finance & business news 20 November

FINANCE ...... 1 Hotel occupancy rises in HCM City 44 Reference exchange rate down by 4 VND at week's beginning 1 Inland waterway holds small transport market share 44 Exchange rate will be kept stable: SBV governor 2 BIZ NEWS...... 45 Vietnam's forex reserves continue to increase to $46b 3 Business Briefs 20 November, 2017 45 Loans in foreign currency to be continued in 2018 3 VN Index drops from 10-year high 46 Banks announce upcoming divestment plans 3 Vietnamese stock market eyes development trends 46 Vietnamese fintech market looking at bright prospects 4 Fund manager optimistic on VN stock market 47 Not on radar 5 SCIC to sell 21.79pct stake at Vinaconex 48 SBV leader believes in healthier banking activities in coming time 6 Sao Ta Foods becomes Ben Tre Aquaproduct affiliate 49 Finance minister: Public debt, while high, is under control 6 Petrolimex stocks fall with sinking performance 49 SBV Governor: Tighten credit for high-end property developments 7 Real estate inventory value approximates $1.14bil 50 Startups still looking for capital from venture funds 8 VN firms urged to trade with HK 50 New regulations on use of credit cards 8 Mekong Agriculture Technology Challenge programme starts 51 Visa study highlights economic benefits of cashless cities 9 Da Nang property surges after Apec 52 Hanoi will have additional $600m a year if not using cash in Strong industry, trade sectors account for 33pct of HCM payment: study 10 City's GRDP 53 Da Nang to host Asean Banking Council Meeting 10 HCM City steps up cooperation with IFC 54 Women-led SMEs still struggle with financing 11 Industry, trade sector see strong growth in HCM City 54 Capital for real estate, BOT projects to fall 12 Companies pledge VND40 billion for local tourism publicity 55 Transparent policies needed to draw foreign capital 12 Japanese backs Da Nang tourism 55 Experts: Tax, customs reform needed 14 Vietnam trade fair begins in Cambodia 56 Government to target 'reasonable' wealth distribution 15 Vietnam Expo 2017 promotes new products for 2018 56 PPP law to be drafted in 2018 17 Vietnam gets ready to celebrate 20 years of internet 57 PM demands measures to tackle shortcomings of Management of product origin to be enhanced 57 public-private partnerships 17 Sales & Marketing Camp 2017 officially opens in HCM City 58 WEF to propose policies for Vietnam to seize 4IR opportunities 18 Dung Quat EZ attracts more than $11 million investment 59 Promoting VN innovation critical: PM 19 Stripe International's ambition to redraw Vietnamese Special economic zonesnew impetus for economic development 19 fashion map 59 FDI pursuit should focus on US and EU: expert 22 Jardine Matheson firm builds up over $900 million stake Workforce growth turns modest 23 in Vinamilk 60 Recruiting & retaining 23 Finnish firm pours over $33 million into clean energy project Rising global coal prices a threat to budget 25 in Hanoi 60 MoIT's power tariff proposals will benefit hotels 26 Company to build factory to increase chicken exports 61 Ban on casino entry lifted 27 Debt-ridden firm resumes mammoth theme park Leather, footwear industries expand exports to EU 29 construction in southern Vietnam 61 US exports to Vietnam resume with first shipments delivered 30 Local firms may not be qualified as major suppliers of Walmart 62 Trillion-dong street food market remains unexploited 30 Sao Ta Foods becomes Ben Tre Aquaproduct affiliate 63 Is e-commerce sector no longer available to Vietnamese Mai Linh to join hi-tech motorbike taxi game 63 businesses? 32 Vingroup launches 2 new Vincom centres 64 Foreign brands up the ante in fashion market 33 VNPAY & Thang Long Transport sign MoU 65 Property market stays strong 35 Tran Anh reveals larger loss before MWG merger 66 Vietnam continues to see strong interest from developers 36 iPhone X available in Vietnam from December 8 66 $69.4m housing fraud discovered 37 Russian markets in HCM City 67 No foundation to prove $3 billion flow from Vietnam to US Vietnam attends largest Asia-Pacific food fair in Singapore 67 for house purchase 37 Jica workshop on construction projects 68 Part of the puzzle 38 Office rental price to increase at an average of 8.4pct/year VN auto sales set to miss target 40 within the next 3 years 68 Start-ups face recruiting difficulties due to poor finance 42 Vietnam Airlines expects to open direct flights to the U.S by 2020 68 Startups a 'promised land' for new graduates 42 Startup movement helps increase new enterprises 43

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FINANCE Reference exchange 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA rate down by 4 VND at The State Bank of Vietnam set its reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,442 VND/ week's beginning USD on the morning of November 20, down by 4 VND from the end of last week. With the current +/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,108 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,771 VND per USD. Major commercial banks kept their rates stable. Vietcombank set 22,675 VND (buying) and 22,745 VND (selling), per USD, unchanged from the end of last week. Vietinbank cut its rates by 5 VND to offer 22,675 VND (buying) and 22,745 VND (sell- ing), per USD. Meanwhile, BIDV retained its buying rate at 22,680 VND and their selling rate at 22,750 VND, per USD, unchanged from the end of last week. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-down-by-4-vnd-at-weeks-begin- ning/121983.vnp

Exchange rate will be 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS kept stable: SBV State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Governor Le Minh Hung said yesterday he was confident governor that the Dong/dollar exchange rate will remain stable for the foreseeable future. Hung was responding to a question from a deputy as he took the floor once again on

FINANCE Friday morning after almost three hours on Thursday in his first parliamentary Q&A session since assuming office. Acknowledging difficulties in keeping the exchange rate steady, Hung said applica- tion of the "central exchange rate" mechanism since early 2016 has resulted in positive market developments. He said since the beginning of 2017, the central bank has bought more than $7 billion in foreign exchange, raising reserves to a record high of over $46 billion. "With this scale of foreign exchange reserves and current management policies, keep- ing the exchange rate steady is definitely possible," he said. On the issue of secure card payments, Hung admitted that instance of payment fraud through ATM cards has risen to an alarming level in the country, although the damage only amounted to one-third of the global average. He attributed the situation to weaknesses in the banks' security systems and the failure of card users and card acceptors to protect individual information. The central bank has issued several policies and regulations and increased monitoring of bank cards to make them more secure, he said. On intricate cross-ownership in the banking system that has been in vogue for a long time, the Governor said the case of a group of large shareholders holding sway over bank operations has been identified and dealt with, making them more transparent. "So far, no individual owns more than five per cent of the total equity of a bank. The instances of a pair of banks holding shares in each other have reduced from seven in 2012 to two. Instances of pairs of banks where one bank owns shares in the other bank have reduced from five to two," he said. He added that if the NA approves the draft law on credit institutions, the situation will be resolved more thoroughly. Besides this, the central bank would step up inspections to monitor banks' shareholders and related people, and strictly deal with violations on share ownership, he said. Responding to a question from deputy Bui Van Xuyen of Thai Binh Province on non- performing loans (NPLs), the governor said the bad debt ratio as of September this year was 2.34 per cent. However, if potential NPLs and those sold to the Vietnam Asset Management Compa- ny were taken into account, the total value of NPLs amounted to VND556 trillion ($24.5 billion), or 8.61 per cent of total outstanding loans, more than one percentage point lower than that at the end of last year. Deputy Dang Ngoc Nghia from the central province of Thua Thien Hue asked if the central bank could waive debts or reduce interest rates on loans taken by victims of re- cent typhoons in the central region to ease their burden. Hung said the central bank had, in fact, instructed banks to estimate damage caused by the disasters and restructure people's debts. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies would continue to check and reviews the situation and decide to waive or reschedule the debts of disaster victims, he added. "If needed, commercial banks can ask the central bank and the Ministry of Finance to

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forgive their debts," he said. Responding to the concern that too much money had flowed into real estate, raising the risk of a property bubble, the central bank governor said loans to the real estate sec- tor amounted to VND400 trillion, accounting for some 6.5 per cent of total outstanding loans. He emphasized that the central bank had implemented several measures to control loans to this sector, including: raising the risk coefficient of real estate loans; adjusting the ratio of short-term funds for medium- and long-term loans; and restricting bank loans to houses in projects for low and average income earners. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417744/exchange-rate-will-be-kept-stable-sbv-gov- ernor.html#hLi7vcPoYrkZJeTo.97

Vietnam's forex 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY reserves continue to Vietnam's forex reserves have continued to increase, according to State Bank Governor

FINANCE increase to $46b Le Minh Hung who responded to National Assembly deputies' queries for the first time on November 16. The Governor said the national forex reserves have now reached $46 billion. Earlier, on October 11, 2017, at the closing ceremony of the sixth meeting of the 12th Party Central Committee, general Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong mentioned the forex reserves at $45 billion. Thus, the national forex reserves have continued rising within a short time. The Gov- ernor said since the opening session of this National Assembly's meeting (October 23), the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has purchased an additional of $1 billion and in the first months of 2017, SBV purchased $7 billion. On October 10, for the first time, the State Bank lowered the buying price of US dollars as well as made purchase of term foreign currency with commercial banks. The US dollar buying price of the State Bank had three consecutive decreasing sessions and was kept stable at 22,710 dong. On the interbank market, the US dollar price has also ranged around 22,710 dong since then. The selling price of US dollar on the list of commercial banks was stable, popu- larly ranging from 22,745 dong to 22,750 dong. On the free market, the US dollar sell- ing price, after exceeding 22,800 dong at the end of October, has also been adjusted down to about 22,750-22,780 dong.

Loans in foreign 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNECONOMY currency to be Answering queries of National Deputies in this morning (November 17) regarding the continued in 2018 State Bank's direction on foreign currency credit when the policy on foreign currency loans will expire on December 31, 2017, Governor Le Minh Hung said the State Bank will continue offering short-term lending in foreign currency, at least in 2018, to sup- port the production of businesses, especially export companies. However, the long-term direction is to limit this credit channel following a step-by- step approach to shift from borrowing-lending to buying-selling relationships. In addition, the State Bank will continue implementing measures to stabilise exchange rate. This helps consolidate the capital resource value, limit risks to businesses when borrowing in foreign currency.\

Banks announce 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS upcoming divestment Several banks announced they would auction the shares they are holding in compa- plans nies, in the last two months of the year, on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX). According to an announcement on the exchange, on November 21, OceanBank will sell four million shares equivalent to a capital contribution of VND40 billion (US$1.7 mil- lion), or 8 per cent of outstanding shares of the Petroleum Vietnam-SSG Real Estate Joint Stock Company, at an initial price of VND10,638 per share. The Petroleum Vietnam-SSG (PV-SSG) Real Estate Joint Stock Company, formerly known as the Petroleum Housing Service Trading, Construction and Investment Com- pany, was jointly established by PetroVietnam and the SSG Group.

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Currently, SSG Group holds the controlling stake at PV-SSG, with 81.2 per cent of shares. OceanBank's stake is 8 per cent and FECON Infrastructure Joint Stock Compa- ny's stake is 6 per cent. On Thursday, the HNX also announced that there are five investors who have regis- tered to buy 4.26 million shares of the Petroleum Vietnam-SSG. Among them, one is institutional investor who wants to buy four million shares. On November 20, the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) will also auc- tion 6.6 million shares worth VND66 billion, equivalent to 10.9 per cent of the charter capital of the Cement Finance Joint Stock Company (CFC) at an initial price of VND11,549 per share. As of Wednesday, there were nine individual investors registering to buy 6,671,000 shares of CFC. In a similar move, the Vietnam Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (Agribank) will divest its capital contributed to the Vietnam Agriculture Trade and Tourism Joint Stock Company and the Vietnam Agribank Gold Corporation Joint Stock Company on FINANCE December 15. Agribank will sell 5.29 million shares of the tourism company at an initial price of VND18,990 per share and 12,615,440 shares of the gold company at VND13,900 per share. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417748/banks-announce-upcoming-divestment- plans.html#8KIh32eDzyAV12oZ.97

Vietnamese fintech 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR market looking at Vietnam is considered a tremendously potential market by Korean fintech enterprises, bright prospects setting off an avalanche of deals looking to expand business operations and find in- vestment and cooperation opportunities. There are 40 fintech companies operating in Vietnam at the moment, providing diver- sified financial services, such as payments, transfer, capital mobilisation, and financial management, to meet the high demand of users. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution is blossoming, fintech companies around the world are expanding and evolving to rise in an emerging banking-finance services market. As a result, Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) organised a business-to-busi- ness (B2B) meeting named "Fintech Company Global Business Meeting 2017" in Hanoi on November 16, 2017, to create a network between Korean and Vietnamese fintech companies. Eight Korean and 13 Vietnamese fintech companies attended the event. Almost all Vietnamese businesses appreciated new technologies presented by Korean enterprises, such as the robo-advisor, an offline payment platform, biometrics and se- curity solutions (palmprint), as well as a cryptocurrency exchange platform, and looked for opportunities to cooperate with Korean patners. "Vietnam and Indonesia hold the greatest potential and are the primary destinations of Korean fintech companies when investing overseas," confirmed Jongil Jeong, senior researcher of KISA. He assessed that the fintech sector has great future in Vietnam because of the large population and the significant IT human resources. The Vietnamese government has also promulgated socio-economic development plans and policies, including the pro- motion of the fintech sector. "Riding on this trend, along with ample technological capabilities, the fintech sector will evolve drastically in the near future, even faster than the Korean sector two years ago," said Jeong. Talking about cooperation and business orientation, Kim Jong Geuk, managing direc- tor of Lotte Card, said that the company is focusing on the consumer credit segment. "Particularly, Lotte Card is submitting all documents to the State Bank of Vietnam to be incorporated, after which it will acquire shares of TechcomFinance," he said. TechcomFinance, formerly known as Vietnam Chemical Finance JSC before the 2015 acquisition by Techcombank, carries a chartered capital of VND600 billion (US$26.5

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million). According to the bank's report, in 2016, TechcomFinance earned VND33 bil- lion (US$1.5 million) in revenue and VND28 billion (US$1.23 million) in pre-tax profit. If this deal is carried out successfully, Lotte Card will join the vivid consumer finance market in Vietnam, which grows at 30 percent in the past several years. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnamese-fintech-market-looking-at-bright-pros- pects-362796.vov

Not on radar 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES Local banks have largely ignored the upcoming introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards 9. The new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 9, effective from January 1, 2018, will be a momentous accounting change for banks, as it requires they move from an "Incurred Loss" model (IAS 39) to recognising and providing for expected credit losses (ECL).

FINANCE ECL estimates are generally subject to a high degree of estimation uncertainty. Appli- cation is complex for both preparers and audit committees, and are demanding for au- ditors as well. For preparers and audit committees, it may be difficult to understand how the standards and estimates of ECL apply in detail, and what the implications for the systems and controls will be. For auditors, high-quality audit approaches will probably rely on documented, well-controlled, high-quality ECL estimation processes. With only a couple of months to go until IFRS 9 takes effect, it will take a significant effort from auditors to audit the transition in 2018 as well as the 2017 financial state- ment disclosures about the expected impact of the new standards. Reported credit losses are expected to increase and become more volatile under the ex- pected credit loss model. A recent survey carried out by the European Central Bank reported that the loan loss allowance (the charge that goes through the income state- ment) could increase by 18 to 30 per cent. Migration to IFRS 9 would also have a negative initial effect on capital, raising the vol- atility of earnings and regulatory capital ratios, according to Fitch Ratings. "Moving to an expected-loss approach would require significant process changes, including great- er integration of credit risk management and internal accounting systems," the ratings agency noted. "Banks would also need more data on how portfolios perform through the credit cycle, and will need to build complex models of expected losses. The transi- tion is likely to be more operationally manageable in sophisticated banking systems, where there is better access to robust data." The expected-loss model requires banks build a new set of credit models and exercise significant judgement to determine loan losses for each reporting period. It has been observed that larger banks mostly carry out extensions of their Basel II capital and stress-testing models, while for smaller banks who have not yet adopted the advanced Basel capital approach this is a bigger challenge. The IFRS 9 implementation also introduces operational risks, as complex models will need to be built, vetted, maintained, and coupled with significant estimations and judgements in order to calculate the new allowance and loan loss numbers. The challenge is that IFRS 9 is principles-based and does not provide any standard model for ECL, and banks must therefore create their own ECL model. In fact, al- though the ECL models may be built as extensions of the Basel capital models at some banks, the standards and requirements are different from the capital standards, and another set of books therefore needs to be maintained. While global banks and regional banks are rushing to prepare for the application of IFRS 9, local banks in Vietnam seem to be ignoring the coming sea-change. The ques- tion is whether local banks will be impacted when IFRS 9 becomes effective. Very few local banks who prepare IFRS financial statements, in KPMG's view, have even begun to understand IFRS 9's requirements and the potential impact on their IFRS accounts. The fact is that local authorities like the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) have not issued regulatory requirements or guidance that forces local banks to apply IFRS 9.

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Accordingly, the application of IFRS 9 by 2018 is likely to have no effect on the opera- tions of local banks, except for those who prepare their IFRS accounts. Without guid- ance from regulators, local banks are not forced to study the impact of IFRS 9 or plan for the implementation of one of the most challenging accounting standards. Howev- er, for some leading banks who want to issue IFRS financial statements to foreign in- vestors and/or partners, the impact is significant just for the purpose of estimating credit losses and presenting IFRS-compliant figures. Otherwise, their IFRS accounts will not be prepared in compliance with IFRS 9, and a qualified auditor's opinion should be expected. Bank executives, the supervisory board, and board members at these banks should engage their auditors to develop plans to apply IFRS 9 sooner rather than later. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/not-on-radar

SBV leader believes in 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA

FINANCE healthier banking Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Le Minh Hung on November 17 contin- activities in coming ued taking part in lawmakers' question-and-answer session, making clear issues relat- time ing to the baking system's issues, including credit growth, debt rescheduling for storm victims, and credit institution restructuring. Regarding credit growth, he said the SBV has solutions to control credit for risky sec- tors like securities and real estate, elaborating that it may adjust the rate of short-term capital used to provide medium- and long-term loans or only give loans to social and low-income housing segments. Meanwhile, only banks with bad debt percentage of under 3 percent are allowed to provide loans for the field of securities. Loans for investment in securities must be within 5 percent of banks' charter capital, Hung said. The central bank believes that these regulations are strict enough to control risks, he added. The SBV requested banks to restructure and freeze debt owed by people affected by typhoons Doksuri and Damrey, which respectively hit Vietnam in mid-September and early November, and continue assessing damage. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies will continue making review to freeze or resched- ule debt and provide more loans, the Governor noted, adding that it can ask the SBV and the finance ministry for debt cancellation if necessary. In terms of credit institution restructuring, Hung said the move is meant to improve credit access. The State will make drastic steps to restructure the banking system and handle non-performing loans to ensure the safety of the system, he noted. He expressed his belief that banking activities will become safer and healthier in the time ahead. The central bank governor was among officials set to answer lawmakers' questions re- garding issues within their remits. The question and answer sessions are part of the on- going fourth session of the 14th National Assembly. http://english.vov.vn/economy/sbv-leader-believes-in-healthier-banking-activities-in- coming-time-362767.vov

Finance minister: 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES Public debt, while Public debt growth lower this year than last, minister tells NA. high, is under control Vietnam's public debt growth has slowed and will only rise by an estimated 9 per cent this year compared to 15 per cent last year, minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has said. "Public debt has been closely controlled and this is demonstrated by lower year-on- year growth," minister Dung told a Q&A session at the National Assembly on Novem- ber 15, though he also acknowledged that the country's public debt remains high, cre- ating significant repayment pressure. National debt had reached more than VND2,600 trillion ($116 billion) as at the end of 2015, equal to 62.2 per cent of GDP, the country's Finance and Budget Commission wrote in a report on the country's debts and obligations for 2016-2020.

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The government has gradually cut State budget overspending, aiming to ensure public debt safety, he said. The government has set a target of keeping State budget overspending at 3.5 per cent in 2017, 3.7 per cent in 2018, 3.6 per cent in 2019, and 3 per cent in 2020. Last year, the government did not offer loan guarantees to any State-owned enterpris- es (SOEs), the finance minister said, adding that it will continue to tighten such loans. There are concerns that when an SOE can't repay its own debts, the government steps in and assumes responsibility. More than 100 major SOEs had borrowed a combined VND1,500 trillion ($67 billion) by the end of last year, with a large part owed to foreign creditors. These SOEs have borrowed $15.6 billion from overseas, of which more than 60 per cent was either official development assistance loans at low interest rates or loans guaranteed by the government. Speaking at the session, deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue said the government has taken control of guaranteed loans and will not raise the public debt ceiling. Some lawmakers and experts have suggested raising the government's debt ceiling to FINANCE fund its budget obligations from the current 50 per cent of GDP to 55 per cent. Vietnam's government debt in 2015 rose above the maximum, totalling VND2,133 tril- lion ($95.6 billion), or 50.9 per cent of GDP, according to the General Statistical Office. The National Assembly has also set a ceiling on public debt of 65 per cent of GDP and a limit on foreign debt of 50 per cent. The World Bank forecasts that Vietnam's public debt will climb to 63.8 per cent of GDP this year and 64.4 per cent next year. The growing debt will impose a steadily increas- ing burden on the economy and make it harder to cut the budget deficit, which hit 6.1 per cent of GDP last year. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/finance-minister-public-debt- while-high-is-under-control

SBV Governor: 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES Tighten credit for Draft circular directs banks to prioritise lending for low-cost and social housing. high-end property The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) plans to issue a circular to the country's commercial developments banks instructing them to prioritise credit for low-cost housing and social housing projects while slashing lending for high-end and mid-level developments. SBV Governor Le Minh Hung made the remarks at a National Assembly (NA) Q&A session on November 17. Banks will be limited to using 50 per cent of their short-term funds for medium- to long-term purposes, including mortgages, until the end of this year. The ratio will then be cut to 45 per cent in 2018 and 40 per cent in 2019, according to the draft circular re- leased by the central bank. Long and medium-term credit accounts for 53-55 per cent of all loans offered by com- mercial banks while long and medium-term funds make up only 13-15 per cent of total mobilised capital. The imbalance in using short-term funds for medium-to long-term purposes could pose huge risks to banks, experts have said. The central bank has also raised the risk ratio of property loans at commercial banks to 200 per cent from 150 per cent. Property loans have reached VND400 trillion ($176.12 million), accounting for 6.5 per cent of all outstanding loans in the country, Governor Hung said. Some legislators have expressed concern that banks could offer more property loans in a bid to reach credit growth targets for the year. Governor Hung spoke against such remarks, saying the target was set by the government and banks are not under pres- sure to reach it at all costs. Credit growth stood at 10.6 per cent in the first nine months of this year, leaving the annual growth target of 18-20 per cent seemingly out of reach. The official bad debt ratio stood at a low 2.34 per cent at end-September. Taking into account potential non-performing loans and those sold to the Vietnam Asset Manage- ment Company, however, NPLs total VND556 trillion ($24.5 billion), or 8.61 per cent of all outstanding loans.

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The central bank has bought more than $7 billion in foreign exchange since the begin- ning of this year, bringing reserves to a record high of over $46 billion. "With this scale of foreign exchange reserves and current management policies, keeping the exchange rate steady is definitely possible," Governor Hung said. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/sbv-governor-tighten-credit-for- high-end-property-developments

Startups still looking 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIETNAMNET for capital from Few venture funds have been set up in Vietnam, and few startups have successfully venture funds called for capital from the funds. Vietnam is striving to become a 'startup nation', but the number of venture funds op- erating in Vietnam remains so modest that all their names are known by startups. These include FPT Ventures (Vietnam), Seedcom (Vietnam), IDG Ventures (the US), Cyber Agent (Japan), Golden Gate (Singapore) and 500 Startups (US).

FINANCE Some funds have been set up, but they just exist on paper because they are still under the fundraising process. These include the IDT startup fund, and the fund of First project and VSF. The number of venture funds is small, while the number of projects successfully call- ing for capital is even smaller. There are over 15,000 startups in Vietnam, mostly in Ha- noi and HCM City. But only 20-30 startups have successfully called for capital from the funds in Vietnam. The number of investment deals worth $1 million or more is modest. The investments in Momo, Lozi, vatgia and ononpay are among them. Analysts said Vietnamese startups don't have feasible business strategies which can convince venture funds to make investments. Many funds have money, but they can- not find potential startups. The problem is that most startups have small targeted markets which do not fit ven- ture funds. In general, funds have requirements on capital management and minimum investment amounts ($500,000 at least), while Vietnamese startups cannot satisfy the requirements. In developed countries, venture funds can easily divest from businesses at any time by selling a stake on the stock market. But this is not an easy thing in Vietnam. Mean- while, the success rate of investments, according to experts, is just 10 percent. In many countries, investment funds are established by the government, aiming to give support to startups. But there is no such fund in Vietnam. Though Vietnamese startups cannot call for much capital from venture funds, they still have close relations with the funds. In many cases, they receive advice, which to some extent is more valuable than money. CEO Tran Nguyen Le Van of Vexere said his company received strong support from CyberAgent Ventures. The investor even gave consultancy and helped Vexere success- fully call for capital the second time from Pix Vine Capital. CEO Nguyen Ngoc Diep of vatgia.com has expressed his gratitude to Nguyen Hong Truong, former vice president of IDG Ventures, for Truong's strong support to Vatgia, including development strategy planning. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190264/startups-still-looking-for-capital- from-venture-funds.html

New regulations on 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA use of credit cards Credit cardholders will not be allowed to withdraw cash worth more than VND5 mil- lion for domestic transactions and no more than VND30 million for foreign currency. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) recently released a draft circular amending and sup- plementing Circular No 19/2016/TT-NHNN on bank card operation. Accordingly, for the withdrawal of cash by cards abroad, to limit the use of cash as for- eign currency spent for improper purposes that are not allowed by the law, the draft stipulates that cash withdrawal transactions will be subject to a daily cap limit. For a withdrawal of foreign currency in a foreign country, a card holder can withdraw

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a maximum amount of cash in foreign currency equivalent to VND30 million (US$1,300) per day. For cash withdrawal at domestic card accepting units, each card holder can withdraw maximum VND5 million in one day. The draft also stipulates that in case of issuance of credit card with security assets, the credit limit granted to the cardholder shall not exceed 80 percent of the value of the se- curity assets, which is valued at a maximum of VND1 billion. In case of credit card issuance without security assets, the credit limit granted to a card- holder is VND500 million. These stipulations have no precedent, therefore credit institutions should review them carefully. The draft also supplements regulations on the issuance of cards to foreigners to pre- vent the case where foreigners enter the country for a short period and then exit the country to carry out criminal activities by using the credit cards issued by institutions in Vietnam. FINANCE http://english.vov.vn/economy/new-regulations-on-use-of-credit-cards-362753.vov

Visa study highlights 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES economic benefits of Hanoi could potentially gain an economic benefit of $600 million annually by transi- cashless cities tioning to an "achievable level of cashlessness". Visa has recently announced the results of an independent study conducted by Roubi- ni ThoughtLab, commissioned by Visa, to examine the economic impact of increasing the use of digital payments in major cities around the world. The study estimates that relying more on electronic payments, such as cards and mo- bile payments, could yield a net benefit of up to $470 billion per year across the 100 cit- ies studied; roughly equivalent to 3 per cent of the average GDP for these cities. Hanoi, one of the subjects of the study, saw some particularly strong potential gains from going cashless. The study found that the city's economy could see an extra $600 million per year as a result of moving away from physical money and conducting the majority of transactions electronically, while employment could jump an extra 3.5 per cent. Hanoi's GDP, meanwhile, is predicted to grow by 36.4 basis points. "Cashless Cities: Realising the Benefits of Digital Payments" is a unique study that quantifies the potential net benefits experienced by cities that move to an "achievable level of cashlessness", defined as the entire population of a city moving to digital pay- ment usage equal to the top 10 per cent of users in that city today. The study does not look at eliminating cash. Rather, it seeks to quantify the potential benefits and costs of significantly increasing the use of digital payments. By reducing reliance on cash, the study estimates the immediate and long-term benefits for three main groups: consumers, businesses, and governments. "This study demonstrates the substantial upside for consumers, businesses, and gov- ernments as cities move toward greater adoption of digital payments," said Ellen Rich- ey, Visa's vice Chair and Chief Risk Officer. "Societies that substitute digital payments for cash see benefits from greater economic growth, less crime, more jobs, higher wag- es, and increased worker productivity." "While Vietnam is still a heavily cash-oriented society, we're seeing very positive moves across the board from consumers, merchants, and the government, with atti- tudes towards electronic payments now better than ever before," said Sean Preston, Visa Country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. "Visa fully supports the State Bank of Vietnam's roadmap for non-cash payments by 2020 and is committed to driving the adoption of electronic payments and expanding acceptance to ensure that the transition to a cashless economy is both efficient and smooth." As cities increase the use of digital payments, the positive impacts can extend beyond financial benefits to consumers, businesses, and government. The shift to digital pay- ments may also have a catalytic effect on the city's overall economic performance, in- cluding GDP, employment, wages, and productivity growth.

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"The use of digital technologiesfrom smartphones and wearables to artificial intelli- gence and driverless carsis rapidly transforming how city dwellers shop, travel, and live," said Lou Celi, Head of Roubini ThoughtLab. "Without a firm foundation in elec- tronic payments, cities will not be able to fully capture their digital future, according to our analysis." Visa and Roubini Thoughtlab created an online data visualisation tool as a companion to the study. Using the data visualisation tool, individuals can increase or decrease the level of digital usage in each of the 100 cities included in the study to better explore the benefits of a world less dependent on cash. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/visa-study-highlights-econom- ic-benefits-of-cashless-cities

Hanoi will have 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS additional $600m a Results from the study namely "Cashless City: Realising the benefits of e-payment"

FINANCE year if not using cash show that Hanoi may have an additional of $600 million each year if the majority of in payment: study transactions are electronised, replacing cash". Along with that, the number of jobs may increase 3.5 percent, and the city's GDP is ex- pected to swell 36.4 basis points. The study was conducted by Roubini ThoughtLab and Visa in 100 cities in the world in order to quantify the potential net benefits when a city achieves "no cash availabili- ty". This is the state when all residents of the city switch to using digital payment with the same level to top 10 percent of users in that city at the current moment. "Though the Vietnamese society still mainly uses cash, we realise that all subjects of the economy from consumers, retailers to the government have positive attitude to- wards e-payment more than ever", said Sean Preston, director of Visa in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The study shows that as cities increase their e-payment applications, positive effects are not only limited in financial benefits to consumers, businesses and the government but also further. That can be a catalyst for increasing efficiency for the economy in general, including GDP growth, employment, salary and labour productivity. Accordingly, the promotion of electronic payment may contribute nearly $470 billion to the direct net benefit of 100 cities analysed. Specifically, consumers will receive direct benefits estimated at nearly $28 billion each year, thanks to saving 3.2 billion hours of transaction at banks, retail outlets and money transfer points, while reducing offences related to cash. Businesses may attain direct benefits with more than $312 billion per year thanks to saving more than 3.1 billion hours in handling expenses and revenues, plus the in- creased revenue from the expansion of online and in-store customer portfolio. The study also suggests that when using cash and cheque, businesses have to spend up to 7.1 cents for each US dollar earned compared to just five cents if using digital method. The government of 100 cities may gain an estimated direct benefit of nearly $130 billion each year thanks to the increased revenue from tax, economic growth and cost savings from administrative efficiency and legal proceeding costs due to reduced crime related to cash. The study also gives 61 recommendations to policy makers to enhance electronic pay- ment applications. The recommendations include the implementation of financial education programmes to bring external sources into the banking system; implementation of innovation en- couragement methods, focusing and scaling up new payment technologies; and im- plementation of safe payment systems throughout the entire transportation network. "The use of digital technology from smartphones, smart wear, and artificial intelli- gence to self-driving automobiles will rapidly change the way that people do shop- ping, travel and live".

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"According to our analysis, without a solid foundation on e-payment, cities will not be able to obtain their entire digital technology in the future", said Lou Celi director of Roubini ThoughtLab.

Da Nang to host Asean 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV Banking Council The 47th Asean Banking Council Meeting hosted by the Vietnam Banks Association Meeting (VNBA) is scheduled to take place at Furama Resort in central Da Nang City on No- vember 23-24. The major annual event of the regional banking community will be presented by bank- ing associations of Asean countriesBrunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, My- anmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This is the third time the VNBA has held such a meeting with the first one in 2000 and the second in 2007. The meeting will focus discussions on sustainable financial development, financial in-

FINANCE clusion, the application of state-of-art technologies, human resource training and oth- ers as well as proposing cooperation initiatives and action plans. It will be an excellent opportunity for participants to share experience and strengthen cooperation among regional banks and partners. http://english.vov.vn/economy/da-nang-to-host-asean-banking-council-meeting- 362740.vov

Women-led SMEs still 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES struggle with IFC workshop hears that most banks in Vietnam continue to deny financing for SMEs financing owned or led by women. Vietnam's women entrepreneurs are one of the significant forces within the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector but banks fail to meet their capital needs, ac- cording to a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). A workshop held by the IFC entitled "Women-Owned Enterprises in Vietnam: Percep- tions and Potential" held on November 16 revealed that investing in women and pro- moting gender equality helps businesses reach new markets and also enables them to attract and retain skilled employees. In Vietnam, for instance, the financing gap is estimated at $1.19 billion for women- owned SMEs. Running nearly 45,000 SMEs across sectors, women entrepreneurs bring in similar average annual revenue as men and are growing at a pace of over 20 per cent. Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Craig Chittick, told the workshop that Viet- namese women are great at doing business. "They are more aware of risk than their male counterparts, which allows them to better run their businesses," he said. While the common perception is that there are no differences between the challenges facing female and male heads of SMEs, the study reveals biasesconscious or uncon- sciousthat directly impact upon women's abilities to access formal financing and other desired services necessary to develop and grow their enterprise. Only 37 per cent of women-owned SMEs have accessed bank loans in the last two years, compared to 47 per cent of those owned by men. Though the country's invest- ment climate is positive for women, most banks feel no need for a different approach to women entrepreneurs or perceive the segment as less profitable, of higher risk, and lacking in financial management skills. The IFC report identifies women entrepreneurs as one of the significant forces within the Vietnam's SME sector and reframes the perceived challenges of serving women en- trepreneurs in Vietnam as an opportunity for banks and other service providers, ena- bling them to capture a growing market of savvy businesswomen and unlock the under-tapped potential of this segment in Vietnam. Rubin Japhta, Senior Operations Officer at the IFC's Banking on Women/SME Bank- ing, said that one of the key difficulties that women-owned businesses find is limited capital access at banks. "They feel they are not taken seriously as a customer segment," he said. "Banks need to change their services and see women-owned SMEs as a distinct market segment."

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Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country manager, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, said it is an op- portune time for banks to recognise women-owned SMEs as a separate and strategic customer segment, with uniquely tailored products and services. In its commitment to advancing gender equality, the IFC has invested more than $1 bil- lion in private-sector banks via its Banking on Women programme and has provided advisory services to banks that want to better serve this market segment. The IFC also works with client firms to identify opportunities and strategies to improve the work- place so that both women and men can perform their jobs well, which makes good sense for business performance and employee morale. Dao Gia Hung, deputy Head of SME Banking at the Vietnam Prosperity JSC Bank (VPB), said the bank initiated a pilot women strategy a year ago and the percentage of businesswomen in its SME portfolio increased from 15 per cent to 25 per cent this year. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/women-led-smes-still-struggle-with-fi- nancing FINANCE Capital for real estate, 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES BOT projects to fall The State Bank of Vietnam has demanded increased controls on loans for build-oper- ate-transfer (BOT) road and real estate projects despite their high demand for finances, Le Minh Hung, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, was quoted by local media as saying. Answering National Assembly deputies' questions on investment in property and BOT projects, Hung said banks would continue offering loans, mainly medium- and long-term loans, if projects are feasible. However, supervision is being tightened. Loans for BOT projects have decreased, accounting for only 1.5 percent of total out- standing loans. Real estate loans have also gone down to 6.5 percent from over 10 per- cent last year. Hung said credit had expanded 13.6 percent in the year to end-October, up a mere one percentage point over last year. The target for all of 2017 is 18 percent. During the first ten months of the year, capital was mainly poured into small and me- dium enterprises in the processing and manufacturing sector. The governor affirmed the central bank would control credit growth, ensure credit quality and curb inflation. The average interest rate has declined over the past time. The central bank has asked credit institutions to continue reducing interest rates by cutting costs and lowering bad debt to reduce expenditures of enterprises. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57099/Capital-for-real-estate-BOT-projects-to- fall.html

Transparent policies 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA needed to draw Clear, transparent and efficient policies are needed to encourage more foreign inves- foreign capital tors to jump into the Vietnamese securities market if it is to reach its considerable po- tential. According to the State Securities Commission (SSC), the local market is valued at $124 billion and has been among the seven fastest-growing in the world in the past two years. It has made significant developments and become more attractive to foreign in- vestors. But although over 1.86 million accounts have been opened so far, only 1.1 per- cent of them belong to foreign investors, showing the market could absorb more foreign investors. "We saw foreign investors escape from the local securities market in 2016, but they have returned with focus on both stock and bond markets," said Tran Van Dung, SSC chair. At the end of October, the total value of indirect foreign investment in the securities market rose 47.4 percent year-on-year from the end of 2016. As of October 25, foreign investors purchased a total of VND93.9 trillion (14 percent of the market's trading value) and sold a total of VND79 trillion (11.94 percent of the mar- ket's trading value), resulting in a total net buy value of VND14.9 trillion.

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The total value of assets possessed by foreign investors has reached $27.2 billion in the first nine months, an increase of 34 percent from last year. There are several factors that could help Vietnamese securities market draw more for- eign investment in the near future, Dung said. Firstly, macro-economic conditions should be stable. The country's growth is estimat- ed to be above 6.7 percent for 2017 and the next five years, inflation is kept under con- trol, and foreign exchange and lending rates should be stable, he said. "Vietnam has made changes in its view to the private sector as the government now sees private businesses as the most powerful force for the country's socio-economic de- velopment," he said. "This favours the development of the capital-securities market in the future." Secondly, the equitisation and privatisation of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) should be enhanced to transform those firms into joint-stock companies in the next one to two years. Then their shares could be traded on the stock market, increasing the number of available high-quality stocks and attracting more foreign investment, Dung said. FINANCE In the first three quarters, the government offloaded its stakes in 34 of the 44 targeted SOEs that are slated for the equitisation process. In the remaining months of the year, the government is speeding up the equitisation of the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) and PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), while it will continue selling its ownership in brewer Sabeco and dairy producer Vinamilk. The government will sell its capital in 64 others companies next year, including Viet- nam Paper Corporation and mobile service provider MobiFone. Deals expected to come in 2019 include Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe), telecom oper- ator Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Vietnam National Chem- ical Group (Vinachem) and Vietnam Coal and Minerals Industry Group (Vinacomin). Thirdly, new financial products should be introduced to the market, increasing the op- portunities for investors, Dung added. Incoming products include covered warrants, which will be launched late this year or early next year, and the government bond futures contracts, which will be available on the derivatives market in 2018. In addition, new derivatives products are being assessed so that they may become tradable in the next one or two years, meeting investors' demand for tools to prevent market risks, he said. Fourthly, the legal framework for the capital-securities market will be supplemented in the near future, starting with the amended Law on Securities to be released in 2019, according to the SSC chair. Others, such as the Law of Enterprises 2016 and relevant regulations will also be amended, allowing businesses to raise funding through share and bond issuance, and helping market regulators improve the monitoring of the market, he said. Nguyen Viet Duc, market analyst at MB Securities Company, said that more foreign investment is being drawn into the Vietnamese market as investors note the quality of local assets and market trading liquiditythe two most important factors to draw higher foreign capital, Duc said. Many large-cap companies debuted on the securities market this year, such as VP- Bank, gas station operator Petrolimex and aviation firm Vietjet, offering a large number of high-quality shares for the market, he said. Those listing also helped boost trading liquidity a factor that helps foreign investors increase their purchases easily as they are able to offload existing shares as soon as pos- sible, he added. Major barriers to foreign investors now include English information disclosure, the re- striction on exchanging the dong to foreign currencies and the limits on foreign own- ership in listed companies whose business involves national security issues, Duc at MB Securities said. The government "needs to work with the Morgan Stanley Capital International and other foreign institutional investors on their standards and make adequate changes to

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the current legal system," he said. Of the problems, it appears that the restrictions on foreign ownership remain the big- gest challenge for foreign investors. Foreign investors are not allowed to freely become strategic shareholders of listed companies, though the government has made its efforts to improve existing policies. A decree that took effect in September 2015 limits the foreign ownership in conditional businesses to 49 percent in sectors involving national security issues, such as real es- tate, telecommunications and banking. According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and In- vestment, there are about 113 conditional sectors, in which foreign ownership is limit- ed. Most of the companies in those sectors are State-owned firms, operating in commodity production, transportation, construction, agriculture and aquaculture. According to Phan Duc Trung, head of the enterprise renovation and development de- partment at the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the current poli- FINANCE cies limiting foreign ownership may help protect the country's young industries but will make those businesses less attractive to foreign investment. Foreign investors are discouraged from buying stakes in the companies as they are not guaranteed a chance to participate in the business management and governance, he said. In large-cap SOEs, foreign investors do not have controlling stakes, though they have spent millions of dollars buying stakes in those companies, he added. "Concerns have been raised among foreign investors as they could be outnumbered by a majority of shareholders and benefit less from the investments." CIEM director Nguyen Dinh Cung said that limits on foreign ownership will discour- age strategic shareholders from fulfilling their obligations stated in the agreements and contracts. "Foreign investors could avoid implementing the contracts and agreements properly as they do not have the rights to make decisions but still have to provide assistance for the businesses," he said. According to Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, the Vietnamese government needs to come up with a transparent proce- dure to evaluate SOEs accurately and allow foreign investors to buy larger stake in the SOEs, ensuring foreign shareholders are able to make decisions and have positive im- pacts on the business governance and management. Economist Can Van Luc said that to draw more foreign investment into the local mar- ket and keep the flow stable year after year, Vietnam must be consistent with its mac- ro-economic growth targets, speed up the restructuring of the economy and encourage the development of the private sector. "The government needs to make ensure the securities market operates transparently to reduce the chance of cross-ownership among companies and the manipulation of share prices," Luc said. Market regulators should offer more securities products, and market members must operate transparently and meet the standards on corporate governance and risk man- agement, he said. http://english.vov.vn/economy/transparent-policies-needed-to-draw-foreign-capital- 362782.vov

Experts: Tax, customs 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA reform needed Taxation and customs general departments must simplify their administrative proce- dures and eliminate unnecessary licences to attract more overseas Vietnamese inves- tors, experts said. "Vietnamese taxation and customs policies were reformed in recent years to create fa- vourable conditions for local and foreign enterprises to do business," Peter Hong, dep- uty chair of the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese, said. "However, Vietnamese taxation and customs policies change regularly, which makes

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it difficult for Vietnamese to have information. Also, the overseas Vietnamese business community does not receive much information about incentive projects and fields," he added. Hong said overseas Vietnamese send a huge number of remittances every year to Vi- etnam, but only a small amount of the money was used to invest and conduct business. For the first 10 months of the year, a total of 2.7 billion USD of remittances were sent to HCM City, of which only 260 million USD were channelled into investments. "It means that most remittances have been spent for individual purposes and they ha- ven't created any new value at a time when the city lacks huge capital for socio-eco- nomic development," he said. Chau Ba Long, general director of Minh Nguyen enterprise, said the government had given priority to supporting industries, but machinery imports for these industries had not received preferential taxes and customs procedures as several other industries had. "More importantly, import licenses for secondhand machinery are out of date," he FINANCE said. The law stipulates that enterprises cannot import 10-year-old machines, but in reality many machines have operated over 10 years and retain their quality and efficiency bet- ter than many new-tech domestically made machines. David Ngo, a businessperson, cited the example of automated and engineering ma- chines from Germany, France and Sweden. "Such machines operate for a long time and their precision is still much better than brand-new Asean products," he said. "Furthermore, Vietnamese authorities regulate old and new technology based on the amount of time, which is inappropriate. Such regulations have restricted many overseas Vietnamese from importing machines." Many overseas Vietnamese businesspeople have also complained that their vehicles such as cars and motorbikes could not be brought into Vietnam because of regulations on equipment, machinery and private vehicle imports that require time of usage rather than certain levels of efficiency and environmental protection. They are also concerned about financial regulations which do not limit the amount of money that overseas Vietnamese can bring into Vietnam, but limit the amount that can be sent out. "The regulation allows us to bring the same or less amount of money than we brought to the country. But if the time period is more than one year, we must have a licence from the State Bank of Vietnam. How can we benefit over the long term?" David Ngo asked. Bui Viet Cuong, an overseas Vietnamese from Switzerland, said: "Regulations are very necessary to ensure State management in every aspect of life. The knowledge of over- seas Vietnamese in finance is great, and relevant authorities should issue proper poli- cies to encourage them to invest and promote the country's development." Nguyen Huu Nghiep, deputy head of the HCM City's Customs Department, said that authorities had tried to reform administrative procedures, especially online services, to reduce cumbersome procedures for overseas Vietnamese and investors, and have regularly organised forums to hear complaints. "We will submit all proper and practical complaints to relevant ministries for adjust- ment in order to create the most favourable conditions for investors," he added. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/experts-tax-customs-reform-needed/121928.vnp

Government to target 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS 'reasonable' wealth The government will accord priority to a 'reasonable' distribution of wealth as it tack- distribution les the various socio-economic disparities in the country, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Saturday. Equality, growth quality and the handling of high-profile corruption cases were lead- ing concerns as he fielded questions in parliament on Saturday afternoon. He was the last government leader to take the floor at the National Assembly's three- day hearings of cabinet members.

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The 2.5 hour long Q&A session was the second time PM Phuc took questions. For the most part, his performance on major national issues was positively reviewed and re- ceived by deputies and voters, the Vietnam News Agency reported. Opening the session, PM Phuc reported on socio-economic achievements of 2017, es- pecially stressing the fulfillment of 13 targets set by the NA last year. Phuc asserted that the country's growth quality has improved visibly, with industry contributing more than agriculture. He said that this year's export turnover could reach $210 billion, up 21 per cent compared to last year (and threefold the set target of 7 per cent). The country has jumped five positions on the global competitiveness index and made progress on other human development indexes including life expectancy, which reached 73.7 years, the PM noted. On administrative reforms, Phuc said the government has introduced a total of 14 res- olutions and implemented several measures. Citing examples, he said the process of abolishing household registration books and issuing individual identification num- FINANCE bers has begun, and online portals set up to receive feedback from people and busi- nesses. "From 2015, the number of civil servants on government payroll has been reduced by 30,000," he said, adding that from now towards 2021, the aim is to shrink the number of government workers by 2.5 per cent each year. Disparities exist Responding to questions over the wealth disparity, including social stratification be- tween rural and urban areas, and mountainous areas and flatlands, Phuc admitted that despite the government's efforts and recent achievements, there remained big devel- opment gaps between these areas, with rural income just half of that in urban areas, and even lower in mountainous areas. "A reasonable distribution of wealth is an ongoing priority," and will be promoted in the near future via economic restructuring, improving labour productivity and prod- uct quality, creating more jobs for people in remote areas, redistribution of income by taxation, and better social security, he said. On promoting the private sector's role in the economy, PM Phuc said that the country can expect to have more than 115,000 new private companies this year and 93 per cent operating well. He also reiterated the government's commitment to improving the trade/business en- vironment, increasing transparency and equality in accessing resources, streamlining procedures, and preventing overlapping inspections. Phuc asked private sector companies to "say no to bribes and unofficial fees". Responding to concerns over the management of foreign direct investment (FDI) busi- nesses, PM Phuc said they are "a part of Vietnam's economy" that contributes 60 per cent of the country's export value and employs 3 million people. But there were issues with this sector, including the level of technology used, pricing, tax evasion and violations of environmental regulations violations. These will be dealt with strictly, the PM said, adding the government will be choosy about attracting in- vestment. Investment will be directed to areas where there was real need, "not in just any area, and by whatever means," he added. He said FDI and domestic firms should cooperate better for a win-win development. Anti-corruption fight The prime minister strongly affirmed that "the Party and the State will not allow out- rageous high-profile corruption cases to fall flat," and that the judiciary and legislative branches will collaborate to deliver rightful results to the public. Some deputies expressed their appreciation for the government's recent strong anti- corruption push, but also voiced concerns over "new and more sophisticated and deep-lying forms of corruption" that can undermine the political system. PM said the government is collecting and integrating NA feedback on its amended Law on Anti-Corruption, in the spirit of "there must not and should not be corruption."

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He also asked the NA to consider raising wages for civil servants as a way to ensure their livelihood and reduce petty corruption. "The application of information technology solutions can be helpful in preventing cor- ruption," he said, asking local governments to promote this process in the near future, together with implementation of e-government. 'Worst fears' When asked, the government leader admitted he was not entirely satisfied with the achievements in governing the country. He also said his "worst fears" are backward- ness, corruption, peaceful evolution, and moral failings. Phuc also responded to other issues raised at the hearing, including functions of a fa- cilitating government, policies for ethnic minority people, equitisation of State-owned enterprises, measures to better protect forests, and civil servants' bureaucratic attitude. vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/417809/govt-to-target-reasonable-wealth-distribu- tion.html#PQTGf8d1OI0QYt5s.97 FINANCE PPP law to be drafted 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR in 2018 Vietnam is expected to start building a law on public-private partnership (PPP) invest- ment in 2018 to pave the way for future foreign investment inflows. Vu Quynh Le, deputy head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Public Pro- curement Department, made this statement at November 16 workshop at Vietnam- World Economic Forum Infrastructure Development Cooperation. If everything goes smoothly, the draft law is expected to be submitted to the govern- ment and the National Assembly (NA) in late 2018. At present, PPP investment is regulated by Decree No.15/2015/ND-CP and Decree No.30/2015/ND-CP. Despite improvements, the risk-sharing mechanism, exchange rates, and revenue guarantees, which are considered the topmost concerns among for- eign investors, remain absent from the decrees. The lack of this regulatory mechanism has discouraged foreign investors from joining transport infrastructure projects in Vietnam. Thus, up till now, no PPP transport infra- structure projects have been successfully done by foreign investors in Vietnam, despite their great interest. "The decrees cannot help solve these problems, only a law can deal with them. We are proposing the government to build a PPP law," a senior official from the Ministry of Transport (MoT) told VIR. Vietnam has been striving to attract private investment into infrastructure projects amid heavy budgetary constraints. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam is estimated to need around $68 billion of foreign investment in the infrastructure sector in the next five years. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190572/ppp-law-to-be-drafted-in- 2018.html

PM demands 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES measures to tackle The government Office has released a conclusion by prime minister Nguyen Xuan shortcomings of Phuc after a regular cabinet meeting on shortcomings, mechanisms and policies of public-private build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) projects, equitisation, and part- partnerships nerships. According to the government Office's Notice 535/TB-VPCP released yesterday, eco- nomic and social infrastructure is a pillar of the country, of which traffic and urban in- frastructure plays a crucial role in ensuring socio-economic growth, the government news website reports. To develop infrastructure facilities, private investment has been mobilised over the past years, mainly under BOT and BT formats, besides public investment allocated by the government from the State budget and official development assistance (ODA) loans. The government has created a slew of mechanisms and policies in order to lure private

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sector investments under the BOT and BT investment models. As a result, the quality of infrastructure works has been improved, creating a favourable environment for in- vestment, and regional and global economic integration. However, the implementation of infrastructure projects under public-private partner- ships (PPP), especially BOT and BT formats, has exposed shortcomings which should be solved to fulfill development goals, ensuring socio-economic effectiveness and en- hancing government management of this kind of investment. Specifically, State agencies and the public have lately expressed concerns over BOT and BT projects. Many road and bridge projects under the BOT format have incurred cost overruns while many BT projects have also entitled investors to valuable land at low prices. The State Audit Office of Vietnam has recently decried such investment formats, and has ordered many BOT road projects to have their toll collection durations shortened as their actual costs are lower than registered while toll collection revenues are higher than declared. FINANCE Given such a situation, the PM asks the Ministry of Planning and Investment and rel- evant agencies to streamline and speed up the implementation of policies and regula- tions on the investment and use of traffic infrastructure under BOT projects. The government leader demands the transport ministry consider the State Audit Of- fice of Vietnam's proposals in order to adopt viable solutions for improving State man- agement in developing traffic infrastructure, especially BOT and BT projects. The transport ministry is required to finish strategies and master plans for developing traffic infrastructure, propose priority projects to be developed under the PPP format, and build tollgates in an appropriate manner. The transport ministry will have to cooperate with relevant agencies to map out the contract liquidation process and project assessment in line with prevailing regulations. Besides, the ministry takes toll collection time into account so as to ensure the interests of the State, investors and the public. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57100/PM-demands-measures-to-tackle-shortcom- ings-of-public-private-partnerships.html

WEF to propose 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA policies for Vietnam to The World Economic Forum (WEF) will build a report proposing policies for Vietnam seize 4IR to improve competitiveness and prepare all necessary conditions to optimise opportu- opportunities nities and benefits from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). He underlined the growing relations between Vietnam and the WEF over the past time and said the report will be built as part of the bilateral cooperation agreement on fu- ture-proofing economy in Vietnam signed in 2017. Justin Wood, head of the Asia Pacific region of WEF, said Vietnam has seen remarka- ble strides since 1980s from a low-income country to middle-income one. Vietnam is striving to become a high-income nation in the future, he added. Addressing the event, deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue highlighted opportu- nities from the internet of things, which enable all individuals to start business and help promote inclusiveness. Vietnam has obtained significant achievements in the field of telecommunication in- frastructure, he said, adding that the country has over 130 million mobile phone sub- scribers and the 4G network has covered up to 99 percent of Vietnamese districts. Fifty- five percent of the population has been frequently connected with the internet, he not- ed. Besides opportunities, the 4IR also poses numerous challenges in increasing competi- tiveness and promoting inclusiveness in Vietnam such as changing business models and shifting labour forces which have been occurring in some taxi firms and manufac- turing and processing industries, Hue said. He affirmed that the government will hold regular dialogues with the business com- munity as well as domestic and foreign experts to remove barriers and tackle any aris- ing issues stemmed from the fourth industrial revolution.

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The government will also create a legal corridor and essential action programmes to support businesses as well as encourage the formation of start-up ecosystems based on science and technology and promote corporate social responsibility. english.vov.vn/economy/wef-to-propose-policies-for-vietnam-to-seize-4ir-opportuni- ties-362765.vov

Promoting VN 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS innovation critical: Le Van Chung could not hide his happiness when his seven-member team from Duy PM Tan University won first prize in the information technology (IT) category at the Viet- namese Talent Awards 2017 held on Thursday evening. "No words could describe my feelings now. I can only say that this is the most unfor- gettable moment of my life," Chung said. "We, seven people, worked on our project for five years. We are happy to receive positive feedback." The team won its prize, presented by prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, for its design

FINANCE of a 3D human body simulator that facilitates teaching, learning and research in health science. Phuc said at the awards ceremony that fostering talents was of great important to the prosperity of the country. He added that the Vietnamese Talent Awards, initiated by Vietnam Study Promotion Association, had created a campaign of continuous learning and innovation at all ages, over its 13-year history. "It's time for self-taught talents and the youth to start up together with scientists to pro- mote innovation for the future of our country," Phuc stressed. "Our country will devel- op strongly if we can take the opportunity and promote the brainpower of Vietnamese." The industrial revolution 4.0 was bringing many opportunities and it was critical for the country to promote talent and innovation to avoid lagging behind, he said. Phuc said that Vietnam was determined to develop a transparent and constructive government to encourage every potential and promote innovation, adding that the government could also make use of innovative solutions. Phuc appealed to Vietnamese talents in every field to create a society of learning and innovation. The Vietnamese Talent Awards, first held in 2005 to honour inventions in IT and then expanded to other fieldsnamely science and technology, environment, health and tal- ent promotionis now a launching pad for young businesses and start-ups. Other products honoured this year include a multi-functional agricultural machine, an advanced technology application for reproductive health care and raising population quality, a kidney transplant operation, the app service connection Rada and spell checker DoIT. Promote real-life application Chung said that his team still faced difficulties in applying the product in real-life sit- uations. The product has been implemented for one year at Duy Tan University and a clinic in Da Nang City and received positive feedback from students as compared to tradition- al learning methods. "However, we meet with difficulty in bringing our product into real-life application due to a lack of hospital budgets for this and our lack of relations with universities," he said. "We hope that our product will be widely known and applied at universities and hospitals." vietnamnews.vn/economy/417785/promoting-vn-innovation-critical- pm.html#KcwJWV2tMeQB1x6k.97

Special economic 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NHAN DAN zonesnew impetus for Vietnam is promoting the establishment of three special economic zones (SEZs), in- economic cluding Van Don (Quang Ninh province), Bac Van Phong (Northern Van Phong, in development Khanh Hoa), and Phu Quoc (Kien Giang). SEZ model is expected to create a new impetus for economic development and reform,

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because of its outstanding business environment, transparent institutions, and effec- tive administration. Creating momentum from emerging economic zones\ Vietnam has 18 coastal economic zones (EZs) which are enjoying improved preferen- tial policies and a more favourable investment and business environment for investors than other EZs. However, according to economists, the country still has not truly had a SEZ yet, as incentive mechanisms in EZs, while being better than others, are still not attractive to investors. The establishment of three SEZsVan Don, Bac Van Phong, and Phu Quocis considered a boost to the Vietnamese economy in the future. In particular, Phu Quoc belongs to the group of EZs given top priority by the government until 2020, and draws robust investment. As of the beginning of 2017, Phu Quoc has attracted $16.7 billion of invest- ment, ranking fourth among localities receiving the most investment capital across Vi- etnam. Van Don EZ was established in 2007 with the aim of becoming a centre for eco-mari- FINANCE time tourism, and an aviation and international trade hub to promote local economic development for the northern province of Quang Ninh, and create momentum for re- gional and national development. Bac Van Phong EZ has been selected by the govern- ment as the earliest development priority (since 2006), aiming to become the nucleus of economic growth and an urban, industry, service, and tourism centre of the South Central Coast. In fact, these three EZs have not yet been able to maximise their advantages, and the set objectives are proving difficult to achieve. The main reason is that the institutional and policy framework is inadequate, ineffective, and unattractive enough to draw large scale investment. In order to improve the efficiency of EZs, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has studied international SEZ models, and selected these three EZs to turn them into true SEZs in Vietnam. According to Head of EZ Management Department under the MPI Tran Duy Dong, these are EZs with advantages that meet the necessary crite- ria to create a breakthrough in attracting investment. In order to set up SEZs, by the end of 2016, the government agreed to promote the con- struction of these three SEZs with the intention that each unit would develop their own strengths in order to maximise their potential and comparative advantages to create new development impetus, ensure regional allocation of resources, and produce a sp- illover effect on a national scale. According to the MPI forecast, the benefit from SEZ development is very high, as local people in these areas could earn from $12,000-13,000/person/year. Specifically, in Van Don, during the 2021-2030 period, it is estimated that the State could collect $1.9 billion from taxes and fees; while enterprises would generate about $9.7 billion in added val- ue. From 2017 to 2030, in Bac Van Phong, it is estimated that the State coffers would grow to $1.2 billion from taxes and fees, and enterprises could generate value added at $10 billion. For Phu Quoc, it is estimated that the State might collect $3.3 billion from taxes, fees and land use; while businesses would gain $19 billion in value added. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that when coming into operation, SEZs would create a huge attraction, a "booming" investment. SEZs would contribute greatly to bringing the Vietnamese economy to the level of developed coun- tries in the region. Developing SEZs in Vietnam with break-through administrative and economic mechanisms and policies, along with international competition, new de- velopment motivation and positive spillover effects, is necessary and urgent. Removing bottleneck to facilitate SEZ development In order to perfect the mechanism and policies for the operation of SEZs, the MPI was assigned by the government to draft the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Zones. Tran Duy Dong said that drafting the bill was necessary in order to institution- alise the socio-economic development viewpoint, strategy, and plan for the construc- tion and development of SEZs approved at the 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th National Party Congresses.

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In particular, the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress sets out "to build some SEZs to create growth points and pilot the breakthrough regional development mechanism." The completion of the draft law also provides an important legal frame- work for the establishment, development, and management of three special adminis- trative-economic units that have been approved by the competent authorities in the Notice No. 21-TB/TW dated March 22, 2017. Economists said that Vietnam's advantages in attracting investment are shrinking. The country is actively improving its business environment to create attractiveness for for- eign investors. If the business environment fails to distinguish itself, it will be difficult to attract investment. Vietnam is a developing country, so it needs to create more at- tractive and innovative opportunities to attract investors. If there is no true SEZ, it will be difficult to retain investors. To ensure SEZs are seen favourably by investors, the MPI has cooperated with relevant units to study and synthesize experience from 13 countries around the world with both successful and failed SEZ development models. Based on that, a model for SEZ FINANCE development suitable for Vietnam's economic conditions will be formed in anticipa- tion of the development of the 4th Industrial Revolution that is progressing world- wide. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Trung affirmed that the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Zones is remarkable, not only domestically but also internationally, as it incorporates competitiveness and groundbreaking fea- tures. It is especially necessary to have a policy to consider exemption from liability for the heads of such special units, otherwise, leaders of SEZs would not dare to proceed be- cause of the restrictive legal regulations. This means that it is important to remove con- strictions for the development of SEZs. If the bill is approved, this will be a great opportunity for Vietnam to attract investment in three special administrative-econom- ic zones, namely Van Don, Bac Van Phong, and Phu Quoc. Opening special zones to welcome investment waves According to Dr Vo Tri Thanh, former deputy Head of the Central Institute for Eco- nomic Management, developing mechanisms for SEZs need to develop a broader per- spective to compete in the international arena. Vietnam should accept the "new play" on payment and currency but at a manageable level. Policy development still receives too much focus, meanwhile, there is no clear identification yet on SEZ as a place to make money or to test institutions, thus influencing policy making and planning. The goal is to create a business investment environment that is particularly conducive to innovation, research, and development, as well as facilitating new and hi-tech sci- ences, and services and industries with development advantages which are named in the list of regional priorities for development. Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that under the National Assembly's programme for building draft laws and ordinances, the draft Law on Special Administrative-Econom- ic Zones is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion at its ongoing 4th session, and to be approved at the next sitting. Once the draft bill receives approval, it is expected to attract a surge of investment in Vietnam. The policy has been formed, now the mission is to legalise it and create the outstanding institutions that are capable of competing within the region and international arena. While taking the initiative and building mechanisms to welcome waves of investment internationally and domestically, it is imperative to understand the needs of the na- tion, and investors, then move forward to develop the appropriate institutions. As a special administrative-economic unit, administrative or economic organisations must be special. With flexible and open issues, it is necessary to study the development models of other countries and current trends in the world, combined with the reality of the country during the past years, to build the best institutions with great competi- tiveness, while at the same time ensuring that core issues related to defence-security, national sovereignty, social consensus, and environmental protection are not neglect- ed.

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Standing member of the National Assembly's Economic Committee Do Van Sinh: "Making a breakthrough needs a break in thought first. A policy issued without break- through is no different from regular ones." Minister of Home Affairs Le Vinh Tan: "There are many models on the organisational structure of SEZs in the world, and here in Vietnam we have special administrative- economic zones, which have both administrative and economic features. Therefore, the specialty is that it must be different from current law, so this draft law on special administrative-economic zones should not be contrary to the Constitution. It is possi- ble that after passing this law, several other current bills in force should be adjusted to suit the development of special administrative-economic units." http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190506/special-economic-zones---new-im- petus-for-economic-development.html

FDI pursuit should 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS

FINANCE focus on US and EU: Vietnam needs new strategies of foreign direct investment (FDI), which should focus expert on seeking investment from the US and European Union, according to experts. According to a preliminary draft for the FDI strategy for 2018-23, based upon current development in Vietnam, investment in the nation should focus on those sectors hav- ing advantages, as well as sectors that foreign companies could bring more benefits to, rather than domestic firms. The draft built by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the World Bank sets out priority sectors for attracting FDI, such as those that needs increased value and competitiveness, including manufacturing (high-grade metals/minerals/chemicals/ plastics and high-tech/electronic components); service (logistics and maintenance, re- pair and overhaulMRO); agriculture (innovative agricultural products, high value such as rice, coffee, seafood); and travel (high-value tourism services). In the short term, priority is to be given to industries with narrow opportunities for competition, such as production (automotive and transport equipment OEMsOriginal Equipment Manufacturers and suppliers), and environmental technology (water con- servation equipment, solar, wind), reported the Nha dau tu (Investor) Magazine. In the medium term, priority should be given to sectors that create and develop skills, including manufacturing (pharmaceuticals and medical equipment), services (educa- tion and health services, financial services, financial technology (Fintech), information technology and intellectual services (accounting and design). The draft also proposed solutions to enhance efficiency in the operation of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the MPI. It recommended that Vietnam should remove entry-barriers and maximise the impact of incentives in attracting investments. Reforms are also needed to more effectively anchor existing investors and motivate them to expand their activities in Vietnam. The nation needs to maximise the absorption potential of local companies by strength- ening linkages with global value chains. Nguyen Mai, chair of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), said that this is one of the important contributions for the orientation of for- eign investment in the future. However, Mai said foreign investment can not be separated from the socio-economic development strategy being carried out throughout the country. At present, Vietnam is implementing the 10-year socio-economic development strategy from 2011-20. Therefore, the period of the FDI strategy should be adjusted to be appropriate for the 10-year socio economic development strategy, because the period of the FDI strategy for 2018-23 is too short. The FDI strategy also needs to address the issue of attracting more investors from the US and the EU, Mai said. What Vietnam needs to focus on is attracting investment from the US and the EU in the future, but not Japan, South Korea and China. If not resolved, investment in Viet- nam will remain based mainly on Asian countries, Mai said.

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The strategy should pay attention to promoting more foreign investment in difficult provinces. Although the government has offered many incentives, few investors have come to the northern mountainous and Central Highland provinces, he said. Meanwhile, Phan Huu Thang, former director of the FIA, said that the strategy on at- tracting a new generation of FDI should take into account policies relating to the three special economic zones of Phu Quoc, Van Don and Bac Van Phong, because the final development plan of three zones will be approved next year. Further, Nguyen Anh Tuan, vice chair of VAFIE and Editor-in-Chief of Investor Mag- azine, said the list of priority areas in the draft lacks infrastructure that needs huge in- vestments, while domestic investment can not meet the existing demand. Currently, there is no FDI project in the transportation sector. For instance, Long Thanh Airport and the North-South Highway need large amounts of capital. Vietnam should attract foreign investors to this sector, because it needs both capital and tech- nology, Tuan said. http://bizhub.vn/news/fdi-pursuit-should-focus-on-us-and-eu-expert_290188.html FINANCE

Workforce growth 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| SGT turns modest The local workforce has annually grown by less than 1 percent over the past five years due to population aging, according to a report by the Institute of Labour, Science and Social Affairs. At a ceremony on the report "Trend of labour and social affairs in Vietnam in 2012- 2017" held yesterday in Hanoi City, Dao Quang Vinh, director of the institute, said Vi- etnam has to face rapidly aging population while the social insurance system is not ef- fective enough. Therefore, the number of people continuing working after retirement tends to rise, from 44.89 percent in 2012 to 46.24 percent in the second quarter of this year. Population aging also affects the age-based employment structure, with the number of less-than-35-year-old workers falling. Besides, the number of female employees aged over 55 and men over 60 had increased, nearly equal to the number of young people aged 15 to 24. In addition, industrialisation and urbanisation have attracted more workers from rural areas to cities, leading to an average increase of 2.5 percent in workforce in cities and 0.36 percent in rural areas. However, the number of male workers migrating to urban areas has surged compared to women in recent years. The quality of Vietnamese labourers remains low as only 23 percent of them have qual- ifications and certificates. Especially, the employment structure based on professional ability is unsuitable to the socio-economic development in Vietnam. The report also shows that more than 50 percent of employees graduate from univer- sities and colleges, 5.42 percent from vocational schools and 5.6 percent from short- term training classes. Each year sees a high jobless rate among holders of bachelor's or master's degrees. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190587/workforce-growth-turns-mod- est.html

Recruiting & retaining 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES It's never been more important for enterprises to adopt a comprehensive people strat- egy. Vietnam was ranked 86th out of 118 countries in the latest Global Talent Competitive- ness Index (GTCI), released in early 2017 by INSEAD, one of the world's leading busi- ness schools, the Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore (HCLI), and the Switzerland-based workforce solutions provider Adecco Group, which measures how countries grow, attract, and retain talent and provides a resource for decision-makers to develop strategies for boosting their talent competitiveness. According to the report, Vietnam scored relatively better in global knowledge skills but is struggling in terms of attracting talent and developing a pool of vocational and technical skills. The country still possesses a workforce of prime age at low cost, with a young popu-

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lation and a rapidly-rising middle class willing to spend. In the context of the trend to- wards automation, that there are still millions of low-skilled workers in the country's key export sectors is a concern for enterprises as well as the government. However, "most enterprises in Vietnam still have a huge need for talent, especially at senior lev- els," said Tieu Yen Trinh, CEO of Talentnet. A comprehensive people strategy is there- fore more important than ever, because young talent are now expecting fast career progression and there's a big gap between supply and demand at the top management level, the latest Mercer Total Remuneration Survey found. Automation threat The Global Industry 4.0 Survey, the largest research of its kind and conducted last year by PwC on over 2,000 companies in nine major industrial sectors from 26 leading coun- tries, revealed that companies expect the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) to reduce operational costs by 3.6 per cent per year while increasing efficiency by 4.1 per cent. Major corporations in Vietnam have been looking at applying advanced technol- ogies and replacing their human workforce with machinery and robots in certain in- FINANCE dustries, to raise productivity, reduce production time, and optimise labour costs. Similarly, Mercer's "Insights from Current Asian Labour Market Trends 2017" report found that global industries will start to be disrupted by 2020, in which around 4.9 mil- lion jobs will be added in business and financial operations and 4.2 million in manage- ment. More than 4.8 million jobs, however, will be lost in office and administration, along with 1.6 million in manufacturing and production. At the Vietnam HR Awards 2017 held in August, Hoang Nam Tien, Chair of FPT Soft- ware, agreed that robotics will replace the human workforce in the near future, so Vi- etnamese companies should be aware of the increasing effects of Industry 4.0 on their employment. When technology takes over to effectively support organisational oper- ations, it consequently begins replacing people positions. Thus, the importance of hu- man resources (HR) management, including people strategy and talent retention policies, should be the top priority in any business strategy. Not only does it help increase efficiency and simplify and automate processes, technol- ogy also helps in gathering the necessary data for assessments and analyses, from which better decisions can be drawn for better direction in business development. HR management is therefore considered vital for businesses and technology is a contrib- uting factor in talent management and leadership development. Furthermore, taking into consideration that HR management is the backbone of any enterprise, technology is having a major impact on many talent strategies. At the same time, the technological era is creating both opportunities and challenges for businesses in the process of enhancing and managing resources. "Technology im- provements require an increasing demand for a creative workforce with the strategic thinking and analytical acumen to meet needs in this challenging day and age," said Trinh. "Expectations of employers regarding the required skills that potential talent and leadership need are entirely different from those of previous years, together with the pressure of having a workforce management strategy to keep up with the global workforce." Limited changes Factors affecting employee retention and long-term commitment vary from company to company, but primarily include working environment and culture, relations with colleagues and especially leadership teams, career development opportunities, and, of course, compensation. Focusing on these not only helps to promote a company's image but also enhances employees' commitment to the organisation. Compensation, in par- ticular, though not the one and only driver of an employee retention strategy, is con- sidered the most common top-of-mind concern for employees when considering whether to remain at a company. Many local enterprises, however, aren't keen on stra- tegically investing in their total rewards policy. According to the 2017 Vietnam Salary report conducted by Mercer and Talentnet on 592 well-established multinational companies (MNCs) and leading domestic compa- nies from 16 industries and with remuneration data on 289,236 employees, the number

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of participating companies increased by 6 per cent while the among of employee data increased by 19 per cent in all industries. "The significant increase in the number of data points from leading companies joining this survey indicates the growing need of organisations for official and trustworthy market data to benchmark their current compensation and benefits with the market, maximise the use of their HR budget, and build an effective rewards system in order to attract and retain talent," said Hoa Nguy- en, Senior director of Mercer Salary Surveys and HR Consulting Services at Talentnet. A deeper look into the survey reveals increasing awareness among companies about the importance of people management and investment. Amid globalisation, one posi- tive sign is that there were more enterprises, both large and medium-sized, joining the survey in 2017, allowing HR experts and business leaders to have access to more in- sightful data on building their rewards strategies. MNCs overall pay higher salaries than local companies, by an average of 29 per cent; down slightly from last year's 31 per cent. The pay difference in annual base salaries is 30 per cent at the professional level and up to 41 per cent at the management level, as FINANCE MNCs have been focusing on offering higher salaries for management positions to compensate such staff for their greater contributions and scope of work. Local compa- nies, meanwhile, are now willing to be more flexible in pay so they can compete with MNCs for key talent, leading to their variable bonuses accounting for a higher percent- age of base salary than at MNCs. Conversely, the average voluntary staff turnover rate at local companies is higher than at MNCs (10.5 per cent versus 7.4 per cent). For MNCs, the Top 3 industries with the highest turnover rates are retail (32.2 per cent), real estate (18.8 per cent), and consum- er goods (17.3 per cent), whereas chemicals and the oil and mining industry have low turnover rates, at 9.9 and 5.3 per cent, respectively. Pay difference by industrymncs The average salary increase in 2017 at MNCs and local companies was 8.5 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively, compared to 8.6 per cent and 8.7 per cent last year. However, Vietnam remains among the Top 3 regional countries with the highest salary increases, following only Myanmar and India. High-tech and life sciences were the Top 2 in terms of highest salary increases, at around 10 per cent, thanks to their positive busi- ness performance. Though paying in the top range in Vietnam, the oil and mining in- dustry recorded the lowest salary increase, of 4.6 per cent, even lower than last year's 7.5 per cent, due to falling oil prices. Salary and benefits have always been considered the most important factors in attract- ing and retaining talent in Vietnam over the years, according to Nguyen Thi Hong Thuy, HR director at the Vietnam Fan JSC. In the context of global integration and In- dustry 4.0, Vietnamese talent will have better job options, so "local companies should pay much more attention to their total rewards strategy and optimise it wisely, to not only retain high performers but also enhance competitiveness in the regional market," she said. She added that, at the senior management level, salaries in Vietnam are quite high re- gionally due to the fact that the country lacks talent at this level, but if local companies don't proactively invest in their strategy they will find it difficult to secure good talent, especially when the labour market become fiercely competitive nationally and region- ally under global integration. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/recruiting-retaining

Rising global coal 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS prices a threat to As a coal importer, Vietnam will pay substantially more for energy source in coming budget years, according to recent analysis. Vietnam may have to spend an additional $1.27 billion each year on the fuel to 2021, given the global price of coal has doubled since the beginning of 2016, new analysis re- veals. The current market price of thermal coal has risen to $100 per tonne, double the figure early last year, according to research from the Australia-based Institute for Energy

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Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Vietnam imported a net 12 million tonnes of coal last year, a staggering increase of 131 per cent against 2015, and the country's net coal imports will stand at 35 million tonnes per year by 2021, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). At current market prices, that would cost Vietnam $3.5 billion per year. Compared with projections made last year, which said Vietnam would have to spend $2.8 billion at a predicted price of $80 per tonne, the country will end up spending an extra $1.27 billion every year on importing foreign coal by 2021, the IEEFA calculated. According to the institute, rising coal imports create commodity price and currency risks for Vietnamese electricity consumers that have a negative impact on the current account deficit. "The doubling of the coal price from $50 in January 2016 to almost $100 today is largely as a result of a Chinese policy aimed at an orderly coal market transition by maintain- ing a degree of profitability for domestic Chinese coal miners, while the central gov- ernment forges ahead with an accelerating transition to clean energy," it said. "China FINANCE is set to install 50 gigawatts of solar in 2017 alone; a global record for a single country in a single year." "The fluctuating market in 2017 illustrates the extent to which coal is a major threat to the health of Vietnam's budget," Tim Buckley, director of Energy Finance Studies at the IEEFA, was quoted as saying in a statement released this week by the IEEFA. "For countries experiencing significant sustained economic growth, it also further val- idates the imperative to diversify Vietnam's electricity sector generation base to incor- porate more alternative sources of domestic supply, namely renewable energy infrastructure, which continues to see cost reductions of more than 10 per cent every year." In Vietnam, which has switched from a coal exporter to a coal importer over the years due to over-exploitation, the development of green-power projects has only just start- ed and investors are still struggling due to low purchase prices. The Ministry of Industry and Trade in September asked the government to raise the purchase price for wind power in an effort to help investors cover high input costs, suggesting the price be lifted to 8.7 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for wind energy projects on land and 9.95 cents per kWh for offshore projects. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/53881/rising-global-coal-prices-a-threat-to-budg- et.html

MoIT's power tariff 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS proposals will benefit The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is drafting regulations on new retail prices hotels for electricity, aiming to lower electricity prices for hotels in order to strengthen the tourism sector and hike prices for electricity-guzzling households in an effort to incen- tivise lower consumption. The draft states that electricity retail prices would be set for each customer category in- cluding producers, businesses, lodging facilities, administrative agencies, and house- holds. The average electricity price is currently VND1,662 per kWh. A new feature of the draft regulations is discounted electricity prices for lodging facil- ities as the government aims to help tourism become one of the country's key economic sectors. Accordingly, lodging facilities will enjoy a lower power tariff equal to power for producers. The retail price for households is still divided into six groups. Families who consume up to 50 kWh of electricity per month would pay 92 per cent of the average retail price. Those using from 51 to 110 kWh will pay 95 per cent of the price, 101-200 kWh 110 per cent, 201-300 kWh 138 per cent, 301-400 kWh 154 per cent, and over 401 kWh 159 per cent. The government will subsidise poor households with an amount equal to the retail price of 30 kWh per month. The pricing scheme means that the more electricity households consume, the more money they have to pay: households that consume over 401 kWh per month would

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have to pay a price 1.7 times higher than that of households that consume 50 kWh per month. The ministry said the move was intended to encourage household customers to save electricity. The power tariffs were drafted after the ministry considered the experiences of coun- tries such as Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, South Africa, Indonesia and Malay- sia. The establishment of six groups for electricity pricing over the past three years has been straightforward and effective at encouraging responsible power use, the ministry added. However, the dividision of power tariffs for households into six groups has not been responsive to societal changes, experts said. Nguyen Tien Tha, former director of the Price Management Department under the Ministry of Finance, told online newspaper vietnamnet.vn that currently, few poor households consume less than 50 kWh. People's lifestyles now include dramatically more electronics equipment. FINANCE Tha proposed applying a common electricity price for households or reducing the cur- rent six groups to three or four. Statistics showed that around 65 per cent of households consume electricity of 150 kWh a month. "We proposed households consuming less than 150 kWh a month pay 95.5 per cent of the average retail price instead of the current 110 per cent, to ensure most of people en- joying lower power tariff," he told the newspaper. Specialist Ngo Tri Long shared the opinion, saying that the people's quality of life has been improved as electricity use has increased. He said the government should not ap- ply a higher-than-average price to people consuming more than 100 kWh per month. In July, the government issued a new mechanism stipulated in the prime minister's De- cision 24/2017/QD-TTg allowing the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to hike the average power retail price when input cost for electricity production rises 3 per cent instead of 7 per cent as before. Depending on the input cost increase, EVN will decide to raise the price between 3 and 5 per cent before reporting to the ministries of industry and trade and finance. For increases between 5 and 10 per cent, EVN can raise prices after receiving approval from the MoIT. For hikes above 10 per cent, which could potentially impact the macro-economy, the two ministries will work together to look into the power price plan presented by EVN. The average power retail price has remained unchanged since March 2015. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417815/moits-power-tariff-proposals-will-benefit- hotels.html#KciZudTSwBMbvEA8.97

Ban on casino entry 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS lifted New circular lifts ban on Vietnamese nationals' entry into casinos From December 1 this year Vietnamese who can show a minimum income of VND10 million (US$440) a month can gamble in casinos. Circular No 102/2017, issued by the Ministry of Finance in early August to guide De- cree No 03/2017 on casino businesses, lifts the ban on Vietnamese entering casinos that is in place now. Only foreigners are currently allowed into the country's casinos. Once the ban is lifted, to enter people must also prove they are over 21 years old. As for the income, they have to show it is taxable at level 3 or higher or have certified copies of a lease agreement showing they receive rent of at least VND10 million a month or a bank statement showing interest income of that sum. Since 1992 the government has been acknowledging that casinos would help attract tourists and bring revenues. This resulted in the first casino appearing in 1994 in the beach resort of Do Sn in Hai Phong. Now there are eight casinos and more than 50 electronic gambling facilities nation- wide.

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The new circular is expected to encourage the opening of casinos around the country, especially in special administrative-economic zones like Van Don in Quang Ninh Province, Bc Van Phong in Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc in Kien Giang. In Van Don, the province people's committee has licensed real estate developer Sun Group to build a $2 billion luxury resort-amusement complex with a casino on 2,500 hectares in the special economic zone. Both Quang Ninh and Kien Giang provinces want the government to choose casinos in their locality to trial entry for Vietnamese. Other provinces, including those without special economic zones, also want a piece of the action. The Thua Thien-Hue Province People's Committee has sought permission to increase the charter capital of the Lng Co Laguna Project from $874 million to $2 billion and open a casino. The new circular has attracted some public criticism, with people saying the regula- tions limiting entry based on income cannot be enforced since it is difficult to prove FINANCE income. To gain entry, a person has to be paying income tax at level 3 or higher, but in Vietnam 70 per cent of payers are assessed at level 1. Others said the daily maximum gambling limit of VND1 million is too low to attract high income earners and help the government achieve its revenue target. Meanwhile, the existing casinos are operating at just a third of their capacity and claim to be losing money. The Hoang Gia International Construction Investment Joint Stock Company said its casino business made a gross loss of VND35.8 billion last year and a net loss of VND101 billion in the first nine months of this year. Analysts blame this on the rapidly growing competition, with more and more casinos fighting for fewer gamblers from overseas, most of them from China and Taiwan. Vietnamese gamblers usually cross the border into Cambodia, where many casinos target them. The government's decision to lift the ban is expected could not have come sooner for the casinos. Exporters fret as foreign currency loans set to dry up The circular that allows the extension of foreign currency lending to enterprises in- volved in export activities will expire in a month. Economists are concerned this could affect borrowers. Last November the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued a circular amending and sup- plementing some articles in an earlier circular guiding lending in foreign currencies. This allowed enterprises with short-term foreign currency requirements for their pro- duction and export activities to continue borrowing in foreign currencies until the end of 2017. Interest rates for foreign currency loans are only around half the on Dong loans. They are currently at 2.8-6 per cent. Interest rates for non-priority Dong lending stand at 6.8-9 per cent for short-term loans and 9.3-11 per cent for long- and medium-term loans. Exporters are understandably worried they would lose this big advantage from next month. Analysts fear there will be a double whammy for exporters. Firstly, their costs will shoot up, hitting their bottom line. Secondly, demand for Dong loans will go up sharp- ly, pushing up loan interest rates even higher, particularly at banks that have liquidity issues. The situation is predicted to become quite dire since growth in foreign currency lend- ing is on an upward trend. In the first nine months of this year credit growth was 12.9 per cent compared to 5.4 per cent a year earlier. Export enterprises pointed out that if they have to borrow in Dong to finance their op- eration costs would rise significantly, affecting the competitiveness of their goods.

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They wanted the central bank not to have a one-size-fits-all policy since export enter- prises' business strategies are very different from those of other businesses. But economists justified the SBV's policy saying the increasing demand for credit means dollarisation of the economy is a real threat and could undermine the govern- ment's anti-dollarisation efforts. To preclude this, it is necessary to switch completely from lending and borrowing the greenback to buying and selling it. Others said, however, that to do this there should be flexibility in exchange rates and businesses must be allowed to freely buy foreign exchange when they require. Moody's upgrades VN banking outlook Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the outlook for Vietnam's banking system to "positive" for the next 12-18 months from "stable". According to a statement from the credit rating agency, the Vietnamese banking sys- tem's positive outlook reflects strong economic prospects, with the banks' operating environment benefiting from robust economic growth, based on ongoing improve- FINANCE ments to infrastructure, favourable demographics and the government's continued fo- cus on reform to support foreign direct investment. But it also warned Vietnam of rising asset risks as the nation boosts credit growth to drive the economy. Rapid credit growth will continue to erode capital buffers and capitalisation will dete- riorate as the banks struggle to replenish capital against rapid loan growth, it warned further. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417812/ban-on-casino-entry-lift- ed.html#sV0T7KjuBciEK9BK.97

Leather, footwear 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA industries expand Vietnamese leather and footwear exporters must comply with the EU-Vietnam free exports to EU trade agreement's rules of origin and be prepared to deal with EU barriers and anti- dumping measures, speakers said at a seminar held in HCM City on November 17. The meeting, organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-Mutrap), was held to help exporters take advantage of the EV-FTA when it takes effect in 2019. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, vice chairwoman and general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso), said the EV-FTA would increase exports because of lower tariffs and contribute to eliminating other trade barriers. However, Vietnamese leather and footwear manufacturers and exporters will confront challenges as well. To meet EU requirements, Vietnamese businesses will have to im- prove technologies and manufacturing processes to ensure high quality. Because most leather and footwear manufacturers in the country are foreign-invested, locally-owned enterprises will have to enhance competitiveness to increase market share. Vuong Duc Anh, deputy head of the origin of goods division under the Ministry of In- dustry and Trade's Export-Import Department, said that exporters should comply with EV-FTA's rules of origin in order to make the most of EV-FTA. "Exporters will not be able to enjoy tariff cuts to zero percent unless they meet EV- FTA's rules of origin," Anh said. Professor Sanggeeta Khorana, an expert from EU-Mutrap, said Vietnamese businesses subjected to EU barriers and anti-dumping measures should be able to prove that they do not receive subsidies. An anti-dumping investigation can be initiated whenever the directorate general for Trade of the European Commission decides that information is sufficient to launch an official investigation. Vietnam earned $13.1 billion from leather and footwear exports in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 11.4 percent over the same period last year. Last year Vietnam ranked as the third-largest footwear manufacturer in the world, af- ter China and India, according to Lefaso.

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The EV-FTA will come into force in 2019, connecting Vietnamone of Asean's most dy- namic manufacturing hubs with the EU one of the world biggest markets with GDP of over $18 trillion, accounting for 22 percent of the world's total GDP and a population of over 500 million. Once the EV-FTA agreement goes into effect, the EU will eliminate import duties on 85.6 percent of its tariffs lines on Vietnamese products. After seven years, 99 percent of EU tariffs will be removed for Vietnamese products. Vietnamese textiles, footwear and seafood products (except for canned tuna and fish balls) will incur no import duties within seven years after the agreement takes effect. As of the end of last year, Vietnam's leather and footwear exports to the EU reached nearly $5 billion, making the EU the second-largest leather and footwear importer of Vietnam after the US. This comes two years after Vietnam enjoyed the EU's generalised system of preferenc- es (GSP) with tariffs reduced from 13-14 percent to 3-4 percent. In recent years, Vietnam has become one of the most active players in negotiating and FINANCE implementing free trade agreements. The EU is Vietnam's second-biggest export market, while Vietnam is the EU's 11th big- gest source of imports. About 900 European enterprises have invested in Vietnam, which has the largest Eu- ropean business community in Southeast Asia. http://english.vov.vn/trade/leather-footwear-industries-expand-exports-to-eu- 362818.vov

US exports to Vietnam 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| HPJ resume with first Shipping containers containing 7,850 metric tonnes of US distiller's dried grains with shipments delivered solubles arrived into the Port of HCM City, Vietnam, between October 25 and Novem- ber 10, 2017among the first orders filled following a September announcement by the Vietnamese government that it would lift its suspension of DDGS imports and ease fu- migation requirements for US corn and wheat imports. Manuel Sanchez, US Grains Council regional director for South and Southeast Asia, was on site as the containers of US DDGS arrived. The containers were among the first to arrive in Vietnam following the government lifting a suspension put in place in October 2016. "We are glad to see the first shipment and arrival of US DDGS back into the Vietnam- ese market," said Manuel Sanchez, US Grains Council regional director for South and Southeast Asia. "The Council collaborated closely with our own government, the Viet- namese government and industries in both countries to resolve this trade disruption." The Council's marketing efforts and technical support on the ground in Vietnam have assisted the local feed industry in understanding how to use US DDGS and led to in- creasing inclusion rates for this feed product in the Vietnamese swine and poultry sec- tors. As a result, Vietnam rapidly ramped up consumption levels, becoming one of the largest markets for US DDGS. However, following the detection of quarantine pests, the Vietnamese Plant Protection Department issued a decision in October 2016 to temporarily suspend DDGS importa- tion. As a result, Vietnam purchased 50 percent less US DDGS in 2016/2017 at nearly 495,000 tonnes, compared to almost 986,000 tonnes the year prior. The Council responded with an intense effort to address concerns and lift the suspen- sion in coordination with the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Office of the US Trade Representative. The groups worked together to address the Vietnamese government's concerns and help return open ac- cess to one of the fastest growing feed markets in the world. "Any disruption to the supply chain has a tremendous impact on market price," Sanchez said. "The arrival of US DDGS on Vietnamese shores signals a return to busi- ness as usual, benefitting both the Vietnamese feed sector and US farmers and agribus- iness."

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Trillion-dong street 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NGUOI LAO DONG food market remains Vietnam has not had street food business although the market potential is very large. unexploited Without proper and professional investment, this trillion-dong market will sooner or later belong to foreign businesses. The aforementioned statement was given by Nguyen Phi Van, a retail and franchise specialist at a talk with young people who are dealing with street food chain on the morning of November 16. "In only five years from 2011 to 2016, street food chain in Vietnam achieved an average growth of 24.1 percent/annum and a total increase of 194.3 percent; an average revenue growth of 32.1 percent and a total increase of 300 percent. This is just the statistics of Euromonitor on four chains selected in terms of scale, points of sale. Meanwhile, as of the end of 2016, Vietnam had a total of 149,000 street food outlets with a total value of 46.9 trillion dong and the annual growth rate of two percent", said Van. Young people were so surprised with each figure given by Van. They could not imag-

FINANCE ine that the market of snacks such as bread, sticky rice, coffee, cold drinks, etc. sold on trolleys, mobile motorbikes, etc. everywhere has such a large capacity and potential. This study has partly explained for the exciting of the street food market in 3-4 recent years. Many brands have come into being, and points of sales are opened very quickly and also disappear not long after. One point that is easy to see is that street food over time has mainly developed by movement and then "sunk" gradually even disappeared completely. Baked sweet po- tatoes, banana sticky rice, yellow sticky rice with fried onions, pure juice, milk tea, pudding sweet soup, lemon tea, cheese, etc. are examples. According to Euromitor's statistics, while CP (Thailand)'s Five Star Chicken brand has grown rapidly in market share since 2013, from 26.7 percent to more than 71 percent, Vietnamese brands including banh mi que (stick-shaped bread), 1 phut 30 giay (one minute 30 seconds) in HCM City and Goethe coffee in Hanoi could not have developed since 2013, even decreased sharply in market share. Not being included in the statistics but Ma Hai grilled chopped fish bread (which was a phenomenon of street food culinary several years ago, leading to the appearance of some chains that operated quite excitingly from 2014 to 2015), after developing four stores, 40 self-opened trolleys and franchising 30, decided not to expand the scale and focus on standardising human resources and management towards more professional work. Talking to us, owners of some street food brands said they really want to maintain and expand but due to changing consumer tastes and lack of expertise in investment in the chain development, it is difficult to "grow up". There have had cases that owners had to give up midway because of lacking capital and human resources to invest largely in the system. Sharing the failure story of Banh mi Viet brand, Tran Thi Bich Nga, CEO of this culi- nary chain said Banh mi Viet started its business in 2010, and developed very well till 2012 when it opened the second, the third stores, but when there were more than two stores, the operation, management and maintenance of quality, sales began to encoun- ter obstacles. As the business went down gradually, the Board of directors decided to close all stores to start from the beginning. "Now we have to rebuild the system with professional procedures. It is impossible to succeed with the old way of thinking that we have professions, we know how to make breads and then we can open a company". According to Nguyen Phi Van, street food is also a model so it needs professional op- eration though the investment can only be a mobile trolley worth five or ten million dong or more. If there is no system, no preparation in training, operation, human re- source, supply chain, financial model, technological appliance, etc., then the develop- ment will certainly fail. It is quite common now that those involving in street food business now are often sub- jective. They think that the investment is low, so it is not necessary to be professional. Therefore, they have not taken opportunities from the financial market to shape, build and develop a comprehensive chain. "It is a great opportunity if street food can be pro-

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fessionalised and developed into chains. The biggest challenge of this industry is that most of young people come from individual households, who often self-open stores then it will be very difficult to succeed. Food giants will sooner or later enter this mar- ket and gain market share. Five Star Chicken is a small example", said Van. According to retail experts, foreign "giants" are focusing on developing their brands in Vietnam so they have not "attacked" the street food segment. Once they have devel- oped stably, they will certainly shift to street food and accelerate the chain opening. The common trend in the world and also in Vietnam is consumer have "n in 1" de- mand. This trend is clearly reflected in the fact that convenience stores have competed by opening additional fresh food segment, bringing processed food (including street food) to serve customers. The fact that such large brands as 7-Evelen, Circle K, Ministop or Satra have supple- mented food items that are strictly controlled in terms of quality, food hygiene and ac- cepted by consumers has increased competitiveness in the street food market. According to market research companies, though Vietnam has 149,000 street food out- FINANCE lets, only 0.59 percent of these are branded stores. This ratio is five percent in Hong- kong, 10 percent in Singapore, 21 percent in the Philippines, and 30 percent in Taiwan. Street food is now a very potential segment not only in the country but also in the world. The current trend is that countries are favoured of indigenous food, and con- sumers in the world are eager to approach traditional cuisine of countries. Therefore, if knowing how to do, Vietnamese street food can entirely be "exported".

Is e-commerce sector 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NHIP CAU DAU TU no longer available to The end-of-the-year shopping season is the time when e-commerce companies com- Vietnamese pete to attract users and foreign group has taken advantage of this opportunity to businesses? show off its financial potential. As always, Lazada Vietnam was the first unit to activate the shopping season at year's end. With the target of raising revenue by five times compared to normal days, Lazada Vietnam brought about more than 150,000 promotional products at shocking price from November 9 to November 11, 2017. All orders below six kilogrammes were de- livered free-of-charge on these days. Besides, Lazada Vietnam also announced to have put four additional new order processing centres into operation to minimise the "congestion" of orders as in the pre- vious years. The special thing is that for the first time in this year, Lazada Vietnam of- fers a 50 percent discount to merchants on this platform. The programme also does not publish deadlines. Lazada Vietnam's delivery support and discount is aimed at coping with the growth of Shopee Vietnam. Although it has just entered the market for two years, Shopee Vi- etnam is having impressive growth with many support policies to buyers and sellers. For example, for buyers, this company supports free-delivery. Meanwhile, for sellers, apart from no fee collection, Shopee Vietnam also offers free skill training programmes on selling, customer service, etc. "We have no plans to stop supporting sellers and buyers in the near future", said Tran Tuan Anh, Chief Finance and Operation Officer of Shopee Vietnam. Earlier, Shopee Vietnam is operated on C2C platform, and now it has opened addition- al Shopee Mall service to attract branded businesses. This year, Shopee Vietnam also participates in the promotional season at the end of the year with more than 100,000 products, hoping to increase the sales by five times compared to normal days. With the fact that Sea (the mother company of Shopee Vietnam) has just earned more than $800 million through IPO, the company is confident to continue its presence in Vietnam. Over the last two month, Shopee has invested strongly in advertising on me- dia. Shoppe Vietnam has now been considered as a formidable component of Lazada Vietnam. Under the pressure of foreign businesses, representatives of domestic businesses in- cluding Sendo.vn, Zalo.vn and Tiki.vn have had different moves. Sendo.vn and Za- lo.vn choose to keep silent but Tiki.vn does not. Tiki.vn prepared 3,000 incentives with

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a discount of 50 percent through flash sale, supporting free delivery for orders worth more than 111,000 dong and delivering within two hours for orders worth more than 599,000 dong. For sellers, Tiki.vn received no commission from November 9-12. The representative of Vietnam expected a three times growth at this time. Tiki.vn decided to choose Ngoc Trinh as Key Opinion Leader (KOL) for this campaign. Though Ngoc Trinh was quite successful with her advertising campaigns, it is impos- sible to conclude in the e-commerce sector because the success depends on many fac- tors such as sources of goods, support policies to buyers and sellers. This is the rule that Lazada Vietnam and Shopee Vietnam are establishing. In spite of being somewhat superior, it is difficult to blame Tiki.vn because Vietnam e- commerce market is being distorted by foreign businesses that have plenty of capital. After receiving nearly 400 billion dong investment from VNG in 2016, Tiki.vn invested a lot in infrastructure, warehouses and personnel. Some sources of news say this unit is negotiating with Amazon.com (the U.S) or JD.com (China), which is more likely JD.com. These are the two units that Tiki.vn's operating model is closest to. FINANCE Except for Zalo.vn that is still VNG's strategic project, the existence of domestic group in the near future is also very uncertain due to the dominance of foreign group. The SWOT business model mentions a factor i.e. challenges or barriers to penetrate into the industry in which the race for market share of Lazada Vietnam and Shopee Vi- etnam is creating a huge barrier for the domestic group. Accordingly, if Lazada Vietnam is creating barriers by huge investment costs in adver- tising to attract users, Shopee Vietnam is very willing to spend on delivery support and collection fee. Of course, both of them never reveal the amount spent on advertis- ing and delivery in Vietnam. However, recent data have shown how "big" it is. According to the report that Sea sub- mitted to Nasdaq (the U.S), in the first three months of 2017, Shopee had 30,000 orders per day. For each order, Shopee Vietnam supported 50,000 dong delivery fee and 30,000 dong collection fee. Not all orders are eligible for support but if just 50 percent of the orders were qualified, Shopee's support fees amounted to tens of billions of dong. And with the current growth momentum, the amount of money that VNG poured into Tiki.vn at the begin- ning of 2016 is just enough for Shopee Vietnam to deliver goods within 6-12 months. In order to compete and survive, domestic business group needs the support from for- eign investors but the cost barriers that Shopee Vietnam and Lazada Vietnam have cre- ated caused many investors to step back. Similarly, niche markets such as agricultural products or specialties of sandacsan.com (Viettel) or badasan.com.vn (VNPost) are difficult to create a milestone in the market without breaking the aforementioned barriers. Is e-commerce sector no longer availa- ble to Vietnamese businesses?

Foreign brands up the 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS ante in fashion market The competitive pressure exerted on domestic fashion firms by the increasing presence of world renowned brands is unavoidable, but it could have positive impacts in the long run, experts say. They say that the Vietnamese consumer market is growing, and stiff competition could motivate domestic firms to change their production methods and business practices in order to stay in business. Since the early 2000s, a series of world famous fashion houses targeting the middle-in- come group has entered Vietnam, including Spain's Mango, UK's Oasis and US's GAP. Sweden's Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) and Spain's fashion giant Zara are among the lat- est entrants in the last few months. Going by anticipation and crowds that these brands have generated in their opening days, it is evident that they are meeting a demand, and domestic firms have no choice but to deal with strong competition. What has to change Dang Phuong Dung, vice Chairwoman, Secretary general at Vietnam Textile and Ap-

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parel Association (VITAS), told the Vietnam News Agency that the emergence of more international brands would compel domestic companies to diversify their products in all market segments. The foreign brands are meeting a real demand, according to Samir Dixit, Managing di- rector, Brand Finance Asia Pacific. He said in the company's 2016 Vietnam 50 Report that foreign brands' taking over the domestic market is simply inescapable because of the ever increasing gap between consumers' demand and producers' supply in terms of volume, quality and aesthetics. As the foreign brands enter Vietnam, local businesses must be more aware of their own product quality and appropriately change their investment orientations, Dixit said. Dung said most domestic garment producers have focused mainly on exports, chiefly taking on outsourced production. They have not been interested in the huge potential of the domestic market; therefore, despite being one of the top textile and garment ex- porters in the world, the country has yet to gain much added value, she added. Customer favourite FINANCE With textile and garment firms tending to specialise in production but not in design, branding and distribution, they will have to adapt fast to be able to compete with the newcomers. The success of grand openings by H&M and Zara can be attributed to good marketing and advertising, but it is undeniable that "fast fashion" (where a new trend or design is quickly produced at relatively cheap prices) is now an established customer favour- ite in Vietnam. Its young population and rapid improvement in living standards has made Vietnam an attractive and fertile territory for international fashion brands. These firms produce wide ranges of clothing for different market segments and sell them at an average price due to diminishing production costs that result from mass production. In the fashion industry, foreign companies tower over their domestic counterparts in terms of capital, professionalism, marketing and customer service, and most impor- tantly, online selling. A spokesperson for H&M said the brand spent two years researching the Vietnamese market, identifying key growth factors like a fast-paced economy, an exponential number of fashion-conscious consumers with distinctive tastes, and a surging density of shopping malls. Domestic enterprises have begun placing more emphasis on designing and offering more diverse products of higher quality, and it is even said that Vietnamese enterpris- es may enjoy some home turf advantage, which enables a cultural understanding of customer habits. However, it is evident that domestic brands remain weaker than their international competitions, as Dinh Th M Loan, President of the Vietnam Retailers Association, said at a June 2017 conference on identifying retail policy risks. Loan said that more than 200 foreign fashion brands present in the country occupying more than 60 per cent of the market share. She noted that major fashion brands in the world are very interested in Vietnam be- cause of its high annual average market growth rate of between 15 to 20 per cent. There's confidence Domestic brands that have made a mark in the market remain confident and hopeful that they will be able to ride the new waves of international competiton. D Viet Anh, director of Boo Fashion Trading Co. Ltd, told Vietnam News that the con- tinuous stream of foreign brands entering Vietnam's fashion markets will have some impact on the domestic fashion industry, but they are likely to be short-term impacts. In the long run, such competition is definitely a good dose of reality for the country's fashion market. It will help alter people's shopping habits towards branded products instead of non-branded ones, he added. The looming presence of these foreign brands will also help customers compare do- mestic and global fashion products, and understand that prestigious Vietnamese

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brands are not inferior, Anh said. Nguyen Tiep, NEM Fashion's Head of Marketing Department, also held the same view despite the two brands' different demographics. Tiep told Vietnam News that his company would carry out a business strategy to boost a line of customers' favourite products in order to increase its competitiveness. The company will also focus on strengthening its point of sale customer service and improving overall customer experience, Tiep said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417797/foreign-brands-up-the-ante-in-fashion-mar- ket.html#AlBkYizivesR1IZd.97\

Property market stays 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS strong Strong economic growth since 2015 has created a thriving domestic property market that is likely to continue next year, said Construction minister Phm Hng Ha. Ha told the first annual Vietnam Real Estate Forum in Hanoi on Wednesday that the

FINANCE market's growth had made significant contributions to the country's socio-economic development. "Upbeat signs have been seen in the market index. Property inventories have fallen sharply due to growing housing demand, while the flow of direct and indirect foreign investment into the sector has soared," he said. The property market's recovery has also bolstered the financial-securities market and other related industrial sectors, such as construction and building materials, the min- ister said, predicting that resort properties would also continue to develop. However, he said the market had displayed a lack of transparency. Further, parts of the real estate market had been manipulated by those with vested interests. Most investment in property projects had come from credit institutions, banks and by mobilising home buyers. "The structure of property products has not been suitable or closely managed. The sup- ply of high-end estate segments has been higher than demand, while there has been a lack of commercial and social housing projects," the minister added. In addition, he said, State management agencies had not developed policies to respond to changes in the market. Also, he claimed the government had not had adequate pol- icies regarding taxes, credits and land, to regulate resources for market development, and had not encouraged social housing projects. Nguyen Trn Nam, chair of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), agreed, say- ing that the estate market would be more stable next year. Statistics indicate that Hanoi has some 20,000 apartments for sale. In total, the capital and HCM City have 45,000 to 50,000 apartments that are offered for sale in the market, while consumption results in only 30,000 sales per year. "Therefore, the market has enough apartments to meet current demand," Nam said, adding that there is no speculation in the market. Nguyen Trng Ninh, director of the ministry's Department of Housing Management and Real Estate Market, said the property market continued to see stable growth, in- cluding in resort properties at Da Nng, Nha TrangKhanh Hoa and Phu QucKien Giang, which were attracting investments from local and foreign investors. Credit in estate under control Outstanding loans in the property sector are in line with the government's orientation and the market's real demand. By the end of July, outstanding loans in the sector rose 4 per cent from last year. Property loans account for 9 per cent of the country's total outstanding loans. "The portion has been stable since 2013. The loans in the estate sector have focused on apartment projects, which are suitable for people's demand," said Nguyen Quc Hung, director of the Credit Department under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). In addition, the central bank has asked credit institutions to actively resolve bad debts, especially in the property sector. The bad debt rate in the sector was sharply reduced from 7.05 per cent in 2013 to 4.06 per cent in 2017. Hung said the SBV would continue to stabilise the monetary market, while closely su-

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pervising credit in the estate sector to ensure effective and sustainable credit growth. He proposed to continue renewing and improving planning, while shortening the time for approving social and commercial housing projects. Meanwhile, policies for these new types of properties, such as condotels and officetels, should be completed. He said the government was also on guard against speculation-driven growth in the market. Further, banks will not issue loans worth more than 70 per cent of a project to property developers, and investors must use the loans to invest only in the project for which they received the loan. Economist Le XuAn Ngha said he believed that financing for social housing projects has been challenging, as it mainly comes from bank loans instead of non-profit or gov- ernmental resources. "Bank loans should not be a long-term solution, as they cause pressure on the banking sector. I think the Ministry of Construction should study experiences from other coun- tries in mobilising resources. This could include the establishment of a fund for social and inexpensive housing projects," he added. FINANCE VNREA's vice chair Nguyen Mnh Ha said social housing projects have been mostly lo- cated in big cities, such as Hanoi and HCM City. The projects should be set in locations that are not too far from the city centres, and re- ceive support through tax breaks. Ha said establishing the fund could be difficult, as low and middle-income residents would likely be unable to contribute to the fund. Deep-pocketed donors would need to step up. "The issue is that each locality should have their own solution to resolve the problem," he said. The forum, organised by VNREA in cooperation with the financial-economic channel VITV, is a large event that will assess the real estate market in a comprehensive man- ner, from commodities and segments to housing-related issues, such as land, finance, credit and tax. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417670/property-market-stays- strong.html#d0s3vZEYsCVzgVrw.97

Vietnam continues to 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES see strong interest Vietnam continued to see strong interest from developers for large-scale mixed-use from developers projects with a residential component in major cities in the third quarter of 2017, ac- cording to the Asia Pacific Investment Quarterly from Savills. The report noted that, in September, VinaLand Limited, the real estate investment fund of the Vietnam-based asset manager VinaCapital, sold its stake in VinaSquare, a mixed use 3.1-ha development site in a prime location in HCM City's District 5, which they acquired a decade ago, to Tri Duc Real Estate for a total consideration of $41.2 mil- lion. In addition, its 182-ha My Gia Project, one of the largest township projects in Nha Trang, also changed hands to a local developer for over $11 million. In August, Anpha Holdings, a Vietnamese real estate development company, acquired Novaland's 99.98 per cent stake in its subsidiary, Nova Galaxy. The Galaxy 9 project, located in District 4 of HCM City with over 500 apartments, is part of the recently acquired company. In Hanoi, Growing Sun Investment picked up the prime 4.2-ha Diamond Rice Flower complex project from Kinh Bac City Group, a well-known listed company. Similarly, FLC Group won the bid for the land use rights of the 6.4-ha DM1 land plot, located in Nam Tu Liem district, for nearly $38 million, to build townhouses, villas, and apart- ments. Vietnam's real estate market is trending upwards overall, across all sectors, with a par- ticularly positive outlook for the office market. Despite an 8 per cent increase year-on-year in new supply, HCM City continued its ro- bust trend with high average occupancy of approximately 95 per cent and with aver- age Grade A rents up 8 per cent year-on-year.

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Vietnam continues to see strong interest from developers, government news, Vietnam breaking news, politic news, vietnamnet bridge, english news, Vietnam news, news Vietnam, vietnamnet news, Vietnam net news, Vietnam latest news, vn news Hanoi has also started to catch up with significant improvements in net effective rents and occupancy rates for Grade A and B buildings. Total office stock in the capital was approximately 1.6 million sq m with occupancy rates of 93 per cent, an increase of 6 per cent year-on-year. Market rentals for both Grade A and Grade B have increased slightly quarter-on-quar- ter, by approximately 2 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively. With continued strong demand on the back of healthy foreign direct investment (FDI) and robust GDP growth, Savills expects to see an extremely low vacancy rate across all office grades and average rental growth of approximately 8.4 per cent per annum in the next three years. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190505/vietnam-continues-to-see-strong- interest-from-developers.html FINANCE

$69.4m housing fraud 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS discovered The government Inspectorate has detected financial violations totalling VND91.56 tril- lion (US$69.4 million) in 38 housing projects developed in Hanoi between 2002 and 2014. The violations and the poor quality of planning of residential areas were discovered after inspectors checked 38 out of 204 projects. They found that housing plans were adjusted several times, leading to changes in the heights of buildings and land use. In particular, the arbitrary adjustment of plans af- fected the order, discipline and interests of the State, according to the inspectors. "This situation has led to difficulties in developing urban planning for the city," Tran Huu Loi, head of the inspection delegation, told the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspa- per. The violations benefited investors because they were not obliged to pay more land-use fees or land rents as the adjustment of plans were made in favour of the investors, causing losses to the State budget, the Inspectorate said. Further, housing project developers did not fulfill their financial obligations. For ex- ample, the investor of the CT2 land plot under the Kim Van-Kim Lu New Urban Area Project in Hoang Mai District did not pay a land-use fee equal to VND733 billion ($32.24 million), although it built houses for rent. In many projects, inspectors found investors had illegally altered land-use and con- struction plans, using more land but not paying fees for the extended area. At the time of inspection, many investors had not yet paid obligatory fees to the State budget. The Hanoi People's Committee also miscalculated land use fees and, in some cases, housing project investors did not fulfill all their financial obligations, resulting in a shortfall of VND6 trillion ($266.6 million) for the State budget. On the basis of the inspection results, the government Inspectorate has proposed prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to direct the chair of the city People's Committee to take measures to rectify shortcomings and violations in management of construc- tion investment and land use. The committee needs to review and check project investors violating land use and con- struction plans to handle the violations, it said. Organisations and individuals must also review their management responsibility, the government Inspectorate added. http://bizhub.vn/property/694m-housing-fraud-discovered_290192.html

No foundation to 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS prove $3 billion flow There was no foundation to say that Vietnamese people transferred $3 billion from Vi- from Vietnam to US etnam to the United States for house purchase, Le Minh Hung, Governor of the State for house purchase Bank of Vietnam, said.

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SBV Governor Le Minh Hung made the remarks at a National Assembly (NA) Q&A session on November 17. The deputies mentioned to a report of the US National Association of Realtors (NAR), which showed between April 2016 and March 2017, Vietnamese buyers purchased ap- proximately 5,689 residential properties in the US, roughly double of the previous 12- months period. According to the NAR report, it is estimated that Vietnamese buyers spent up to $3 bil- lion on residential properties in the US in 2017. The amount of property purchases made by Vietnamese nationals has been on the rise since 2012-2013. The report also in- dicates that Vietnamese buyers tend to favour properties in California, Florida, and Texas. The amount of money Vietnamese spent to buy houses in the US accounted for 2 per- cent, or $3.06 billion. Vietnam is listed among 10 countries with the highest number of citizens buying houses in the US. According to Hung, the Vietnamese who bought houses in the US may include Viet- FINANCE namese who live in Vietnam; Vietnamese who have lived for a long time in third coun- tries; Vietnamese who had been living in the US for less than two years until now; and Vietnamese who study, work and visit relatives in the US and have fixed-term visas of less than six months. Many Vietnamese have bought properties in the US, but this has not generated cash flow from Vietnam to the US, according to SBV. Hung affirmed that Vietnam has adequate regulations to control the transfer of money to foreign countries. According to SBV, under the Vietnam's Forex Ordinance and Decree No 70/2014, the purposes of one-way remittances abroad by Vietnamese do not include payments for property purchases. However, if individuals remit money for overseas settlement purposes, they may use the money to buy properties to serve the settlement. Credit institutions are allowed to provide remittance services to individuals who have one-way remittances, based on the checking of related documents. The institutions, for example, would refer to notices by foreign schools about tuition and subsistence for students to provide remittance services to make payment for ex- penses. Regarding remittances for health care services, commercial banks would refer to hos- pital fee invoices released by overseas hospitals to remit money. The reports from credit institutions showed that the total amount of foreign currencies Vietnamese remitted abroad for transactions in 2015 was $2.26 billion. This included $523.7 million remitted for inheritance and settlement purposes, $307.76 for gifts and $1.4 billion for studying, healthcare, tourism and visits. In 2016, the amount of money remitted for the same purposes totalled $858.8 million. In the first six months of 2017, individuals remitted $419 million. Under current laws, if institutions and individuals remit money abroad to make in- vestments overseas, including investment in real estate, they must comply with regu- lations stipulated in the Investment Law and related documents on outward investments. To date, MPI has licensed 16 outward investment projects in the real estate sector in the US, totalling $228.8 million, accounting for 26 percent of total outward investment capital in real estate and 32 percent of total investment in the US. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/53887/no-foundation-to-prove--3 billion-flow-from-vi- etnam-to-us-for-house-purchase.html

Part of the puzzle 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES Vingroup's launch of its Made-in-Vietnam motor vehicle brand Vinfast again raises questions about the ability of local component suppliers to meet requirements. Since leading property developer Vingroup announced plans in September to step into in the country's automobile sector with its Vinfast motor vehicles, many have hoped

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the giant will finally realise the long-standing dream of Vietnam establishing an auto- mobile manufacturing industry. Vingroup targets becoming a leading motor car man- ufacturer in Southeast Asia, producing 500,000 vehicles a year with a localisation rate of 60 per cent by 2025. The birth of Vinfast is not only good news for the country's auto industry but also has a positive influence on support industries, which have been far too weak for far too long. Room for hope After Vingroup announced its plans to make Vietnamese motor vehicles, a number of automobile accessory and component manufacturers expressed a desire to become partners of Vinfast. "We are willing to make large investments, just to have the oppor- tunity," Truong Hong Minh, CEO of the Nhat Minh Co., which specialises in manu- facturing plastics, said at a recent conference on developing automobile support industries. The opportunity Minh referred to may well be realised, because despite signing deals with many foreign partners in the design and supply of components, Vinfast must still FINANCE acquire components produced in Vietnam in order to meet localisation rates. "We are in the process of designing the first motor car and also want to link with all auto com- ponent manufacturers in Vietnam to achieve localisation goals in the future," said Vo Quang Hue, deputy CEO of Vinfast and former CEO of auto component maker Robert Bosch Vietnam. In the view of many analysts, the decision by Vingroup to appoint Hue, who was trained in automobile technology in Germany and worked for BMW and Bosch, shows its deter- mination to increase localisation rates. Vinfast will cooperate with German partners in product development and the man- agement of its new manufacturing complex. Its vehicles will be designed by Italian de- sign houses, while the main components, such as engines, will be brought in from US and Europe. It will, however, engage Vietnamese companies to manufacture most of the necessary components. Recognising the opportunities Vinfast will present, CEO of the Hanoi Plastics Compa- ny, Nguyen Thanh Nam, said the company will step up production line upgrades in the future to meet the standards needed to participate in the production chain. He ac- knowledged that plastics products supplied to the automobile industry have not de- veloped sufficiently in recent years, due to the influence of import tax policies declining under roadmaps to integrate automobiles and components into the global supply chain. In order to support auto component suppliers in seizing the opportunities, the HCM City centre for Support Industries has connected auto manufacturers with auto com- ponent suppliers, so they can identify demand and understand what difficulties they face. "The development opportunities for auto parts suppliers are huge," said Le Nguyen Duy Oanh, deputy director of the Centre. The average localisation rate stands at just 15 per cent, so the opportunities are many for domestic enterprises to increase the rate if production lines are improved in a timely manner. If a localisation rate of at least 40 per cent is achieved to qualify for tax incentives within Asean, or even 60 per cent, as announced by Vingroup, it would help develop the country's domestic sup- port industries. The Vinfast project kicked off at a time when the government's determination to de- velop the automobile industry is high. In a speech at the ceremony opening Vinfast's plant in the northern port city of Hai Phong in September, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that with per capita income of nearly $3,000, Vietnam will have to uni- versalise motor cars in the near future. The determination of the government is dis- played by a host of new policies on automobile assembly, support for Vietnamese component manufacturing enterprises, and modifications to import and excise taxes. "Vietnamese enterprises can currently only supply certain components to partners in Japan and Europe. This is a good time for the government to create favourable condi- tions for enterprises in support industries to expand their production scale." Le Nguy- en Duy Oanh, deputy director, HCM City centre for Support Industries

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Demand for automobiles, it's been predicted, may reach 600,000 units a year by 2025. If the local automobile industry meets this demand, especially for vehicles of less-than- nine-seats, by 2025, it will be able to reduce import turnover by $3-7 billion at that time and $5-12 billion by 2030, improving the trade balance and macroeconomic stability. Challenges ahead There can be no denying the opportunities the Vinfast "dream" will bring to Vietnam's auto component suppliers, but the question is whether they can meet needs. The auto component manufacturing industry has been in a poor state for some time, as evi- denced by localisation rates reaching just 7-10 per cent, while the original strategy aimed at 60 per cent by 2010. Locally-manufactured products have low technological value and include tubes, plas- tics, tires, seats, mirrors, glass, wires, and batteries. In 2016, while Vietnam outlaid $2.3 billion on importing completely-built-unit (CBU) motor cars, the importation of com- ponents and accessories for assembly and repair totalled $3.54 billion, according to data from Vietnam's general Department of Customs. FINANCE The country's auto industry remains small, which explains why global component suppliers are yet to establish a strong presence, the Automotive Working Group (AWG) told the 2017 Vietnam Business Forum held in Hanoi in June. According to the group, more than 90 per cent of existing component suppliers in Vietnam are foreign- invested companies, and the majority of components and materials for auto manufac- turing and components still need to be imported. Moreover, a report from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) showed that the localisation rate in industrial products in Vietnam was 34.2 per cent in 2016; far lower than China's 67.8 per cent, Thailand's 57.1 per cent, and Indonesia's 40.5 per cent. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) also acknowledged that the domestic sup- port industry remains underdeveloped. A recent report from the ministry revealed that Vietnam aimed for a 40 per cent localisation rate for motor cars of less-than-nine- seats by 2005 and 60 per cent by 2010, but the current rate is a mere 7-10 per cent. The highest localisation rate, of 37 per cent, is for Toyota Vietnam's Innova. According to Oanh, the difficulty for domestic auto component manufacturers is low productivity, which disqualifies them from joining global supply chains. "These com- panies have many opportunities, but the gap between the requirements of auto man- ufacturers and their capacity is substantial, especially in terms of quality and price," she said. After more than 20 years in Vietnam, though much higher than at other foreign man- ufacturers, Toyota's localisation rate is only 19-37 per cent, depending on the model. While pledging to increase the rate to 30-40 per cent within ten years of arriving in the country, in 2007 it stood at just 2-12 per cent. With vehicles of less-than-nine-seats, it was only 18 per cent. Even its goals regarding technology transfer were not met. Phan Dang Tuat, deputy Chair of the Vietnam Supporting Enterprises Association, said that Vinfast's goal of a 60 per cent localisation will be a challenge. According to his calculations, a sedan usually has 24,000 components. Assuming that each enterprise makes six, it will require 4,000 enterprises to supply those components. But there are actually only 1,800 support enterprises in Vietnam. "The number may increase in the future, but the problem is whether they will have the capacity to meet requirements," he said. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/2w4yqkc6-part-of-the-puzzle

VN auto sales set to 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS miss target With a continuous year-on-year decline in sales this year, the domestic auto industry is unlikely to achieve the 10 per cent growth predicted by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA). The 21,870 autos sold in October marked a year-on-year drop of 22 per cent. In the January-October period, a total of 204,999 automobile units were sold, down nine per cent year-on-year, according to a VAMA report. The sales of passenger cars decreased by 10 per cent, commercial vehicles by six per cent and special-use vehicles

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(cranes, canal diggers, street-cleaning trucks, waste trucks, passenger bus at airports, lift trucks in warehouses and small cars serving golf courses) by 18 per cent during the period. Although auto businesses have engaged in aggressive marketing to boost end of the year sales, offering discounts and promotions from few dozens to hundreds of mil- lions of Dng on ordinary cars to luxury cars, they have not achieved expected results. The Truong Hai Automobile Joint Stock Co (Thaco) offered price reductions of VND5 million (US$219) to VND26 million in October for its Morning, Cerato and Sorento models. Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Vietnam supported buyers with registration fees reductions of VND30 million for Vios, VND15 million for Innova and VND50 million for Camry 2017. Mitsubishi Vietnam also launched a discount of VND214 million for the SUV Pajero, bringing its retail price down from VND2.12 billion to around VND1.9 billion. Apart from its poorly selling models, Huyndai Thanh Cong announced a special pro- FINANCE motional programme offering a discount of VND230 million for its bestselling new- version model SantaFe, which brought the price down to VND898 million. In its luxury car segment, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam also offered a VND50 million reg- istration fee discount and three free maintenance passes for all cars that the company is producing and distributing in the Vietnamese market. Despite all the price reductions and promotions, many consumers were still waiting for a further reduction or until early 2018, hoping to buy cheaper vehicles once the im- port tax rate for completely built units drop from 30 per cent to zero per cent in the Southeast Asian (Asean) region. Hopes dashed However, such hopes were dashed last month when the government issued Decree 116/2017, effective from the day of signing, introducing several strict regulations for lo- cally-assembled automobile businesses as well as importers. These regulations will not only make it difficult for small businesses to import autos, but also for official distributors in Vietnam and local assemblers. VAMA has sent a petition to the prime minister expressing concern over some of the new regulations in the decree that relate to automobile manufacturing, assembly and importing enterprises. For example, the decree requires that when conducting inspections and tests, auto im- porters must provide quality management bodies with papers including copies of quality certificates issued by foreign authorised agencies or organisations for imported cars. VAMA has said that many countries do not have such certification, making it dif- ficult for importers to do business. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has said that the new decree will help domestic enterprises and foreign investment companies to compete more fairly, ensur- ing the interests of consumers. Another regulation in the decree requires domestic auto assemblers to have an auto testing track with a minimum length of 800m, including flat, rocky, rugged and rip- pled, as well as sloping, wet and curved surfaces. VAMA said it was difficult for its members to meet this requirement because there was not enough space to build or expand the testing track. Furthermore, the rent for such space would be very costly. Auto importers, meanwhile, are required to have authorised certification to recall products, but small and medium enterprises cannot meet this requirement because they always buy vehicles through middlemen. In addition, for batches of cars import- ed by small businesses or official distributor, management bodies will check each lot and model representing the type of cars in the batch, thus increasing expenses for the importers. Nguyen Tuan, the director of Thien Phuc An, an auto importer, said the test would be very expensive, costing some VND100 million for each batch, not to mention the two months or so it would take, which would lead to many other expenses, forcing busi-

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nesses to sell at higher prices. Tuan said the conditions stipulated in the decree made it very difficult for small and medium enterprises and non-authorised car dealers (who buy cars from the automak- ers in foreign countries and import them into Vietnam.) With this decree, the domestic car market will remain wholly controlled by joint ventures and some official distribu- tors in Vietnam, and there will not be much competition that would benefit end users, he added. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417770/vn-auto-sales-set-to-miss-tar- get.html#2AFlBSEoHSgMYd0e.97

Start-ups face 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS recruiting difficulties Weak finance is preventing start-up firms from hiring talented employees, said Nguy- due to poor finance en Duc Hai, co-founder and training director of VietFounder. Hai said a start-up company had to face numerous difficulties but to him, the two most

FINANCE challenging obstacles are finance and human resources. "Companies have difficulties in searching for funds to maintain operations but the managing skills of many firms are still weak that's why many potential projects were halted. Due to weak finance and recruitment skills, it is hard for start-up companies to attract talent. Moreover, talented employees often prefer working in big companies than taking risks with start-ups," he said. He went on to say that newly-established firms need enthusiastic and ambitious em- ployees and graduates fit those requirements the most. But employees agree to work at start-up companies when there are other motives such as outstanding leaders, prod- ucts with great potential or they have the chance to own part of the firms. On the first days when the companies are set up, they often do not have detailed work- ing process and the working environment is messy and unprofessional. Some firms may feel less confident when recruiting or employees will leave after a while because they do not feel that they have chances to show their talent. However, despite organisational teething problems, start-up companies have advan- tages over the major firms. Leaders and employees will feel equal and the dynamic workplaces make young people more open and ready to help each other. "In another company, it may be impossible or very slow to make some serious changes and so the opportunities are lost. Meanwhile, 80 percent of a project can be changed quickly in start-up companies. This is also an attractive factor for young talent," Hai said. Moreover, they also have more chances to earn promotions or learn from co- workers or their own CEOs. This is a great benefit especially to the graduates while other firms favour experienced employees. Hai admitted that wages at VietFounder are not huge, but in return, both of the found- ers are enthusiastic about training young employees. "During job interviews, I also em- phasize the benefits of the opportunities to learn and develop one's self in this environment to persuade talented employees to work for us," he said. On November 16, Navigos Group announced the results of the survey on recruiting at start-up companies at TechFest 2017. 54 percent of the surveyed firms have the de- mand for new recruitment in the next three months. 17 percent need new recruitment in the next three to six months and 11 percent need new recruitment in next six to 12 months. Experience is not the deciding factor as 35 percent said they would recruit graduates and 49 percent said salary was the most difficult factor. 64 percent admitted that they do not have anyone in charge of human resources. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190493/start-ups-face-recruiting-difficul- ties-due-to-poor-finance.html

Startups a 'promised 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VN ECONOMIC TIMES land' for new Startups are a "promised land" for new graduates as they will present many employ- graduates ment opportunities in the near future, according to the latest report from the Navigos Group.

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Its latest survey reveals considerable employment opportunities at startups in the near future. Fifty-four per cent of startups will have demand for recruitment in the next three months, 17 per cent within the next three to six months, and 11 per cent within the next six to 12 months. Some said they always have demand for recruitment. Work experience is not a prerequisite. Thirty-five per cent of startups said they only need fresh graduates while 12 per cent said they don't pay attention to candidates' pre- vious work experience. Limited salary budget is the biggest challenge in recruitment for Vietnamese startups, as answered by 49 per cent of those surveyed. A tight salary budget prevents them from attracting suitable candidates. Most candidates, meanwhile, focus on salary and bonuses rather than the learning and development opportunities at startups. Eighteen per cent of startups face difficulties in terms of experience and processes in recruiting, training, evaluating, and developing employees and 17 per cent think can- didates don't have long-term commitment, lack enthusiasm, don't meet professional requirements, and don't have the right culture to work at a startup. FINANCE From the survey, Navigos recognised that Vietnamese startups haven't really focused on their human resources department. Sixty-four per cent of those surveyed don't have human resources staff, with their founders taking on the task. Only 15 per cent believe they need human resources staff. Regarding recruitment channels, although Vietnamese startups mostly use less costly channels such as introductions from acquaintances and Facebook or LinkedIn, the sur- vey revealed that 38 per cent use online recruitment websites and 11 per cent use head- hunting services. This demonstrates that they have begun to pay attention to professional recruitment services. The Navigos Group, one of leaders in Vietnam's recruitment industry, is comprised of www.vietnamworks.com, an online recruitment portal, and Navigos Search, an exec- utive search firm. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/190558/startups-a--promised-land--for- new-graduates.html

Startup movement 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA helps increase new According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the number of newly registered enterprises businesses in the first 10 months of this year reached 100,000. Experts have acknowl- edged that besides efforts to improve business climate, timely support for the startup movement has also contributed to the positive outcome. Despite being newly established, this enterprise has achieved remarkable successes from its initial idea of designing home-made beansprouts equipment. Thanks to supporting policies for startups, enterprises like this have been helped to pursue their initiatives to make market debut Statistics on business registration in the first 10 months of this year showed the number of newly registered businesses reached more than 100,000, nearly equal to the total number of 2016. According to experts, the startup movement has spurred many business activities in Vietnam According to Phan Duc Hieu, deputy director of Central Institute for Economic Man- agement, instead of striving for a seat at a public agency, there are more young people who want to affirm themselves by starting their own businesses. Besides, the business environment in Vietnam has been improved significantly by pol- icies introduced by the State, government, ministries, and sectors as well as brighter outlook from both domestic and international markets. Tran Thi Hong Minh, director of Agency of Business Registration said "The implemen- tation of the Law on investment and the law on businesses as well as efforts of minis- tries and sectors have helped to generate the figure." "Thriving in the world market has helped enterprises take the initiative in starting their own businesses", said Phan Duc Hieu, deputy director of Central Institute for Econom-

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ic Management. Recently, ministries and sectors have introduced reforms in business and investment conditions, including exempting several business conditions. The move is expected to create more favourable conditions for people and enterprises to start businesses, help- ing to boost the country's economy. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/startup-movement-helps-increase-new-enterprises/ 121982.vnp

Hotel occupancy rises 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTI NEWS in HCM City Four- and five-star hotels in HCM City have seen a slight decline in room rates al- though the rising number of tourists has resulted in an increase in occupancy rates at high-end hotels. The average room rate of three- to five-star hotels was more than 1.914 million VND (84 USD) in the first six months of the year, a decrease of 11.3 percent compared to

FINANCE 2014, according to the city's Department of Tourism. The average occupancy rate for four- and five-star hotels rose to 85 percent from 70 percent of the same period last year. According to one five-star hotel, its current room rate is 112 USD compared to 130 USD of the same period last year. The hotel market remains a lucrative business but the competition is fierce due to ex- panding room inventory, a manager of a downtown five-star hotel said. "An increase of 2 USD in room rates will result in a fall in the occupancy rate," the man- ager said. From 2013 to 2016, the supply of four- and five-star hotels increased 20 percent per year to meet international tourist demand for upscale resorts and luxury accommoda- tion, according to Savills Vietnam, the property consultant. HCM City has the largest hotel supply in Vietnam, with approximately 16,000 three- to five-star rooms. Over the next three years, the city expects to have 3,500 new rooms, a 22 percent in- crease. Besides an abundant supply of two- to three-star hotels, the growth of apartments and houses rented out to tourists has increased the competition in the hotel segment, ex- perts in the hospitality sector said. Lam Quang Huy, deputy general director of the Grand Hotel in HCM City's District 1, said the hotel's occupancy rate rose to 87-90 percent in the last few months. "The hotel is offering additional services to attract customers and maintain the room rate," Huy said. Travel firms said that around 70 percent of tourists chose to stay at two- to three-star hotels as the difference of room rates between three-star and five-star hotels could reach 60-70 percent. Three- to four-star hotels usually sell at least 50-60 percent of their rooms in advance to travel firms and offer flexible and incentive policies on room rates for them, a rep- resentative of TransViet Travel said. As accommodation costs make up around 40-60 percent of tour prices, tour operators often choose three- to four-star hotels with reasonable prices instead of five-star hotels. In the first nine months of the year, the city welcomed 4.2 million foreign tourists, a year-on-year rise of 16.6 percent, according to the Department of Tourism. Tourism revenue was estimated at 84.57 trillion VND (3.72 billion USD), a year-on- year increase of 10 percent. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/53842/-hotel-occupancy-rises-in-hcm-city.html

Inland waterway 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES holds small transport Although Vietnam has a dense network of rivers and canals, the volume of cargo and market share passengers transported on inland waterways accounts for small proportions, 17-19 percent and 4-6 percent respectively. According to a report by the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, Vietnam with

Intellasia 20 November 2017 44 / 69 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam November, 2017 Business Briefs20 BUSINESS Intellasia IZ NEWS July at the starting price atthestarting of July VN around VND32billion from the sale. DATC price isVND7,2 15. Thestarting December Civil at stake, percent shares, ora93.5 Corporati Trading and Asset Debt * Vietnam cial bonusesup to 500percent ofannual premium. comprehensive protection. Italsooffers in arm, which now owns 51percent of plan VCG, Vimeco JSC. TheState Capita Fiber ReinforcedPolyeste Vinaconex Glass Joint VentureVinacone stake inInternational a 30.36 including ofsubsidiaries, series Co * Vietnam ConstructionandImport-Export 13percent increased revenue solidated cent year-on-year to VND219 per- rose 28.2 net profit consolidated its said a carretailer, Company (PTB), * Tai Phu 30daysafter within getting approval treasury shares at no higherthanVND45, announced(DQC) has Company * DienQuang is expected totakeplace between ovember 20andDecember 18. Transaction thelatter. in stake 2.94percent to holda (HII) Company & Plastic Mineral registered has HoldingsCompany * AnPhat treasury shares. taki shares, millionsharesas 100 treasury * Masan GroupCorporation (MS ) has spent Tu Tin (VITALive Confidently) whichprov Life Insu * generali Vietnam 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | day, ministerofTransportNg At ameeting onhowtoincrease the inland transported on waterways to 20-22 million tonnesayear. Theministry by2020. percent to 18-21.5 sector land and coastal ones, andenhance manageme The Ministry ofTransport plans to upgrade 2,000 kilometersof waterways,mainly in- enterprises havebeen attributed tothe ports, small investments in inland waterw use ofitsad good has notmade sector the people, offreight totransportahugevolume and thelowest Despite cost andcapacity servingpassengers. handling andmorethan 2,500 inlandwaterw nearly10,800 Vietnam alsohas theyhaveyettobeoperated. but to railways 13 others servingpassengers. OnlyViet Tr se thecountry 271 month, had oflast As the densest waterway transportnetworks. 3,200 and kilometers ofcoastline river 240 Minister Theassigned for private transport enterprises astheyare considered adriving force of the sector. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57101/In sector, reducing pressure on road transport. structuring andotherproject policies to He alsorequired periodicreports on the waterway system has notbeen operated ket-share.html agencies under the ministry to rance LLChaslaunched anewproductcalledVITA-Song l InvestmentCorporation, thegovernment's investment .6 billion inthe January-September period, anditscon- uyen VanThesaidpreferenti D10,800 a share but ashare but found no D10,800 buyers. from the State Securities Commission. the State Securities from Engineeringon ConstructionCorporationo.60 small proportion of waterborne transport. small proportionofwaterborne aports including258portshandlingcargoand percent stake in Vinaconex 11, a 29 percent 11,a29percent percent stake inVinaconex to VND2.9trillion in the period. help handle shortcomings and develop the develop help handleshortcomingsand implementation oftheinland waterway re- effectivelygreat inspitepotential. of ng to109.9 million thetotalnumber ofits land-waterway-holds-s 000 each. DQC will conduct the transaction 000 each. the DQC willconduct transaction vantage. Weak infrastructure links among i andNinhPhucportshavebeen connected vestment returns thanks andspe- vestment returns to annual mouths ranks fourth among countries with ays and low competitiveness of transport oftransport competitiveness low and ays 00 per share, which means DATC can raise canraise which meansDATC pershare, 00 waterway transport market share onTues- r Pipe JSC, anda51.4percent stake r PipeJSC, in ides customers and th on (DATC) will auctionnearly 4.5 million offered the shares viapublic bidding in to buy 400,000 shares of An Phat-Yen Bai Phat-Yen sharesofAn buy400,000 to nearlYVND5.9 trillion buyingback over x-Taisei Co Ltd, a 35.39 in a35.39 percent stake x-Taisei CoLtd, also expects to raise thevolumeofcargoalso expectsto ay stations with 8,000 ofthemforcargo with8,000 ay stations rporation (VCG)plans todivestfroma s to sell 96.25 million shares in VCG, inVCG, or shares million 96.25 s tosell nt toincrease themarket share of the to buy back over 993,000sharesas buy back to identify whytheMekong Delta's al loans shouldbeoffered 20 November 2017 45 /69 mall-transport-mar- eir families with 20 November 20 BUSINESS 10-year high from drops Index VN finance& business Vietnam development trends eyes market Vietnamese stock Intellasia high.html#2zJ6moLFZKtv0SQ4.97 http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417789 billion. than58.9 shares More million were traded growthper cent. of3.3total Friday's gainalsoextended the northern mark slightlyunchanged points, at 108.31 from Th The HNX Index on the HanoiStock Exchange st Bach warned. points, andit points could fall back areaof860-865 to the index willc the benchmark said. However, was quitepositive andreducedthedependen sions with spreadinginvestmentamong loca around stable has remained liquidity Trading the session, BaoViet Securities Co(BVSC) am level above the890-point stay to was able Though the VN Index putan end to its 10-day rally on Friday,the benchmark index respectively. in thethree previous sessions. Thetwostocks ga had they also retreatedafter and KDC DHG shares had gained more than 10.2 per centintotalso far this month. cent follow GMD dropped2per grown total23per cent sincethe end of October. Ithad days. two previous the in made growth entire its erase to cent per 2.7 lost BMP (KDC). Kido food and producer (GMD) Gemadept firm logistics (STB), combank Mi decliners wereBinh Among points. 887.41 cent to 0.3 per nearly saw share pricesdrop while only four adva the by of companies 30 Twenty-four largest had rallied for 10 consecutive sessions. Large-cap stockswere hit by investors' bered gainingonesby to111. 168 domina Vietnam's majorstockmarketwas Thursday. compared to The trading figures posted a declineof8.7 pe trillion (US$238.3 million). million sharesweretrad than188.5 More cent since thestartofNovember. The southern marketindex advanced total cent. per 7.1 rally oftotal 10-day a made had points. It 890.69 to endFridayat percent Index dropped0.24 The benchmarkVN the market was hitbystrong investor selling. Shares fell onthe HCMStock Exchange after ra 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS forlocal enterprises. payment service ment tolaunch online coordinate Bank has * Military Ca saidViet percent, 21.79 In 2006, In 2006, Vinaconex the CamPha Ceme built ruptcy. of the story Corporation (Vinaconex), tells Do Trong Quynh, director general ofth transparency. owned enterprisesare being equitisedto im Vietnam's stock market isbecoming an impo 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV pital SecuritiesCorporation. d with HanoiCity's Departme nh Plastic (BMP), DHGPhar ing itsthree-dayincrease profit-taking after th after profit-taking e Vietnam Construction and Import-Export e VietnamConstruction /vn-index-drops- ed onthe southern bourse, worth VND5.36 analyst Tran Xuan analystTranXuan Bach saidinanote. on Hanoi 's market, worth nearly VND750 Hanoi 'smarket,worthnearly on when Vinaconex was on the verge ofbank- was on when Vinaconex ted by declining stocks, whichoutnum- ontinue struggling in the range of 890-895 range of890-895 inthe struggling ontinue 2.6 percenton a weeklybasisand 6.4 per nced, causingthelarge-capindextofall market capitalisation in the VN30 inthe Index capitalisation VN30 market nt Plant mostly with prove governance capacity and financial and prove governancecapacity rtant channelfor mobilisingcapital. State- r cent in volume and 27 per centand 27per invalue cent involume r ursday's ending level of 108.29 points. level of108.29 ending ursday's l stocks, proving that investor sentiment id theid increase of investorselling during et index's gain for an eighth session session with foraneighth gain et index's declinedby 2.5centper cent,2 per and ce of the market on large-cap stocks, hestocks, large-cap ce ofthemarket on theaverage number ofthelast21 ses- llying for 10days toits 10-year high as ined total 9.1 per cent and 6.2 percent percentand 9.1 ined total ruggled in theentire session to finish from-10-year- of 8.6 per cent. Gemadept of 8.6per cent. Gemadept maceutical Co (DHG), Sa- nt of PlanningandInvest-nt e benchmark VN e benchmark Index 20 November 2017 46 /69 moneyfrom bank 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam stock market optimistic on VN Fund manager Intellasia 361975.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnamese legal framework for capital markets. inflation, the private sector's greater role inthenationaleconomy,and the improved inthefutureattract investment duetoVi to conditions more favourable enjoy will markets capital year. Vietnam's last against Foreignbond markets. indirect investment This year has witnessed abuying spree by foreign investors in boththe securities and to inthe heat near future." up very is likely market stock clarified theprogress, directi Tran VanDung, Chair of the State Securiti Holding Corporation. Mineral Industries Coal and nications Group, the VietnamNationalCh nies like the Vietnam Nati nies likethe tobeequiti arescheduled only18 In 2019, and telecommu per Corporation additional enterprises will be equitised, in During thefirstninemonthsof 2017, 34SO andwithdraw plans to expandequitisation Vietnam's stock market isforecast to cont through adangerousperiod." from ruin, demonstrating how important capitalsources are for acompany going mill $66 grow.Just naconex recover and (MSCI) did not include Vietnam inthe emergi k an emergingmarket. Aswe is Vietnam year. last growth cent per 14.8 to fall.Vietnam howeverhas Southeast Asia but also havingagoodyear, this follows is ThePhilippines going. momentum its kept has year. Vietnam this struggling is land year, it thesecond Last was and Malaysia. In the region, Vietnam isthetop performing do The markethasreached800points.What The economy at the moment is verystrong. manufacturing. Vietnam does not have pressure todevalue shock over themonetary policy. more confident aboutwherethe economy is,despite isandthegovernment the policy cent, withthe balance oftradenow at$442mi Now, itfair is to saywherethe economy with islow inflation sofar this yearof 1.8 per given previous events inVietnam many years ago. terest rates, increase incred Q4 growth.There are some concerns over th in the highestQ3growthin last quarter, the Vietnam'sIn terms economy,GDPgrowth of is What isyour reading of the Vietnamese economy now? funds. and VFM's market about the ment (VFM), fu Mantle, offshore News speakswithSteven 10long After years, theVNIndex has agai 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS Quynh said"The contributionof in thestockmarket to almost $400million. Vinaconex from goingbustand allowed it to ing Vinaconex to theverge ofcollapse. Rais to lossesfor Vinaconex. cementplantbe The In stronger foreign currencies loans. 2011, onal Coffee Corporation, the onal CoffeeCorporation, it growth allowance. This can be scary for foreign investorsfor foreign allowance. Thisscary canbeit growth on, andrateofdivestment $66million by its two bigg nications giant MobiFone. ion saved a company with 30,000 workers 30,000 with company ion saveda etnam's steady economicgrowth, controlled now Morgan Stanley Capital International now Morgan Stanley Capital a bad 2016 a bad2016 when itwasthe only market in inue togrowthanksthegovernment's inue cluding major corporationsVietnamcluding majorlike Pa- sed, but most of those are blue-chip compa- mostofthoseareblue-chip sed, but es Commission, said "The governmenthas and slowgrowthofthecementmarketled n gone pastthe800-point Vietnam mark. emical Group, and the Vietnam National the emical Group,and best performer behind Thailand,butThai- -stock-market-eyes-development-trends- Es were equitised on schedule. In 2018, 64 2018, In on schedule. Es wereequitised ing thecorporation's charter capitalsaved in the past 10 months surged70percent state capital from state-owned enterprises. gan losing almost $30 million a year, push- millionayear, $30 gan losingalmost seven years, which is positive in terms of terms in positive sevenyears,whichis the currencytoincrease exports or boost stand firm and increase its capitalisation itscapitalisation and increase firm stand e loosening of monetary policy, lower in- lower policy, ofmonetary e loosening market out ofThai market continued to grow very well following a well continued togrowvery you think of this remarkable you thinkofthisremarkable milestone? nd raisingdirector ng market watch list, but at the moment llion, itseemsthatforeign investorsare veryhealthynow, reaching7.5 percent Vietnam Post and Telecommu- Postand Vietnam state capitalfromSOEs. The est shareholders helped Vi- land, the Philippines 20 November 2017 47 /69 of VietfundManage- 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam stake atVinaconex sell 21.79pct to SCIC Intellasia stock-market.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine down a this monthhas been positive. traditionally is November Although far. so month forthe VN Index, 2017could perhaps be correction little very with year this forthemarketitse In termsofpredictions profit. take many compelling buyingopportunities outth foreign capital. Despite the market being at its highest levels for adecade, there are still The Vinamilk stake being divested by the SCIClast week should help bring in more growth. togood due earnings importantly also but allocation Frontier Index helped byhigherMSCI perhapsVietnam,more overseasinvestors warming upto are overseas and IPOs quality good to thanks biggest on forour we're and currently years We've already seen extremely high levels year? How doyou see themarket and foreigncapital flows from now through end ofthe The ETF was up 28 per centatthe end ofSeptember. are alsoseeing interest in Europe and US. thecapita in investors havebeenbig land but we areseeinginte the biggest,Korea is Korean companies.lotwe havea So essentially there is a largelevelof foreign Often, the KoreaVietnam and storycompar is of performanceand subscription. million today, we ha $115 to about this year So asacompanythat has gone from managi How is VFM's ETF doing this year? only fallshort due toMSCI'ssu and there are four that meet MSCIcriteria stocks withamarketcapofmore thanabill but one thing that Vietnam does excel is in be donein to lot more a Thereis list. watch thingThe last that is ha inJune,Vietnam month. mill was worth year nearly $670 the second highest inSoutheas In termsoftheimpact of foreigners, net buyi thanPhilippines, the choiceshas muchmoreavailable. it much trade. In terms of the depthofVietna pines, someoftheir biggestarecompanies we have a lot of liquidity, far more than in the Philippines or Pakistan. In the Philip- with the right of veto. 36 percent,butit reduced to be conex would the if said SCIC, of chair Chi, Dc Nguyen per share, (US$1.14) morning. on Friday at VND25,800 Shares ofVinaconex, listedon the northern bourse as VCG,rose0.8 per cent to trade priceatthe session. trading closing bidding price would be imum announced one held onThursdayHanoi At aroadshow atthe tomore This amounts million than 96.25 shares. ber 8. Import-Export Joint and nam Construction The State Capital InvestmentCo 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS t Asia Malaysia.Atit t Asia after bjective free-floatcriteria. ion. Wehad some sellinglastmonth,abitmore this rporation(SCIC) willsell21 of interest from year. Korea this interest from of s not been put on the MSCI emerging markets the MSCIemerging put on been s not ss/190436/fund-manager-optimistic-on-vn- l market, and also Singapore and Taiwan. We We andTaiwan. also Singapore market, and l direct investmentcomingintoVietnam from auction wassuccessful, SCIC's stakein Vina- lf, the Vietnam Index has continuedtorise of foreignbuyingco for emerging markets while a further five a further markets while foremerging terms of foreign investors, terms generaltrading, corporates investing strategically. Also, Also, strategically. investing corporates rest from different areas. Hong Kong, Thai- the quality of stocks we now have: over 22 have: over we now quality ofstocks the family owned and they don't really have they don'treally owned and family Stock Corporation(Vinaconex)onDecem- m's stock market, it is actually healthier healthier market, is m's stock it actually ng this year has been around $630 million, ng $630 this year beenaround has ion dollars,them inourVN30ETF, ion 15of ng around $75million ve seen growth inallfourfunds interms year of net buying since 2007. Thisis year since2007. of net buying would still remain a major stakeholder, stakeholder, amajor remain still would Stock Exchange,said SCIC that themin- ere for overseas investors notere for lookingto investors overseas edto Japan and Thailand in the90s, but day before the auction,based on the come just the second time in 10 years s peak, the netbuyingthis .79 per cent stake at Viet- stake at per cent .79 mpared toprevious 20 November 2017 48 /69 at thebeginningof 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam performance with sinking Petrolimex stocksfall affiliate Ben Tre Aquaproduct Sao TaFoods becomes Intellasia ex.html#3pjdG8Jzo1XtQqdu.97 Hanoiand estimated that theproject would br 264.13ha urba would focusoncompletinga VCG billion, profitwasVND623 The after-tax per cent. year's61 targetby the sa over per cent 17.9 trillion, up VND6.63 In the first ninemonthsof this year, Vi vestors' holding, at 49 per cent. One of the business lines of Vinaconex was property, whichhadacap for foreign in- be carefully considered toensure benefits for both thesides. minister's Decision 58.He lines were not sectors that theStatewould ements negatively affectingthecompany's aboutlosing profitab Speaking steep downwardslope. on a went Despite theburgeoningrevenue growthin th up billion), ($4.95 trillion On the contrary, the consolidated revenue in period same the of cent per 87.3 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR nearly 7.84million to20.1perce shares, equal Aquaproduct ImportBen Tre andExport JS 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS vietnamnews.vn/econom ments at 20,and the load ofworkin th 85 enterprise from todivest planned SCIC of Dong for thecompany. continueSCIC wouldChi said divest to up stock discounts, following the dr following stockdiscounts, up drop in share pricesafter avastwave of in Vietnam NationalPetroleum Gr lion shares equivalent to54.28per cent ofSa Earlier, Hung Vuong Corp (HVG) decided to capital. Ben Tre Aquaproduct is asubsidiaryofPA The company madethe announcement on theHCMStockExchangeon Thursday. an making latter the affili (FMC), consolidated before-taxprof According tothegroup'sincome statementforthefirstthree consolidated quarters, the record.Septemberdrop fromthe plunged price ofPetrolimex The current inSeptember. ($3.03) VND69,000 Priorperformance, tothefalling business affiliate_290206.html http://bizhub.vn/markets/sao-ta-f change. The company'sshares aretrading at about get andup 60 per cent year-on-year. inthefiscal million) (US$5.5 porter reporteditsbest-eve Sao Ta Foods isone of the three biggest sh of Sao Ta Foods, liftingits ownership SSI AssetManagement CoLtdonMondayalso the contextburdens.heavy interest ofdecliningperformancein and ness the percentagainst 27.7 same period in 2016. y/417737/scic-to-sell- added the from VCGwould that roadmap fordivestments added r resultwith estimated pre- year 2016-17, an increase of 25 per cent over the yearly tar- yearly per centoverthe 25 increaseof an year 2016-17, it was onlyVND3.5trillion ility, Petrolimex's spokespers Petrolimex's ility, oup (Petrolimex, coded PLX), has witnessed a sharp ate companyofBen Tre Aquaproduct. oods-becomes-ben-tre-aquaproduct- 2016 and75.7 percentofthe 2016 target. op inprofitability since April2017. to 19.97 per centofvotingrights. e remainingmonths of the year was huge. naconex's revenue was estimated at nearly from Vinaconex by 2 to VND56,200 ($2.47),aroughly20per to VND56,200 cent rising by 31.3 per centyear-on-year. theticker stood atarecord price of maintain controlling stakes under the prime theprime under stakes controlling maintain vestors startedselling VND22,000 per share on the HCM Stock Ex- Stock onthe pershare HCM VND22,000 s in 2017. To date, SCIC To completed divest- s in2017. SCIC date, rimp exportersinVietnam. The shrimp ex- of the first three quarters was VND112.4 petroleum trade were incurredcosts,such N Group N Group which holds72.82per cent ofits C (ABT) has completedthe purchase of me period last year and exceeding its full full its exceeding and year last me period o TaFoods' capital to e firstninemonths,thecompany's profit offloaditsentire nt ofvotingrights 2179-stake-at-vinacon- ing a net profit of hu a netprofit ing bought more than 7.72 millionshares than 7.72 more bought n complex,West of in the Splendora, tax profitofVND125billion ($156.13 million),whichwas ($156.13 on clarified that the key el- 020, as business 020, VCG's holding of21.128 mil- 20 November 2017 49 /69 its stocks and setting setting and stocks its in Sao TaFoods JSC streamline its busi- ndreds ofbillions 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam trade with HK trade with VN firmsurged to $1.14bil value approximates Real estate inventory Intellasia In addition, regarding busine bio-fuel plants that meet the co Dung also addedpetroleum thatmostwouldinputthe ofbe acquired fromdomestic ment projects abouttobe invested. Spec That was caused by strongly developing tr inplaces. percent 70 and even percent 30-40 9, BinhChanh,such as2,Cu Chi HocMon, percen 10-20 by increased prices land Housing said that one ofnotable things inthereal Nguyen Trong Ninh,head of Housingand ture. and price ume hike locate in centre area inve are contractsbuyinghousesdirectlyfrom volume stably inbothpricesandtransaction The MinistryofConstructionestimated that compan tives from1,000 property The event wasattended by minister ofC villa and townhouse projects inareas with asynchronously infrastructure. the mi inHanoi, forum estate real thefirst At this morning. ing 16 percent compared toDecember last now approximat inventory valueReal estate 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| SGGP http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/ services. banking cals. Italso provides design andengineer the businessesofpetr in marily operates company foun aHanoi-based is Petrolimex hancing business performance in2018. the enterpriseresources planning(ERP)anden capabl stations wouldbe group putgreat maximumeffort into assuring Nguyen QuangDung,deputydi ofthebio-fu thesupply initiate to was to improvebusinessperformance. One of th Petrolimex economists assertedthat Many such as petroleum aviation andbitumeninroad construction. encoun also the petroleum business Besides, and domestically-manufactured goods). imports onall tax value-added percent 10 applicable the existing than lower is (which as social insurance expenses andoutsourcing As one of the leading trade and financial ce 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS ing-performance.html proximates--1-14bil.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine Projects servingtour time. the upcoming The MinistryofConstruction forecast no larg fever. reduced have areas these in prices land Therefore, of largelandpiercesinto smaller plotsforsale. projects andtheirprogress,real esta inspect planni to publicise authorities City required the HCM Afterwards ministry these information to blow prices up. e ofsupplyingE5bio-fu ss administration, the petrol ng information about traffic, property and infrastructurepropertyng informationabouttraffic, mpany's fuelquality requirements. rector general ofPetrolimex ies, agencies localities. and ies, agencies el RON 92E5fromthe beginning of2018. s andpositionswith synchronous infrastruc- ulators andbrokers ha oleum, transportation, gas,and petrochemi- ss/190341/real-estate-inventory-value-ap- onstruction Tran Hong Ha and representa- Ha and onstruction TranHong ism willcontinue strongly developing. estate market this year was in HCM City. this wasinHCM year estate market ing, commercial, as well as insurance and and insurance as well ing, commercial, as year, reported the Ministry of Construction of Construction the Ministry year, reported affic infrastructure andmany affic infrastructure large invest- ntres of the world,Hong Kong would bea might be undergoing significant pressure be undergoingsignificantpressure might 190574/petrolimex-sto te tradingand rectify the illegal separation e group's business enhancement strategies e group'sbusinessenhancement and Can Gio. The pricessurged as high as ded in 1956. Thepetr ded in1956. Real EstateMarket ManagementAgency, es VND26 trillion (US$1.14 billion),reduc- trillion (US$1.14 es VND26 ConstructionDepartment topropose city the property marketcontinues growing this year. Most of Most year. this tered obstacles inother business lines, nistry said that most of the inventory are most ofthe that nistry said services, aswell as Koreanimport tariffs e fluctuationsinthehousing market in stors. Projectswithhightransactionvol- terprise gas (Egas) with the intent of en- of theintent gas (Egas) with terprise that 100 per cent ofthegroup's petrol t compared to 2016 in outskirt inoutskirt districts t compared 2016 to el by January 1, 2018. 1, January el by eum provider alsoapplied , noted that the petroleum thepetroleum , notedthat successful transactions d takenadvantageof 20 November 2017 50 /69 oleum provider pri- cks-fall-with-sink- 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam programme starts programme Technology Challenge Mekong Agriculture Intellasia global agricultural solution solution global agricultural MBI, director of Phan VinhQuang, deputy Development Bank. tiative (MBI) with funding and support from MATch isthe latest inaseriesof innovati hk.html#T53lqCEWGELzDZx9.97 companies inHongKongandVietnamcankn Undercooperatethe twosides theMoU, will a memorandumofunderstanding fo Chau said HKTDC and the VietnamTrade Promotion Agency on November16signed the Chinese mainland andthe world," Chau said. "Leveraging on our advantages, Vietnamese council's fairs, she said. international buyers hadincreasingly Many firms topromotetheirproduc Therefore, exhibitionsonfood, house-wares, or and fruits porter ofmany HKTD directorof Indochinaat Tina Phan, over and from Thailand 500 However, only 40 exhibitorsfromVietnamjo council's trade fairs,hesaid. buyersfrom countries regions and 770,000 200 Last year, more than38,000 exhibitors from to other countries. for th chance a great which is as exhibitors, thecouncil by organised fairs in participate to firms Vietnamese encouraged also Chau their businesses inthe local market as namese companies "make more use" ofthe Bilateral trade hadbeen fruitful for many ye last year. same period over the Meanwhile, importtoHongKong fromViet he said. Asean," withitsexportstoVietnam amounted to export themost was important "Vietnam increase year of 11.6percent. with bilateral tradebillion reaching $13 in and it inAsean partner trading largest third Benjamin Chamber ofCommerceandIndustry, City a pressluncheoninHCM at Speaking Development Council(HKTDC) said. ex thedeputy markets, global and regional ente to enterprises Vietnamese gateway for ture tobe ture a turned co into more on Thursday,aimingtosupport agricultural The MekongAgricultureTechnologyChalle 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/417808 well as tradebetween Vietnam and Hong Kong in particular, he added. and investment trade ingoods,services, vember and 12 is expectedtocome into ef In addition, theAsean-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement, which was signed on No- said. the Kong andworld into totap markets, Hong he in HKTDCtradefairs participate to utilise digital channels suchas its www.hktdc.com in business transaction, andto trade missionsandcapacity vegetables, garments, handicrafts, and other products. providers, can join MATCh to help transform the Mekong help transformthe to can joinMATCh providers, training programmes, enco training 1,000 fromJapan, he said. ts to international buyers. international ts to mpetitive and and sust mpetitive r cooperation on trade promotion. trade r cooperationon well as the international market. international as the well /vn-firms-urged- between Asean countries and Hong Kong, as on accelerators by the market for Hong Kong's merchandise in fect in January 2019, would 2019, fect inJanuary further increase the first ninth months of theyear,ayear-on- ninth first months the em to introduce their products and services andservices products their to introduce em and theVietnam HKTDC by on Fridayheld C, said Vietnam was the producer and ex- the producer was C, saidVietnam ecutive director of the HongKongTrade said agricultural technologystart-upsand r the Chinese mainland market and other other and market mainland Chinese the r s ninth largest trading partnerworldwide, Hong Kong platformtofurther promote 88 countries and regions the Australian government and theAsian the Australiangovernment and start-ups fortheMe start-ups sought goods from Vietnam through the goods fromVietnam through sought nge (MATch) waslaunchedinHCMCity ars, he said, adding that he hopes Viet- in exchanging market information sothat marketinformation in exchanging nam reached $5.7billion,up12 per cent ined fairs, while the figure was more than morethan was figure the while fairs, ined companies can expand businesses into businesses canexpand companies ow themarketsituat visited more than 30 of the Hong Kong oftheHong 30 visited morethan gifts are very suitable for Vietnamese Vietnamese for suitable very are gifts ChausaidVietnam wasHongKong's $7.4 billion, an increase of11per cent, ainable industry. urage Vietnamese companies to-trade-with- Mekong BusinessIni- kong region'sagricul- 20 November 2017 51 /69 ion better, organise as well as nearly 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam surges after Apec Da Nangproperty Intellasia ed for official reports on the inflati the official reportson ed for Kim said someinvestors stillhesitated topo including Cocobay,Sheraton, Vinacapital. area incoastal projects resort and tainment and litt changeinsmall aslight "There is projects.big they arepredictedwell, topourmore money into are likelyto goto HCM City and Hanoi from in assmall toincrease are likely The sales large resorts and apartments big propertydevelopersare li "There are busy transactionsof small hotel segment ofthepropertymarket aftertheApecmeeting.surge intheretail predicted a Nguyen ThiKim, owner ofthe Thien Kim Real existingin popularity.The tinues togrow con- coast golf The increase. to likely was attraction city's the underway, well Hoiana further expansion andwiththe$4billion ca addedsouth, that,totheIt therecently northern capacity toservice class has boostedthe and lo brand city's the value, Nang on Da The prolongedinternationalfocus 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS vietnamnews.vn/economy/41 end ofDecember. The programme accepts online applications Competition held inSingapore. region Summit inHanoi in 2018 and topa presen invited to The winners willalsobe finance fromstrategicceive investors. wi Award service provision. nical supportand and offers prizes wo awards The competition ners and investors intheregion. pansion plansincludingproductadaptation, receiv will Participants region. the Mekong inte mature help will challenge second The Cambodia, Laos,My agriculture businesses start-ups andtraditional MATch MarketAccess Accelerator.is firstThe The programme includestwo challenges food. nutritious and safe of supplier global leading a into industry agriculture region's growth. Rapidexpansionofresortprojects Bien Phu-NguyenTri Phuongroadfuture Dien and the tunnel.willservice sion The opening of infrastructure projects fo bers up by about 33.2 per centto 3.2 million. six months first million inthe more than1.2 Tourism is adriving force for the cityeconomy. are addedand hospitality bran major hospitalityper continues boom cent.The 7.5 in milliondisbursed.Creditgrowth $14.3 about Foreign directinvestmentin The report saidthecityhadseen afirst ha beaches and rich culturewould draw more visitors to its resorts andhotels. golden climate, its warm and boost, geta further would growth tourism strong ready centralcity, property its surveyofthe In say. experts ingly, gramme-starts.html#v3tvKBcZmO4BOYf9.97 anmar and Vietnam. creased year-on-year 269.5per by astunning cent with ," she toldVietnam News. 7771/mekong-agriculture-te kely to flock to the city se city to the to flock kely Asian markets, thereport said. on rate and finance from stateagencies ds jostletoenterthemarket. completedDai Cua bridge inHoiAnallowed r the Apec summit, including airport expan- airport including summit, Apec the r le projects.Investorsaredeveleoping enter- consultancy firmSavill vestors speculate onasurge. More investors the MATch theMATch Accelerator Startup and the lf GDPgrowthof8.1percent year-on-year,. four courses are already well patronised.. t their solutions at the Greater Mekong Sub- Mekong Greater the at solutions their t along the entirecoast along s and apartment projects in the city while inthecitywhile projects s and apartment rticipateAward intheFutureFoodAsia s in Dien Nam-Dien Ngc near HoiAncity, rnational agritech companies expand into e mentorship and assistance with their ex- ur money into big transaction astheymoney wait- intobig ur this visitor num- year, Vietnam with total as more international as moreinternational and flights domestic sino, golf and entertainmentgolf and sino, complexat at www.match.mekongbiz.org until the cal realestatesector totestthe Iftheydo Da Nang market. and help forgerelationships with part- rth $200,000 in total, provided intotal, via tech- rth $200,000 aimed at innovativeearlystageagritech aimed nners will also be introduced to and re- to and will alsobeintroduced nners as the host of this year's Apec Summit Summit year'sApec this of the host as with new,with scalable business models in thefirsthalfreached asix-year highof Estatetransaction centre in Da Nang, Visitors increased by 72.2 per cent to eking investment chancesin investment eking chnology-challenge-pro- s Vietnam saidtheal- s gives DaNang world 20 November 2017 52 /69 will benefit accord- 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam GRDP 33pctHCM of City's sectors accountfor Strong industry, trade Intellasia Rapid establishment ofnew ente neighbouring provinces an and producers local groupswith retail al organised 35tradepr This year,thecity ($8.9 million)per project, wi the industry and supportingsectors cannow support launched many City authoritieshave turnover,"added. he growth of online trade, whichcontributed ping malls,and218 convenience shopsco included trade for modern "Infrastructure of thedepartment, said. ofna 1.83timeshigher that IIP than with engineering, electronics and information "The breakthrough growthoffour key indu accounting for 33.6 per centofthe city's GRDP. Industry and reachedaddedvalueof trade cent. per by 15.1 turnover export and cent; per 10.9 increase by nearly 8.5 per cent; turnover from retail goods andconsumer services by indexofindustrial with2016, Compared the of Industry and Trade, said onWednesday. City's HCM industry and tradesectors were 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS apec.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine including McDonalds,Phuc Long, Lotteria and Kentucky. According toSavills, DaNangwillbecome for retailandshopping investors..nation He saidLe Duan Street, apopularshopping hub, would continue tobeamajor desti- saturated,are Binhsaid. whenthe be afavouredshoppingcentre, fashion brands like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, but in the next five years, the central city could key a as identified be to yet is Nang Da entertainment and cuisinecentres rather than shoppingcentres, he said. lu Despite the introductionof peop young and thrifty were habits spending Vietnam were yet said DaNangandcentral According toPham Thai Binh, head ofthere velopers sought tosecure longterm remain scarceandthat most would involv tran said report with clearownership.The to challenging it find still investors foreign Japan, from strong remains interest While a and domestic,iscreating b thera toretail. Inaddition, and residential This interestfuelling is investment across all realestate sectors fromindustrial tooffice of thefastestgrowingmiddlecl urbanisation, aswell rapi nation's strong GDPgrowth, arelatively st The report saidthat there wasconsiderable interest from foreign investors, giventhe investment. and theVietnam-EU Free TradeAgreement, wouldbe importantdrivers forcontinued sive Economic Partnership (RCEP), involving ofthe Part demise Trans-Pacific the likely reportreal estatemark The Savills the said d international markets. d growthinthe domestic consumermarket driven by one th preferential-loan interest periods lasting seven years. oom in the hospitality sector. oom inthe xury malls like Vincom and Pa and Vincom like malls xury asses anywhere inthe world. rprises, with nearly 330,000 rprises, with nearly330,000 partnerships with local counterparts. withlocal partnerships market in thedevelopment plansbyluxurious omotion campaigns byconnecting internation-omotion campaigns ss/190550/da-nang-property-surges-after- nershi, adding that the Regional Comprehen- tional industry," Pham Thanh Kien, director Thanh tional industry,"Pham technology saw significantachievements helping enterprises expand sharemarket in twomajor marketsof mpared with Th with 2016. mpared pid growth intourism arrivals, bothforeign et would continue to remain robust, despite robust, despite to remain continue et would e developmentprojects. Many foreign de- sactions involving operating assets would an additional 18supermarkets, three shop- and China, increasingly, Korea, Singapore identify quality real estate investments investments realestate quality identify to commodity retail and serviceconsumer able currency, young demographic, rapid rapid demographic, able currency,young to become a booming market because local because to becomeaboomingmarket tail department at Sa at department tail around VND356trilli a magnet for a seriesoffast-foodbrands, for magnet a stries food processing,chemistry-rubberstries among the leading, the city's Department the Department the leading, city's among production (IIP) this year is expected to isexpected this year production (IIP) le hesitated to shop for luxury toshopforluxury brands. le hesitated borrow capital of up to VND200 billion billion to VND200 ofup borrow capital policies for enterprises. Enterprisespolicies forenterprises. in China, as well as membership of Asean Asean of membership as well as China, rkson, they serve more as serve more rkson, they this year,an of increase Hanoi and HCM City and City Hanoi HCM ere was remarkable vills HCMCity office, 20 November 2017 53 /69 on (US$15.8billion), 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam HCM City see strong growthin Industry,sector trade cooperation withIFC HCM City steps up Intellasia grdp_290190.html http://bizhub.vn/news/str digital contentandservices. resourcesexportkey topromote industries Economists have said that HCMCitymust id he added. agreements," pact fromsuch of free tradeagreements, anddevelop techni "We willfocuson tohelpsupportin policies Kien Korea, Taiwanand Singapore, added. Thailand," Vietna with surpluses trade with markets on key ping malls, and 218 ping malls,and 218 convenience shopsco included trade for modern "Infrastructure of thedepartment, said. ofna 1.83timeshigher that IIP than with engineering, electronics and information http://english.vov.vn/econom riculture, renewable energy and banking inthecountry. fund123 has sofarmobilised$5.6billionto oftheWorldBank Group, The IFC,amember into plans cooperation bilateral their At theworking session, bothsides agreed tob help thecitycarryout public-pri manageand attract, foreig use to effectively willin the IFCis his hostthat told Kelhofer nomic hub to access diverse sources He noted that cooperation programmes with velopment. financia international investorsital from and Forhis part,Kelhofer saidwants theIFC toassist HCM Cityin seeking and luring cap- ments. from the inattracting, ma IFC, particularly tothe de city's significantly contributed a financial the IFC's that affirming While and Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos ager for made thestatementat Liem the mu Liem, viceChairof Corporation (IFC) tocarryout joint projec favourable tocreating iscommitted City HCM 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA "In the thetrade time, coming and industry meet materialdemand for localproducers. ac initial gained has industry The supporting preferential accessing have difficulty However, most of thenew enterprises were micro and small-sized companies, which 8.45 per cent, alsocontributed to growth. "The breakthrough growthoffour key in for percent of thecity'sGRDP. accounting 33.6 Industry and reachedaddedvalueof trade export and percent; 10.9 by consumer services goods and nearlyretail 8.5increase by from percent;turnover indexofindustrial with2016, Compared the of Industry and Trade, saidonNovember 15. City's HCM industry and tradesectors were 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA turnover turnover by 15.1percent. ong-industry-trade-sectors- nicipal People's Committee. nicipal People's a reception for Kyle F.Kelhofer, IFC Senior Country man- F.Kelhofer, IFCSeniorCountry for Kyle a reception y/hcm-city-steps-up-cooper vate partnership(PPP)projects. practical and feasible projects. and feasible practical of funding with low interest interest rates. low with of funding capital from thegovernment andbanks. in thesouthern cityonNovember 17. velopment, Liem askedforfurthersupport ssistance and investment mobilisation have tional industry," Pham Thanh Kien, director Thanh tional industry,"Pham dustriesfood processi technologysaw significant achievements technologysaw significant mpared with Th with 2016. mpared ts basedon current laws, statedLeThanh g to share experiences with the cityonhow with to shareexperiences g naging and effectively using foreign invest- foreign using effectively and naging an additional 18supermarkets, three shop- projects in infrastructure development, ag- development, projects ininfrastructure n capital, and providetechnicalsupportto around VND356trilli department will pr will department like electronics, comp like electronics, g enterprises so they can take advantage g enterprisessothey advantage can take among the leading, the city's Department the Department theleading, city's among cal barrierstominimiseanynegative im- entify itsexport advantages and focus all l partners for the city's infrastructure de- thecity'sinfrastructure l partnersfor oost relevant studiesin a bidtosoon turn the IFCcould enablethesouthern eco- production (IIP) this year is expected to isexpected this year production (IIP) hievements, but is not conditionsfortheInternationalFinance has operated inVietnam since It has 1994. operated m ofover $1billion, like China,South account-for-33-of-hcmcs- ation-with-ifc-362787.vov ng, chemistry-rubber omote tradefocusing ere was remarkable 20 November 2017 54 /69 on (US$15.8billion), uters, software and strongenough to 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam local tourismpublicity VND40 billionfor Companies pledge Intellasia 362761.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/ digital contentandservices. tourism-publicity.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/57108/Co ofVND300 chartered capital and coordinatefinancialresources manage This isafinancial fund beyondthe scope opment AssistanceFund. opinions foradraftontheorganisational ch In arelated development, the Ministry of campaigns. publicity They are unanimous in choosingacompany sp billion,accordingto VND70-80 him. resourcesexportkey topromote industries Economists have said that HCMCitymust id he added. agreements," pact fromsuch of free tradeagreements, anddevelop techni "We willfocuson tohelpsupportin policies Republic ofKorea,Singapore,Taiwan keywithtrade surpluses marketson Viet with ready done their part. Other companies are en HG Group, Thien MinhGroup, Muong Tha gramme will come toanend," he said. has ala sector the tourism fectively. Once offeras manage support,but only "We willnotcarryout destin 2020. http://vietnamtourism.vn/. The two activities Market intheUnitedKingdom,set up and ism promotions attwolarge Each companyagrees tocontributeVND5bi Sun Group, Vietnam Airl Minh Group, Muong ThanhCorporation, Vi Ngo Minh Duc, chair of HG Group,said th and advertisingca out promotion tocarry million) (US$1.7 billion VND40 pledged have companies tourism major Eight 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| THE SAIGON TIMES "In the thetrade time, coming and industry meet materialdemand for localproducers. ac initial gained has industry The supporting preferential accessing have difficulty However, most of thenew enterprises were micro and small-sized companies, which growth. to contributed percent,also 8.45 Rapid establishment ofnew ente neighbouring provinces an and producers local groupswith retail al organised 35tradepr This year,thecity million) per project, (US$8.9 the industry and supportingsectors cannow support launched many City authoritieshave turnover,"added. he growth of online trade, whichcontributed ines, and Hanoi Tourism. d international markets. with preferential-loan interest periodslasting seven years. ation promotionactivities on tourism fairs ITB Berlin in Germany and World Travel billion (US$13.2million). industry-trade-sector-see- rprises, with nearly 330,000 rprises, with nearly330,000 ment agencieslack finances mpaigns for the tourism sector. thetourism for mpaigns capital from thegovernment andbanks. (China) andThailand," Kienadded. omotion campaigns byconnecting internation-omotion campaigns helping enterprises expand sharemarket in of the State budgetwhichhas functions to rger fund toorganise activities, ourpro- e eightcompaniesincludeHGGroup,Thien Culture, Sports and Tourism is gathering is gathering Tourism and Sports Culture, mpanies-pledge-VND40 billion-for-local- to commodity retail and serviceconsumer a tourism promotionwebsite inEnglishat department will pr will department for tourism promotion activities. Ithas tourism for like electronics, comp like electronics, ngroup,Company, Saigontourist Holding nh Corporation, and Vingroup haveal- nh Corporation,and arter and operation of the Tourism Devel- arter andoperationofthe Tourism g enterprises so they can take advantage g enterprisessothey advantage can take llion inabid to improve Vietnamese tour- cal barrierstominimiseanynegative im- entify itsexport advantages and focus all will be implemented in three years until until three years in beimplemented will hievements, but is not borrow capital of up to VND200 billion billion to VND200 ofup borrow capital policies for enterprises. Enterprisespolicies forenterprises. in couraged tojoin couraged nam of over $1 billion, likeChina, the ecialising intourismconsultancytodo strong-growth-in-hcm-city- behalf ofthe government, this year,an of increase to carry out activities carryoutactivities to ef- omote tradefocusing 20 November 2017 55 /69 raise to raise the total uters, software and strongenough to 20 November 20 BUSINESS Nang tourism Da Japanese backs finance& business Vietnam products for 2018 products for promotes new Vietnam Expo2017 Cambodia begins in Vietnam trade fair Intellasia http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-tr terests. will continue working in creating optimal c optimal continue working increating will of the twocountries asvarious contracts will The Cambodian officialsvoiced his hope that relations and theVietnam Ca the50th celebrating countries, tween thetwo aims to consolidate and develop the trad For hispart,Cambodian Secr Asean member countries and Cambodiainparticular, Don added. counterparts and explore Cambodian their tions. Italsooffers opport that event political important an is The fair ure to $5billion in upcoming years. square metres.Aforum to bolster VietnamC with over 22, It willruntill November Cambodia. De the and trade ministryofVietnam and eighth edition,wasco-organThe event,the 18,drawingmore 150 than November The VietnamTradeFair 2017opened inP 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA so The cityhas far 16tourist prop developed inthe capital city. 25 foreigndirect investment (FDI) projects wo Tourist real estate remains afavourite investme es from Japan. The city hasalso reserved a 134ha industrial parkfor medium andsmall-size business- fo projects jobs Japanese create 40,000 years.. first nine months thisyear. numberThe of The city has hosted5.1million largest investorinDa the second is Japan vrio DaNangCity.Itis the first Earlier, the Japanlaun Group from RouteInn It isthebiggestforeign investment in on DaNangBay. rooms with 280 in will cover13ha, will The project,which ism property fromJapaniin the city. and five-starhotelbeach of onthewater park hotelGroup from The Mikazuki 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS HCM Citywill see theintroduction ofnew pr The 15thVietnam InternationalTradeFair 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA trade hit$3billionpe Two-way million. over$58 at italising inVietnam investment Cambodia's Meanwhile, billion. $3 nearly worth capital istered launched hastodate 190invest said Vietnam at Speaking the opening ceremony, Vietna the event,alongwith place at http://bizhub.vn/property/japanese and forlease. forsale 140 which 609 are unities forVietnamese firms etary ofStatefor Commerce daily cultural performances. cultural daily mbodia Friendship Year 2017. mbodia Friendship r year and the two countries are striving to raise the fig- raisethe to striving countries are the two r yearand tourists, of which 1.76 million were foreigners, in the in foreigners, weretourists, ofwhich1.76 million of a chain of50hotelsinthecountry. millionto Japanwillspendmorethan $100 build a -backs-da-nang-tourism_290199.html r the city and neighbouringprovinces. tourism property in tourism propertyin this year. the city businesses of Vietnam and ofVietnam Cambodia. businesses 230 booths, covering an area of about 10,000 10,000 ofabout an area booths, covering 230 itional andcomprehensive partnershipbe- hnom Penh, the capitalcityofCambodia, on Penh, hnom Nangwith 134 projects worth$598 million. clude a 5ha water park, and a five-star hotel a five-star park, and water a 5ha clude fence Ministry and Commerce Ministry of ade-fair-begins-in-cambodia-362828.vov Japanesevisitorshas trebled in recent mese deputy Defence minister TranDon fosters the friendshipfosters betweenthetwona- ised by the Defence Mi ised bythe (Vietnam Expo 2017) on December 6-9in 2017) on December Expo (Vietnam new markets, thusboostingexport to onditions forbusiness ment projects in Cambodia with total reg- total with ment projectsinCambodia ambodia trade and inve trade and ambodia be inked. He affirmed that the two sides sides two the that affirmed He inked. be erty projectsconsisti the fair willenhanc foundinganniversaryofthediplomatic ched afour-starhotelproject,theGrand- Da Nang the biggest investment in tour- in investment thebiggest Da Nang rth $1.8billion or 54 per cent oftotalFDI oducts that will the in2018. oducts that hit will market nt magnet in this central city, attracting attracting city, central inthis magnet nt is also on the rise, with 18 projectscap- with18 ontherise, also is to enhance cooperation with OkBoung said theevent e businessconnection 20 November 2017 56 /69 ng of 749villas, nistry andIndustry links for mutual in- for mutual links stment will take take will stment 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam enhanced origin tobe product Management of internet celebrate20 years of Vietnam getsreadyto Intellasia 362759.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-ex the numberincreasedto520in andis 2016 expected at750 in 2017. According totheorganising board, some320 event. A line-up oftalksand trade exchange conferen countries. Asian and Belarus Slovakia, far, includingthose fromtheUK, the US, vietnamnews.vn/economy/417794 tobring inVietnam tothe prosperity inthefuture. internet nation ment in Vietnam, whilegivi The event isexpected tobe a special occa and youngprogrammers.munity Also, the'Chatbot 2017' contest willbela ment oftheinternetinVietnam in At the ceremony, individuals and enterprise hotel onNovember 22. years of marking 20 anniversary ceremony Associati Internet Vietnam the addition, In ternet.html#2etehu7oA8IwMy0V.97 tions Educational and Scientific nam InternetAssociation, United Nations Information and Communication, alongwith pa The event ishosted by the EmbassyofSwed (1997-2017). anni ofthetwentieth atthetime takes place Forum wh Inspired bytheStockholmInternet social networkdevelopment. igin, Decree43 on labeling and Ministry ment of product origin andlabelsfollowing thegovernment's Decree 19onproduct or- Accordingly,across customs departments China" products under the Vietnamese brand, which caused astir. comes in theofaprobeinto The movewake of importedproductstobe enhanced. and open ative, sustainable discus will For Good', 'Digital themed VIF17, vember 27-28. 201 The VietnamInternetForum 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS received regi The organisingboardhas 860 household products-consumer goods. hardware productsan devices andproducts, booths 800 disp eventwillfeature This year work. theirtrademarksas ducer can popularise isdestination alsoIt policy where a makers ness cooperation. namese and foreignenterprises, allowingthemto andexchangemeet views on busi- The expo, held by the Vinexad, continues to be animportantbridge toconnect Viet- seeking customers' feedback for tointroduce want companies participating Trade tothe According National Vietnam The general Department of Cu The general of Department 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA societye-governance, through ng suggestions to further promote the development oftheto furtherpromote ng suggestions stoms hasordered themanageme andCulturalOrganisation. 7 (VIF17) will take place at the Hanoi Museum onNo- Museum theHanoi at place willtake 7 (VIF17) evaluating the market's demand. /viet-nam-gets-rea the past 10 years will be announced. the past10yearswillbe of Finance's Circular 38 on customs customs onof Finance's Circular 38 unched, aiming to connect the start-up com- connect thestart-up to unched, aiming sion tolook back on the internet's develop- the UnitedArab Emirates, Turkey, Russia, well as expand consumptionmarketnet- Development Programme and United Na- United and Programme Development Fair &AdvertisingCompany (Vinexad), on will also hold the Internet Day 2017 and and Day 2017 hold theInternet on willalso the country must enhance their manage-must the country can update latest wavesofmarket and pro- po-2017-promotes-new-products-for-2018- versary of the internet arriving in Vietnam inVietnam oftheinternetarriving versary strations through webs strations through their new with theaim items for2018 of internet inVietnam at JW Marriott Hanoi laying products inthefields ofelectronic Khaisilk's trade fraud of selling "Made-in- selling of fraud trade Khaisilk's enterprises attended the 2015 event while event the2015 enterprises attended s, whichhavecontributed to the develop- en in Hanoi and Vietnamese Ministry of en inHanoiandVietnamese d hand tools, constructiontools, materialsand d hand s the contribution of the internet to a cre- toa of theinternet the contribution s ich took place in May,theeventHanoi place took ich ce will be held in the framework ce willbeheldintheframework of the rtners such as Lund University, Viet- University, Lund as such rtners dy-to-celebrate- open data, smart cities and cities smart open data, nt of origin and labelsorigin and nt of 20 November 2017 57 /69 ite and fanpage so 20-years-of-in- 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam opens in HCM City opens in Camp 2017 officially Sales &Marketing Intellasia groups will hold presentations groups willhold In the framework ofthetwo-dayevent (November 17-18), 45 speakers from leading CSMO inthe north. charge oflabeling,and culation mustbein ties, as well as the ag managers with discussions sector. CSMO cations, sales,andmarketing everyoneinterestedfor communi- inthe is Notably, theprogramme organised today sales and marketingations inthesector. the compulsory crea as and newtrends,aswell and findnew waystodevelop theirenterpri pants understand better the po and marketing and communication sectors. We operationnamically changing Indu 4.0 the "The digitaltransformation and change experiences. thei simultaneously expand trends, while new on toupdate participants to help aims Camp 2017 Marketing & Sales directors of Sales& Market Being the largestevent in the sales and mark improve their knowledge. and tostudy City inHCM Transformation" "Digital students this morning participated in Vietnam Sales &Marketing Camp 2017 themed Over 1,000leaders,directors, seniormanage 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR According tocurrent regulations, organisa be All violationsmust country. then importedintothe and abroad Special attentionVietnamesetopaid must be management procedures. 362786.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/manageme to reportontheperformance oftaxpayment Earlier, the general Department ofTaxati The taxdepartment said that thestore was not in arrears of taxes. milli VND234 worth nue, andpaidtaxes earned billionin201 VND15.6 The company ber period andpaidtaxof more than VND200million for the period. products fromJanuary2004,earnedrevenu silk selling and began ThuNga byNguyen owned is which store, the Accordingly, ofKhaisilk's tax payments In another development, theHanoi Departme $35,800. some China, worth silkscarvesfrom 8,800 toSeptem and $4million From2015 in 2015. months ofthisyear first ninemillion inthe that imports of showed statistics Customs' before December reportthefindings and 15. coordination with relevantmi in Trade try and On November4,deputy primeministerTr fromChina. imported were thescarves admitted that actually Hoang Khai, chairofthe group which is cons "Made in China." "Khais with one one scarfwithtwotags ataKhais scarves Khaisilk-branded bought uncovered fraud The Khaisilk was more a week than whenacompanywhich ago product information. ency-client relationship. reported tothegeneral store on Hang Gai Street. on HangGai store ing Club Vietnam ing ClubVietnam (CSMO Viet of management and human resources andjob opportuni- r relationship network todevelop their careers andex- trends, shifting the position theposition of trends, shifting enterprises in the sales on 10 key topics and discussionstoshare knowledge wer of digital solutions and then apply them in reality reality them in apply then and solutions digital of wer ilk Made in Vietnam" and the other with on and VND241 million,respectively.on and on hadasked the municipal tax department uong Hoa Binh asked the Ministry of Indus- asked theMinistry uong Hoa Binh , while the figures were $2.3 million in 2016 in2016 million were $2.3 figures the , while silk products from China were worth $1.2 China wereworth from silkproducts tionsindividuals and nt-of-product-origin-to-be-enhanced- the labels must provid ilk store onHangGaishopin Hanoi found Summitorganisedtomorrow isforsenior e of VND14 billionintheJanuary-Septem- e of rs as well as sales and marketing staff and and staff andmarketing sales as rs aswell ses," saidBuiQuyP companies' products that were produced were that produced companies' products strial Revolution havebroughtabout dy- ber 2017, Vietnam imported more than more than ber 2017, Vietnam imported of Khaisilk Group and itsstoresinHanoi. of KhaisilkGroup 5 and VND16.11 billi VND16.11 5 and eting sectorco-organisedby chair ofthe idered a top Vietnamese silk brand, later later brand, silk Vietnamese top a idered nt of Taxationrecently reported on the Department of Customs. nistries toclarify violationsof Khaisilk tivities in order to maintain their oper- their ordertomaintain in tivities hope that the event will helppartici- theeventwill hope that nam) and Le Bros, Vietnam hong, deputy chair of 20 November 2017 58 /69 placing goods incir- goods placing e clear and accurate e clearand on in 2016 as on in2016 reve- 20 November 20 BUSINESS investment more than$11million Dung Quat EZ attracts finance& business Vietnam map Vietnamese fashion ambition to redraw Stripe International's Intellasia vestment-362807.vov http://english.vov.vn/investment/dung-quat direct workersandmorethan1,000 indirect labourers. the provincialGDPstructure, years ofoperation, After 11 Quang Ngai. in sa CangDoosan, a workingsessionwith At Itserves abridge attraction. as to brin Doosan Vina hasalways stood Yasuharu Ishikawa said that acquiring NEM Fa NEM acquiring that said Ishikawa Yasuharu Stripe International's chai acquired Stripe Vietnam inOctober. After th However, news onStripe International's we overtheappa to take of theplan billion) billion(US$7.7 VND175 companyis located at545 Nguyen 2017. The Stripe Internationalset up Hanoi-basedsu newspaper. Detailed information pan-based fashion apparel retailer, over th During last week, the negotiations betwee Stripe International's ambition and materials, becoming the centre regular clothing.Theyareto designs 500 releasesover NEM Every month, products," he said. domestic fashioncompanieswillkeep up findbrand, theythey andbuytheproducts The representative said that Vietnamese cu brands. as domestic good notbeas may ity Vietnamese consumers'tasteand carry big etnam last year. NEM's representative assess Based on these assets, NEMwas not overly this year. due toconstantstore peryear sofar cent whole country. with factoriescoveringthe outlet NEM Fashionoperates over40retail due tothe luxurious and convenient inspired trendy designs with brands, fashion was establ NEM Fashion NEM's confidence to expand faster. quiring NEM Fashion and is nowplanningto Japan-based fashionapparelreta 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR Yoen In Jung, Doosan VinaCEO, saidthat Binh Thuan commune, BinhSondist businessesSix will pourmore ince intheROK, supportedbyDoosan Vina. This was part of the trade andinvestment struction Co., Ltd inBusanduringth licences tothe six businesses attheheadqu atives of the managingboardofDung Quat Tran Ngoc chairofQuangCang, Ngai Prov Quat Economic inthe centralZone provinceofQuangNgai. Six businesses from the Republic ofKorea have 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV ished in2002andhas sincebe r and StripeVietnam's CEO. always highly appreciated for their trendy colours, style, style, theirtrendy colours, for appreciated highly always than $11 than$11 million intoprojec increasing budget collection, of chartered capital. Setting up the subsidiary was part the subsidiary up Setting capital. chartered of side by side with Quang Ngai province in investment rel business assets ofNEMFashion. iler Stripe InternationalIn iler is stillforthcoming,however. ofthe Vietnam location of its retail outlets. rict, QuangNgaiprovince. eir recent working visit to the ROK. the to visit working recent eir g more Korean investors tothe province. openings, and is expected to hit $26 million $26 million tohit is expected and openings, thetrendandcontinuouslyprovide new The company's revenue increases The by 20per- n NEM and StripeInternationalInc., aJa- promotion activities promotion bsidiary Stripe VietnamJSCinSeptember e acquisitionwentviral on almost every s with nearly half in Hanoi andHCM City, s withnearlyhalfin since itestablishedop arters of Doosan Heavy Industries &Con- thecompanyhascontributed tochanging stomers are not usually loyal toa single foreign brand names, although although their foreign brandnames, qual- like. "If theycould catchtheir psychology, bsite show that NEM Fashion wasalready showthat NEM bsite worried when Zara and H&M came to Vi- H&M came worried whenZaraand incial People's Committee, andrepresent- Economic Zone Economic handed over investment id Doosan VinawasthefirstFDI project -ez-attracts-more-th VanCu (Long Bien district) andcarries e acquisition,Yasuharu ed that these brands byFrench fashion. NEM's popularity is seize other apparel brands inVietnam across the palette, from cocktail dresses cocktail the palette,from across been granted licences to invest in Dung inDung toinvest licences been granted shion is the first step thefirst is shion fashion market. come one ofladies' favourite ts covering 65,022 sq min c. remainshungryafterac- and creating jobs for 2,500 and creatingjobsfor2,500 of Quang Ngai prov- of QuangNgai an-us11 million-in- an-us11 20 November 2017 59 /69 erations inVietnam, are a good fit with with agood fit are Ishikawa is both both is Ishikawa in StripeInterna- 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Hanoi clean energy projectin over $33millioninto poursFinnish firm Vinamilk million stakein builds up over $900 firm Matheson Jardine Intellasia Singapore-listed Jardine Cycle &Carriage eign groups toexpand in one of Vinamilk, Vietnam' built upan companyA JardineMatheson has 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS ese-fashion-map-362836.vov http://english.vov.vn/investment/stripe-in also other apparel companie but Fashion, NEM acquire notonly will International Stripe that said analysts Business intentionsfirmed tocontinuous to International's ambitionis 20 morethan years inthe sect With apparel ulation and economic growth. Vietnam isone ofthemost important market and longtermalik in the mid- operations theVietnamese into tobreak plan tional's The waste-to-energy project in Hanoi is inte is projectinHanoi The waste-to-energy of organicwaste each year. biogas technology compan Watrec isaleading partners forthe with Watrec to arrange is negotiating project. capital he added. to produce electricity, to collect,classifyandconverturba aims It said. The waste-to-energyprojectdesigned to is Hanoi. clean energyprojectworth has launcheda Tuppurainen,Kimmo sales director forSout 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA sificationand treat soli urban over-900 million-stak https://tuoitrenews.vn/new = 22,701 dong) ($1 Thursday. Vinamilk shares roseas as1.2perc much est purchase. Officials attheHoChiMinh stock exchange transport financialservices and agribusiness. ates whichhasinterests in luxuryhotels, based Jardine ofHong-Kong is part JC&C di. led byFraser &NeaveLtd, a group backed The unitisnowVinamilk'sNo.2 foreignsh holderfirm. inthedairyThe latestpurc Investment Capital by an auction State the previous purchaseJC&C's ofVinamilkst some of the restrictions a demand from 19 investorsinVietnam and overseas after the state removed investor only drew in in2016 sale stake A Vinamilk about vestedconcerns interests. But progress has been slow, given thesmall sizes offered, sizeable state control and which havelowprofitability. Sabe brewer biggest thecountry's including The sale comes amid Vietnam's broader effort after million it paid$616.6 for a 5. wholly-owned units had bought s biggest-listed company,highligh s e-in-vinamilk/42715.html pplied totheearlier sale. s/business/20171118/jardine- s toexpand its business. become aglobalmulti-sector d waste, Tuppurainen noted. ly develop towards thisgoal. ly develop Asia's fastest-growing economies. an additional 36 million shares in Vinamilk, just days 53 inthedairy 53 percent stake firm. hases were madevia market.They confirmedexpanding business e, concentrating on the Aseanmarket,wheree, concentrating on ock was made throughthe open market and ent to 184,000 dong a share ($8.11 each)on share($8.11 donga 184,000 to ent motor vehicles,property, food retailing, n solid waste into biogas and othermaterials n solidwasteintobiogas ternationals-ambiti areholder, after the 16 after areholder, Matheson, one ofAsia's biggestconglomer- or and owning many fa CommissionofVietnam, the largestshare- Ltd (JC&C) on Thursday Ltd (JC&C) on by tycoonCharoen Thai Sirivadhanabhak- treat some 600 tonnesofwaste per day, he nded to manage mixe nded tomanage euro 30million(more than$33million)in co, VietnamAirlinesandHabeco, of many one buyer, butlast week's sale saw high did notprovidefurther detailsonthe lat- heast Asia for Watrec, Watrec, saidheast Asia hiscompany for s due to its potential from the large pop- y inFinland, whichtreats31,500tonnes 8 percent stake worth $911.5 million in million worth $911.5 stake percent 8 to trim its stakes in state-owned firms, instate-owned to trim itsstakes ting astronginterest from for- matheson-firm-builds-up- corporation. Ishikawa con- corporation. on-market dealsonly. on-to-redraw-vietnam- percent stakecontrol- 20 November 2017 60 /69 d wastewithout clas- shion brands, Stripe saidone of its 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam southern Vietnam construction in theme park resumes mammoth Debt-ridden firm chicken exports to increase factory Company to build Intellasia ports-362860.vov http://english.vov.vn/investment/company-t Nhon GroupandDe Heus. theHung as as Heus, well De theNetherlands-based and Group Belgabroed Belgian feed industry. Other three members ofthech Koyu &Unitek is amember of a supply chai east Asian countries, Hieuadded. fromthe Apart Japan, company is explorin rants and hotels over there," he said. ever, due to insufficientquantities, these pr chicken Vietnamese is bring to "Our goal are favoured by many Japaneseconsumers. James Hieu,generaldirectorofKoyu&Unit fo has currently shipped The firm June. products toJapaninSeptember,afterreceiv Koyu &Unitek, ajointventure between Aust 2018. in construction willbegin capacity of350 tonnes, butitis yet to de the province's The company'sfirstfactoryin port about1,000tonnes of products toJapan. in onceoperational month each essed chicken The second factory, worth$20 million, is ex of theJapanesemarket. develop asecondchickenprocessingfactory The Koyu & Unitek Company, based in the southern province of Dong Nai, plans to 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA Miinalainen,Valmet'sdi Matti project inthe southern provinceofBinh Duong. was oneoftheA yearFinnish ago,Doranova into energy. (US$7 million)ontheoutskirt isbuildingalandfill company The Doranova progress. In fact, manyFinnish businesses haveinve twoyears,so the about understands it coun FinPro hasfocused on converting waste in products.agro-forestry waste cl potential todevelop of has alot Vietnam Saku Liuksia,Finpro'smanager programme Province, has continued again after a long The Happyland entertainment complexproject, project severalmonthsago. has been reinitiated insouthern Vietnam, despite a distraint order imposed on the The constructionofseveral sections atath documents distraint in stated million) ($35.1 lion The developerof the projecthasjustpaid 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| TUOITRE NEWS He suggested defining thefe forValmet. destination investment ity ergy-project-in-hanoi-362750.vov http://english.vov.vn/invest panies andtransfer te A representative from FinPro saidFinnish customers. chnology tolocalfirms. ment/finnish-firm-pours-over asibility of andin projects s ofHCM City, aiming to c rector for Asia Pacific& Chin ur containersofproductsto Japan. clare the location of its second plant, where the locationofitssecondplant, clare VND1 billion (US$44,077) out of VND800 bil- ofVND800 out billion(US$44,077) VND1 products into supermarkets in Japan. How- into supermarketsinJapan. products eme parkwhose developer eme is miredin debt businesses will work with Vietnamese com- to energy and bioenergy in Vietnam for inVietnam and to energy bioenergy hiatus, Phu An Investment, Construction, An Investment, hiatus, Phu sted in this sphere in Vietnam and made made and Vietnam in sphere this in sted pected toproduce some 550 tonnes of proc- g new export opportunities in other South- oducts are only being distributed to restau- distributed to only being oducts are ean energy projects fromurban waste and n operates that in the animalbreedingand ing approval fromJapa ing approval ek, saidthat Vietnamese chicken products try's challenges andpotential,he said. Long Binh Industrial Zone has amonthly LongBinhIndustrialZone ralia and Japan, started exporting chicken exporting started Japan, and ralia enterprises to carry out a waste-to-energy enterprises tocarryoutawaste-to-energy o-build-factory-to-i to meetthe demandforchickenproducts of waste-to-energy and bioenergy, said treatmentfactoryworth euro 6million ain are BelGa ajointventureJSC, ofthe 2019. It It will 2019. enable the companyto ex- located inBenLucDistrict,Long An troducing newtechnologiesto onvert 35,000 tonnesofwaste -us33 million-into-clean-en- a, said Vietnam is aprior- ncrease-chicken-ex- 20 November 2017 61 /69 nese authoritiesin 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam suppliers of Walmart qualified as major be not may firms Local Intellasia the issueofbranding among local companies. the conference,Also at someexpertsandco tion. transparency. Besides, they should obtain glob as respecting theircustomers, complying She added theseenterprisesalso foll should third-party audits. Then, Walmart will assess will Then,Walmart audits. third-party toeitherIntertek,aUK reports audit their tocooperat want companies if local She said year. a $100,000 from and revenue million,revenue of$2.5 Tran citedtheregulation of Wa day on thesidelines of Vietnam Foodexpo2017. the food The conference onimprovementof industry. local food the at aconference on directorers, saidJocelyn forTran, senior small their of because Walmart retailer tional Vietnamese food enterprises may not bequ 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| SGT https://tuoitrenews.vn/new es. than VND674billi more The firmalsoowes over topay had An that Phu ruled Cityofficeof HCM 2015, the In February cilities have notbeen completed. to yet However, Happylandhas anci an studios, etnamese-themed villages, of featureser,a variety expectedto include theparkstretc of 350ha, Covering atotal invest in2014. The original pletion nouncing that it wouldbeSoutheast Asia The construction ofHappylandwas first init status quo hasbeen alte ing the resumption ofconstructionat Happy ta have been Officers fromthedepartment said.distraint, Gau to not allowed thefirmis perregulations, As Enforcement, Phu AnJSChas only pa Accordingof thehead toNguyenVanGau, VND800 billion ($35.1million). previously complex entertainment the Happyland Committee given to People's An Long The menting theproject," Diep said. "We willcomplete thepayment stated in million. $668 at within Happyland area 305ha Vina Oscar HotelsignedadealwithKhang is for theconstruction The primary partner which hadbeen approvedbylocalauthorities. in are facilities these that newspaper (Youth) Nguyen AnhDiep, communicati entertainment components atthevenue. theconstructi go onwith issetto The firm the oftheme is which developer park, and Infrastructure DevelopmentJSC,unde theme-park-construction-in- red, theofficial added. s/business/20171119/debtridde southern-vietnam/42730.html lmart as saying thatsmall su be opened to visitors at the moment, while fa- while to many the visitors beopened at moment, on director of Khang ThongGroup,toldTuoiTre ment was estimated ment was $5.125 million to a Russian million company. $5.125 to aRussian id VND1 billion ($44,077) so far. so billion ($44,077) id VND1 said in a press release on Saturday. releasesaid inapresson hes 3.7 kilometers along the Vam Co Riv- Tay alongtheVam Co hes 3.7kilometers the Vietnam Internationa Walmart Global Sourcing in Southeast Asia, Asia, Southeast in Sourcing Global Walmart the distraint documents to focus on imple- 's largest entertainment uponcom- 's largest complex with prevailing regu on of a five-star hotel, along with resort and hotel, alongwithresort on ofafive-star -based totalquality assurance provider, or sked withverifying the informationregard- , namelyahotairballoon, awinecastle, Vi- r themanagementofKhangThongGroup, supplies for Walmart should be less than than be less should for Walmart supplies on ($26.6 million) to several other business- to several otheron ($26.6 million) ent atoy ent town, city, andafive-starhotel. Vina Oscar Hotel group, Diepadded. rporate representatives called attention to ow good customer service principles suchow goodcustomer alifiedmultina-as majorsuppliers ofUS changeproject understatus quoofthe the provincial Department ofCivilJudgment provincial Thong in July to purchase 88 percent ofa Thong inJulytopurchase88percent value chainwasheld inHCM City yester- e with the retail giant, they must submit mustsubmit they giant, e withtheretail cluded in the original design of the park, park, of the design inthe original cluded iated in withPhuAnCompanyan- iated 2011, confirmed that a distraint order hadbeen land andchecking whether theproject's scale, buttheymaybeitssmallerprovid- Some expressed their regret over the fact fact the over regret their expressed Some theirreports before al food safety initiative (GFSI) certifica- (GFSI) initiative safety food al in May, with total assets estimated at at estimated assets total with in May, at $2.2 billion.at $2.2 n-firm-resumes-mammoth- ppliers shouldhaveannual lations, and ensuring 20 November 2017 62 /69 giving its l Arbitration centre 20 November 20 final say. BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam game tech motorbike taxi Linhto Mai join hi- affiliate Ben Tre Aquaproduct Sao TaFoods becomes Intellasia nearly 7.84million to20.1perce shares, equal Aquaproduct ImportBen Tre andExport JS 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS as-major-suppliers-of-walmart.html http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/busine utors athome and abroad, and expandin partners on the spot,opening upopportunit As many as 300local food pr Lottle, Thailand's Central Group, and Walmart. Prominent namesthere included Vietnam's importers from and tween localenterprises oftheconferenceWithin theframework he the said. ofbusinesspeople," This is pain insignificant. ese brands the (in is sector) "Vietnam exports around 200,000 tonnesof to the US through an intermediary, sohis co his the conference that Dak Lak,told Lt director ofEatuhoneyCo Phong, Nguyen countries. regional agai percent rise of40 gering as strategy consultancy, sayi Brand Fi of quoted arecentHe report food production, but many Viet Leon Trujillo,abrandingand ex marketing brand value is theprestige ofeachcountry. percent of Vietnam'sgood 80 than that more Grab andUber, called M.Bike, Mai LinhGrouphasannounced that itsmotorb 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA lion shares equivalent to54.28per cent ofSa Earlier, Hung Vuong Corp (HVG) decided to capital. Ben Tre Aquaproduct is asubsidiaryofPA The company madethe announcement on theHCMStockExchangeon Thursday. an making latter the affili (FMC), stronger, he said. stronger, he But that does not mean Mai Linh would "suffer losses", the group will try todevelop wi by havingtocompete ties chair, assaying that traditi the reasonforlaunchingM.BikeExplaining Tim Xe havebeen launch moto tech-driven local other M.Bike, to Prior firms andride-hailingcompaniessuchasGrabUber. The moveisyetanotherdevelopmentinthe vietnamnews.vn/economy/417782 change. Ex- Stock HCM on the share per VN22,000 about at are trading shares The company's get andup 60 per cent year-on-year. inthefiscal million) (US$5.5 porter reporteditsbest-eve Sao Ta Foods isone of the three biggest sh of Sao Ta Foods, liftingits ownership SSI AssetManagement CoLtdonMondayalso the contextburdens.heavy interest ofdecliningperformancein and ness ate.html#kRtXPPhUBWLoFlLq.97 ed, tolimitedsuccess. onal taxi businesses,including onal r resultwith estimated pre- year 2016-17, an increase of 25 per cent over the yearly tar- yearly per centoverthe 25 increaseof an year 2016-17, ng that Vietnamesebrandsar that ng nst 2016, but the figure is st thefigureis but 2016, nst th high-tech taxi companies. th high-techtaxi ocessors areexpected tocu will launchon November 20. namese brands are notpopular. ate companyofBen Tre Aquaproduct. /sao-ta-foods-becomes-ben- nance, a London-based brand valuation and to 19.97 per centofvotingrights. mpany has shipped a large amountof honey was a commercial transaction programme be- was acommercialtransactionprogramme ss/190584/local-firms-may-not-be-qualified- g foodand foodstuff supplychains. products donot bear the brand "Eatuhoney." rimp exportersinVietnam. The shrimp ex- N Group N Group which holds72.82per cent ofits pert, saidVietnam has become a hub for honey ayear, butthenumberofVietnam- , VTC News quoted H Huy,thegroup'squoted, VTCNews C (ABT) has completedthe purchase of China, Japan, France, andthe Italy US. Vinmart and Satra, South and South Korea's CJ Satra, Vinmart and s for export do not havebrandswhile the ies tosupply goods tomajorfood distrib- heated taxiwarsbetween traditionaltaxi d in the Central Highlandsprovinceof o TaFoods' capital to rbike taxi services suchas VivuMoto or offloaditsentire nt ofvotingrights ike taxiservice aiming tocompete with bought more than 7.72 millionshares than 7.72 more bought tax profitofVN125billion t deals with their potential t dealswiththeirpotential ill modest compared to other to compared modest ill Mai Linh, are facing difficul- Linh, arefacing Mai e worth $203 e worth$203 billion, a stag- tre-aquaprod holding of21.128 mil- 20 November 2017 63 /69 in Sao TaFoods JSC streamline its busi- 20 November 20 uct-affili- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam new Vincom centres Vingroup2 launches Intellasia game.html#xVcv0tVS0qjlozCL.97 vietnamnews.vn/economy/41 its new service can be knownby consumers, he added. Along with that,communication and marketing thanthoseof tractive prom with priceand professional service, To changethehabitofcustomers, Lien noted plans toimpress the market to change the habits ofconsumers," he said. "Technological motorbiketaxiservicesare not with even UberMoto being dominated by GrabBike. M.Bike for concerns expressed Lien However, proved thesensitivity ofViet On the other hand, theparticipationofMa tomers. that enter the increa market, ue.net.vn, assaying that hi Transp the Hanoi of Bui DanhLien, Chair expanded toother lo The service will first beimplemented inHa services," Huyadded. our used by the group's staffinthe past two m are list late, and we very the game careful alsopilo was The application Notably, drivers will be free to use the 20and25per which are cent. between This figure is much lower than the revenu Linhwillreceive15 per means Mai that Mai Linh partners, To attract said its that reve and for foreach the nextkilometre. trip VND3,700 the start period during the day. Meanwhile, UberMoto spectively. Thechargescanchangedepend for the first 2km and in Hanoi City, VN12,000 es customers andHCM re- VN11,000 The price is notmuch differentfromthat per then VN7,000 kilometre. more luxurious motorbikes, th subsequent foreach and VN3,800 kilometres The price of the service is reported at VN11 the motorbikesused must not be produced before 2014. However, jointhenetwork. licenses, may with driving the of50, age under Individuals will equip its drivers with costumes and helmets. The company's motorbiketaxiservice will nect customerswithdrivers,who are partne M.Bike,WithMai not investbu Linhdoes in systems. operating and Android iOS forboth is available application The breakthrough ofVietnamese still havingtolearn andcontinue tocomplete, the application has partly proved the Huy added that theM.Bike ap The real estate developer Vingroup on Frid 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNS In Phu Yen Province,Vincom In Phu bringing modern consumer culture to young cities. entertainment areasmarking the firstappear Bi Vincom +Uong Hoa and Tuy Vincom Plaza ince ofQuangNinh, increasing the number the northernprov- in Phu YenandVincom+UongBi of Hoa inthesouthernprovince cations ifsuccessful. GrabBike, UberMoto. GrabBike, s association welcomes the move, as as more the the businesses welcomes move, s association sing competition will push down service prices for cus- for prices down service sing competitionwillpush namese enterprises, he noted. enterprises,namese technology inthe 4.0 era". ted before being officially introduced. "As we're joining Plaza Tuy Hoa has a total area of over 12.000sq.m located located Hoahas of over 12.000sq.m Plaza Tuy a total area 7788/mai-linh-to-join-hi e rates will be VN20,000 for e rates willbeVN20,000 plication was built by Vietnaplicationbuilt by was Mai Linhservices for the first two months. cent of revenue from the transportation. from cent ofrevenue of andGrabBike.GrabBikecharg- UberMoto onths to learn from experience and complete and experienceonths tolearnfrom otion programme, whichmustbemore at- en to ourcustomers.The application was e sharing inthe ofothercompanies market, i Linhinthe "motorbike taxi" game also ort Association, wasquoted by sohuutrit- have itsownbrand identity.Thecompany ing on market demand, locationandtime noi, Da Nang and HCM City then will be be will then City HCM and Nang Da noi, ay officiallylaunch ,000 (about 50 cents)forthe 50 US two first (about ,000 rs withthe company instead ofemployees. ofVingroup's commercial centres to44. ying motorbikes, the application will con- will application the motorbikes, ying that Mai Linh must have better and more more and better have must Linh Mai that nue sharing policy will be at which nue sharingpolicywillbeat 15-85, kilometre. For M.Bike Premium, with ance ofVincom inPhu YenandUongBi, new, sotosucceed, MaiLinh musthave charges passengers at least VN10,000 at chargespassengersat least VN10,000 as GrabBike is takingover themarket, are covered with fullretail,food, and strategies mustalsobe strategies good so that -tech-motorbike-taxi- the first two kilometres and the first twokilometres mese engineers. "Despite ed Vincom Plaza Tuy ed Vincom 20 November 2017 64 /69 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam TransportMoU sign VNPAY &Thang Long Intellasia http://vneconomictimes.com/article/busine let, multi-SIM, and the VNPAYQR payment gateway. solutions such asSMSBanking, the VnTopu than and more munications companies, etnam, over thelastfour years VNPAY has thegoalofbecoming With company a leading the field of banking and finance, inform was officiallyestablis VNPAY capital Hanoi and northern Bac Ninh and BacGiangprovinces. In passengertransport, company 700 the has portation construction, and business.commercial Thang Longhas become a multi-business co solutions."new payment adopt eign customers, such asthosefromJapa pand toother cities and provinces, especi "We willapplymobilepaymentsthroughQR cause it brings convenience tocustomers. plying new technology, especially QR codes, General director LongTransport, of Thang etnamese enterprises andhas cooperation leadingcompaniesinthefieldandpr of the Tanh, told Le director ofVNPAY, General Transport. The payment form is expected to bringbe application. ing of paymen providing anewform (MoU) on signed amemorandumofunderstanding have Transport Corp. Long the Thang and Representatives from the VietnamPaymen Two toprovide VNPAYQR scanninginmobile banking. 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA good, Vascarashoes and bags, Triumph, IV brands in such andinternationally Vietnam top restaurants suchasKingBBQ, Hotto, Lo zone named c Nguyen Phat. Customers also peared in the provincesuch as aCGVci in thecentre ofacrowdedurbanarea. It brin products applyingIsraeli ag provides avariety ofpr VinMart which, Of as VinMartsupermarket and theVinPro These twonewshoppingcentres will also s foryoun destination an ideal fo activities modernentertainment with many as TNGFashion, Esjaco, Chingu BBQ and Lotteria. The TomKiss entertainment area, people new shoppingdestinationforlocal In QuangNinh Province, Vincom + Uong Bi, bookstore. http://bizhub.vn/property/vingroup-lau series ofpromotions forcustomers. a offering are On theoccasiontheir launch, VincomPlaza cies. from worldfamous laptops mobile phones,and In addition, VinProoffers electronic prod every family. Mart willcontribute to improving the qualit pricesand consumergoods.Withreasonable | VN ECONOMICTIMES | VN ricultural technology,cosm g families at the weekend. hed in ateamofexperiencedleaders in 2007 by March ation technology, and telecommunications. ation technology, and n and Korea,expected wewill South that nches-2-new-vincom-centres_290200.html nema and modern electronicentertainment 8,000 8,000 enterprises, providingpayment technology and electronic technology supermarket. ally Bac Ninhprovince," he said. "Mostfor- ucts, refrigeration, household appliances, nefits tobothcustomersandThang Long agreements with 31 banksinVietnam. and tourists with well-known brands such tourists with and t Solutions Joint Stock Company (VNPAY) the signing ceremony thatVNPAY is one ss/vnpay-thang-long-t oducts, fromfreshfoodsuch as VinEco ovides payment solutions toover8,000Vi- solutions ovides payment Nguyen Tien Long, emphasized that ap- ee some of Vingroup's retail brands, such brands, retail ee someofVingroup's tVNPAYQR scanning on the mobilebank- tVNPAYQR scanningon Y Moda,TNG,Aristi as Korean style home appliances Mini- appliances stylehome as Korean tteria, RainbowYogurtandother prestige cooperated with31 banks, seven telecom- Tuy Hoa,PhuYenandVincom+UongBi y of life and become the daily choice and the of y oflife become daily p phonerecharge service, VnMarte-wal- rporation, in passenger transport, trans- taxis and 800 employees, operating in and employees, taxis the 800 has become necessaryinrecenttimesbe- has gs local people the utilities that first ap- first that utilities the people local gs witnessed theappearanceofaseries , clear origin and quality guarantee, Vin- guarantee, quality and origin , clear covering an area of 4,000sq.m, covering anareaof4,000sq.m, will a be codes in Hanoi first and will then ex- and willthen codes inHanoi first in the field of electronicpayments in Vi- r children to exercise and play,willbe brands andattractiveafter-sales poli- etics, household appliancesetics, household 20 November 2017 65 /69 no, PNJ and Fahasa andFahasa no, PNJ ransport-sign-mou 20 November 20 BUSINESS MWG merger before larger loss Tran Anhreveals finance& business Vietnam December 8 Vietnam from iPhone X available in Intellasia tions equipmentinVietnam. electronics services forcomputers, nance Tran AnhDigital is aHanoi-b si financial AnhDigital's ment, Tran ofsa costs due to thesurging Additionally, the self-reportedfinancialstatement. in gory It saidtheiPhoneXwouldcost VND29. genuine iPhone XfromDecember 1to7. an AppleAuthorisedShop ResellerFPT in ber 8. Private shopsbegan taking orders several da than other countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia. A genuine iPhone X isbeing sold at an A would be sold in the country by the end of Earlier, most large mobilephone retailer ways. to Vietnamindifferentphonesported these VND1 million cheaper than aphone bought Aut atanApple iPhone X price of the The colours. versions,re 64GB forand256GB the (US$1,528) latest iPhone Apple's iPhone X 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA profit reached VND225billion ($9.9 million) The cost ofgoodssold reported aVND1. million), trillion($80.3 per 7.2 VND1.825 ce According tothe official financial statem andshort-term assets accounts receivable. short-term and plummeting was theplunginginventory, primarythis for causeThe which was a 30.5 per centdrop On September 30, the company's totalassets change. will notsubmit a takeover bi over 25 percentof the company's charter ca tion stated that Tran Anh Digital's shareh gotiations on theacquisition ofTran Anh chair and Tai, co-foundercum Nguyen Duc creased accumulated profit, before-t given toproviders until,which discounts attributedthe post-a The company'sBoDalso company's revenue. information onthemerger negativelyinflue Di at TranAnh board ofdirectors(BoD) The MWG. with themerger before right alarger net loss highlighted previothe first halffinancialstatement and disc has beenanotable Apparently, there billion($211,392). VND4.8 ($519,672), exceeding the net loss stated in JSC (Tran Anh DigitalWorld On the verge ofamergerwith MobileWo 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VIR one week's salary to own aniPhone, while Online newspaperZing.vn estimatesthatin and then carry the phones to Vietnamsellataprofit. countries, especiallyth Singapore, andbuy d, and to eliminate the listed stock on StockEx- thelisted stock d, the Hanoi and toeliminate Anh Digital) revealed ane ased enterprise whichtrades ased enterprise since the beginningof2017. product will officially be willofficially product ax profit,and after-tax profit. tuation encountered a major setback. a major encountered tuation 9 million (US$1,317) 9 million s inVietnamexpected that the iPhone X ent, the companyearned anet revenue of 57 trillion ($69.1) rise, whilst rise,whilst accumulated 57 trillion ($69.1) , householdappliances, andtelecommunica- pple Authorised Resell repancy between repancy Tran Anh Digital's 2017 olders had ofMWGpurchasing approved Digital were basically finished. The negotia- increased the costof goods sold and de- rld InvestmentCorporation (MWG), Tran horised Reseller woul horised Reseller its self-reported financial statement by financial itsself-reported some Vietnamese spend six months' salary. e iPhoneXfromauthorised resellersthere, les, financialcorporate costs,and manage- Vietnam said buyers could pre-order the the pre-order could buyers said Vietnam this year or the beginning ofnextyear. us self-reported financial statement that self-reported financialstatement us nt less than in the first half of2016. half the first in less than nt the US, some usersspendmoneyequal to CEO ofMWG,recentlyCEO confirmedthatne- pital, with the caveat that the corporation thecorporation pital, with the caveat that nced customer behaviourand shrunkthe , 2.7 per cent downag ys ago. Vietnamesede reached VND824 billion($36.3 million), gital pointed out that the recently leaked from privateshops. Private shopstrans- udit discrepancytothe readjustedtrade spectively, for both the silver and grey t loss of VND11.8 billion t lossofVND11.8 sold inVietnam fromDecem- in and provides provides mainte- in and and VND34.7 million and VND34.7 d to be VND500,000 er inVietnam later 20 November 2017 66 /69 ainst the same cate- thesame ainst alers fly to regional toregional fly alers 20 November 20 BUSINESS HCM City markets Russian in finance& business Vietnam construction projects Jica workshopon foodfair inSingapore largest Asia-Pacific Vietnam attends Intellasia The RussiaShoponVo Van Ta said. market isavenueforcultural exchange be "There are sections sellingfood, souvenir business or vacationtripabroad. lic ofKorea,Britain,andthe Vietnamese US. Repub- the Japan, fromMalaysia, customers attracts also themarket Russians, Besides market are mostly Vietnamese who have studied andworked in Russia. on theRu who is Duong, Vu Anh said.sia," she People often buy oursauces,People often p email or orders by and receivesmany ers says Thu Huong,whorunstheshop, Le Thi bread, andteaare sold here. inucts HCMCity. Russian souvenirs, Matriosh Ru by sought after are themost clothes "Warm in Russia. dealer Russian Many busy. always is market Luu Thi Nga, whohasdone business for more alotof quality. The market attracts reasonableprices sold at are products The wear, bags, andhousehold goods. http://english.vov.vn/market/russian markets inHCMCity. found atRuss said. Russianproductscanbe gapore-362871.vov http://english.vov.vn/economy/ visitors. 400,000 toattract The expoisexpected coffee, seafood, poultry products, vegetables andfruits, and spices. beverages, confectionery, frozen food, icecr atnearly boot 200 On display public ofKorea,Malaysia, Japan,Austra of10countries andterritorie the participation Organised by the Singapore God Manufacturer gional markets. toexport contracts signing towards ships APFEgoodchance forVietnam's offersa fi food. and fruits, The Vietnamese exhibitors specialise intr Asia-Pacific(APFE) FoodExpo than10 Vietnamese are More businesses 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA area of2,000 square meters. The ma 3-storey The Russianmarket on VoVanKi clothes. Russian warm and souvenirs, Russian poly dolls, roly wooden sell These markets th boomedin have markets VOV.VNRussian 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VOV5 has organisedwork has atraining The MinistryofConstruction and the Japa 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNA launched inAprilimprovingfor 2015,capaci The workshop wasco-organisedon November nam. salad dressings, canned food salad dressings, hs covering anarea of 12, shop on managementofcons n street, District 3,is a vietnam-attends-largest-asia in Singapore on November 17-20. ssian market's managingbo ssian et street et street in covers District 1was in2009. an It built customers, manyofwhom are Russian. -markets-in-ho-chi- lia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan (China). and Taiwan Vietnam lia, Thailand, showcasing their products at the ongoing s, and clothes imported from Russia. The ading rice, coffee, se their products toSingapore andother re- and customers can be assured about their about can be assured and customers tween Vietnamese andRussianpeople," he n InternationalCooperation Agency (Jica) hone everyday."The foodis popular here. rms to seek partners and expand partner- ian markets and also at manyother super-ian marketsandalso eam, milk products, food materials, tea, the shop is popular withRussiancustom- the shopis rket has 200boothsse come here to find suitable clothes fora come heretofindsuitable s shophere, andthen resell theproducts ty incost contractmanage- estimation, e City heart ofHCM in recent years. s such as China, India, Indonesia, the Re- Indonesia, India, as China, s such than 8 years at this market, saysthe atthismarket, than8years ka dolls, and food such ascheese,black such and food ka dolls, ssians aswinter last s' Association, this year's eventdraws 17part as ofa Jica-funded project, nother venueforRussianprod- 500 500 sq.m areprocessed food, minh-city-362831.vov , fish,and chocolate," he truction projects in Viet- truction projectsin pacific-food-fair-in-sin- ard,says tradersthe at afood, vegetables and 20 November 2017 67 /69 lling clothes, foot- lling clothes, s veryin Rus- long 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam 2020 by flights totheU.S expects toopendirect Vietnam Airlines 3years the next of 8.4pct/year within increase atanaverage rental to Office price Intellasia successfully found strategic investor.In th strategic successfully found Earlier, VietnamAirlines wasone ofthefe general management. and development structure policy to create muchdevelopmentspace fo the corporationto 51percentership in by dire well very term. "Weare map inthelong This dealThis was considered as atypical equi ration. Ho toANZ chartered percent of capital the Vietnam Airlines' leadersare shares here. com inHanoiStockExchange. Currently, the At thebeginning of the year, VietnamAirl Airlines. the IPOprocess",and completeof Vietnam CEO change (STC) saidDuongTriThanh, thisyearorQ1/201 December proceduresare completing "We tosell 57.8 all. aircraftenginesfrom 44 chase and maintain Corporation hasendedVietnam Airlines the 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NHIP CAU DAU TU 8.4 percent per annum. grad all level in high a maintain still will ket three the next within Savills, to According ly increased andthose for Grade Boffices swelled nine percent by quarter. 93 percent, upsixpercen pancy ratetouched The total supply inHanoireached approximat of Grade A and Grade B office buildings. Hanoi isalsocatchingupwi year. 95 approximately percent and the average growing strongly its continues still market The new officesupplyinHCMCityincrea se office inwhich segments, all According to information from Savills, in Q3 20/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| DTCK http://english.vov.vn/econom ous disputes, obstructing the smoothim In addition, constructioncontracts thathave of construction works, many construc However, due toinadequateproject manage ed a large numberofmajor infr Vietnam hasmaintainedsustainableeconomic Similar workshops willalsobe held and regulations ofpublic in aremanaged struction projectsinVietnam re and ministry capacity ofstaffinthe the The project, implemented by the Ministry nam's lawsandconstruction.regulations on tors and consultants, discussed theproject's outputs and focal points related toViet- The event, whichwas attended by state ag ment, and costestimation. The workshopfocused on quality manageme ment, and quality safety in constr construction projects. construction th significant improvements in rents and occupancy rate rate occupancy and rents in improvements significant th 8. Then, VietnamAirlines8. will also quite determined about determined also quite about y/jica-workshop-on-constr gment was particularly promising. particularly was gment astructure development projects. development astructure in Da Nang,CanTho and HCMCity. tion accidents havebeenrecorded. tion uction investment projects inVietnam. plementation of construction projects.plementation ofconstruction 2020", said Thanh. He added the State hasa State addedthe Thanh.He said 2020", e middle of 2016, Viet e middleof2016, w large-scale state-owned corporationsthat lated organisations to ensure thatallcon- tisation case. Research report on strategictisation case. Research report years, the occupancyra years, ines' VNA-coded shares were listedonUp- Jica, aimstoimprove Construction and of encies, projectmanagement units, contrac- sed eightpercentby year. the However, Grade Arents toswell eightpercent by ldings Inc. (ANA), JapanAviation Corpo- trend with the average occupancy rate of average occupancyratewith thetrend million shares, scheduled to take place in r Vietnam Airlines to focus more on infra- focus more to Airlines r Vietnam Pratte & Whitney (the U.S), but that isnot that but (the Whitney U.S), & Pratte es and rentswill increa ment and quality and ment and safety management quality been poorly managedhave led tonumer- t byyear. RentsforGradeAoffices slight- /2017, Vietnamreal estate marketgrew in accordance with international standards cted with the goal of reducingthe goalof stateown- with cted Apec 2017 with a $1.5 billion deal to pur- $1.5 billiondeal witha Apec 2017 nt, safety andenvironmental manage- State is stillholding86.2percent of the growth in recent years and implement- growthinrecent years ely 1.6 millionsquare meters, theoccu- uction-projects-362853.vov the capital divestment road- the capital list on HCMCity Stock Ex- nam Airlinesold8.771 20 November 2017 68 /69 tio of the officemar- tio of se at an average of se atanaverage 20 November 20 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia End Thanh. said 2020", which is expected when tostartexploiting, planned forthisrouteabout 10 years large Vietnamesecommunity in the U.S wi lo a is "This States. United to the flights expectations ofVi One ofthe airlin the Meanwhile, future. the in resources Plans tosellshares in the nearfuture will help the company havemore newgrowth routes. international air and domestic both ofexpanding principle with the strategy will still be dual brand, including traditional brandand low-cost branding, sengers inthisyear andthe growth in2018 Vietnam Airlines' representati mestic market". with a lot of success and rapid growth, desp airline a as traditional emerged Airlines "Vietnam said ofCAPA Chair Harbison, Peter recognised. Vietnam Airlinesbe helped diversified international cooperation anddo thesu ofCAPA, torepresentative According Pacific, Air Asia, etc. and earlier were namessuchas familiar award of"Airline of the YearinAsia-Pacif This was also the first time that Vietnam had a representative to receive the annual EastAsia totransportmore thanmillion 20 passengers. Lastyear,Vietnam Airlines world in2016. East Asia flag inSouth tional The Centre for Aviation (CAPA) assessed Viet to 19percent. in general. Lastyear,the growth of Viet part Good financialresultsare dong, surpassing 52percent of the whole year plan. of 2017,Vietnam Airlines recorded the cons date theopinion on enhancementofownership rece Airlines' Vietnam shareholder, ANA With others", said Thanh. investment for seek will they that likely the ownership ofANA is avai maintain theywill 10percentsoIthink than VNA continuestoequitise?"Under Japanese law, ANA is not allowed to own more The next question is whether ANAshareholde dong offeringpriceat18,000 pe ANA's tion. The sellingpriceofshares final to evaluation method, Vietnam Airlines can sell ning tohave grounds for persuasionand nego nies istodetermine corporate valueunder torepresentative According of theex VNA, for example Vietcombank, Viet throug nesses conducteddetailedappraisal than threeyears.which lastedmore Thereport that the negotiationprocess between VNA an (AmCham) inVietnamCommerceshareholders showed Chamber of oftheAmerican and one of the fastest growing traditional airlines in the in airlines traditional growing fastest the oneof and etnam Airlines intheshortte etnam lable, through subsidiaries of Vietnam Airlines. "It is ve estimates that the carrier transports 22 million pas- carriertransports22 million that the ve estimates ly due to the significant ly market duetothe growth ofthe significant aviation nam Airlines, and Petrolimex. r share",r said VNA's representative. ng-waited destination. ANA is 21,000 dong per share, higher than per share,higherthan dong is 21,000 ANA nam Airlines' passenger transportamounted opportunities in our subsidiary companies or companies oursubsidiary in opportunities All Nippon All Nippon Airways, JapanAirlines, Cathay now, and are on the final stage ofdeciding ic region". Thistitle wasranked since 2003, international standard right from international standardrightfrom the begin- was one ofthefour only airlines in South th about three million people. Wehave perience ofstatecompa- intheequitisation ite theincreasingcompetitionfromdo- h hiring foreign consultants andexperts, to be attheendof2019or beginning of will be about 10percent.Toachievethis, will beabout olidated profit ofmo thecurrentsaid Thanh.However, level", e wille still strengthen ubled brand strategy with Jestar Pacific ccessful equitisation pr equitisation ccessful d ANA had to overcome many obstacles, shares at higher price than the expecta- price than shares athigher also indicated thatjustafewbusi- state nam Airlines as the fastest growing na- tiation withinvestors."Thankstothis rs will continue buying shares when buying rs willcontinue nt business results results nt business rate in the future. Inthe rate infirst 10months the future. rm is the opening of direct ofdirect opening rm is the Vietnam has arather Vietnam 20 November 2017 69 /69 re than 2.9 trillion the routeexpansion. continue toconsoli- ocess, high profit, ocess, high 20 November 20