one thing: it is equally im- portant for Eximbank to regain shareholder trust as it is to regain its competitiveness. Pulling out a successful restructuring process may not be enough, but is the only solu- tion the new Board has come up with to date. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/nxqmxw3l-rocky-road

Bao Viet opens first 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES financial supermarket One Stop Shop offers full range of banking, financial, investment, and insurance prod- ucts in centre of Hanoi. In order to meet the diverse needs of customers and to maximise utilities for providing services, Bao Viet Group has launched a financial supermarket systemOne Stop Shopa model that has also been deployed in developed countries with advanced financial and insurance industries, such as Japan, the UK, and Canada. One Stop Shop operates as a convenient financial supermarket with a full range of products that can meet insurance, investment, financial and banking needs in the same location. Customers can have a new experience in a retail space with products and services and receive the best customer service from Bao Viet. It provides multi-functional financial solutions to meet the diverse needs of customers. Bao Viet believes that customers will recognise its unceasing innovation, from the di- versification of products and services to its continual efforts to improve service quality and provide integrated and full-package financial solutions.

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"The opening of the Bao Viet financial supermarket and the 'Sunny and Blue Seas with Bao Viet' customer gratitude programme are steps in the process of creating momen- tum for the 'Ready to Take Off' programme in 2017 and the 'Affirmation of the Viet- namese Brand' in 2018, to prepare for reaching out to the world," said Nguyen Quang Phi, general director of the Bao Viet Group. According to leading market researchers TNS Global, Bao Viet has a professional, close and trustworthy image. The Bao Viet financial supermarket was launched at 72 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hanoi, an area where many financial institutions are located and conveniently located in the city centre. According to the roadmap from 2018, the One Stop Shop will be expanded to its transaction points around the country. The Bao Viet Group is the leading finance and insurance group in Vietnam. With a his- tory of development since 1965, it is proud to be the first insurance company estab- lished in Vietnam. It is currently headquartered in Hanoi and has over 180 branches nationwide. Its shares (BVH) have been listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange FINANCE since June 2009. The Bao Viet brand was valued at $89 million by Brand Finance last year, ranking A +, and it was honored in the "Top 50 Most Valuable Brands of Vietnam in 2016". http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/bao-viet-opens-first-financial-super- market

Vietnam ranks 47th in 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES Global Innovation Vietnam has made a remarkable improvement in the Global Innovation Index 2017, Index jumping from 59th last year to 47th worldwide this year, according to a report con- ducted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Cornell University and IN- SEAD, the Business School for the World. Vietnam gains 12 places this year, ranking 47th out of 127 economies, thanks to its ef- forts in improving the business environment and enhancing its competitiveness. Espe- cially, the country takes the ninth place in Asia. In terms of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, Vietnam maintains its top place among lower-middle-income economies compared with the third place in 2016, and enters the world's top 10 in innovation efficiency. Notably, the index indicates Vietnam participates more and more in a number of re- gional and global value chains, including some in relatively high-tech sectors. As a re- sult, Vietnam presents the highest score in trademarks by origin among Asean economies. Vietnam shows the best ranking in the region in education expenditure and performs well in information and computer technology use, gross capital forma- tion, and foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows. However, it has some of the lowest scores in tertiary enrolment, state of cluster devel- opment, university/industry research collaboration, and knowledge-intensive em- ployment. The nation is actively working to improve its innovation ecosystems and rank high in a number of important indicators related to education, research and development, productivity growth, high-tech export, among others, according to a press release. The index gauges seven key elements, namely institutions, human capital and re- search, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, knowledge and technology outputs, and creative outputs. This year, Switzerland, Sweden, the Neth- erlands, the United States and the United Kingdom are the world's most-innovative countries. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54543/Vietnam-ranks-47th-in-Global-Innovation-In- dex.html

Vietnam looks to 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS accelerate reform A conference to launch the Vietnam Annual Economic Report 2017 was held in Hanoi on Friday, discussing institutional reforms. The report, entitled "Accelerating reforms towards a facilitating State", is launched in

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the context of Vietnam's economic growth easing and productivity slowly improving. The Party Central Committee has approved resolutions to improve market economy institutions and set targets including institutional reform, improving the business en- vironment and creating favourable conditions for enterprises. Investors were closely watching political moves and the ability of the government to realise its commitment to building a transparent and facilitating government, said Nguyen Duc Thanh, president of Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR). The report assesses Vietnam economy in 2016 and analyses factors in institutional re- form for a facilitating State. The term "facilitating government" means a government that ensures fundamental rights and rule of law so that society can operate in the most effective way. "In that sense, a facilitating government recreates itself and society by retreating from its con- structivist past," Thanh added. The research group also proposed ideas for institutional reforms including defining in FINANCE law the relationship among the Party, State and society, building a professional judici- ary independent from other parts of state power, recruiting more technocrats into ad- ministration, reducing State bureaucracy and State intervention in the market, boosting civilian participation in developing society and enhancing the State's ac- countability. The report also highlights the growing middle class and shifting policies in Vietnam, which demonstrates that the development of Vietnam's middle class is mainly due to the labour shifting from rural to urban areas and from agricultural to non-agricultural and formal sectors. The last chapter of the report provides two scenarios for Vietnam's macroeconomic prospects in 2017 and details current shortterm policies. Forecasts show that growth of 6.7 per cent can be achieved, but this raises the question of whether the growth is sustainable. In this scenario, 2017 inflation is forecast at 3.2 per cent. In a scenario of more natural economic growth, the growth rate is about 6.37 per cent and the yearly inflation is low at 2.35 per cent. Can Van Luc, director of BIDV Training School, suggested that the Vietnam's economy should focus on developing consumption, which accounted for 75 per cent of GDP last year. Tourism is also a driven factor for the domestic economy through its contribution of VND400 trillion (US$17.6 billion) in 2016, accounting for 6.8 per cent of the country's GDP. The State could concentrate on boosting tourism instead of exploiting oil to achieve the target of 6.7 per cent in growth, Luc said. Vietnam Annual Economic Report, published by VEPR, is a series of annual reports summarising major economic issues in the previous year, giving an economic outlook for the coming year and providing policy recommendations. The conference was organised by VEPR and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Viet- nam. http://bizhub.vn/news/viet-nam-looks-to-accelerate-reform_286973.html

Unsatisfactory GDP 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET leaves Vietnam in The low GDP growth rate of 5.1 percent in the first quarter of the year, the lowest rate middle-income trap in the last two years, has made it more difficult to reach the 6.7 percent GDP growth rate target for 2017. Tran Thi Phuong Hoa, a NA deputy, pointed out that if Vietnam cannot obtain 6.7 per- cent growth rate, it will for the second consecutive year fail to carry out the economic development plan. If so, the 5-year plan will be more challenging. "In a long-term plan, if Vietnam's economy cannot have average GDP growth rate of 7 percent per annum in 2016-2035, and the GDP per capita cannot reach 6 percent per annum, Vietnam will have no more opportunities to escape from the middle-income trap," Hoa said.

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Hoa suggested applying necessary measures to increase total demand. For example, Vietnam can increase the money supply. A 2 percent additional credit growth rate would not lead to high inflation because the core inflation is low, at 1.66 percent in the first quarter of the year. However, in order to curb inflation, Hoa said, the government must not raise the elec- tricity price and other public service fees, including healthcare and education, from now to the end of the year. Lecturer of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Programme, Nguyen Xuan Thanh, also pointed out that if Vietnam continues accepting low GDP growth, it will lag behind. "Since 1960, no country can escape poverty, become middle-income and then high-in- come if they do not have high GDP growth rates of 6 percent or higher for a long time,' he explained. "Low growth rates show inefficiency in using resources, direct and indirect," he added. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, speaking before the National Assembly on June 9, mentioned the possibility of exploiting 1 million tonnes of oil to FINANCE serve economic growth. "It is good for the economy. We won't overexploit, which leads to natural resources ex- haustion," he said, adding that the crude oil price has recovered in the world market. However, NA deputies don't agree. Pham Phu Quoc, a NA deputy from HCM City, said that the plan to exploit 1 million tonnes of oil showed unhealthy reliance of the economy on natural resources. Dinh Duy Vuot, a NA deputy from Gia Lai, said that additional oil exploitation should be reconsidered. "If Vietnam does not grow rapidly, it will lag behind other regional countries. In some aspects, we already lag behind, and we have to speed up," said minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung. He said he agrees with economists that it is necessary to stabilise the macroeconomy and curb inflation. However, once Vietnam does this, it needs to accelerate develop- ment. http://english.vov.vn/economy/unsatisfactory-gdp-leaves-vietnam-in-middleincome- trap-351834.vov

Annual report gives 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA VN macroeconomic The Vietnam Annual Economic Report 2017 has provided two scenarios for Vietnam's scenarios macro economy in 2017, with inflation rate to be cut to 2.35 percent and economic growth unlikely to achieve the set target of 6.37 percent. The report was launched in Hanoi on June 16 at a workshop co-organised by the Viet- nam Centre for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) under the University of Eco- nomics and Business of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the Friedrich Nauman Foundation (NFN) in Vietnam. The report also gave an overview of the global economy and Vietnam's annual macr- oeconomic issues, and policy implications. Speaking at the workshop, NFN director Ruediger Vincent Graichen said that the re- port will actively contribute to Vietnam's policy making process and encouraging de- bate on major development issues that the national economy is facing. Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh, director of the VEPR, said the report was built in the context of economic growth slowdown and slow improvement of economic productivity. A resolution adopted at the 12th Party Central Committee's fifth plenum in May sets a target of promoting institutional reform, improving business climate and creating fa- vourable conditions for businesses, especially private ones, while investors are keep- ing close watch on Vietnam's determination and ability to build an incorruptible and transparent government in service of people, he said. According to statistics from the VEPR, Vietnam's economic growth in 2016 was not as high as expected, reaching only 6.21 percent. The inflation rate rose again, at 2.66 per- cent, due to increased prices of public services and recovered goods prices in the global market.

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The processing and manufacturing industry remained the main growth motivation with an expansion of 11.9 percent.- http://en.vietnamplus.vn/annual-report-gives-vn-macroeconomic-scenarios/ 113438.vnp

Experts: Vietnam yet 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA to take full advantage Vietnam has not taken full advantage of foreign direct investment (FDI) while its pri- of FDI vate enterprises have failed to connect with the global production chain, heard the Midterm Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) 2017 held in Hanoi on June 16. Chair of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc, who is also Co-chair of the VBF Consortium's Management Board, said that there has been a poor linkage between foreign and domestic investors while the knock-on effect in terms of technology and labour productivity from foreign firms on Vietnamese firms remains limited.

FINANCE According to a survey conducted by VCCI, the proportion of domestic businesses sup- plying commodities and services for FDI enterprises is pretty low. The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) report in 2016 showed that only 14 percent of private businesses have customers that are FDI enterprises operating in Vietnam. Less than 27 percent of FDI firms' input materials were purchased from Vietnamese partners while a substantial amount was bought from other FDI companies. High-tech FDI enterprises tend to import input materials from their homeland. The real situation was attributed to puny marketing policies, inefficient industry sup- port programmes and domestic firms' failure to provide supplies that meet standards in production management and quality of from FDI enterprises. Loc said that improving the qualifications of human resources is the key to promoting FDI businesses' effects on domestic enterprises. Vietnam needs to mobilise all resources to better competitive capacity of private enter- prises and the government should realise policies to bolster the supporting industry, Loc recommended. Tomaso Andreatta, vice Chair of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Eu- roCham) and member of the VBF Consortium's Management Board, expected further improvements in Vietnam's business climate which help bring more practical effects to the business community. This will contribute to building mutual trust and support among private and FDI enterprises, he added. Meanwhile, Jonathan Moreno, Chair of the US Business Community in Vietnam, af- firmed that reducing operating costs and simplifying business procedures will benefit Vietnamese firms, most of them are small- and medium-sized enterprises, thus en- hancing the Vietnamese economy's competitiveness edge. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/experts-vietnam-yet-to-take-full-advantage-of-fdi/ 113427.vnp

HCM City lures 2.15 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA billion USD in FDI in HCM City has attracted 2.15 billion USD in foreign directed investment (FDI) in the six months first half of 2017, doubling the figure in the same period last year, reported the munic- ipal People's Committee. As many as 375 million USD was poured into 340 new projects, while 346 million USD was added to 91 existing projects. At the same time, the southern largest economic hub also allowed 915 foreign investors to contribute capital to, buy shares or repurchase capital contributions in local firms with total sum of 1.15 billion USD. According to the city's People's Committee, 124 million USD, or 33.1 percent of capital of the new FDI projects was injected into processing and manufacturing sectors, while 110 million USD, or 29.4 percent, was invested in wholesale and retail, automobile and motorbike repair, and 56.23 million USD, equivalent to 15 percent, was poured into in- formation and communications. The Republic of Korea was the largest investor in the first half of 2017, accounting for

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26.9 percent of the total FDI. It was followed by Japan with 14.1 percent, Malaysia with 12.1 percent and Singapore with 11.1 percent. The city's Department of Planning and Investment is offering online investment regis- tration services for foreign investors. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa, vice director of the department, said that in the first six months of this year, the agency received 612 online applications. Currently, the department is working on the second phase of the project with expanded area of investment proce- dures for foreign investors. The city also expects big and prestigious businesses to invest in its high technology sec- tor and engage in researching, training and incubating activities. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-lures-215 billion-usd-in-fdi-in-six-months/ 113492.vnp

Hi-tech exports soar 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES

FINANCE 80pct in H1 Companies at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) in HCM City have reported total ex- ports of $4.6 billion in the first half of the year, up nearly 80 percent year-on-year, ac- cording to a socio-economic performance report of the city. The city's Department of Planning and Investment said the hi-tech sector is expected to contribute one-third of the city's total export revenue this year. In the last three years, the hi-tech park has posted a steady rise in the ratio of its con- tribution to the city's export earnings, with 20 percent in 2015, 25 percent in 2016 and 33 percent in 2017. SHTP currently has over 110 licensed projects, especially those of Intel Products Viet- nam, Schneider Electric Manufacturing Vietnam, QSIC Vietnam, and Samsung Elec- tronics HCM City CE Complex. The report shows the industrial development index of the city in the six first months has improved 7.5 percent. Four key industries mechanical engineering, electronics, chemicals-rubber-plastic and food processing have recorded positive growth. The electronics and information technology sectors have attracted more multination- als with numerous projects in fields like solid state technology, chip technology and circuit boards. The city's gross regional domestic product in January-June has grown 7.46 percent, with retail up 10.3 percent to VND451 trillion (US$19.87 billion), and export up 17.4 percent over the same period to $17 billion. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54535/Hi-tech-exports-soar-80-in-H1.html

VN eyes export boost 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS through Chinese Vietnam should carry out polices to increase its export volume through its border border gates with China by taking advantage of the Vietnam-China Border Trade Agreement, experts said. The agreement has created favourable conditions for Vietnam's border provinces to change reasonably their economic structure, experts said. However, many experts were of the opinion that Vietnam should limit shipments of small volume of exports without legal contracts, and promote large volume of exports, as small-scale exports did not provide enterprises with incentives to improve the qual- ity of their goods and competitive ability. Nguyen Van Hoi, deputy head of the Border and Mountainous Trade Department un- der the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said the trade agreement was signed in September 2016 with 16 articles to ensure an annual growth of 30 per cent in the trade value of goods exported through the border gates between Vietnam and China. The agreement will contribute partly to the socio-economic development and im- provement of the living standards of the people in the border areas, he said. Vietnam's major export goods to China include farming, forestry, seafood and fresh fruit prod- ucts. Dinh Van Thanh, former head of the MoIT's Trade Research Institute, said the agree- ment was applicable for trading via border gates and border markets in seven provinc-

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es of Vietnam, including Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, and two China's provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi. Nguyen Van Son, chair of the People's Committee of the northern mountainous prov- ince of Ha Giang, said the development of border gate economy and border trade is the key to economic development in Ha Giang Province. To promote border trade development, Ha Giang has received recommendations from enterprises to improve infrastructure, reform administrative procedure and create fa- vourable conditions for attracting enterprises' investment in border trade activities. Thanh said the infrastructure at border gates was limited owing to the lack of invest- ment, and the two countries have not had specific management policies for border trade activities because of which those activities had not developed strongly. There are not enough warehouses at the border gates between Vietnam and China to meet the demand of trading activities, especially cold storage system, which has not got any investment to be built. Meanwhile, some kind of farming and fresh fruit products of Vietnam have been ex- FINANCE ported to China, but they were not exported under contracts. Pham Van Truong, a MoIT expert, said Vietnam should restructure the production of farming products and goods to ensure the quality of those products and promote ex- ports with large volume. This would help avoid "saving" farm produce from plummet- ing prices that happened over the past time, partly due to small-scale and lack of legal contracts. The State should have specific solutions to provide market and capital support to en- terprises, said Truong, adding that the State should continue negotiations with China to expand the market for Vietnamese goods by facilitating contracts for large exports. Thanh from the Trade Research Institute said Vietnam should establish a border busi- ness association to protect the interests of local enterprises engaged in trading activi- ties with China, as well as other countries. The government needs to upgrade infrastructure for trading activities at border gates, creating favourable conditions for border trade development, he added. On the other hand, he said Vietnam must diversify its forms and methods of trade pro- motion with neighbouring countries and perfect a database of information on border trade activities for managing those activities. http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-eyes-export-boost-through-chinese-border_286935.html

Australia agrees to re- 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| AFP import processed The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has received a docu- shrimps from Vietnam ment from the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) affirming that Vietnam is able to meet all requirements in Australia's new import conditions for processed shrimps. According to Vietnam's Trade Office in Australia, the Australian Department of Agri- culture and Water Resources has officially accepted Vietnam's applications for import- ing raw shrimps that are caught naturally in Australia for processing, and then re- exported to Australia. The new requirements have been updated in Australia's Biosecurity Import Condi- tions System (BICON). On January 7, the Australian Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources an- nounced the suspension of prawn and uncooked shelled shrimp imports from Asian nations, including Vietnam, in fear of white spot disease outbreaks in Australia. The ban took effect on January 9 and lasts for six months. Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed Australia re- move the ban soon and support Vietnam in exporting fresh whole shrimps to the mar- ket as soon as possible. According to Vietnam's Trade Office in Australia, Australia is the 7th largest import market of Vietnamese shrimps, which consumes 3.6 percent of the country's total shrimp export volume. In 2016, Vietnam earned 114.6 million USD from shipping shrimps to Australia, 78 percent of which was processed shrimps.

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In the past five years, Vietnam has been the largest supplier of processed shrimps for Australia. Despite the market's strict requirements, it is considered a promising market for Vietnamese firms due to high and increasing demand. Meanwhile, Australia tends to narrow down its import markets and focus on only major ones, which is also an ad- vantage for Vietnam. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/australia-agrees-to-reimport-processed-shrimps-from-viet- nam/113495.vnp

US refuses shrimp 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV entry from Vietnam The US Food and Drug Administration has released information regarding its refusal for banned antibiotics to allow shrimp entry from Vietnamese exporters into the country's commerce for the full month of April through May 26, 2017. For the period, there were a total of 22 shipments of shrimp to US ports of entry from India, Vietnam, China, Thailand and Hong Kong that were refused entry and forced

FINANCE to return to their home country. Minh Phu Seafood Corporation from Vietnam had four of the 22 shipments refused be- cause its shrimp were contaminated with chloramphenicol by the US Division of Southeast Imports on April 7, 2017. Minh Phu Seafood is a company that was previously added to the USFDA Import Alert 16-124 for sulfamethoxazole in its shrimp on February 22, 2017 after its affiliate Minh Qui Seafood Co, Ltd had been added to that Import Alert for sulfamethoxazole in its shrimp on July 22, 2016. Of the 47 shipments of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics thus far in 2017, India (12) and Vietnam (12) accounted for the majority, while China (11) and Thailand (7) ac- counted for all but five of the remaining refusals. http://english.vov.vn/economy/us-refuses-shrimp-entry-from-vietnam-for-banned- antibiotics-351467.vov

US has trade deficits 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS with most Asian trade The US imports more from Asian countries than it exports and as per available data partners the US runs trade deficits with most of Asian countries except Singapore. The US has trade surplus of $8 billion with Singapore. While the US imports $985 billion from Asia, the total value of its exports to the region is $452 billion, as per the data from USA Census Bureau. The US shipped $116 billion of goods to China in 2016 but it imported goods worth $463 billion from China. The result is a US trade deficit of $347 billion, the largest of any US trading partner. Experts point out that a lower standard of living, which allows companies in China to pay lower wages to workers and an exchange rate that is partially fixed to the dollar is the reason for the trade deficit. Other Asian countries which the US has a huge trade deficit with are Japan ($69 bil- lion), Vietnam ($32 billion), South Korea ($28 billion), and Malaysia ($25 million). With India, the US has a trade deficit of $24 billion, with Thailand $19 billion and with Taiwan and Indonesia it has $13 billion respectively, besides countries like Philip- pines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal although the trade deficit does not ex- ceed $2 billion with any of them. With Asean nations, US goods and services trade totalled $241.7 billion in 2013 while the US goods and services trade deficit with Asean countries was $40.7 billion in the same year, as per the office of the United States Trade Representative. US President Donald Trump has been vocal about his country's large trade defi- cit.Blaming unfair trade practices by the trade partners of US, he has also tasked the US commerce department to investigate the trade deficit of countries against the US like China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Canada and India. The US trade deficit had risen to its highest level since January this year while the trade deficit with China also saw a sharp spike during that period, as per the US commerce department.

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Rice prices increase in 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA both domestic, foreign Vietnamese rice prices have recently increased in both domestic and foreign markets markets due to high demand and limited supply. Notably, Jasmine rice price is now at 565-570 USD per tonne, 65-70 USD per tonne higher compared to three weeks earlier. At the same time, Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice is sold at 410-420 USD per tonne, up 35-45 USD per tonne, while the price of 25-percent broken rice also rises 25-30USD per tonne to 370-375 USD per tonne. In the world market, Vietnamese rice price is only lower than Thai rice's. In the domestic market, rice prices of all kind also increased over 1,000 VND per kilo averagely. Nguyen Van Don, director of Viet Hung Company in the Mekong Delta province of TienGiang, said the demand for Jasmine rice has surged recently, while the supply of the rice is low and some farmers are still waiting for higher price before selling their

FINANCE rice. Many businesses attributed the recovery in both markets to the increased consumption in the world. Recent information on some countries' demand to import Vietnamese rice also heat the domestic market. Particularly, Bangladesh has signed a memorandum of understanding on rice trade and announced its demand of importing 250,000-300,000 tonnes of Vietnam's 5-per- cent broken rice in the near future and about 500,000 tonnes for the whole year, while the Philippines also revealed its plan to buy 250,000 tonnes of rice in June and July. According to the Vietnam Food Association, Vietnam suffered a drop in rice export in the first five months of this year. However, the export has recovered since May with rise of 27.3 percent in volume and 24 percent in value in May. en.vietnamplus.vn/rice-prices-increase-in-both-domestic-foreign-markets/113448.vnp

Vietnam's aquatic 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5 product growth likely Vietnam's aquatic sector will likely find it hard to realise the growth target of $7.4 bil- to be challenged in lion this year given international economic integration, tougher technical barriers by 2017 importer nations, and a growing number of competitors. What to do to overcome the hurdles? These are the solutions the sector must put for- ward and carry out in 2017. In the first 5 months of this year, Vietnam is expected to earn $2.8 billion from aquatic exports, up 10.4 percent from last year. The US, Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea remain the leading importers of Vi- etnamese aquatic products. But the global seafood export market is facing many challenges, including anti-dump- ing duties imposed on tra fish and shrimp by the US and tighter regulations on food safety imposed by the Republic of Korea, Australia, and members of the EU. In addition, drought, saline intrusion, and maritime environmental incidents in the central region have continued to shrink material resources. Other challenges are im- port duties, technical barriers set by importers, and the pressures of competition. Vietnamese exporters need to quickly overhaul production and trading models to deal with the risks of climate change and changing market demand. Economist Le Dang Doanh said "Businesses and farmers in the Mekong Delta must break lifetime habits and flexibly respond to market fluctuations and signed contracts. Quality must take precedence over quantity. Production models must adapt to climate change. For example, if a kilo of shrimp is worth 20 kilos of rice, farmers in areas of brackish water should alternate rice crops with shrimp crops." Shrimp is one of Vietnam's key export earners but it must prevail against fierce com- petition and adapt to stricter importer requirements. Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said that in order to achieve the target of $10 billion in shrimp exports by 2025, the sector will focus on increased application of scientific and technological breakthroughs to seedlings, food

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production, and epidemic control. The sector will pay more attention to expanding export markets and responding to the current trend of market protectionism. Tam noted that this year the aquatic sector intends to complete an action plan for de- veloping Vietnam's shrimp industry until 2025. "We should increase science and technology application to productivity in the areas of intensive farming and shrimp raising using industrial methods. The current brackish shrimp farming area of 140,000 ha can be expanded in a short period of time, and the current average productivity of 4 tonnes per ha can rise to 6 or 8 tonnes. We need to restructure the 600,000 ha shrimp farming area, design policies to attract businesses, organise production households into cooperatives or associations linked with enter- prises, and apply advanced science and technology", said Tam. In 2017, in addition to producing and exporting traditional products like tra fish and shrimp, the industry intends to promote other seafood products in which Vietnam has advantages to ensure even development among localities. FINANCE http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnams-aquatic-product-growth-likely-to-be-chal- lenged-in-2017-351630.vov

Govt unable to spend 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA on investment: deputy Deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue has acknowledged the government's respon- PM sibility in the slow budget disbursement for public investment, saying "we have the money, but we are unable to spend it." The National Assembly hearing of the minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Chi Dung, resumed today morning, as the deputies grilled him with questions con- cerning the ineffective public investment since last year. deputy prime minister Hue later decided to intervene to assist the minister in answering the deputies' queries. The budget disbursed for investment by the end of December last year reached VND201.9 trillion (US$8.97 billion), accounting for only about 81 per cent of the annual plan, according to the General Statistical Office of Vietnam. In the first five months of 2017, some VND76.2 trillion were already spent, a report by the GSO said. However, up to 13 out of the 44 governmental units failed to do any disbursement, while 22, to- gether with four local authorities, had a disbursement rate under 10 per cent. The slow disbursement was one of the reasons leading to an economic growth rate lower than expectation, Hue said. The national gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter this year only reached 5.1 per cent, continuing the downward trend from 6.1 per cent and 5.4 per cent in the same period in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The deputy PM said that the introduction of the Law on Public Investment which came into effect since early last year also caused confusion in the implementation. Though the purpose of the law was to avoid potential losses in the investment spend- ing of the taxpayers' money, Hue said, some administrative regulations unintentional- ly blocked the disbursement flow. Another reason for the ineffective disbursement came from an adjustment in the na- tional mid-term public investment plan. The plan approved by the NA indicated that some VND2 quadrillion ($88.8 billion) would be spent up to 2020. It was, however, cut by VND200 trillion from the amount mentioned in the original plan, prepared and submitted by the government to the pre- vious 13th NA. "The ministries and the local authorities had to spend time adjusting their projects, thus prolonging the disbursement process," Hue said. The government has upped its efforts to accelerate the disbursement speed, which re- sulted in a faster rate, he told the NA deputies. "The disbursement amount in the last five months of 2016 was nearly as much as the first seven months. The first five months of the year have disbursed 24.7 per cent (of the plan), while it was 24 per cent last year," the deputy PM said. "It is, however, still slow." http://www.vir.com.vn/govt-unable-to-spend-on-investment-deputy-pm.html

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Low disbursements 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES blamed for growth Lower-than-expected disbursements in public investment projects in 2016 and the first slowdown five months of this year have led to GDP growth slackening, deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue told a National Assembly (NA) session in Hanoi on June 15. He said Vietnam disbursed 92.3 percent of the approved amount, up from 87 percent in 2015, but the proportion in January-May this year was a mere 24.7 percent. "We have money but do not know how to use it up. This is one of the reasons behind the coun- try's lower-than-expected economic growth this year." Many ministries and provinces, he noted, have not strictly observed the National As- sembly's Resolution 26, which requires them to give priority to vital and urgent projects, and those carried out in the public-private partnership (PPP) format and with official development assistance (ODA) loans. Ministries and provinces are inclined to not abandon any of their projects, he added. Earlier, NA deputy Ta Van Ha of Bac Lieu Province asked about the progress of the

FINANCE medium-term public investment plan for 2016-2020. minister of Planning and Invest- ment Nguyen Chi Dung replied 88 percent of the capital had been allocated and the remainder totalling VND198.3 trillion will be done later, with VND85 trillion of it go- ing to projects of national importance. In regard to debts owed in basic construction projects, Dung said, according to the Law on Public Investment, after 2014, ministries and local authorities would face criminal charges if they cause new debts in basic construction projects. "We have no data on the debts involving basic construction projects at ministries and local authorities. If a locality causes basic construction debt, it will be responsible for solving it," he said. Dung said the debts owed by projects under the national target programme for devel- oping new rural areas had amounted to around VND15 trillion by 31 December 2014, according to a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report. To date, the fig- ure has been reduced to some VND9 trillion. The debt is mainly from traffic infrastruc- ture projects. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54541/Low-disbursements-blamed-for-growth- slowdown.html

Minimum wage 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA increases continue to Vietnam has posted the highest regional increase in minimum wages over the last fall far short three years, more than Indonesia and China, but workers still struggle to make ends meet. Things are not likely to change with the latest increase, set to take effect next month, local reports said. From July 1, the basic salary for civil servants and public employees will increase seven percent to 1.3 million VND (about 57.2 USD) from the current 1.21 million VND. The new basic salary, used for calculating payrolls and allowances, will apply for pub- lic officials, public employees working in State agencies and civil service providers of the Party or the government, State-funded socio-political organisations and the armed forces. Le Dinh Quang, deputy head of the Labour Relations Department of the Vietnam gen- eral Confederation of Labour, said that the government had plans to increase mini- mum wage for employees every year to improve living standards. However, the current minimum wage increase only met 90 percent of the minimum living standard needs of workers and their families. Even workers of businesses that pay higher than the minimum wage, 4-5 million VND per month, face many difficulties in daily lives. An overwhelming majority of workers, 97 percent, did not want to work overtime, but had no choice but to do so, just to make ends meet, Quang told the Hai Quan (Cus- toms) newspaper. The newspaper reports that from 2014 to 2016, Vietnam had the highest regional min- imum wage increase of nearly 14 per cent, against seven percent in Indonesia and 10

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percent in China. Many people wonder why such an increase is unable to meet workers' demands, the report says. The reason is that Vietnam's minimum wage is only higher than Laos and Cambodia and lower than most countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, it explains. The real wage of workers is still very low, it is not high enough to cover workers' basic needs because the costs of many services also increase along with the minimum wage. In fact, in some enterprises, the real income of workers reduces when the minimum wage increases. Some business owners also threaten to cut their workforce if production costs increase because of higher wages. The results of study by the ISEAL Alliance the global association for sustainability standards and social accountability released at a seminar in Hanoi recently showed that an employee in HCM City must be paid more than 6.4 million VND a month to FINANCE meet their daily expenses. The salary was calculated by the research team on the basis of what a household of two adults and two children spend a month. Unfortunately, the average salary of a worker in the garment sector, a major employer, is just over 4.8 million VND a month. According to the study, at a monthly wage of 6.4 million VND, an employee may save 488,000 VND per month, five percent of the income after spending for food, housing fee, insurance and other needs. The study estimates that for rural areas, in two surveyed provinces of Soc Trang and Thai Binh, a worker needs at least 3.99 million VND a month, but the current average salary in these localities is just 3.2 million VND. Most employers pay only minimum wage, which is not enough to meet actual mini- mum living costs, forcing workers to work overtime to make ends meet, the study found. Workers are, therefore, left wondering if and when they will be able to meet daily ex- penses and save some money for a rainy day. Bui Sy Loi, vice Chair of the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee, said the minimum wage must be adjusted based on socio-economic development and workers should be compensated in accordance with market mechanisms. Currently, the minimum wage is based on food prices, which is inadequate. Therefore, authorised agencies must re-calculate the minimum wage so as to ensure the benefits of employees, especially when they retire, while creating favourable conditions for business growth, he said. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/minimum-wage-increases-continue-to-fall-far-short/ 113482.vnp

Land pooling policies 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS urged The government needs new policies on land pooling and accumulation, as well as credit, to develop the farm economy, delegates said at a forum held in HCM City on Thursday. The country has 31,717 farms, of which 16,523 are animal breeding farms. Farmland covers a total of 133,826ha, accounting for 0.6 per cent of the country's total agricultural land. Nguyen Van Tien, head of the Central Economic Committee's Agriculture and Rural Department, said although there has been a rapid increase in the number of farms, they are mainly household farms, with an average scale of just 4.54ha. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the farm economy is an advanced form of the household economy, bringing higher economic efficiency since farms are applying new technologies and expanding markets for their products. Vu Trong Khai, an agricultural expert, said the shift from smallholder production to large-scale and modern agricultural production would ensure a safe and sustainable

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agriculture. The government in the past issued many policies to develop farms, but few farmers and businesses benefited from these policies, he said. Farm owners have encountered difficulties in accumulating land as well as accessing credit to expand their scale, he said at a forum held by the Vietnam Farms and Agri- cultural Enterprises Association and the Department for Economic Cooperation and Rural Development. Vo Mai, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Gardening Association, said capital sources for the agricultural sector remained low compared to actual demand. As of June 2016, total outstanding loans in the agricultural sector reached an estimate of VND886 trillion, accounting for 18 per cent of total outstanding loans in the econo- my. Customers in the agricultural sector have faced difficulties in accessing bank loans due to credit regulations, she said. For instance, the government's Decree 55 stipulates that customers involved in the ag- FINANCE riculture and rural development sector can obtain loans at credit institutions without mortgaged assets, but the decree also stipulates that customers must submit their land use certificates to credit institutions when they apply for loans. They still had to guarantee assets when applying for loans, she said. Khai said that domestic agriculture was still small-scale and underdeveloped, which does not ensure efficiency, so banks are anxious to offer unsecured loans. Vo Quan Huy, director of Huy Long An Co Ltd, who has a large banana farm in the southern province of Long An, said his company had to mortgage assets to obtain a loan, but he said the assets were priced by the banks at a level which is too low com- pared to the market price. Similarly, Doan Minh Chien, owner of a general farm in the southern province of Binh Duong, said "Each hectare of my farm is valued at VND7-8 billion at the market price, but the bank values it at just VND300 million." Huy and Chien suggested that the government and central bank reconsider amending the asset valuation policy. Tien said household and farm economies would continue to be the base of the coun- try's agricultural production. The government should develop policies to encourage pooling and accumulating land to expand production scale, and develop linkages in agricultural production. Delegates at the forum said the government should complete financial and credit pol- icies in the agricultural sector that support individuals and organisations in pooling land. Developing insurance models in agricultural production is also important, they said. http://bizhub.vn/news/land-pooling-policies-urged_286938.html

HCM City to seek NA 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES endorsement for The HCM City government is planning to push for a National Assembly (NA) resolu- special financing tion on a special financing mechanism that will help the city raise capital for its much- mechanism needed investment projects. Vo Van Hoan, head of the HCM City People's Committee Office, said at a press con- ference on June 15 that the city is not as in a good position as Hanoi in terms of financial decision-making power. Government Decree 48/2017/ND-CP on financial and budgetary mechanisms and pol- icies for HCM City, which took effect from June 10, does not give the city a freer hand than the previous regulations. Hoan said the decree tightens some regulations, putting HCM City at a disadvantage over Hanoi City. The city will ask the legislature for more financial decision-making power that will help fuel growth in fields such as finance, land, planning, investment, and import-ex- port. "The HCM City People's Committee will inform the Standing Board of the HCM City Party Committee of its request for a National Assembly resolution that provides a spe-

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cial financing mechanism for the city, instead of a government decree," he said. The city will seek approval to impose surcharges on a couple of sectors, and collect some urban management fees which are not yet included in the Law on Fees and Sur- charges. For instance, Hoan said, the city wants to have decision-making power when it comes to putting real estate up for tender to raise funds for development. There are 15 other recommendations in its request to be sent to the NA. The move, if approved, would make it easier for the city to raise capital for big invest- ment projects, he stressed. Facing a severe shortfall of capital, the city will have to raise funds from the private sector. Its budget can meet around one-fifth of an estimated VND850 trillion (US$37.4 billion) which will be needed in the 2016-2020 period, city chair Nguyen Thanh Phong said at a conference on Wednesday. Some key sectors like traffic infrastructure, environmental protection, flood control, and healthcare will need huge amounts of capital in the near future. FINANCE http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54539/HCM City-to-seek-NA-endorsement-for-spe- cial-financing-mechanism.html

VN targets parity 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS between FDI, The need to bring about some degree of parity between foreign-invested and domestic domestic firms firms while fostering increased linkages was highlighted at the Vietnam Business Fo- rum held yesterday in Hanoi. There was a general consensus among the participants that increased links between FDI firms and the nation's SME sector, in particular, would facilitate the process of in- ternational integration on a fairer footing. Attending the mid-term forum were deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue, repre- sentatives from international organisations, trade associations and foreign chambers of commerce in Vietnam, senior ministry officials, economists and trade experts. They agreed that effective solutions had to be found for small and medium sized en- terprises (SMEs) to connect with FDI enterprises. Deputy PM Hue confirmed that the government would do its best to adjust the differ- ence between the two sectors without reducing FDI inflows. He said the government would be more selective with FDI companies, choosing those whose business plans suited the Vietnam's economic restructuring. As such, priority would be given to foreign firms with state-of-the-art, environmental- ly friendly technology ready to connect with Vietnamese SMEs. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government had been striving ceaselessly to develop a transparent and uncluttered business environment for all economic sectors, the forum heard. With Resolutions 19 and 35 on business legality, the government hoped to create a con- crete playground with fair rules for all, the deputy PM said. Hue also said that the government was working on renewing 73 customs regulations in order to facilitate the needs of both domestic and foreign businesses. Vu Tien Loc, Chair of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and co-chair of the VBF, agreed with the deputy PM, saying that "the government is right to spearhead linkages between the FDI sector and domestic businesses so that devel- opment is more even". "This is one of the topics for discussion at the National Assembly and a sustainable growth strategy for FDI firms," Loc said. However, he also warned that according to the latest report by the International Fi- nance Corporation, only 21 per cent of Vietnamese firms were taking part in the global supply chain, which was much lower than in neighbouring countries. Vietnamese producers are also placed at a low position on the value chain as manufac- turers and low cost workers provider. Furthermore, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop- ment, added value generated by the FDI sector now accounts for 48.8 per cent of total

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export turnover in Vietnam, as against just 12.7 per cent by domestic firms. Most importantly, only 14 per cent of Vietnamese firms are currently functioning as parts suppliers to FDI companies, since the latter favour suppliers from their home countries. "This means there is still a long way to go until complete collaboration and under- standing is reached between the two sectors and Vietnamese SMEs finally benefit from technology transfer and production opportunities that they sorely need," said Loc. Representatives of foreign chambers of commerce in Vietnam blamed the current sit- uation on the lack of a unified tax and customs policy. Tomaso Andreatta, vice Chair of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said that while Vietnamese provinces compete against each other to attract foreign in- vestment, there was yet to be a fair and standardised set of regulations for foreign com- panies operating in the country, which made them nervous and hesitant. Jonathan Moreno, Chair of the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Com- merce in Vietnam, suggested that the Vietnamese government removes or simplifies FINANCE non-tariff technical barriers at border gates that are costly and complicated. There was also positive feedback from international companies investing in Vietnam. Ryu Hang Ha, co-chair of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, said that thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and Korea (VKFTA) signed in 2015, bilateral trade had been increasing significantly. The nations are set to meet the two-way trade goal of $70 billion by 2020, and 71 per cent of Korean companies are sat- isfied with Vietnam's management of foreign business entities. 'As the Republic of Korea is now the number one investor in Vietnam, Korean multi- national companies as well as Korean SMEs consider the country to be a fresh and at- tractive destination,' said Ryu. Nonetheless, he suggested improvements in the easing and removal of language bar- riers and the provision of more information on investment policies. Hiroshi Karashima, Chair of the Japan Business Association in Vietnam, said he had high regard for the Vietnamese government's efforts to improve the connection be- tween FDI firms and domestic SMEs. Many Japanese companies are planning to build manufacturing plants in Vietnam and generate a high demand for local supporting industry, according to the chair. 1000 suggestions VBF organisers said they received nearly 1,000 suggestions for the government and ad- ministrative agencies from businesses and associations. They expressed their hopes of joining regional and international production networks and eliminating national boundaries in production. The deputy PM showed his appreciation for the opinions and said that the govern- ment would take all of them into serious consideration as it tries to perfect the current legal framework and minimise litigation risks and fees. He said this was part of its ef- forts to become a truly constructive government on behalf of the Vietnamese people. The VBF is an ongoing policy dialogue between the Vietnamese government and the business community organised by the Vietnam Business Forum Consortium in coop- eration with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank. This year, the midterm forum includes four sessions on employment, supporting in- dustries development, infrastructure investment, the fourth industrial revolution, free trade agreements, elimination of non tariff barriers, private sector investment and im- proving law enforcement. http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-targets-parity-between-fdi-domestic-firms_286965.html

Promoting SMEs as a 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5 driving force for The business community has embraced the 12th Party Central Committee's resolution economic growth on reforming and improving the efficiency of state-owned enterprises and the new Law on Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. Economists say these will allow state-owned enterprises and SMEs to optimise their contributions to national economic development.

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The Party guideline calls for reform of state-owned enterprises and the State's mana- gerial model. Equitising state-owned enterprises The Party and State have acknowledged that if state-owned enterprises are not equi- tised, they will obstruct economic development. Tran Du Lich, former deputy head of the HCM City delegation to the National Assembly, said "We've been fine-tuning con- ditions for enterprises to develop. State economic reform has been implemented for decades and now it's time to reposition state-owned enterprises." Vietnam has 700 state-owned enterprises. Two plans for state enterprise equitisation are to upgrade the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) into a bigger corpora- tion to manage state assets, and to form a government agency to manage other state- owned enterprises. Vu Thanh Tu Anh, director of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Programme in HCM City, said "The goal of equitising state-owned enterprises is to reduce the number of enterprises. A managerial model is suitable for about 15, 25, or 30 state-owned enter- FINANCE prises. The state will decide to keep some enterprises and equitise the rest. Then we'll create an equitisation roadmap" Economists say effective state-owned enterprises should review their management and organisation to improve their efficiency. Achieving the goal of 1 million enterprises in 2020 To Hoai Nam, vice President and general Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, said the National Assembly's approval of the Law on Support for SMEs has realised the Party Central Committee's resolution on the private economy. Businesses, particularly SMEs, need incentives to obtain the land and credit needed to expand production. "We expect sectors and localities to quickly carry out the Law. We hope the new law will help mobilise the social resources needed by businesses to reform and engage in production chains," Nam said. Economists say the implementation of the Party resolution and the new law will help boost economic development and achieve the goal of having 1 million enterprises by 2020. http://english.vov.vn/economy/promoting-smes-as-a-driving-force-for-economic- growth-351626.vov

Farmers blamed as 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA they suffer falling Farmers, already hit by record low pork prices, are facing a fresh blow with prices for prices many other agricultural products in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang drop- ping. The price of cassava declined from 10,000 VND (0.44 USD) per kilo last year to 1,000 VND per kilo at present. Farmer Than Hoang Huynh from Phu Huu vommune in An Phu district said it cost him about 10 million VND (444 USD) to grow 1,000sq.m of cassava. At current prices of 1,000 VND per kilogram, he could not afford to hire workers to harvest the cassava, he told Nguoi lao dong (Labourer) newspaper. Guava and chilli prices also fell to 1,500-3,000 VND from 8,000-10,000 VND and to 5,000-8,000 VND from 40,000 VND per kilo, respectively, in comparison with the same period in previous years. A local agricultural officer told the newspaper that the oversupply of farm produce in the province led to the price decline, a problem that reoccurs year after year. This year alone, the country has had to scramble to fix agriculture oversupply prob- lems. In February, banana farmers in several provinces were hit as prices plummeted from 14,000-17,000 VND per kilogramme to 1,000-3,000 VND. In April, several campaigns were launched to rescue watermelon farmers in some lo- calities, who suffered severe losses after being unable to sell their crops. Doan Thi Chai, deputy director of northern Hung Yen province's Agriculture and Ru-

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ral Development, said many farmers still grow farm products based on their percep- tion, not on supply-demand rules. At a question-and-answer session of the National Assembly this week, minister of Ag- riculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said the trend of bumper crops leading to price drops was due to poor organisation of the consumption market. The agriculture sector had done well in production but processing and marketing were still weak, resulting in oversupply, said the minister. Vietnam's agriculture sector is small-scale, with low productivity and is vulnerable to climate change and international integration, he admitted. Many farm products experienced sharply dropping prices. In the latest case, the Min- istry of Agriculture and Rural Development launched a campaign nationwide to "save the pig" after pork prices dipped to a record low. However, experts said that the campaign was just a temporary measure to reduce loss- es for farmers and it should not be repeated whenever farm produce prices dropped. Vo Thi Ly, deputy Head of the Farm Produce Processing and Preservation Office un- FINANCE der the ministry's Department of Farm Produce Processing and Market Development, said the oversupply of farm products was due to a failure to follow production plans. In some localities, agricultural production was still small-scale with low productivity and not based on forecasts about market demand, she told cafef.vn A lack of comprehensive market information from central to local levels and limited capacity of market analysis and forecast contributed to the problem, she said. Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam told the newspaper that to deal with bumper crops leading to price drops, localities should closely supervise production planning set by the ministry. "It is also necessary to boost production chains linking farmers with businesses and co- operatives," he said. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/farmers-blamed-as-they-suffer-falling-prices/113480.vnp

OVs scientists 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA propose measures to Deputy prime minister Vu Duc Dam hosted a reception in Hanoi on June 16 for a del- boost IC industry egation of Overseas Vietnamese experts and scientists who gave recommendations on how to develop Vietnam's integrated circuit (IC) industry to tap opportunities from the 4.0 industrial revolution. The delegates held that Vietnam's IC technology has seen considerable progress in the recent 10 years in terms of design. However, IC production remains modest, they said. According to Prof Dr Dang Luong Mo, the domestic IC human resources have yet to meet requirements in terms of both quality and quantity. He proposed that Vietnam should train tens of thousands of additional IC engineers in the next five years. He stressed the need for synchronous policies as well as national-level coordination for the sustainable IC development, along with the creation of an IC ecosystem nation- wide. The scientists recommended that Vietnam should focus on IC design and human re- sources development, as well as the supply of outsourcing services in IC design. At the same time, it is necessary to tap the resources of world leading experts, includ- ing overseas Vietnamese, for the teaching and technology transfer activities in the field in Vietnam, they said. Lauding the delegates' ideas, deputy PM Dam stressed that Vietnam needs the support of international experts and scientists, including Vietnamese scientists abroad, to boost the growth of its IC industry in particular and science-technology in general. He highlighted the significance of forming a network connecting Overseas Vietnamese experts and scientists with domestic research facilities. The deputy PM also highlighted the need to clearly define key products and markets, thus designing effective support policies for IC enterprises, most of which are startup enterprises, to develop in the domestic market and head to the world. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ovs-scientists-propose-measures-to-boost-ic-industry/ 113452.vnp

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E-commerce deemed 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA lucrative market in E-commerce is a market with numerous opportunities for businesses in Vietnam, re- Vietnam cording an annual growth rate of 35 percent one of the fastest rates in the world. The country's e-commerce revenues reached 4 billion USD in 2016. At the current growth rate, it is set to hit 10 billion USD in 2020, accounting for 5 percent of total retail sales in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Experts said multichannel retail will continue to increase as domestic and foreign retail companies planning to invest big in this field. A study conducted Nielsen, a market research and global information company, shows that Vietnam is one of the world's most dynamic countries in hi-tech application and use, including online shopping. Differences between traditional and multichannel shoppers will create opportunities for both producers and retailers. Up to 82 percent of traditional shoppers buy goods according to their plans, making it

FINANCE hard for companies to attract new consumers. Meanwhile, 52 percent of multichannel shoppers compare different brands before buying an item. As Vietnamese often travel by motorbikes, only 19 percent of consumers purchase goods in large volume. The figure is 44 percent among multichannel shoppers, accord- ing to Nielsen. The vigorous growth of online retail has brought success to domestic enterprises such as the Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) and the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk). MWG has invested strongly in online retail even though it has more than 1,390 stores in the chains of Thegioididong.com, Dien may xanh and Bach hoa xanh. It earned more than 3.37 trillion VND (148 million USD) in revenues through online retail in 2016, a year-on-year surge of 104 percent. Earlier this year, the firm also opened vuivui.com, an e-commerce website with 80 percent of goods provided by it- self. Despite being successful offline, Vinamilk also opened Vinamilk eShop, an online re- tail channel, in late 2016 to sell dairy products. Apart from domestic businesses, foreign firms like Aeon and Lotte, who have gained successes in the traditional retail model, recently also stepped up online retail. Chair of the Vietnam Internet Association Vu Hoang Lien said in spite of challenges caused by globalisation and technological development which facilitate cross-border online shopping, e-commerce in Vietnam is still a promising market for domestic en- terprises. They should make use of cloud computing to run profitable business on the internet. They also need to build websites suitable for their business, he said. It is of utmost importance to ensure consistence in online and offline information to gain consumers' trust, vice Chair of the Vietnam E-Commerce Association Nguyen Ngoc Dung said, adding that opaque business activities on the internet will hamper brand development. He noted that businesses, both domestic and foreign, enjoy equal chances when doing online business. He suggested domestic retailers capitalise on their advantages and ex- plore niche markets to expand activities. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ecommerce-deemed-lucrative-market-in-vietnam/ 113421.vnp

Boosting bird nest 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5 industry in Vietnam Vietnam's climate is favourable for farming swifts for edible nests. There are more than 5,000 bird nest farms in 36 cities and provinces nationwide. Bird nest processing companies are improving their quality to gain a stronger foothold in the market. Bird nests are highly nutritious. Vietnamese bird nests are said to have a distinctive fla- vor and higher quality that bird nests from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand or the Phil- ippines.

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Some caves in Khanh Hoa province accommodate white and red swift nests which are considered very good for your health. Bird nests are becoming more popular in Viet- nam thanks to expanding swift farming. The Khanh Hoa Bird Nest Company is one of the most successful companies in Viet- nam. Its line of bird nest products are available in supermarkets and specialty shops in Vi- etnam, China, the US, Australia, and most Asean countries. Its products are exported to 21 countries and its trademark has been registered in 42 countries. Le Huu Hoang, chair of the company's executive board, said the company plans to ex- pand its distribution network. He said, "The Khanh Hoa Bird Nest Company hopes that the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will ask the prime minister to include Khanh Hoa bird nest products in the list of national products for the 2017-2020 period. Such recognition helps to promote products of Vietnam's cen- tral coast region and improves their competitiveness at home and abroad." FINANCE Vietnam's bird nest industry has seen breakthrough growth but to strengthen its foot- hold in the market, bird nest products need to diversify and their quality must be im- proved. http://english.vov.vn/economy/boosting-bird-nest-industry-in-vietnam-351710.vov

Green light turned on 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET for private economic In the last 10 years, Vietnam has seen the establishment of private joint stock compa- groups nies operating in many different business fields. The common characteristic of the private economic groups, as pointed out by many economists, is that they have developed by exploiting natural resources (minerals, land and forest) and receiving preferential treatment compared with other businesses in the same fields. The economists said that if Vietnam's large economic groups mostly come from the real estate sector, they cannot be considered the motive power for the national econo- my. Vingroup, for example, has large scale of operation, but economist Bui Trinh said it cannot serve as the driving force of the economy. Real estate has been attracting the most investment in the last decade. This is the field where most of Vietnam's multi billion dollar businesses and dollar billionaires can be found. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the real estate sector attracted $297.4 million worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in January, or 21.2 percent of total FDI in the month. However, a knowledge-based economy relies on intelligence and technology to opti- mise product value. Nguyen Tri Hieu, also an economist, commented that big real estate groups have re- cently invested in other business fields, but this is not enough to grow into powerful conglomerates like chaebols in the Republic of Korea. They have invested in retail and agriculture sectors, but their mark remains modest. According to Vietnam Report, the total revenue of the 10 largest businesses in 2015 was $7.23 billion, equal to 3.4 percent of the revenue of $211.32 billion of the 10 largest busi- nesses in the US Fortune 500. Many Vietnamese enterprises in the top 500 are just equal to small and medium enter- prises in accordance with US standards. The revenue of Vinamilk, the Vietnamese company which had the highest revenue in 2016 (US$2.08 billion), is just equal to 28.9 percent of the company ranking 2,000th in the world Hanwha Chemical from the Republic of Korea (US$7.2 billion). Vietnam hopes it can have big private companies in the fields of manufacturing and technology, not companies which exploit natural resources or undertake production phases which bring low added value. The revenue of the 10 biggest private businesses is VND33.3 trillion, very small com-

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pared with the revenue of VND135.4 trillion of the 10 biggest state-owned enterprises. The Communist Party has issued an important resolution acknowledging the greater contribution of the private economy to the country's socio-economic growth, affirming that private economy as "an important driving force of the socialist-oriented market economy". http://english.vov.vn/economy/green-light-turned-on-for-private-economic-groups- 351864.vov

Midterm VBF: 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES Problems persist for Host of issues raised at Midterm Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi on June 16. FDI enterprises Themed "Strengthening the Links Between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Do- mestic Businesses in the New Global Context", the Midterm Vietnam Business Forum 2017 was held in Hanoi on June 16, attended by deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue, among others.

FINANCE After receiving huge incentives in taxes and land waivers, together with possessing strengths in capital and international experience, FDI enterprises have contributed sig- nificantly to Vietnam's economy, as shown by them accounting for 50 per cent of the manufacturing and processing industry and 70 per cent of the country's exports. Addressing the forum, Dr Vu Tien Loc, Chair of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the role of the FDI sector is clear in all economic sectors. But Vietnam has yet to utilise their strengths. The interrelationship between FDI and domestic businesses is still weak, while any spillover effect in technology remains lim- ited, as shown by the small number of joint ventures in FDI projects, with up to 80 per cent of projects being 100 per cent foreign capital. In describing the weak interrelationship, Dr Loc said that only 14 per cent of private enterprises have domestic FDI customers. FDI enterprises tend to import goods from businesses in their home countries rather than work with Vietnamese enterprises. One matter worth noting is that Vietnamese enterprises have yet to meet the standards set by their foreign counterparts. Problems persist One matter consistently brought up at the forum is the inconsistent application of tax- ation and customs procedures. According to Tomaso Andreatta, Chair of the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EuroCham), cities and provinces compete against each other to attract in- vestment, resulting in the inconsistent application of incentives. EuroCham therefore suggests that all city and provincial governments be transparent in applying policies, ensuring a fair and equal playing field for projects in different areas. Andreatta told VET that there needs to be stricter fines on businesses that violate in- tellectual property rights, so that foreign enterprises can operate more comfortably. Moreover, foreign businesses want to resolve disputes via international arbitration, while at the same time domestic businesses need to respect international law and carry out signed contracts in accordance with international standards. Addressing Vietnam's $34 billion trade surplus with the US, Jonathan Moreno, Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AmCham), said it is particular- ly important for Vietnam to be seen as seriously addressing the numerous non-tariff technical barriers to trade mostly encountered at the border and the so-called behind the border barriers that restrict the activities of companies and hamper the flow of US exports into the country. "Removing barriers to trade and improving market access will attract new investors to Vietnam," Moreno said. "However, FDI is increasingly reliant on both expansion by investors who are already established as well as the accounts they provide to prospec- tive investors. This means that future FDI depends on improving the general operating environment for businesses." He also believes that cutting the cost and complexity of doing business will benefit Vi- etnamese-owned businesses, many of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and will spur entrepreneurship, which will, in turn, ensure Vietnam's future

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competitiveness and growth. Circular No. 23, relating to the importation of second-hand machinery, was touched upon by the Japanese Business Association in Vietnam (JBAV), with it proposing the government be more flexible in allowing second-hand machinery imports to promote the country's support industry and investment by Japanese businesses. A representative from the Korean of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KoCham) proposed an exemption of export duties on aluminum products, that branches, repre- sentative office, and project management offices from foreign countries be allowed to open bank accounts, and that the fire-fighting act be clarified in detail. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/midterm-vbf-problems-persist- for-fdi-enterprises

Prospects for the 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5 aviation industry After years of difficulties caused by high fuel prices and a changing global political cli-

FINANCE mate, the world aviation industry has recovered and is expected to prosper this year Total profits for the world aviation industry are expected to hit $31.4 billion this year, more than five percent above a forecast of $29.8 billion by the International Air Trans- port Association. The Association has forecast revenue of $743 billion if the global economy continues to grow. The industry's profit in 2016 was $35.6 billion matching the previous year. Airbus forecasts that the global civil aircraft market will double in the next two dec- ades. In its Global Market Forecast (GMF) for 2017-2036, Airbus anticipates that air traffic will grow at 4.4 percent annually, requiring 35,000 new passenger and dedicated freight aircraft worth $5.3 trillion over the next 20 years. This means that the industry will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs including 530,000 new pilots and 550,000 engineers and flight attendants. But that growth will vary between regions. North America and Asia Pacific are forecast to have the highest growth this year thanks to airline merger and an increasing number of cheap airlines. China is likely to become the world's largest aviation market. In the next two decades, emerging markets including China, India and certain Asian and Latin American countries will buy half of the world's aircrafts. Modern technology has contributed to increasing the performance of the global avia- tion industry. The number of airline passengers is expected to reach 4 billion this year. The growing aviation industry will boost tourism, trade, and investment globally. english.vov.vn/economy/prospects-for-the-aviation-industry-351711.vov

Grass is greener 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES It's not without its difficulties, but increasing numbers of local property developers have set their sights on overseas investments. Vietnamese developer the BIM Group, together with InterContinental Hotels Group, one of the world's leading hotel operators, held an opening ceremony on April 27 for their first five-star hotel, Crowne Plaza Vientiane, in the Lao capital of Vientiane. The five-star project marks the completion of the first stage of the BIM Group's major in- vestment project in the country. This is not a new trend and not the first time Vietnam- ese developers have invested in Laos or overseas real estate markets. A number of local developers, including the Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) Group, the Muong Thanh Group, and Thu Duc House have already set foot in real estate markets of potential around the world. Offshore investments During Vietnam's global integration, while foreign investors have aggressively at- tempted to penetrate into the country's fertile real estate market there has also been a wave of local developers reaching into international property markets over the last few years to curb risks and secure assets. According to a survey conducted by the Vi- etnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in cooperation with the United

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States Agency for International Development (USAID) on future prospective locations for investors, many Vietnamese enterprises hope to expand their investments into key markets such as Laos, the US, Singapore, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Laos has become the leading destination for investments from Vietnamese enterprises. Figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) last year show that Vietnam is ranked second among countries investing in the country, with capital totalling about $5.5 billion. Disbursement stands at $1.7 billion, primarily in real estate, agriculture, energy, and minerals. Crown Plaza Vientiane is among the first internationally-branded upscale hotels in Laos and part of Royal Square, a high-class hotel-office-shopping mall complex. "This project represents the BIM Group's first investment in Laos and highlights the progress made in the development of the strategic economic relationship between Vietnam and Laos," Doan Quoc Huy, vice Chair of BIM, told VET. "Laos is the group's first key mar- ket for offshore investments." The Muong Thanh Group, Vietnam's largest private hotel operator, opened the five- FINANCE star Muong Thanh Luxury Vientiane hotel in July last year, its first hotel overseas and with investment of around $40 million. The 37-story hotel, with 331 rooms of interna- tional five-star standard, can house 700 guests and is the tallest building in Vientiane. Its opening marks a new stage in Muong Thanh's ambition to become the largest hotel chain developer in Indochina, the opening ceremony heard. Meanwhile, the HAGL Group, a Vietnamese pioneer in penetrating into international real estate markets, launched its five-star Melia Yangon hotel in Myanmar at the same time last year, which belongs to the Myanmar centre complex and has total investment capital of up to $440 million. The HAGL complex is the largest 100 per cent foreign- owned project in Myanmar to date, consisting of two phases with completion expected next year. According to an announcement from the Group, occupancy at the shopping centre in the first stage is 95 per cent and office space 60 per cent. While the company has been finding ways to withdraw from the local property sector, it has sought development opportunities overseas. In 2015, it opened an international airport in the Lao province of Attapeu, with investment of nearly $40 million, and has also been building the Nongkhang International Airport in Houaphan province, with investment capital of around $80 million. While not orienting its expansion strategy to neighbouring countries like other major groups, Vingroup officially began a plan early last year to step out of the local market by purchasing an area of than 1,000 sq m in the CBD of Sydney in Australia, according to The Australian newspaper. The land has been valued at more than $16 million and will be used to build a hotel complex. Vingroup was not available for comment when contacted by VET. Showing potential Recent movements by local developers to diversify their investment portfolios have seen Laos and other nearby markets take on greater appeal. Laos and Myanmar are evaluated by industry insiders as possessing rapid growth, rich cultures, and favour- able geographic locations, which are all major factors in attracting investors following the saturation in the property sectors of developed countries. There has been signifi- cant exploration conducted to seek investment channels in the Southeast Asia region in addition to local real estate projects. Laos' real estate market is growing quickly and has attracted the attention of investors from China and other Asean countries, the latest report from Savills on Vientiane's property market noted. The apartment segment lacks supply, with total apartment stock in the fourth quarter of 2016 standing at approximately 1,000 units. Asking prices range from $1,000$4,000 per sq m, and pricing overall in Vientiane is lower than in oth- er regional cities, such as Yangon, HCM City, and Hanoi. Active projects have absorp- tion exceeding 50 per cent. In the office segment, Vientiane's stock is smaller than that of other cities in Southeast Asia, at only 0.6 per cent of Bangkok's, 1 per cent of Jakarta's, 3 per cent of Hanoi and HCM City's, 17 per cent of Yangon's, and 28 per cent of Phnom Penh's. Office demand

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from Asian tenants is expected to rise in step with increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) to Laos. In addition, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WT- TC), Laos is ranked seventh out of 184 countries in the growth of travel and tourism's contribution to GDP, at 6.6 per cent in 2016, while Vietnam was ranked 40th. Savills' report on Myanmar's hotel segment shows that total supply of three- to five- star hotels in Yangon reached approximately 3,000 rooms, which was equal to 5 per cent of the hotel stock in Hong Kong, 7 per cent of Phuket's, 26 per cent of HCM City's, and 40 per cent of Hanoi's. Average tariffs in the four- and five-star hotel segment is around $210 per night. Most hotels in Yangon have seen occupancy of 90-100 per cent, on both weekdays and weekends, due to a shortage of rooms. The trend among Vietnamese developers to look overseas has two possible scenarios, according to Adam Fitzpatrick, director of Capital Markets & Investment Services at Colliers International Vietnam. Land in key markets in Vietnam is now incredibly ex- pensive and this makes successful projects in the country a very challenging prospect. "One aspect of developers looking overseas will be for them to take advantage of mar- FINANCE kets where land is still competitively priced and offers better returns than their projects in Vietnam might," he told VET. "The other aspect will be developers trying to expand into more mature markets and develop to a higher standard, but that will be more challenging and I would expect it to be relatively rare." Challenges to face HAGL's Myanmar centre project was estimated to bring billions of dollars to the group, but HAGL has been facing certain challenges after Myanmar introduced new tax regulations on real estate transactions in April last year. Transactions valued at un- der $22,000 incur a 15 per cent tax rate, from $22,000 to $73,000 20 per cent, and more than $73,000 30 per cent. The new rates are five times higher than in 2015 and much higher than the 2 per cent rate imposed in Vietnam, and has put pressure on the oper- ations of property developers in Myanmar. Additionally, the ability to transfer projects is affected by a very high tax rate of 40 per cent. As a result, HAGL ended a deal to sell 50 per cent of its ownership in the Myan- mar centre to Singapore's real estate and investment group Rowsley in 2015 because of the high tax rate. In addition, "demand for apartments and offices has been increasing in Myanmar, but it seems that supply is now rising faster than demand, which leads to the possibility of increasing competitiveness among real estate developers in the market," VPBank Securities noted in a report. Stepping into the US in 2009, Thu Duc House, in cooperation with two US partners, established the Thu Duc House Property Venture LLC, in which the Vietnamese de- veloper holds 50 per cent. "The company in the US has operated quite effectively over the past few years, but business results have been unsatisfactory," Le Chi Hieu, CEO of Thu Duc House, told VET. Moreover, "new policies from the US government are be- coming unfavourable for foreign investors, so the company decided to divest from the market." After its withdrawal, the company revealed a plan to expand its land reserve in Vietnam by merger and acquisition (M&A) activities this year. As Bui Kien Thanh, an economic expert, said, overseas property markets have always been attractive and hold great potential but are also extremely challenging, with laws on taxation in some countries being especially harsh. Nevertheless, this does not mean that Vietnamese developers should not reach out over borders, as opportunities will come to those with strong resources, cautious investment strategies and, more impor- tantly, a deep understanding of their target markets. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/grass-is-greener

Competition among 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| DIEN DAN DOANH NGHIEP retail giants more Vietnam is becoming a lucrative market for both domestic and foreign retailers, but in- intense after 7- stead of competing with each other by big supermarkets, giants in the retail sector are Eleven's market entry challenging each other by small convenience stores. And the competition is getting "hotter" with the participation of 7-Eleven, a well- known retailer in the world.

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On June 15, 7-Eleven opened its first convenience store in HCM City which is also the first in Vietnam. The first 7-Eleven store is located on the ground floor of Saigon Trade Centre, right in the centre of the city. This year, 7-Eleven plans to open four more stores in HCM City and in the next three years, the number of stores is expected to reach 100. This figure is still considered to be small compared to other convenience store chains in the country, but according to the Nikkei news agency (Japan), 7-Eleven will increase the number of stores to 1,000 after the next 10 years. 7-Eleven Vietnam is a business project cooperated by a subsidiary of 7-Eleven Japan, with offices in the US and Seven System Vietnam JSC. The 7-Eleven's entry into Viet- nam retail market is seen as a confirmation that the scale of the market has expanded dramatically and the profit potential also increases accordingly because a world-class retail brand like 7-Eleven will not enter a market if that market is not appreciated. By the end of 2016, 7-Eleven has made its presence in 17 countries with 61,500 points of sale (POSs) worldwide. FINANCE In fact, the information about 7-Eleven's entry into Vietnam had appeared almost a year ago and caused a stir in the Vietnam market. Even, it was rumoured that 7-Eleven plans to buy the entire Vinmart + convenience store, but then Vingroup representa- tives denounced the information. In spite of not entering Vietnam through M & A like many other foreign retailers, with the advantage of a strong global brand such as 7-Eleven, this convenience store chain is very likely to quickly account for a large market share in Vietnam. The appearance of 7-Eleven will certainly make the race on the retail market to become much "hotter", but the heat is in convenience stores and mini supermarkets, not in hy- permarkets or trade centers. \ Roberto Butragueno, Associate director of retail service at Nielsen Vietnam, said that Vietnam retail market is currently developing two main models including such con- venience stores as B'smart, Circle K, FamilyMart and mini supermarkets such as Food Co.op, Satra Food, Vinmart +. Roberto added that the development of these two models will bring more choices to consumers. That means the hottest competition in the current retail market is in the convenience store segment and mini supermarket. And that is probably why Casino Group and Metro Group have withdrawn from Vietnam but no foreign retailers who are developing convenience store chain have had similar move. The numbers on retail store chain expansion of retailers also show the same thing. Vin- mart + is currently the biggest name in the market and owns nearly 1,000 stores as of the end of February 2017. It is worth mentioning that Vinmart + has only entered the market since 2015. Statistics show that by February 2017, Vinmart + was having nearly 1,000 selling points nationwide. This group targets at a threefold increase3,000 POSs by 2018. Circle K from the US has about 242 POSs, B's mart has 159 POSs, Shop & Go has 121 POSs and Family Mart (also from Japan) has about 150 POSs, Ministop are holding lower num- bers with about 80 POSs. So, even if the target in the next 10 years is achieved, the number of 7-Eleven's POSs are still significantly different from the current market leader. It seems that 7-Eleven's advantage of having "one more shop within two hours in the world" is not considered as a weapon by Seven System Vietnam. The strategic adviser Do Thanh Nam said that this is understandable when 7-Eleven is not a direct investor but through franchising. Accordingly, the ability to invest to dominate the market by the number of POSs, the speed of opening POSs at all costs to compete from grounds to the price of products... will be limited. Pham Ngoc Hung, vice Chair of HCM City Business Association said that as the de- mand of customers is increasingly higher, consumers will not want to visit the tradi- tional grocery store anymore. They want the store to have other utility services apart from shopping for goods. Therefore, the explosion of convenience store chains and mini supermarkets will have room to develop quickly, leading to the intense competi-

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tion of retailers in this segment. However, "the Vietnamese people quickly adapt to the new thing but also get bored quickly", CEO of Ajinomoto Vietnam, a marketing specialist has commented. Viet- namese youths have welcomed McDonalds and Starbucks but how to retain them? The long way of each retailer-consumption distributor will answer that question.

Small rice export 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA businesses to get The Ministry of Industry and Trade is drafting a decree to remove bottlenecks for rice support from new export businesses, especially small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). decree The decree, replacing Decree 109/2010/ND-CP on rice export and business is expected to take effect from January 1, 2018, after which businesses will enjoy free trade of rice without quantitative restrictions. In early June 2017, the ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on rice trading with Bangladesh, which is valid until 2022.

FINANCE Under the MoU, Vietnam will export one million tonnes of rice to Bangladesh annual- ly. This offers a huge opportunity for Vietnam to boost exports of this key staple, build a rice brand and connect with farmers. The Vietnam Food Association authorised the Vietnam Northern Food Corporation and the Southern Food Corporation to export the rice as under Decree 109. Director general of Trung An Co. Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho Pham Thai Binh said some articles in the old decree hindered the development of rice export firms. The involvement of the government in seeking contracts is good for Vietnamese agri- culture, but all businesses should be able to join this activity to promote trade in for- eign markets. Vo Minh Khai, director general of Vien Phu Organic Healthy Food Company from the southernmost province of Ca Mai said revising the old decree will create a level play- ing-field for small rice export firms to proactively access the global market. The new document will also enable businesses to invest in producing high-quality products to compete with rivals from Thailand and Cambodia, he added. Vietnam has exported rice for nearly 30 years, with the first amount of 1.4 million tonnes in 1989, grossing 310 million USD in turnover. The country earned 2.1 billion USD from selling 4.9 million tonnes of rice abroad in 2016. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/small-rice-export-businesses-to-get-support-from-new-de- cree/113424.vnp

Northern region holds 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA major aquaculture Northern provinces hold considerable aquaculture potential which remains untapped, potential: conference according to a conference held in Tuyen Quang province on June 16. The northern region boasts rich natural resources along with a dense river network and a number of big hydropower reservoirs like Thac Ba, Son La and Tuyen Quang, which can serve as aquaculture grounds, according to the directorate of Fisheries. The current aquaculture area has just reached one-third of the potential in the region. It covered more than 200,000 ha in 2016, including over 157,000 ha of freshwater spe- cies and 47,300 ha of saltwater and brackish water species. It generated more than 800,000 tonnes of farmed products in 2016. The directorate said the remaining potential area for aquaculture is big, about over 454,000ha. Notably, hundreds of thousands of hectares of water surface in lakes and hydropower and irrigation reservoirs in mountainous provinces are a favourable con- dition for fish farming. Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam asked localities to adjust their aquaculture plans to local potential, natural conditions and socio-eco- nomic development orientations. They should enhance the management of the fry quality while facilitating production

Intellasia 19 June 2017 36 / 65 Vietnam finance & business 19 June 2017

under cooperative groups, cooperatives and aquaculture clubs to improve efficiency and cut production costs. Aside from harvesting, localities also need to preserve and recover natural aquatic re- sources, especially rare species with high economic value, he said, adding that it is im- portant to protect the environment for aquaculture. At the conference, participants discussed solutions to address obstacles to and expand aquaculture in the northern region such as developing personnel, tightening manage- ment, surveying the market, building new farming processes, producing vaccines for indigenous fish species, and issuing support policies. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/northern-region-holds-major-aquaculture-potential-confer- ence/113436.vnp

Localisation of 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE Japanese enterprises At the press conference named "7th Vietnam Japan Industry Support Exhibition" in

FINANCE in Vietnam is only half Hanoi, Suttisak Wilanan, Executive vice President of Reed Tradex Company said that of China's as of December 2016, the Vietnam's production ranked 2nd among Asean countries. In particular, many industries are growing rapidly, most notably electronics. These trends may continue to bring many opportunities for component manufacturers in the context when giant electronics brands such as Intel, Panasonic and Microsoft have moved to Vietnam. Thanks to that, supporting industry has also been developing stronger. Particularly, the imports increased by three times from 2011 to 2016, while exports increased by five times from 12.8 billion USD to 65.8 billion USD in 2015. As of early 2015, Vietnam was the 12th largest exporter of electronics in the world and the 3rd in Asean. With the current pace of development, Vietnam will soon rise to higher rank. In addition, Vietnamese government has a 10-year plan to support businesses in pro- viding research and development, transfer and renewal of technology as well as in training of human resources to better engage in the global production chain and in- crease foreign direct investment for industrial sector. Vietnam has also joined the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) with various potential and opportunities. Nevertheless, to take advantage of ITA, Vietnam needs to increase productivity, promote value chain and increase localisation rate. Currently, the foreign electronics companies only account for one-third of the electron- ics firms in Vietnam, but their exports is equivalent to 90 percent of the total electronics exports of the country with 80 percent domestic market share. However, Hironobu Kitagawa, Chief Representative of the Japan External Trade Or- ganisation in Hanoi pointed out that although investment opportunities in Vietnam are very attractive, there are many issues that need to be addressed. One of the biggest issues that Japanese enterprises investing in Vietnam are facing is the low localisation rate of raw materials and components. The localisation rate of Japanese firms in Vietnam is very low at only 34 percent, while China's is 68 percent and Thailand's is 57 percent. Thus, firms must import compo- nents from neighbouring countries, leading to higher costs and greater risks for Japa- nese firms operating in manufacturing sector in Vietnam. This also causes difficulties in maintaining medium and long-term production activi- ties in Vietnam. In the supporting industry, the production of materials and compo- nents is often carried out by small and medium firms. The limitations in terms of mechanisms and policies to support the development of small and medium firms are the outstanding issues of Vietnam. In a world of turbulence, the heavy dependence on the import of raw materials and components poses a serious risk to Japanese firms in performing global operation. Thus, to enhance the competitiveness in costs and ensuring a stable supply source of materials and components, seeking partners in supporting industry in Vietnam plays an extremely important role.

Intellasia 19 June 2017 37 / 65 Vietnam finance & business 19 June 2017

Russia willing to 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VGP cooperate with VN Deputy PM, FM Pham Binh Minh spoke highly of the maintenance of the strategic di- during Apec Year alogue and political consultation mechanisms between the two Foreign Ministries, thereby facilitating information exchanges between the two sides and supporting them to fulfill their political tasks. Deputy PM, FM Minh made the above statement on June 14 at reception for Russian deputy Foreign minister Igor Morgulov who came to Vietnam to attend the 9th Viet- nam-Russia Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy-Defence-Security and the political con- sultation at the deputy FM level. Minh stressed the need for both sides to strengthen the exchange of viewpoints on re- gional and international issues towards closer collaboration in action, asking Russia to continue accelerating cooperation with Asean and contributing actively to the mainte- nance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Discussing bilateral ties, the deputy PM expressed his delight at the finely growing Vi-

FINANCE etnam-Russia relations, noting that close coordination between the two countries in the Vietnam Apec Year 2017 would contribute actively to enhancing the Vietnam-Rus- sia comprehensive strategic partnership. He voiced his wish for closer collaboration between the two Foreign Ministries to pro- mote bilateral ties in all fields. For his part, Russian deputy FM Igor Morgulov affirmed that Russia supports and is willing to cooperate with Vietnam in its Apec Year 2017. He also voiced his hope that the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and the Apec would develop cooperative ties. On June 14, Permanent deputy FM Bui Thanh Son and deputy FM Igor Morgulov co- chaired the 9th Vietnam-Russia Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy-Defence-Security and the Vietnam-Russia political consultation at the deputy FM level. In the spirit of openness and trust, the two sides discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern. They agreed that the regional and world situation is trans- forming deeply, imposing direct impacts on the economic connection process as well as collaboration in handling regional and global issues. http://www.vir.com.vn/russia-willing-to-cooperate-with-vn-during-apec-year.html

Vietnam, Indonesia 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA boost economic, Vietnam and Indonesia boast huge potentials in energy collaboration, Indonesian Am- energy cooperation bassador to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi highlighted at a conference held in Hanoi on June 16. The event drew the participation of numerous Indonesian coal exporters and Vietnam- ese importers. In the first four months of the year, Indonesia shipped more than 1.5 million tonnes of coal to Vietnam, he said, adding that the country will export at least 4.5 million tonnes of coal to its Asean peer. The Indonesia Embassy in Vietnam will work to promote the connection between en- ergy businesses from the two countries to ensure sufficient supply, he stressed. Regarding the coal demand of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), a representative from the group said that coal-fired power accounts for 30 percent of the total electricity gen- erated nationwide of 42,000 MW. Before 2016, most thermoelectricity plants used domestic coals, however, the need for imported coals has shot up due to the development of thermoelectricity. In 2016, the country bought 680,000 tonnes of coal from foreign countries, the figures expected to rise to 4.7 million tonnes in 2017, 11 million tonnes in 2020 and 19 million tonnes in 2025. On the occasion, businesses from both countries exchanged experience and discussed measures to boost cooperation. Two-way trade stood at 5.5 billion USD in 2016 and both sides are targeting 6 billion USD in 2017. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-indonesia-boost-economic-energy-cooperation/ 113423.vnp

Intellasia 19 June 2017 38 / 65 Vietnam finance & business 19 June 2017

Central Highlands 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA localities court RoK Deputy head of the Steering Committee for Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) Dieu Kre investments has called on businesses from the Republic of Korea (RoK) to invest in the region on the basis of potential and strength of each locality. He made the appeal at a seminar themed "The RoK-Tay Nguyen Meeting 2017" jointly held by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, the RoK Embassy and the Korea Chamber of Business (KorCham) in Buon Ma Thuot city on June 16. The event drew the participation of 50 Korean firms and more than 300 businesses from the Central Highlands. At the seminar, Central Highlands provinces introduced their potential, advantages and investment projects, mostly in high-tech agriculture, processing industry, clean energy and tourism. Encompassing Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Nong and Lam Dong provinces, the Central Highlands is regarded as an important strategic area in terms of socio-econom-

FINANCE ic development, national defence and security of countries. Located on the trans-Asia axis, the region connects with Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar to the west, and with central and southeast coastal provinces and deep- water seaports to the east. The region has a lot of potential and advantages for hi-tech agricultural and forestry development, renewable energy, and ecological and cultural tourism. According to the Steering Committee for Tay Nguyen, regional gross domestic prod- uct surpassed 151 trillion VND (6.56 billion USD) in 2016, up 7.47 percent annually while gross regional domestic product per capita hit 39.56 million VND (1,720 USD), up 8.5 percent. The region earned over two billion USD from exports, up 25.5 percent and 14.8 percent from 2015. en.vietnamplus.vn/central-highlands-localities-court-rok-investments/113449.vnp

Hai Duong province 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA calls for investment in The Red River Delta province of Hai Duong will create favourable conditions for busi- agriculture nesses to invest in agriculture, especially in high-tech agriculture, post-harvest preser- vation, slaughterhouse construction and production chain development, local officials have said. Targeting a modern agriculture which applies state-of-the-art technologies and creates high-quality and competitive products, the province has offered a line-up of preferen- tial policies for investors. Support in terms of credits, land rental, infrastructure development and administra- tive procedures is among the province's preferences for investors, said Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Manh Hien. At an agricultural investment promotion conference held in Hai Duong on June 18, minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong suggested that the province should pay due attention to providing training and encouraging farmers to connect with others to form agricultural businesses. Identifying strategic products and outlining transparent and favourable policies for in- vestors will help the local agriculture sector to move up on the ladder to a new devel- opment stage, Cuong stressed. The province is housing over 11,700 enterprises, however, only 1,600 of which are in- vesting in agriculture. Total investment in local agriculture is valued at more than 15 trillion VND (658.5 million USD), focusing on farm produce processing, animal food- stuff and production linkages. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hai-duong-province-calls-for-investment-in-agriculture/ 113498.vnp

Intellasia 19 June 2017 39 / 65 BUSINESS BUSINESS BIZ NEWS chains agricultural value cooperatives to form Ben Tre: New finance& business Vietnam 2017 Business BriefsJun19, Intellasia standing toenable the Vietnamese startup to the asdaq stock 30, VNGand VNG. OnMay and Canada US gapore, Luxembourg, China,the Its revenue isexpected lion thisyear,soaring (VNG) Technology companyVNGCorporation * high solvency and liquidity risks. position. The ratings outlook remains negati thehigh toreflect caal from sessment tocaa2 problem assets. Concurrently, Moody'shasdo problem account of the bank's weakened solvency po issu and Bank's(Sacombank) long-termdeposit downgr * Moody'sInvestorsService has shares on the HCMCitymarketon June 22 million 13.6 will begin trading Company & (HII) Plastic Mineral Bai * Phat-Yen An around VND94trillion.63.3 percent,or to small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for for fivepriority sectors inthecityhave business this year loans to short-term date, banking the overall regarding Meanwhile, customers have takenoutloansvaluedat A 2012. in city the in launched programme signing ceremony will take place todayas with 100enterpriseshelp financetheirpr to * HCMCitybranchesof Vietin 19/JUN/2017| INTELLASIA chains/113430.vnp http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ben-tre-new-c capacity, and ashortage lar popularisationof know However, he alsoadmittedcertain shortcomin inaveragerevenue. USD) (110,170 VND 2.5 billion ofthemgained Each USD). million (1,850 VND about 42 income is The cooperatives provided jobsfor more th one cooperative union have been licensed inthe province, gathering 30,139 members. Alliance Cooperative Ben Tre Chair ofthe eration efficiency. The capacity ofcooperatives' started to develop. cooperativbetween among cooperativesand eratives operatinginvarious spheres have Lap saidsince theCooperative Law was enfo assisted to promotetr business activities soastoincrease productivity and product quality. They will also be scientific tohelpthemapply going It is the 2012Law on Cooperatives. effectiveness ofcooperatives' activities, Ben Vice ChairoftheprovincialPeople'sCo gan, ornamental flowers, pig,cattle, andsaltwater shrimp. co are products agricultural targeted The products. agricultural al cooperativeswhichwillpartnerwith busi From nowto 2020, the MekongDelta province 19/JUN/2017VNA INTELLASIA| 34.7 percentagainst2016. ade and seek markets. to rise 31 percent to VND3.96 tr 31 percentto to rise of skilled managers. ledge about cooperative economy and cooperatives, limited managers has also been enhanced, thus raising their op- thus managers hasalsobeenenhanced, Bank willsign credit contra and technological advances inproduction and mmittee Nguyen Huu Lap said to improve the said toimprove mmittee NguyenHuuLap reached VND148.7trillion,withthoseoffered ooperatives-to-form-a aded SaigonThuong Tin Commercial conut, green-skingrapefruit, rambutan,lon- VND89.3 trillion under the trillionunder programme. VND89.3 part of a bank-business capital connection capital part ofabank-business Phan Chanh Thi said 65 Phan ChanhThisaid65 cooperatives and launch an initial pu launchaninitial been established intheprovince. Linkages ccording to local authorities, nearly 4,000 4,000 nearly to authorities, local ccording market signed a memorandum of under- of a memorandum signed market oduction and business an 1,260 peoplewhoseannualper capita at the referencethe priceat ofVNDll,900each. Tre will develop cooperatives in line with with line in cooperatives develop Tre will es and other economic organisationshave and other es nesses toformvaluechains for eight key ve. InMoody's view,thebank faces very sition, asreflected in itslarge stock of er risktothe bank'sstandalone financial rced three yearsago,anumber of coop- now hold a combined 49 percentstake in wngraded the bank's gs in local cooperatives such as irregu-gs inlocalcooperativessuch of Ben Tre plans to set up 27 agricultur- up27 of BenTreplanstoset er ratings toCaa1 from B3 mainlyon targets a pre-tax profit ofVND908bil- a pre-tax targets illion. Foreign investors fromSin- Foreign investors illion. cts worth over VND8 trillion over VND8 cts worth gricultural-value- blic offering on on the offering blic plans. Thecontract baseline credit as- 19 June 2017 40 / 65 40/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam hunting Stocks riseon bargain- transactions Foreigners spur Intellasia http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/545 shares. volume oftwomillion slightly on dropped the reference price and took the leadfor liquidity with 10.3 million shareswhile ACB firm and managed VCG SHS brokerage to ri Among ninestockswithmatchingvolumefr and PVC declined. slumping percenttoVND492. 15 slumping HNX- theHanoi market, On the million sharesexchanged. 8.2 stake while FLC fell for the third consecutive day at VND7,120 per share with nearly floor pricesixth forthestraightsessionsi ROS's associatedenterprises andFLCalsoperformedpoorly. AMD AMD closed atthe matching share on a VND104,300 ending at Construction firm ROS plunged tothefloor VNM advancedbuttheir gainswere not str Among the capitali top 10leadersfor market lion shares,CTGandVCB with 2.8million matching volumeof5.8millionsh reported increa andVCB banking sector, CTG In the VND4 trillion changinghands, including bl 760.57. Turnover onthe southern market slid dippin flat, almost closed The mainindex dex failed togo back tothe reference level as many large caps madenegative moves. HPG's strong performance lifted upstocks ratio. ata5-for-1 shares additional toissue date ex-dividend sharessecond portfoliorebalancing. inthe as the exchange traded fund V.N.M expected Accordingsurprisewas a totinnhanhchungkhoan.vn, purchase atHPG foreign net the mark ashare, 2.5 percent at VND32,450 shares, with foreigners net purchasing over The steel maker saw itsmatching volume hi session.the previous Notably,the investors focused on HPGshares. market, upaslight 1.7involume percent Foreigners netbought7.1million shares asteep theVNIndex fall. didsave from making trading tive foreign stock market corrected givenstrong The local 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES stake, said Viet Capi ital ofVND1.l2trillion,which the of UPCoM, today. Theinitialis priceatVN set change to million debut 112.5 shares onthe ma has * (BRR) receiv Ba Ria RubberCompany world's secondlargeststock exch VND5.8 trillion (US$257.6 million) an increase million) an trillion (US$257.6 VND5.8 million sharesweretrad than279.6 More rising 1.5 per cent week on week and th Friday's session also marked a weekly gain for bothstock indices with theVNIndex after points declining by0.1percenton Thursday. The HNX Index on theHanoiStockExchange Itfell0.03per points. at 761.24 cent on Thursday. to close inched up0.09per cent the HCMStockExchange on Index The benchmarkVN as net sellers on thelast day of exchan Local sharesrecovered on Fridayfromaslight 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| tal Securities Company. Index lost a slight 0.11 percent at 97.78 with turnover turnover with 97.78 at percent 0.11 slight losta Index 5 billion. Many pillar stoc pillar billion. Many 5 ange by market capitalisation. ange by 28/Foreigners-spur- Vietnam Rubber Vietnam Rubber Group holds a97.47percent ge-traded funds (ETFs) portfolio review. portfolio (ETFs) funds ge-traded ing thethirdwinningsession in a row. e HNXIndexincreasingby 1per cent. nce ROS'sannouncementtobuyits25percent worthVND252.4bill ed onbothlocal bourses, worth nearly g 0.02 percent from the previousat from day g 0.02 percent but down 5.7 percent to compared down5.7percent in but value The enterprise hasalsotoday asthe chosen sed while BID, MBB and STB declined. BID BID declined. and STB MBB BID, while sed 4.5million shares. HPGclosedthe day up shares and MBB with 1.6 million shares. 1.6 million with and MBB shares in the VN30 basket. However, the VN In- the VN the VN30basket.However, in D12,700 aregisteredcap- D12,700 a share. BRRhas ed approval from the Hanoi StockEx-ed approvalfrom theHanoi ares,over followed three bySTBwith mil- volumeofovertwomillion shares. oc deals valuedatover billion. VND810 ong enough to prop up the main index. prop up themain to ong enough se. Amongbanking stocks, SHB closed at tting a four-month high at 11.7 milliontting afour-monthhighat 11.7 sation, property giantVICand dairy firm price forthe second consecutive session, om one shares,million only construction slightly with 193 million shares worthshares 193 million slightlywith to net sold $3.16 million worth of HPG of million worth sold $3.16 tonet fall despite foreign investorsup ending profit taking pressure onJune15butac- profit taking of 16.5 per cent in volume and 26.8 per in volumeand26.8 percent of16.5 advanced 0.55 per cent to end at 98.31 98.31 endat to cent per advanced 0.55 rket forunlisted public enterprises, or transactions.html ks ACB, such asSHB, PVS ion on the HCM City the HCMCity ion on 19 June 2017 41 / 65 41/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam downplayed expectations market Derivatives Intellasia are secure", Tuan said,adding thatalltr are secure",Tuan of marginlendingor deposit mustbe suff example,For "marketmembers, regulators ket breakdowns". problems that arise if the domestic market is able to learn lessons from previous mar- toaddr might beable "Vietnam that said He tor ofVietnam Securities Depository (VSD). of stockfutu the trading to due Inc Holding startingwith thecollapse oftheUS-based in2008, crisis financial the global like down break amarket make could risks Potential tors need time toprepare andshape thema "If investors are not protected, it means the said. market, Hung tives the future woulddetermine developmen that The participation ofboth domesticand foreign investorsmostthe is importantelement said. policies legal while phase, beginning its during Regulators, membersand investors must make the busine held by at atalk Hung said There are many problems and risks that must http://bizhub.vn/marke said. theVNIndex move up will and positive turns In the next session, tradingwillbe market portfolio the ETFs' reviews, accordin on cautious were investors as liquidity trading ofmarket decline aslight with weeks The VNIndex recorded a second weeklyga Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) and HAGL Agrico. (DHG), Domesco Medical Import-Export (DMC), Vingroup (VIC), Novaland (NVL), Shares ofleading companies inthose sectors rose,Pharmaceutical including DHG JSC andbrokerage sectors. agriculture purchase atargeted stock.The investor mu In the stock common market, the brokerage fi ages beforetransactionstake place. the derivativesmarket,investors deposi must Margin lending for derivatives products is monitored closely. Nguyen said benefits, potential its despite Investors shouldnotexpect too much from 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| On the opposite side, foreign percentinthe total has slumped 21 threesessions. last utive daydespite being added into thetwoETFs' portfoliosfor thenextquarter.ROS Faros Construction(ROS)hit FLC Services (PVS)and insurance-financ Se and Well Drilling PetroVietnam (VNM), investors' sellingfocusedonlarge-caForeign lion. VND207.8 billion, a reverse fromThursday's The reviewpressured local stocks asfore portfolio reviews, reported tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn. ETF)ETF)FTSE Vietnamtheir ETF(FTSE second-quarter completedETF (VNM and mestic investors onthe day that the twofo local in The growth ofthetwo cent invalue. ts/stocks-rise-on-barg investors bought leading stocks dices wasattributed tostr its dailylosing limitof7per cent forathird consec- e group Bao Viet Holdings (BVH). Holdings Viet Bao group e g to Sai Gon-Hanoi Securities(SHS). ss and economics sitendh.vnon Thursday. ading activities ading activities should ign investors posted anet sell value of financialservices firm Lehman Brothers icient andinformation technology facilities reign-based funds VanEckVectors Vietnam come more positive as investor confidence as come morepositive Duy Hung,chairofSa ess potential risks andfind ways toresolve and investors must make sure the amount amount the sure make must investors and st guarantee the loanwith the targeted different from thatfor common stocks. In rvices (PVD), PetroVietnam Technical market has lost. Theref rket and operateitproperly," he said. res, said Duong NgocTuan,deputydirec-res, said the derivatives market inthe early stages in and the HNX Index has risen for eight p stocks such as dairy producer Vinamilk Vinamilk producer dairy such as p stocks be addressed and resolved in the market, and resolvedin the be addressed foreign netsellvalue of VND268.3 bil- ain-hunting_286966.html t and attractivenessofVietnam's deriva- rms willlend money to an investor to t andbroker- t cash orsharesattheVSD to test the old peak of 763 points, SHS totestthe old SHS peak of763 points, sure the market would not break down must be issued to protect investors, he investors, toprotect beissued must ong bargain-hunting from do- ong bargain-huntingfrom in real estate, healthcare, healthcare, estate, inreal besupervised and i Gon Securities Inc. ore, market regula-ore, market 19 June 2017 42 / 65 42/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam stake in Becamexstake in State to retain 51pct Intellasia http://bizhub.vn/markets/d the market. Six brokerage firmshavebeen granted mark begin The derivatives marketisexpectedto the HCM Stock Exchange. http://bizhub.vn/markets/state-to-re New Townshipand BinhDuong ofIndustry,Park,trial ServiceResidential. and Industrial Park,Viet industrialpa owns fourmajor The company mini struction materials, telecommunication andinformationtechnology, besides concrete production, con- construction,banking, and nance, insurance, Currently, the corporation has 28 ment ofindustrial,resi Becamex in1976 and IDC wasestablished IDC's strategic investors. for theselectionofBecamex The chair ofprovincialPeople in accordance with the law. ture incase the shares cannotbe sold toin struc- charter capital the adjust and sales the for price the initial to decide Committee The prime authorisedminister the head of to thecompany'semployees. Another 23.63per centstakewillbe sold to charter poration's capital. sharesMore belongtotheSt than670million to 1.317 trillion shares. equivalent million), (US$580 trillion of capital VND13.17 achartered has Becamex IDC shares toraise capital. minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc It isone of the contents in the corporati public offering(IPO). mi or 329.25 stake cent per 25 The Investment and Industrial 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| containing futuresfor shares ofthe30la two futurecontractsforthede Market regulators havedeveloped the VN30 Index and the HNX30 Index to be the first market suffer less," Phong said. before making decisions. "Reducing thenumb indices to future new is developing The HNX finds he could suffer losses on his invest futu are themselves transactions "Derivatives it ea is therefore, daily, ties "The derivatives marketallows deputy general Phong,However, NguyenAnh fails investor plans toresolvetheproblems. tial risks andcomeup with the If order. trading the Therefore, abrokerage as a market member needs to address and prepare forpoten- for responsibility all to payback, themarketmember will be theone thatsuffers. take must member market a when market, In thederivatives tor. will putaforce-sell order onthatstock to re belowpurchased stockfalls asp down the of stock andmakehis payback whether or nothe namSingapore Industrial Park, Bau Bang Residential and Indus- dential, urban and transportation infrastructure. andtransportation urban dential, ng, pharmaceuticals, he sy for them to control the sy forthemto risks. control erivatives-market-expectat , whichretainscapital theState andissues additional llion shares to strategic investors at the upcoming initial rivatives market. The VN30 Inde rivatives market.TheVN30 's Committee is alsoresponsible for setting thecriteria Development Corporation (Becamex IDC) willoffera Corporation (Becamex Development investors and totracktrading all stakeholders investors activi- an investor carriesout a tr subsidiaries and joint efforts inareasof securities, fi- tain-51-stake-in-becamex_286940.html on's equitisation plan a rgest companies by ma rgest companiesby ment, he canquickly vestors. The initialpubl vestors. southern BinhDuongProvince's People's now focusesoninvestmentand develop- the public andthe thepublic percent remaining 0.37 cover a part of the money lent to the inves- to part ofthemoneylent a cover functioning in the sec in the functioning rks, includingResidential MyPhuoc and et membership by theSSC to operatein ate, accounting for 51 per cent of the cor- for 51percentofthe ate, accounting ecific level set bythebroker, thelender as well as trading, real estate, services, re contracts,therefore, if aninvestor help investorsfilter substandard stocks gains or loses from Iftheprice trade. his from or loses gains er of substandard st director of Hanoi Stock Exchange, said: althcare and education. and althcare ions-downplayed_286968.html ansaction, thebrokerageas close hispositions." x will be launched first, first, launched be will x pproved by the prime pproved rket capitalisation on rket capitalisation ond quarter of 2017. 2017. of ond quarter ic offering must be ocks willhelpthe 19 June 2017 43 / 65 43/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS New York step tolistsharesin Vietjet Airtakesfirst finance& business Vietnam stores shares to open 40 PNJ to sellover9.8mn Intellasia in Forbes 2017 billionaires list. list. The ot 2017 billionaires in Forbes VietJet AirCEO NguyenThiPhuongThao, is ha value while itscapitalisation Air'sthe stockmarket, shareprice Vietjet In Airlines 42percent). market share, but thegap is small, just 1 Vietnam Airlines second to is now Vietjet Air strong determination and pote Tran DinhBa from the VietnamEconomics Sc It investors. international interest e powerful itis if think to needs "Vietjet toconsider"It ismore how important long not be recognised intheinternational market, even if they can enter foreign bourses. If theyareweakatcorporategovernance, pr tional standards. sharesbourses onforeign ifthey stillcannot He saidthat it would berisky for Vietjet said. forVietje be challenges still "These will consuming and costly, and it was Hoang AnhGiaLaihad to cancel the plan to year. every SGD100,000 to SGD25,000 feeisSGD20,000. The listingapplication At SGX,forexample, the lowe bourses arealsoa big barrier. The highlistingfeeandtherequired financ years. million publicshares, and $100million of gr abu example, for NYSE, on shares list to ble However, Vietnameseenterprise them become global companies. the goalofmany enterprises becausejoinin Dinh TrongThinh, aneconomist, saidthat ing with themanagers of theNew York stock market to discuss listing of its shares. It Board reported total revenue of VND8.56 VND8.56 of revenue Board reportedtotal It cent. per 33 PNJ has setatarget ofopening40newstores price. themtoothersatafixed tribute If investors donotpurchase all shares on factory. lery mill ($1.1 willspendVND25 billion and PNJ workingcapital Additional for the 40stores The cost of opening 40 new stores and branch The costofopening40newstores Money raised will added toPNJ's business received willbe amount VND8 SSC approvesthedocuments. Basedonth The issuing price will beno lesspe than 10-15 Stock Company (stock code PNJ), whichwi placementofover9.8milli for theprivate The StateSecurities Commission (SSC)hasan salesdetermined. datestilla tobe Commi State Securities 19/JUN/2017VNECONOMIC INTELLASIA| TIMES Managers ofVietjet Airhaveconfirmedthat 19/JUN/2017VIETNAMNET INTELLASIA| ssion announces receipt of privat ssion announces receipt st listing fee is SGD50,000 an st listingfeeis SGD50,000 ntial, Vietjet will succeed. 00 billion ($35.23 billion($35.23 million). 00 s exceeded VND1.448trillion. s will have to satisfy strict havetosatisfy s will is not a simple matter,"a isnothe said. not sure about the efficiency. sure aboutthe not her is Vingroup her isVingroup chair Pham Nhat Vuong. nough anditssharesareprestigiousenoughto t for the andfuture," time immediate Thinh Enterprises also have topayafee of percent (VietjetAir 41 percent and Vietnam and any other Vietnamese and any on shares ofthePhuNhuan Jewellery Joint offer, PNJ's Board of Managementwilldis- Board offer, PNJ's e share price onJune 14, theminimum they can stayon thebourse," he said. ial sources to maintain presence onforeign listing shares on fore oduction and business ca g transparent financial markets will help will markets financial g transparent capitalfund and its re satisfyrequirements accordinginterna- to ll fundtheopening of 40 new stores. is 4.2times higher thanVietnam Airlines, siness must have at least shares,2.5 siness haveatleast 5,000 must trillion ($376.8 the privateaircarrier ion) on improving equipment at itsjewel- equipment improving ion) on oss pre-tax profits made inthelastthree is about VND600 billion ($26.42 billion($26.42 million) is about VND600 list its shares atSGXbecause it was time- es is some VND60 bill is someVND60 es , the nation'sflagaircarrier,, indomestic r cent of the closing price onthedate the of the closing r cent this yearandrecording profit growthof nounced receiptofaregistrationdossier one oftwoVietnameserepresentatives ience Association believes that with that ience Associationbelieves e placementdocuments,with d the highest is SGD200,000. is SGD200,000. highest d the million) for 2016, up 11.3 up million)for2016, requirements. To beeligi- ign stockmarkets is tail store expansion. is considering meet- ion ($2.64 million). million). ($2.64 ion businesses tolist pability, theywill 19 June 2017 44 / 65 44/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam plans bigfor 2017 KIDO Corporation industry switch KIDO completes Intellasia ucts and 1.9 trillion VND and1.9 trillionVND ucts ( The firmexpects to earn5.8trillion VND (255 http://bizhub.vn/markets/kido-comp countryand toforeign markets. with industry infood leader producing includingpanies Tuong AnVegetable Oil Company.become Thecompany targets to To expand their business infood indust year. last pleted com- Theacquisition company. aforeign to business snack of stake main its itsold ago, KIDO usedtobeoneofthebiggestconfec shareholdersFriday on meeting 10 per centto 49 the current from cap ratio annou investors, KDC To attractmoreforeign fr billion VND250 VN billion, VND490 is target The profit from frozenfoods. Of this, some VND5.8 trillion will come from packaged goods andVND1.9 trillion tr targets revenuesofVND7.7 KDC 2017, In in Dabaco Group, whichproducesch This year the companyentered theprocessed f said. the thirdquarter,he the end of market by the A new chilli sauceitwouldproduceincoop th said KDC, with big players to widen itsbusiness scope bytheend ofthisyear. of president Nguyen, Le Tran sauces, beverages, fresh and organic foods and chillfoods. also KDC would addition tocookingoil, In ucts andfoodsneededfora kitchen." Lieusaidthe plansfor2017 Talking about Plan for2017 per cent. 45per over Ice-cream andyoghurtcontributed contributing 43.7 per cent The yearalsomarkedTuong Vegetabl An fore taxwas more thanVND1.5 trillion. Last year, revenuesexceeded thetarget by24 garneredlast tw inthecompany has the been underlinedThe successhas bythere on City Friday. inHCM held ducer, NguyenThiXuanLieu, KIDO Group(KDC) hassuccessfully transforme 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| 40-stores http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business per cent since mid-April, from VND VND95,300 closedat shares 14,PNJ's On June billionprofitnetVND449 cameinat ($19.8 near million),up ($20.7 and percenthigherthanpla to 2015 32.2 billion Pre-tax profitlastyearwasVND608 per cent of reached 78.9 97.5per cent ofits per fulfilling cent and lion VND (339.3 million USD) in lion VND(339.3millionUSD) revenue for20 The foodgroup KIDO(KDC),formerly KinhDo 19/JUN/2017VNA INTELLASIA| om frozenfoods. ly five-fold andexceeding theplanby30percent. Consolidated the plan was the but down 15per cent compared to 2015. of the group's profit. group's ofthe 83.7 millionUSD) fromfrozen its vice presidenttold the annualshareholders meeting and willbe soon carried out. 74,000 ($3.3) to VND95,300 ($4.2). to VND95,300 ($3.3) 74,000 letes-industry-switch_286971.html ill goods, canned goods, meatrolls. D240 D240 billion frompackagedgoodsand ry, the hadboughtcookingoil company com- distribution system installed in in the whole installed system distribution o currentyears since switching sectors. nned. After-tax profit annual plan. annual Wholesal 0 per cent. The decision was approved atthecent. The decisionwas 0 per e Oil becomingasubsidiary Company and tionery producer in the country. Two years venues, profits andbrandnameawareness e group was involvedinM&Anegotiations e group group's ambitionwasto produce "all prod- million), nearly double the in2015. figure nearly double million), produce chilli sauce and other cooking ($26.7 million), up 223 percentcompared up223 million), ($26.7 illion, a3.4-foldri eration with a Thai partner was set to withaThai partner eration hit /pnj-to-sell-over-9-8mn-shares-to-open- nced itwouldraise .6 million USD) from packed foodprod- millionUSD) from .6 per centtotopVND2.2trillion. Profitbe- ($4.19). Theshareprice hasincreased 29 ood sectorbybuying 17, threetimeshigher cent after achieving sales growthof30 after achieving cent Corporation,hassetagoal of7.7tril- d from a confectionerd fromaintofoodpro- food sales intheyear. food sales se from last year. last se from was VND470 billion e saleofjewellery its foreign ownershipits foreign a 50 per cent stakeper centa 50 than that of2016. thanthat 19 June 2017 45 / 65 45/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam shopping Pacific foronline VietnamAsia- 4thin Intellasia cent), andcent), accordingto (95 per Japan following region inthe Asia-Pacific fourth More than nine inten people in Vietnam (9 would make atleastone online shoppingtran online of Vietnamesepeopleshopped 92 percent 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES http://en.vietnamplus.vn/kido-corpor million (66.1 VND) and target, yearly its percentof to124 lent Last year, KDCenjoyedrevenue ofover2. sector by owning 50 percent deputy generaldirector Thi XuanLieu,KDC at Speaking the firm's annualshareholde sauce. chili quality high enterprise toproduce year,itwill partnerwith aThai this products. In August high quality introduce and It will shake hands with major regional firm acquisition. merge and focusing on partners and joined tor that firm the has toraise its itaims corporation Meanwhile, shopper. be involved inonline shopping by2020, wi According toagovernment master plan,up doesn't stop them from shoppingonline. In consid a vital remains online security While for Asia-Pacific. of total retail sales, according to according sales, retail of total come, withonlinesales estimated to reach $1 Vietnam's online shopping market is projec andredefinehelp reshape the shopping experience for consumers." digital includes which experience, commerce dustry partners to design, develop, and deliver afast, simple, smooth and secure e- in- leading stores with and collaboratively work to continue will we such, As security. cannot stopdevelopingsolutionstoaddress Asia Pacific. "Although ourre BenGilbey, Seniorsaid online," vicePres "Consumers in Asia-Pacific wa respondents. shopping by the li per cent)topping tion processes(44.1 teed secure transactions(45.9 cent), per user's shoppingexperience, withfree or lo the improve to done be can work more region, the in e-commerce in growth drive To ( Malaysia cent), (92.9per India and above Keenness for online shopping inVietnam ra per (91.5 cent per cent), Taiwan 95. with inIndonesia, evident most is This cent), along withprice (85.5 cent),and per convenience (85.1 per cent). ing consumers inthe region toshoponline feel safe when shoppingonline, thefactorth that althoughnear show The survey's results cent). half of2017, which ranked the countrysec one atleast make theywould said spondents consumers feelsafewhen sho since 2016, through thespeedi since 2016, through of capital ofDabacoFood. of search shows that the majority pping online, butwhen asked, upto96.2per cent ofre- nt tohavemore convenience and safetywhen shopping ), and Malaysia (91.2 per cent). the Vietnam E-co ation-plans-big-for-2017/113446.vnp and theminimisationof incidentsintransac- rs' meetinginHCMCityrecently, Nguyen a pre-tax profit of morethan1.5trillion VND ident, Payment & Research, at Mastercard 3 percent, followed bythe Philippines (92.2 ond in the region, behindChina(97.3per 2 per cent) shop online, puttingthecountry equiva- millionUSD), (98.2 23 trillion VND value in food and flavour sector, anew sec- w delivery charges (62.9 per cent), guaran- per cent), delivery charges (62.9 w 92.8 per cent), and Thailand (87.1 per cent). (87.1per andThailand cent), 92.8 per Mastercard's lateston South Korea (96.7 per cent), India (95.8 per India(95.8 South cent), Korea (96.7 per st of suggested impr th annual spending estimated at per at estimated $350 spending th annual is still safe payment methods (85.9 per (85.9 methods payment safe still is Vietnam, only 34 per only 34 Vietnam, to 30 per cent of Vietnam'spopulationwill per cent to 30 ted to continuebooming in the years to s intheregion to shorten production time at plays the most roleinattract- playsthemost important at and prevent potential safety concerns and , the KDC has entered the food processingthe KDChasenteredfood, eration forconsumers inthe region, this ly 54 per cent of consumers in Asia-Pacific 54percent ly inAsia-Pacific of consumers 0 billion by 2020, accounting for5percent accounting 0 billionby2020, nks second only toChina (97.3 per cent), online purchase transaction inthefirst wallets andbiometricpaymentsthatcan saction, latest Mastercard report finds. in first half and 96.2 percent said they said percent and96.2 half first in mmerce Association. ng upofcooperation with ofconsumers feelsafe, we ovements toonline line shopping survey cent ofVietnamese 19 June 2017 46 / 65 46/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS domain name Vietnamesetransfer Users allowedto finance& business Vietnam elsewhere Vietnamthan costlier construction in Expressway Intellasia The matter ofcost depends on geological fe clearance. cost ofakilometerthe ofsix-laneexpressw based on aruleissued on October by 11, 2015 Minister Nghia said calculations bythe Mi is lower. quality its four-lane expressway inVietnam istwoto the cost is ever lower inthe US and Europe, $5million building China spends Meanwhile, million. $10.12 about cost VND312.4 trillion, added Nhuong the 1,372-kilometer North-So expressways andlandclearanc Xuan Thanh.Thiscostisexclusiveofsp lation by Professor VoDaiLuocand Fulb session,sembly deputyLeCongNhuongof As minister of Transport Truong QuangNghi higher thancountries. inother cost ofa kilometer ofexpressw average The 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES levies ofnational domain name ".vn". nance circularoncollection, payment,mana name foradomain from 1thisye $1) January Vietnamese domainname owners 2007. March VNNIC's Vietnamese domain names registration not paythe taxes. less is the total If million. VND100 than per cent ofcorporate income tax forthe transfer if their total revenue in a year ismore (VAT) of10percent forthe transfer. Indivi Vietname Businesses owning tran that stipulate regulations The current The VNNIChas work with Vietnamese doma name couldbepurchasedby th and re-registration, domain reimbursement "In the past, some transactions intheViet plementation ofthecircular. direct transfers.However, alackofsync number re large this of With regi interms ofthetotal in Asia eighth is and region theAsia-Pacific leads name domain theVietnamese said VNNIC ontaxes March 2017 for transferringthe domain names. Departme thegeneralTaxation In addition, circular took effect. th havetransferred Company Stock Joint INET Vietnamese domain name registrars incl an auctionfromthebeginning of this month. The VNNICon Thursday announced thatth difficultiesdelayedthe VNNICdueto by calculatingtransfers.for taxes andwas mation and meant to Communication was dated28/6/2016 16/2016/TT-BTTTT Circular effect, saidtheVietnam Internet names directlyfollowing acircularthat was Owners ofwebsites withthe Vietnamese do 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| or $14 billion, and that this and that billion, or$14 gistered domain names, ther se domain arenames required topay value added tax e compensation,e Nhuongsaid. ird parties," the centre said. thecentre ird parties," stered domain names, with 404,938. with stered domainnames, Network Information Centre (VNNIC). Centre Information Network will have to pay fee an annual (nearly of VND20,000 ending onconstructionofapproachroadsfor than VND100 million than a year,individuals VND100 do hronous regulations dela uding PA Vietnam Joint Stock Company and and Company Stock Joint Vietnam PA uding namese domain namemarket were made via right University Viet right University nistries of TransportandConstruction were sfers be carried at http://nhadangky.vn. duals have to pay 1 percent and of VAT 0.5 four timeshigher thanother countriesbut ay at VND200 billion, exclusive of land main name ".vn" can now transfer domain now transfer can main name".vn" nt issueddocumentsin January 2015 and atures and materials in different parts of parts indifferent and materials atures BinhDinhProvincesaidthiswasacalcu- ay in Vietnam million,far is $12 ay inVietnam about gement and usagemechanismoffeesand assuming assuming the probabilitythat the domain promulgated lastyearfinallyinto coming at $3-4 million, he said. Thus, the cost of the cost said. Thus, at $3-4million,he e domains could be transferredwithout uth Expressway to project wasestimated a wasgrilled at theongoingNational As- the Ministry of Construction, whichsets ofConstruction, Ministry the ar inaccordancewithaMinistry of Fi- in name registrars for thetransfers. one kilometerofexpress highway and e first five".vn" names domain since the take effect on June 28th 2016 was 2016 but effect on June 28th take promulgated by the ofInfor- Ministry was officially opened to the publicin to was officiallyopened means each kilometer would need need would kilometer each means e has longbeen demand for nam lecturer Nguyen nam yed theofficialim- 19 June 2017 47 / 65 47/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam computing firms to shift cloud urgeslocal Microsoft shop owners evading Facebook and shametax- HCM City to name Intellasia http://english.vov.vn/econom obligations. to tax subject online shopsare shop-owners-351836.vov tion, onlythosewho accumulate According toLeThiThu Huong, deputyhead foundusing tobe fakeaddres However, the majorityfailedtoshow up for online business operators. meet with tax authorities in HCM City to City inHCM meet withtax authorities Last month, nearly 13,500Facebook user partment ofTaxation. public mediaoutlets, and shamedon named ices based on cloud computing to connectan Major tech firmssuchas Uber, Snap, Airb would focus on data, cloud computing and data analysis. servic seminar oncloudcomputing At arecent Those thatdonotcomplywith requests or s tax arrearsfrom thebusinesses. departmentdocuments,reviewingthe tax willproceed thesubmitted After tocollect port and delivery services. andthe stat paymentsolutions account vide The State Bank ofVietnam was tasked with regarding registered website-commerce information police submit thatthelocal requested also taxdepartment The municipal provide solutions for payment, transport, anddelivery. The list will include individuals and organisati unregister of list a comprehensive aswell and information, of trade partments Accordingly,city's tax de the including those conducted via the social me tighten taxcollec The moveisexpectedto book shopsthatintentionall A new plan by HCM City tax department l 19/JUN/2017TUOITRENEWS INTELLASIA| er-than-elsewhere.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54534/Ex trillion. pr infrastructure traffic for been arranged facing anextremes The transport sectoris projecte North-South Expresswayis The million. $10.5-13.6 with million, $16.7 with Austria $13.3 million, high, such asGermanywith$1 Minister Nghiasaidexpressw explained. Nghia whopping $17.2is a ometer whilethecost northerndelta, The country's country. the prove efficiency,saidCE business Local enterprises should embrace cloud comp 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES According tocloud computing services pr small and enterprises begu medium have the HCM of generalsecretary Tuan, Anh Vu market to forstartups especially y evade tax responsibilities. partment will coordinate with coordinate will partment y/hcm-city-to-name-and-sha ses in their contact details. contact their ses in ay constructioncostsinsomeothercountries were also 0.9 million,Portugal with new services in ashort time. over VND100 million (US$4,398) insales from million(US$4,398) over their VND100 ed online businesses in the city. businesses in ed online O of Microsoft Vietnam Vu Minh Tri. Vu Minh O ofMicrosoftVietnam es that have not filedtaxes while d to cost $9.5 million per kilometer. million per $9.5 cost d to s running online shops were requested to shops wererequested s runningonline the US with $12.8-40.8 million and China million and with$12.8-40.8 the US discuss new regulationsdiscuss new for their appointments, appointments, while otherswere for their tion over the blooming field of e-commerce, of e-commerce, tion overblooming field the n to pay attentiontocloudcomputing. to n ojects while ojects the actual demand is VND925 million inthenation'ssouthwest andsouth, nb and Instagram havelaunched new serv- pressway-construction-in-Vietnam-costli- On hortage ofcapital. for example, needs $7.4million for each kil- oviders, thetechnologyallows customers ooks tonameand shame owners of Face- how signs of deliberate how signsof as with Facebook and Google, to compile to Google, compile and Facebook with as dia Facebook, inthesouthern metropolis. providing a list oforganisationsthat pro- ements ofbusinesses d share data. This te d sharedata.This City Computer Associ according to the plan by HCM totheplanby City De- HCM according uting technology asit can help themim- es, Tri said the 4.0 Industrial Revolution said the4.0 Industrial Tri es, ons that use internet platforms to sell or tosell internet platforms use ons that of the HCMCityDepartmentof Taxa- $12.1 million, Hungary with million,Hungary $12.1 me-taxevading-facebook- their colleagues in the de- theircolleaguesinthe ly VND31trillion has chnologyuseful, is regarding taxduties thatprovide trans- taxevasionwillbe ation (HCA), said 19 June 2017 48 / 65 48/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam treatment projects needed forwastewater Private investors step up cooperation HCM City, Microsoft Intellasia In the coming time, Microsoft more effective cooperation with HCMCityinthe field. resources and infrastructure, Stefan Sjostr http://bizhub.vn/news/hcm-city-mic egy willhelp promote inform cooperation heaffirmed,a strategy by2020, Impressed bythecity'svibrantdevelopment valu cultural ditional enhance research anddevelopmentactivities future, Mi that inthenear his hope pinnedHe development. mutual for Microsoft, including interested thecitywasalways that He said past twodecades. re and high-qualityhuman gy The city's top leader laudedMicrosoft'spo HCM CityonFriday. Sect forPublic vicePresident receiving while Secretary ofthemunicipalPartyCommittee in thesouthern hub. developm (IT) applicationand tion technology ince has been unable to carry out othe unable tocarry out has been ince ment project capable ofhand Department ofConstruction ofTraVinhProv of theurbanDuong VuLinh,head infrastr treatmentresidential stations in areas ment facilitiesinBinhThuy, ThotNot, to been struggling have authorities City nical infrastructure division under finances secure has yetto the city projects, meters adayisfundedbyGerman cubic A wastewater treatment project inCanTho terms of corporate incometax,landand financial support. governments offer should pr local He said to Germandevelopment agency GIZ, saidataseminar inCanTho City on June 15. 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES US technology gi City and HCM 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| At theseminar,MicrosoftVi at lowcosts. structure tola Microsoft with coordinate will tions, Technology Solutions, alarge di managing cost ofacquiring, the save on touseanexisti with limited resources IT drainage and wastewater treatment projects Policy incentivesshouldbe adopted toenco http://english.thesaigontime enterprises and individuals mostly use cloud computing for data storage. ofcloud survey ofa toresults According servers. physical selling of instead services, enterprisesdistribute Many to haveplans Platform asaService(PaaS (IaaS), provide services based on Microsoft technol Technologytion provider(CSP). Solutions,asu computing.html es during the urban urban the during es s.vn/54531/Microsoft-urges-lo etnam introduced Technology So introducedTechnology etnam ling 18,000 cubicmeters aday funded by hisprov- GIZ, ation technologytransferin sources in Vietnam and HCM City in particular over the the over inparticular City andHCM in Vietnam sources will work with thecity's relevant agencies to devise a stributor of technological products, services and solu- technological products,servicesand of stributor antneed Microsoft toboos ) and Software ) andSoftware as aService(SaaS). the city'sConstruction Department. rosoft-step-up-cooperation_286964.html r wastewater treatment and management treatment and r wastewater and craftvillagesareon the same and boat. O Monand Cai Rang districts. Wastewater and maintaining anITinfrastructure. and maintaining find investors for central wastewaterfind investors treat- forcentral development bank KfW. But for other ng infrastructure ona computing use issuedinearlyMaybyHCA, unch numerousservices, anddevelopinfra- development process. om said that Microsoftwants closer and ucture and development division under the the under division development and ucture , said Nguyen Kim Hoang, head of the tech-head, saidNguyenKimHoang, of cloud computing and virtual private server private andvirtual computing cloud inpromotingcooperation withenterprises, ivate investors preferential treatment in sitive participation in developing technolo- sitive participationindeveloping dding that the implementation ofthestrat- dding that theimplementation which has a designed capacity of 30,000 of30,000 which adesigned has capacity urage the private sector to participate in private sectortoparticipate the urage ogy throughInfrastructure as aService , NguyenCong Thanh, Nguyen ThienNhan made the statement as well as steady fo as wellsteady and conduct IT application to protect tra- toprotect application IT conduct and or, AsiaatMicrosoft Stefan Sjostrom in ince, saidexcept for awastewatertreat- crosoft willjoinhands with the city to bsidiary ofTech Data Corporation, will ent to improve lifequality ent toimprove for citizens alllocalitiesnatiowide. cal-firms-to-s t collaborationininforma- lutions asitscloudsolu- pay-per-use plan pay-per-use to undation of IT human of IT undation technical advisor 19 June 2017 49 / 65 49/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 hift-to-cloud- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam mortgaged villas tricked intobuying TrangNha residents Tan Son Nhat airport at course construction orders halttogolf PM Intellasia fering mortgaged properties. The firmhas been found tobeselling the same ownership. promised or were handed theproperty wi Purchasers have since uncovered that many tracts tosell many the of uncompleted chose toignorethes II NhanHowever, Thien provin bythe evaluated and pleted been com- have they after villas their sell to allowed only is the developer Office, tion di AccordingNguyen VanThong,deputy to complete villas amongunfi scattered The project, advertised tomeet internati in Vinh Truong Ward,over a 7.2 hectare piecto begin constructionon 2004 The provincial People's Committee granted approval to Thien Nhan II Company in served. be will justice and resolved be in thehope thatince, reportedcompetent the authorities theproblemto problem with Vill Nha Trang View Clients oftheOcean gaged by thedeveloper. of Nha Trang are panicking after findingou Buyers who purchased unitsinaluxury vill 19/JUN/2017TUOITRE INTELLASIA| NEWS nhat-airport/113491.vnp http://en.vietnamplus.vn/pm-orders-hal Tan SonNhatwouldcontinue operating. International Airport inDong Nai province The prime alsourgedrelevantminister au wasplannedto ity only25million be yearuntil per 2025. Son Nhatairportserved 32million The Tan safety. to ensure long beat least 2,600m runway should According tothe CivilAviationAuthority of The survey should be sent to the PMwithinsix months. a year. to45million passengers its capacity raise and reduce to overloading in aneffort a studyofopeninganother runway conduct Prime Phuc minister asked theMinistry of golf course.construction ofthe fice's announcementcited the prime minister etnam's busiest airdromehas the that In the years, it go reported is past inthe use land airport. course's thegolf investme sues regarding The governmentleader also requested the national Airport. ing agolfschool, villasandluxury apartmen halt allconstruction worksrelatedtoauxiliar Prime Nguyenminister XuanPhuc has orde 19/JUN/2017VNA INTELLASIA| treatment-projects.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54537/Pr districts. province cannotbuildsystemsforurbanwast Depa the Construction from representative A projects given alackofcapital. looking theNhaTrang Bay. hampered theairport's expansion, the government Of- cial DepartmentofConstruction. nished structures and emptyplots. houses in a scheme to mobilise capital. inascheme mobilise to houses and the two runways should be 1,750m and tworunways apart the should be1,750m onal standards,currently only containsafew t-to-golf-course-construction-at-tan-son- nt, operation and mana a a Complex in Trang,KhanhHoaProv- Nha lf course lying within the boundaries ofVi- theboundaries within lying lf course ivate-investors-needed-for-wastewater- thorities to speed upworkthorities tospeed on Long Thanh thout sufficienttheir paperworkthout toprove Ministry ofNational Defence tocheck is- Transport tohire a foreign consultantto a complex project in the famous beachcity a complex projectinthefamous . Evenafter LongThanhgoes on stream, passengers in 2016 even though its capac- its though even in2016 passengers t the properties have already been mort- have already t theproperties at the Tan Son NhatInternational Airport the Tan at red theMinistry of National Defence to e regulations and has already signed con- signed already has and e regulations Vietnam, aviation experts suggestedthe experts aviation Vietnam, rector of the Khanh HoaRegistra- the Khanh Land rector of either didnot receive theirproperty as ts, in thevicinityof y infrastructure foragolfcourse,includ- y infrastructure 's conclusion at a recent meeting on the meeting on conclusion atarecent 's ewater collection and treatment inmany treatment collection and ewater rtment of QuangNgaiProvince saidthe rtment piece of land to multiple clients orof- clients to multiple land pieceof e of land at the end of Tran Phu Street of landat theendofTran e TanSonNhatInter- gement, especially gement, especially 19 June 2017 50 / 65 50/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam airlines in troubleairlines in puts Airport overload service next month River bus routein Intellasia http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54532/Ri The river busservice is expected tohelp a day with atravelling 30minutes per trip. ofabout time The tworoutes 60 passengerseach. modate the pr of Co Ltd,theinvestorThuong Nhat per trip. (US$0.66) of VND15,000 fareprice tentative a with respectively tember The two river busroutes were originally pl some struction hadcaused lotcon- that parking said chief Van Hoan Vo Committee Office People's City HCM through districts 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8. and pass 2018, early in canals Tau Hu inBenNghe and service beputinto will Port, kilometers is 10.3 which The second route, nal, andend inBinhQuoi River. Dang Wharf, passthroughdi would betestoperated latethismonth.Th at Speaking a on June meeting 15, Lamsaid the HC ofLam, deputydirector District willbeup Thu Duc Ward in Dong The firstriver busroutein 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES in-nha-trang http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41592/buyer with the Penal Code, Ha said. Any sign of fraudulent inthe mobilisation ing that has beenpaid. the loan sell the beenmortgaged, has property If the house toclients, whichdeterminedis meet severalstrict oper ofaprojecthasto According toNguyen Hong Ha,vice-preside prov his company, as rector ofthe Reporters of Tre were (Youth) newspaper Tuoi tocontac unable they are say also Victims for paperworktoprove their ownership. of buyer be paid, to yet has the mortgage As City. HCM in bank a to-be-finished villasto office land Reports fromthe to their buyers.II land ownershipfromThien Nhan transfer the to ficult the violations,Given Khanh HoaLandRegist the ernment has askedittowaituntilairport expansion isdone. Although Vietstar registered forschedule and are closedforrepair upgrade. by30percent in when frequencies late 2017 Moreover, according to Vietnam Airlines, air billion. 1,392 manage anextra forceditto Nhat, Son next week, thenational flagairlinesaid he meeting general at its present will Airlines Vietnam which report business 2016 In its Nhat hasbeen expanded. The already-licensed VietstarAirlinesca triggered partly by airport overload. delays flight its to due year last million) (US$8.3 billion VND188 lost Airlines Vietnam national Airport in HCMCity. Airlines havealsobeenfeeling thepinchof 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| SAIGON TIMES HCM City HCM linking BachDang 1andLinh Wharf in District delays in commissioningthetworiver bus routes. showthatthehadmortgaged company 40 out of69soon- stricts 1, 2, BinhThanhand Thu Duc and Thanh DaCa- M City Department ofTransport. ided phone number does notexist. by the local departmentofconstruction. nnot launch commercial flights until TanSon launch commercial nnot ease roadtrafficcongestion in the city. d commercial flights in May 2016, the gov- 2016, May in flights d commercial ver-bus-route-in-ser t the developer todiscusstheircontracts. t thedeveloper requirements before being allowedsell to a e Saigon River bus service will start at Bach at Riverbusservicewillstart e Saigon avily overloadedairp long fromBach Dang WharftoLoGom and running nextmonth,saidTranQuang of capital shall be chargedinaccordance oject, plans to use 10 boats that can accom- can boats that 10 to use oject, plans anned tobeoperational inJune andSep- parts of Noi BaiandTanSonNhatairports the rising the overloadSon Nhat atTan Inter- er hastopresent awritten documentprov- are expected to transport 5,000 passengers totransport 5,000 are expected these properties are now unable to register unable to theseare now properties flighthours lastyear, whichcostVND188 the 11-kilometer routewith seven stations s-tricked-into-buying-mortgaged-villas- nt of Khanh HoaBar Association,devel- carriers will have toreduce their flight unable to reach Nguyen Viet Hung, di- Hung, Viet Nguyen reach to unable ration Office stated that it will be dif- be will it that stated Office ration vice-next-month.html orts, especiallyTan 19 June 2017 51 / 65 51/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Bamboo rumour CAAV denies Viet statement financial confirmation produceyet to Bamboo Airlineshas Intellasia cial-confirmation-statement.html A civilaviationfirmmusthave tenance services since 2010but has notbe operatedVietstar Airlines chartered has flig m yet to investor had its as lines notto considerapprovinganappl Transport In arelated development, in May last year the government ordered the Ministry of under the current regulations. with a fleet be licensed can billion ofVND700 (US$30. chartered capital total with CompanyLimited BambooAirlines setup FLC Viet 2017, Group In late May drawn until alicense is either issued or denied. money inan their that holds mercial bank In particular, they are required tosubmit required theyhavemetall icate until an airline with 10 an airlinewith 10 planes. in theaviationsector,bu tions According to the law on civil aviation an when the scheme forBambooAirways esta Nhat toallowSon it toin Tan way at hire aforeignconsultanttoconductstudy Prime ministerNguyenXuanPhucearlierthis airports. and TanSonNhat Bai Noi The group intends to run direct services between key tourist destinations, instead of boo Airways. Aviation Administration FLC Group is preparing business registra registration documentstothe government due tounfavourableconditions. to provide aviationservicesinVietnambut hasset Thien with up a jointventure Group Minh airline AirAsia low-cost Malaysia's wait atleastthree years. and ru are up Nhat Son Tan at parking area of Transporttonot consider the carrier's http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54533/Ba billion. VND625.7 http://english.vov.vn/economy/airport-over istry of Transport, theistry of grouppromises to Inado quired by governmentDecree92/2016. Group has yettoproducea FLC confirmation the current rules. Vietnambut hasshownnofinancia (CAAV),of ways), has sentanairline - FLC Group, theowner ofViet Bamboo 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES Since Vietstar choseTanSonNh in2010. set up tenance servicessinceit was chartered operated flig has actually Vietstar Earlier this month, Dang Tat Thang, FLC Gr subsidiary of established company, anewly Thanh saidmedia reports on thematter were Airways Company. had rejected his agency on Thursdaythat The headoftheCivilAviation Authorityof 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| of Vietnam to establish anairl However, at the time of a of time the at However, establishment tothe request establishment of 10planestooperate domest sinesses cannot get an aviati sinesses cannotget charteredcapitalof at as its base airport, the airport, base as its at eet thechartered capital condition. crease itspassenger handling capacity. conditions,especially forfinance. Airlines Company Limited (Bamboo Air- (Bamboo Limited Company Airlines d Decree 92/2016 providingbusiness condi- operation plan untilanew terminal anda a confirmation statement issued by acom- issued statement aconfirmation submit the financial thefinancial submit tion documents for submission to the Civil for submissiontothe documents tion en allowed to operate commercial flights. operate allowed to en an operatingViet application froman Bamboo escrow account. The money cannot be with- The moneycannotbe account.escrow mboo-Airlines-has-yet Vietnam (CAAV), LaiXuanThanh,denied oup's deputy general director cumgeneral oup's deputy blishment is appraised byauthorities. appraised is blishment till now,ithasnotsubmittedfullbusiness hts andprovided aircraft repair and main- hts and repairand hts aircraft provided main- into the possibility of building a third run- athird ofbuilding thepossibility into nning. This means the airline will have to This meanstheairlinewillhave nning. load-puts-airlines-in-trouble-351832.vov the FLC Group, isunder consideration. 73 million).Withthisamount the carrier ication for establishment of Vietstar Air- of ication forestablishment incorrect and the licence request by the the licencerequestincorrect and cument sent to CAAV, a unit of the Min- ofthe unit a CAAV, to sent cument week told the Ministry of Transportto of theMinistry week told of the airline's chartered capital re- charteredcapital as of theairline's l confirmation statement as required by as requiredl confirmationstatement at least VND700 bi pplication, Vietstar had only pplication, Vietstar Civil AviationAdministration ine that would be called Bam- called be would ine that governmentMinistry toldthe on services operation certif- on services ic and international flights flights international ic and confirmation statement -to-produce-finan- 19 June 2017 52 / 65 52/ 2017 June 19 llion to establish 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam aircraft this yearaircraft this spend $96mnon Vietnam Airlinesto Intellasia http://bizhub.vn/news/caav-denie to expand operations, incl fo waiting three airlines has market The local inthe Province) south. Quoc(KienGiang Phu ince) and Nhon (Binh Dinh Province) inthecentral region, and Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa Prov- complexes, including Quang Ninh and HaiPhonginthe north, ThanhHoaandQuy He added thatpriority would be given to urban areas where the aviation infrastructure isalready overloaded. emergingtouristde ternational markets with Bamboo Airways' representative saidit wo decision inamaxi this to act according within 10daysofreceiving the report by for approvalwithin the next15days.The fi within 30working days. The ministry would Vietnam Airlines (VNA)will spend over 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES The CAAVwillreport toth at least three owned or leas According tothe current regulations,compan st business plans,development launch of the airways scheduled by theend signed agreem Viet BambooAirwayssaidit resources, labourcontracts, operation regu (U capital ofVND700billion the VietBambooAirwaysCompan director of markets but its hold on domestic its holdon markets but The national flag carrier has historically efficiency." increase and flights tofill ity willprovide"We moretravel opportunities forcustomersas increase aswell ourabil- anduniformity petitiveness tilateral cooperation, and cooperate within mul- and inbilateral participate fleet, aircraft and flight its todevelop continues "VNA technology. and and alsoinvestinsafety products international first-class with toprovide customers services ofits the proving quality LeHoangDung, spokesman forVietnam Airl inor ing price(US$0.45), of VND10,000 lion new shares to existing shareholders duri At theupcomingmeeting,VNA in thedeal. year. Thecarrierwillthis earnare Ltd (DAE) to sell and lease back four new aircraft it will receive from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise meetingAt anextra-ordinaryshareholders in trillion (US$72.7 million). toVND1.64 percent 37 by fall will profit pre-tax while billion), (US$4 trillion VND87.9 It projects consolidated revenue in2017to competit strengthening strategy, brand Jets cooperate with low-cost carrier will It to asalary bill of VND2.7 trillion In 2016, VNA's revenue hitVN tuations, itsreport noted, as Vietnam's economyremains unpredictable due lion), withthepurchase of the new aircra plans projec flag carrier to invest in100 annual toits In areporttobesubmitted and8 chasing ten A350-900XWB Airbus uding Hai Au, Viet Bamboo Airlines and Vietstar Air. Vietstar and Airlines Bamboo Viet Au, Hai uding ed aircraftintheirfirst five years of operation. e Ministry ofTransport(MoT e S$31.2 million). The application included plans for human for The applicationS$31.2 million).included plans in international service quality standards," said Dung. Dung. said standards," service quality in international well asfiercer competition. rategies, markettrends, demandand competitivelevel. D71.6 trillion, 8percent short ofthe target, partly due will ask its shareholders for approval to issue 191 mil- shareholdersforapproval toissue191 its will ask flightshasgradually loos (US$122.7 million) million) (US$122.7 s-viet-bamboo-rumour_286937.html mum of five days sincedaysmum offive itsissuance. iveness withinthelow-costsegment. ts worth over VND2.92 trillion (US$132.7 mil- (US$132.7 trillion worth over VND2.92 ts der toincreaseits charter capital. shareholdermeeting on June 20, thenational dominated both international and domestic Boeing B787-9 aircraftthisyear. Boeing B787-9 ft representing 72 percent ofthe funds. the primeminister Officeand the MoT will VND2.11 trillion (US$95 VND2.11 tar Pacific to carry out the VNA-JPA mutual mutual to carryoutthe tar Pacific VNA-JPA localities where FLC has built major built tourist has FLC where localities the SkyTeam coalition to enhance itscom- rise by22.7 percent lations andagreements leasing. on aircraft uld focuson direct services connecting in- nal decision on the licence will be issued the licencewillbenal decisionon ents to lease seven Airbus A320 for the the for A320 Airbus seven lease ents to turn of about $1million from each aircraft of 2018. It also submitted information on 2018. Italsosubmitted of February, Vietnam Airlines said it plans ng the fourth quarter this year at a start- a yearat this quarter the fourth ng y, submitted the application with charter r licences oradjustment of theirlicences stinations inVietna submit the report to the prime minister thereporttoprimeminister submit ies granted licences aviation must have ines, told VET that it will focus onim- focus itwill that VET told ines, to foreigncurrency andfuelpricefluc- for 6,199 workers. for 6,199 ) on the assessmentresults) on ened. Foreign ownershipis against last year to yearto last against m, instead of major .9 million) on pur- 19 June 2017 53 / 65 53/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam AeonEshop.com version of to launchEnglish Japanese retailerAeon in VN entertainment project HK eyes $2bn Intellasia Goods are deliveredfree ofcharge fororders Goods holidays. even inweekendsannual and Delivery can be expected within 24 hours experiences.best shopping and the shopping methods AeonEshop always strives to perfect its servic Always strivesto perfect services tempt to access thenorthern region, whichhas a lot ofpotentialfordevelopment. of Japanese goods, this is traditional consuminghabits Hanoi isusuallyconsidered a using Japaneseenjoy goods. tomers who of Vietnamlike Hanoi, VinhPhuc, BacNinh, Recently,big thesite stepby hasmadea Vietname and diverseupdated tomeet be AeonEshop's operation has been pretty success tion. to websites have other onlinesales numerous establishedcustomer itsfootholdand become m goods toquality Japanese on sellinghigh afocus With and quality. variety products' fromits stems success initial AeonEshop's thankstouniqueness Success shop.com. abou firm is better servecustomers, the To nese goods. to its unique selling point compared to other e-commerce websites high quality Japa- the Japanese supermarket Aeon has quickly ga market in the e-commerce Since entering 19/JUN/2017VIETNAMNET INTELLASIA| http://bizhub.vn/news/hong-kong-eyes-2bn launched th it stopped construction,until However, in2011. Development JSC and ment introd was complex Landentertainment Happy mestic andforeign investors to successfully carryout projects in the province. Can alsosaidthat the provincewouldcrea into operation. foreign investorsincooperation with domest Tran VanCan,chairofthe People provincial theatr outdoor indoor and tels, awaterpark, The project willinclude an exhibition centre area of338ha. Happy Land complex is located in Ben LucDi leaders of southern Long AnProvince. It wasone ofthecontents in the meetin Delta provinceofLongAn. Mekong the in entertainment complex Land inthe billion ininvesting interest Happy $2 his pressed Compan Kong's Summerfield Chair ofHong 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| year-351833.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-ai as partarrangement. ofthecarrier routes tothe mestic itinvested Qantas tralia's It hasnowbeguntofocusmore attention ket. di is it that meaning percent, to 30 limited goodnewsandmarksanew $139 million in Jetstar Pacific and has transferred somedo- has transferred and Pacific Jetstar in million $139 and shopping culture. However, for those who arefond shoppingHowever, forthose culture.and difficult market duetogeog g between Summerfield's representative and expanding its reach to the northern provinces the northern expanding itsreachto January 2017withthesite AeonEshop.com, since order placements andis conducted e auto race track in April last year. last inApril track race e auto fficult for overseas carriers to enterthemar- overseas carriers for fficult on the low-cost market on thelow-cost se consumers' needs and high standards. rlines-to-spend-us96m t torelease theEnglish version ofAeonE- eet customers'the sitehasquickly demand, te the most favourable conditionsfordo- the most te -entertainment-proje es, a cultural centre, and centre, es, acultural an art museum. to five-starho- three-centre, , ashopping with an invoice value from VND300,000 value from VND300,000 withaninvoice 's Committee, said that he hoped to find he hoped said that 's Committee, Hung andHaiP Yen y Limited, Francois DaPan Shih, ex- es to give customers the mostconvenient customers es togive ic investors, to quickly put the project puttheproject to quickly ic investors, bestopped after a short time ofopera- s' favourite shopping s' favourite thisprojectwas progressing slowly and strict, Long An Province,andcoversan ined the attention ofcustomersthanks ful. Its products are always ensured to productsarealwaysensured ful. Its uced by Phu An Infrastructure Invest- Infrastructure An uced byPhu beginning inAeonEshop's at- raphic conditions, people's ct-in-vn_286959.html . TogetherwithAus- n-on-aircraft-this- hong tosatisfycus- destination, while while destination, 19 June 2017 54 / 65 54/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam inaugurated intown First 7-Eleven store distribution business FPT reportedlyselling Intellasia (Vietnamese sandwich (Vietnamese urged thecompanytodivest annual shareholders' m Corp's the FPT At slight uptick. wards theendofthisyear as the segment of technology devices has experienced a er, some securities companies have forecast the company's business would recover to- Its 2017 profitalsoplummeted first-quarter for just9percent of total prof percentye wasdown48 profit andits 2016, FPT Tradingrevenues declined 28 percent distributors. A as such producers, mobile foreign ant However,distributors have thebigVietnamese phone sharemarket and27.4percent of said Trading annual report,FPT In its2015 Tran Anh,Nguyen Kim across the country. to anddistribute products co. Theyimport computers, tabletsaccessoriesand inVietnam,together with Digiworld Petroset- and the topthr of company isone past. The the 30-45percentof about FPT Trading contributed industry. providing arangeofdistribu andale corporation 500 Synnex isaFortune and inJune. American American markets Latin On itswebsite, Synnex announced theacquisitionofsome companies inthe North by VietnamNews,tacted sayi FPT Corp'srepresentative neither confir othe provided no Trading, but FPT of theacquisition the is finalising reported that company US The news website headquartered Synnex Corp, re FPT Corporation has reportedly sold its 19/JUN/2017VNA INTELLASIA| aeoneshopcom-351803.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/japanese-ret venient andeconomical way byusin purchasing highqualityJapanese productsfo Consumers, especially thebusyonesaregu province inVietnam. For itsfuture's plans, AeonEshop intends to anytime. anywhere and shopping customers toenjoy es suchastabletsandsmartphones, Aeon pl to people'stendency realising Moreover, studying andworkingin Vietnam. availablein English tosatisfythe shopping sidered oneoftheveryfirste-commercewebs AeonEshop is planningtorele isfactory for customers who are short on time. and northernprovin City or moreinsideHCM The storesells awide range Trade centre building in convenience storeinVi 7-Eleven The first 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES http://en.vietnamplus.vn/fpt-reportedly- tions strengths. with coldcuts). District 1, HCM City. District 1, HCM of Vietnamese food from retail andfocusonte tion, logistics and integration services for thetechnology tion, logistics andintegrationservices its ofFPTCorporation in 2016. ng itwould announce the information at a proper time. ase the English version ofth the English ase r detailson its tail sources told zing.vn. told sources tail g AeonEshop online saleswebsite. the market shareofother devices. pple and Samsung, haveappointedtheir own and Samsung, pple med nor denied the information when con- when the information med nordenied distribution business FPT Trading toUS- selling-distribution-business/113488.vnp search forinformationon devic- multi-media etnam was openedetnam on Ju eeting in March inMarch year, last eeting shareholders ee biggestdistributors of mobile phones, demand of most foreigners who are living,are most foreignerswho demand of to 12.5 trillion VND (551 million to 12.5trillionVND(551 USD) in retailers such asFPT Shop,Mobile World, ar-on-year to284billionVND,accounting it accounted for 21.4 percent of the mobile the of 21.4 percent for accounted it ans to launch AeonEshop's application for ans tolaunchAeonEshop's application ading business process services company, aranteed companionin atrusted to have ailer-aeon-to-launch- 40 percent to just 56 billion VND. Howev- VND. billion 56 just to percent 40 expand itsshipment area tocover every ites inVietnamwith stockholding. r theirfamiliesinthefastest, most con- ces,really whichis convenient andsat- , including world-k faced difficulties in recent years as gi- as years recent in difficulties faced totalrevenues ofFPTCorporation in chnology andtelecommunica- e website. This can becon- english-version-of- productdescription ne 15 atthe Saigon nown banh mi thit nown banh 19 June 2017 55 / 65 55/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Time torefresh Intellasia town.html branding and teambranding todefi we didn'tway but invest inanextended"We competition madeitsitback The founder of &Roll,NguyenThi Wrap Ki weak. level,remains branding the at capacity, competitive into potential this turning but huge, is cuisine namese iden ownfierce. has its Wrap&Roll,however, due toalackof identity,asthecompetit Many well-known restaurant chain brandsha andtexture. design, inthelanguage, color, tification the criteria industry insiders set.The identity must be expressed throughabasic iden- ation ofVietnameserolls'," hesaid. "The http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54538/ Shop&Go,Circleas K,B'sMa 7 said Analysts million customersaday. There aremore than62,000 7-Eleven convenience stores worldwide servingover 55 services. and ATM Japan and Slurpee soft drinks. 7-Eleven also press thecultural identityof was former the but better interms of structure. "However, boththenew andthe former don't clearly ex- Quang, to according color, of terms in better is logo new The den. if th as comfort forcustomers, closeness and wood, trees,imagesofVietnamese rolls an The change alsoincludesthearchitecture in an of warmth the represents sitioning fromdarktolightandthefinallaye layers multi theround-shaped in is difference The newlogoretainsthe former, thecolorsgreen, including of and white. yellow The and revolution after five or ten years. Itdepends on eachfield." fresh," he said. "Leading brands inthe pert Vo Van Quang. "This the makes brand remain thepioneer in the market, being The change isnecessary for aten-year brand like Wrap &Roll, according tobrand ex- Wrap& Roll. manager at Marketing Anh, Hoang our restaurants, tobringanewexperience an years, wewantedtorenew our image, incl tobuildanewimageam brandidentity its Group, Nguyen Trung Thang. In this case, however, Wrap &Rolldecided tochange or build a new imageamonglocal consumer done arenormally Changes inbrandidentity targets it as identity brand Vietname its fastest-growing the become to changing Roll & Wrap of part are which fund, the to ing its menu cent. Alterationsto rest Vietnamese the Roll, & Wrap into year Since Mekong Capital's Mekong Enterprise Fu operations torenew itsimageincustomers'minds. Vietnamese restaurant chain Wrap & Roll ch 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES In addition,thestore stocksim in thestore chain, with over 20 dishes made ready aday. Here in the Vietnamese market, the company in thenext three years. Now Vietnamisthe 19th countrywhere 7-Eleven ispresent. in Vietnam,plansto 20storesopen nationwid Seven SystemVietnam,themasterfranchisee - Eleven willhavetocompete with existingrivals in the countrysuch ne the change," shesaid. change," ne the and operational structurelies and Vietnamese cuisine, except fo except cuisine, Vietnamese and conduct a review to identify the right way forward. way forward. right the identify to review a and conduct rt, FamilyMart and MiniStop. rt, FamilyMart ported food such as 7-Select as such food ported timate Vietnamesediningspace. world always undergo evolution, upgrading worldupgrading alwaysundergoevolution, First-7-Eleven-sto ion among foreign anddomestic brands is slogan cannot describe the whole meaningcannot describethewhole of slogan se restaurant chain in the country. restaurant chainin se of restaurants, including details such as such details including of restaurants, uding our logo, products, and the design of of thedesign and products, logo, our uding d hand-made material details, tocreate material d hand-made ong long-standingcustomers."After ten aurant chain hasgrown byahandy20 per offers 7REWARDS free app, mobile wifi offers7REWARDS anged its brand identity brandidentity tenyearsof after anged its ey areenjoyingameal in gar- their back m Oanh, toldalocalnewspaper that the s, according to the CEO of the Masso tothe oftheMasso s, CEO according d satisfaction level to customers," said Le Le said customers," to level satisfaction d in a bid to reposition thebusinessmodel toreposition inabid looked at core values and reviewed our representing rice paper, withgreen tran- r is orange, as the core of the roll, which which roll, the of core the as orange, is r ofthe7-Elevenconvenience storechain plans to offer more than 100 localdishes 100 offermorethan plans to e this year and increase the figure to 100 yearandincrease figureto100 e this the ve left Vietnam quickly in recent inrecent times Vietnam quickly ve left nd III (MEF III) pour (MEFIII) nd III tity, Quang said. The potential of Viet- potential The Quang said. tity, re-inaugurated-in- high-quality products from high-qualityproducts behindthegrowth, accord- r theslogan 'The differenti- ed $6.9million last 19 June 2017 56 / 65 56/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam square metre at VND47millionper La Castaprojectopens production initiative clean reject Firms Intellasia http://bizhub.vn/news/firms-reject-c and promote energy efficiency in the longterm. Experts alsosaidthat Vietnam needs more po consumption. inenergy proper investment The World Bank estimates that ment oftheremaining fundswould contin 89per cent oftheproject's about in To date, and reduceemissions TCO2thisyear. by 933,000 theproject estimated The department that dustry andTrade. Department ofScience, Technologyand Ener the goalshaveonly 70percent"However, of 2017. carbon dioxideequivalent)by (tonnes reducing greenhou oil equivalent)and (tonnes The projecthadsetgoalof improving ener improve energy efficiency andreduce ery ofthe nationalenergy effi The World Bank-funded CPEE project aimed tostrengthen capacity for effective deliv- Association, ergy Efficiency needed," Nguyen Dinh Hiep, vicechairof firmsandtoreachamore "To encourage ambi Production andEnergyEfficiency Proj The conference washeldtoreview impl Thursday. because theydon't find attrac businesses haverefusedtojoinacl Many 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| http://vneconomictimes.com/arti taking." ternational brandsare countriesat thesame time. This is amulti-brand developmentdirection many in- that "The brand have may high andlow-segmentve said. Quang plans," financial safe and stable by supported is it if feasible is "The plan country,"chain inthe rant HoangAnhsaid. strategy, we believe Wrap & In thenextthreeyears, itplanstoopen 15 inputs to local andfranchised order tosupply restaurants. a half spent hasalso It markets. overseas and local both in brand its expand to plans chain The Singapore. in eateries franchised Wrap & Rollnow hasseven restaurants in suitable,as its target br to is The cost ofchangingitsbrand identity is their managementteam," he said. ment tocontinuouslydeveloping their ma expansion."In Wrap for rapid built abase ated amodern way to help consumersenjo th at saidinastatement Mekong Capital, thefirstcompanythat Wrap & Rollwas ME Van Phu UrbanArea inHadong Hi Brand VietnamCompanyLimited has offici 19/JUN/2017VIR INTELLASIA| including 199 shophouses. Therear high-end apartments. Sprawling on 6.5 hectares, the complexincl above.metre and said at the conference. ing customers excellent experiences. Roll will become the fastes ciency programme in key ciency programme indu tive enough incentives, experts saidataconference on e 359 low-rise houses with low-risehouseswith areas of72sq.m and e 359 above, Vietnam can effect energy sa energy Vietnam caneffect districtofHanoiatVND cle/business/time-to-refresh lean-production-initiative_286939.html ectcl (CPEE) that associated greenhouse gasemissions. ementation ofthefive-year VietnamClean ean production and energy efficiencyean productionandenergy project e time thatWrape time &Rollhassuccessfullycre- restaurantseachyear. "Witha new business million dollars on constructing a facility in on constructingafacility dollars million significant, according to Hoang Anh, but is Anh, is toHoang but according significant, theVietnam Energy Conservationand En- & Roll, we see an unusually strong commit- unusually see an Roll, we & nagement systems and thecapabilities of vestment has been disbursed, and disburse- and been vestment has disbursed, gy efficiency to mo efficiency to gy ue, officials said, without elaborating. would would TOEsof help energy save 249,000 HCM City and four in Hanoi, with four four with Hanoi, in four and City HCM y authentic healthy Vietnamese food and udes detached houses, shophouses, and F IIIinvested Partner in. Chad of Ovel, been met," said a representative from the the from a representative said met," been licies that encourage firms to saveenergy gy Efficiency under the Ministry ofIn- tious goal, more attractive incentives are se gasemissions by 1.25million TCO2 rsions as it is being developed in many ally launched the La Casta project project at theLa Casta launched ally t-growing Vietnamese restau- Vietnamese t-growing osed thismonth. 47 million ($2,000) per square 47 million persquare ($2,000) strial sectors. This would vings of 11 per cent with cent vings of11per re than 360,000 TOEs re 360,000 than 19 June 2017 57 / 65 57/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Vietnam in generation printers HP launches next- Intellasia risks facing businesses and consumers. In February, it launched The Wolf web series series web Wolf The it launched In February, consumers. and businesses facing risks has alsolaunchedaseriesHPglobalof init andEv Information via Security generate alerts MFPs can HP enterprise-class targ an attack When an attack. of the event MFPs areembedded with key security features andrun-ti whitelisting Start, Sure HP With advanced attacks. needed tocombat proach features that protectdevices, data and do businesses. HP's enterprise-class MFPs incorporate acomprehensive suiteof security next-generationIT intoour Wi A3MFPs.of Southeast Asia. HPsetout to reinventthe pr ourcustomersin the andmaking for into cure A3 market MFPs life better, safer protec from are reinventingsecurity ment, we se Inc. integrating HP "By Asia, Southeast hit when us often we leastexpectthem," with c a newworldorder living in "We are device uptime via HP'sSmar HP's color via affordable the marketplace, by offeringacombinationof professionals The new A3 portfoliotransformstoday's copierexperience forcustomersandservice businesses.ber attacks on are MFPsthat prise-class A3 (MFPs) inVietnam on June 15. 54new The HP Inc. announced astrongline-up of ne ture. wo deliver printers multi-function A3 Powerful 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES in La Castaistheonlyproject world-class amenities. where city asmall-scale like is Casta La a high-classatmosphere throughout the area. increasing owners' revenue. Thehighlight of quality living and making money: they offer Area'sshophouses aresu primethe location, The Shophouse were designed with twosi of millions of MFPsare properly secured, im now behavemorelikePCsandthefactthatlessof than2per theworld'shundreds cent world's most secure enterprise MFPsin number of threatstargeting business MFPs Embedded with advancedsecurity features that arenecessary to combat thegrowing Advancing securityan less-than-ideal ITsecuri per cent of 95.6 report2017, Scape Mature ITSecurity According to the IDC billion opportunity. $55 inthis margins nue and portfolio, A3 of the the ence. With arrival will leverage HP's tools and infrastructure to provide ahigh-quality service experi- HP hassignedon-boarded and more than500resellers worldwide. The newpartners service costsforpartnersand raisin tre.html http://www.vir.com.vn/la-casta-project-opens-at-vnd47 million-per-square-me- this area, attracting customers," sa many soon going to become the new centre ofHanoi "With so manylarge-scale real estate projec spor a50-hectare premises. In nearfuture, the d protectingnetworks ty practicesinplace. designed toprotectthemselves in the face of growingcy- t Device Services technology. Hadongdistrict that hasan ent(SIEM) tools. Management g thebarincustomer experience." residents enjoy a modern life with diverse, diverse, with life amodern enjoy residents the market.Considering that modern MFPs id a representative of Hi Brand Vietnam. said Koh KongMeng, Managingdirector, xt-generation A3 mult xt-generation A3 cuments, creatingsecurity ap- alayeredcuments, ets the BIOS, firmware or run-time memory,the BIOS,firmwareor ets partners now havenewwaystogrowreve- partners curity in everystage of product develop- onnected devices and evolving attacks that onnected devicesandevolvingattacks me intrusion detection, HPenterprise-class PageWide printing technology, and longer organisations in Asean are operating with operating are inAsean organisations des facing the road. With Van Phu Urban iatives to elevate awar iatives toelevate advanced security features unmatched advanced unmatched in features security , the new HP A3 printers are among the Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) include enter- th Smart Device Servic Device th Smart ts havingbeen andbe int experience by bringing the intelligence bybringing the intelligence experience int proving printsecurity in syslog format and notify IT managers IT managers notify and format in syslog itable for owners who want to combine the project is the clock tower that creates an opportunity of a comfortable life and opportunity ofacomfortablelife an ts park will be built next tothe project. tion toresilience, delivering highly se- . La Casta is going to be ahighlight of that automatically trigger a reboot in reboot trigger a automatically that rld-class securityto almost 1-hectarepark onits i-function printers eness ofthe security ing built, Hadong is is Hadong built, ing es, wearereducing is a top priority for priority is atop the officeofthe fu- 19 June 2017 58 / 65 58/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Awards Pacific Property Asia three 1stprizesat CBRE Vietnam wins destruction in Hoi An Beautifulfaces beach Intellasia http://www.vir.com.vn/beautiful-beach-faces-destruction-in-hoi-an.html the construction ofanunderwater recommended change expertshave climate to threats serious riverspose inlocal ing sand dredg- illegal and change climate rivers, inupstream of hydro-dams tablishment authority'sthe er Despite local effortstostop as the sea swallowslarge swaths ofland. lion dollar resorts and hotelshavebeen aband industry nowfacesvarious issues to attrac is now The once-beautifulbeach area. length, accordingconfto expertsatanational been rapid,with has rate oferosion The threat beenbeautiful beachHowever, the has made blue water pristine and sand white Its most stunningbeachesAsia. the in Located about fromtheancienttownof 5km 19/JUN/2017VIR INTELLASIA| in-vietnam http://vneconomictimes.com/article/busine HP. MFPsare A3 HP's qualif available through consumables. producing significantly less packaging waste associated with supplies andlong-life up to one-seventh the energy of competingco general Office mode. PageWide technologyis minu per 35pages print speedsrangingfrom printspeeds. best-in-class providing ously The HP PageWide Pro devices make color pr use resellers today. toolsets MPS leading intotheindustry capabilities ation diagnosti integrating advanced form, HP Smart DeviceServices (SDS). SD platforms, benefit fromthenew, cloud-ba portfolio ofA3MFPs,HP's Cloud-based innovati ing the industry's healthcare first season, starringaward-wi ties andpoorly secured printers andPCs. The Wolf: Season 2 builds upon thedramatic to highlight how corporate networks canbe etnam," "Best Lettings Agency The company categories. inimportant prizes CBRE Vietnamwashonoured atth 19/JUN/2017BIZHUB INTELLASIA| The Asia Pacific Property of Awards,part The Asia Awards. Asia PacificProperty the and management firm inVietnamtowinthre has Vietnam CBRE achievements, these With fice services, won the award for"Best RealEstateAgentinVietnam." Meanwhile, LeTrongHieu, director of CBRE a ceremony held in Bangkok earlier thismonth. Furthermore, CBRE Vietnam asthe Best Le prizes. Vietnam has surpassed otherleadingfirms in prop of the fields inall companies leading on and reducedcosts on including three PageWideplatformsandthirteenLaserJet highly sensitive data records. highly sensitive in andthe"Prope Vietnam" nning actor ChristianSlateras nning cs, device specific troubleshooting and remote remedi- and remote specific troubleshooting cs, device marred bythousandsof dyke tohelpsave the beach. e 2017 Asia Pacific Property e 2017Asia a yearly average of 10-15m with 2,000m in a yearly averageof10-15m the existence ofthebeach. Environmentand theInternational Pr sed proprietary serviceoptimisationplat- erty industry world-wide. This year CBRE CBRE year This world-wide. industry erty S candeliver maximumdevice uptime by t investment and visitors.Even multimil- The single andmultifunctiondeviceshave ied channelpartners or directlythrough ss/hp-launches-next-generation-printers- tting Agency will compete againstotherwill tting Agency hacked through overlooked vulnerabili- a complete ban on localsandminingand it a popular destination among tourists. among tourists. destination it popular a osion byinstallingconcrete dykes, the es- HiAn, Ca i Beachwas known asone of lor laser machines in the same class while while class the same in machines laser lor Vietnam's advisory and transaction ofof- inting more affordable while simultane- erence discussing savi te (ppm) to 60 ppm and up to 80 ppm in to 80ppm up ppm and 60 te (ppm)to oned, with many slowlyfallinginto ruin won for "Best Real Estate Agency inVi- won Estate Agency for "Best Real ened by coastal erosion inrecent years. the industry to achieve the'five-star' alsomore energy-efficient, consuming efirst prizes inthe become the only theonly real become estate consulting sandbags.tourism Thelocal rty ConsultancyAward" at a fictional hackertarget- a operty Awards, honours Awardswiththreefirst nine-year historyof ng Hi An's coastal ng Hi 19 June 2017 59 / 65 59/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam grant Mekong innovation VN start-up wins Intellasia MIST received more than 250 applications in2017. receivedmore 250applications MIST than products and solutions inthe Greater Mekong Subregion. based anywherethe world in thatwantMIST's mar, and Vietnam. Italsoincludesama It includesastart-upaccelerator for earl supported MekongBusiness Initiative. dinating Office and thegovernmentof joint a as inDecember2016 began MIST region has avery brightfuture." "The entrepreneurs Ihavemet through MISThaveconvinced me that tourism inour Mekong Tourismsaid. Forum, executive director oftheMekong Tourism start-ups into aneco-system for sustaina integr it how in unique globally is "MIST Entrepreneurship.tups and Awards, and will enjoy mentorshipthrough Ngoc NhuQuynhfromMorningRoomsconferredthe WISE Women's Leadership Nguyen ThiHuongLienand Nguyen ThiTh bothtravel City, Chameleon Vietnam's enterprise social a TAEC, by Origins Artisan $10,000. GoP, atravel tech start-upfromMyanmar, recipients of the 2017Mekong Busi acceleratorMekongInnovativeStartu Tourism 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| fifth time bytheEuromoney Awards. also namedBest thewas Prop CBRE Vietnam TUNE's MostAdmired Companies forfive consecutive years. at the Golden Dragon Awards. In additi In the past CBRE Vietnam was the only prop for customers." services,integrated realestate CBRE "With investorsapartment with leasing. forgreen toprovide services solutions ity servicesduced hotel toprovide advice and future. Moreover, tomeet the increasing de "We will do our bestto develop CBREVi with the CBREVietnam team Dang Phuong Hang,managingdirector of CBRE managingSquare buildings. agencythe Sun Tower and for RichyLtd, and for the exclusiveagent is firm Hanoi, the In 1. trict ground constructionfor themetrolineNo. the as in Vietnamby Japan's Maeda Group, whic selected been has CBRE addition, In Hado Garden Garden and agement agent forproject theJamila developed by Khang Dienand Hado Centrosa The firmhascontinued tostrengthen relati of Viettel's head officeand Recently CBRE Vietnam was chosenas th and Vietnam. estateservicesand customer care inhighly competitive markets likePacific theAsia The prizes prove CBREVietnam's qualificati Agency." winners from Africa, Arabia, Europe and Amer Villas ofHaDo Group. the ViettelShopping Centre. to achieve these goals. to achievethese ness InitiativeInnovation Grants. Australia and the Asian DevelopmentBank- Asian and the Australia tech startups, willallreceive$7,000. startups, tech rketstart-ups access programmefor mature Myan- Laos, y-stage fromCambodia, startups on, the companywas listed FOR- among ble tourismdevelopment," Jens Thraenhart, venture between the Mekong Tourism Coor- ates the Greater Mekong Subregion's travel etnam and achievesuccessetnam near inthe more building, and leasing services to services help to leasing and building, e exclusive management andleasingagent lead agent for the Waterina, the first project project thefirst lead agentfortheWaterina, 1 (BenThanh-SuoiTien)inHCMCity's Dis- h is themanagementunit for the under- Vietnam is confident of generating benefits is confidentofgenerating Vietnam took the topprize and willreceive USD Coordinating Office andorganiser ofthe ons withmanycustomers,and is theman- expertise in the hotel expertise in Central Field, a project by19-12 Bac Ha Co mand of the real estate weintro- estate market, mand ofthereal fromLaos,Cambodia'sCamboticket,and ons andprofessionalism in providing real the Women'sInitiativefor the Vietnam's Star- erty Consultant Agen erty consultant inthe country honoured u from I Love Asia Tour and Nguyen Tourand u fromILoveAsia Nguyen assistance inlocalising proventourism p Tourism hasannouncedalistoffour p Tourism ica forthe ica title BestLetting of "World's Vietnam, said it is a pleasure to work work to pleasure a is it said Vietnam, industry, sustainabil- t in Vietnamt in for the 19 June 2017 60 / 65 60/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS digitalisation inSMEs Workshop promotes finance& business Vietnam in Hanoi Lychee off kicks week Intellasia Big C was willing to support Vietnamese farm produceconsumption in general and sponsibility Department at GroupVi Central Linh,Le ThiMai ExecutivevicePresidentof permarkets andwholesale in markets A lycheeconsumptionsigning ceremony among tionally. trade contractsand boost lychee consumption, the eventcreatedopportunities for lycheebusi deputy directorofthePhng Lan, Trn Th ified forexport toforeignmarkets suchas Longhygiene requirements,safety and Thang standard cultivation GlobalGAP conc are cultivatedina Bac Gianglychees (US$ VND29,000 from Pricesstart mation. infor- origin their showing labels packing with 10booths at aredisplayed The lychees of theevent. Bac Giang's Industrydirector ofthe and other regions of tomers fromHanoiandall chee, aspeciality of District,as well as second ti held inHanoiforthe "The event, noi's Industry and Trade Department and Big CSupermarket. Luc Giang's IndustryandTradeDepartment, The event, lasting through June 23, isjo market today,June 16, with "thiu" lych The 2017Bac Giang Lychee Week inHanoiki 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| http://en.vietnamplus.vn/workshop-pro an revolution industrial internati promoting and climate business its is tokeeppa Vietnam aiming In 2017-2018, it isnecessary tooptimisethe electronic chain supplyattract to morecustomers. understanding of technologyandcancatchup deep havea Asia in customers online said Company Vietnam UPS of CEO Tal, Daryl help Vietnamese SMEs in Asia andglobally, they said. use oftechnologyand cooperation Effective of themiddle-class and Expertssaid theretail a promising issector inVietnamthanks to theincreasing income ed. The project operatin focuses onassistingfirms portunities andcope with sustainabl to aiming development, insustainable SMEs Vietnam to workedwithMicrosoft The VCCI climate. According toThanh, the government has ma vation and creativeness an creasing investment forscience and technology, human resources development, reno- especially climate, business the improve Vo TanThanh, VCCI's director in HCM City multinationals toshare experience with Sanket Ray,CEOofCoca-Col in HCMCity on June 15. and theVietnam Business Council Asean global marketthroughdigita Measures toinvolve Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the 19/JUN/2017VNA INTELLASIA| d economic digitalisation. consumer confidence. d economic digitalisation. d economic l solutions was discussed at a saidthe Vietnam, workshop s are applied, ensuring clean produce that meets food s areapplied,clean ensuring producethatmeets e development challenges, he noted. challenges,he e development Hanoi alsotookplace at the event. introduce the province'sfarm produce tocus- ee beingthe special draw for customers. intly organised by northern povinceofBac Vietnamese SMEsindigital marketing. Hanoi's Industry and Tr motes-digitalisation-in-smes/113413.vnp Trade Department, at the openingceremony at Trade Department, programmes tosupportenterprises in in- Chamber of Commerce and Industry(VCCI) Chamber ofCommerce entrated lychee-growing area. VietGAP and theEU, the UnitedStatesandAustralia. 1.2) up to VND68,000 per kilogramme. uptoVND68,000 1.2) the country," said Tran QuangLong, Thang me, aims to promote theimageofthiuly- ce with other Asean nations in improving other Asean nationsin with ce Public Relations and Corporate Social Re- and Corporate Relations Public onal integration in the contextofthe4th helpenterprises access new business op- with experienced logisticssupplierswill suggested theState renovate policies to etnam, the owner ofBig C Vietnam,said de every effort to improve the businesseffort toimprovethe every de deploy a project to supportproject Vietnamese deploy a Ngan District's Peop cked offat the BigCThangLongSuper- g in materials, service and trade, he add- nesses tomeetand seek partners tosign with technologytrendsveryquickly, so said, adding that "thiu lychee" are qual- are lychee" "thiu that said, adding notonly domestically butalsointerna- District's People's a workshop held by the US- serves as aforum for US ade Department, said le's Committee, Ha- Committee and su- 19 June 2017 61 / 65 61/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam supporting industries Vietnamese localisation in Expo trio to promote Fair opens Trade andTourism An: CuaNghe Lo Intellasia held the highest ratio among all export prod ratio amongall highest held the He added"Inrecentthe export years, ofmobilephones andphonecomponents always and only one half of Thailand." tre with educated labour force andlower wages than in most countries inIndonesia cen- manufacturing new afascinating Vietnam the is becoming and world, Indochina try."With its geographicas the advantage held positive views, but also views, but held positive Electroni Vietnam Chair ofthe billion goal of$40 in electr is expected toclimb the list very quickly. Infact, Vietnamhas already surpassed the electronics exporter intheworld and the third be the "At and potential,pointingout, ity the organiserofNEPCONVietnam(NEV)2017, Wilanan,deconference,At thepress Suttisak China, Korea, as Japan, 20 countries andseveninternational pavili index fortheelectronicindustryinVietnam busine will triple trio of exhibitions This noi. in Ha- 13-15 on held September be inVietnam, will industries supporting and dustry increase and business opportunities offer Vi and NEPCON 2017, Vietnam Subcontracting The 7thVietnam-JapanSupport 19/JUN/2017VIR INTELLASIA| http://en.vietnamplus.vn/nghe-an-cua-lo- of 10 percent. coastalCua Lo townset atargetover 1.8of fair24. untilThe will June run tourism. It is also achance for the businesses to town and Nghe Anprovince in general to visitors and participating businesses. The event aims at introducing socio-economic produce. food, garmen booths, including Korea areshowcasingth Republic of and the from the Over 150businesses coastal town, thecentral provinceofNghe An on June 16. kick The Cua Lo TradeandTourismFair2017 19/JUN/2017AFP INTELLASIA| http://bizhub.vn/news/lychee-week to producingsome1,600 tonnes of lychee lycheeDistrict, thelargestthiu growingarea 100,000 tonnes,including40,000 t From thisyear's crop, Bac Giang's total consumed on thisoccasion," Linhsaid. of which70 tonnes of thiu lychee grante estima is it Hanoi, in Csupermarkets Big "At ample," Linhsaid. many partsofthecountry, this programme withthiu lychee today and is a ex- typical to promotethe image of a wide rangeofag carrying out manyactivities products inthepastfewyears,BigC Vi tocontributethe commitment "With the lychee consumption inparticular. Singapore, andTaiwan. onic exports it set for by 2017." forby set it onic exports mentioned the challenges in mentioned in partnershipwithVietnamese businesses and farmers province andsurrounding locali c Industries AssociationIndustriesLuu HoangLongalso (VEIA) c t, footwear, electronict, farm andwoodproductsand ing Industries Exhibition, Industrial & Components onnes meeting VietGap standards. meeting VietGap onnes -kicks-off-in-ha-noi_286975.html seek cooperation opport etnam and Central Group Vietnam havebeen Central Group etnam and lychee production was estimated toreach d VietGAPand GlobalGA ss opportunities and increase the localisation ginning of 2015, Vietnam was the 12th largest largest the 12th was Vietnam ginning of2015, s according tothe standard. GlobalGap trade-and-tourism-fa the localisationindexfor the electronic in- ons fromleadingtechnologycountries such centre oftheAseanbetweenbridge and the prosperity of Vietna prosperity of million tourists in2017, tourists million ricultural products and specialities from and specialities products ricultural by featuring over 200 leading over200leading by featuring brands from ucts of Vietnam and made significantucts ofVietnam con- in Bac Giang, has 158ha of land dedicated has 158haofland inBacGiang, eir outstanding products at more than 200 outstanding productsatmore eir ted that about 150 tonnes of fresh lychees, offresh tonnes 150 about ted that puty managingdirectorof ReedTradex, ed offatthe BinhMinhsquare in Lo Cua achievements andpotentialofCua Lo largest in the Asean, etnam 2017, with the shared missionto 2017, withthe etnam shared his shared belief inVietnam'scapabil- front of the electronicindus- front of ties as well as Thailand as wellThailand ties m andimprovequality ir-opens/113469.vnp unities in trade and and trade in unities ayear-on-year rise P certificates, are but at this rate, it rate, this at but 19 June 2017 62 / 65 62/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam opens Living exhibition European Artof Intellasia industries.html http://www.vir.com.vn/expo-trio-to-promote-localisation-in-vietnamese-supporting- knowledge and industry networks. pare the andeducati activities, content, In additiontotechnology,organiser Reed Tr industries. supporting and manufacturing the electronics in morebusiness receive as well as lines the access under oneroofand exhibitions ing industries" during the exhibi Together, allpartiesstrongly promote the c cial connection framework between Vietna duction chain forthe electronics manufactur a into industries in supporting of the development entered has Tradex Reed NEV17, At production chain and promote foreigndi as well in human resources training toenab the supplysectorintheirresearchanddeve "Thedustries intheproductionchain. govern the factthat the total export valueof mo and re balance tradetribution toVietnam's Cambodia and EU-Philippines Speakers from EurochamMyanmar, EU-Indonesia Business Network, Eurocham ment oftheParisCollege theArt. fashion andthe luxury industry headedby EU-Vietnamsignedconference on Trade Agreement, Free the recently anda about The highlightsofEurospherepr include the food andbeverages, perfumery and cosmetics, interior design andautomotive goods. The two-day event features 80 European brands in fashion and accessories, gourmet 19/JUN/2017VNS INTELLASIA| Wilanan alsoproudlysharedgovern that the industry." and sustainable competitive highly tries playaveryimportantrole,creating pointed out, "In the process ofindustrial general directAt theevent,BuiHuySon, and ahigh-tech industry, Indi from both the government andthemunicipa gestcompetitor inattracting foreigninvestment, sinceapplies it two-level incentives industry chain, supporting complete afull Moreover, is Vietnam in thecompetitiveworld, land and China. This is causes increased costs andrisks for businesses," he said. import to forced are businesses Therefore, 68 pe is it 34 percent,while only low, very is raw of "The localisationrate growth. Vietnam's iting low localisation rate of rawmaterials, ma representativeKitagawa, chief ronobu ofJE As theco-organiser ofthe7thVietnam-Ja nation's totalelectronicexportturnover Vietnamese electronicsof thethird industry, value chain,and increase localisation. Cu of itsexpansion.Forthis,thecountr vantage Technologythe Information Agreement(ITA in Or Trade World process. "Asamemberofthe the needof underlined Suttisak Wilanan foreign enterprises cont in 2016, invested materials, components ofJapa materials, a still holds the position of the position a stillholds Business Network are givi tions. Therefore, visitors this year will get to visit three visit getto year will this visitors Therefore, tions. on programme that willinspire andenhance bile phonesandcompone isation and modernisation, supporting indus- supporting modernisation, and isation and hold80per cent ofthelocalmarket." or oftheVietnamTradePromotionAgency, rolled 99.8percent, billion." worth $34.2 the basis for development andgrowthofa enhancing localisation inthe integration rect investment in the industry." terials, andcomponentsproduction isinhib- pan Supporting Industries Exhibition, Hi- Exhibition, pan SupportingIndustries rrently, foreignenterprises represent one- benefits todevelop complete production collaboration with JETRO in Hanoi to boost collaboration withJETROinHanoi Long added. "Indiahasbeen Vietnam's big- from neighbouring countries, suchasThai- mese suppliers and Japanese buyers. duced tradedeficit. Nonetheless, despite lopment, technologytransfer andrenewal, esentation of the EU delegation to Vietnam the EUdelegationto of esentation Donald Potard,chair ofthefashiondepart- r cent in China and 57 per cent in Thailand. inThailand. cent per 57 in Chinaand r cent oncept of"localisation fortifying support- y needs to raise productivity,moveupthe y needsto TRO inHanoi, also talkedabouthow the l states. Withtheadvantageoflowwages adex are partnering up with VEIA to pre- withVEIAto adex arepartneringup Vietnam inorder Vietnam to complete the full pro- ment has strongly fort ment hasstrongly ing industry, as well ascreate a commer- but they accounted for 90 per cent of the for 90percent but theyaccounted ment hasa10-yearto assistplan firms in ganisation, Vietnam is also aparticipant Vietnam is ganisation, le them to better participate in the global participate in them to better le where it needs toraise capabilities and ) and has a potential to bettera potential takead- has) and to ng speeches about the poten- about theng speeches the Silicon Valley ofAsia." Valley the Silicon nese enterprises inVietnam nts was $34.3 billion ified supporting in- 19 June 2017 63 / 65 63/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam to open Enertech Expo2017set Vietnam& ETE food safetyfor export workshop discusses International Intellasia such as wind, solar, andbiomass. meet there energyto ergy andrenewable ment Plan, approved by the government, by projects were to becompletedinaccord Underthe Master Plan andStrategy for ucts andsolutions. and prom industry electrical equipment and tec the latest two expos willintroduce The Dis- City's HCM in 7. trict 22 to 19 July from open will Expo) (Enertec Power Green & Saving Exhibition and the 7thInternational ETE) The 10thInternational Exhibition on Electr workshopAn internationalsafety criteria on 19/JUN/2017VNA INTELLASIA| opens_286974.html\ http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/eu cor designers,fashion designersmakers.and policy around 3,500reta largeimporters,distributors, Organised by the EU-Vietnam Business Netw inVietnam. products European expand and todistribute ing Many meetings are beingheld between Euro tial to expandregionally fromVietnam. Expos to beheld from July 19to 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMIC TIMES said toexport food into the US, Vietnamese The USis shifting its policy to preventing ganisation recognised by Nestor Scherbey, a senior adviser totheVi trade, but helps it prepare the basistogrow, she noted. Committing tothe set of criteria does notmeananenterprise qualifies forinternational er trust. an domestic to follow businesses courage Goods, saidthe association has issued aset Business the of Vu KimHanh,Chairwoman mon safety standards. She advised food traders to helpfarmers getused to teamwork principlesandcom- succeeded. 20 only model, Ino Mayu said among400 Mekong Delta added. markets, she foreign and ondomestic information lack ly statistics disclose They are to not willing nerships. she noticed that many ofthemare not read workingthan 20years from theexperienceofmoreShe said, withVietnamesefarmers, supply chains. itiative intoVietnam, saidhumanresources, expertonorganicfarming, whointroducedtheSeedJapanese toTablein- Ino Mayu,a The event drew the participationofforeig place intheMekongDe took duce 113444.vnp http://en.vietnamplus.vn/international-wo money andaccesstothe market. customs an problems withtheUS serious from He recommended Vietnamese exporters dig deep have been introduced,he stated. the US government. 22 in HCM City's District 7. 22 inHCM City's lta cityofCanThoon June 16. ropean-art-of-living-exhibition- ance with the National Electricity Develop- Vietnam's Industrial Development, power on the performance of their farmsandsevere-performanceon the of d international standards and build consum- and standards international d households followed her organic farming quirements of diversifying energy sources energy ofdiversifying quirements on Products and Technologies of Energy Technologies of on Productsand n and Vietnamese experts and enterprises. expertsandand Vietnamese n risks of dirtyfood,thus risks hnological achievements in the electricity achievements inthe hnological rkshop-discusses-food-safety-for-export/ etnam TradeFacilitati ical Technology& Equipment (Vietnam y fornew regulations, practicespart- and firmsneed certificat of criteria on high-qualityexportstoen- criteria of ote energy-saving and green energy prod- for Vietnamesefood particularly farmers, are key to clean food particularly farmers,are keyto Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Association ofHigh-Quality 2010. It aims to develop new forms of en- forms of new develop aimsto It 2010. pean businesses and local partnersaim- local and businesses pean d agricultural bodythatcouldcostthem ork, Eurosphere is expectedtoattract Eurosphere ork, ilers, hospitality specialists, interior de- interior specialists, hospitality ilers, into these criteria to save themselves es grantedbyanor- on Alliance (VTFA), and agricultural pro- and agricultural stricter regulations 19 June 2017 64 / 65 64/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam New Executive Chef Executive New ResortHas Danang Premier Village Intellasia End Executive-Chef.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54545/Pr ed chef, withastrong Owning long-standing journey withthekitchen guests." ofour all delight thatwill and enthusiasm energy alot of continue bringing Chef Chef. Executive new our as Ho Philip Chef Jean-Francois Brun, generalmanager of the to andcollaboratingwiththeteam ang Resort also my passion. I look forward tocontin Commenting onhisappointment,ChefPhilipHo Chef. Premierhe joinedJune 2017, Danang. In and Executive Sous Chef before being prom experienced he has years, 25 Chef PhilipHohas shown his commitment in taurant, Nautica Beach Club, in-villa di and cuisineoperations, includingLemongra will overseeHo alloftheresort'sChefPhuongPhilip HoasExecutiveChef. Philip food Reso Premier VillageDanang 19/JUN/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES open http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business gapore. booths ofenterprises from Japan, South Ko field ofenergy-savin Enterprises such as DienQuangLamp, Ra Vina, LongGiangElectricaland others. Equipment, in HCM City (EVN HCM City),Gelex,LiOA, in businesses and brands leading including Vietnam ETE and EnertecExpo willwelc 2017 market demand. tion tomeet saving products using green energy are al The electricalequipmentmarket isgrowing promote exports tocountries inSouthe leading globalcorporations in the producti calisation rates, withasignificant number of and equipment for the grid.Ma national power mechanical enterprisesVietnam's haveproduc tures, push up trade promotion, and promote professional development. cooperation, attractinvestment, exchange science and technology, expand jointven- businesses enhance to international and fordomestic opportunity anideal It presents sources, and renewable energy that is environmentally friendly. enhancing theproduction of energy-saving products, thedevelopmentofnew energy ergy-saving equipment,energy-saving so pr and willintroduce Participants ances. The expos willalsointroducethe latest te g products and green energy. There will also be hundreds of hundreds green energy.Therewillalsobe g productsand work ethicandpassion many positionsfrom Vietnamese Chef, Senior Sous Chef rt managed byAccorhotels hasappointed HoThanh ast Asia, South America, andAfrica. America, South ast Asia, ning and regular food promotions/events. and regularfood ning omote energy-saving products, high-techen- Village Danang Resort team as Executive Village DanangResortteamasExecutive uing my journey with PremierVillageDan- journey uing my chnology in electricity and electrical appli- in electricity chnology lutions, and the use of green energy,use ofgreen lutions, andthe emier-Village-Danang so prioritisedand encouraged forproduc- ng Dong, and Megasun will promote the and Megasun willpromote Dong, ng on ofelectrical equipment and trying to rea, China,Italy,Turkey, Russia, and Sin- the country such asElectricityofVietnam the country at ahigh20-25 percenteachyear.Energy- at oted to Executive Chef at Chefat Grand Mercure toExecutive oted resort, said: "We aredelighted to have ss Restaurant, CoSeafoodRes- CaChuon localenterprises being partners withthe /vietnam-ete-enertech-expo-2017-set-to- ABB, Tran Phu Cable, Thai Son Nam, LS LS Nam, Son Thai Cable, Phu Tran ABB, take the resort's cuisine to new heights." heights." to new theresort'scuisine take for the culinaryarts. ome over 170 exhibitors in 300 in300 booths, exhibitors ome over170 the kitchen field sinc ed over 90 per centofmainaccessories ed over90per ny electrical appliances have lo- have high appliances ny electrical Philip Ho is a culinary talent that will will that talent culinary a is Ho Philip field, he is a creative and and acreative detail-orient- heis field, said: "Foodisnotonlymycareer, it's -Resort-Has-New-- e 1992. Inthe past 19 June 2017 65 / 65 65/ 2017 June 19 19 June2017