Stock market

Strong cash flow lifts stocks up 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The local market reported seesaw trading around the strong resistance of 720 points on May 4 but stocks went up in the afternoon thanks to strong cash flow into the property sector. The VN Index extended its winning streak to the fourth straight session, gaining 2.48 points, or 0.34 percent, at 722.02, while turnover eased slightly to VND4.6 trillion. Market breadth narrowed down as advancers slightly outnumbered decliners by 148 to 114 while 41 others closed at the reference prices. The banking sector maintained active trading with VCB rising 2.2 percent on volume of nearly 2.2 million shares, STB up 4.3 percent with 6.4 million shares, BID up 1.2 percent with 3.6 million shares and CTG up 1.7 percent with nearly one million shares. Meanwhile, MBB lost 1.8 percent to VND16,500 a share with 2.2 million shares changing hands. Large cap VNM contributed positively to the market, closing up 1.5 percent at VND148,500 a share on volume of nearly one million shares. Forward moves were partly offset by PVD, which lost ground for the fourth straight session and plunged to the floor price for the second consecutive day, ending at VND15,400 per share with matching volume of 8.3 million shares. Notably, the property sector strongly attracted the cash flow. QCG, DIC, DIG, VPH and HQC went up to the ceiling prices on high trading volumes, in which HQC reported matching volume of over 8.5 million shares. FLC bounced back after two consecutive losing sessions, climbing 3.1 percent with 11.2 million shares exchanged. SCR jumped 5.2 percent on 9.7 million shares traded and DXG up 3.9 percent on 5.4 million shares. Active cash flow also supported small and mid caps. BHS, LSS and AAA encountered selling pressure after recent gains but TCH, FIT, HAG and LCG increased given high buying power. According to vietstock.vn, the VN30 group still saw differentiation. While some stocks advanced on high trading volume, sellers kept offloading PVD, NT2 and stocks with recent strong rallies such as REE, SBT and DHG. If investors continue taking profit at these stocks, the VN Index will find it hard making a sharp rise in the following sessions. The HNX-Index retreated after a four-day rising streak, falling 0.3 point, or 0.33 percent, against the previous session at 89.52. There were 52.1 million shares worth VND545 billion traded, including bloc deals worth VND11.4 billion. Among pillar stocks, ACB closed at the reference level while SHB tumbled 5.3 percent at VND7,100 a share and again led the market for liquidity with 14.8 million shares traded. Other large caps like NTP, DBC, PVI and PVS also dropped from 1.2 percent to 2.5 percent each. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53768/Strong-cash-flow-lifts-stocks-up.html

VN Index surging back to previous peak 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The benchmark VN Index could surge back to the 732 points peak seen a month ago on the back of strong buys by foreign investors as well as positive economic indicators, analysts say. "I share the view that the VN Index will conquer the old peak of 732 points in May, though it will not be easy," said Nguyen Ngoc Lan, head of analysis at Agribank Securities Joint Stock Company. Lan told financial portal tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn that given the information deficiency in May, macroeconomic statistics show that the national economic condition is improving and on a good track of recovery. In addition, steady buys by foreign investors will remain a major boost to the market, Lan said. After the public holidays early last week, the VN Index had a positive start this month with a rise of 0.3 per cent in the last three trades, closing Friday at 720 points. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was up 0.2 per cent for the week, ending Friday at 89.71 points. Vietstock's data showed foreign investors have been collecting local shares in the past three months for a total value of roughly VND5.2 trillion (US$229 million), excluding extraordinary negotiation value. Large-cap stocks, mainly banks, were the major support for the market last week as most of listed banks gained substantial value after they reported impressive profits in the first quarter. "The VN Index has sent positive short-term signals when staying firmly above the support 720 point level. Investor sentiment is optimistic, reflecting in high liquidity and progressive movements of financial stocks," said Vu Minh Duc, head of analysis for individual clients at Viet Capital Securities Joint Stock Company. Duc said besides blue chips, money flows are also seeking to medium- and small-cap (penny) stocks which are promising larger gains in the short term. Low-valued shares of automobile dealers, fertiliser manufacturers, sugar producers, plastic products makers and real estate companies had an exciting session on Friday with many advancing on strong buys by local investors. "In my opinion, though fundamentals of this stock group are not prominent, short-term returns are feasible for risk-taking investors," Duc Liquidity remained high with over 263 million shares averaging VND4.9 trillion (nearly $216 million) traded in a single session in the two markets last week. However, large-cap stocks which are usually the market supporter have shown signs of weakening, particularly banks and prominent food and beverage firms like Vinamilk, Masan Group, Kido Group, and Habeco. "The market needs another leading stock group as banks will find it difficult to maintain their rise after sharp gains last week while investors increase profit taking," analysts at Vietnam Investment Securities Joint Stock Company (IVS) wrote in a note. IVS reckons the VN Index may continue its rise but has warned the market is entering the sensitive area where downside pressure is building and the market needs more supportive factors to sustain its growth. Oil stocks struggle Oil and gas stocks have declined steeply in the past week and stayed in their bottom range because of unfavourable movements in the global oil markets. PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) traded at its lowest price of around VND16,500 a share since its debut in December 2006, after the company reported a loss of nearly VND200 billion in the first quarter. The biggest listed energy stock, PV Gas (GAS), also gave in over 2.2 per cent in the last four sessions. Global oil prices marked the fifth declining session on Thursday to their lowest since mid-November due to increasing supply in the US market. The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude both dipped 4.5 per cent to settle at $45.43 and $48.26 a barrel, respectively. A report by Bao Viet Securities said that the US oil output rose over 10 per cent since mid-2016 to 9.3 million barrels per day, levels not far off top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia, and making it possible that the output cut agreed by OPEC early this year would not work. At home, some oil and gas companies suffered losses in the first quarter while some have targeted lower business results in 2017. Prospects of this stock group are largely discounted on the back of volatile global oil prices. http://bizhub.vn/markets/vn-index-surging-back-to-previous-peak_285966.html

Shares mixed on profit-taking pressure 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Shares extended gains on the HCM Stock Exchange on May 4 but corrected down on the Hanoi Stock Exchange given stronger profit-taking pressure. In HCM City, the benchmark VN Index added 0.34 percent to close at 722.02 points. The Index gained over 2 percent in the last five sessions and has expanded 8.6 percent this year. On the Hanoi bourse, the HNX-Index sank for the first time in the last four trades, edging down 0.33 percent to end at 89.52 points. The northern market index has climbed 11.7 percent since December 30, 2016. Banks continued to be the major support for the market. Five of nine listed banks on the two main exchanges advanced and only two declined. Sacombank (STB) was the biggest gainer, up 4.3 percent, after the bank reported its pre-tax profits increasing 50 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. The three largest lenders BIDV (BID), Vietcombank (VCB) and Vietinbank (CTG) grew between 1.2-2.3 percent each. Profits of these banks all surpassed 2 trillion VND (88 million USD) in the first three months of this year. Many large-cap stocks in the VN30 basket which tracks the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM Stock Exchange also advanced on information of high dividend payment, such as Vinamilk (VNM), steelmakers Hoa Phat Group and Hoa Sen Group (HSG), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) and food producer Kido Group (KDC). On the defensive side, some blue chips remained in a downward cycle including real estate developers VinGroup (VIC) and Novaland Investment Group (NVL), brewery Sabeco (SAB), food producer Masan Group (MSN), PetroVietnam Drillings and Well Service (PVD) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS). "After five straight sessions of rallying, the VN30 Index is approaching the strong resistance at 685-690, the boundary deciding whether the VN Index surpasses medium-term peak at 720", stock analyst Tran Duc Anh at Bao Viet Securities Co wrote in the May 4 market report. Anh maintained a cautious view on market outlook and suggests investors make short-term trading or reduce stock exposure below the moderate level. Trading volume decreased slightly on May 4, totalling nearly 268 million shares worth a combined 5.2 trillion VND (229 million USD) in the two markets. These figures were still 24.4 percent and 22.4 percent higher than the average daily trading volume and value of last week. Foreign investors returned as net buyers in HCM City's market on May 4 for a modest net value of 55 billion VND while they extended their net buying streak to four sessions in a row with a net value of 3.8 billion VND, up 160 percent over May 3's value on Hanoi's exchange. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/shares-mixed-on-profittaking-pressure/111222.vnp

HNX earns 142 billion VND in auctions in April 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Some 142 billion VND (6.2 million USD) was raised through four auctions on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) of state-owned enterprises selling shares from businesses in their non-core areas in April. The auctions were held for the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) to divest from Barotex Vietnam Investment and Trading JSC, Vietnam National Shipping Lines to sell shares of Vinalines Ship Repair Company, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to offload its shares from a maize investment and development company and Truong Son Construction Corporation to sell shares of Construction JSC 565. More than 31 million shares were put up for sale while investors registered to buy some 40 million shares, 31 percent higher than the volume offered. Shares in the four auctions sold out. In May, HNX will hold nine auctions of the central investment and development JSC, Hanoi Food JSC, Telecommunication Project Construction Development JSC, Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Land JSC, PetroVietnam Oil Quang Ninh JSC, Post and Telecommunication Service Construction JSC, Vietnam general of Agricultural Materials Corporation (VIGECAM), Apax Holding JSC and Viglacera Corporation. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/hnx-earns-142 billion-vnd-in-auctions-in-Apr/111237.vnp

Bright prospects for bank stocks in 2017 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Many commercial banks posted positive earnings in the first quarter of the year, contributing to the rosy outlook for the banking sector in 2017. Top earners include Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). Those three banks recorded post-tax profits of VND2.2 trillion (US$97 million), VND2.04 trillion and VND1.85 trillion, respectively. The figures were up 20 per cent, 5.8 per cent and 9 per cent from last year's first-quarter numbers. Lower earners included Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBBank), Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) and Vietnam Export Import Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Eximbank). Private-equity commercial banks, such as Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Sai Gon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) and Vietnam International Joint Stock Bank (VIB) also recorded higher post-tax profits in the first quarter. According to the Department of Statistics and Forecasting under the State Bank of Vietnam, the banking system's average growth is expected to rise 13.4 per cent, higher than 2016 growth. Bank stocks have recorded strong growth since the beginning of the year, with shares of Vietinbank (CTG) rising 23 per cent since December 30, 2016; Eximbank's shares (EIB) advancing 26 per cent, BIDV's shares (BID) gaining 18 per cent, and ACB shares jumping 35 per cent. According to BIDV Securities (BSC), the outlook for bank stocks remains positive due to their higher than expected business results, efforts to handle non-performing loans, more transparent business operations and supporting policies issued by the government and central bank. BSC said Vietcombank has bought back bad debts from the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) while ACB has set a target of settling all bad debts this year. Bank operations will become more transparent and secure as they cut lending to companies and individuals seeking capital and investments for risky industries, such as real estate, BSC said. Reducing long-term and middle-term loans using short-term capital would ensure the liquidity and strength of the banking system, BSC said, adding that banks have to be more transparent about their business activities in order to comply with the Basel II standards. Lending will continue to be the main source of bank earnings as Vietnam's economy grows and encourages companies and individuals to borrow money, BSC said. In addition, investors are counting on government and central bank decisions to allow local commercial banks to raise the bar for foreign investment in their capital, BSC said. Recently, the central bank approved the sale of more than 30 per cent of the Sai Gon Commercial Bank to foreign investors. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177899/bright-prospects-for-bank-stocks-in-2017.html

Vietnam's ceramic producers to auction shares in Singapore 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Vietnam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation (Viglacera) will put up shares for sale in Singapore on May 9 as part of the company's plan to sell 120 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO). The company plans the next auction in Hanoi on May 11. On May 5, the company's shares were auctioned in HCM City on May 5. According to Chair of Viglacera's Board of directors Luyen Cong Minh, the company targets to increase its charter capital from 3.07 trillion VND (135.5 million USD) to 4.27 trillion VND (188.5 million USD) following the public sale. The IPO also aims to reduce state owned capital in the company from 78.82 percent to 56.67 percent as approved by the State Security Commission of Vietnam. Viglacera's share offering has drawn attention from both domestic and foreign investors. Investment funds have taken interest in Viglacera's development route in the near future, especially its key sectors- building materials and industrial real estate. Viglacera holds 40 percent of the market share of building glass, 12 percent of sanitary ware, 5 percent of ceramic tiles and 3 percent of bricks, according to a report by the Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company. The construction material company owns some 390 hectares of urban land and 10 industrial parks with a total area of 3,560 hectares in six provinces, mainly in the north, which have attracted 200 enterprises. Viglacera reported its profit of 242 billion VND (10.7 million USD) in the first quarter of this year, surpassing its quarterly target by 69 percent. It aims to earn a total pre-tax profit of 888 billion VND (39.2 million USD) this year, a rise of 16 percent year-on-year. The company is striving to maintain its position as a pioneer in building material producer and a prestigious investor in property business. Increasing charter capital aims to enhance financial capacity and ensure business activities, helping raise the company's competitiveness and influence in both domestic and international markets. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-ceramic-producers-to-auction-shares-in-singapore/111281.vnp

FLC Faros foresees major rise in 2017 post-tax profit 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Construction giant FLC Faros has set a revenue target of VND4.9 trillion (US$217.78 million) and a post-tax profit of VND580 billion for 2017. The figures increased by 38 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, in comparison to 2016's numbers, the management board revealed at its annual shareholder meeting on Friday. In the first three months of the year, FLC Faros gained a net revenue of VND855 billion, an increase of 37 per cent from a year ago, and the post-tax profit for parent company shareholders reached nearly VND91 billion, a rise of 9 per cent. In 2017, FLC Faros will complete second stage of the FLC Sam Son Beach Golf and Resort project. In 2016, the company earned VND3.54 trillion in total revenue and VND470 billion in post-tax profit. A large part of earnings for FLC Faros came from construction activities and no longer depended on the firm's financial business. The company's total assets in 2016 almost doubled to VND8.2 trillion from VND4.52 trillion, including a nearly five-fold increase in short-term assets to VND5.73 trillion, which mainly focused on short-term financial investments. FLC Faros plans to issue 4.3 million shares to make a 10 per cent dividend payment for its 2016 performance. The share issuance is scheduled in the second quarter of 2017 to provide sufficient capital for the company to make investment in new projects. According to the firm's management board, the share issuance will be more beneficial for current shareholders than paying dividend in cash, as the company's share price is much higher than the share's face value. FLC Faros debuted its 430 million shares on the HCM Stock Exchange on September 1, 2016 under code ROS at the opening price of VND8,400 per share. ROS was up 0.3 per cent to finish Friday at VND161,500 per share. New chair announced Trinh Van Quyet, chair of the property developer FLC Group, has been named the new chair of FLC Faros Construction, after a vote by the management board following the company's annual shareholder meeting. At the annual shareholder meeting of FLC Faros, Quyet was voted by a majority of shareholders to be included in FLC Faros management board. His new position has created some speculations over a merger between FLC Group and FLC Faros Construction. Both FLC and FLC Faros have said the deal is under consideration, but the groups must make sure shareholders of the two companies are benefited. http://bizhub.vn/markets/flc-faros-foresees-major-rise-in-2017-post-tax-profit_285956.html

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance acquires stake in Petrolimex insurance 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Republic of Korea-based Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (SFMI) signed agreements to become a strategic investor of Petrolimex Joint Stock Insurance Company (PJICO) and to acquire 20 percent stake in the Vietnamese insurer in Hanoi on May 5. PJICO Chair Dinh Thai Huong said the contracts showed the company's appeal to foreign investors, particularly other insurers, adding that the deal with SFMI will stimulate PJICO's future growth. SFMI Chief Executive Officer and President Min Soo Ahn said the cooperation is valuable to bilateral experience exchange and mutual development. Attending the signing ceremony, Bui Ngoc Bao, Chair of Board of directors of the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex), said Petrolimex is committed to support PJICO in brand marketing and product distribution at over 2,400 gas stations across the country. Petrolimex will facilitate the engagement between PJICO and SFMI to help PJICO build a strong brand in the Vietnamese non-life insurance market, Bao noted. Petrolimex is among the three biggest shareholders of PJICO; the others are the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (VINARE). The three together account for 66 percent stake in PJICO. PJICO offers more than 100 services with 59 subsidiaries and more than 2,300 trading points across the countries. It posted revenue at 600 billion VND (26.39 million USD) in the first quarter this year. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/samsung-fire-marine-insurance-acquires-stake-in-petrolimex-insurance- arm/111291.vnp

Viettel accelerating foreign expansion 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Military-run mobile carrier Viettel is planning to expand its footprint to Nigeria and Indonesia, accessing a total of 450 million people in the two countries, nearly doubling the total population of its existing investment markets. Two new markets in the cross-hairs After experiencing various successes in its investment markets around the world, Viettel is welcomed by a large number of markets, especially in Africa, for its investment in telecommunications. Thanks to various favourable conditions for development, Viettel is now eying Nigeria and Indonesia. Le Dang Dung, deputy general director of Viettel, shared with VIR, "Investments into sizeable markets like Nigeria may have to get the approval of the National Assemly. For such large projects, Viettel may invest directly, instead of having Viettel International Investment Corporation (Viettel Global) do so." Previously, Viettel Global submitted the investment plans in Nigeria and Indonesia to its annual general shareholders' meeting by the end of April 2017 for approval. As of May 6 this year, according to the US Census Bureau, Indonesia and Nigeria were among the top ten most populous countries of the world. Indonesia ranked the fourth with more than 260 million people (just behind China, India, and the United States), while Nigeria ranked seventh with nearly 190 million people. According to Viettel's analysis, Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, with a strong growth potential in the long run. Currently, Indonesian 3G and 4G subscribers only account for 58 per cent of the population, lower than in neighbouring countries in the region (60 per cent in the Philippines and 126 per cent in Thailand), so the potential for Viettel is very large. In fact, Viettel has been interested in the Indonesian market for many years. Nigeria is a West African nation with a GDP per capita higher than Vietnam and has the largest population on the continent. It is the economic bright spot in Africa, a regional leader in oil production, with up to 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings coming from oil. This is a market with high consumption capability, income, level of education, and great demand for 3G and 4G services. Meanwhile, Nigeria's telecommunications network is underdeveloped, with a relatively modest number of 3G subscribers. Therefore, this is an opportunity for Viettel to take advantage of its telecommunications network infrastructure. As planned, Viettel will penetrate these two markets by bidding for an operation licence and entering joint ventures or striking acquisition deals. Overcoming currency fluctuation The year 2016 was a difficult period for Viettel Global, fraught with political and economic instability in some of its markets. Viettel Global's projects were in the initial stage of investment and showing improvements, but the sudden devaluation of African currencies resulted in a paper loss of VND3 trillion ($142 million) for the company. The main reason of losses and the decreasing revenue in 2016 were the exchange rate fluctuations. For instance, the currency of Mozambique depreciated 58 per cent against the USD, and that ofBurundi depreciated 28 per cent. Actually, Viettel's revenue in its African markets still increased where it traded in the domestic currency. For instance, the company's revenue increased in Tanzania (1.343 per cent), Cameroon (43 per cent), Burundi (42 per cent), and Mozambique (7 per cent)."The loss of VND3 trillion ($142 million) is recorded on paper and is unrealised, the money still remains unchanged and we do not lose anything here, cash is kept in domestic currency. Therefore, the so-called loss is either exchange rate paper loss or unrealised loss," Dung said. In order to cope with unforeseen fluctuation, Viettel's leaders said that Viettel Global will use domestic currency for the purchase of equipment, new investments, and loans instead of converting funds into USD. Viettel is investing and doing business in Laos, Cambodia, East Timor, Cameroon, Haiti, Mozambique, Burundi, Peru, Tanzania, and Myanmar (expected to be officially launched in the first quarter of 2018), with a total investment of $2.4 billion. In 2017, the total investment in Myanmar was about $1.3 billion. http://www.vir.com.vn/viettel-accelerating-foreign-expansion.html

Shares fall slightly on profit taking 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnamese shares retreated on the two local markets on Monday morning as blue chips suffered from investors' selling. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange inched down 0.1 per cent to close at 719.17 points. It fell 0.3 per cent on Friday. The HNX Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange dropped 0.5 per cent to end at 89.29 points, reversing Friday's gain of 0.2 per cent. More than 146.9 million shares were traded on the two local bourses, worth VND2.8 trillion (US$124.7 million). The stock market was pushed down by large-cap stocks on both local bourses, which witnessed profit taking after having risen sharply last week. The main losers included FLC Faros Construction (ROS), Sacombank (STB), Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar (STB) and Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG), as well as Tien Phong Plastic (NTP) and Sai Gon- Hanoi Bank (SHB). These stocks decreased by 1.7, 2.1, 2.5 and 4.9, as well as 1.1 and 2.7 per cent, respectively. On the opposite side, energy stocks recovered after oil prices bounced back on expectations that the production cut deal between OPEC and Russia would be extended to 2018. The afternoon session starts at 1pm. http://bizhub.vn/markets/shares-fall-slightly-on-profit-taking_285991.html

VN Index slips under 720 points 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times All main indexes close in negative territory on May 8. All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market lost ground on May 8. On HSX, the VN Index fell 1.14 points (0.16 per cent) and the VN30-Index 1.04 points (0.62 per cent). On HNX, the HNX-Index lost 0.58 points (0.65 per cent), the HNX30-Index 1.04 points (0.62 per cent), and the UPCoM-Index 0.15 points (0.27 per cent). Liquidity on HSX reached VND4.5 trillion ($198 million), 32 per cent higher than last Friday, and on HNX was VND484 billion ($21.3 million), virtually unchanged. The VN Index opened at 720 points and fell to its bottom of the day of 718.1 points in the first quarter of the morning session then quickly increased to 720.4 points late on before falling and closing the session at 719.2 points. In the afternoon it fluctuated for about 45 minutes before falling and fluctuated again and closed the day at 718.7 points. BHN was the only large cap in food and beverages to increase, by 0.48 per cent, as SBT lost 1.5 per cent, MSN 1 per cent, VNM 0.5 per cent, KDC 0.3 per cent, and SAB 0.2 per cent. No large caps in banking increased, as CTG and EIB closed at their opening price and STB fell 2.9 per cent, MBB 1.8 per cent, VCB 1 per cent, and BID 0.3 per cent. In energy, GAS and CNG increased 0.7 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, while PGD lost 1 per cent. In real estate, KDH hit its ceiling in increasing 6.9 per cent, while DXG was up 2.2 per cent and KBC 0.7 per cent. VIC and FLC closed at their opening price and NVL fell 2 per cent. Among other large caps, ROS and BVH lost 0.9 per cent, MWG 0.6 per cent, and VJC 0.2 per cent. ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND1.4 trillion ($61.6 million), followed by HAG with VND143 billion ($6.3 million) and SCR with VND128 billion ($5.6 million). VNM saw VND118 billion ($5.2 million) changing hands. On HNX, PVI increased 3.9 per cent, VCG 2.6 per cent, and VCS 0.3 per cent. SHB fell 4.1 per cent, PVS 1.8 per cent, ACB 1.7 per cent, and NTP 1.1 per cent. Foreign investors net bought on HSX by VND40 billion ($1.8 million) and net sold on HNX by VND17 billion ($748,000). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/vn-index-slips-under-720-points

Brokerages: Near-term rally unlikely 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times As blue chips may lose steam over the lack of supporting news, the VN Index could not make sharp gains in the near term, said securities experts. Phan Dung Khanh, head of investment advisory at Maybank Kim Eng Securities Company, said the main index might return to earlier highs. However, the possibility of its further rise is low as blue chips and stocks in key sectors could give little support to an uptrend. Newly-listed large companies like PLX often fuel an upturn but their stocks may not provide as strong support as before. Blue chips in the property, construction and banking sectors have lost steam, thereby weighing on the market. If stocks in other sectors fail to jump or give a boost to the market, the VN Index could not rally sharply in the near term, Khanh said on the stock market news website at tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn. Earlier, investors expected oil and gas stocks to replace those in the property and banking sectors as the growth driver of the stock market but petroleum firms are struggling with the oil price drop, bad international news and domestic interest rate hikes. Therefore, no sector is seen bringing the market to a new high in the immediate term. Vu Minh Duc from Viet Capital Securities Company said the market has seen positive signs since the VN Index broke through the 720-point level last week. Investor sentiment was better as turnover increased sharply on both exchanges, with cash flowing into real estate, finance and securities stocks. Notably, small and medium caps attracted investors, pushing up the VNMidcap and VNSmallcap indexes to new highs. Therefore, the VN Index is projected to test the previous high of 733 points, Duc said. Nguyen Ngoc Lan, head of brokerage at Agribank Securities Company, predicted the VN Index would touch the level this month although challenges remain. Directional cues are not in sight but macroeconomic data suggests that the economy will have a positive outlook in the near future. In addition, foreign net buying will continue buoying the market. Many large caps have made smaller gains than penny and medium caps and they are expected to send the VN Index rising to 732 points. Nguyen The Minh from Saigon Securities Inc. said the market extended its winning streak after a long national holiday last week, so the VN Index may advance further in the coming sessions. The VN Index fell slightly but maintained the 720-point level last Friday. Large caps moved in a narrow range with low volume. PVD recovered after three consecutive sessions of lackluster trading and closed at its ceiling price though the oil price, which has a big influence on PVD's stock price, slid 5 percent overnight. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53807/Brokerages-Near-term-rally-unlikely.html

Carlsberg & Habeco negotiations may be nearing conclusion 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Danish brewer now waiting for an update from the government, expected in the second quarter. Carlsberg CEO Cees't Hart told the brewer's first quarter 2017 trading statement's conference call on May 4 that negotiations with the Ministry of Industry and Trade over an additional stake in the State-owned Hanoi Alcohol Beverage and Corp. (Habeco) has been "hot, complicated, and cumbersome." Over the course of the last six weeks, Hart has visited Vietnam three times to discuss raising its stake in Habeco. "The process is no better than we anticipated. It just takes time," he said. He was quoted in February as saying that Carlsberg had not been able to make a bid and there was also uncertainty over whether the Vietnamese government would abide by Carlsberg's first right of refusal. "Carlsberg will bid for Habeco in March or April," he said at the time. The government is seeking to equitise Habeco, the country's second-largest brewer, by selling its 82 per cent stake. Carlsberg, which already has 17 per cent, holds priority purchase rights for a 60 per cent stake. While Habeco and Carlsberg Vietnam were unavailable for comment at the time of writing, it seems that both sides have found common ground after multiple visits by Hart. As he is now expecting an update from the government during the second quarter, it might have accepted a higher bid from the Danish brewer. "Vietnam wants to equitise three companies this year, and it seems that the first is Habeco, but that changes from time-to-time: first Sabeco then first Habeco," he said. The government said last October that it would announce the results of negotiations on its priority purchase rights with Carlsberg by the end of that month. It is still not clear why the process has been drawn out. The government announced last August that it wants to sell its 82 per cent stake for $404 million, or about VND48,000 ($2.11) a share, which according to the CEO of Carlsberg Vietnam, Tayfun Uner, is a reasonable valuation, or VND50,000 ($2.2) per share the same price Carlsberg paid in the 2008 IPO. The government is now keen to take the market price as a reference for the deal. After switching from the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) on January 19, shares in Habeco rose 15 per cent in their first day of trading to VND147,000 ($6.50) from a starting price of VND127,600 ($5.65), valuing the Vietnamese brewer at $1.5 billion. But a 21.1 per cent year-on-year decline in Habeco 2016 net profit to VND740.1 billion ($32.7 million) saw its share price head downwards. It closed at VND114,000 ($5.03) on February 9 before hitting a low of VND74,000 ($3.25) on April 5. While the price is driven by market supply and demand, the previous surge in the company's share price did not accurately reflect the underlying value of the business and is mainly due to speculative buying on very thin volumes, Uner said. Habeco's pre-tax profit during the first quarter rose by 45 per cent year-on-year to VND42 billion ($1.85 million). On May 8, its share price stood at VND86,000 ($3.78) as at 11am Vietnam time. With a young, beer-loving population, Vietnam is among Asia's largest consumer of the beverage, putting it on the radar of international brewers. The country's beer market grew at an average compound annual rate of 7 per cent from 1999 to 2015 and touched 4 billion litres in 2016. Growth is anticipated at around 4 per cent to 2021, data from researchers Canadean, quoted by investment bank Liberum, shows. Kirin Holdings, Asahi Group Holdings, Thai Beverage, Heineken, and Anheuser Busch Inbev SA are among some 20 other investors that have expressed interest in the sale. Habeco's share price soared when a limited number of shares were listed in October, as investors raced to snap them up before the planned sale. The brewer has a market share of about 20 per cent in Vietnam. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/carlsberg-habeco-negotiations-may-be-nearing-conclusion

Boom times for FLC Group 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Group now among the largest players in Vietnam's real estate sector. With at least one project going operational each year, the FLC Group creates 1,000 to 2,000 new jobs annually, an achievement few companies can match, FLC CEO Le Thanh Vinh told the group's annual general meeting last month. Founded in 2001, FLC Group's resort projects have contributed significantly to changing the local tourism landscape, transforming waste land into attractive tourist destinations, and creating jobs for local people in provinces such as Vinh Phuc, Thanh Hoa, and Binh Dinh, among others. On average, each project employs 2,000 to 3,000 people, of which more than 90 per cent are from the local area. "Corporations like FLC have made local tourism fly high by upgrading infrastructure," Nguyen Tran Nam, Chair of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said. Expanding from its original business fields of investment consulting and corporate finance consulting, the FLC Group has successfully penetrated into the real estate sector since 2010 and made outstanding accomplishments thanks to savvy investment strategies. During the 2011-2014 period, when the real estate market in Vietnam was going through a time of considerable turmoil and other companies chose to play it safe, FLC Group decided to merge with or acquire a great number of potential but "frozen" properties at low prices, then develop them into large-scale projects to get ahead of the recovery wave, such as the 28-story FLC Garden City, the 37-story FLC Complex Tower, and the 50-story FLC Twin Towers, among others. The solid legal foundation of the corporation, led by the Dr Trinh Van Quyet, helped the FLC Group expeditiously close these deals. The once frozen properties are now considered outstanding commercial projects in Hanoi that bring considerable profit to the company and consolidate its leading position in the real estate market. In addition to commercial real estate, FLC Group also foresees potential in the resort real estate segment in the long term and has been proceeding to explore and invest in pristine tourism spots with beautiful beaches since 2014. It will launch FLC Ha Long Golf Club & Luxury Resort this year and announce and kick-off the FLC Do Son Resort in Hai Phong city, the FLC Van Don Resort in Quang Ninh province, and the FLC Quang Binh Resort in Quang Binh province. FLC Van Don covers 4,000 ha with total investment of $2 billion, and boasts an 18-hole golf course, a five-star hotel resort, high-end villas, and a large-scale casino. It is expected to be the first casino in Vietnam to cater to both domestic and international gamblers. The development value of its assets was estimated at $3.8 billion by real estate consultants Savills. Planning to strike the market with 2,500 condotels, 1,400 villas, 3,500 hotel keys and four golf course this year, the FLC Group aims to become the leading resort real estate investor and developer in Vietnam. In 2016, it had VND6.38 trillion ($281.1 million) in charter capital, earned VND6.34 trillion ($279.68 million) in revenue, up 19.2 per cent year-on-year, and recorded VND987.2 billion ($43.5 million) in after- tax profit, up 9.5 per cent. It has set a target for real estate sales revenue of VND13 trillion ($573.43 million) this year, up 100 per cent against 2016. The FLC Group has proven its capacity and prestige by speedily developing high-end real estate projects around the country, setting multiple records while at the same time ensuring quality and safety. It received a Vietnam Excellent Brand Award from Vietnam Economic Times last month for its socioeconomic contributions in Vietnam. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/boom-times-for-flc-group

Finance

Reference exchange rate up 5 VND 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The State Bank of Vietnam set the reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,358 VND/USD on May 8, up 5 VND from the end of last week. With the current +/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,027 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,688 VND per USD. Commercial banks reduced their rates slightly in the opening hours. Vietcombank listed the buying rate at 22,690 VND/USD and the selling rate at 22,760 VND/USD, down 10 VND from the end of last week. BIDV cut its buying and selling rates by 10 VND to 22,690 VND and 22,760 VND, per USD. Vietinbank raised its buying rate by 10 VND to 22,700 VND and kept its selling rate unchanged at 22,770 VND, per USD http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-up-5-vnd/111321.vnp

Secret weapons in exchange rate operations 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR The secret and most important weapons for the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to operate the exchange rate are the foreign currency trading volumes and the daily average exchange rate. President Donald Trump, signing a measure on Friday to keep the federal government funded for the rest of the fiscal year, argued in a lengthy statement that he isn't legally bound by a series of limits lawmakers imposed on him in the bill. The "signing statement," which reprized a contentious tactic former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama used while in office, included language on issues from the use of medical marijuana to funding for historically black colleges and universities. Trump also suggested he may ignore congressional requirements for advance notice before taking a range of foreign policy and military actions. The president said his constitutional prerogatives supersede the restrictions Congress placed on him as a condition for funding government operations a comment that raised eyebrows about the lengths to which the White House may be going to consolidate power. Steve Bell, a senior adviser at the Bipartisan Policy centre in Washington, said Trump's signing statement signaled a desire to usurp power from the legislative branch. "It is the constitutional prerogative of the Congress to spend money and to put limitations on spending," Bell, a former staff director of the Senate Budget Committee and an aide to former Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said by phone. "This is an extremely broad assertion of executive branch power over the purse." Marijuana, Colleges Trump signaled he may ignore a congressional ban on interfering with state medical marijuana laws. He also said he would treat a programme that helps historically black colleges get low-cost construction loans, "in a manner consistent with the requirement to afford equal protection of the law" under the US Constitution. The comment was interpreted to mean he may defund the decades-old programme, and drew a rebuke from members of the Congressional Black Caucus. "Trump signaled that he may not carry out construction funding for historically black colleges and universities due to supposed constitutional concerns," Representatives John Conyers of Michigan and Cedric Richmond of Louisiana said in a statement on Saturday. "Trump's statement is not only misinformed factually, it is not grounded in any serious constitutional analysis," they said. The United Negro College Fund said it had received "informal assurance" from the White House that there had been no policy change but urged an official clarification of the statement. Attorney general Jeff Sessions has vowed to crack down on marijuana in various forms, and has dismissed arguments for its medical use as "desperate." "I reject the idea that we're going to be better placed if we have more marijuana," Sessions said in a speech to law-enforcement officials in March. "It's not a healthy substance, particularly for young people." Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico now allow for medical marijuana use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Trump singled out a provision in the spending bill that says funds cannot be used to block states from implementing medical marijuana laws. "I will treat this provision consistently with my constitutional responsibility to take care that the laws be faithfully executed," he said. Making a Statement Obama also occasionally released signing statements objecting to congressional restrictions on his authority. The White House described Trump's signing statement as routine, but didn't indicate whether the president planned to take action to defy Congressional restrictions. Bell said Trump's stance on the medical marijuana provision in the bill was at odds with the 10th Amendment, which protects states from federal overreach. Tim Shaw, a senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Centre, said that the president is bound by the language in the spending bill that now bears his signature. "Part of the argument here in this signing statement is that he has the constitutional requirement to execute the law," Shaw said in an interview. "But this is one of those laws, and Congress has the ultimate authority over funds getting spent.'' http://www.vir.com.vn/secret-weapons-in-exchange-rate-operations.html

Banks have many reasons to repurchase bad debt from VAMC 08/May/2017 Intellasia| DTCK After a period of actively selling bad debts to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), some banks are acquiring these debts to self-handle. At the recent 2017 annual general meeting (AGM), Han Ngoc Vu, CEO of the Vietnam International Bank (VIB) shared with shareholders information about the bank's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in 2016 at 2.58 percent, up from 2015. The increase in the 2016 NPL ratio, as per Vu, was because the bank actively acquired some debts sold to VAMC to promote the debt settlement process when finding that the debt settlement process has been better than the previous period. In the past year, VIB carried out many measures to improve credit quality, strictly controlled newly arising credit quality, completed and improved the capacity of the early credit risk warning system, and credit risk identification system. Along with the implementation of credit quality management measures, VIB also focused on dealing with previously arisen bad debts. "VIB's NPL ratio decreased from 2.07 percent at the end of 2015 to 1.49 percent on December 31, 2016 regardless of the debt acquisition from VAMC", said Vu. Talking with Dau Tu Chung Khoan on the sideline of VIB's AGM, Vu said VIB's plan is from now until mid-2018, the entire bad debts sold to VAMC will be acquired. In 2016, VIB repurchased 1.336 trillion dong bad debt and is expected to continue buying about one trillion dong in 2017. "Even when bringing the bad debt from VAMC, the entire bad debt of VIB is still less than three percent as per the regulation of the State Bank", said VIB's CEO. Earlier, at Vietinbank's 2016 business review meeting, the Board Chair Nguyen Van Thang said in 2017, the bank will repurchase the entire bad debt sold to VAMC by its own resources. Thanks to drastic and consistent measures in quality control, bad debt settlement, by the end of 2016, Vietinbank's NPL ratio went down to less than one percent of the total outstanding loan. At the end of 2016, the financial market also welcomed the information that Vietcombank acquired the entire 4.3 trillion dong bad debt from VAMC, exceeding three years compared to the set plan. Vietcombank's Chair Nghiem Xuan Thanh said the bank will self-handle this bad debt by its own risk provision. When bad debt is recovered, it will help enhance the bank's financial capacity. Since then, Vietcombank will be able to continue reducing its lending rate for businesses and individuals wishing to borrow. With the fact that banks actively acquire their bad debts from VAMC, many experts shared that this is a good signal showing that the business activities of banks have had more positive signals. However, from a careful perspective, CEO Han Ngoc Vu said not all banks can buy back bad debts. Although they really want to because to do this, banks must have sufficient financial resources and the NPL ratio must be low to ensure that after the debt repurchase, the NPL ratio is still less than three percent as regulated by the state bank. "There are going to have banks that face limitations as the NPL ratio at the bank has already been too high or the bank does not have enough profits to put provision, therefore, they still have to continue leaving bad debts at VAMC", said Vu. CEO of a joint stock commercial bank said, "In fact, banks have identified VAMC as a bad debt "landing" and banks will have to take the initiative in handling their own bad debts". The most up-to-date figure about the bad debt trading and settlement of VAMC, which was released at the end of October 2016, also showed the activeness of banks in dealing with bad debt. Specifically, as per the leader of VAMC at that time, since 2013 till October 2016, VAMC purchased 25,062 debts from 42 credit organisations with the total outstanding loans of 262.054 trillion dong and the purchase price of 227.848 trillion dong. Despite limited debt collection speed compared to the total outstanding loan, the proportion of customers who self-pay the debt accounted for as much as 70 percent, while the remaining 30 percent came from the sale of debts and collaterals. For the debt recovery, VAMC cooperated with credit organisations to recover 37.983 trillion dong under many forms, reaching 15 percent of the outstanding loan. Dr Vu Dinh Anh, an economist, said apart from the barrier about financial resources to purchase and dispose bad debts, legal regulations that are not suitable to the reality also make VAMC feel awkward, and unable to accelerate the bad debt settlement process. Therefore, it is necessary to quickly complete legal bases related to VAMC's activities in general and its bad debt trading and settlement in particular. Specifically is the revision of Circular No. 19/2013/TT- NHNN in line with Decree No.34/2015/ND-CP on supplementation and amendment of some articles of the Decree No. 53/2013/ND-CP on establishment, organisation and operation of VAMC. Of which, the most important thing is to rationalise the procedures on settlement of collaterals related to bad debts that credit organisations sold to VAMC, including procedures on initiation of lawsuits and enforcement of civil judgments in the field of bank credit. Obviously, to settle bad debt quickly and effectively, it is impossible just to rely on efforts of the banking sector alone but there needs to have the active participation of relevant organisations and units, from perfecting legal framework and procedures to enforcing laws relating to bank credit, especially relating to the settlement of collaterals. "In its turn, VAMC needs to enhance its role through restructuring of the company, increasing charter capital, expanding and increasing its operational capacity to support credit organisations buy and sell debt following market principle", said Dr Anh. Sharing with Dau Tu Chung Khoan, Vu said VIB's annual bad debt settlement is very good, especially the sale of bad debt. However, currently, there still have certain obstacles in selling bad debts to foreign buyers. When foreigners decide to purchase bad debt, that means they have professional perspective, they will consider bad debt quality with regard to collaterals and transparency and see how much can be recovered before deciding to purchase. "Many foreigners have been interested in VIB's bad debts for a long time. As commercial conditions have been negotiated, there remain legal obstacles only. Therefore, if it can be solved, VIB's bad debt settlement speed will be much more and faster than today", said Vu.

State-owned banks want exceptions in selling state capital 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu Foreign investors want to buy large lots of stocks at cheap price while current regulations do not allow banks to sell at lower price than the market price. This constraint makes the finding of foreign strategic partner of state-owned banks face many difficulties. Among state-owned joint stock commercial banks, BIDV is the most struggling bank in finding strategic partners. So far, the State still owns more than 95 percent stake in this bank and foreign capital room remains intact. Phan Duc Tu, BIDV CEO said over the last four years the bank has actively sought strategic partners and has cooperated with many large financial institutions especially Japanese partners but selling shares to foreign investors is still very difficult. "It is very hard to sell below the market price while investors buying large lots want to buy at low price. Banks require foreign investors to meet time requirements but want to sell at retail prices on the listing floor, so it is very difficult. This is a common difficulty for all banks, not just BIDV", said Tu. In addition, because it is hard to negotiate with foreign strategic partners, the paradox is while many bankers expect high share prices, many bank giants expect softer equity to sell capital successfully because higher stock price makes it more difficult to negotiate with strategic partners. Nghiem Xuan Thanh, Vietcombank Chair said although the government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) offered rather high prices, the sale of 7.73 percent of Vietcombank shares was unsuccessful because the bid price was still lower than the listing price. "Currently, many foreign partners, including GIC, still continue to pay attention to Vietcombank. However, as per the requirement of the government and ministries, the sale of state capital must satisfy conditions, especially the offer price must not be lower than the market price at the time of sale. With such a price condition, the sale of shares is infeasible", said Thanh. The capital increase of state-owned joint stock commercial banks is quite urgent. Currently, the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of these banks is only slightly higher than the minimum level and when the Basel II safety standard is applied officially (expected from 2018), the CAR will decrease further. For these banks, the capital increase can only be implemented in four ways: budget funding, dividend payment in shares, separate share offerings, and Tier 2 capital increase. So far, the room to increase Tier 2 capital of this banking group is not much. The dividend payment in cash is required by the Ministry of Finance very year while the budget funding is infeasible. Thus, the most feasible way to raise capital now is to offer individual shares in large number to investors (mainly foreign investors). According to the Investment Review, currently, some state-owned joint stock commercial banks asked ministries to sell their shares below the market price. However, this proposal has not been approved. Thanh said in the near future, Vietcombank will submit plan to both satisfy the State conditions and attract major foreign shareholders. In the meantime, Vietcombank's immediate solution is to reduce the credit growth speed from 18 percent last year to 15 percent this year and strengthens the revenue from service sector. For BIDV, Phan Duc Tu said in the case of not being able to raise capital, BIDV will have to restructure its assets and risky assets, long-term assets to ensure that CAR follows the requirements of the state bank. Restructuring assets or reducing credit is only immediate solutions for banks. In the long run, if the problem of raising capital is not solved, the expansion of operational scale and improvement of financial capacity of these banks will face many difficulties. Especially, the goal of becoming a regional-scale bank and integrating into the world will be increasingly challenging.

A positive future ahead 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Ngo Trung Dung, deputy general Secretary of the Vietnam Insurance Association, discusses the present and future of Vietnam's insurance market with VET's Ngoc Lan. While foreign insurers dominate Vietnam's life insurance market, the Top 5 domestic insurers account for 63 per cent of the non-life insurance market. Why do you believe this is the case? In my opinion, life insurance attracts customers due to the quality of services, the advantages of each type of product, and the capacity of the insurer's network of operations, mainly agents. Therefore, if a life insurance company invests in the development of service quality and customer care services, uses agents that focus on a particular area or a specific group of customers, it will maintain stable revenue. Non-life insurance companies, meanwhile, attract most customers based on financial strength, prestige, and business tradition. Revenue being concentrated in the Top 5 largest local insurers is therefore easy to understand. If small-scale, non-life insurance companies want to compete to attract revenue, this requires building a broad network of branches and offices and promoting their brand. This is difficult and requires a lot of time and effort. What are the opportunities in Vietnam's insurance market for domestic and foreign insurers? Most State insurance companies have now been equitised and domestic businesses can invest in the insurance market through buying and selling shares and cooperating to become strategic shareholders. Foreign and domestic businesses can be licensed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) as newly-established insurance enterprises if they satisfy the conditions of Decree No.73/2016/ND-CP. The insurance market is forecast to continue to grow steadily, with total market revenue accounting for more than 2 per cent of GDP. The government targets market turnover reaching 3 to 4 per cent of GDP by 2020. In addition, customers have now started to pay more attention to insurance. In developed countries, the proportion of people with insurance exceeds 90 per cent. Vietnam therefore has great potential. What are the difficulties for domestic and foreign insurers? Why is the percentage of Vietnamese people taking out insurance policies lower than in other countries in the region? There are some difficulties when investing in Vietnam's insurance market, such as unhealthy competition and insurance companies becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to control. Another challenge is in high quality human resources. At present, high quality human resources with a solid professional background in the sector are in short supply. For example, actuary teams in life insurance are almost entirely foreigners or overseas Vietnamese. In life insurance, senior executives such as CEOs and CFOs rotate from one company to another, and this is normal given the shortage of high quality human resources. Therefore, in addition to business development to increase sales, insurance companies must pay attention to investing in training and avoid taking each other's human resources. It's an unhealthy practice. The proportion of Vietnamese people taking out insurance policies is lower than elsewhere in the region, mainly due to people being afraid to contemplate risks. For example, putting fire extinguishers in the house is a simple and effective way to tackle a fire, but the general psychology of Vietnamese people means they don't want to consider the possibility of there being a fire. They think it cannot happen to them. Meanwhile, in developed countries, risk prevention is an overriding principle for many people. Additionally, living standards in Vietnam remain low. The average annual income in 2015 was VND45 million ($1,980), or VND3.7 million ($160) per month. With such a low average income, many people have to be very careful when deciding to set aside money for life insurance. Most worry they will not be able to maintain their life insurance policy for ten or 20 years, and if they can't do so they may lose their policy and be disadvantaged. What is your view of Vietnam's insurance market in 2017? Vietnam's economy in general and the insurance market in particular are expected to continue to grow this year, with new legal documents promoting the advantages and stimulating market growth. Vietnam is implementing free trade agreements and is gradually cutting back on certain types of tariffs, which will undoubtedly promote the development of goods and services. GDP is to reach 6.7 per cent this year, and government policies still focus on business development, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. The MoF and the Insurance Supervisory Authority will remain close to businesses, removing obstacles, shortening the time for handling administrative procedures, and creating a legal framework for the development of the insurance market. State management agencies are studying and developing policies to develop more insurance products, such as agricultural insurance and micro insurance, and modifying compulsory fire and explosion insurance products. The Circular for Decree No.73 provides detailed guidance. With these favourable factors, together with the efforts of insurers, it is expected that the life insurance market will maintain a high growth rate of about 35 to 37 per cent this year and non-life insurance 15 to 18 per cent. Insurance products are becoming more diverse, and insurance companies and customers are starting to pay more attention to premium products in beauty care. Will this become a trend in the near future for non- life insurance companies and customers? This type of insurance is available in developed insurance markets. As Vietnamese society develops, the demand for these types of insurance will rise. Insurance companies will then develop insurance products to meet that need. In my opinion, it is difficult to say that this will be a major trend in the near future in the non-life insurance industry. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177744/a-positive-future-ahead.html

State Bank to aid pig farmers 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued an official document asking credit institutions to support borrowers in the livestock industry, especially pig farmers in need of credit extension as market demand struggles to find equilibrium. The document, titled 3091/NHNN-TD in late April, urged credit organisations, on the basis of current legislation and of debtors' financial situations, to apply the appropriate aid. This might include extending the payment period and lessening or eliminating interest rates. Commercial banks and credit institutions are to preserve the current debts while allowing for more loans in order to support borrowers with any feasible business plans to continue breeding livestock. Financial institutions across the country are to strictly comply to the SBV's request and submit quarterly reports to the SBV on their efficiency in aiding farmers through the current market slump. Any difficulty encountered during implementation must be reported immediately. The SBV's intention is to help farmers resume production in the foreseeable future. Right after the document was issued, two banks responded to the SBV: the Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LienVietPostBank) and the other the Kien Long Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Kienlongbank). The LienVietPostBank's Board of directors will give a preferential package of VND500 billion (US$22.3 million) to pig farmers or frozen pork processors with an annual interest rate of less than two per cent compared to their current average in a one year period. Kienlongbank also will consider decreasing about 30 per cent of the annual interest rate to those currently receiving the bank's credit funding in the pig farming industry. The estimated time of implementation is three months or 90 days from May 10, 2017. During this time, Kienlongbank will continue to support their borrowers in extending the prompt period and decreasing interest payments. The two banks also asked their employees and other personnel to support farmers through purchasing their products at reasonable prices. The current drop in domestic pork prices is due to various factors. The main reason was that farmers did not have a reasonable production scale, leading to oversupply and market saturation. http://bizhub.vn/news/state-bank-to-aid-pig-farmers_285963.html

Vietnamese lenders shut down night-time ATM services for better security 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News Several banks in Vietnam have decided to stop providing their ATM services at night-time in order to prevent criminals from stealing money from their customers' accounts. The policy has been uploaded for public view on the official websites of these lenders. Although the decision was aimed at ensuring security for customers' assets, some clients have complained that it had caused them inconvenience. Binh, a resident of Binh Thanh District, HCM City, who is using services of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), said he often withdraws money at an ATM booth on No Trang Long Street, which is near his house. "But the security guard always locks up the booth after 10:00 pm. I though these ATM booths would open around the clock," Binh continued. An Agribank representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the State Bank of Vietnam requires all ATM services to be provided for customers 24/7. However, the central bank also allows banks to cease the services of ATM booths in certain areas during specific periods, as long as their opening times are listed at the facilities and on the banks' websites, the representative elaborated. For example, those ATM stalls set up at buildings and shopping malls will be shut down pursuant to the closing times of these venues. Some booths that do not fall into this category have their own closing times, 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm, according to Tuoi Tre reporters' observation. Only cash machines installed at bank branches are open 24/7, with security guards working around the clock. According to Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam's HCM City branch, the change is meant to ensure security and combat criminals. With thieves carrying out increasingly sophisticated activities, police have advised lenders to prepare certain measures to cope with the situation, Minh said. The central bank will check if local banks follow the correct protocol established for this adjustment, he added. Tran Quang Thoai, an expert in this field, assessed that several methods to deal with card fraud have caused nuisances for depositors. To seek understanding from customers, these adjustments should be informed properly, Thoai said. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnamese-lenders-shut-down-nighttime-atm-services-for-better-security- 349032.vov

VN insurers need capable agents 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times While preparing dinner recently, Nguyen Thanh Tam received a phone call from a potential customer asking for advice on insurance policies. The call lasted more than 15 minutes and arrangements were made to meet the next day. Since becoming a team leader at Prudential Vietnam, she receives an average of two calls about insurance each day. "I never hesitate to spend time advising clients, whether they go on to buy our products or not," she said. Tam, a 38-year-old preschool teacher in northern Bac Ninh province, decided to become an insurance agent with Prudential Vietnam as an extra job four years ago. "I've wrapped up more than 100 insurance policies," she said. "I earn a commission of 30 to 40 per cent on each policy, depending on what type it is." She is now considering moving to another insurer as a team leader. "It's time for a change," she said. No rose without thorns Tam is just one of many government employees in Vietnam keen to have an extra job and earn more. "The salary of a preschool teacher doesn't guarantee a comfortable life," she explained. "Since becoming an insurance agent, I've earned enough to upgrade my old house. I also persuaded my husband to become an agent, even though he had little interest in insurance before." For insurance companies, enthusiastic agents like Tam are always welcome because they play an important role in securing revenue for insurers without the use of brokers. Last year, total premiums via insurance brokers reached over VND7.1 trillion ($312.4 million), of which original premiums through brokers stood at over VND4.2 trillion ($184.8 million), up 12.4 per cent against 2015, according to a report from the Insurance Supervisory Authority under the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Three years ago, after an introduction from a friend, 56-year-old retiree Nguyen Thi Thanh became a life insurance agent after attending three training sessions. Instead of staying at home all day, she often visits relatives and friends, attends insurance meetings, and has learned how to use smartphones and the internet. Her phone numbers and contact information are arranged scientifically and carefully. "Most of the policies I've signed have been for relatives and friends," she said. "They were happy with their insurance policy so introduced their friends." After three years as an agent, she's sold nearly 100 insurance policies. The road to success for the two women, however, has not be straightforward. Tam's early days were truly difficult for her and the other new agents, as the company required each to sign up to five insurance policies. "I spoke to some friends about insurance but, sadly, many thought the idea of insurance was a deception," she said. "But I believed that what I was doing was right and I wouldn't give up." Oftentimes, being an insurance agent, or "insurance sale executive" as it's known in the trade, is a difficult job. Some must deal with a level of disrespect. Initially attracted by the large commissions on offer, after two months in the insurance game Tran Tuan Anh, a tailor in Hanoi's Dong Da district, gave it away. "When I picked up my phone and called some friends to introduce insurance policies, they told me that insurance is like multi-level marketing and didn't want to buy any products." Many Vietnamese people view multi-level marketing as a pyramid scheme and a scam. But Phung Dac Loc, former general Secretary of the Vietnam Insurance Association, said it's simply wrong to compare insurance to multi-level marketing. "The sale of insurance policies via agents resembles the multi-level model but agents are only allowed to sell policies under rules prescribed and approved by the Ministry of Finance (MoF)," he said. In some cases, however, customers have complained about not being told specifically what is covered by their insurance policy, according to Tam, and after suffering some illness or disease have been denied payouts. But it can go both ways. She sold an insurance policy to one customer in 2014, then in early 2016 the customer was hospitalised and diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She sent the VND27 million ($1,188) bill to the insurer, but the company found she hadn't disclosed the fact that she had suffered from thyroid disease for five years. The insurer suspended the policy. Such cases are unfortunately not rare and agents like Tam must have extensive knowledge about insurance. Taking out a policy is for risk prevention, but in many cases the risk comes from the insurance. "The most important thing is that both buyer and seller understand the terms in the insurance policy," said Tam. The number of life insurance agents in Vietnam is now in the hundreds of thousands, many of whom have been very successful and been certified MDRT members by the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) The Premier Association of Financial Professionals, according to Paul George Nguyen, CEO of Manulife Vietnam. Despite the positive developments in the sector, prejudice remains regarding insurance and agents have a poor image, he acknowledged. But Tam believes it is not too difficult being an insurance agent, though the job takes time and effort. In exchange, they receive commissions from policies signed and can earn from VND20 million to VND30 million ($880 to $1,320) a month. "I never thought I would have the chance to travel overseas until I became an insurance agent," she said. Battle for commissions In many developed countries, insurance transactions via brokerage companies account for 90 per cent of the market. In Vietnam, insurance transactions via brokers only account for about 17 per cent, and most are foreign. There is a big difference between the market share for insurance premiums between foreign brokers and domestic brokers. In 2016, premiums of foreign insurers accounted for 95.1 per cent of the total, according to the Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA) at MoF. As at December 31, 2016, the total number of insurance brokers licensed by the MoF was 13, of which eleven are in operation. One, Sabrina Insurance Brokerage Company, was only licensed in November, while another, Dai Viet Insurance Brokerage Company, has ceased operations. The total assets of insurance brokers as at December 31, 2016 was estimated at VND657 billion ($28.9 million), up 2.9 per cent against 2015. Foreign brokers had VND570 billion ($25.08 million) in assets and domestic brokers VND87 billion ($3.8 million). Some industry analysts believe that insurance policies signed based on personal relationships are the most common in the early stages of new markets. But as markets grow, customers become more knowledgeable about insurance and seek professional agents and wish to compare insurance products between companies. Insurance brokerage then has the potential to develop. Brokerage usually develops initially on non-life insurance and then life insurance. An inspection team from the ISA recently announced that some large insurers had violated the law on commissions in the insurance sector. Under the law, only insurance agents and insurance brokers are allowed to earn commissions. But in order to increase revenue, many insurance agents pay "commissions" to customers in cash or by way of lower premiums. Though the activity appears to be widespread, insurers can't easily control it because it is a deal between customers and insurance brokers. According to insiders, paying such commissions have a negative impact on the brand of insurers where it takes place. The competition for qualified personnel will also become more acute in the future. "Many new insurers are coming to Vietnam because it is in the process of development," said Tieu Yen Trinh, general director of Talentnet. "The competition for personnel in the sector will be tougher. This is an opportunity to gain market share for those who lead the trends and guide users, because knowledge about insurance is more common nowadays." Comments like Trinh's will be welcomed by Tam as she considers whether to work for another insurer after four years with Prudential Vietnam. She may succeed elsewhere or perhaps not, but one thing for certain is that the rotation of insurance personnel will continue in the future given the fierce competition between insurers. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177735/vn-insurers-need-capable-agents.html

Moody's upgrades VIB credit rating outlook 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Moody's Investors Service, one of the world's leading credit ratings agencies, has upgraded the credit rating outlook of Vietnam International Bank (VIB)'s local currency deposits and issuer ratings to "positive", from its previous level of "stable". According to the report issued by Moody's, VIB continues to be included in the group of banks with the highest credit rating in the local banking industry. This signals Moody's positive assessment of developments in the business environment in Vietnam in general and performance of the country's banking industry in particular. In 2016, VIB's pre-tax profit experienced a year-on-year rise of 7 percent to 702 billion VND (30.8 million USD) while its total assets rose sharply (24 percent) to 104.5 trillion VND (4.57 billion USD), and surpassing the yearly target by 16 percent. The bank's loan-to-deposit ratio was 65.6 percent while its short-term deposit over medium- and long- term loan ratio reached 47.1 percent, which are within the safe limit as regulated by the State Bank of Vietnam. At the bank's annual general shareholders meeting (GSM) last month, VIB approved a 44.6 percent dividend distribution rate based on its charter capital, including 5 percent in cash and 39.6 percent in bonus shares. The bank's management board also proposed a plan of mobilising capital with a maximum amount of 7 trillion VND (308 million USD) for up to 10 years with a view to strengthening its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and other safety ratios and better satisfying business activities. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/moodys-upgrades-vib-credit-rating-outlook/111323.vnp

Vietcombank wants to hold clients responsible for security breaches 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News State-owned commercial bank Vietcombank is drawing criticism after announcing updated terms and policies that require customers to ensure their internet connection is free from malware. The updated terms, set to take effect on May 10, concern the use of Vietcombank's online and mobile banking services for individual clients. Under the updated 'security responsibilities' article within their terms and policies, the bank will require clients to "take responsibility" for making sure that whatever devices they use to log into the bank's online portal is free from viruses and malware. In addition, the new terms make it clear that customers are not to use the online and mobile banking services from any device connected to a local area network (LAN) without first checking that they are not being tracked by a third party. Many Vietcombank clients have voiced concerns with the bank's new policy, saying it is nothing but a way to shake responsibility in the event of a security breach. "The amount of known malicious software in the world exceeds 100 million and counting, making it difficult, if not impossible, for even top security experts to build a device that is 100 percent safe from malware," said Nguyen Hong Van, deputy director of the Institute of Information Security Technology under Vietnam Information Security Association. "How can a regular user truly be sure that their device is clean from viruses and malware?" Van added that it is absurd enough for Vietcombank to assume that customers understand the concept of a LAN, let alone are capable of meeting the requirement to make sure that they are not being tracked by a third party while connected to one. "Even experts in network security can't tell for sure whether they are being tracked while connected to the internet in public spaces, such as at the office or in a cafe," Van explained. "The terms [by Vietcombank] are ridiculously difficult for a regular customer to comply with." The updated terms also grant Vietcombank the right to use, store, transfer, or exchange customers' personal information with a third party. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40836/vietcombank-wants-to-hold-clients-responsible-for-security- breaches

Sacombank's restructuring a key test of SBV's plans for addressing poorly-performing banks 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Nervous people headed to branches of the Hanoi-based lender ACB in August 2012 to withdraw a total of $240 million following news of the arrest of the bank's founder, Nguyen Duc Kien, on fraud charges. The arrest sent shockwaves through Vietnam, triggering a 9.2 per cent slide in the stock market in the first week after the incident and causing depositors to pull funds from one of Vietnam's largest lenders. Less controversially, another southern bank tycoon was arrested during the same year, followed by his departure from the bank. "What has happened at Sacombank is my fault," Dang Van Thanh told a conference last October. While ACB has moved on after Kien's arrest, the opposite is true of Sacombank. It was recently named as one of five banks to undergo restructuring, as directed by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), and now all eyes are closely watching Thanh's movements. Make or break Twenty-six years after Sacombank was established, the bank was run by two businesspeople. One was Thanh, the co-founder of the bank and known for the success of his family business, the Thanh Thanh Cong Group, which mainly operates in the sugarcane industry. In one of the most controversial acquisitions in the history of Vietnam's banking system, Thanh was overthrown by a majority of Sacombank's shareholders, led by businessperson Tram Be. In his last days, Thanh served as a Board of Management member in name only, and together with his two sons was then arrested. They were investigated over their management of the bank, including the buying and selling of assets and loans given to family companies. They were released after 48 hours. The incident later faded away, with no formal conclusion made public, but Sacombank's Board of Management announced the transfer of nearly 80 million shares belonging to Thanh's family, to "offset loans and bonds of related companies that were still due." Under his reign, Sacombank was the first private bank to list on the stock exchange, in 2006, and soon had notable strategic investors, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), ANZ Bank, and Dragon Capital. It had 432 branches and transaction offices nationwide at the time of Thanh's departure, with more than VND140 trillion ($6.15 billion) in total assets and annual net profits of VND4 trillion ($175.7 million). The second phase of Sacombank's lifespan lasted four years, with the central bank in February approving the resignations of Be and his son, Tram Khai Hoa, from the board. This is part of a government plan to reform the banking system, the central bank said, but " Be and related parties will continue to bear responsibility in resolving pending issues at Sacombank." Even though Be and Hoa's time at Sacombank have ended, their impact remains. Sacombank became the fifth-largest lender in the local banking sector in 2015 after its voluntary merger with Southern Bank. Previously among three private lenders with the highest annual net profits, the joint entity was supposed to bring greater benefits to Sacombank's shareholders and customers. But the bank was hit almost instantly post-merger, with a pre-tax loss of VND671 billion ($29.5 million) in 2015's fourth quarter, making its pre-tax profit for 2015 as a whole only VND1.29 trillion ($56.6 million), a fall of 55 per cent against 2014. Sacombank was dragged down by the amount of toxic debts at Southern Bank, where Be and his family held some 20 per cent of capital. Southern Bank reported a 3.39 per cent bad debt ratio as at December 30, 2013, but the exact figure was later revealed by State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) as 45.6 per cent as at June 30, 2012 and 55.31 per cent as at November 2013. The last hope for Sacombank disappeared when it reported a 67.5 per cent fall in annual net profits last year. to VND372.5 billion ($16.3 million), putting it on the list of the five weakest banks in need of immediate treatment. Part of the plan Renewed calls for restructuring have come with teeth this time, with the central bank in January saying its core mission this year is to restructure the five weakest lenders, including the three ailing institutions, OceanBank, VNCB, and GPBank, it transformed into wholly State-owned concerns in 2015 and which became known as "zero dong banks", together with Dong A Bank and Sacombank. Of the five troubled banks, only former Sacombank executives have not been arrested. The former Chair of GP Bank, Pham Ba Long, and the former CEO of Dong A Bank, Tran Phuong Binh, were arrested in March and December last year. The former Chair of VNCB, Pham Cong Danh, has already been sentenced to 30 years in jail, while the trial of former Ocean Bank Chair, Ha Van Tham, began in late February. In a plot twist, post-merger in 2015, Be authorised the central bank, or any individuals or organisations it may designate, to take over his entire holdings and those of related shareholders in Sacombank if the lender was to be consolidated. On the same day of his departure, the central bank disclosed that the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), the bad debt bank the government set up in 2013 to help consolidate the country's fragmented banking sector, had been given Be's holdings. The authorisation from Be was unprecedented. "Authorisation from a shareholders holdings for an individual or organisation to take over a holding is quite normal, but for the central bank, the direct managing authority of a commercial bank, to step in and take over a major shareholder's holdings has never happened before," Chair of law firm Basico, Truong Thanh Duc, told VnEconomy.vn, a sister publication of VET. "There has never been a case where authorisation came from central bank orders." From a legal perspective, there was a conflict of interest in the decision made by the central bank. The Law on Enterprises in 2014 regulates that the legal representative of an enterprise is to exercise their delegated rights and perform their delegated obligations honestly and prudently and to the best of their ability, in order to guarantee the lawful interests of the enterprise. In other words, the law regulates that the VAMC can make a decision that is in the best interests of Be. The central bank, however, cannot fully do so, and must lean towards the common good and take into account the safety of Sacombank's operation and the rights of its depositors. By authorising the passing of his entire holdings in Sacombank to the central bank, Be became exempt from any civil or criminal responsibility over losses. According to Duc, the worst-case scenario would see Be lose his entire holdings but he would not bear any responsibility to other shareholders and customers, even if the bank's financial situation was in a difficult state following the merger with Southern Bank. In its October 2016 report, Moody's confirmed Sacombank's "B3" long-term ratings and "caa1" BCA, and changed the outlook to negative. The confirmation of the caa1 BCA reflects the high solvency and liquidity risks faced by Sacombank post-merger. The B3 long-term ratings of Sacombank were confirmed because Moody's continues to incorporate one notch of uplift, based on the rating agency's expectation of moderate support from the Vietnamese government. The negative outlook on Sacombank's ratings reflects the uncertainty around the strategic direction of the bank, its unclear ownership structure, and the true scope of asset quality challenges. The HCM City Securities Corporation (HSC), meanwhile, estimated that the central bank, via VAMC, holds more than 51 per cent of Sacombank's shares, even though Be's holdings were reported at some 14.13 per cent in financial reports. According to HSC, the central bank's decision to accept the resignations of Be and his son may have been in accordance with Sacombank's restructuring plan. "This move shows that the restructuring plan might have received the prime minister's approval, as the central bank approved the plan two months earlier," HSC wrote in a February report. New blood needed Even though Sacombank is going through a rough patch, it remains appealing to many. The retail segment has always seen heavy competition among banks, and network scale is an important factor in mobilising capital. Some conditions need to be applied during Sacombank's restructuring. The first relates to cross ownership, which remains a thorn in the side of authorities and was the major cause of the failure of the three "zero dong banks". Vietnam is planning to introduce a law that requires large shareholders in privately-owned banks to disclose their assets and incomes to prove they are in a financial position to own stock. SBV Governor Le Minh Hung has also vowed to crack down on abuse of power and stock manipulation by groups of large shareholders at banks. "We will be introducing stricter regulations requiring bank chiefs disclose how they have financed their stock ownership," Hung told a banking sector review meeting in January in HCM City. "They could be banned from joining a board of executives for life if they are caught breaking the law." Secondly, the new management board at Sacombank needs to not only be qualified and experienced but also have a good reputation among the corporate and financial community. The banking industry is the backbone of the economy, and those that participate in the restructuring process at Sacombank must have a clean record to receive further policy support from the government in terms of policy. Surprisingly, there is one person who is qualified and stands ready. Now that Be is gone, the banking system may see Sacombank's co-founder make a return to the fold. Soon after Vietnam saw a new government arrive last June, Thanh appeared in the media after three years in the shadows, saying he was ready to play the banking game again. There have been rumours that he is keen to acquire Eximbank, which still holds 9.16 per cent of Sacombank, but it is now clear that Thanh prefers to return to his old place of work. "We have prepared the conditions necessary for Sacombank's restructuring," the proposal sent to the central bank by Evercore Group, Redsun Capital Limited, and Thanh stated. "First, we ask for the SBV's permission to conduct due diligence and correctly evaluate the current state of Sacombank." Thanh's group proposed strengthening Sacombank's financial capability via pumping in VND20.6 trillion ($903.7 million) to its charter capital, which remained at VND18.85 trillion ($832.6 million) as at December 31, 2016. Second, a bad debt settlement council will be formed and will recover backlogs. The next step will be using Sacombank's existing revenue sources to make allowances for bad debts. No official comment from Thanh or SBV agencies were available at the time of writing. A final decision, however, will be announced on April 28, when Sacombank holds its 2017 annual general meeting and votes on a Board of Management for the 2017-2021 tenure. But caution is still needed. The past might have kept Thanh and Be apart, but the two banking tycoons share a common interest. They were both involved in nepotism at Sacombank, and that resulted in the bank being where it is today. Also, after the departure of Be and his son, the current Sacombank Board of Management is left with seven members, three of whom used to be Southern Bank executives. This poses a substantial need for new blood to appear on the board for the next term, so a clean start can be made. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177740/sacombank-s-restructuring---a-key-test-of-sbv-s-plans- for-addressing-poorly-performing-banks.html

Reference exchange rate up 6 dong 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) set the reference dong/US dollar exchange rate at 22,364 dong/US dollar on May 9, up six dong from the previous session. The reference exchange rate at SBV Stock Exchange continued to increase. The buying price was 22,674 and selling price was 23,009 dong In the early morning, some commercial banks raised the foreign exchange rate for US dollar by five dong from the end of the previous session, to commonly 22,700 dong (buying price) and 22,770 dong (selling price). http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/kinh-doanh/tai-chinh/ty-gia-ngoai-te-ngay-9-5-usd-rap-rinh-tang-nhanh- 371689.html

Banks seek increased charter capital 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS It is the bank shareholders meeting season, and topping the agenda, besides the dividend payout ratio, is increasing their regulatory capital. On April 15 Techcombank announced it would hike its charter capital by VND5 trillion (US$220 million) to nearly VND14 trillion ($616 million) this year by selling more shares. Ho Hung Anh, its chair, said the higher capital is needed to improve financial strength and competitiveness. Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has disclosed plans to issue nearly 329.4 million shares for VND1.4 trillion this year to increase its capital to over VND14 trillion ($622 million). The money would be used to ensure the bank's business activities are well funded and also help meet various ratio requirements, a spokesman said. Banks have also been issuing debt instruments like bonds and certificates of deposit that make up their tier II capital. Vietcombank and ACB, for instance, successfully issued 10-year bonds last December to raise VND2 trillion and VND3 trillion respectively. In February and March this year Sacombank and Nam A Bank issued certificates of deposits for seven years. But analysts said despite their efforts banks would find it very difficult to increase their capital, with bad debts remaining the biggest hurdle, causing apprehension in the minds of investors about putting their money in banks. Not long ago three struggling banks were bought by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) for zero dong. Other banks have been placed under the SBV's control to manage possible risks and prevent the erosion of their assets because their bad debts are almost equivalent to shareholders' capital. Why are banks looking to increase their capital at this difficult juncture? The answer lies in the series of new regulations issued or to be by the central bank to improve banks' health. One of them is a road map for reducing from 60 per cent to 40 per cent the maximum ratio of short-term deposits that can be used for medium- and long-term loans. The 60 per cent ratio will remain unchanged this year before being reduced to 50 per cent next and 40 per cent in 2018. Some 85-90 per cent of banks' deposits are short-term (up to 12 months), while long-term loans account for 65-70 per cent of the total. In this scenario a sudden decrease in the ratio of short-term funds used for medium- and long-term loans would cause an increase in loan interest rates and hit credit growth. The SBV has issued a circular in preparation for the adoption of BASEL II standards by the banking system. It says banks must have a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of at least 8 per cent by 2020. CAR is the ratio of capital to risk-weighted assets. As of last December, the average ratio stood at 12.8 per cent. To be able to adopt Basel II standards, banks would have to increase capital as their capital adequacy ratio (CAR) would reduce. This is because the capital requirements are stringent and the assets they have are risk-weighted, meaning the riskier the assets, the greater value they are assigned. Lenders like BIDV, for instance, which has a CAR of around 9 per cent, would definitely have to increase their capital. It goes without saying that increasing the capital will also help the banks improve their lending ability. Analysts believe the banks' effort to increase their regulatory capital is the first step in preparing for a new period of development. VN investors eye Laos Vietnamese companies have invested $5.1 billion in 269 projects in Laos, the second biggest by any country. A majority of their projects are in property, particularly in hotels and housing areas. Among the biggest investors are Long Thanh, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Muong Thanh, Bim Group, and Ha Do. Long Thanh Golf Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company's $1 billion project will comprise a five- star hotel, an 18-hole golf course, luxury villas, schools, and a hospital on an area of 557.4 hectares. Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group will invest $35 million to build hospitals, transport infrastructure and housing in Attapeu and Sekong provinces. Ha Do Group is investing $250 million in building the first new urban area in Vientiane, the country's capital. Vietnamese real estate businesses are greatly interested in building hotels. Bim Group and the Lao Ministry of Security have jointly invested in building the country's first five-star hotel, Crowne Plaza. The hotel, which opened late last month, provides luxury accommodation for tourists in Vientiane. In recent years Laos has been among the fastest growing economies in the region, with growth averaging around 7 per cent. The tourism sector is also growing at a rate of knots 15.6 per cent a year on average and contributing significantly to the country's growth, meaning demand for accommodation and transport is also surging. According to Savills, the retail space in Vientiane averaged just 0.10 square metres per capita, rather lower compared to other countries in the region, meaning the development potential for retail space is huge. Besides, Vientiane's office building market is only 0.6 per cent the size of Bangkok's, 1 per cent of Jakarta's and 3 per cent of Hanoi and HCM City's. The apartment market is equivalent to 3 per cent of Bangkok's and 13 per cent of Hanoi's. The rapid economic growth and undeveloped real estate market have encouraged Vietnamese companies to intensify investment in this country. Analysts are confident the Lao property market is set to boom. Political and social stability, a rich and unique culture and a comfortable geographical position are huge advantages that enable Laos to attract more and more foreign investors, including Vietnamese, and tourists from around the world. Higher fines for violations A new government decree imposes fines of VND200,000 and 500,000 on people publicly distributing advertising leaflets that affect urban beauty and traffic safety, and VND5 million and 10 million on the owners of the advertised products or services. According to the decree, which amends regulations related to penalties for such violations, those putting up advertisements on electric poles, traffic lights and trees will be fined VND1-2 million and the owners, VND5-10 million. Another new decree amending the penalties for administrative violations in fisheries and animal husbandry increases the fines drastically. The decree, to come into effect on May 20, increases the fines for pumping water or other substances into animals before slaughtering or into animal products by four to five times to VND20-30 million. The fine for using banned substances in animal husbandry also quadruples to VND40-50 million. Those found transporting, trading or possessing animals or animal products containing banned substances will be fined VND40-50 million. http://www.vir.com.vn/banks-seek-increased-charter-capital.html

Moody's: Capital shortfall remains key credit burden for banks 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Ratings agency believes local banks will face a shortfall over next 12-18 months. Moody's Investors Service has said that Vietnamese banks will face capital shortfalls over the next 12-18 months and that such a situation continues to represent a key credit burden for the industry. "The banks' rapid loan growth rates will widen their capital gap, according to our baseline scenario of robust economic growth in Vietnam over the coming 12-18 months," said Daphne Cheng, a Moody's analyst. Moody's also estimates that at end-2016, Vietnam's banking system had a total capital gap of $9.5 billion, representing 4.6 per cent of GDP. It defines the gap as the amount of external capital needed for banks to replenish their Tier 1 ratios back to 8 per cent after they utilise their balance sheet reserves to absorb expected losses on impaired loans, and at the same time take an up-front write off on all Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) bonds, which banks receive by swapping out their non-performing loans. Moody's predicts that that the system could see a capital shortfall ranging from $5.1 billion-$6.1 billion by end-2017, representing 2.5-3 per cent of GDP. In such a situation, and absent external capital injections, Moody's-rated Vietnamese banks' Tier 1 ratios would fall to an asset-weighted average of 6.1 per cent by fiscal year ending December 31, 2017, from an asset-weighted average of 7.8 per cent in fiscal year 2016. "The banks' capital generation capacity is weak, because of the system's modest net interest margins, low fee income contribution, and still-substantial provision charges," Cheng added. "Under these circumstances, it will take several years to replenish the system's capital shortfall through internal capital generation." Moody's points out that the banks' capitalisation profiles have continued to deteriorate. For example, at end-2016, Moody's-rated banks reported an asset-weighted average Tier 1 ratio of 7.8 per cent under Basel I from 8.5 per cent at end-2015 and 10.7 per cent at end-2013. In a move to adopt new prudential regulations issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to improve banks' health, Vietnamese banks, whether large or medium-sized, have had plans to increase their charter capital during 2016-2017, either via additional issues of bonds, shares, or certificates of deposits. In May 2016, the SBV issued amendments to its 2014 circular regulating prudential ratios for credit institutions. The new rules raised the risk index of receivable lending for real estate and securities from 150 per cent to 200 per cent; well below the 250 per cent that was originally proposed. A second, concurrent circular from 2016 issued regulations to taper down the maximum ratio of short- term funds that can be used for medium- and long-term loans, from 60 per cent to 40 per cent, with the ratio cut to 50 per cent from January 1, 2017, and to be cut by another 10 percentage points at the start of 2018. An SBV circular in preparation for the adoption of Basel II standards by the banking system stated that banks must have a capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of at least 8 per cent by 2020, added to an increase in charter capital. Moody's projects that real GDP growth in Vietnam will average 6.4 per cent in 2017 and 2018, up from 6.2 per cent in 2016, with loan growth at 26 per cent in 2017 and 2018, in line with growth seen in 2016. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/moody-s-capital-shortfall-remains-key-credit- burden-for-banks

Pressure on interest rate increase larger in last 6 months 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre In Q1/2017, the pressure on interest rate increase appeared locally at small banks. Interest rates are forecasted by Vietcombank Securities Company (VCBS) to remain stable in Q2 but the upward pressure will be larger in the second half of the year. In Q1, deposit rates recorded the local increase by about dozens of basis points in some small and medium banks. However, in the whole system, deposit rates did not have much change from the beginning of the year. The deposit rate ceiling of 5.5 percent for less than six-month terms was ensured, commonly ranging at 4.3 percent-5.5 percent/annum. Deposit rates fluctuated around 5.3-7 percent/annum for 6-month to less than 12-month terms, and 6.5-8 percent/year for terms from 12 months and above. Meanwhile, lending rates were quite stable, ranging from six percent/annum to seven percent/annum for short terms and 9-10 percent/annum for medium and long terms. Lending rates for normal production and business sectors were 6.8-9 percent/annum for short terms; 9.3-11 percent/annum for medium and long terms. For good customer group with healthy financial situation, lending rates were 4-5 percent/annum. As per VCBS's analysis, the pressure on deposit rate increase at some banks may come from the fact that recently, some banks have continuously issued certificates of deposit with high interest rates, considerably increasing competition pressure to raise capital and meet safety ratios. Besides, for these banks, the pressure also came from the lack of liquidity. At the same time, the fact that interbank interest rates have always been maintained at high level caused these banks to face difficulties in accessing capital in interbank market. In addition, better credit growth compared to the same period (4.03 percent as of March 30, considerably higher than the year-on-year increase of 1.79 percent) was also considered as one of the reasons for the growth in deposit demand. Considering such factors as the pressure on deposit rate increase is only happening locally at some banks; the lack of liquidity does not happen in big banks and there still has room for the State Bank to regulate the market and ensure the direction of maintaining low interest rates to support growth in the context that foreign exchange market gradually stabilises after the most recent interest rate increase of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in March, VCBS forecasts that interest rates will be stable and will not fluctuate much in Q2. "However, in the second half of 2017, exchange rate risks are more likely to heat up again and the pressure on interest rates will increase in the second half of the year", said VCBS experts. Not long ago, sharing at the online meeting on "The road of interest rates in 2017" organised by the local Newswires including Tri Thuc Tre and CafeF, Dr Nguyen Duc Do, deputy Head of the Institute of Financial Economics said with or without further pressure, interest rates in Vietnam have already been high and have negatively affected the economy. The real interest rates of Vietnam were relatively high. WB's calculation for 2015's real interest rate was about 7.3 percent, compared to 10.49 percent in 1996 and 7.3 percent in 1997. Accordingly, Dr Do supposes that the State Bank will at all cost keep interest rates not to swell on a large scale. How to do it is still a relatively long story but the task will be to keep interest rates unchanged. "I personally believe that interest rates will not increase sharply in this year, even in the following year, because if it swells, it will cause a lot of negative impacts for the economy and the government will not let this happen. Therefore, depositing short term and waiting for maturity with higher interest rates is not necessarily a good idea", said Do. Dr Can Van Luc, finance and banking expert, said the State Bank needs four measures to stabilise interest rates, creating favourable conditions to lower lending rates. First is to accelerate the restructuring of ailing banks and bad debt settlement process. Second is to find measures to mobilise capital from the population to put into production and business, and control credit growth. Third is to closely watch events inside and outside (the U.S, China) to have timely response and finally is not to have subjective perceptions of inflation.

Auto lending growing rapidly in Vietnam 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Auto lending in Vietnam recorded faster growth than other Southeast Asian emerging markets in the period between 2011 and 2016, according to a research by Singapore-based The Asian Banker. This will continue in the next two years, the research has predicted. The research found that Vietnam had seen a significant increase in auto lending during the past few years, driven by rapid economic growth, improving purchasing power and a growing middle class. The Asian Banker said that auto lending would experience extraordinary growth in Vietnam. "We expect that car ownership will continue to increase in Vietnam in the coming years, as the increasing demand for passenger vehicles is also driven by infrastructure improvements and lower car prices," The Asian Banker said in a press release. "More consumers are switching to cars from motorcycles, as deteriorating traffic congestion and air quality in Vietnam's major cities make driving cars a preferred choice. Moreover, cars are considered as status symbols in the country." The growth rate of auto lending was forecast to be around 35 per cent per year in 2017-18 to touch around VND120 trillion (US$5.2 billion) by 2018. Auto lending in Vietnam totalled some VND60 trillion, representing a year-on-year increase of more than 40 per cent. Vietnam made up around 4 per cent of the gross auto lending in Southeast Asian emerging markets in 2016. The Asian Banker anticipated that Vietnam's share would go up to 6 per cent in 2018. Bank auto lending to individual consumers was expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of around 7 per cent in five Southeast Asian emerging markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Growth was expected to be sustained beyond 2018 due to factors such as favourable economic environments, increasing consumer purchasing power, relatively young populations with large and growing middle classes, low car ownership, and low auto finance penetration rates in the region, despite the rise of ridesharing services and competition from non-bank auto financing companies. In 2018, bank auto lending within these markets is estimated to be worth around $93 billion in total, according to The Asian Banker. http://bizhub.vn/banking/auto-lending-growing-rapidly-in-viet-nam_285998.html

Credit package for hi-tech agriculture hoped to become fruitful 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The recent credit package worth 100 trillion VND (nearly 4.4 billion USD) for hi-tech agriculture is expected to give a breath of fresh air to Vietnam's agriculture amid the recurrent problem of "bumper crop, sliding prices". Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Dao Minh Tu told Vietnam News Agency that eight commercial banks have committed to loaning more than 100 trillion VND under this package. Outstanding loans for the application of high technology in agriculture have totalled 26 trillion VND (over 1.1 billion USD), which was given to 3,957 individuals and 64 businesses. Of that sum, 21.7 trillion VND (954.36 million USD), or 84 percent, was provided for hi-tech agricultural activities. The remaining 4.3 trillion VND (189.1 million USD) was loaned to projects in clean agriculture. There haven't been any bad debts reported so far, Tu noted. Before giving loans, banks have to consider whether borrowers are able to pay off their debts, he said, taking pig farming as an example. If farmers cannot sell their pigs like what has happened recently, bad debt will immediately appear. If the market demand is not taken into account when investing in agricultural activities, products will become unsalable, he stressed, adding that prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had emphasized the need to consider supply and demand while promoting hi-tech agriculture. Criteria for determining projects eligible for the credit package targeting hi-tech or clean agriculture production and business are detailed in Decision 738/QD-BNN-KHCN, dated March 14, 2017, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Commercial banks pledge to give short-, medium- and long-term loans at annual interest rates that are 0.5 1.5 percent lower than the normal lending rates of the same loan terms. Banks arrange capital sources for the credit package by themselves. Under the package, banks and borrowers can negotiate about whether or not use loan guarantee measures. Borrowers can also use the asset generated by their loans as collateral. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/credit-package-for-hitech-agriculture-hoped-to-become-fruitful/111350.vnp

New home loan programme set up in HCM City 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times State employees in HCM City can borrow a maximum of VND500 million (around $22,000) with an annual interest rate of 4.7 percent to purchase apartments. The HCM City Housing Development Fund has recently announced a low-interest loan programme for public officials and civil servants in the city. Each individual could borrow up to VND500 million but the loan must not exceed 70 percent of the value of a home they want to buy. The maximum lending term is 15 years and the interest rate is capped at 4.7 percent. The home bought will serve as collateral. The borrower must have a permanent residence in the city, make a down payment equaling to 30 percent of the home's value and show proof of a stable source of income. At the time of submitting a borrowing request, the borrower and his or her spouse never own a home or land before, nor have benefited from any housing and residential land policy of the government. However, those already benefiting from the State's social housing policy are still eligible to borrow. In addition, the borrower must have a seniority of at least three consecutive years. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53797/New-home-loan-programme-set-up-in-HCM City.html

Banks race in technology to lure retail customers 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu In the race to satisfy technology-minded customers, joint stock banks seem to have been doing better than big banks. Being the two youngest rookies in the banking sector, TPBank and LienVietPostank are luring many retail customers from the big names. In the recent time, TPBank has gained a great deal of customers, especially young ones for its variety of friendly products and services. It is also the first and only bank to own Live Bank in Vietnam. Similar to TPBank, when the technology environment has started to be expanded, many banks have been seeking chances on retail market. While many other banks are hesitant with fintech (financial technology), LienVietPostBank has quickly invested in this area and considered it a strategic weapon to compete on retail market. The bank's fintech Vi Viet is considered as one of the top 15 fintech products in the world by the international financial consulting firm Zetetic Consulting Limited (Hong Kong). With less than a year after it was first launched, Vi Viet so far has more than 1.1 million users and is about to reach the target of two million users this year. Obviously, the fourth technology revolution has had a profound impact on the lives of banks. Accordingly, slow-moving banks are at risk of being eliminated from the game. When talking to reporter of Bao Dau Tu, Samir Dixit, Brand Finance' Asia Pacific director showed a Singaporean Standard Chartered card which incorporates a keyboard right on the card, and gave warning that the traditional customers of banks are getting older, while potential and existing customers are changing their habits and behaviours. He added that banks will lose customers if changes are not made. In fact, all the four state-owned banks are moving slowly in technology. This is easy to understand, because it is very costly and complicated to change the technology due to their large database systems. According to banking experts, it only takes around 10 million USD to invest in changing the core banking system of a small bank, while it can reach several hundreds of million USD for large banks. The good news is that many big banks are starting to move. In early 2017, VietinBank has started to use the new core banking system. The bank's general director Le Duc Tho said that VietinBank aims to diversify profits and increase the proportion of revenue from service charges from the current 13 percent to 20 percent, gradually reducing the proportion of revenue from lending activities. The bank which has received quite a lot of criticises in technology in the recent time Vietcombank, is also planning an innovation strategy. The bank's vice general director Pham Manh Thang confirmed that Vietcombank cannot stay out of the fourth technology revolution. Banking expert Dr Can Van Luc believed that the demand for services such as Internet banking and mobile banking in Vietnam may increase by 20-30 percent in the next few years. With the forecast of about 52 percent of the population will use the internet, banks surely can have a net profit growth of 15-17 percent if investing in new technologies. As recommended by the Payment Department of SBV, along with technological investment, banks should avoid wastefulness and make the most of the technology by applying and creating more products and services, while prioritising security work.

Bank shares come out of hibernation 09/May/2017 Intellasia| DTCK The credit growth of the entire banking sector in 2016 reached up to 18.7 percent, while the bad debt ratio fell to 2.46 percent, helping banks' net interest income and after-tax profit rise sharply by respectively 18 percent and 20 percent compared to 2015. This year, the credit is expected to grow at around 17-18 percent as set at the beginning of the year, and interest rates are forecasted to be slightly raised, facilitating the profitability improvement of banks. The more positive business prospect, the plan to expand room for foreign investors in domestic banks and the wave to conduct listing on the stock market of numerous banks such as VIB, Techcombank, VPBank, and Maritime Bank will help the trading of bank shares more exciting. In late 2016, some banks listed their stocks on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) such as VIB and VPBank, etc. Bank shares this year are expected to rise again after a long hibernation. However, there will be a strong differentiation, in which efficient banks such as Vietcombank, ACB and MB will receive great attention of investors. These banks have achieved positive results in bad debt settlement. For example, Vietcombank has fully written off the bad debts, and even acquired the bad debts sold to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) for self-handling. ACB plans to complete the settlement and recovery of the bad debts involved its former co-founder Nguyen Duc Kien in 2017, instead of 2018 as approved by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). The current bad debt ratio of ACB is below 1 percent. Thanks to the decline of bad debts, the provisions for risks of Vietcombank and ACB in 2016 fell and are expected to slightly decline in 2017. Meanwhile, their interest income has been growing rapidly, while the income contributed by fees and services is expected to sufficiently offset the increased costs. The total profit of this group of banks is predicted to grow by more than 15 percent this year. Meanwhile, MB and Vietinbank have relatively attractive valuation compared to other banks in the same group. MB is one of the most efficient banks in the sector. Profits of the leading banks in 2016 increased significantly and are expected to be brighter as credit is gradually improving along with the warming of the economy, especially real estate market. Nevertheless, the most important problem in 2017 of many banks is to raise capital in order to meet the more stringent financial criteria under the Basel II standards, which will be applied to the entire sector in early 2018. This will put pressure on the prices of bank shares when some bank race to increase capital and that will lead to an oversupply. Investors and banks themselves are expecting that the ownership rate for foreign investors will be loosened this year from the current minimum level of 30 percent, which will create a boost for the group of shares which was once the "king" shares. prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has also confirmed the message that Vietnam will raise foreign ownership ratio in banks at the earliest in 2017, in order to speed up the banking reform and attract more foreign investments, thereby stimulating economic growth. This expectation is reinforced based on the fact that the deadline to pilot the Basel II standards at 10 banks is approaching (September 1st 2017). Accordingly, the needs to raise capital to ensure the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is urgent, especially in the three state-owned banks. Due to limited domestic capital and the requirement to comply with regulations on cross-ownership, banks tend to seek foreign capital or issue bonds. However, the foreign ownership ratio in Vietinbank has hit the ceiling limit, while BIDV has no room to raise the tier-2 capital. Meanwhile, Vietcombank is able to mobilise capital from different sources, but the bank's process of selling stake to foreign investor is stretching due to the difficulty in price negotiation. The room for foreign investors in the banking sector a highly sensitive industry compared to other industries must at least be expanded to 40-45 percent in order to be able to draw attention of foreign investors, because if foreign ownership is limited to less than 50 percent, foreign investors are still concerned about the possibility that the control may belong to domestic shareholders. In addition to expanding room, solutions are also needed for foreign investors to see the Vietnamese banking industry picture as transparent and attractive. For example, a part from applying Basel II standards, the cross-ownership settlement is also a matter which needs drastic handling. In fact, even for listed bank shares, not all codes get the attention of investors. However, in the improving trend of the banking industry, bank shares are expected to see positive movements. After the process of accelerating restructuring, the operation of the banking sector has become much healthier. Weak banks were handled by merging into other banks or sold to SBV at zero dong per share. Meanwhile, the criminal cases in the banking sector have also been processed. Thus, the banking activities have gradually been stabilised and improved, and bad debts have been more effectively handled. The economy has also step by step recovered after the crisis and that has had a positive impact on the credit activities of banks. With the goal to develop outstanding loans by 18 percent, it is a favourable condition for the growth of lending activities of banks, especially when the real estate market is predicted to continue to be warmed up and banks have become more cautious in approving loans. It can be said that after the restructuring process, the banking operation has partly become brighter in order to attract attention of investors. However, before pouring capital into bank shares, investors should carefully consider the code and activities of each bank. At the same time, with the current outlook, investing in bank shares needs a long-term vision and dividends cannot be expected to be as high as the pre-crisis period, because banks will continue to use their resources to provision for the risks of bad debts, including large listed bank such as Sacombank., Eximbank, and Vietinbank, etc. Furthermore, the issue about making divestment under the Circular 36/2014/TT-NHNN has more or less caused bank shares to experience a slump with larger supply than demand. Meanwhile, the supply of bank shares will sharply increase in the near future as banks are under the pressure of increasing charter capital to meet the Basel II standards. The market value of bank shares in 2017 will see bright outlook as the business activities of banks are more positive. However, the taste of investors has now changed as they have become more cautious. Thus, investors will look at the stocks of real potential investors in order to make investment decisions.

Shareholders still dissatisfy with banks' dividend payment 09/May/2017 Intellasia| DTCK The 2016 dividend yield submitted by some banks for shareholders' approval at this year's annual general meeting season has significantly improved. For example, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) proposed to make 2016 dividend payment at 10 percent in shares; Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LienVietPostBank) asked to make 2016 dividend payment at 10 percent and planned to pay 2017 dividend at 12 percent; HCM City Housing Development Commercial Joint Stock Bank (HDBank) projected to make 2016 dividend payment in shares and issue bonus shares at nine percent in shares. Generally, dividends are paid by banks at high level, mainly in shares in order to meet the demand for charter capital increase in this year, preparing for the application of Basel II standard with more stringent conditions in financial health. The dividend payment in shares has caused many bank shareholders to feel dissatisfied, especially in the context that bank shares have not increased again, except for some stocks such as ACB, VCB, MB, etc. Nguyen Duong Tuan, shareholder of a bank with approximately 10 trillion dong capital in HCM City said though the bank's 2016 dividend rate has improved, "paying in shares is equal to zero" because the bank's dividend has not been listed, the liquidity is low and its shares are still traded below the par value. After paying dividends, the stock price is adjusted, the number of shares swells, shareholders are more difficult to "sell the goods". Tuan as well as some other shareholders in this bank expect to receive dividend in cash. However, the bank's board of directors affirmed that in the current context, it is impossible to pay dividends in cash but in shares to raise charter capital, improving the bank's financial capacity. At some medium and small-scale banks, the 2016 dividend rate was only 3-4 percent, which made shareholders less satisfied because this dividend rate is much lower than the deposit rates of less than 6- month terms. In response to shareholders' opinions, the bankers' board said that they themselves were also bank shareholders. They were also sad to have no dividends but in the context of market difficulty, other banks were also the same so shareholders needed to share difficulties with banks. Especially, in banks that are carrying out restructuring after M&A, shareholders cannot expect dividends. The leaders of these banks said the State Bank regulates that in the restructuring process, banks need to enhance financial capacity, profits are retained and no dividend payment is made. For example in SCB, the cumulative undistributed profit as of the end of 2016 was more than 500 billion dong but the bank is in the restructuring phase, therefore, it cannot make dividend payment. Though Eximbank made profits in 2016 with the pre-tax profits of nearly 400 billion dong, the bank is still suffering the cumulative loss of 461 billion dong so it does not make dividend payment for the fiscal year 2016. Therefore, many shareholders of Eximbank were very annoyed when the Board still proposed the remuneration of five billion dong for leaders. An Eximbank shareholder said the bank should not let the situation that shareholders receive no dividends for too many years. Answering shareholders about no dividend payment, Le Minh Quoc, Chair of Eximbank said the bank has solid foundation but there remains many outstanding issues that need time to process. It is expected that only until mid-2018, Eximbank can overcome outstanding issues, and then consider the dividend payment. "The offsetting of cumulative loss goes along with the dividend payment, we will consult the Supervisory Agency of the State Bank but basically it is very difficult", said Eximbank's leader. Regarding the dividend payment story of joint stock commercial banks, Nguyen Van Dung, director of HCM City's Inspection and Supervision Department said there are four issues that banks need to solve before making dividend payment. First, banks need to settle bad debts and increase the charter capital from retained profits to raise financial capacity. Second, the dividend payment is made after banks classified debts and put sufficient provision for risks while handling accrued interest. Third, banks must meet financial obligations to the state and put provisions following regulations. Fourth, the State Bank encourages the dividend payment in shares. Thus, only after securing financial obligations, putting full provisions, banks are allowed to pay dividends. Dung said ensuring safe banking activities is the most important thing so this year, bank shareholders may not receive dividends but will receive them in the following year. Money is there, the value is still there.

Banks find their heyday 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Vneconomy The annual general meeting (AGM) season this year of commercial banks in Vietnam has basically ended. At the same time, the business result reports of the first quarter of 2017 are showing a different year. So far, year 2011 marked the beginning of the restructuring process of the Vietnam's banking system. This was also the year when internal instabilities were officially revealed, and also the golden year for the majority of banks in history, by the end of 2016. Statistics showed that profits of numerous banks hit their peak in 2011, but the double-digit bad debt ratio was also exposed. Just before 2011, the banking system of Vietnam and the public were familiar with the announced bad debt ratio of below 3 percent (the highest level was only 3.4 percent). At that time, many international credit rating agencies asserted that the actual bad debt ratio has reached a two-digit number. At a press conference on bad debts held at that time, a senior official of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said that the agency itself was unclear how the international credit rating agencies calculated the bad debt ratio at a double-digit number. The answer, in fact, is a very simple method, in which the bad debt volume was the sum of the bad debts reported by banks and the debt group 2 (overdue debts but not yet become bad debts). Not looking at the technical side of such sideline information and the simple calculation mentioned in the above, SBV, not long after that, first published and confirmed that the bad debt ratio of the system reached a two-digit number. Whatever the fact, the hidden bad debt ratio was actually very high right in the peak year 2011. When being counted and frankly revealed in September 2012, it actually reached up to 17.21 percent. This situation shows that the profits of banks were once in a golden but virtual period, because bad debts were not really identified, leading to inadequate provisions for risks and unsustainable profits. From 2012 onwards, SBV has step by step set up a new legal framework on stricter and even harsh debt classification and provisions for risks. Banks' profits, thus, have become more substantial. Banks' reports in the first quarter of 2017 are promising an impressive year for many banks. The first to mention is Vietnam Prosperity Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VPBank). The bank attained up to 1.9 trillion dong of consolidated pre-tax profit in the first three months of the year. This is the first time the profit of a private joint stock bank was that close to the profits of banks in the "big 4" group (including Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, and Agribank). This is a highlight, because VPBank is a typical example for the scale of a private joint stock bank with assets reaching just around 230 trillion dong. Meanwhile, the profit of BIDV, the bank which is often known for having the leading scale of assets in the system in the recent time with over 1,000 trillion dong, is likely to be followed by VPBank. Despite having large total assets, the asset quality and profitability of BIDV have not been improved. Meanwhile, Vietcombank has a much lower total assets than BIDV's, but expected a record high profit of 9.2 trillion dong in 2017, even reaching 9.5 trillion dong as estimated by the bank's leader. In the group of private joint stock banks, the results in the first quarter and plans approved at the recent AGMs pointed out that breakthrough and return to the heyday were expected by many units, such as Techcombank, MB, LienVietPostBank, and HDBank, etc. Although some banks are still facing certain difficulties after conducting merger deals such as SHB with low profit results in the first quarter, the signed and calculated expected revenues (especially with foreign partners), the sharp rise of credit since the beginning of the year, and the plans to early put consumer finance companies into operation have enabled them to set profit growth rate of 50 percent compared to last year. Even for Sacombank, in which difficulties are piling up after the merger with SouthernBank, breakthrough is still possible. The notable point is that the mechanism to support restructuring will help Sacombank minimise the cost pressure and bad debt burden to further bring into play the inherent strengths of the bank which used to be the top in private group. In addition to the set plans and the initial results announced, the banking sector still has hopes in policy and mechanism. At the coming National Assembly session, if the resolution to support bad debt settlement and bank restructuring is approved, the profit leverage will gets more power from the beginning of the third quarter of 2017. Meanwhile, the technique of relaxing the cost pressure and extending the reduction of accrued interests planned in the draft solution in association with the view on banks' operation standards is another matter. Overall, with higher standards in debt classification and provisioning for risks, the road to return to the golden time in profitability of banks has become less virtual than before. Agreeing with the above results and trends, on May 3rd, the international credit rating agency Moody's has raised the credit rating of eight Vietnamese banks. It is not only a recognition and a credibility, it is also capital. Because with new and better rating positions, these eight banks when getting international loans will have the opportunity to call for larger funding and payment limits from foreign partners, as well as having a more foundation to get pleasant costs than recent years.

Insurers seek new sales channels 09/May/2017 Intellasia| DTCK As the spending for bancassurance has become more and more expensive, and the development and management of dealership channel has encountered many problems, insurance companies are forced to actively seek more new effective sales channels. In addition to leveraging the development of technology to develop new sales models, in the recent time, many insurance firms have tried to make the most of the cross-relationships with their partners for collaborative selling. For example, Manulife Vietnam and Bao Long Insurance Corporation have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding allowing the two firms to participate in various forms of cooperation in the future. The partnership of a life insurance firm with a non-life insurance unit to share and exploit customers as well as the system of sales channels is not new in the insurance market of Vietnam. This type of cross- cooperation is usually made by the subsidiaries of the same system. For example, BIC and Metlife may jointly operate the bancassurance channel at BIDV and share customer information. The cooperation between Bao Long and Manulife Vietnam is also a cross-cooperation because Manulife Vietnam and Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) are exclusive partners, in which SBC is holding nearly 60 percent stake of Bao Long and has the right to control the company. Bao Long is ranked the 11th among 30 non-life insurers in terms of market share and provision of the majority of non-life insurance products in the market of Vietnam. According to experts, the cross-partnership between life insurers and non-life insurers will accelerate the insurance market growth and upgrade it to a new high. Previously, Dau tu Chung khoan once mentioned about the interest of a foreign financial group in cooperating with a domestic non-life company to set up an electronic trading platform to sell life insurance products of this group and non-life insurance products of many insurance firms. According to forecasts of experts in the industry, the insurance market in the Asia will maintain strong growth, especially life-insurance market. In which, the main drive comes from emerging markets with the positive economic growth, fast growing population, strong intensified urbanisation, higher income per capita, and the larger penetration of insurance sector. In such context, insurance companies need to be prepared to meet the market demand, creating competitive advantages to attract customers. In some markets, selling insurance products on traditional channels is betting disadvantaged as the development of technology has created new distribution channels. Vietnam will soon follow this trend. However, in the immediate future, agent-based sales remains the pioneering force of insurance companies. In addition, although the exploitation efficiency of bancassurance channel is not high while the cooperation expenses become increasingly expensive, it is still most chosen by many insurance firms.

Seminar promotes e-commerce with EU set to open in Hanoi 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Hanoi will host on May 10 a seminar on promoting trade with EU market via Amazon online shopping channel, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas). A score of measures will be debated to promote advantages of textile, and leather footwear product exports. The seminar will be an opportune occasion for businesses and experts to discuss online shopping trend on Amazon, the world's leading online shopping website. Two German experts in e-commerce and marketing strategy, Andre M. Aslund and Ryan Ong, will share their experience with and give advice to participating businesses. Truong Van Cam, vice President of Vitas, said the signed EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has opened up ample opportunities for Vietnamese commodities to enter the EU market, adding that the trend of e-commerce toward this huge market has also grown rapidly thanks to the agreement. http://english.vov.vn/economy/seminar-promotes-ecommerce-with-eu-set-to-open-in-hanoi-349101.vov

Vietcombank to revise new online banking security regulations 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) on Saturday announced on its website that the bank would revise its plan to apply new online banking security regulations. The plan to revise the regulations followed responses received by the bank citing the rules unreasonable. Vietcombank said that it would consider necessary amendments to online banking security regulations to ensure compliance with the established regulations and international practices while maximising users' benefits in keeping with the situation in Vietnam, adding that several terms might cause misunderstanding. Several days ago, Vietcombank announced that the new regulations would be applicable from May 10, asking users to maintain high requirements of security when using online banking, also requiring them to commit to being responsible for all damages and costs of any fraud transactions caused by their failure in following the rules. The new regulations were termed unreasonable, heavily placing the onus of online banking transactions on the shoulder of users, whenever there are any security problems. The bank said that the current regulations would still be applied until there was a new announcement. Vietcombank will also regularly send recommendations to its customers and urge them to pay attention to its recommendations to avoid unexpected risks when using banking services. It said that it would stand on the customers' side to protect their interests when the problems were not caused by their faults. Vietcombank's online banking services include VCB-iB@nking, VCB-Mobile B@nking, Mobile Bankplus, VCB-SMS B@nking and VCB-Phone B@nking. Vietcombank is among the top four biggest commercial banks in Vietnam. http://bizhub.vn/banking/vietcombank-to-revise-new-online-banking-security-regulations_285996.html

Moody's raised credit rating for Vietcombank 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Moody, one of the world's leading credit ratings agencies, has upgraded the credit rating outlook of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) local currency deposits and issuer ratings to "positive", from its previous level of "stable". The rating's agency raised the government of Vietnam's outlook to positive from stable at the end of last month. In March, Moody also announced a credit rating report separately for Vietcombank, while Moody's noted the bank's having the best asset quality in Vietnam, improved profitability and noted its diversifying its non-interest incomes. Vietcombank has been one of the banks conducting effective business operations in Vietnam. It has been continuously voted the "Best Bank in Vietnam" by prestigious institutions around the world, while taking the lead in the domestic market on important rankings, such as Top 500 banking brand, Top 500 strongest Asian banks, Top 300 dynamic companies in Asia and Top 100 of the most interesting companies in the Asean region. It was noted that the bank has paid attention to international standards in order to improve operational efficiencies. http://bizhub.vn/banking/moodys-raised-credit-rating-for-vietcombank_285989.html

Corporate

Automation a concern for many VN enterprises 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Automation has been changing the global manufacturing industry for some time and Vietnam has also been subject to its effects. The country's major corporations have been looking at replacing their human workforce with machinery or robots in certain industries, to raise productivity, reduce production time, and minimise labour costs. The country's leading ceramics and porcelainware producer Minh Long I has cut worker numbers at its factory from 400 to 20 for no change in productivity, Ly Huy Sang, deputy general director, told a conference in early March. The development of the fourth industrial revolution along with increasing perfection in robotics production are driving the global manufacturing industry towards robotics. Automation is the future but also a concern for many enterprises as well as the Vietnamese government, as there are still millions of low-skilled workers in the country's key export sectors, including electrical, electronics, textiles, clothing and footwear, which are important in the model for Vietnam's economic development. Positive transformation The positive impacts of automated technology in production can't be denied. According to the "Asean in Transformation: How Technology is Changing Jobs and Enterprises" report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) last year, only 24 per cent of Vietnamese enterprises are implementing technology improvements; lower than the general trend in Asean. But it is the best country in the region when it comes to research and development investment. In recent years, a number of textile and footwear businesses have rebuilt their manufacturing practices by innovating technology to improve product quality and productivity. For example, enterprises have applied robotics in fabric cutting to not only increase productivity but also avoid dangers facing workers. Each of these machines replaces 15 workers and companies broke even on the investment within 18 months. Last year, the Hung Yen Garment JSC (Hugaco) promoted investments in technology in order to improve productivity. Chair Nguyen Xuan Duong said that productivity increased 5 to 7 per cent compared to 2014 and 2015 while the workers' living standards also improved. "We plan to cooperate with foreign companies in the future to gain experience and technology transfer," he said. Automation has also been applied at many food manufacturing and processing enterprises. Pham Thanh Hung, deputy director of the Ba Huan Co., which specialises in clean food, said that the company decided to import Moba automated egg grading machines from the Netherlands. The technology automates nearly 100 per cent of egg processing tasks. "Prior to introducing the technology, 40 workers could only process 200,000 eggs a day," Hung said. "With robotics, nearly 1 million eggs are processed a day." Owing to the application of scientific advances in sugarcane cultivation, in 2015-2016 the total cultivation area of the Thanh Thanh Cong Sugar JSC (TTCS) increased from 12,000 ha to 13,800 ha and productivity by 20 per cent, reaching 80 tonnes per ha. Total sugarcane output is 1.09 million tonnes, up 110,000 tonnes from 2014-2015. "We plan to have an area of 30,000 ha of raw materials to ensure a stable supply of sugarcane totalling 2.3 million tonnes," a representative from TTCS told VET. Meanwhile, the Canon Thang Long Plant in Hanoi employed 13,000 workers seven years ago but now has 8,000 after introducing automation, with turnover and production remaining stable, Dao Thi Thu Hien, Senior Office manager at Canon Vietnam, told a conference at the end of last year. Replacing human labour with technology is now an indispensable trend in cutting costs and competing, according to Nguyen Thien Ly, deputy general director of the Garment No. 10 Corporation. Despite the tremendous impact on productivity, automated technology cannot always replace people. "Robots can only participate in 30 per cent of the textiles and garments sector," said Duong. "The remaining 70 per cent of the process still need human hands. The 2.8 million workers in the textiles and garments industry are still very much involved in production." Vietnam's productivity, however, is lower than many countries in the region. Recent figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) show that its overall labour productivity growth in 2015, in terms of purchasing power parity, rose 6.4 per cent from 2014. Overall labour productivity grew 3.9 per cent annually from 2006 to 2015. Experts have said that Vietnam needs to boost its overall labour productivity growth by more than 50 per cent if its economy is to meet the government's target of 7 to 8 per cent annual growth by 2020. Without this lift, growth is likely to decline to between 4.5 and 5 per cent. Total employment in e&e production, by country Limited effect Despite the significant advantages of automation, the increasing application of machinery and robotics instead of people in manufacturing industry results in a degree of instability. Low-skilled workers in developing countries face an increasing risk of unemployment. The two giants in the world's clothing and footwear industry Nike and Adidas, have been pioneers in automating their production lines. Nike, according to the Portland Business Journal, has announced it will automate a number of manufacturing processes and complete its supply chain in its home country. While considered the world's manufacturing centre, China has also been addressing the possibility of about 100 million workers becoming unemployed due to rising labour costs. A future where millions of Vietnamese workers also lose their jobs in cutting-edge industries is therefore also more than likely. A report from the general Department of Vietnam Customs shows that three groups of products electronic components, garments and textile, and footwear last year accounted for more than 40 per cent of the country's total export turnover. More than two-thirds of the 9.2 million workers in the textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) industries in Southeast Asia are threatened by automation, including 86 per cent of Vietnam's TCF workers, whereas about three-quarters of workers in the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector may be replaced by robots in the coming decades, according to the ILO report. Another survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) revealed that nearly 5 million workers in textiles, electronics, and retail will be affected by technology movements. A company producing leather footwear incurs a range of expenses, including health insurance, wages and accommodation for its workers, so "once robotics develops, enterprises will dismiss some workers to save on costs," said Nguyen Van Khanh, General Secretary of the HCM City Shoes and Leather Association (SLA). Diep Thanh Kiet, Chair of the SLA, also acknowledged that automation in fashion manufacturing may reduce the competitive advantages in low-cost labour held by many developing countries in Asia. He also said that Vietnam is still concentrating on exporting natural resources and selling its labour, while innovation in production is yet to develop strongly and create high added value in global value chains. As a result, Vietnam's industry needs an automation strategy for the manufacturing sector in general and the leather footwear industry in particular, because of rising labour costs into the future. Automation will help accelerate the country's competitiveness, he believes, and international corporations are more likely to set up production bases in countries using automation. At the same time, "the government must have long-term solutions to ensure the social welfare of domestic workers once employment falls," he believes. As the country's workforce will grow from 55.5 million in 2016 to 62 million by 2025, "globalisation and technological revolution pose increasingly greater challenges for Vietnam's economy," said deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan. "In order to meet employment demand, Vietnam needs to create roughly 650,000 jobs every year, and structural employment changes is one way to increase workplace productivity," she said. Technology will create significant opportunities to close productivity gaps, improving both competitiveness and working conditions. "It will certainly shift in the coming years, as technology costs decline and labour costs increase," said David Lamotte, ILO's deputy director for Asia and the Pacific. The ILO has suggested Vietnam enhance relevant workforce skills to modernise skills development and meet the changing workplace dynamics. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177733/automation---a-concern-for-many-vn-enterprises.html

M&A deals primary method of investors entering VN estate market. 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times An Gia Investment and Japan's Creed Group Investment Fund completed the acquisition of seven blocks of the Lacasa project in HCM City's District 7 from the Van Phat Hung Group (VPH) on March 12. In March 2015, An Gia bought two blocks of the Lacasa project to develop its Angia Riverside and Angia Skyline projects and then bought the remaining five blocks. This is the sixth merger and acquisition (M&A) deal An Gia has concluded in recent years. Vietnam's real estate market has witnessed a flood of capable developers intensifying their M&A activities in order to secure projects with favourable locations. According to some experts, many property enterprises lack sales experience and have been unable to continue projects because they aimed at the wrong segment. Vietnam's real estate market, as a result, has seen a host of M&As through cooperation between many investors, with numerous successful transactions conducted. Favoured approach M&A activities in Vietnam's real estate market continued to soar last year after a positive 2015, with deal volumes accelerating in recent months. Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) Vietnam reported that in 2015 there were 28 deals in the domestic property market, 18 of which were estimated at around $1.2 billion. As at the end of 2016 there were 24 deals completed, in which the five largest were estimated to total more than $1.3 billion. Through M&As done to acquire projects, according to Le Hoang Chau, Chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), property developers have been helping resolve inventories and bad debts within the real estate market. Enterprises facing difficulties have retrieved capital resources, paid debts, and restarted their business plans after selling long-delayed projects. The opening months of 2017 have seen two notable M&A transactions, including the five remaining blocks of the Lacasa project being acquired for around $41 million by An Gia Investment and the Creed Group, which specialises in principal investment and property development. "After taking over the project from VPH, the company will exploit the project's advantages, improve its design, add more utilities, and adjust prices to give customers greater access," Luong Si Khoa, vice Chair of An Gia Investment, told VET. "This is also how we applied the last five M&A deals and found success." According to Khoa, there are two reasons why An Gia decided to pursue M&As rather than develop its own land reserves for new project construction. Firstly, "M&As help us save much time in completing legal procedures and dealing with issues related to site clearance and compensation," he said. "If we develop new projects, this process may take more than a year, while the market has many good signs and we must quickly avail ourselves of the opportunities to introduce products." Secondly, "most stalled projects have favourable locations with large land reserves and developed infrastructure and are near the city centre, and we can promote new product lines in accordance with market demand," he added. Masakazu Yamaguchi, director of Creed Group Investment Fund in Vietnam, believes that while foreign investors have strength in finance and management experience, domestic firms possess advantages in large land reserves and an understanding of the local business environment and legal policies, so the combination of the two parties can create a range of competitive advantages. "In particular, we want to acquire 'clean' land reserves with full legal status in order to develop projects methodically, even if the cost of the land is higher," he said. The other major M&A deal early this year was the Hung Thinh Corporation purchasing a property project in HCM City's Binh Tan district from the Binh Chanh Construction Investment (BCCI) for an undisclosed sum. Nguyen Dinh Trung, Chair of Hung Thinh, told local media that this was the company's second M&A deal with BCCI in the last six months. The first was a project, also in Binh Tan district, which was already built and selling apartments. Hung Thinh, he said, will continue with M&A activities in the future because it's the fastest way to develop projects. The Novaland Group has been especially active in M&A deals in recent years. It had only four projects in 2013 but its acquisition strategy and development cooperation has rapidly achieved a portfolio of over 40 projects in the mid- and high-end segments. It announced that it has a land reserve of nearly 10 million sq m of construction floor area, which is enough to ensure the company's growth for the next five years. The trend towards M&As in Vietnam's real estate market became more evident after many project developers announced such strategies. In the last days of 2016 the Dat Xanh Group said it was seeking shareholder approval for a plan to set up a joint venture with the Sai Gon Real Estate JSC to develop the SaigonRes Riverside project in HCM City's Thu Duc district. Dat Xanh contributed 75 per cent of the joint venture's total capital of $42 million. Tackling barriers One legislative obstacle has proved troublesome. Developers are only allowed to sell projects after securing land use rights certificates for all or part of the projects. According to Chau, as the sale of a project is between investors and not between project owners and homebuyers, if the vendor has finished construction and investment procedures then the buyer can continue to complete these tasks. He therefore suggested that property developers be authorised to sell all or part of a project, since they have completed site clearance and created "clean" land reserves for the project. At the same time, the sale of all or a part of a project should be considered a normal activity within the real estate business and an investment in accordance with enterprises' needs. Property developers have always focused on prime locations, but as new infrastructure opens up suburban areas there will be increasing numbers of investors considering projects outside of the traditional city core, according to Neil MacGregor, Managing director of Savills Vietnam. Indeed, it has proven difficult for developers to secure city centre sites and they have therefore shifted their focus to alternative locations that will benefit from improved infrastructure. As Duong Thuy Dung, director and National Business Line Leader at CBRE Vietnam, told VET recently, best-selling projects are not dependent on the segment or on low prices. A combination of three main factors location, price, and quality are what's important. "If the project is in the affordable segment but located in an inconvenient spot and of low quality, then buyers will not be interested," she said. "Conversely, if your location is good but prices are too high there will be no sales. It must be a combination of these three factors." Many M&As have taken place recently but the problem is that the number of people who want to buy outnumber the products available. "There are insufficient products that meet the three factors above and buyers are wise, especially foreign investors," Dung added. "They will carefully consider whether products have enough of those three factors. If not, there will not be many deals completed." Looking ahead Real estate M&A activities may see huge demand coming from foreign investors, who are still eagerly seeking "clean and clear" development sites. Despite the ongoing difficulties in finding good quality stock in the market, real estate is expected to be strong in 2017 thanks to the major growth momentum seen in Vietnam over recent years. HoREA has forecast that M&A activities in Vietnam's real estate market this year will soar and is also a chance to resolve around 500 stalled or long-delayed projects in HCM City's property market. Plenty of developers have been rapidly growing through M&A activities and many investors and developers view M&As as one of the best ways to enter the market. Looking back on the expansion of key developers in the real estate sector, M&As were one of the greatest factors helping them to capitalise on opportunities in the market. According to Stephen Wyatt, Country Head of JLL Vietnam, many foreign investment funds have told JLL they want to increase their presence in Vietnam through investment cooperation or by buying existing projects, particularly profitable ones. Savills Vietnam anticipates a very active 2017 with a growing number of M&A transactions across sectors and geographic locations. "With scarce opportunities for investors to acquire assets, especially office buildings and hotels and with attractive pricing levels, more and more investors are considering expanding their scale in the local market," said MacGregor. "This creates excellent opportunities for less experienced land owners and developers, and those short of capital, to secure strong partners for their projects." According to CBRE Vietnam, Vietnam's real estate market is in the sights of many foreign investors and will welcome new faces in the time to come. Marc Townsend, Managing director of CBRE Vietnam, has said that Vietnam has become a notable investment destination in Southeast Asia. Four major pitfalls in property M&As Failure to read the small print: The market value of an acquired real estate portfolio can differ wildly from the value on which the deal price was fixed, exposing the acquiring company to significant financial risk. Taking on risk without realising: Property portfolios can be very big and very complex, containing all sorts of risks, ranging from security risks to environmental issues. Poor alignment with the overall deal: Any newly-acquired property must support the broader deal strategy. For instance, if the objective of an M&A rests on consolidating or streamlining real estate, a property portfolio must allow this. Rocking the businesses boat: Employees' first thoughts when they hear about an M&A is whether they can still do the same job for the same money in the same place. If there's a hint that their location may change, there's a risk they may leave the company. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177741/m-a-deals---primary-method-of-investors-entering-vn- estate-market-.html

Industrial land up despite TPP uncertainty 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Industrial land in Vietnam has continued expanding since the beginning of this year, despite uncertainty over the future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after the withdrawal of US support for the deal. According to property service firm Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam, more than 4,700 hectares of industrial land has been developed since the beginning of 2017, up by 7 per cent over the same period last year. Alex Crane, director of the property service firm, was quoted by Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper as saying that Vietnam remained an attractive destination for investment. "With or without TPP, the industrial property segment will still be on an uptrend," he said. Crane cited statistics, noting that Vietnam attracted record foreign direct investment (FDI), at $7.7 billion in the first quarter of this year, nearly 85 per cent of which was poured into production. Coupled with a significant number of new firms and improved business confidence, this would have a positive impact on the industrial land market, he said. He noted that Vietnam had four other free trade agreements (FTAs) under negotiation, which are expected to boost the investment flow into Vietnam, and the industrial property segment would certainly see benefits resulting from this. However, administrative reforms must be hastened in order to facilitate investment, together with improving the infrastructure system for industrial zones. According to Nguyen Thanh Ha, chair of SbLaw, developers should build industrial zones with proper infrastructure systems and lease them at reasonable prices, while the government should pay attention to developing the parts-supplying industry and improving transport connectivity. As of the end of 2016, there were 324 industrial zones throughout the country with total land area of 91,800 hectares, as well as 16 economic zones and two high-tech zones. http://bizhub.vn/news/industrial-land-up-despite-tpp-uncertainty_285959.html

Promoting Apec cooperation in human resource development 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV5 Human resources play a key role in the economic development of Apec members. A senior policy dialogue on human resource development in the digital era will be held in Hanoi next month as part of the Vietnam Apec Year 2017. Science and technology have strongly impacted the production process and eased the workload. Michel Welmond, Head of the Education Group of the World Bank in Vietnam, said "The definition of fundamental skills is changing. It's not just the matter of basic skills but the ability to apply them in different situations, master technical skills, know how to keep oneself up with the latest developments." Technology and digitisation have resulted in job reduction. Therefore, appropriate social security policies are needed to adapt to such rapid changes. The senior policy dialogue on human resource development in the digital era will evaluate the role and impact of the digital era on the labour market and the quality of human resources in order to map out social security policies appropriate to workers and promote cooperation between Apec economies. Ms Le Kim Dung, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said "Apec members will discuss ways to improve their social security policies and help workers and disadvantaged people find jobs. Digital technology has created jobs and made labour management more effective." Improving quality of Vietnamese labour to meet integration demands According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, approximately 130,000 Vietnamese workers went to work abroad last year but the number of skilled workers was low. Vietnamese workers have difficulties in penetrating Apec's labour markets. At the upcoming dialogue, Vietnam will promote sharing labour market information between Apec economies and skills training to help workers find jobs when technology changes. The dialogue will focus on future employment in the digital and automation era, training to meet the demands of modern economies, the digital era's impact on the labour market, and aspects of social security. Dung said, "Human resource development is one of the priorities of the Apec Year 2017 to achieve sustainable development and inclusive growth. At this dialogue, Vietnam hopes to create an action programme to strengthen Apec cooperation in employment, labour market information, vocational training, and social security. Hosting the dialogue will raise Vietnam's prestige in Apec." 150 policy makers representing the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of Information and Communications, and scholars from the 21 Apec members' universities and research institutes will participate in the dialogue. http://english.vov.vn/economy/promoting-apec-cooperation-in-human-resource-development-349033.vov

Will Vietnam become a scrap steel power? 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Vietnamese steel manufacturers are importing more and more scrap steel for domestic production, as this is the easiest and most profitable way to make steel. According to Bui Van Muu from the Metallurgy and Material Technology Faculty of the Hanoi University of Technology, the steel production from upstream must follow a closed process, from exploitation and iron ore processing to finished product production. Domestic steel mills make steel from scrap steel with electric furnaces, collected from domestic and imported sources. This is because iron ore exploitation and processing in Vietnam is still underdeveloped. The amount of fat coal used to refine coke coal is modest. And more importantly, investors find it cheap to make steel from scrap steel. This doesn't require high technology, while can bring high profit quickly. Therefore, Muu commented, it is not a surprise that Vietnam's steel industry mostly relies on making ingot steel from scrap steel with electric furnaces. In Vietnam, there are some steel mills equipped with blast furnaces to refine ingot steel from ore such as the Thai Nguyen Iron & Steel Corporation (Tisco) and Formosa. However, since Tisco is equipped with outdated Chinese production lines and technologies, it still cannot do as well as expected. Tisco's products are mostly used to build fourth-level houses, while large construction works dare not use the products because of the quality. As such, though invested heavily with ambitious plan, Tisco has to follow an easier way importing scrap steel to make steel like many other private manufacturers. Even if Tisco wants to make steel from coke refinery, Tisco's technology cannot satisfy the requirements and the production will cause serious pollution. A report of GDC shows that in the first three months alone, Vietnam imported more than 1 million tonnes of scrap steel, worth $276 million. The import volume is 11,000 tonnes a day, higher by 1 tonne than in 2016. Muu said as Vietnamese steel manufacturers choose to follow the easy way, the demand for input materials, i.e. scrap steel, is becoming higher. Most of the scrap steel imported to Vietnam is low quality, difficult to be treated and likely to cause serious pollution. Meanwhile, scrap steel with higher quality cannot arrive in Vietnam. Experts warned that domestic scrap steel sources can provide input materials to steel mills for about 10 more years. After that time, the domestic supply will be short, while manufacturers would depend on material suppliers. By that time, even if Vietnam wants to make steel from coke, it won't be able to do so because of the limitations of the production lines. http://english.vov.vn/economy/will-vietnam-become-a-scrap-steel-power-348929.vov

Weakness in Vietnam's agricultural supply chains 08/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News The latest report from the World Bank on Vietnam's agriculture supply chains shows the country is behind its neighbours in terms of supply chain operations and trade, with it receiving a score of 55.7 out of 100 for supply chain operations, 60.6 for product quality control, and 48.4 score for farm produce trade. Compared with the Philippines, Vietnam excels in product quality control but is inferior in supply chain operations and trade. Vietnam's scores in trade are even lower than Cambodia and Laos. Major constraints Although Vietnam is a leading exporter of agricultural products to the world, the World Bank indexes reveal a weakness in Vietnam's agricultural supply chains in global trade. A lack of investment in logistics is also blamed for the big losses recorded in agriculture. Farm produce is a major export item but makes up 18-20 per cent of GDP. Most agri-businesses are of small and medium size, and the number of export products is not large. The main constraint on Vietnam's agriculture supply chains is the lack of an integrated, end-to-end supply chain model, according to Julien Brun, Managing Partner at CEL Consulting Vietnam, which provides advisory, engineering and training services in the field of supply chains and operations. "For many years, Vietnam has been investing in production models and technology as well as quality control," he said. "But the wastage and loss of value in the logistics chain has received little attention." It was only a few months ago, when the issue of food loss was raised, that Vietnam became more aware and interested in the potential value that could be retained with proper logistics practices. According to Le Minh Tuan, Logistics and Operations manager at Vietnam Agribusiness Ltd (Bunge Vietnam), which processes oilseed and imports and exports agriculture products, Vietnam's small agricultural production brings about difficulties in focusing resources to increase effectiveness of national supply chains. Vietnamese farmers mainly sell products to traders, so lack market information, which causes problems in cultivation planning. At the same time, the small production scale also leads to weaker commitments from farmers. Some only focus on profit and ignore quality and food safety requirements and agreements with buyers, so enterprises with stable needs have many difficulties in seeking a reliable supply of goods for export. Dao Manh Luong, CEO of Mavin Austfeed Vietnam, said that traders are a barrier between farmers and enterprises because they bring low value. Deficient interaction among enterprises and farmers also leads to the former lacking information for processing, preserving and planning an effective supply, which affect distribution and export activities. A report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) revealed that the average loss rate in agricultural food products is 25-30 per cent. While losses in seafood processing reach 35 per cent, they can be up to 45 per cent in fruit and vegetables. According to a survey by the US's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 63 per cent of losses come from harvesting, collecting, transporting and preserving and is blamed on low levels of mechanisation in agricultural production and limited transportation capacity. A World Bank survey, meanwhile, showed that Vietnam's mechanisation index is low, at 24.4 out of 100, equal to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar but far below the Philippines. The transportation index in agriculture is lower than for Laos, by 10-15 points. Experts have pointed out that logistics play an important role in agriculture production, because the longer it takes to transport farm produce, the higher the failure rate will be. If the problem cannot be resolved, Vietnam will find it difficult to join global production chains. Development solutions According to Giovanni Capannelli, Special Advisor at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it's time for Vietnam to enhance productivity, not based on old solutions but on supply chains, in particular optimising agricultural practice, improving effectiveness and inputs as well as accelerating supply chain organisation. He added, however, that in order to enhance the agriculture supply chain, Vietnam should improve its administrative and institutional quality along with domestic infrastructure in order to push up the development of the country's agriculture sector. He also emphasized that competition in the future will not be among enterprises but between supply chains. Vietnam's agriculture sector has seen many breakthroughs over the last few decades, both in terms of productivity and output, according to the World Bank, as it has become the world's second-largest coffee growing country. Vietnam exports about 1.5 million tonnes of coffee beans annually and Nestle Vietnam purchases nearly 20 per cent of this volume. It has made its best efforts to accelerate its coffee value chain by improving its supply chain operations. In order to optimise its coffee value chain, Nestle has built warehousing and processing and packaging facilities locally, to strengthen connections with the coffee farming community. Will Mackereth, Supply Chain director at Nestle Vietnam, said the company is still working on moving entirely to bulk handling solutions and increasing the utilisation of vehicles to effectively transport coffee to its processing and export locations. At the same time, the company will continue to innovate both operations and products, to ensure relevant efficiency and sustainability that will keep the coffee industry successful in creating value chains. Regarding livestock, Mavin Austfeed, a leading Australian agribusiness that follows a "from farm to table" strategy in Vietnam, has also been concentrating on building its own value chain in order to provide a complete supply chain for the market. This helps the company control product quality and understand market demand, and then make adjustments to optimise its efficiency and profitability. Luong also commented that investment in the supply chain needs to be comprehensive, rapid and methodical. According to Brun, investing in cold chain logistics is a crucial means of preserving product quality and cutting losses in value, maintaining quality by following the latest international standards on food safety and building a brand for Vietnam's agricultural products. Investing in technology and extending the supply chain network to the source (farmers) and overcoming information barriers set by intermediary parties (collectors, traders) to determine supply and demand is key in making better forecasts and estimations of risk, he said. http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/018/50755/weakness-in-vietnam-s-agricultural-supply-chains.html

Vietnam's green vehicle policies inadequate 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR In the endeavour to reduce emissions and the dependence on fossil fuels, many governments have been adopting preferential policies for green vehicles, while car-makers are increasingly seeing the value of turning green and coming out with environment-friendly vehicles. However, in Vietnam, the policies to support green vehicles are still lacklustre. Eco-friendly vehicles The emergence of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is deemed as a breakthrough in the automobile industry offering significant benefits by reducing fuel costs and mitigating environmental damage. Unlike conventional fuel-powered vehicles, hybrid vehicles are a technological leap forward with a fuel- efficient combination of using both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. These cars use petrol or diesel to power internal combustion engines and use electric batteries to power electric motors. They are more fuel efficient than conventional cars and therefore produce less pollution and harmful emissions. Electric vehicles (EVs) as well as hybrid vehicles (including plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) are green and ensure functionality with the added boon of environmental friendliness and well-performing operational features. Recognising the benefits of environmentally-friendly vehicles in general and hybrid vehicles in particular, many governments have introduced regulations and policies to encourage the development of these vehicles. Specifically, they provide favourable conditions, such as lowering tax rates or even giving straight-out exemptions, with an aim to encourage automakers and traders to produce and sell green vehicles. Tax incentives for green vehicles are a long-standing financial incentive for consumers. In addition to the form of registration fee reduction (in Hungary, Greece and Ireland), other preferential tax policies include road tax reduction (in Switzerland, Korea, Italy), tax credit (the US), even tax exemption (Japan). Tax incentives are also an important tool in stimulating consumer demand for green vehicles as well as encouraging firms to invest, design, and produce state-of-the-art models with high performance and good fuel efficiency. Tax incentives also indirectly contribute to the protection of the limited fossil fuel resources, which are non-renewable and will one day run out. Thanks to the combination of internal combustion and electric power, hybrid vehicles can save about 20-30 per cent fuel compared to petrol and diesel vehicles in the same line. On the other hand, the use of "green vehicles" instead of conventional vehicles also contributes to environmental improvement and the reduction of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. Pressing need for incentives In France, the financial incentive for replacing gasoline and diesel engines produced before 2005 with EVs or HEVs is euro 10,000 ($11,000). Engine models produced before 2005 are also deemed to emit toxic gases (PM2.5 and PM10) that lead to the deaths of thousands of people in China alone. Not only benefiting consumers and the environment, the application of tax incentives also create favourable conditions for the automobile industry's development, particularly for the environmentally- friendly vehicle industry. In India, the automobile industry accounted for 7.1 per cent of the country's GDP in 2015. The consumption of hybrid vehicles increased from 16,513 vehicles in 2014 to 65,224 in 2015. In Southeast Asia, Thailand is also ahead of the trend and has already set the roadmap for the development of its electric vehicle industry. The Thailand Board of Investment has introduced a 15-year tax incentive scheme to encourage businesses to produce green vehicles. In addition, Thailand also applies preferential tariffs to vehicles based on CO2 emissions. Accordingly, hybrid vehicles with engine capacity not exceeding 3,000 cc are subject to a local tax rate of 10 per cent, while the rate for fuel-poweredvehicles of the same bracket is 30-40 per cent. In Vietnam, the government is also catching up with the trend of "green vehicles" and promulgated tax incentives for hybrid vehicles. However, the implementation of these policies has so far been difficult due to an unclear definition and understanding of what is a hybrid vehicle. "I think that the current Law on Special Consumption Tax that is applicable to green cars is quite inflexible. For example, it makes an issue of where the hybrid vehicles get the electricity from. Vietnam mainly use hydropower, thermoelectricity, and electric generators that are operated by diesel or gasoline, which cause environmental damage on a daily basis," said economist Vu Dinh Anh. Therefore, Anh was urging the Vietnamese government to craft far-sighted policies and carry out them right away as there are not many hybrid cars in Vietnam yet and a clear, encouraging legal framework would go far in helping hybrid vehicles take firmer roots. http://www.vir.com.vn/vietnams-green-vehicle-policies-inadequate.html

Lao Cai to develop tourism, border gate economic zone 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The prime minister has approved a task on planning the development of Lao Cai border gate economic zone in the northern province of Lao Cai to 2040 with a vision to 2050. The proposed border gate economic zone will cover the districts of Bat Xat, Bao Thang, Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai and Lao Cai city on 15,929 hectares. It is expected to become a key economic area of the locality, promoting trade, industry and service development and improving locals' living standard while protecting the natural ecosystem and consolidating national defence. It is also hoped to serve as a multidisciplinary economic zone, a development pole of the northern midland and mountainous area and a trade hub of the area of Asean and the southwest of China. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/lao-cai-to-develop-tourism-border-gate-economic-zone/111243.vnp

Vietnam's northern province to export mangoes to Australia 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam's northern province of Son La will export mangoes to Australia for the first time in May, according to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The department has recently worked with the provincial People's Committee to build a coordination programme with Agricare Vietnam Co., Ltd to grant codes to areas growing mangoes for export and to carry out irradiation services. Director of the department's plant quarantine centre Le Nhat Thanh said his centre will work with the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to hold a training course for farmers and provide codes for Yen Chau and Mai Son districts to export mangoes to Australia. Mangoes exported to Australia must undergo irradiation. Two batches of mangoes (each about 10 tonnes) will be exported to the market at the end of May. Mangoes purchased by businesses for export normally cost 15-20 percent higher than others. Son La is home to more than 4,000 hectares of mangoes, hundreds of which use the Vietnam Good Agricultural Practice (VietGap). Agricare Vietnam Co., Ltd mainly buys mangoes from southern provinces for export. This is the first time the company has purchased mangoes in the north for export. Son La mangoes have been sent to Australian partners and received good feedback. The local mangoes will be packaged and transported to Hanoi for irradiation before being sold to Australia. Apart from round-shaped mangoes, local farmers are expanding areas for hybrid mangoes in Yen Chau, Moc Chau and Mai Son districts. The potential for exporting mangoes to foreign markets is huge. The Plant Protection Department is also working with local authorities to grant codes for longan areas in Song Ma district, which has some 6,000 hectares of longans. Since 2016, the province asked the department to help businesses build a brand name for Son La longans for exports in 2018. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-northern-province-to-export-mangoes-to-australia/111236.vnp

HCM City tourism sector needs supporting services 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The government of HCM City is working on a plan to diversify tourism products but what travel firms need more is to have more supporting services for the sector. Last Tuesday, the city launched a new tour to Can Gio, which takes in three sites Dan Xay Ecotourism Resort, Vam Sat Ecotourism Resort and the Vietnam Bird's Nest Exhibition Centre. Two days later, a quarter specialising in gold and jewellery at Hoa Binh Market in District 5 came into being. Not long before, an oriental medicine quarter was opened, also in District 5. Businesses in the sector have expressed appreciation of the city's effort to create new tourism products. However, these destinations would not be attractive if services for tourists there are not taken good care of. The oriental medicine quarter with a wide range of pharmaceutical products lacks stops and places for visitors to experience products. Similarly, tourism-related services are not available at the gold and jewellery trading quarter. Visitors can only see new gold, silver and gemstone products or some simple jewellery making steps like putting gemstones onto products and weighing gold. Most of the stores there have their workshops based in other areas. Worse still, the quarter has no stops for visitors to take a break or have a drink. Most of the stores are small, making it hard to accommodate dozens of tourists and moreover, their staff do not speak foreign languages, especially English. Public restrooms should be set up to serve tourists. Le My Giang, a tourist from Dong Nai, said the jewellery quarter is a great place to visit but it remains unlively. There are also no supporting services for the new Can Gio tour programme. Can Gio should have more restaurants where tourists can taste local specialties, tour operators said. Resorts like Vam Sat and Dan Xay should include more services that can keep guests from being bored. There should be more games and activities that allow tourists to have some fun. "Dan Xay and Vam Sat almost look similar, so they need to special services that can tell them apart," said Phan Yen Ly, head of international travel at Saigontourist. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53773/HCM City-tourism-sector-needs-supporting-services.html

US fruit growers look for pitaya market to take off in 2017 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Exotic in looks and name, pitaya or strawberry pears, more commonly known as dragon fruit in Vietnam, are grown on trellising structures like those found in grape vineyards in the US and Mexico. Farmers in the US state of Texas say the fruit is a domesticated version of a wild cactus that originated in Mexico and Central America and was transported to Asia by Catholic missionaries, where it acquired the dragon fruit label. In the US only three states grow dragon fruit commercially: California (primarily Southern California), Florida, and Hawaii. The fruit is primarily grown for the fresh market and is often sold through specialty stores and farmers' markets and often sells at prices between $14 and $16 per kilo with organic prices reaching higher than $50 per kilo wholesale and $100 retail. In addition, it has good potential to be processed into many products, thus adding value, including energy and fruit bars, ice cream, jelly, marmalade and preserves, juice, pastries, pulp, and yogurt. The juice of the red varieties can also be used as a natural food colorant and dye, and, when unopened, the flower bud can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable, say US farmers. It has been most common for dragon fruit to be sold in the agritourism segment in the US, where a commercial farm or ranch produces the fruit for the enjoyment and education of visitors and selling the fruit generates supplemental income. But the marketplace is changing rapidly with US dragon fruit farmers actively educating local customers by performing store demos throughout the country in the large supermarket chains such as Krogers' produce departments. As a result of our marketing efforts to inform Texans of the health benefits of pitaya, Krogers in Houston is currently taking everything we can produce says one farmer and we don't see that changing anytime soon. At local markets and in large stores, the farmer says he enjoys going one-on-one with consumers. I get the biggest kick from interacting with customers, he says and find their feedback motivating. You've got to make your markets in the US. It's an art. We beat the imported, tasteless fruit from Asian markets hands down in a taste test, across the US. Cultivating a good rapport with customers is the key to success in the US market, says the farmer, adding his farm is next looking to tap into the juice bar segment. In 2016, the farmer says his farm harvested nearly seven metric tonne of dragon fruit and aims to triple that amount in 2017 as more plants are maturing. He and his farm managers are also aiming to produce 11.33 kilograms of the tropical fruit per cactus plant. Since dragon fruit is a newly emerging fruit crop, there is currently not a lot of export, import, or per capita consumption data available reported through the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service or Foreign Agricultural Service. However, it is known that US farmers cannot meet the total demand for dragon fruit and it is imported from many other countries around the globe including but not limited to Nicaragua; Colombia; Ecuador; Vietnam; Thailand; Malaysia; and Israel. Currently, Vietnam is in no position to compete in the US market, says Mai Kieu, director of the province of Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. This results from several reasons, the first being that farmers by and large fail to follow VietGAP safe food standards. Much of the problem results from the illiteracy rate of farmers who fail to appreciate the importance of producing certifiably safe food. As a result, more than 70 percent of the dragon fruit of the province, the largest growing area in Vietnam, can only be sold in China, which has no food safety requirements to speak of, and most is sold in the informal market at extremely low prices or left to rot in the fields. Local Phan Thiet packing company Binh Loan says that in the low season, it receives on average five to six tonnes of dragon fruit per day from neighbouring farms, while in the high season from May through to August, it receives between 20 to 30 tonnes per day depending on the harvest. All their produce is destined for the fruit bowls of kitchens in China. The company pays farmers between $.88-US$.97 (VND20,000-VND22,000) per kilo. In some fruit shops in HCM City, dragon fruit retails for around $1.45 (VND33,000) per kilo. http://english.vov.vn/economy/us-fruit-growers-look-for-pitaya-market-to-take-off-in-2017-348872.vov

Farm produce falls in price, farmers incur losses 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Pineapple, watermelon and chili growers are complaining about the hot weather which has forced them to work hard to water crops. Meanwhile, farm produce prices have dropped dramatically. The winter-spring rice price increased for a short time before it began falling sharply three weeks ago in Mekong Delta. Le Thanh Phong, a farmer in Tra Vinh, said he had sold IR 50404 rice at VND4,300 per kilo, a decrease of VND300 per kilo compared with the beginning of the crop. "We almost did not make a profit because of pests and the fertiliser price increase," Phong said. The rice price has also decreased in Vinh Long province and Can Tho City. IR50404 wet unhusked rice is traded at VND4,300 per kilo, while dry unhusked rice is at VND5,300. Long-grain and fragrant rice are traded at VND4,600-5,300 per kilo. In general, the price has decreased by VND500 per kilo compared to three weeks ago. Nguyen Cong Ly, a merchant specialising in collecting rice from farmers in Phuong Thinh commune of Dong Thap province, said farmers fear they cannot find buyers when a lot of rice gets ripped. The domestic rice price decrease is attributed to the falling rice export price. Besides, as exporters have collected enough rice to fulfill the signed contracts, they have stopped collecting rice from farmers. Meanwhile, the Philippines and China, Vietnam's major export markets, are restricting imports. Chili growers in Mekong Delta now also have their hearts in their boots as the price has continued to fall. Nguyen Van Phoi from Hong Ngu district said two weeks ago merchants accepted to pay VND11,000- 12,000 per kilo. However, the price has dropped to VND7,000 per kilo, while the demand is very weak. Some farmers in the locality are considering stopping growing chili to grow other short-day crops. Pham Thanh Nhi, head of the Hong Ngu district's agriculture sub-department, said the chili price once climbed to the sky-high price of VND115,000 per kilo. But with the current price, farmers don't earn enough money to hire workers to harvest. The fruit prices have also dropped abnormally despite the hot weather. In Kien Giang, Hau Giang, VInh Long and Tien Giang, merchants only pay VND1,000-3,000 per kilo of watermelon and VND2,000-4,000 per kilo for pineapple. The sharp price falls which bring big losses to farmers have caused a big headache to the government. In March, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) called on agencies to join forces to rescue bananas in Dong Nai province which were left unsold. In April, Quang Ngai watermelon needed help. At the Q1 regular press conference, MARD's official said agencies had to carry out two rescue campaigns in the first three months of the year. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177668/farm-produce-falls-in-price--farmers-incur-losses.html

Coal to remain vital part of energy mix 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR As Vietnam plans for its power development over the next decade, coal is set to play an important part in ensuring the country's energy security. GE Steam Power Systems senior sales executive for Asia-Pacific Massimo Gallizioli talked with VIR's Hoang Nam about how GE technologies can help ensure that coal-fired power plants contribute positively to the Vietnamese energy ecosystem, helping to provide reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy to fuel the country's economic growth. According to the revised Power Development Plan VII, by 2030 the Vietnamese government plans to reduce coal-based power to 56.4 per cent of the country's total energy mix. Is this goal reasonable in light of Vietnam's attempts to reduce emissions according to its COP21 commitments? Not only in Vietnam but also in the whole world, coal power will play an important part in ensuring energy security. Currently, coal power accounts for 40 per cent of the total global power generation capacity. In the next decade, this number might decrease to 30 per cent, but coal will continue to be an important part of the energy mix that ensures reliable generation at a reasonable cost. As far as I know, the Vietnamese government aims to supply enough electricity to meet the country's increasing demand, fuelled by a GDP growth of over 6 per cent a year. Accordingly, coal power is still going to account for over 40 per cent of the total capacity. In this context, new technologies and solutions should be used in order to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. GE's portfolio includes many new technologies that would help increase the efficiency of coal-fired power plants. How can these technologies help Vietnam? GE technologies can help operators cut costs by using less fuel to produce the same amount of electricity and decrease emissions. For every percentage point increase in efficiency, a 10,000-megawatt ( MW) plant reduces its carbon dioxide output by approximately 2 per cent and lowers fuel consumption by 67,000 tonnes of coal a year. Evidently, the new technologies are going to bring big benefits to operators as well as Vietnam as a whole. GE is working hard to win important projects in Asia, particularly in Vietnam. We commit to working with Vietnam to build a sustainable energy industry. We do not only provide equipment to newly-built plants, we can also retrofit existing coal-fired plants. Vietnam is one of the markets with the highest demand for energy in the world and is one of the most open to new ideas and solutions. GE has solutions that can modernise equipment, and digital and analytic solutions that help operators manage their plants better. Recently the Japanese government proposed helping Vietnam build an ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant to promote Japanese technology in the country. Does GE have a similar plan to promote its solutions in Vietnam? GE's portfolio covers not only coal power plants but all aspects and parts of the energy ecosystem. We work with customers to find the most suitable and efficient solution, and each project of GE is a show of commitment to support the sustainable development of the energy industry in the host country. Recently, GE announced the handover of the 1,000MW Manjung 4 power plant to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in Malaysia, following two years of successful commercial operation. TNB Manjung 4 is Southeast Asia's first ultra-supercritical coal power plant and the single largest unit in Southeast Asia. It produces enough electricity to power nearly two million households. Using GE's ultra-supercritical combustion technology, the plant can generate electricity with lower emissions up to 10 per cent more efficiently than the global average of similar power plants. We hope to contribute more to producing cleaner and smarter power from coal to Southeast Asia in general, and Vietnam in particular. Does GE have financing solutions to investors of projects that use GE technology? Financing is one of the topics we very often talk to Vietnamese partners about. GE is committed to supporting Vietnam in reaching its energy target and is ready to help finance its energy infrastructure in the next 10 years, through GE's access to third-party equity capital and debt financing from export credit agencies, development financing institutions, and other equity providers and commercial banks. http://www.vir.com.vn/coal-to-remain-vital-part-of-energy-mix.html

The boom of milk tea brands in Vietnam 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Following the popularity of take-away drinks, different milk tea brands are now trying to establish themselves in the minds of Vietnamese customers by investing in outlets with attractive designs and quality beverages. While Ding Tea and Gong Cha outlets are designed in a modern style with black as the main color, Chatime outlets aim at bringing comfort to customers and have purple as the design concept. These major franchise brands have now become fiercely competitive in Vietnam's milk tea battleground. Boom in openings Arriving in Vietnam at the end of 2012, Chatime has now developed its franchise model, with ten outlets in Hanoi and HCM City and sells an average of 300 cups a day at each. Chatime is a Taiwan milk tea brand, with over 1,000 outlets around the world. It provides stylish and health-conscious customers with a selection of freshly brewed tea infused with different natural flavors. To make Chatime a global brand, it has modernised traditional tea culture by producing high-tech tea equipment to make fresh tea of consistent quality. Nguyen Xuan Nga, COO of Chatime Vietnam, told VET that quality and reasonable prices are important factors in retaining customers over the long term. "Chatime is asserting its position in the milk tea market with price stability, product quality, and service quality," she said. To expand, Chatime will seek partners in cities and provinces around the country with tourism potential. Mumber of milk tea outlets, by brand Meanwhile, two years after arriving in Vietnam, Gong Cha milk tea from Taiwan has 13 outlets, including eight belonging to the company and five franchises. Nguyen Hoai Phuong, Brand Representative, told local media that the company will expand its network in many provinces in the future, especially those in the south. "We are still trying to build credibility and customer numbers," he said. Ding Tea is the largest Taiwanese milk tea franchise in the country in terms of locations, with more than 90 outlets nationwide, of which 60 in Hanoi belong to the company and more than 30 outside of the capital are franchises. According to Sean T. Ngo, CEO of VF Franchise Consulting, franchising will be a growing sector in Vietnam as franchisors recognise that its culture of entrepreneurship allows investors to start a business with controlled levels of investment and at reduced risk. Some domestic milk tea brands are also creating competition in the market. Phuc Long is a popular tea and coffee brand among young Vietnamese, especially its milk tea, and has opened 22 outlets in HCM City to date. CEO Lam Chan Huy told VET that it has not yet fully expanded in the HCM City market and is still to exploit the potential in other major cities. In order for a brand to maintain a niche in the market requires investment and comprehensive market research, he believes, such as in market demand and trends, demographics, and competitors. "The long-term development strategy of Phuc Long is in product quality, bringing quality products to the food and beverage (F&B) market in particular and to the milk tea market in general," he said. Ngo said that consumers are now looking for quality and freshness in the products they consume and can be very brand conscious. Another major Vietnamese milk tea brand, Bobapop, recorded successful business results last year. Sales increased from about $1.2 million in 2015 to $2.9 million in 2016. Its outlets stood at 37 around the country and it is now focusing on expanding its market in the north and plans to have 50 stores nationwide by June this year. Amy Tran, co-founder and COO of Bobapop, said the company has been promoting franchising to all provinces in the country and will also strike franchise deals in China, Singapore and Thailand in the future. Trend or hype? Milk tea shop chains are not a new trend in Vietnam, as they were first introduced in the country at the end of 2002, but they have developed vigorously over the last decade. Milk tea is not just a popular drink among teenagers; it is also becoming popular among people of all ages and social class. Though not mushrooming like coffee shops, due to lower market demand, milk tea shop chains are nonetheless considered a potential business model in the F&B sector. According to Ngo, the trend for F&B companies to jump on the bandwagon and get a piece of the action will always be around, whether in milk tea, coffee, or desserts. Milk tea products still have room for development in the local market, because Vietnam's F&B sector has been recording stable growth over the past few years and forecasts are positive to 2020, according to Nguyen Phi Van, Chair of Retail & Franchise Asia. It is estimated that the sector's growth rate will be at around 5.7 per cent annually, with total revenue by 2020 reaching nearly $24.7 billion. Moreover, in recent reports from Nielsen Vietnam, the beverage category has been the shining light in the FMCG market for continuous quarters, constantly contributing nearly 40 per cent to total FMCG sales. The country's younger generation (15 to 34 years old), which account for more than 36 per cent of the total population, is where the milk tea market has potential. On the other hand, the boom in milk tea brands also raises a question about their longevity in the market given the departure of some coffee chains in recent years. Long-time players in a market, especially F&B products, depend on a combination of several factors. "Brands that tend to have longevity are those that have great and consistent products and services at a reasonable price," Ngo said. "Some brands pop up and those qualities are not there. Consumers are quick to determine which brands are good and where they want to spend their money." According to Amy Tran, some F&B brands cannot survive in Vietnam's retail market not because they are not sufficiently strong to expand but because they did not develop their products in accordance with local consumers' taste and demands. Another difficulty, according to Phi Van, is that franchising in the milk tea market, especially for those from Taiwan, often has distinct policies compared to other traditional franchise brands from Europe. http://www.vir.com.vn/the-boom-of-milk-tea-brands-in-vietnam.html

Fitness centers riding the wave in Vietnam 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times For a while after it opened a few years ago, the gym at the Ba Dinh Sports centre welcomed just a few customers every day. In the last two years, though, numbers have skyrocketed, with dozens of people coming for a workout every day. During its "peak hour", from 5-7pm, the place is packed with sweating bodies enthusiastically focusing on their exercise routines. Other gyms are also seeing more customers and more gyms have opened to meet the growing demand. Hundreds of gyms, from basic to top-notch, have opened in major cities like Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Can Tho. Never before have Vietnamese people paid so much attention to fitness and exercise. Rising popularity Health has become the Number 1 concern among Vietnamese consumers, with nearly one-third (34 per cent) naming it their biggest or second-biggest concern over the next six months, according to Nielsen's recent Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for Vietnam. While Vietnam still has the lowest rate of obesity in Southeast Asia, the increasing number of obese people in recent years has been a source of some concern. The latest World Health Organization figures show that obesity among Vietnamese men was 16 per cent in 2015, more than triple the rate in 2005, while obesity among Vietnamese women jumped to 24 per cent, a staggering 80 per cent increase. The rate for children, perhaps more worryingly, has increased to as high as 40 per cent in major cities, up nine or ten times within a decade, according to a survey by Vietnam's National Institute of Nutrition. Since the country joined the WTO in 2007 the inflow of foreign capital and goods have accelerated, with Western fast food and candy combining with a fall in manual jobs and increases in office jobs having an effect on waistlines. This and greater awareness have resulted in fitness and health-oriented businesses expanding to cater to the greater demand. Branded chains are emerging, with more than 100 chains now benefitting from a focus on healthy lifestyles. Regardless of age or occupation, people joining fitness centers share some common goals. Having a healthy and fit body is the most obvious target. Different from previous generations, which seemed to define beauty as an attractive face with a soft and slightly chubby body for a woman and a good height for a man, the young of today appreciate a well- rounded shape. Seeking a healthy and fit body, Anh Dung, a 25-year-old graphic designer, began a personal training class at NShape, a popular fitness centre, and transformed his slim 55 kilogram frame into a lean 68 kilogram in six months. "I'm fit now, but I want to get a 'six pack' so I'll work out harder," he said. Women are also more interested getting fit. When Huyen Huong, a 29-year-old education consultant, complained to her friends that her waistline was growing from working in an office and it was affecting her confidence, they saw they shared the same problem. So they all decided to go to Curve Fitness to get some feminine curves. "There are a lot of exercise programmes available on the internet that I can do at home, but I don't have equipment," she said. "And attending a class is more fun and I feel more motivated." After a few weeks, she and her friends were happy to see the change. After talking to a trainer, she tried some different exercises to get some muscles in her stomach. Together with a hotter body, a healthier mind is also a reason people become "addicted" to their exercise classes. As a manager of rural development projects, 35-year-old Ngoc Yen is often busy with travelling and is also a mother. She chose to attend yoga classes at a California Fitness & Yoga Centre, as she could then do it anywhere. In the beginning, like many others, she wanted to quit, because her whole body ached. She could barely get up the stairs at home for a few days afterwards. But she stuck with it, and began to fall in love with yoga. "Doing yoga for only 20 or 30 minutes a day has made me fit and it relieves stress, clears the mind, and I also sleep much better," she said. "Now I can't live without it." Diverse activities Whatever the fitness goal, there is a programme available. Depending on their budget, gym-goers can choose a package ranging from VND300,000 to 1 million ($13-44) a month, on average. The cost also depends on the length of each package. For example, a 15-month Platinum membership at California Fitness & Yoga Centers costs VND1 million ($44) a month, while the same package for 21 months comes to VND500,000 ($22) a month. People on different incomes are therefore able to find a package suitable to their pocket. What's available is also different. Every gym has basic equipment like weights, benches, bars, maybe a press machine for the legs, chest, shoulders, and cardio, or treadmills and exercise bikes. And some have more advanced facilities and services like massage, a swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, and healthy food and drinks. Even in the basics exercises, aerobics and yoga other services are appearing. There are now different types of yoga classes being provided by different places. Other new exercises are also on offer, like pole dancing, body jams (a fusion of dance and aerobics), classes, like those at Elite Fitness, tailored to giving women sexy curves, Zumba sports dance, belly dance, fit ball (a collection of slow but energetic movements with a ball to improve muscle tone and balance) at Nshape Fitness, group classes or personal classes with a personal trainer, UFC (the first mixed martial arts workout in Vietnam and including Muay Thai, wrestling, boxing, jujitsu, kickboxing, judo, and vovinam), and Cali Kid (exercises for kids from six months to 12 years of age) at California Fitness & Yoga. Together with yoga, Ms Yen also takes a Zumba class, as the movements not only keep her fit but give her a shapely body and more confidence. Diet and nutrition consultations are also available, provided by professional international instructors. Some places even offer a food home delivery service. As demand for exercise increases among Vietnam's 90+ million people, fitness investors are confident about a bright future. CMG has revealed plans to increase its number of gyms to 100 by 2020. Elite Fitness, meanwhile, one of CMG's major rivals, has set up a fitness programme that includes meal planning priced at $350 a month. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177745/fitness-centers-riding-the-wave-in-vietnam.html

VN, Turkey agree to boost trade 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Trade ties between Vietnam and Turkey, despite rapid expansion in recent years, remain far below potential, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Speaking at a Turkey-Vietnam Business Forum in HCM City yesterday, Nguyen The Hung, deputy director general of VCCI HCM City, said the trade grew from $1 billion in 2012 to $1.5 billion last year, with Vietnam enjoying a surplus. But the rapid growth notwithstanding, the trade remains below potential, he said. Vietnam exports mainly mobile phones and accessories, fibre and yarn, computers, electronic products and accessories, fabric, and rubber, and imports machinery and equipment, pharmaceuticals, plastic products, and chemicals. Hung hoped that the forum, which was attended by executives from 16 Turkish companies and more than 50 of their Vietnamese counterparts, would help the two sides explore business opportunities. Mustafa Cikrikcioglu, deputy chair of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, said Vietnam's overall exports had more than quadrupled in the last 10 years, with electrical machinery and equipment, shoes, and machinery and mechanical appliances being the top three products. It imported mechanical devices, boilers and accessories, machinery and mechanical appliances, and plastic products, he said. Turkey exports these very products to more than 200 countries, according to the businessperson. "However, we see that Turkey's exports of these products to Vietnam are below the level they should be. We hope that from this day on we will form stronger bonds and take our trade relations to a higher level." Furthermore, through Vietnam, Turkish exporters could reach the Asean market, he said. Since they are situated in different parts of the world, the two countries specialise in different products, he said. "We believe that by improving our relations and sharing our experiences, we will increase our trade. "We are here not only to increase Turkey's exports, but also to find ways to improve Vietnam's exports to Turkey. Our primarily goal is to establish a strong bond with Vietnam." The VCCI and the Turkey Exporters Assembly signed an agreement to help enterprises on both sides step up exchanges and cooperation. http://bizhub.vn/news/vn-turkey-agree-to-boost-trade_285964.html

Business Briefs May 08, 2017 08/May/2017 Intellasia | * The Hochiminh Stock Exchange has given approval to Siam Brothers Vietnam Company (SBV) to float over 20.5 million shares on the southern bourse. In June 2016, SBV had a successful initial public offering (IPO) with 4.2 million shares snapped up at VND33,000 each. The fishing equipment producer has three factories in HCM City and Long An Province. * Tan Tam Ma Investment Joint Stock Company has acquired 3.9 million shares of HCM City Infrastructure Investment Company (CII) to spur its holding from 2.5 percent to 4.1 percent. * Hoa Sen Group (HSG) has passed a share issuance plan to pay dividend for the 2015-2016 fiscal year and raise its capital. HSG plans to offer 150 million new shares, including 110 million shares for dividend payment at 55 percent and 40 million shares for existing shareholders at 20 percent. Earlier, the enterprise issued over 3.46 million shares for 149 staff at VNDI0,000 each, raising its chartered capital from over 1.9 trillion to VND2 trillion. Ending the first quarter of the fiscal year 2016-2017 (from October 1 to December 31, 2016), HSG reported revenue and after-tax profit at more than VND5.7 trillion and VND440 billion, meeting 25 percent and 27 percent of the entire year's goals respectively, according to Dau Tu Chung Khoan website. * Tien Giang Investment and Construction Company (THG) has decided to invest in Gia Thuan 1 industrial zone in Go Cong Dong District, which covers 50 hectares with the total investment of VND234 billion. The enterprise expects to construct the project within four years. * Thien Viet Securities Company has offloaded over 660,000 shares of Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE). * Vietnam Fumigation Company (VFG) will issue nearly 5.5 million bonus shares to its shareholders at a 3-for-l0 ratio in 2017 for capital increase. After the additional share issue, the company will raise its capital to VND237. 7 billion. * Individual investor Truong Ngoc Phuong has bought 860,000 shares of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS) to raise her ownership from 7.9 percent to 8.2 percent. * DanangAirport Service Company (MAS) will spend over VND15.3 billion paying the third round dividend ofVND3,600 per share for 2016. The company will make the payment on May 25.

IPv6 role highlighted in IoT development 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The implementation of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) was important for the country to develop the Internet of Things (IoT) and its abilities of device connectivity and security support, noted Phan Tam, deputy minister of Information and Communications at a workshop celebrating Vietnam IPv6 Day 2017 in Hanoi yesterday. The workshop is an annual event which started in 2013. With theme "IPv6 and Internet of Things", this year's event aims to analyse the relationship between IPv6 and the IoT industry, as well as create opportunities for enterprises and organisations to share on the deployment of IPv6 and IoT. Speaking at the workshop, deputy minister Phan Tam emphasized that IoT was not a new concept in the modern technology world. The tremendous benefits that IoT brought to the economic development and for daily life made it the trend of technology in the years to come, he said. "The need to promote IPv6 is increasingly urgent, as is the development of industrial revolution 4.0, the Internet, high-tech industry and smart agriculture, healthcare and traffic, which require the connectivity of billions of devices," he noted. "Each device will use at least one network address when connecting to the IoT network. The analysis predicts that about 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020, while the IPv4 address space can provide only about four billion addresses," said Tam. "IPv6's ability to connect devices and support better security are also reasons why IPv6 is needed if the country wants to develop IoT," he added. At the conference, Nguyen Trung Kien, a representative from VNPT Technology said that from the company's experience of research and implementation of IoT solutions, IPv6 plays a very important role in IoT. Using IPv6 addresses would bring many benefits to IoT development, such as the large number of IP addresses; end-to-end connectivity support; better service quality and better security, he said. Nguyen Hong Thang, deputy director of the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC), said that Google statistics showed that the percentage of IPv6 usage worldwide was currently 20 per cent, and was expected to reach 100 per cent by 2019. Experts predict that the world's population will reach 7.6 billion people by 2020, while the world will have about 50 billion connected devices (about 6.58 devices per person). Vietnam's IPv6 readiness was evaluated at a high level in regards to the region, he said. The country's IPv6 penetration reached about six per cent as of March this year, ranking second in Southeast Asia and fifth in Asia. http://bizhub.vn/tech/ipv6-role-highlighted-in-iot-development_285957.html

Multiple Vietnam investors have little knowledge of franchise concept 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Quite a few Vietnamese investors are interested in franchises but have little or no knowledge of this concept. Pham Ngoc Liem, director of Liem Thu Company, the owner of the Lee & Tee leather handbag store chain, said his company had received 500 franchise requests for Lee & Tee brand. Most of the requests come from people who have deep pockets and want their relatives to run stores, he said at a workshop in HCM City yesterday. But Liem Thu has denied them all because they are not knowledgeable about franchises. Le Thi Ngoc Thuy, director of Distribution World Company, the owner of Viva Star Coffee brand, said her firm's franchisees oftentimes do not respect the business governance and control principles of the franchiser. Many franchisees even want to change franchised brands, she said. Nguyen Phi Van, board chairwoman of Retail & Franchise Asia, said her firm had met many enterprises that wanted to take franchise rights immediately without caring about financial issues. Others even thought what they do is to buy the right while business management is the franchisor's business. This is a misconception, Van said. Franchising is not just about fee and investment but a relationship between those looking for common opportunities for business growth. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53770/Multiple-Vietnam-investors-have-little-knowledge-of-franchise- concept.html

Property firms told to stop SMS spam 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information has requested mobile carriers and major property developers to take action against mobile phone spam. The head of the authority, Nguyen Thanh Lam, said at a conference in Hanoi on Wednesday that his agency has been coordinating with the Authority of Telecommunications to deactivate simcards of unknown users and prevent cell phone spam. The two agencies have worked with those enterprises doing the telemarketing and sending out SMS spam to advertise their goods and services. The authority has met Vingroup, a leading property developer in the country, whose property products are heavily advertised through telemarketing and SMS marketing. As of late last month, Lam said, three real estate affiliates of Vingroup had written to their sales agencies asking for a stop to telemarketing and SMS marketing. Each violation would be fined VND100 million or amount to a cancellation of sales agency contract or a request for legal action. Lam said Vingroup had already acted in Hanoi and some northern provinces. Mobile carrier VinaPhone blocked around 961,000 unsolicited messages and 7,787 simcards last month, said Tran Manh Hung, general director of the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group. Do Minh Phuong, deputy general director of Viettel Group, said the company had blocked about five million unsolicited messages and deactivated some 7,000 mobile phone numbers that sent out unsolicited messages. Speaking at the conference, minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan urged relevant authorities to take drastic measures to take back pre-activated simcards, strengthen controls on unsolicited messages, and strictly deal with violating enterprises. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53778/Property-firms-told-to-stop-SMS-spam.html

Vietnamese government to inspect suspicious aluminium stockpile of alleged Chinese origin 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung requested some ministries to team up and verify rumours about a company in the southern provonce of Ba Ria-Vung Tau possibly importing Chinese aluminium for the purpose of exporting in order to evade anti-dumping tariffs. In accordance with the directions of deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will cooperate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and other local authorities to inspect the aluminium stockpile of Global Vietnam Aluminium Co., Ltd (GVA) in Ba Ria- Vung Tau. This inspection is aimed at verifying the information that the company imports Chinese aluminium into Vietnam. GVA is the developer of an aluminium shaping plant. Jacky Cheung and Wang Tong, two Chinese- Australian businesspeople, had invested VND5 trillion (about $250 million) into this plant which has the annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes, producing purely for export. According to its investment certificate issued by the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Industrial Park Management Authority, this project will last for 37 years, starting from 2011. However, according to Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the real developer of the project is China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, a big Chinese aluminium firm managed by billionaire Liu Zhongtian, who has total assets of $3 billion, according to Forbes. At the end of 2016, WSJ published an article saying it had found a wide range of abnormal import-export activities among China, the US, Mexico, and Vietnam involving Liu Zhongtian. WSJ alleged that in order to deal with US anti-dumping tariffs, Liu and many other Chinese aluminium manufacturers have established secret entities in Mexico or Vietnam to export their products to the US. Compared to the 374 per cent on Chinese aluminium exports, the anti-dumping tariff on Vietnamese aluminium is 5 per cent only. In Vung Tau, WSJ also discovered massive stockpiles fully covered by black canvas and watched over by numerous security guards on motorbikes with batons. The newspaper alleged that these abnormally huge aluminium stocks were to be transported to Vietnam from Mexico. http://www.vir.com.vn/vietnamese-government-to-inspect-suspicious-aluminium-stockpile-of-alleged- chinese-origin.html

Slow investment blamed for Hanoi metro delay 08/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Many items of Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro project in Hanoi have not yet been finished on time due to the slow pace of investment by the contractors. On May 4, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport held a meeting with the Management Board of Hanoi Urban Railway and the EPC contractor China Railway Sixth Group Co., Ltd to review the project's implementation. Deputy minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong said that major items of the project have been completed, however, fences, road surface and some packages of equipment have not yet been finished, affecting the project's pace. This was blamed on customs procedures for imported equipment and particularly capital shortage. A representative from the Chinese EPC contractor also shared the same opinion with deputy minister Nguyen Hong Truong, noting that slow capital disbursement obviously affected the project. Earlier, the Management Board of Hanoi Urban Railway and the Chinese EPC contractor worked with the Export- Import Bank of China for the speedier disbursement, but things have not improved. Deputy Transport minister Nguyen Hong Truong said that the Ministry of Transport had sent a document to the Export-Import Bank of China to urge them to release funds for the project more quickly. Construction on the 13-km Cat Linh-Ha Dong metro project was started in October 2011 with the total investment of around VND18 trillion (USD818 million). It was scheduled for the official operation in the second quarter of 2018 before the trial run of between 3-6 months, beginning from October 2017. http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/018/50757/slow-investment-blamed-for-hanoi-metro-delay.html

Hanoi BRT line hit by poor occupancy, four months after launch 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News The first bus rapid transit (BRT) line in Hanoi is not running at its full capacity despite having been in operation for four months. The buses are overcrowded during rush hours while running scarce of passengers for the rest of the day. Hanoi launched its maiden BRT line on December 31, 2016, hoping to encourage its citizens to make a switch from personal vehicles to public transport as a measure to curb worsening traffic in the city. The route runs 14.7 kilometers between Yen Nghia bus station in Ha Dong District and Kim Ma station in Dong Da District. However, as Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper noted on Saturday morning, bus stops along both directions of the BRT line were almost empty, with only 40 passengers in total boarding the bus in one trip. These passengers said they enjoyed the bus' modernity, though its ill-designed running schedule must be improved. "The buses are overcrowded with passengers between 7:00-8:30 am or 5:00-6:30 pm, to the point that there are hardly any seats left," a Ministry of Health official, who commutes from home to the ministry's headquarters by the BRT every day, said. "However, passengers are scarce between 12:00 and 4:00 pm." According to a BRT driver, the first rapid bus route is running at a five-minute interval during rush hours, and a 15-minute interval for the rest of the day. Most passengers who take the bus during off-peak hours are retirees, he said, while there are few bus- takers who are students, because there are no BRT stops near local schools and universities. There are currently 24 buses on the Kim Ma Yen Nghia service, which operates between 5:00 am and 10:00 pm every day, taking around 42 minutes to cover the distance at the speed of 20-22 kilometers per hour. The BRT allowed passengers to travel for free during its first month of operations, before charging VND7,000 per round in February. The service has since served only 42.4 passengers per trip on average, less than half of their design capacity of 90 passengers. Wasting money? Many experts are complaining that the BRT line, which cost more than VND1 trillion (US$44.64 million) to develop, is a waste of money that could have been put to better use by investing in conventional buses. Nguyen Xuan Thuy, former director of the Transport Publishing House, asserted that the competence of BRTs in easing traffic is not superior to regular buses, if not less. "BRT enjoys a separate lane for itself but so far it has failed to live up to the expected capacity, while shortening only 20 percent of running time," Thuy said. "That's a complete waste of money when we put its development cost and actual effectiveness side by side. "The money would have been better spent on regular buses." A transport professor also pointed out that too much money had been spent on building unnecessarily modern BRT stops, which not only takes up too much space but is also a danger to traffic safety. The professor also criticised the decision to re-pave the entire BRT lane with concrete while the previous asphalt road was still in good condition. "They said it was to ensure the lane's durability, but how come trucks weighing a lot more have been rolling on the asphalt without troubles and BRT buses cannot? That's absurd," the professor said. In response to these comments, Vu Van Vien, director of Hanoi's Department of Transport, told Tuoi Tre that the BRT means of transport was still in its early stage in Vietnam, and that more experience was to be drawn from the initial implementation. Vien added that there was "no need for worries" about the capacity of BRT buses, as the number of passengers would continue to rise in the near future as more residential areas start to spring up along the route. Regarding the 'lane monopoly' of BRT buses, Vien said Hanoi chair Nguyen Duc Chung had approved the department's proposal to allow regular buses onto BRT lanes in the future. However, Vien rejected the suggestion that the concrete lane was a waste of money, since it was included in the planning "approved by relevant authorities" and was "a must". Hanoi is eyeing the development of eight similar BRT lines in the city, with the next expected to connect Kim Ma bus station with Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Thach That District. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/40874/hanoi-brt-line-hit-by-poor-occupancy-four-months-after-launch

PM asks for better preparation for Industry 4.0 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VGP PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently signed Directive 16/CT-TTg on enhancing access to the fourth industrial revolution. The directive aims to actively maximise what the country will have from Industry 4.0. Accordingly, the PM tasked ministers and ministerial-level leaders, provincial and municipal chairpersons to fulfill solutions and tasks by 2020. Specifically, the government chief asked for solutions to make breakthroughs in infrastructure, IT application and manpower improvement; develop digital connectivity infrastructure; ensure network safety; create equal conditions for citizens and businesses to access and develop digital contents. The directive stresses the importance of implementing the government's Resolution 19-2017/NQ-CP, dated February 6, 2017, Resolution 35/NQ-CP, dated May 16, 2016, and Resolution 36a/NQ-CP, dated October 14, 2015 on further implementation of key tasks and measures to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in 2017 and towards 2020. Ministries and agencies were asked to promptly develop e-Government; review and abolish inappropriate business conditions; amend management regulations on exports and imports towards less administrative procedures. They were assigned to review strategies and action plans in accordance with the development trend of Industry 4.0; build strategies on digital transformation, smart administration, prioritise digital technology industry, smart agriculture, tourism, and urban areas; review and select key products and national strategic competitive products. The PM also noticed the importance of upholding a business start-up ecosystem; boosting scientific research and IT; connecting domestic and foreign IT experts. Policies on teaching methods will be renovated in order to generate a human resource which is able to absorb new technological production trends. Focusing on IT infrastructure development The PM assigned the Ministry of Industry and Communicationsto develop IT infrastructure; encourage businesses to develop new technologies. Especially, telecom enterprises were asked to perfect the 4G network; research and develop a 5G network. The Ministry of Science and Technology was instructed to develop the business start-up ecosystem; promote technological applications and transferring of key industries in Industry 4.0. The Ministry of Education and Training was asked to educate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in universal education programme. The Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs was assigned to renovate vocational training. Encouraging technical innovations The PM assigned the Ministry of Finance to build mechanisms, tax and financial policies to enable businesses to invest in technological research. The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences were asked to research and evaluate the development trends of Industry 4.0. http://www.vir.com.vn/pm-asks-for-better-preparation-for-industry-40.html

Millions of USD lost every month from unlicensed OTT apps 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet About 50,000 people use unlicensed OTT apps on Android box a month, according to some estimates. Collecting fees through scratch cards, the unlicensed apps may earn billions of dong of illicit profits. A lot of big players have jumped into the OTT TV market, from traditional TV content providers such as VTV Cab and K+ to technology firms such as VNG, Vega and iFlix. The service providers not only have to compete fiercely with each other, but also with unlicensed OTT apps. The apps don't have operation licenses and don't have to spend money to build content, but can collect money from users. A report from Statista about VOD market in Vietnam showed that 3.3 percent of the population would use VOD services by 2017, while the figure is expected to increase to 5.9 percent by 2021. However, the ARPU (average rate per unit) in Vietnam is lower than the average level in the world by 10 times, at $5.78. The representative of an authentic OTT firm said that according to Google's statistics, the number of VOD viewers in Vietnam is just second to the number of social network users, but most of them watch film easily on unlicensed websites. He went on to say that the unlicensed OTT apps such as Fly Play have caused big losses to licensed content and TV service providers. If noting that 30,000 Android devices are sold in the market every month and people can install apps on their phones themselves, he estimates that the number of illegal OTT apps could be up to 50,000 a month. This means that billions of dong of revenue are going to the pocket of illegal OTT app firms. Analysts noted that foreign TV channels have been provided across the border to Vietnamese viewers, thanks to illegal OTT apps, for a long time, especially in HCM City. Nguyen Duc Hoa, CEO of HTV-TMS, once complained that many foreign subscribers stopped using HTV-TMS services to shift to watch foreign TV channels through illegal OTT apps. The representatives from BHD and Galaxy, the two biggest VOD service providers in Vietnam, complained that the punishments on copyright infringement in Vietnam are not heavy enough to stop the use of illegal apps. "Pirated film services are offered by vendors on the pavement. When the police appear, the vendors flee for other pavements," the representative from BHD said. "It is necessary to impose heavy punishment on illegal websites." Internet experts said the OTT app boom has put big challenges for management agencies. If they apply tight management, users would use unlicensed apps, but if they loosen management, this would hinder the development of the firms that respect the copyright. http://www.vir.com.vn/millions-of-usd-lost-every-month-from-unlicensed-ott-apps.html

Ly Son to develop organic garlic farm 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Island district of Ly Son in the central province will start constructing its first organic garlic farm, with a total investment of 4 billion VND (177,000 USD). Director of the Ly Son Island Company Nguyen Van Dinh told Vietnam News that the farm will be built on 2,500sq.m with updated high-tech farming equipment. He said the farm will provide 700kg tall shoots of garlic each day after a two-month growth period. It will also employ 50 local residents with stable income. Dinh said the farm will provide technical consultancy for local farmers in the district to develop organic garlic farms with high productivity and price. He said the farm can increase its garlic area by growing on ready-made soil on high-rise buildings. It's also the first investment in high-tech farm project in the island, which is 30km off the coast of the central province. The farm plans to offer a tour for 20,000 VND (nearly 1 USD) per visitor. Last year, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, recognised the brand ownership for the products of Ly Son Island including garlic, onion, seafood, garlic wine, dried seafood and seaweed. It's also the first made-in-Ly Son seafood and aquaculture products to have their own brand nationwide. In 2015, 40 tonnes of Ly Son garlic were exported to Thailand. The company, in cooperation with the island district and the island's farmers association, plans to produce organic black garlic for export to Japan, the US and Asian countries, and produce garlic oil. Ly Son garlic has a distinctive flavour and is in high demand at home and abroad. However, this year only 250ha of garlic and onion were planted due to serious drought on the island. The island, known as the Kingdom of Garlic in Vietnam, has 21,000 inhabitants, of whom 73 percent makes their living on farming garlic and spring onion or fishing. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ly-son-to-develop-organic-garlic-farm/111277.vnp

PM approves Moc Chau national tourism site plan 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The prime minister has approved a plan to build Moc Chau National Tourism site in the northern mountainous province of Son La. The proposed national tourism site will be located in Moc Chau and Van Ho districts in the southern major economic area of the province. Covering more than 206,150 ha, it will consist of a resort, an ecological tourism centre and an amusement park. The plan aims to enhance the value of natural landscapes, culture and local identity and develop tourism in the region. http://www.vir.com.vn/pm-approves-moc-chau-national-tourism-site-plan.html

Mekong Capital inks fourth investment with jewellery retailer 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Mekong Capital on Friday announced that its Mekong Enterprise Fund III Ltd (MEF III) has committed to invest $7.6 million in Ben Thanh Jewellery Joint Stock Company (BTJ). This is the fourth investment deal inked for MEF III since its launch in May 2015. The new investment is expected to help Ben Thanh Jewellery launch a new chain of fine jewellery retail in Vietnam under the name PRECITA. "BTJ used to be a wholly state-owned company specialising in manufacturing, processing, importing and exporting jewellery. Following its equitisation in 2003, it has achieved great progress and is now choosing MEF III as a strategic investor because of the added value that the fund and its management company, Mekong Capital, will bring to our company," Shipra Jain, CEO of Ben Thanh Jewellery, said in a statement. Founded in 1987, Ben Thanh Jewellery, a member of Ben Thanh Group, is one of the oldest gold & gem stone retailers in Vietnam. In 2016, the company recruited global professional managers to join its management team to develop a new chain of fine jewellery retail named PRECITA. PRECITA, which focuses on latest designs imported from large jewellery markets and Western trends along with exclusive local designs, aims to redefine industry standards of value to customers and product integrity. Launched in May 2015, MEF III is a private equity fund with $112.5 million in committed capital. It focuses on investments in Vietnamese consumer-driven businesses such as retail, restaurants, consumer products, and consumer services, with targets of $6-15 million on each investment (both minority and buy- out deals). In March, Mekong Capital said it would make four new investments in the first half of 2017, targeting unlisted firms in the retail, education and transport sectors. http://bizhub.vn/markets/mekong-capital-inks-fourth-investment-with-jewellery-retailer_285962.html

Formosa to pour additional $1bn into steel project 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Major subsidiaries of the Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan's largest industrial conglomerate, have announced they are planning to invest $1 billion in the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp. (FHS), the owner of a sizable steel project in Vietnam. The funds will accelerate the construction of the $10.5 billion steel mill project, the Taipei Times reported. The four companies Formosa Plastics Corp., Nan Ya Plastics Corp., Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp., and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. each hold an 11.43 per cent stake in the Vietnamese unit. Based on shareholding ratios, each company is to pay nearly $57.17 million in the first installment, according to separate filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the Formosa Taffeta Company, a textile affiliate that owns a 3.85 per cent stake in FHS, will initially invest $19.23 million. Formosa's steel project is the largest foreign direct investment project in Vietnam to date and is expected to be the largest integrated steel mill in Southeast Asia, data shows. The first blast furnace at the steel complex is expected to begin operations by the end of the first half of this year, delayed from last year, the group said. An inspection team from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) last month concluded that FHS met the conditions to begin test runs at the steel mill after the plant had tackled 52 of 53 violations identified in an official investigation into a toxic spill in April last year. The company said in March that it would add another $346.3 million to the project to bring total investment to $11.03 billion. The additional capital will be used to strengthen waste management and build environmental protection facilities. The toxic leak from the plant caused one of the worst environmental disasters in Vietnam, along more than 200 km of coastline in four central provinces. Formosa had to pay $500 million in compensation to affected people and for the recovery of marine areas. Vietnam is still tying up the loose ends a year after the event. The ministry said that the affected region is expected to take a decade to completely recover, while experts predict that the disaster may set Vietnam's economy back for years to come. Four more Party officials were disciplined last month over the incident. The Party Central Committee's Secretariat met under the chairship of Party general Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on April 18 and 21 and reached conclusions on wrongdoings and legal violations relating to the environmental incident by the Party Affairs Section of MoNRE. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177906/formosa-to-pour-additional--1bn-into-steel- project.html

Vinatex's profit after tax down in Q1 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) recorded after-tax profit of VND126.3 billion (US$5.6 million) in the first quarter of this year, down 11.62 per cent year-on-year. Vinatex said the lower profit was because the group's northern and southern textile and garment corporations had put some companies into operation since June last year, such as Nam Dinh Textile Company, Phu Cuong Fibre Factory, Can Tho Garment Factory, Bac Lieu Garment Factory and Quang Binh Garment Factory. Until the end of Q1, these factories were incurring losses, affecting the business results of the whole group. In 2016, Vinatex achieved over VND600 billion of after-tax profit, growing up 13 per cent compared to the previous year. This year, the group targeted a rise of 12 per cent in export revenue, 15 per cent in industrial production and six per cent in profits. http://bizhub.vn/news/vinatexs-profit-after-tax-down-in-q1_285958.html

IFC invests $10.2 million in PAN Farm 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times PAN Farm, a newly established unit of PAN Group, has received an investment of $10.2 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank Group. IFC said in a statement that after this second investment, IFC holds a stake of about 10.4 percent in PAN Farm. This investment will help PAN Farm expand its seed business through its subsidiary, Vietnam National Seed Joint Stock Company (Vinaseed), a producer and distributor of plant seeds. It will also support PAN Farm's flower and vegetable production through its subsidiary, Pan-Saladbowl Joint Stock Company (PAN-SALADBOWL JSC), and other joint ventures which will be established in the future. PAN-SALADBOWL specialises in growing flowers for export to Japan and is gradually entering the fruit and vegetable market in Vietnam utilising the expertise of Japanese partners in greenhouse cultivation. IFC will also advise PAN Farm and its subsidiaries on international practices in food safety and social and environmental impact management. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53786/IFC-invests-US$102 million-in-PAN-Farm.html

Samsung slump in sales drags on Vietnam economy 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Close to one fifth of the total exports of Vietnam consists of mobile phones manufactured by Samsung, the Republic of Korea electronics giant, from its factories located in the northern part of the country. Last year, a series of fires in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices slammed the brakes on production in the plants located in the provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen from which 30 percent of the company's global phone production takes place. The drop of Samsung's sales was a significant factor in causing the gross domestic product of Vietnam to slow to 5.1 percent on-year for the first quarter, the lowest in three years. In addition, the fall in Samsung's sales was a key factor in the country's trade balance sliding deeper into the red and the industrial sector growth rate dipping to 3.85 percent, a six-year low. Slowdowns in oil and coal development were two other major areas where growth faltered as well. http://english.vov.vn/economy/samsung-slump-in-sales-drags-on-vietnam-economy-349008.vov

Vietnam Airlines receives 11th Boeing Dreamliner 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) received the 11th Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the last of its 787-9 Dreamliner order with Boeing, on May 6, at Noi Bai International Airport. The plane was put into use on May 7 on the Hanoi-HCM City route. Vietnam Airlines deputy director general Le Hong Ha said that the 11 "dream liners" will help the carrier provide four-star services for passengers. Dinesh Keskar, Senior vice President of Asia Pacific and India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said that with the 11th Boeing 787-9, VNA is among the airlines with the biggest 787 fleets in the Asia- Pacific region, which affirms its commitment to becoming a leading carrier in the region. Vietnam Airlines received its first Dreamliner in July 2015. Besides the domestic route between Hanoi and HCM City, the Boeing 787-9s are being used for international flights from Hanoi and HCM City to London (the UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Narita (Japan), Beijing (China), and Sydney and Melbourne (Australia). From May 13 to June 30, it will use the aircraft on its flights between Hanoi and Singapore to meet high travel demand during the summer peak. As of now, the fleet of Boeing 787s has flown 11,400 flights with more than 60,700 flying hours, transporting 2.13 million passengers. The carrier will receive eight 787-10 Dreamliners in the following years. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-airlines-receives-11th-boeing-dreamliner/111310.vnp

Small commercial condo units okayed 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The Ministry of Construction has given the green light to Dat Lanh Real Estate Company to build commercial condo units of 25 square meters each until national technical standards on condominiums come out. In a reply to Dat Lanh's proposal for a commercial condo project with each unit measuring 20-30 square meters, the ministry said the domestic property developer could proceed with its project. According to the 2005 Housing Law, the minimum floor area of a condo unit was 45 square meters, said the ministry. However, many localities and businesses have written to the ministry asking for permission to build smaller condos of 30-40 square meters each. In fact, the demand for housing units smaller than 45 square meters is high among low-income and single people, and young families of 2-3 people in cities and industrial parks. A number of projects have been carried out in certain localities. The 2014 Housing Law, which replaces the 2005 version, nullifies the minimum floor area requirement for commercial condos. The new law states condos must have a floor area meeting construction standards and regulations. The ministry will issue national technical standards for condo flood area. The minimum area of a low-cost condo unit is 25 square meters. Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of Dat Lanh Real Estate Company, said real estate firms had long thought that the minimum area of a commercial condo unit is 45 square meters. Meanwhile, the ministry has issued no official guidelines. Duc said the ministry's response would help boost the low-cost housing segment and meet the housing needs of low-income urban residents and factory workers. Dat Lanh's small-condo project in HCM City would offer a price of VND200-300 million a unit. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53769/Small-commercial-condo-units-okayed.html

221 million USD Ngoc Linh ginseng project launched 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Twenty-six businesses in Vietnam have registered to invest 5 trillion VND (221 million USD) in farming and production of Ngoc Linh ginseng in the Nam Tra My district of the central province of Quang Nam. The chair of the district, Ho Quang Buu, told Vietnam News that six enterprises have joined a survey on growing Panax vietnamensis (Vietnamese ginseng), while 20 others will invest in pharmaceuticals, essential oils and cosmetics, as well as tonic drinks and capsules from ginseng. So far, the district has developed 27 farms in three communes, with over 800,000 saplings of ginseng and herbs for local farmers. Nam Tra My and two other districts in Kon Tum province Tu Mo Rong and Dak Glei are designated areas for mass development of the ginseng in mountainous farms at 1.400m to 2,600m above sea level, according to Buu. Earlier this year, the district introduced its first Ngoc Linh ginseng and medical herbs centre as a major source of seed and saplings. In 2016, the Ministry of Science and Technology's Intellectual Property Agency recognised the Geographical Indication (GI) of Ngoc Linh for ginseng root products in Quang Nam and Kon Tum provinces. The district itself also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on tourism, agriculture, conservation and the development of Ngoc Linh ginseng with Hamyang County in the Republic of Korea (RoK) two years ago. The district will host the first Ngoc Linh Ginseng Festival part of cultural events of the sixth Quang Nam Heritage Festival from June 13 to 16. Ginseng was first found on Ngoc Linh Mountain on the border between the Central Highlands Kon Tum province and Quang Nam in the late 1960s. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/221 million-usd-ngoc-linh-ginseng-project-launched/111297.vnp

New way of brand building 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Vietnamese footwear startup sShoe made a solid first impression in announcing its initial slogan of "The world's smartest shoe brand for men", but then quickly replaced it with "The smart shoe brand for men with excellent services", after internal disagreements about the first slogan. Pursuing Biti's the largest Vietnamese shoemaker the startup's founders have defined its brand-building since the beginning of operations. "sShoe has made efforts to quickly mark the brand since its launch," said Phi Huu Thanh Long, Brand director at sShoe. "Brand-building at this time is a key factor in the company's business strategy and the opportunity for us to make a mark in customers' minds." The original slogan seemed to be a smart way for the brand to immediately influence customer mindsets, according to industry insiders. The concept of "smart shoes", however, is unlikely to be persuasive and needs to be defined clearly, according to Doan Do Ngoc Thi, Brand manager at Tiki.vn. The concept for Xiaomi's smart shoes is a good example to learn from. The Chinese smartphone maker announced the launch of its Ultra Smart Shoes in April, which are basically a pair of shoes equipped with a range of sensors to track the wearer's movements and the amount of calories burned on a given day. "Can the startup's technology compete with the Chinese brand's?", she wondered. The company believes that smart shoes are designed like formal shoes, but bring comfort to users, like wearing sports shoes. Formal shoes can often be quite uncomfortable, at least until they're worn in. T hanks to applying modern technology and using calf leather, sShoe's products are made from luxurious materials to provide comfort, similar to sports shoes, Long said. They can even be worn to play football. But local insiders doubt such claims. "Formal shoes shouldn't and can't be used like running shoes," Thi said. "Just like fish cannot climb trees. Such statements could just be part of their communications campaign, to attract attention." Though positioning itself in the high-end segment, sShoe's products are targeted at two groups: young people and male office workers on middle incomes, and high-income earning males, young entrepreneurs, and foreigners. Products average VND2.5 million ($112). Insiders said that this pricing structure is more likely to appeal to the first group, as those in the second group tend to prefer well-known foreign shoe brands. It seems to have realised the weakness of its branding, and "without branding, it is difficult for us to approach our targeted customers," Long said. The startup is nonetheless determined with its branding strategy, as it will conduct marketing and communications campaigns over the next two years. "We are willing to spend 50 per cent of total profit on building the brand, in order to quickly approach more customers," he said. It also plans to launch showrooms in major cities around the country over the next three years. sShoe has invested VND10 billion ($448,400) in a manufacturing factory in HCM City with an annual capacity of 100,000 products. It also expects to launch a second factory in Hanoi with the same capacity, once conditions permit. Its products received a good response from customers answering a company survey. sShoe can make 20 sizes of shoes thanks to a foot gauge the company is proud to say is unique in the world. The startup announced it could compete with major brands in sports shoes, like Nike and Adidas. Local insiders believe this is also part of sShoe's communications campaign; repositioning the brand with big names in order to attract the attention of local consumers. "The announcement is not a tactic," Long insists. "It is how we define our rivals, to go further and faster in the future. We expect sShoe can be a giant in leather shoes, like Nike and Adidas are in sports shoes." Its plan is to continue to offer more products with diverse designs and affordable prices in the future. "Besides our brand-building strategy, creating new ideas and improving product quality are key points of our business strategy," Long said. Its core value must indeed be good quality products with a successful brand-building strategy. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177666/new-way-of-brand-building.html

Roundtable shares ways to invest in Vietnam 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA A roundtable discussing investing in and exporting to Vietnam was held by the enterprise club of the Association of Enterprises in the Ile-de-France region (MEDEF Ile-de-France) on May 4. The event drew many French businesses which have invested in and exported to Vietnam, as well as partners who want to learn about Vietnam. Michel Jonqueres, Chair of the International Committee under MEDEF Ile-de-France, said that the two countries have yet to fulfill their economic and investment potential. France's exports to Vietnam were valued at 1.7 billion euro last year, accounting for only 1 percent of Vietnam's imports, he said, suggesting French businesses expand operations in the Southeast Asian nation. Agreeing with Jonqueres, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ngoc Son said that France is the 15th biggest trade partner of Vietnam. It is the 13th largest exporter to Vietnam and ranks 16th among countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country. At the event, representatives of Vietnamese trade and investment promotion agencies in France presented the strengths of Vietnam's investment climate, including stable political system, positive and sustainable growth prospects, competitive labour costs and high domestic demand. Le Cong Thanh, Counsellor in charge of investment in France, stated that Vietnam wants to attract investment in hi-tech and environmentally-friendly fields, which are strengths of France. Representatives from several French enterprises shared their experience in doing business in Vietnam. Some 300 French enterprises currently operate in Vietnam, with a total investment capital of 3.4 billion euro, generating about 26,000 jobs. MEDEF Ile-de-France comprises of enterprises from Paris and seven surrounding provinces. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/roundtable-shares-ways-to-invest-in-vietnam/111228.vnp

HCM City to organise ICT fair 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The first Electronics Information Communications Technology Fair & Exhibition 2017 will be organised by HCM City next week. The exhibition is expected to have 50 booths displaying new software, electronic, telecommunications and chipset products that can be used to set up e-governance and make the southern metro a smart city. It will also feature conference on new products and technologies, signing of agreements for cooperation and technology transactions and a gala dinner for executives in the sector. The city Department of Information and Communications will organise the event along with others like the HCM City Trade and Investment Promotion Centre, the HCM City Computers Association, the Vietnam Information Safety Association, the HCM City Chipset Association, Quang Trung Software Park, and the HCM City National University's Software Park. http://bizhub.vn/tech/hcm-city-to-organise-ict-fair_285930.html

France-Vietnam Architecture Week to open next Monday 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The France-Vietnam Week of Architecture will take place from May 8 to 13 to honor the beauty of architecture and highlight urban issues. Organised by the French Institute in Vietnam, the Academy of Architecture, AFEX, and An Ordinary City and Business France, the event will feature a series of activities including an exhibition, a conference and meetings with internationally-reputed French architects. This is a great opportunity for architecture lovers to meet and share experiences with local and international experts. An exhibition themed "Architectures d'Ailleurs et d'Ici" will be opened for public viewing at the HCM City University of Architecture at 196 Pasteur Street, District 3 from May 8-13. Visitors can come to the exhibition starting from 2.30 p.m. on May 8 with free entrance. In addition, there will also be a conference on Architecture and Urban Planning on May 9 from 8.40 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon in HCM City's District 1. Besides, those interested can join a talk show on theme of urban mutations at Culture Salon Cafe at 19B Pham Ngoc Thach Street in HCM City's District 3. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53767/France-Vietnam-Architecture-Week-to-open-next-Monday.html

International client conference to promote Binh Phuoc's cashew 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The southern province of Binh Phuoc will organise an international client conference for the local cashew industry from May 14-16. At a press conference in HCM City on May 5, the organising board said the event is expected to draw representatives from consulates general of countries importing Binh Phuoc's cashew, as well as domestic and foreign associations and enterprises engaging in cashew trade with the province. Huynh Thi Hang, vice Chairwoman of Binh Phuoc People's Committee and head of the organising board, said that cashew farming and processing is an important economic sector of Binh Phuoc in recent year, which is employing about 40,000 labourers. The province has about 143,000 hectares of cashew area, accounting for 40 percent of the country's total, along with 270 processing factories and 1,600 cashew trading household businesses. Last year, the locality earned 500 million USD from cashew nut export, making up nearly one third of the province's total export revenue. Binh Phuoc's cashew nut has been rated as having the world's best quality by experts and international customers. Hang stressed that the province hopes that the conference will create a chance for cashew nut farmers, processors and traders to meet and seek partnership with foreign peers. She added that the event is also expected to connect domestic and foreign enterprises, thus foster their collaboration in the future. Meanwhile, Nguyen Anh Hoang, head of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, said that the conference will focus on a wide range of issues, including the planning and development of cashew nut material area, the green cultivation of cashew under VietGap standards. Connectivity in producing and processing cashew nut, thus improving export value, and policies for developing the cashew nut industry are also on the agenda. Fact-finding tours of some local cashew farm and processing facilities will be arranged for participants, he added. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/intl-client-conference-to-promote-binh-phuocs-cashew/111267.vnp

Tourists to pay new port fees in Quang Ninh province 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Tourists passing through Tuan Chau international port in northern Quang Ninh Province will be charged VND40,000 (US$1.8) for a two-way ticket and VND20,000 ($0.9) for a one-way ticket from May 28. The fees were approved by the provincial People's Committee on Tuesday following a proposal made by the Au Lac Limited Company managing unit of the port in October last year in an effort to recover investment capital. Capital recovery is necessary since the port was built entirely by the private enterprise, according to Dao Anh Tuan, managing director of the company. Fee waivers and discounts will be applied to children shorter than 1.2 metres or under 7 years old, people with disabilities, and citizens who enjoy cultural preferential policies, in accordance with the government's regulations. The Quang Ninh People's Committee has requested that the fees be published in local mass media and at the port for 20 consecutive days before they are officially applied. Apart from recovering investment capital, fee collection will also support port operations, said port director Phạm Thanh Tung. Some 500 tourist boats anchor at the port every day, generating a revenue of VND1.3 million ($57) per boat per month, which is insufficient to pay for hundreds of port staff members and maintaining its operations, he said. Part of the revenue from port fees will be reinvested to serve tourists, he said. Some 60,000 tourists passed through the port to visit Ha Long Bay from April 30 to May 1, Tung added. They ran out of available boats on April 30 due to a dramatic rise in the number of tourists, he said. The Tuan Chau international port started operation in late 2015. With a total area of some 200ha and 100km of anchoring space, it is capable of containing some 2,200 tourist boats. Improvements at an international standard are being made at the port and are in different stages of a co- ordinated plan. http://www.vir.com.vn/tourists-to-pay-new-port-fees-in-quang-ninh-province.html

Company director charged for fraud 08/May/2017 Intellasia| AFP Hanoi People's Procuracy plans to charge a director of two companies for fraudulent appropriation of assets, under suspicion of appropriating billions of dongfrom those desiring to work overseas. The suspect La Thanh Khuong, 41, of Dong Da District, is the director of Visa World Ltd Company and Dong Phuong Việt Nam International Trade Ltd Company. Both firms are not licensed to send people to work overseas. However, police's investigation showed that between March, 2015 and July, 2016, Khuong received over VND1.6 billion (US$71,000) and $8,600 from 21 people after promising to help them get jobs in countries like Taiwan, Spain or Cyprus. She allegedly told the victims that they could go to work overseas within three months after paying her a deposit worth $3,000 per person. Since the case was detected, Khuong returned victims VND248 million. http://www.vir.com.vn/company-director-charged-for-fraud.html

Town chair resigns to become debt collector 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Money invested in Phuoc Son cannot rescue the gold company owned by a Canadian group from bankruptcy. Hundreds of creditors, including the chair of a town, have had to resign from their posts to spend time to collect debts. The Quang Nam provincial People's Court decided to open bankruptcy proceedings on March 24, 2017. However, more than 100 Phuoc Son creditors have lost sleep for years because of the failure to collect debts from the big gold mining company. Do Ngoc Thang, former chair of the Kham Duc Town in Phuoc Son district, had to resign from his post in 2014 to spend time to chase debt payments from Phuoc Son, together with his wife, who is director of Quang An Company. The amount of money Phuoc Son owes to Quang An has reached VND17.5 billion, but Quang An still has not received any dong. Thang and his family have had to borrow money from many different sources to carry out construction contracts. Tens of other people in Phuoc Son district have also not been able to collect debts from Phuoc Son. Ly Minh Tam, director of Ly Chau Giang Trade & Tourism in Kham Duc Town, said Phuoc Son owes VND1.5 billion to his company. Meanwhile, Le Thi Do, the owner of Trung Do Hotel, estimates that Phuoc Son has not paid VND197 million to the hotel, which is the value of the accommodation service provided to the company's staff. Do said she recently received a document from Quang Nam People's Court, requesting her to send a claim for debt. However, she still has not done this, because she is not sure if she can collect debt, while she is sure she will have to pay a court fee. Phuoc Son owes VND22 billion to businesses and people in the locality. After the Quang Nam People's Court released the decision on opening the bankruptcy proceedings against Phuoc Son, many creditors were worried that they could not get the money back. The biggest creditor of Phuoc Son is the Quang Nam provincial Taxation Agency, which said Phuoc Son owed VND335 billion in tax. After taking adrastic measures, the agency got VND224 billion back, which means Phuoc Son still owes VND91 billion. Phuoc Son was allowed to resume the operation of Dak Sa gold mine in August 2016 to help make money pay debts. However, the State Bank has refused to grant a license to the company to export gold. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177667/town-chair-resigns-to-become-debt-collector.html

Spanish pork cooking show held in town 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times INTERPORC, the Spanish Inter-professional Agro-Food Organisation of White Porcine, in collaboration with the Economic & Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain in Vietnam, organised a "Cooking Show and Cocktail Dinner" at the Caravelle Saigon Hotel in HCM City on April 24 with the participation of famous chef Nguyen Dieu Thao. INTERPORC is a non-for-profit organisation representing all sectors of the Spanish white porcine value chain such as production, distribution, processing and marketing. INTERPORC's main goal is to benefit its members by promoting applied research, contribute to economic development and profitability of the sector and support its internationalisation process. Spanish pork is well known all around the world for its high quality and authentic taste, a result of the careful breed selection and meat processing. Nowadays, Spain is among the top five pork exporters to Vietnam. In the next few years, exports will continue to increase because Spanish producers are highly interested in the emerging market. Last year, exports of Spanish fresh and frozen pork to Vietnam amounted to almost $7 million, doubling that in 2015. The event started with a speech by the representative of INTERPORC Juan Manuel Lopez and the Economic & Commercial Counsellor, Jose Antonio Bretones Cordero, followed by a cooking show performed by famous Vietnamese chef Nguyen Dieu Thao and ended with a cocktail dinner and networking with five important Spanish producers of high quality pork. Around 100 Spanish exporters, Vietnamese importers, retailers and restaurant owners, Vietnamese and Spanish authorities joined the event. This event is envisaged as a platform showing the high quality of Spanish pork and exploring new investment and business cooperation opportunities between the two countries. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53787/Spanish-pork-cooking-show-held-in-town.html

Dialogue between PM, enterprises to take place this month 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The annual dialogue between prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the business community will take place sometime between May 10 and 20, allowing firms to directly communicate with the government. According to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the event intends to review the one-year implementation of Resolution No.35/NQ-CP dated May 16, 2016 on "Supporting and developing enterprises by 2020" and the government's efforts to improve the local business climate and national competitiveness. About 1,400 delegates, including 200 from foreign-invested corporations and business associations, international financial institutions, and foreign embassies to Vietnam and some 1,200 others from domestic private companies and cooperatives, will participate in the dialogue. The event will assess governmental work to support and develop enterprises and review the performance of the businesses. Problems in linking domestic and foreign-invested firms together with potential solutions will also be discussed. Progress has been made a year after Resolution No.35/NQ-CP was launched, especially in building confidence in the government's commitment to develop the business society, and change the mindset of the government apparatus. A record number of about 110,100 businesses were established last year with total capital of more than 891 trillion VND, up 49 percent year-on-year. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/dialogue-between-pm-enterprises-to-take-place-this-month/111327.vnp

Property market stable in April 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The real estate market was stable in April, as several developers of high- and middle-end projects slightly lowered prices to speed up sales, according to a new Ministry of Construction report. The report shows that successful transactions were mainly middle-end projects nearing completion, with good infrastructure. In Hanoi and HCM City, housing prices were stable, but several projects recorded mild price drops as developers wanted to boot sales, the ministry said. Ministry data estimate realty market inventories at nearly VND28.4 trillion (US$1.25 billion) as of April 20, a drop of 8.55 per cent since the end of 2016. The inventory includes many lots far from downtown areas, where infrastructure is underdeveloped. According to Le Hoang Chau, president of HCM City Real Estate Association, the property market currently shows no signs of a bubble. Chau noted that five factors are needed to form a bubble: an overheating economy, loosened credit management, imbalance between demand and supply, rising speculation and negligence of management agencies. "I see no risk of a bubble in the overall realty market, but there is an intensifying heat on land," Chau said. Some areas in HCM City recorded price increases of 30-40 per cent, or even up to 100 per cent in land prices since last year. Chau said development of infrastructure and announcements or rumours about mega projects were pushing up prices of nearby land unreasonably in some areas, such as District 9, Nha Be, Binh Chanh, Cu Chi in HCM City. "Attention should be paid to whopping rises in land prices," Chau said, warning buyers to be cautious about their investments. Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam's HCM City branch, said credit policies for the real estate sector were more cautious to prevent a bubble. Experts also urged buyers of unfinished housing projects to study the projects' legality carefully before making decisions, especially certificates of eligibility for transactions and bank guarantees. According to Pham Gia Hoa from HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment, management agencies should announce which projects are eligible for transactions. http://bizhub.vn/property/property-market-stable-in-april_285990.html

Investment in industrial property tends to increase again 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu At the beginning of 2016, Vietnam's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was positive news for the Vietnamese industry. The fact that foreign companies came to Vietnam to set up factories, looking for a zero percent tariff promoted the development of industrial property segment. In 2017, this dream went off when the United States, its largest TPP partner, withdrew from the agreement. This information made real estate investors worry because previously, they purchased land to build industrial clusters, or to expand industrial parks. Alex Crane, general manager at Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam (the provider of real estate services), said the concern is grounded. However, Vietnam is one of the attractive investment destinations in the world. Therefore, despite the absence of TPP, the segment of industrial real estate still tends to grow. As per Alex Crane, recent data from Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam showed that in Q1/2017, committed FDI to Vietnam reached the record of $7.7 billion. Of which, the amount of capital poured into the manufacturing sector accounted for 84.8 percent. In addition, the increase in industrial output, the number of new businesses as well as the strong growth in the confidence index of manufacturers also positively influenced on the industrial property market. "By the end of Q1/2017, the market absorption for Vietnam's industrial land segment was 4,700 hectares, up seven percent from Q1/2016, despite unexpected performance of the presidential election results of the United States, which led to the US's withdrawal from the TPP", said Alex Crane. Alex Crane added, foreign investors continue to favour Vietnam, the market continues to stabilise. According to many real estate experts, the industrial property segment will return to the growth race, as Vietnam currently has four FTAs under negotiation, including RCEP, FTA between Asean and Hong Kong, FTA with Israel and FTA with EFTA. These trade agreements will provide opportunities for foreign capital inflows into Vietnam, along with the development of the manufacturing sector in general and industrial property in particular. In addition to the aforementioned optimistic forecasts, Cushman & Wakefield said that there are still concerns and challenges for multinational companies investing in Vietnam, mainly due to cumbersome administrative procedures, taking time to complete projects. Therefore, provinces and cities with industrial zones still need to carry out reforms, in order to attract more investment and increase land rents. Infrastructure is a top priority, such as the main routes from HCM City and Hanoi leading to industrial zones in the northern and southern provinces. "Even in industrial zones, changes are also needed to attract further investment, such as electricity and water, and discharge system of industrial zones. These factors also have certain impacts on investment decision of multinational companies", said Alex Crane.

Agriculture body invests in seafood competitiveness 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has given nod to a project worth 102.2 billion VND (4.5 million USD) to improve the fisheries sector's competitiveness. Of the total cost, 40 billion VND (1.76 million USD) will be sourced from the State budget, while the rest will come from contributions of businesses and international organisations. Based on the context of national integration into the global economy and implementation of free trade agreements, the project will support restructuring of the sector towards improving products' added value. It is set to focus on checking and supplementing legal documents and regulations on aquacultural farming and processing for export, while revising and adding regulations on the import of aquatic raw products to be processed for export to ensure they meet international standards. Additional regulations on certificates of origin, responsibilities for preservation, processing, export and consumption, as well as a single-window customs policy will be formulated for the sector under the project. The project also prioritises the improvement of international cooperation to enhance the sector's management and integration capacities. The country will try to attract foreign direct investment for developing freshwater, brackish water and saline-water aquaculture in Vietnam, while producing high-quality aquatic breeds and probiotics to treat water used for aquaculture, as well as feed for every kind of aquatic breed. It will promote the development of industries serving offshore fishing such as the production of modern fishing equipment and ship building. The project also aims at improving capacity to deal with internal trade barriers and assisting the building of national brands for key export seafood products, including shrimp, tra fish and tuna. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/agriculture-body-invests-in-seafood-competitiveness/111326.vnp

Industry links up with vocational educators to reduce skill gap 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Close cooperation is needed between government agencies, enterprises and vocational training schools to reduce the skill gap in Vietnam's labour market, the head of the general directorate of Vocational Training said at a two-day workshop held last week in the city. Nguyen Hong Minh said that closer cooperation among companies, their trade associations and government agencies would help schools set up training standards more effectively. Cooperation would also help students at vocational training schools have more chances for internships, he added. The workshop, held by the Australian government and the general directorate of Vocational Training, is part of a 146 million AUD (109.5 million USD) Aus4Skills project, an Australian government-funded human resource development programme for Vietnam which runs from 2016 to 2020. Workshop participants discussed the problems that hinder the quality and relevance of vocational education and training in Vietnam, especially in the logistics sector. The workshop provided an overview of Australia's industry-linked vocational education and training system, and how its model of using occupational standards can help ensure high quality relevant training. The outcomes of the workshop will inform the implementation plan for Aus4Skills in which promotion of industry linkages with vocational education and training in logistics will be piloted to improve industry competitiveness, Graham Alliband, the programme's director, said. Aus4Skills aims to focus on four occupational standards in logistics: warehouse operator and supervisor, logistics administrator and freight forwarder. The logistics industry in Vietnam has great demand for high-quality human resources with both professional expertise and English-language competency, according to the Ministry of Transport. Of nearly 1 million people working in the industry, there are only 6,000 skilled staff. Only around 24 percent of the industry workforce has attended logistics training courses in Vietnam, while 3.9 percent have attended logistics training abroad. Around 80 percent have received on-the-job training only. Around 10 percent of the workforce has a good command of English in the logistics field. There are no large-scale or full-time logistics training courses in Vietnam and many companies have been recruiting graduates from universities and colleges whose majors do not include logistics. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/industry-links-up-with-vocational-educators-to-reduce-skill-gap/111342.vnp

SOEs' losses a source of public frustration Party chief 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Party general Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, speaking at the 5th plenum of the Party Central Committee in Hanoi last week, expressed deep concern over the protracted inefficiency of the State corporate sector, saying this is a source of public frustration. SOEs need further restructuring The weaknesses of SOEs have long been pointed out but the State sector has yet to get out of the woods even though many tenures of the Party Central Committee have passed, he said. At the opening of the 5th plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee last Friday, the Party chief described the restructuring, renovating and improving SOEs as a tough and complicated issue. The Party and the State have taken a slew of policy steps to restructure SOEs and pivotal results have been achieved, with the number of enterprises wholly owned by the State falling from more than 12,000 to 5,655 in 2001 and only 718 in October 2016. He however said SOEs had not fulfilled their role as the leading force of the State economy; they have yet to take the lead in the economy and create a driving force for economic development. A number of SOEs have made huge losses as many of their projects worth trillions of dong have ground to a halt, thus causing huge bad debt, making public debt worse, and stoking public frustration. "The weaknesses of SOEs have been long pointed out but why has the situation improved slowly after many terms (of the Party Central Committee) or even got worse?" he said. Corporate governance at SOEs has been slowly changed to international standards, he said, adding institutions for management, inspection and supervision of investment and finance at SOEs, especially credit guarantees, and evaluation of land, and tangible and intangible assets, are still inadequate. The current mechanism for managing and supervising agencies and individuals tasked with overseeing State capital at SOEs has been easily taken advantage of for personal gains. The general Secretary requested the central government to thoroughly look into the concept and role of SOEs at a time when SOE equitisation is being stepped up and when enterprises with 100 percent State ownership are selling State shares; and restructure SOEs. A plan should be devised to change the way Party committees are organised and operated and personnel planning is done at SOEs. He underscored the need to issue a resolution on continued restructuring, renovation and improvement of SOEs. Socialist-oriented market economy institutions need improving The implementation of a resolution adopted at the 6th Plenum of the 10th Party Central Committee to perfect the socialist-oriented market economy has in the past 10 years played an important part in maintaining high economic growth, the Party chief said. Vietnam has become a lower middle-income country. But many limitations and weaknesses remain to be solved. Economic growth has been lower than expected and no major breakthroughs have been made to mobilise, allocate and utilise resources for development. SOEs have been unable to maintain the lead role in the economy while the collective economy has been as weak as ever. The private sector has not grown as swiftly, sustainably and healthily as hoped. The general Secretary emphasized that at this plenum, the Party Central Committee will have to adopt a resolution pushing for a continued improvement of the socialist-oriented market economy from now to 2020, with a vision to 2030. Stepping up private sector development General Secretary Trong said the Party and the State have over the past 15 years issued policies and taken measures to prop up the private sector. The role of the private sector in the socialist-oriented market economy and the international integration process has been recognised. The private sector has been contributing greatly to mobilising public resources for investment, fuelling economic growth, spurring economic restructuring, increasing State budget revenues, creating jobs, improving people's lives, and solving social problems. The share of the private sector in GDP has been maintained at a staggering 39-40 percent. A number of major privately-held business groups have emerged in various sectors and have been able to compete on domestic and international markets. However, private sector growth has been in decline in recent years. The starting point of the private sector is low and a majority of private firms are small and grappling with outdated technology, slow innovation, poor governance, limited finances, low labour productivity, poor efficiency, and low product quality and competitiveness. Trong proposed the plenum figure out objectives, tasks and solutions to spur private sector development and make this sector an important driving force of the socialist-oriented market economy. Some senior officials face discipline The plenum will discuss many important issues, including disciplinary actions against a couple of senior officials. The Party Central Committee's Inspection Commission on April 27 proposed the Politburo and the Party Central Committee discipline Politburo member and HCM City Party Committee Secretary Dinh La Thang. According to the Inspection Commission, Thang should be held accountable for wrongdoing and irregularities which were committed in 2009-2011 by the standing board of the Party committee and the board of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) while he was serving as Party chief at the State- owned group. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53792/SOEs percente2 percent80 percent99-losses-a-source-of-public- frustration----Party-chief.html

Vietnam back to mulling macadamia nuts as cash crop 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV The Vietnam Macadamia Association has recommended once again that more farmers cultivate macadamia nuts as an alternative agriculture cash crop due to its relatively low input capital and high earnings potential. Macadamia production has a relatively low upfront capital outlay, the Association told minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in making the recommendation. It is also a highly drought resistant crop and perfect for arable land where water is in short supply due to mother nature or lack of irrigation systems due to insufficient finances to fund their construction, said the Association. Production is ideally suited for five Central Provinces and three northern provinces in Vietnam where the year-round temperatures range between 15-26 degrees Celsius. The Association noted Macadamia nuts grow on large bushy trees which start producing after four or five years from planting. The trees will be in full production after six years and continue producing indefinitely thereafter. Macadamias are ideally suited to a mildfrost-free climate where rainfall is distributed evenly throughout the year, said the Association, roughly the same climate suitable for growing coffee. Both species will grow well in many areas of Vietnam and can even be grown in large pots. However, many farmers in the Central Highlands say this is the same tired recommendation made a few years ago, which hopes faded after the trees they planted failed to bear fruit even after seven years. At that time, Huynh Ngoc Huy, chair of Lien Viet Post Bank, the founder the Vietnam Macadamia Association, said every hectare of macadamia had the potential to produce roughly three tonne of nuts annually, earning farmers after all expenses a disposable income of $9,000. He touted a global demand that outstripped production four-fold, saying the time was ripe for Vietnamese farmers to jump headfirst into the market. However, despite all the hype, farmers say they failed to make a penny, most ended up losing everything but the shirts on their back and in the final analysis wound upcutting down their trees and moving on to other more promising crops. Huy put the blame for the failure squarely on the back of illiterate farmers failing to follow the cultivation practices promulgated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Among the many shortcomings, he noted that farmers purchased inferior plants and did improper soil analysis. For those who are not familiar, all macadamia trees grown for commercial purposes are grafted and there are approximately 600 different varieties. Experts advise farmers to always cultivate a mixture of varieties scattered evenly throughout their orchard to ensure adequate pollination after careful selection based on proper soil testing. There is little doubt that Huy's criticism has some validity given farmers in the country routinely disregard VietGap good agriculture practicesand the recommendations of the Ministry. Huy noted that farmers back then chose grafts that cost $1 when the going rate for high quality plants was $3.00-US$3.50 each and that was the root cause of why the plants never bore fruit. Huy also blames the Ministry in part for the past failure of the segment to get off the ground, saying it didn't offer enough support to local farmers. Before the plans fell through, the Ministry had announced plans to increase the cultivation of macadamia to 10,000 hectares by 2020. Most of the hectarage was planned to be interspersed among other crops such as coffee and tea. So now the Association has come full circle and is back to peddling the same recommendation it made a few years ago with pretty much the identical storyline. There's a gold mine in growing macadamia nuts, says the Association, underscoring that positive net cash flows can be achieved by farmers cultivating macadamia nuts in just six years with low initial start-up costs if they just follow VietGap. Returns could be upwards of 200 percent, says the Association, if farmers commercially produce high quality nuts and listen to their advice. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-back-to-mulling-macadamia-nuts-as-cash-crop-349060.vov

WB supports transport, sanitation infrastructure in Vietnam 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The World Bank (WB) last Friday approved $315 million in financing to improve water transport infrastructure in northern Vietnam, and sanitation and transport services in coastal cities in central Vietnam. Of the total approved funding, $236 million will be directed to the Vietnam Coastal Cities Sustainable Environment Project, with $190 million from the International Development Association (IDA) and $46 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). It will be implemented in the coastal cities of Dong Hoi, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang and Phan Rang-Thap Cham, and expected to benefit around 1.1 million residents. Investments under the Vietnam Coastal Cities Sustainable Environment Project will focus on flood reduction, drainage and wastewater collection networks, wastewater treatment plants, school sanitation and public toilets, revolving funds for household connections and solid waste management. It will also improve priority roads and bridges along canals, drains and rivers, thereby strengthening connectivity and relieving traffic pressure. Relevant institutional arrangements and sustainability aspects will also be comprehensively addressed and enhanced through the project implementation. "Given Vietnam's rapid urbanisation, an integrated approach to the development of transport, water, and sanitation services is vital to sustained growth, as is strong environmental protection," said Ousmane Dione, the WB Country director for Vietnam. "As highlighted in the Vietnam 2035 report, we are strongly committed to the partnership with Vietnam to deliver solutions efficiently and effectively." The remaining $78.74 million is an IDA credit that will support the Northern Delta Transport Development Project. It will be used to finance the construction of a canal to connect Day and Ninh Co rivers with a navigational lock to improve freight vessel access to Ninh Phuc port, the main inland waterway port in the Ninh Binh region. Construction of the canal is expected to facilitate economic activity by reducing logistics costs, and to mitigate the risks of climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases incurred in freight transportation. In conjunction with other inland waterway infrastructure investments already financed under the project, the Day-Ninh Co canal will complete a through-corridor for seagoing vessels between the estuary of the Ninh Co River and Ninh Phuc port. This will enable round-the-clock waterway access to vessels up to 3,000 tonnes in capacity to service this important transport network. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53794/WB-supports-transport-sanitation-infrastructure-in-Vietnam.html

Vietnam, Norway confer on aquaculture 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Norwegian Embassy organised a business seminar on sustainable aquaculture in southern Can Tho City on Saturday. Co-chaired by Tran Dinh Luan, deputy general director of the Fisheries Department, and Ole Henaes, the commercial counsellor at the embassy in Hanoi, the event brought together executives from 16 Norwegian aquaculture companies and local businesses and officials from the directorate and provincial departments of aquaculture. The workshop sought to introduce Norwegian technologies in the aquaculture value chain and connect Vietnamese and Norwegian businesses. It discussed new techniques and technologies in fisheries and aquaculture processing from renowned Norwegian companies like Artec Aqua, CFlow, Steinsvik, Normex and Pharmaq, including the use of electrolysis and ultrasound in the treatment of seawater, efficient systems for handling and transport of fish, automatic feeding and monitoring systems for fish farms, corrosion-free surveillance cameras for ships, wastewater treatment and organic matter removal systems, and vaccines for fish. Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Huu Dung, chair of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said with a coastline of over 3,260 kilometres, more than 3,000 islands and islets and 2,860 rivers and estuaries, Vietnam was geographically endowed with ideal conditions for fisheries. The country is the third largest fisheries producer with an output of 6.33 million tonnes last year. It is the leading producer of pangasius and the third largest producer of shrimp. Yet, Dung said, the Vietnamese aquaculture sector has also faced major challenges in recent years. Unsustainable development They include lack of planning leading to unsustainable development, poor breeding fish quality and aquaculture infrastructure, inefficient extension services, high disease prevalence and lack of environmental monitoring and administrative and management capacity, he said. The country is in urgent need of building a partnership with an aquaculture superpower like Norway to develop a more sustainable fisheries sector that can produce higher quality seafood products for local and global markets, he said. Henaes said many Norwegain aquaculture companies consider Vietnam the most promising market in Southeast Asia, thanks to a number of advantages such as competitive labour costs, skilled workers, open economic policy, favourable geographical conditions and a mutual interest in the blue economy. The main objective is for the Norwegian businesses to increase their knowledge of the Vietnamese seafood industry, market their technologies and update their Vietnamese partners on new technological innovations to improve their efficiency, he said. Luan thanked the delegates for their input and assured that the ministry would help identify opportunities for Norwegian investors, create the best possible conditions for them and facilitate long-term relationships. The Department of Fisheries would support Norwegian aquaculture businesses as an active dialogue partner and advise them on local political and economic conditions and issues like corporate social responsibility, barriers to business operations and others. It would also help them contact the government, he said. It would cooperate closely with Norwegian investment funds like Holbergfondene and Nor-fishing Foundation Fund to allocate money needed for projects and ventures, he said. http://bizhub.vn/news/viet-nam-norway-confer-on-aquaculture_285985.html

Germany helps Vietnam expand wind power development 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The project "Support to the Up-Scaling of Wind Power in Vietnam funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) was reviewed in a seminar in Hanoi on May 8. The project, part of the Climate and Technology Initiative of Germany, is being carried out at a cost of 6.9 million euro from 2014-2018. According to general director of the general directorate of Energy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Dang Huy Cuong, Vietnam's electricity industry has been facing great challenges, including the shortage of energy sources for power generation. Vietnam has actively worked to ensure the national energy security, and implemented commitments relating to reduction of greenhouse gas emission and environmental protection. At the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in 2015, Vietnam was among 150 countries that committed to cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions towards keeping the global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial level by 2100. The prime minister approved several programmes to encourage the development of new and renewable energy sources, including the Renewable Energy Development Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2050, which aims to increase the production of wind power to 2.5 billion kWh by 2020, around 16 billion kWh by 2030 and 53 billion kWh in 2050. Experts said that Vietnam boasts great potential for developing wind power as it has a coastline of 3,000 km, and is in a tropical monsoon climate. They stressed that legal and market regulations of Vietnam should be fine-tuned to make it easy for investors to expand their operation in the field. Through the funding of the German government, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) has supported Vietnam in developing renewable energy projects since 2009, including the "Support to the Up-Scaling of Wind Power" project. In the framework of this project, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is cooperating with GIZ to improve legal regulations as well as the capacity of public organisations such as investors, local banks, consulting firms and technical companies. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/germany-helps-vietnam-expand-wind-power-development/111371.vnp

Business Briefs May 09, 2017 09/May/2017 Intellasia | * Mekong Enterprise Fund III (MEF III) has committed to invest $7.6 million in Ben Thanh Jewellery (BTJ). This is the fourth investment by MEF III. With the investment from MEF III, BTJ will launch a new jewellery store chain called PRECITA, which will redefine the industry standards of value for customers and product integrity. The brand will rely on designs from bigjewellery markets and latest Western trends, together with exclusive local designs for domestic customer needs. * Mekong Enterprise Fund III (MEF III) has committed to invest $7.6 million in Ben Thanh Jewellery (BTJ). This is the fourth investment by MEF III. With the investment from MEF III, BTJ will launch a new jewellery store chain called PRECITA, which will redefine the industry standards of value for customers and product integrity. The brand will rely on designs from bigjewellery markets and latest Western trends, together with exclusive local designs for domestic customer needs. * Thien Long Group (TLG) plans to issue nearly 14 million shares in two stages to raise its chartered capital. In the second or third quarter of 2017, TLG will issue 11.5 million bonus shares for existing shares at a 10:3 ratio. In the next stage, the firm will offer 2.4 million employee stock ownership (ESOP) shares at VND30,OOO each. TLGtargets after-tax profit of VND265 billion in 2017, up 10 percent from the previous year. * The Hanoi Stock Exchange raised over VND142.4 billion from four share auctions in April whereby State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), Vinalines, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Truong Son Construction Corporation divested 'capital from four enterprises. Investors bid for over 40 million shares at the auctions, 31 percent higher than the offered volume. * Military Insurance Corporation (MIG) began trading 80 million shares on the market for unlisted public companies, or UPCoM, last Friday at the reference price of VNDI0,OOO each. The insurer has total chartered capital of VND800 billion with 69.58 percent held by Military Bank. In 2017, MIG targets to obtain over VND2.1 trillion in revenue and VND148 billion in pre-tax profit compared to VND1.9 trillion and VND88 billion reported last year respectively. On the first trading day, MIG shot up to the ceiling price of VND14,OOO each with matching volume of89,600 shares. Realty market faces new inventory concerns 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre Real estate inventory continues to decrease but the speed has slowed down. The inventory is mainly seen in land in projects far from the centre with insufficient infrastructure, said Ministry of Construction (MOC). As of April 20, 2017, the total real estate inventory value remained about 28.369 trillion dong, down 2.654 trillion dong from December 2016 (8.55 percent), and 624 billion dong from March 20, 2017. Experts say the current real estate inventory has fallen considerably because the market is good and many projects have resumed operations. However, experts also worry that in several recent years, new projects have been launched to the market in large number. Although old goods have been cleared, some new ones have not been sold out yet. The question is whether there are new inventories. The reports of CBRE, Savills also pointed out that transactions in real estate market have begun to cool down and decelerate since the end of 2016. The housing demand is being overwhelmed by investment and speculation demand in the market. Meanwhile, new goods have continuously been launched, causing fears of oversupply. Nguyen Tran Nam, Chair of Vietnam Real Estate Association Former deputy Chair of MOC, has repeatedly expressed concerns over the excess supply of high-end real estate in the current real estate market. "Current risks such as imbalance; lack of average, low-end, social housing products have lessened. Without early warnings and adjustments, the real estate market may get back to the tracks several years ago when unnecessary things were abundant and what the society and people really needed were in shortage", said Nam.

VN's drilling corporation wins numerous contracts 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation (PV Drilling) has signed multiple new contracts in the second quarter of this year. After completing its drilling campaign for Total E&P Myanmar, PV Drilling will supply its Drilling 1 rig for offshore drilling to Cuu Long Joint Operating Company, which is engaged in petroleum exploration and production. Meanwhile, Drilling II and Drilling III rigs have re-entered the market to service Murphy Oil Corporation and Con Son, respectively. Drilling VI rig has served Hoang Long Hoan Vu Joint Operating Company since mid-March and Drilling 11 rig is drilling wells for Algerian customer Sonatract. PV Drilling said prices of services are increasing thanks to the stellar performance. This year, PV Drilling's annual shareholders' meeting approved a plan to earn VND2.3 trillion (US$101 million) in revenue in 2017. In a bid to realise its business targets in 2017, the company is striving to get additional contracts for its rigs and other drilling technical services. It will also look to recover overdue debts. Cutting oil rigs' operation costs and negotiating with suppliers to reduce input costs are part of the company's efforts to improve financial management. PV Drilling's business activities were dramatically affected by the idle oil rig market in Southeast Asia in the first quarter. Oil rig rental prices dropped by 60 per cent and other related services fell 50 per cent, causing the company to lose, for the first time in its operation history, more than VND200 billion. http://bizhub.vn/news/vns-drilling-corporation-wins-numerous-contracts_285993.html

SBIC investment certificate for South Cam Ranh IZ to be revoked? 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR After leaving its project in South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone in the central province of Khanh Hoa abandoned for eight years, Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) may soon lose its licence to develop the project. Khanh Hoa's relentless pleas to revoke According to a source of VIR, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) recently submitted to the government Office document No.3541/BKHDT-QLKKT about revoking SBIC's investment certificate for infrastructure construction in South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone. In particular, MPI agreed to the Khanh Hoa People's Committee's earlier proposal, and requested the prime minister (PM) to allow the Van Phong Economic Zone Management Board, under the directions of Khanh Hoa, to revoke the project's investment certificate based on investment and investment-related regulations. "The arising problems (if any) will be solved by the Khanh Hoa People's Committee through cooperation with the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and SBIC," the official letter stated. In addition, in March 2017, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed in principle on revoking the project's licence and assigned MPI to team up with MoT to carry out the associated tasks. Since 2011, the Khanh Hoa People's Committee has four times proposed the PM to revoke the investment certificate of Nha Trang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd (a subsidiary of SBIC), the firm responsible for the project in South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone, and to find another developer with sufficient experience and financial capacity. In 2009, the 203-hectare land lying beside Cam Ranh Bay was assigned to Vinashin (restructured and renamed as SBIC in 2013) to construct infrastructure for a mixed industrial zone designed to house projects in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry, machinery, and the electrical and electronic assembly industry. However, the project has been left in stasis till now. The Khanh Hoa People's Committee said that SBIC has stopped financing the South Cam Ranh project due to financial difficulties. Up till now, the developer has not undertaken investment procedures to carry out the project according to the timeline stipulated in the investment certificate. In accordance with the agreement between Vinashin and Khanh Hoa Province, the project should have been constructed by 2011. South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone was planned to welcome investors and be put into operation by the end of 2011. Opportunities for new developers SBIC is well aware of the advantages lying in holding this land plot and has been reluctant to give up the project. At the end of July 2016, SBIC proposed the MoT to request the government and the Khanh Hoa People's Committee not to revoke its license, so that it can negotiate with HC Global Investment and Technology Joint Stock Company (HCG) to carry out a solar power complex in place of the IZ. As HCG introduced claimed, it is headquartered in Hanoi and is specialised in supplying solar power solutions in Vietnam and some other countries. This enterprise has provided over 1,000 solar power systems of varying capacity for many solar power plants in Vietnam, Cambodia, Mozambique, and Tanzania, among others. On February 23, 2017, in Document No. 1785/BGTVT-QLDA the MoT also proposed to change the target and scale of the South Cam Ranh project and turn it into a solar power complex. This adjustment aims to facilitate SBIC's restructuring. Nevertheless, the proposal was declined by the MPI. By quoting Vinashin's restructuring plan, which was approved by the PM in 2010, the MPI pointed out that SBIC should focus on its core businesses. "SBIC's proposal of building a solar power plant complex in South Cam Ranh is not suitable with its restructuring orientations," the MPI representative said. Besides, according to some of Khanh Hoa's leaders, since receiving the investment certificate, SBIC has left this project abandoned. "The extremely long delay in implementing this project has violated the Law on Investment and the Law on Land and restricts the development of the whole Cam Ranh area in general," a provincial leader said. In case the PM agrees to revoke the investment certificate, the MPI will propose the Khanh Hoa People's Committee to invest in the infrastructure of South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone as specified in the approved plan. At the same time, provincial authorities should focus on luring in firms with enough experience and capacity to take over this project. South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone, invested by Nha Trang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd, was licensed in March 2009 with the total investment capital of VND980 billion ($43.9 million). According to plans, the project was expected to start construction at the end of 2009. The developer claimed that from 2010 to 2011 investors could hire land plots with common infrastructure to begin constructing their own projects. By the end of 2011, South Cam Ranh Industrial Zone was planned to be officially launched. http://www.vir.com.vn/sbic-investment-certificate-for-south-cam-ranh-iz-to-be-revoked.html

PetroVietnam-invested projects incurred huge losses under Dinh La Thang 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Many projects invested by PetroVietnam, the national oil & gas group, have been found taking huge losses. The common characteristic is that they were invested in when Dinh La Thang was on the post of chair of the board of directors. The Party Central Committee's Inspection Commission has recommended disciplinary action against Dinh La Thang, now Politburo member and Party Chief in HCM City, for the mismanagement at PetroVietnam, where he served as chair of the Board from 2009 to 2011. PVC, or PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, and Trinh Xuan Thanh, PVC's Chair, have become a familiar name to Vietnamese after local newspapers began reporting about its difficulties and huge losses in late 2016. A report showed that the accumulative loss of the holding company by June 30, 2013 had reached VND4.212 trillion, while revenue was VND510 billion only. The Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted 12 people for deliberate acts against regulations and asset embezzlement related to the losses of nearly VND3.3 trillion at PVC. Trịnh Xuan Thanh has fled the country and is wanted internationally. The Party Central Committee's Inspection Commission has found evidence showing that PetroVietnam's managers contributed more than allowed capital to Ocean Bank, which violated the provisions of the Law on Credit Institutions, thus causing serious losses of VND800 billion to PetroVietnam. The capital contribution to Ocean Bank was part of PetroVietnam's plan to become a multi-field conglomerate. However, the investment was a bad decision. Ocean Bank, as a weak bank, has been bought by the State Bank at zero dong. A series of investment projects made during the reign of Dinh La Thang have incurred big losses and have been left idle. The Dinh Vu Hai Phong Yarn Factory was one of them. Dinh Vu has been taking losses since it began the trial run. In 2012, it took a loss of VND21 billion; in 2013, it took the loss of VND366 billion; and the figure was VND1.085 trillion in 2014. By March 31, 2015, the loss had climbed to VND1.732 trillion. As a result it had to stop operation in late 2015. Vu Dinh Duy, general director of Dinh Vu Hai Phong Yarn Factory since July 2009, must take responsibility for the huge loss. In February 2014, Duy resigned from the post to take another office, leaving the VND7 trillion factory in big difficulties and losses. Dinh Vu Hai Phong has been named as one of the 12 projects of the Ministry of Industry and Trade which take big losses of trillions of dong. Sources said that an investor from Singapore has shown its interest in the factory and willingness to resume its operation. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/177921/petrovietnam-invested-projects-incurred-huge-losses- under-dinh-la-thang.html

New project targets competitive seafood sector 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has approved a project to make the seafood sector more competitive with financial support from the State budget, international organisations and businesses. Worth more than VD102 billion (US$4.47 million), the project's approval happens in the context of the nation deepening its international integration process, partly by implementing several free trade agreements. The project will support restructuring of the seafood sector towards improving value added products. The State Budget will contribute VND40 billion to the project, and the remaining VND62.2 billion will be raised from international organisation and businesses. The project will focus on checking and supplementing legal documents and regulations on seafood breeding, feeding, processing and packaging for export. It will also revise and add regulations on the import of seafood to be processed for export, ensuring that they meet international standards. Additional regulations on certificates of origin, responsibilities of preservation, processing and export consumption, as well as a "one-door" customs policy will be formulated under the project. The project will also help the sector strengthen international cooperation towards enhancing management and integration capacities. It is also expected to attract foreign direct investment for developing freshwater, brackish water and saline-water aquaculture in the country by producing high-quality seafood breeds and probiotics to treat water used for aquaculture, as well as feed for every kind of seafood. It will promote further development of offshore fishing with more modern equipment and new offshore fishing vessels, apart from upgrading the existing fleet with modern equipment and proper fishing tools. The project will further support the building of a national brand for key export seafood products, including shrimp, tra fish and tuna. http://bizhub.vn/news/new-project-targets-competitive-seafood-sector_285983.html

Viettel wins largest smart project in Laos 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Star Telecom, a joint venture between Vietnamese Viettel Global Joint Stock Company and Laos Asia Telecom, has won the contract to create an information system and management register of civil status the largest smart society project in Laos. This project offers local citizens a chance to electronically register their information on births, marriages and death records. It has been invested in by the Laos Ministry of Interior, to establish a solid foundation for its population to connect with relevant agencies via a system of registration of all births and deaths, birth certificates, death certificates, as well as the compilation and dissemination of statistics, including causes of death, marriage, divorce, separations, adoptions, immigration, immigrants and changes of residence. This is not an independent system, but part of the overall view of the country's population. Launched in October 2009, Unitel defeated five strong rivals who provide IT systems for Laos' Ministries and other units. Unitel collaborated with Solution Centre of Information Technology and Telecommunications Viettel to prepare negotiations, construction records and presentation solutions to win the package. It is expected that the Laos Ministry of Interior will sign the contract in May to build the project's Phase 1 in three localities with 31 districts, including the capital Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Champassack. Viettel, the military-run telecom group, said its brand names have been seen in many foreign markets, showing its strong commitment to ensuring ICT solutions for governments, organisations and businesses in those countries it has invested in. In February, its Movitel surpassed rivals of Vodacom and Mcel to become the official partner of the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM) to provide public services to 100 per cent of the country's population. Movitel has also promoted projects for mobile phones and wide broadband with ministries and non- governmental organisations in Mozambique. http://bizhub.vn/tech/viettel-wins-largest-smart-project-in-laos_285988.html

IFC assists Vietnam with sustainable agricultural production 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested 230 billion VND (approximately 10.2 million USD) in PAN Farm JSC to support the expansion of its seed business, which is suitable for local weather conditions in the Mekong Delta and the south central coastal regions. The investment will help PAN Farm expand its seed business via its subsidiary National Seed Corporation JSC (Vinaseed), the largest producer and distributor of crop seeds in Vietnam. Vinaseed holds 19 percent of the market share in rice seeds and 60 percent in white corn seeds. Patented seed sales account for about 49 percent of its 2016 consolidated revenues, a figure expected to increase to 82 percent by 2020. PAN Farm is a new subsidiary of the PAN Group, a leading Vietnamese agribusiness and food company. This is IFC's second investment in the group. PAN Farm's success in raising the capital represents the potential of Vietnamese agriculture and the company to international investors, said Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Tra My. IFC's investment in PAN Farm with their international experience in the agriculture sector will help PAN Farm expand its seed and horticulture business and apply sustainable farming practices and standards, she added. IFC's funding will also support PAN Farm's new horticulture crops through its subsidiary PAN- SALADBOWL JSC and other joint ventures to be established in the future. PAN-SALADBOWL produces flowers for export to Japan and is entering the high quality fruit and vegetable market in Vietnam, leveraging its Japanese partners' expertise in greenhouse cultivation. IFC also provides advisory services to help PAN Farm and its subsidiaries adopt international practices in food safety and environmental and social performance. "Our priority is to support the Vietnamese agriculture sector by helping build productive, efficient and climate-resilient crops," said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. "With IFC's support, PAN Farm's food safety and environmental and social standards will match international best practices and boost local industry standards," he added. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/ifc-assists-vietnam-with-sustainable-agricultural-production/111337.vnp

Newest adjustment on Tan Son Nhat expansion project sends investors into frenzy 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR The detailed adjusted master planning of the project to upgrade and expand Tan Son Nhat International Airport is attracting attention from various large investors. Two new terminals According to a source of VIR, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has resubmitted the adjusted master planning for Tan Son Nhat International Airport from now to 2020 with vision to 2030 (the April plan). This plan is tailored to fit the guidance prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued at the government's regular meeting on March 7, 2017. It is likely to be the final plan after the previous three failed adjustment plans of CAAV in the first four months of 2017. Related to the planning of civil aviation areas, CAAV suggested to build an additional terminal serving civil aviation (T4 terminal), with a capacity of 15 million passengers a year. "Including the existing terminals, the airport's designed capacity after the completion of T4 will be 43 million passengers a year," said Lai Xuan Thanh, director of CAAV. The April plan also revealed that according to CAAV's proposal to the Ministry of Transport (MoT), the airfield's current take-off and landing runways will remain unchanged, though a new parallel runway between the take-off and landing runway 25L/07R and the E6 parallel runway will be added. The adjustment plan also adds runways connecting these parallel runways and takeoff/landing runways and two escape lanes between two takeoff/landing runways. The planning agency also proposed to extend the apron for civil and military aircrafts at the 19.97-hectare land plot managed by the Ministry of Defence. This item will be carried out simultaneously with the expansion of the aircraft parking area in front of the new civil and military terminal to expand Tan Son Nhat's current jet parking space and allow up to 80-85 planes to park at a time. Despite not specifying scale, the April plan supplemented a construction of a new civil terminal with the area of about 12.72 hectares. Regarding access roads on the land managed by the People's Committee of HCM City, CAAV proposed to expand the 18E road, which links Cong Hoa Street and the T4 terminal. The plan also included a proposal to construct a new technical service area, a hangar, and an apron in front of the hangar, located on a 30-hectare area. Moreover, CAAV suggested building the technical service area from scratch, including an aircraft repair and maintenance area, warehouses, a food processing area, and a gathering area, among other functional facilities. Additionally, the adjustment would relocate this area to the ten-hectare land plot in the southeast area of the airport. Open for private capital In total, the cost of investing in seven major items, including upgrading the runway system, the construction of parallel runways and connecting runways, new passenger terminals, drainage system, reservoirs, north and south-eastern aviation service works, upgrading and expanding the interconnected transportation systems to reach the adjusted planning targets will need about VND19.350 trillion ($847.1 million). According to the latest proposal of CAAV, the investment in the construction of new terminals including T4 and the terminal serving civil aviation on military land plots, air service works located in the north and southeast areas, will be financed from private investment. Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) will be in charge of mobilising capital contribution from investors. The project to expand the T3 and T4 terminals has lured in many big investors from all over the country. At present, the MoT has received proposals to invest in the T4 terminal from four investors, namely Imex Pan Pacific Group (IPP), Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company, and Danang International Terminal Investment and Exploitation Joint Stock Company (AHT). ACV has asked MoT to allow it to mobilise private capital for project implementation by setting up a joint stock company with a state capital contribution below 30 per cent. "MoT is assigning CAAV to study and propose projects with an aim to choose the right and appropriate investors, ensuring objectivity, transparency, and efficiency," said Nguyen Danh Huy, general director of the Private Public Partnership Investment Project Management Department under the Ministry of Transport. The T4 terminal has lured in many investors, including the potential strategic shareholder of ACV from France, due to various reasons. With 32.5 million passengers passing through the airport in 2016 only, the airport goes far beyond its designed capacity of 28 million air travellers. In the upcoming years, the passenger volume at Tan Son Nhat International Airport is expected to grow at an average of 15 per cent a year. This also means that the T4 terminal, when completed and put into operation, will not be short of customers. With the T4 terminal's capacity of 15 million passengers a year, excluding the revenue from services not related to air transport just by multiplying the number of passengers by the price of passenger service ($20 per passenger for international flights, VND70,000 per passenger for domestic flights, including value added tax), one can see the relatively large revenue that the investor will receive each year, a wholesome pay-out compared to the total investment (estimated at VND4 trillion ($176 million). According to MoT, the biggest obstacle in the expansion of Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the investment for the airport system, including runways, parallel runways, and the apron. CAAV continues to maintain the views expressed in previous proposals, saying that ACV will be the investor and will be reimbursed from the proceeds of leasing the airport infrastructure. In addition, ACV will be allowed to retain the annual dividends of the state stake. However, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said that the proposal violates the Law on State Budget and the Law on Public Investment. "The revenues from these sources at ACV belong to the state budget. MPI proposed MoT to consider other legal capital sources for implementation," said an MPI document signed by Nguyen Van Trung, deputy minister of Planning and Investment. After its expansion, Tan Son Nhat airport is going to have area of 628.9 hectares (higher than the current 574.4 hectares). It will be able to serve 43-45 million passengers a year and process 1 million tonnes of cargo a year. It will be able to accomodate 80-85 parking planes, and serve ATR72, A320, A3321, B747, B777/787, A350 and equivalents. http://www.vir.com.vn/newest-adjustment-on-tan-son-nhat-expansion-project-sends-investors-into- frenzy.html

VND21 trillion required to extend metro line from HCM City to neighbouring provinces 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times VND21,234 billion (about $935 million) will be needed to extend Metro Line No.1 in HCM City to the neighbouring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, according to a research team of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. In late April, Binh Duong's government worked with the team on phase 1 of the project to extend Metro Line No.1, which now connects the Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and the Suoi Tien Park in District 9, HCM City. The Japanese research team proposed dividing the extension project into three components: a two- kilometer section from Suoi Tien station to Nut Giao station, a six-kilometer section from Nut Giao station to Di An Town of Binh Duong Province and a stretch of about eight kilometers from Nut Giao station to Bien Hoa City of Dong Nai Province. The research team proposed developing the extension project in two phases. The two-kilometer extension from Suoi Tien station to Nut Giao station will be built in the first phase while in the second phase, the metro line will be extended from Nut Giao station to Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces. The total cost of the extension is estimated at VND21,234 billion, with VND2,315 billion of it for the first phase and VND18,919 billion for the second phase. According to the research team, the early implementation of phase 1 could help save the construction cost of the two-kilometer extended section, minimise the impact on the operation of Metro Line No.1 and develop a public transit system around Nut Giao station. Tran Thanh Liem, vice chair of Binh Duong Province, threw his weight behind the proposal for the first phase of the Metro Line No.1 extension. HCM City will cover the investment cost while Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces will pay the compensation cost. Binh Duong government has asked the research team to submit the design of Nut Giao station to the Ministry of Transport and HCM City. Where funding for the extension comes from is still unknown. Dong Nai authorities said the metro line extension will reduce private vehicle traffic entering HCM City, helping reduce congestion in the eastern gateway of the city. Binh Duong is mulling building a metro line linking Binh Duong New City and Suoi Tien station of Metro Line No.1 to connect Binh Duong's new centre and HCM City. Speaking to the Daily, Le Nguyen Minh Quang, head of the HCM City Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR), said the city would need an estimated VND5.2 trillion (about $289 million) for the development of the Metro Line No. 1 this year but ODA capital to be allocated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment would total only VND2.9 trillion. Due to the slow ODA disbursement for the project, as of April 26, the city had owed the contractors VND1.34 trillion (about $58.9 million). Quang said if the city continued delaying payments for the contractors, they might suspend construction work, which will make the project fall behind schedule. Both underground and elevated sections of Metro Line No.1 are under construction. Viaducts of the 17- kilometer-long elevated track from Ba Son station in District 1 to Long Binh station in District 9 have been installed. The entire metro line is scheduled for completion and operation in 2020. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53813/VND21 trillion-required-to-extend-metro-line-from-HCM City- to-neighbouring-provinces.html

Ceramic tiles from Thailand launched in VN 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam's building materials supplier Halo Group, in collaboration with Thailand's Kenzai Ceramics Industry Company Ltd, on Saturday organised the launch of Kenzai ceramic tiles in HCM City. Kenzai ceramic tiles, imported from Thailand, are designed according to modern standards and suitable for construction projects and the real estate market in Vietnam. The product is distributed exclusively by the Halo Group and sold at a reasonable price to customers. The tiles have been carefully selected and tested for high quality and aesthetic design to meet the requirements of individuals and investors in the construction and decoration fields. Ceramics tile are very popular in Vietnam and have been used for many years along with granite, cotto and porcelain tiles. With current capacity of 500 million sq.m., Vietnam is the world's sixth largest country and the leading nation in Southeast Asia in tiles manufacuring. Tile products are not only used for domestic consumption but also for export purposes. Vietnam is among the world's top 10 tile exporters with some15 per cent of the tiles volume exported to several countries. At present, Vietnam has some 40 companies producing ceramic tiles with annual capacity ranging from 10 to 20 million sq.m. Some of the well-known domestic brands in ceramics and tiles are Viglacera, Dong Tam, Thach Ban and CMC. http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/ceramic-tiles-from-thailand-launched-in-vn_286001.html

Saigon Co.op launches Co.op organic brand 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Saigon Co.op on May 8 unveiled the Co.op Organic brand and introduced four groups of organic products. It also signed an agreement with Vinamit JSC and Germany's Binca Group to develop its organic product chain. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Diep Dung, chair of Saigon Co.op, said safeguarding consumers' health and ensuring hygiene and food safety are Saigon Co.op's top priorities. So it does lots of research and seeks collaboration and investment opportunities in the organic agriculture sector to bring customers shopping at its retail stores the best value, he said. Its investment in organic farming has helped reduce intermediaty costs to ensure the best prices for consumers, he said. Saigon Co.op also attaches special importance to making products without hurting the environment, and thus invests in organic projects, he said. The company has invested in a 300ha organic farm in Ca Mau Province to produce agricultural products that have received organic certification from the USDA, JAS of Japan, the EU, and Naturland, he said. From May 8 Co.op Organic brand products meeting US and EU organic standards will be sold at seven supermarkets in HCM City Co.opmart on Ly Thuong Kiet, Cong Quynh, Dinh Tien Hoang, Nguyen Kiem, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Phu My Hung and Co.opXtra inside Sc VivoCity. The four groups of products are jasmine and Japonica rice; cucumber, squash, tomato; choy sum, mustard green, water spinach; basa fish fillet and black tiger shrimp. After launching the Co.op Organic label, Saigon Co.op will continue to expand its list of both food and non-food organic products, and seek to become a leader of the production-processing-distribution- consumption chain of organic products in both the Vietnam and export markets, he said. Demand for organic farm produce has increased significantly both in Vietnam and globally, and this offers good prospects for businesses investing in the field, he said. Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam hailed the efforts made by Saigon Co.op to produce organic farm produce. The Vietnamese organic market is becoming increasingly dynamic, attracting many domestic and foreign businesses. The area under organic farming had expanded 3.6-fold since 2010 to 76,000ha in 2015, he said. His ministry would soon have in place policies, mechanisms and a national standards system to make it easy for businesses and farmers to enter organic farming, he said. http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/saigon-coop-launches-coop-organic-brand_285999.html

Vietnamese start-up receives $1million fund from Singapore investor 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam International Group (VNI Group) has received a $1 million fund from a Singapore-based investment fund World Gold Investments PTE. LTD (World Gold). World Gold said it would cooperate with VNI to jointly develop its business activities, particularly in consumer business projects, clean foods and restaurants. World Gold also committed to investing more capital in each development stage of VNI business projects in the coming years in Vietnam and other countries. World Gold's total investment into VNI is expected to reach $15 million in the period between 2017 and 2019 if VNI's projects are operating effectively. "We've studied the Vietnamese market and found optimistic investment opportunities in Vietnamese businesses with strong business and long-term vision. The cooperation between World Gold and VNI has been established for exploiting the existing potentials and promoting the advantages of each party, and promote sustainable growth of VNI in the future," Teo Young Soon, director of Investment Department said during a signing ceremony of the two sides' comprehensive cooperation agreement held on May 6 in Hanoi. Soon said World Gold would give special attention to VNI's projects such as Gonfarm clean food store chain and Gontasty restaurant chain. "The investment capital funded from World Gold will help VNI to expand its business operations scale. In addition, VNI expects the Singapore partner will assist the group in completing their domestic business model and that the two side will cooperate in an international development strategy," said Nguyen Trung Kien, general director of VNI. "VNI is focussing on developing a chain of stores providing organic products and safe food, and a chain of restaurants introducing customers to new culinary experiences, with the best quality and professional customer services," said Kien. VNI is a start-up established in 2016. VNI is currently operating subsidiaries in trading company, law firm, training company, media company and technology company. http://bizhub.vn/news/vietnamese-start-up-receives-1million-fund-from-singapore-investor_285995.html

Company funds bridge in Mekong Delta 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS A new bridge officially opened to traffic in Phu Thuan A Commune, Hong Ngu District, in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap after six months of trial use. The bridge was built under a project to prevent and mitigate natural disasters run by Cong An Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh (HCM City Security) newspaper with funding from BAT Vietnam since 2013. Its main aims include building rural bridges in the Mekong Delta, especially in cities and provinces where people's lives are still very difficult and education is limited. The bridge, with a length of 30 metres and width of 1.6 metres, cost VND180 million to build. "With the new bridge, I hope dwellers in the Mekong River region will be able to travel in a safe and convenient way so that they feel secure enough to earn a living legally, take care of their children and improve their living quality and productivity," Nguyen Hoang Hue Linh, BAT Vietnam's Senior Corporate Communications & CSR manager, said. "We will continue to build new bridges in other localities to help children go to school and meet the needs of local people for transportation and trading towards a better life." According to Hue Linh, these rural bridge projects are part of a global CSR programme that BAT has implemented over the years to support public works in difficult localities. Another bridge funded by BAT Vietnam was the Vuon Tre Bridge in Khanh Hai Commune, Tran Van Thoi District, Ca Mau Province. The bridge, 25 metres long and costing VND220 million, was inaugurated at the end of last year. Under the project, six rural bridges were built by 2016 in Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long, Dong Thap, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau, each costing VND150-220 million. Thus BAT Vietnam has provided over VND1 billion for the programme. Apart from funding bridges, BAT has made considerable contributions to the society over the years in Vietnam. The company focuses on charitable poverty reduction projects related to education, improving community living quality and sustainable agriculture. Importantly, it has run a programme supporting the household economy benefiting more than 300 families nation-wide for the past 12 years, built more than 80 charity houses and 20 bridges in rural areas and supplied three million seedlings, partly helping green 10,000 hectares of barren land in provinces such as Lang Son, Cao Bang, Gia Lai, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, and Bac Can. http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/company-funds-bridge-in-mekong-delta_285997.html

Container control unit launched in Ba Ria-Vung Tau 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Customs Department of southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province launched a unit for container control on May 8 in an effort to counter trafficking of illicit goods across local ports. The Container Control Programme is a joint initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) to support the participating governments to establish more effective container controls at ports across the globe and prevent trafficking of drugs, wildlife, weapons and other contraband in sea containers. Vietnam joined the programme in July 2012 and it has been carried out in northern Hai Phong city since March 2015 and in Ba Ria Vung Tau since November 2015. The container control unit at the Ba Ria Vung Tau port was established on October 19 last year. The 9- member group is headed by Nguyen Thanh Sang, deputy head of the provincial Customs Department. The UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme has been operating in more than 50 countries all over the world. About 60 Joint Port Control Units were set up as part of the programme across Africa, America, the Middle East and Asia. The units are now present in Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/container-control-unit-launched-in-ba-riavung-tau/111366.vnp

Vietstar Airlines pushes for pesrmission to take off sooner 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietstar Airlines has adjusted its plan and continued to ask the government to grant an air transport business licence so that it can take off sooner. In the latest document sent to the government, Vietstar wants to reduce the number of aircraft it will have between 2017 and 2021 from 23 to 10. While five of the planes will park at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, the other five will park at Da Nang International Airport in the central city of Da Nang. Chair of Vietstar Airlines's member council Pham Trinh Phuong said the carrier now has two hangars able to store five A320/321 and B737 planes at Tan Son Nhat airport. Therefore, the plan to operate 10 aircraft is feasible. He added the Vietstar Aero Engineering JSC, which belongs to the same group with Vietstar Airlines, also owns hangars capable of accommodating five aircraft in case Tan Son Nhat lacks parking space. Vietstar Airlines has also aligned its flight plan with the market demand and the capacity of airports in Vietnam as requested by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), Phuong noted. The latest adjustment is believed to be part of Vietstar's efforts to remove barriers related to the overloading of Tan Son Nhat airport as well as Vietnam's aviation industry. The overloading is also reported to be the main obstacle to the government's granting of an air transport business licence to Vietstar. In the prime minister's instruction sent to the Ministry of Transport in early April, the licence granting will be considered after Tan Son Nhat airport is expanded. Meanwhile, the expansion plan is still being built and set to be approved no sooner than the second quarter of 2017. It means the airline will have to wait at least three years before providing passenger and cargo services. Vietstar Airlines, established in June 2016 with charter capital of 300 billion VND (13.2 million USD), is headquartered in Tan Binh district of HCM City. The CAAV confirmed that Vietstar Airlines met all requirements for a licence in terms of capital, airplanes and owner's qualifications. It plans to provide aviation services right in 2017 if the licence is granted, becoming the fifth carrier in Vietnam after Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, Vietjet Air, and the Vietnam Air Services Company (Vasco). http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietstar-airlines-pushes-for-pesrmission-to-take-off-sooner/111356.vnp

Vietjet continues to offer 'zero-fare' ticket 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Low-cost airline Vietjet will launch a three-golden-day promotion, which offers millions of promotional tickets priced from only 0 VND within the golden hours 12h-14h, from May 9 to May 11, 2017 at www.vietjetair.com following the exciting "Free summer, Fly for free" campaign and in celebration of the new route from Hanoi to Singapore and Siem Reap. The promotion applies for all international routes from Vietnam to Seoul and Busan (the Republic of Korea), Hong Kong (China), Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung and Tainan (China's Taiwan), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Yangon (Myanmar) and Siem Reap (Cambodia) with travel time being within August 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 (except public holidays). The promotional tickets are available for booking within the golden hours from 12:00 to 14:00 (GMT 7) at www.vietjetair.com (also compatible with smartphones at https://m.vietjetair.com) or at www.facebook.com/vietjetvietnam (just click the "Booking" tab). Especially, from May 8, 2017 to June 4, 2017, participants of "Free summer Fly for Free" game at Vietjet's microsite: freesummer.vietjetair.com will have chances of winning a weekly award of five free return flights, each flight with five free tickets for a five-person group and a grand award of a free package tour to an optional destination. Also, all customers successfully booking tickets at www.vietjetair.com with instant payment within the golden hours from May 8 to June 15 will also have chances to join the lucky draw for the gifts of mobile phone's top-up cards and air ticket promotion codes (*) at www.summerwin.vietjetair.com. Besides, the summer campaign will launch a series of activities including interactive games, amazing performances by Vietnamese and international celebrities, "Vietjet Bikini" challenge at some domestic airports and onboard Vietjet flights, which are expected to "heat up" your summer. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietjet-continues-to-offer-zerofare-tickets-under-free-summer-fly-for-free- campaign/111328.vnp

Korea's consortium to build $885 million commercial complex in Saigon 09/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress Construction is expected to complete by 2023, upgrading Thu Thiem to a new modern area. A consortium under South Korea's Lotte Group has won permission to build a VND20.1 trillion ($885 million) commercial and residential complex in Vietnam's HCM City, the municipal government said. Four subsidiaries in the group, South Korea's fifth largest conglomerate, will form the consortium to build the smart urban complex, the city's Communist Party chapter said in a report. It named the four firms as Lotte Asset Development Co, Lotte Shopping Co, Hotel Lotte Company and Lotte Engineering and Construction Company. The group would build commercial and service zones and residential blocks on more than 50,000 square meters (60,000 square yards) for 72 months in Thu Thiem, a new urban area located by the Saigon River in the city's District 2, the report said. The consortium will also develop roads and infrastructure for the complex, slated to accommodate more than 145,000 residents and provide permanent work to another 219,000. Thu Thiem, with a total area of more than 1,600 acres, is planned to be the city's new financial and commercial centre, providing services which have not been well covered by the current city downtown. South Korea is already the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, with investment totalling more than $50 billion. Shipments of Samsung smartphones and spare parts account for around one fifth of Vietnam's total export revenues. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/south-korea-s-consortium-to-build-885 million-commercial- complex-in-saigon-3580578.html

SVCC's Singaporean slant on cancer care 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Vietnamese families will have better access to cancer services and treatment following the grand opening of the Singapore-Vietnam Cancer Centre in HCM City. Eng Aik Meng, chair of Vietnam Integrated Medical Services, told VIR's Thanh Van how the new facility will transform cancer care in Vietnam. Why did you choose Vietnam as the location of your new cancer centre? Vietnam's healthcare sector is experiencing rapid growth, but there is a shortage of health facilities to serve the needs of local residents. It is estimated that Vietnamese spend about $1 billion annually for healthcare outside of Vietnam, of which 30 per cent is spent in Singapore. Over the past few years, Vietnamese have increasingly desired to access care closer to home rather than having to travel overseas and separate from families for treatment. Many international private clinics have been set up to fulfil the increasing demand, providing healthcare services to patients right here in the community. Vietnam Integrated Medical Services believes the local healthcare market contains great potential for long-term investments. This has inspired us to build a one-stop comprehensive cancer centre in HCM City, geared towards all type of cancers. Our goal is to provide the much-needed services to cancer patients in Vietnam so that they can get the care they need quickly. What are the Singapore-Vietnam Cancer Centre's (SVCC) unique selling points for Vietnamese patients? When a patient is suspected of having cancer, the ability to receive assessment and accurate diagnosis as soon as possible is extremely crucial. SVCC gives patients access to top-notch cancer specialists from Vietnam and Singapore, who collaborate to make an accurate, evidence-based diagnosis within a short period of time. A multi-disciplinary care team, comprising experts from a range of specialties, is put together to formulate suitable approaches for each cancer patient. We believe treating every patient as an individual will enable optimal outcomes and a better patient experience. Thus, SVCC not only develops individualised care plans to address the unique needs of each patient, but also designs flexible care options for its patients' benefit. We recognise cancer can take a toll on patients and their families, who are going through the most stressful time of their lives. SVCC strives to make it more convenient for patients and their loved ones in the battle against cancer. Our priorities of reducing language barriers, improving the treatment environment, and mitigating psychological stress will deliver the best possible care and support for patients. How has SVCC built a team of highly-skilled healthcare professionals to meet the sophisticated needs of patients? As one of the city's most progressive cancer centres, SVCC partners with renowned specialists from Singapore and Vietnam who are both experienced and recognised in their respective areas of sub- specialisation. The pool of talents gives us an edge in treating all types of cancer with complete treatment services, including medical oncology, oncologic imaging, palliative medicine, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology. Our vision is to promote mutual learning and knowledge exchange between Vietnamese and Singaporean experts so that therapeutic strategies for each cancer patient can be developed quickly. Senior Singaporean doctors will consult with Vietnamese doctors to share advanced treatment techniques and therapy options. Meanwhile, healthcare managers from Singapore can co-ordinate with their counterparts in Vietnam to set up procedures, ensuring minimal delays and efficient workflows. We provide training and continuous education to our doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. The project presents opportunities for Vietnamese specialists to be trained in Singapore, and to do work- exchange with the Hong Kong Cancer Centre to sharpen their skills. Could you share some highlights of the one-stop comprehensive cancer centre? SVCC brings together all treatment services under one roof, ranging from preventive cancer programmes and screening for early detection to cancer treatment and post-cancer treatment care. Our approach allows patients to gain access to the latest cancer treatments by Vietnamese specialists or Singaporean specialists through telemedicine. Meanwhile, our shared cares enable cancer patients to get treatment between Vietnam and Singapore on an alternate basis. Anyone who is diagnosed with cancer can seek treatment in Singapore, and follow that with post-cancer care in Vietnam. The Vietnamese specialists will follow up on these cases and collaborate with their counterparts in Singapore to ensure that these transfer patients are getting the best care possible. With patient experience at the forefront of everyone's minds, the new facility also provides a seamless, personalised experience throughout the continuum of care, from screening to diagnostics and from surgery to post-care. We will be the first in Vietnam to offer follow-up cancer care services and products to aid patients' recovery process. Located within SVCC itself, Can-Care will offer a range of products which patients can buy from conveniently. Additionally, medical concierge services will facilitate the patient's choice of specialists, setting up appointments for diagnostics procedures in Singapore with our partner RadLink. The facility also eases pressure on patients by arranging for flights, accommodation, transport, and translators, as well as other necessary care. - Vietnam Integrated Medical Services Co., Ltd (VIMS) is owned by Asia Integrated Medical Services Pte. Ltd (AIMS), a subsidiary of TE Asia Healthcare Partners Pte. Ltd (TE Asia), a Singapore-based healthcare company with a regional network of speciality clinics and hospitals. - VIMS owns and manages the Singapore-Vietnam Cancer Centre, the Singapore-Vietnam Health Screening Centre, and the Singapore-Vietnam Diagnostics Centre in the Belco International Medical Building, as well as the Singapore-Vietnam Cancer Centre in Hanh Phuc International Hospital, both in HCM City. - On May 6, the Singapore-Vietnam Cancer Centre officially opened its doors to serve the community in Vietnam. Patients requiring preventive treatments for all cancer-related issues can be seen here. The new centre is committed to delivering medical excellence and personalised care plans for patients. - Eng Aik Meng is also a founding board member of TE Asia, a company funded by TPG Capital (TPG) to spearhead speciality healthcare investments in Asia, and CEO of TE Healthcare Advisory Pte Ltd TE Asia focuses on the speciality services segment of healthcare delivery and currently has oncology centres in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Indonesia and a cardiac and vascular specialist centre in Malaysia. It has also invested in a premium chain of aesthetic clinics in Thailand. What are the company's commitments to transforming cancer care in Vietnam? In addition to treatments for cancer patients, SVCC is an advocate for cancer prevention and early detection to keep the community in good health and increase patients' chances for successful treatments. We expect to roll out a year of calendar events which will include cancer prevention educational talks and forums as well as cancer screenings. Breast cancer in particular is a common cancer among Vietnamese women, so SVCC has plans to teach breast self-examination and advise people about the importance of early detection and treatment. Our team is passionate about what we do and we are all eager to make a difference in the community by calling for the participation of Vietnamese government agencies, cancer societies, and hospitals. We hope to bring a lot of help to cancer patients, survivors, and their families with support programmes like Look Good Feel Better, Reach to Recovery, and the SALT Cancer Initiative. The centre actively participates in joint programmes with Vietnamese cancer support groups and foundations to keep the community moving forward. http://www.vir.com.vn/svccs-singaporean-slant-on-cancer-care.html

Price of pick-up trucks predicted to soar next year 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnamese customers are flocking to buy pick-up trucks, prices of which are expected to increase sharply from next year. The price hike is predicted given the unreasonable price gap between pick-ups and cars with nine seats or less. The price difference between pick-ups and cars was seen as unreasonable since pick-ups were allowed to run on the road like cars as of November 1, 2016. Previously, the pick-ups, which were seen as trucks, were prohibited in the city from 6-9am and from 3-9pm. They were also banned on certain streets. It was also one of the points discussed by deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung at a recent meeting on auto import with the relevant ministries and sectors. At the meeting, Dung requested ministries and sectors to study and re-appreciate the special consumption tax and registration fee for pick-ups. The report and proposals will be sent to the government and the National Assembly for consideration. The National Assembly meeting is scheduled to start on May 20. Insiders said that when compared with sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and other types of vehicle with the same engine displacement and chassis priced at about VND1 billion (US$43,878), pick-ups have more advantages when priced at between VND600 million and over VND800 million. Pham Van Dung, general director of Ford Vietnam, said it resulted from pick-ups meeting both the purposes of daily use in the inner city and suburbs, thanks to its capacity to transport people, as well as goods. In addition, automakers have regularly added comfortable features and modern technologies, which are in no way inferior to those of a car with nine seats and less. The local market includes various choices of brand names and models such as Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton, Mazda BT50, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan NP300 Navara. Rushing to buy The Tuyen, a resident of Dong Da District, Hanoi, said following the recent instruction by the government leader, the price of pick-ups would certainly increase. "Several friends and I are trying to arrange enough money to buy the vehicles in the shortest time, not only for travelling but also to do business," said Tuyen. Phu Cuong, a resident of Ba Vi on the outskirts of Hanoi, said he was saving money to buy a Ford Ranger by the end of this year, which is priced at more than VND700 million. But with the information on price hikes, Cuong decided to borrow money from his friends and relatives to buy the car as soon as possible. "If I buy later, I think I will have to pay an additional 100 million dong," Cuong said. According to the general Department of Vietnam Customs, the country imported 29,900 pick-up units in 2016, more than 10 times the 2010 number. Since early this year until March 15, about 3,900 pick-ups were imported to Vietnam, an increase of 0.8 per cent compared with the same period last year, almost all of them from Thailand. Explaining the major import of pick-ups from Thailand, insiders say the import tax for pick-ups is five per cent, while that of other cars from Asean countries, including Thailand, is 30 per cent. Furthermore, the registration fee for pick-ups is only 2 per cent, compared to 10 and 12 per cent for other cars. Many businesses have complained about the lower prices and taxes of pickup trucks. Nguyen Tuan, director of Thien An Phuc Company, said the government' re-appreciation of special consumption tax and registration fee on pick-ups was necessary. According to Tuan, pick-ups' special consumption tax could be at 75 per cent for engine displacement of 1,500cc to 3,000cc, up from the current 40 to 55 per cent of the car value. Meanwhile, the registration fee could be raised from the current 2 per cent to between 10 per cent and 12 per cent the same level as for cars with nine seats and less. Tuan said this would raise the price of pick-ups by 30 to 40 per cent. "Most pick-up users are businesses or small business households; therefore it's important to consider and revise the tax and fee levels appropriately. The special consumption tax may be between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of the tax on cars," said Tuan. http://bizhub.vn/wheels/price-of-pick-up-trucks-predicted-to-soar-next-year_285986.html

Workshop promoting e-commerce with EU to be held in Hanoi 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA A workshop on promoting trade with EU market via Amazon online shopping channel will be held in Hanoi on May 10, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas). The workshop will be a venue for businesses and experts to discuss online shopping trend on Amazon, the world's leading online shopping website. It will look into measures to promote advantages of textile of and leather footwear products in export. Two German experts in e-commerce and marketing strategy, Andre M. Aslund and Ryan Ong, will share their experience with and give advice to participating businesses. The signed EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has opened up many opportunities for Vietnamese commodities to enter the EU market, said Truong Van Cam, vice President of Vitas, adding that the trend of e-commerce toward this huge market has also grown rapidly thanks to the agreement. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/workshop-promoting-ecommerce-with-eu-to-be-held-in-hanoi/111370.vnp

Thai hospitals look to lure Vietnam patients 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Thailand, having the largest number of hospitals in Asia accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), is looking to become a health care centre for international patients, including those from Vietnam. Vietnam on target Ureerat Ratanaprukse, consul general of Thailand in HCM City, said Thailand is now home to 45 private hospitals accredited by JCI, the largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care in the United States. Therefore, Thailand wants to attract international guests who wish to visit the country for medical services. Many foreign tourists come to Thailand for cosmetic surgery, organ transplantation, heart surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery and dentistry. Other health services such as spa, physical therapy and long-term rehabilitation are popular as well. Ureerat said Thailand is an appealing destination for international tourists thanks to its pristine beaches, ancient pagodas, special street food and high-quality services. Vietnam is a potential source market for the Thai medical tourism sector, she said, as it has high demand for overseas medical treatment. Erik Fleischman, director of Bumrungrad International Hospital, said Bumrungrad was the only Asian hospital among the world's top 10 in 2015 chosen by ontoplists.com. In addition to 580 beds and more than 30 special treatment centers, the hospital has an internal travel agency responsible for helping patients extend visas, and an interpreter service centre with more than 150 staff who can speak in 48 foreign languages including Vietnamese. More than 1.1 million patients visit the hospital a year, including 520,000 foreigners from 190 countries. Revenue of this hospital was put at over $530 million in 2016. About 2,500 Vietnamese annually come to Bumrungrad hospital, said Nguyen Thanh Phuong, chief representative of the hospital in Vietnam. Dr Yongyuth Mayalarp, director of the Corporate Partnership and Social Responsibility Department at Phyathai 2 International Hospital, said the hospital specialises in orthopedics, neurosurgery, infertility treatment and marrow transplantation. The hospital serves an increasing number of foreign patients as the quality of its services is the same as that of those in Singapore but its fees are 30 percent lower, Yongyuth noted. Ureerat said Thailand is also strong in beauty care services. Dermaster Wellness & Aesthetic Institution offers plastic surgery, weight loss, and hair transplantation services. Meanwhile, Divana Spa, part of the Dii Health Care System, provides medical and aesthetic treatment focusing on the DNA of the skin and the entire body. Billion-dollar industry Thailand is aiming to become the regional medical centre. To promote the development of medical tourism, the Thai government has issued policies to attract international investors and tourists such as a visa extension from 30 to 90 days for regular visitors from the Middle East, China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, Ureerat added. Thailand has launched a campaign called "Come to Thailand to improve your health" in which patients can get general check-ups, dental services and infertility treatment. In 2008, 1.55 million international patients visited Thailand for medical treatment. This number surged to 2.8 million in 2013. Medical tourism is one of the key growth drivers of Thailand's private health sector. According to a report by the Kasikorn Research centre in early 2017, international tourists spend a total of $1.15 billion a year on medical treatment in Thailand. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53802/Thai-hospitals-look-to-lure-Vietnam-patients.html

Denmark offers support for pig farming 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Denmark, which is well known for its productive and high-quality pig farming, has offered help for Vietnam to develop a safe and traceable pig farming and processing sector. Last week minister for Development Cooperation of Denmark Ulla Tørnæs visited Ngoc Ha market in Hanoi and witnessed the way fresh pork is bought and sold at the market. This is a traditional pork trading practice in Vietnam, so it is a challenge for Vietnam to ensure food safety and especially the traceability of pork's origin, she said. In case of food poisoning, the traceability of pork's origin is an important factor as it lets people know where the product comes from and how it is processed, said Tørnæs. Tørnæs also visited the processing chain of Dabaco Group, one of Vietnam's largest livestock companies. The group has 60 subsidiaries and 10 percent of them are active in high-tech agriculture. Chair of Dabaco Nguyen Nhu So said Dabaco plans to build a modern slaughterhouse meeting international standards. Bac Ninh Province has allowed land for the project and Dabaco expects to get technical, technological and financial support from Denmark, he added. According to Tørnæs, Denmark has the world's best food safety management system and expects to cooperate with Vietnam to develop a safe and traceable pig farming and processing chain. In terms of financial support, Tørnæs said as Vietnam has become a lower middle-income economy, Denmark considered Vietnam a strategic partner in some fields such as food safety. In her April 4-5 visit to Vietnam, minister Tørnæs worked with the Vietnamese side to promote cooperation between the two countries, especially in four areas: education (vocational training), food safety (pork production), environment (businesses' compliance) and health care (non-communicable diseases). Since 1994, Denmark has provided Vietnam with over $1.3 billion in grants, contributing significantly to Vietnamese development. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53805/Denmark-offers-support-for-pig-farming.html

Bus advertising expanded citywide from this month 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times More than 2,000 buses currently in service in HCM City can be used as a medium by advertisers from this month to engage with urban audiences on the move, according to a new decision of the city government. Decision No. 2095 which the HCM City People's Committee issued last month allows advertisers to use both sides of the bus to advertise their goods and services. Meanwhile, advertisements on the front, back and top of the bus are banned. Advertising space must not exceed 50 percent of each side of the bus, and 20 percent of the number of buses on each route must be set aside to advertise important political events. Domestic products, including those made by foreign firms operating in the country, must account for more than half the bus advertisements. The maximum duration of a contract between the bus operator and the advertiser is three years. For fare-subsidised bus routes, relevant authorities will be responsible for dealing with advertisers and hiring consultants to propose advertising fees to seek approval from the Department of Finance. Meanwhile, for the bus routes without State subsidy, bus operators can freely negotiate advertising fees with advertisers. Revenues from bus advertisements on the subsidised bus routes must go to the city's budget after all deductions. For the non-subsidised routes, bus operators and owners can get all advertising revenues after fulfilling their financial obligations. In April 2016, the city kicked off a pilot plan to place advertisements on 171 buses on 10 routes. The Department of Transport concluded that bus advertising did not affect urban aesthetics and traffic safety. The department estimated annual advertising revenues from the city's 2,344 buses would amount to VND170 billion (US$7.5 million), which will help relieve the city's bus subsidy pressure. The city annually spends more than VND1 trillion (US$44 million) subsidising bus fares. This year bus subsidy is projected to reach a hefty VND1,226 billion, up by about VND231 billion over 2016. The increase in subsidies, according to the Department of Transport, results from a plan to replace aging buses and a rise in commuters which are forecast to number 295 million this year. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53800/Bus-advertising-expanded-citywide-from-this-month.html

Vietnamese students compete in self-driving car contest 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Eight groups of students from eight universities nationwide will gather for the final battle of the Digital Race, an annual technology contest organised by FPT, taking place this Wednesday at Cau Giay Stadium in Hanoi. The theme of this year's contest, which has been running from November 2016 to this month, is about self-driving cars. The total value of contest prize money will be up to VND700 million (nearly $31,000). Of this, the first prize is worth VND450 million. The Ministry of Science and Technology is the patron for the contest, which is sponsored this year by HP and Lenovo. This year's competition attracted more than 500 contestants from 26 universities across the country. The finale will be broadcast live on FPT Play television and the Vnexpress e-newspaper. Self-driving cars are one of the nine pillars of the fourth industrial revolution. A number of technology giants are already rushing to develop their own models. According to McKinsey, cars with smart connectivity and applications will grow at an average rate of 30 per cent over the coming years and will account for 25 per cent of the world's total number of vehicles by 2020. http://bizhub.vn/tech/vietnamese-students-compete-in-self-driving-car-contest_286000.html

New smartphone car ride app launched 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam's University of Transport Technology (UTT) and Sapa Thale Company of Germany on Friday signed an agreement on cooperation in training, human resources development, scientific research and transport technology transfer. On this occasion, a new car-hailing service booking app for smart phones, called "APPP", was launched. The app was jointly developed by researchers from UTT and Sapa Thale, with funding provided by the German company. The app is expected to make it easier for both passengers and drivers to book car services and seek customers, meeting the increasing transport demand in Vietnam. Under the agreement, UTT and Sapa Thale will work together to develop smart traffic solutions to improve public transport systems and reduce their impact on the environment in Vietnam. Speaking at the signing ceremony, deputy minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho said the agreement would provide a significant opportunity for UTT to speed its development and international integration, as well as provide high-quality human resources for the transport sector. http://bizhub.vn/tech/new-smartphone-car-ride-app-launched_285987.html

Games revenue expected at $1bn by 2027 09/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Vietnam's games industry is expected to see revenue of $1 billion by 2027, Le Hong Minh, CEO of VNG, told the Vietnam Games Summit on May 5, citing the burgeoning interest in games among young Vietnamese. "Vietnamese studios have international-standard products and VNG is developing its studios to reach global levels within the next five years," he added. Revenue for Vietnamese studios this year is expected to be $40 million in Vietnam. When adding revenue from sources such as AppStore, revenue is expected at about $80 million. Given that global market revenue is $80 billion, however, Vietnam accounts for just 0.1 per cent. Le Hong Minh gave advice to startups at the event, saying that "balancing success and the road we choose is one of the most romantic things in life." He also spoke of the difficulties in embarking on games or internet development in Vietnam, which are particularly challenging. "But the harder it is, the more passion you have," he said. This represent motivation for the Vietnamese games community to take long strides forward in globalisation and change the face of the local games industry. The Vietnam Games Summit was held by the Blue Bird Joint Stock Company and attended by leading games developers in the country. It aimed to create a forum for connecting those in the mobile games industry and to introduce opportunities for cooperation between businesses and startups to make games in Vietnam. This year's event saw the presence of major names such as VNG and startups such as Appota, VTC intecom, Divmob, Hiker Games, and VGames. www.dtinews.vn/en/news/017004/50773/games-revenue-expected-at--1bn-by-2027.html

Shopping habits of Hanoians and Saigoneses differ 09/May/2017 Intellasia| BizLive iPrice has recently released study results based on the analysis of one million hits in 2016, showing differences in online shopping habit of Saigoneses and Hanoians. As per iPrice's study, Hanoi and HCM City are the two cities with the largest number of online shoppers in the country. Of which, the Millenials (aged 18-35) accounts for a large proportion of online shoppers. In both cities, women are still the main buyers. Although there is no big difference in online shopping objects, the shopping behavior of Saigoneses and Hanoians are distinctly different. For example, Saigoneses are more thorough than Hanoians when shopping online. Saigoneses also spend more time searching information about products than Hanoians. Study shows that Saigoneses devote more than 36 percent of their time compared to Hanoians to find products. One of the main reasons is brands and products are easier to enter HCM City. Therefore, Saigoneses understand they have many choices. They tend to spend more time searching product information before making a buying decision. On Black Friday, the access to online sites spiked in both cities, showing the sensitivity of Vietnamese people to promotional information. Especially, Hanoians prefer to "hunt" discounts. This is partly because they are much more likely to be affected by advertisements and direct promotions/discounts than Saigoneses. It is also because they have the habit of shopping whenever businesses launch promotions.

Discounted Nha Trang-Hue train tickets on offer 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Travel both ways to be 20 percent cheaper from May 19 to May 31. Prices of train tickets on trips from Nha Trang to Hue and return will be cut by 20 per cent from May 19 to May 31, local media reports. According to an announcement from Vietnam Railways (VNR), tickets will cost VND292,000- VND484,000 ($12.9-$21.3) on the Nha Trang-Hue route and VND323,000-VND555,000 ($14.2-$24.5) on the return route. Trains depart Nha Trang at 8.45am and arrive in Hue at 10.39pm, and from Hue at 4.08pm and arrive in Nha Trang at 6.18am. The discounted tickets are also available to social beneficiaries and travel agents registering for the tourism promotion programme 2017. VNR previously announced a plan to run two rapid trains from Hanoi to the north-central city of Vinh from June 1, cutting the travel time to only five and a half hours. Numerous promotional programmes will be launched in association with the new trains. From June 1 to August 31, VNR will offer 2,000 tickets priced at just VND10,000 ($0.44), for bookings made 72 hours prior to departure times. It will also operate trains to tourist attractions such as Cua Lo Beach, near Vinh, and to Sapa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, starting this month. Free wi-fi will also be made available at major stations. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/biz-traveler/discounted-nha-trang-hue-train-tickets-on-offer

Economy

Sustaining Asian countries' growth a top concern 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS How can Asian countries continue an impressive economic growth to move from a low-income to middle-income position, a seminar held by the Asian Development Bank heard on Friday. According to the Asian Development Outlook 2017 produced by the Asian Development Bank, as of 1991, more than 90 per cent of Asians lived in low-income economies, but now the vast majority of the region's population lived in middle-income countries, presenting a remarkable turnaround. The region's strong growth seen in recent years has been motivating optimism about its ability to reach high income. However, the transition from middle-income to high income will not be driven by the same factors that lifted economies out of low income, the report highlighted. ADB's Governor for Indonesia-cum-Indonesian minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that Asia had adopted good policies for the past 50 years, "but it does not mean that it will be a shock-free or crisis- free region". She said that most of the Asian countries were pursuing the model of export-oriented and investment-led growth. They were getting rich by their trade openness and competitive advantages as they were using labour-intensive manufacturing while paying low wages. However, to successfully move up to a higher ladder of development, the countries would need to improve their productivity by investing more in human capital and education. "It is not only about increasing your budget spending in education, but also about how you design the education system to allow an improvement in skills," Indrawati said. ADB chief economist Yasuyuki Sawada, who is also the director general of ADB's Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department, told a Vietnam News reporter that the key determinant for Asian countries to avoid being trapped in the middle-income category would be to foster productivity to sustain economic growth. According to Sawada there are three productivity-enhancing factors, including innovation and technological progress, human capital quality, and advanced infrastructure. As an economy matures, productivity growth has to come increasingly from innovation. Therefore, it is necessary for middle-income economies to shift their attention to areas that foster innovation and create positive productivity spill-over. He suggested that middle-income countries should learn lessons from some Latin America countries such as Brazil which is considered to have fallen into the middle-income trap, as well as learn from success stories like South Korea of which the road to high-income spanned only 23 years. Good governance Besides productivity, Indrawati added, "governance and quality of an institution is very important to ensure that countries avoid the middle-income trap." Change in governance and institution has not matched up with the expectations of the public sector, thus the trust in the public sector in government is at the lowest level. The role of governments is very important. "It can become a source of a problem but also be a real facilitator for the countries to move up," Indrawati said. To gain public trust, "from my own experience, you have to show you really mean it. You have to clean staff with being seen as corrupt, create an open business process and increase accountability by asking outside stakeholders to watch, criticise and supervise you." ADB's Alternate Governor for India Shaktikanta Das agreed with Indrawati saying that Asian countries' governance and institution have to be strengthened and structural reform measures need to be undertaken. Das, who is Secretary at the Department of Economic Affairs in the Indian Ministry of Finance, gave an example that India has reduced human interface in all tax authorities by using online procedures and simplifying rules. He said that Asian governments should focus on three other areas in the years to come to remain where they are, to grow further, and to lift living conditions of people. First, they need to continue anti-poverty programmes. Second, they should focus on infrastructure enhancement. Thirdly, they need to reorient public expenditure with a focus on areas providing good growth and creating more employments because governments in the region cannot borrow excessively and increase their debt to GDP ratio. He also urged each Asian country not to retreat into a shell of protectionism because opening trade over the last two decades really helped global growth and Asian development. ADB's Governor for Norway Tone Skogen noted that the private sector is an instrument driving development so, "We need to make sure of a conductive business environment with long-term and predictable framework for the private sector to invest and create jobs." The seminar themed "Lessons from 50 years of Asian Development and Implications for the Future" was held on the sideline of the ADB's 50th Annual Meeting which run from May 4 to 7. http://bizhub.vn/banking/sustaining-asian-countries-growth-a-top-concern_285965.html

Vietnam to enjoy stable economic growth at 6.4pct 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam is forecast to enjoy a stable economic growth rate of 6.4 percent in 2017 and 2018. This is one of the forecasts to emerge from the "Asean 3 Regional Economic Outlook", the first annual report produced by the Asean 3 Macro-economic Research Office (AMRO), released on May 4. According to the report, the economic growth of the ten Asean countries along with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (Asean 3) is expected reach 5.2 percent in 2017. Though the recent recovery in global trade could possibly drive up regional growth and exports, the Asean 3 growth rates in 2017 and 2018 are still predicted to be slightly lower than the level of 5.3 percent seen in the past three years. Emerging economies like the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam remain resilient even as volatility in global financial markets persists. Meanwhile, the developing Asean economies of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar continue to grow and reap benefits from regional integration. Explaining the prediction, AMRO chief economist Hoe Ee Khor said with the uncertain trade outlook, economic growth in the region would continue to be driven primarily by domestic demand with support from monetary and fiscal policy. "However, compared to 2016, room in monetary and fiscal policy has generally narrowed," Khor said. In term of monetary policy, rising inflation and tightening global monetary conditions in 2017 will reduce the room for regional economies to ease monetary policy to support growth, he said. He noted that countries with high credit growth or external debt would have to struggle with maintaining financial stability while promoting growth by loosening monetary policy. In addition, economies already relying on external financing for both current accounts and the fiscal balance would face tighter financing constraints when trying to expand fiscal policy, Khor highlighted. He also warned of the capital outflow risks from emerging markets as a result of Fed interest rate hikes, which would put additional pressure on the exchange rate and on foreign exchange reserve. Therefore, Khor suggested regional governments should continue maintaining exchange rate flexibility combined with rational intervention in the foreign exchange market to mitigate risks of external shocks. "In the current uncertain global environment, it would be prudent for policymakers to prioritise financial stability," he said. He also urged regional governments and policymakers to speed up the structural reform agenda given that demand-stimulating measures could only be applicable in the short-term. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-to-enjoy-stable-economic-growth-at-64-percent/111214.vnp

Government reviews Q1 & 4M economic development 08/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Credit growth in the first fourth months of the year rose to a six-year high of 4.89 per cent against 3 per cent a year ago, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the monthly government meeting on May 4. Vietnam's economic growth slowed to an estimated annual rate of 5.1 per cent in the first quarter, the slowest in three years, with the industrial sector suffering from its smallest expansion since 2011. Against this backdrop, the PM said things improved in April, with the macro-economic situation stabilising. The month's consumer price index (CPI) remained unchanged, even after a second hike in healthcare costs in 14 cities and provinces nationwide. Key economic sectors continued to recover, with the national index of industrial production (IIP) rising 7.4 per cent year-on-year, higher than the 4.2 per cent during the first quarter. Exports from January to April continued to surge, by 15.4 per cent year-on-year, with the highest growth in manufacturing and processing and agriculture. Total newly-registered foreign direct investment (FDI) capital, stake purchases and supplemental capital in the four months rose 40.5 per cent year-on-year to $10.6 billion. State budget revenue has been relatively high, up 17.8 per cent year-on-year and equal to 32.7 per cent of the annual plan. Nearly 40,000 new businesses have been registered this year as at April 30, with a total of VND825 trillion ($36.26 billion) in both new and supplemental capital. But the socioeconomic situation continues to face a host of challenges. Certain sectors have continually slumped, especially industrial, mining and quarrying, and food production. Elsewhere in the economy, a number of sectors remain unstable, with State management exhibiting inadequacies. Prices of many agricultural products are extremely low, including pork, to the detriment of farmers. During the first fourth-month period, the IIP rose by a modest 5.1 per cent year-on-year, much lower than its growth rate a year ago. The index in the mining sector tumbled 5.6 per cent. The allocation and disbursement of public investment remained slow, while the allocation of capital for construction during the four months was equal to only 19 per cent of the annual plan. Exports of two products where Vietnam holds an advantage, rice and pepper, fell 8.1 per cent and 16 per cent year-on-year, respectively. Conversely, imports of products that could have been produced domestically rose significantly, including steel, petroleum, chemicals and livestock feed. The trade deficit remained high, at $2.7 billion as at end-April. The PM affirmed that restructuring, equitisation, and divestment at State-owned enterprises in recent months have been sluggish. Vietnam has one of the world's fastest-growing economies, expanding at around 6 per cent annually from 2011-2015 after jumping 7 per cent annually in the previous five years. http://www.dtinews.vn/en/news/018/50734/government-reviews-q1---4m-economic-development.html

FDI value reaches $10.95b to April 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The value of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam reached $10.95 billion in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 40.5 per cent. The FDI value mainly came from new projects, additional investment capital and buying stakes, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency. In which, the ministry licensed 734 new projects worth $4.88 billion, equal to 96 per cent of the value of the first four months last year thanks to several large projects being licensed during the period. Some 345 available projects raised investment capital with total value of $4.36 billion, increasing by 241.8 per cent compared with the same period last year. Foreign investors also contributed capital or bought stakes with total value of $1.35 billion, up 106.8 per cent. Samsung Display Vietnam increased its investment capital by $2.5 billion in northern Bac Ninh Province; a $1.27 billion joint venture between Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV Gas), is designed to transport some 20.3 million cu.m per day of gas for two power plants with total capacity of 3,660 MW; the Plytex Far Eastern factory, funded by Taiwanese investors, raised additional capital of $485.8 million; and Coca-Cola Vietnam increased its capital by $319.8 million. During the period, the processing and manufacturing sectors hit the highest capital with $7.36 billion, 69.53 per cent of the total. It was followed by the mining and wholesale and retail sectors, with total value of $1.28 billion, and $546.68 million, respectively. Of the total 83 nations and territories investing in Vietnam, the Republic of Korea led with $4.05 billion in investment, followed by Japan and Singapore with $1.85 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively. -- http://bizhub.vn/news/fdi-value-reaches-1095b-to-april_285960.html

Vietnam's PMI records slight April decline 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Purchasing managers' Index (PMI) of Vietnam dipped to 54.1 in April, a slight decline from March's 22-month high of 54.6, reported Nikkei on May 3. A significant increase of new orders, especially from abroad, helped improve output, employment and purchasing activities in Vietnam's manufacturing sector during April. Meanwhile, there were signs of downward inflationary pressures, with input costs and output prices increasing at the slowest paces in six months. The growth rate of new export orders has also quickened for three successive months. The survey said that the expansion in both new business and new export orders was due to rising demand from customers. The number of new orders has increased continuously since December 2015, with the growth in workload leading manufacturers to increase production in April. The rise in production allowed firms to complete outstanding business despite the rise in new orders, with work backlogs falling for the first time since the end of 2016. Stocks of finished goods also decreased. Employment also increased for the 13th successive month as firms responded to new order growth. The rate of job creation was slower, but remained solid. The rise in new jobs continued to impact the purchasing activity of Vietnam's manufacturers. The swift expansion contributed to a 10th successive monthly rise in stocks of purchases. Inventories in anticipation of further new order growth were increased as well. Higher demand for inputs encouraged suppliers to increase their prices during April, leading to another monthly rise in input costs. Prices of some goods from China also rose. However, the rate of cost inflation eased to the weakest point since last October. Output prices also rose at the slowest pace in six months as charges increased slightly. Manufacturers reported that delivery duration lengthened for the third successive month, partly due to raw material shortages. In addition, the latest deterioration in vendor performance was the most marked since January 2016. The survey complier IHS Markit's representative Andrew Harker said that "A record rise in exports was the key highlight from the latest Vietnam Manufacturing PMI survey as firms once again displayed a good ability to secure new work in international markets. This success fed through to improvements throughout the sector, with production, employment and purchasing activity all rising solidly in April. The manufacturing sector therefore remains a star performer in Vietnam at the start of Q2." http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-pmi-records-slight-april-decline/111216.vnp

Urgent need to develop private economy 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV5 High on the agenda of the on-going 5th session of the Party Central Committee is economic development, particularly the private economic sector. Developing the private economic sector is urgent for Vietnam in its global economic integration. Private economy and its role in Vietnam's economy After 30 years of renewal, the private economic sector has grown in both quantity and quality. The number of private businesses jumped from 55,000 in 2002 to 495,000 last year, employing 85 percent of the labour force. Private economic groups in construction, aviation, industry, and agriculture have generated momentum for the economy and boosted GDP growth. Former Trade minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said: "Private businesses have the advantage of a young population who are industrious, studious, and adaptable to new working conditions. Private businesses which have appropriate strategies and long-term vision can win. The government considers the private economic sector a driving force of the national economy." Generating opportunities for the private economic sector Despite recent growth, the private economic sector has some disadvantages and shortcomings. 97 percent of private businesses are small or micro-scale with poor financial, managerial, and technological capability, which hinders them from participating in domestic or global value chains. From 2007 to 2015, 45 percent of all private companies declared bankruptcy. Nguyen DucTho, general director of the An Tin Group, said that in the global economic integration, Vietnam should encourage start- ups, issue appropriate policies for private businesses, and simplify procedures for them to access capital, land, technology, and human resources. Economist Dao Xuan Sam, former Head of the Economic Management faculty of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said Vietnam needs to fine tune mechanisms to boost the private economy. "Vietnam sets high targets to promote businesses. Success requires policy reforms that encourage start- ups. The Party has supported private economic development and equitisation of state-owned enterprises to build a market economy of fair competition without state-subsidised enterprises." Vietnam hopes to have 1 million businesses by 2020. It will be no easy task for a country that had no more than 500,000 businesses during its 30 years of renewal. http://english.vov.vn/economy/urgent-need-to-develop-private-economy-349003.vov

PM asks for better preparation for Industry 4.0 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VGP PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently signed Directive 16/CT-TTg on enhancing access to the fourth industrial revolution. The directive aims to actively maximise what the country will have from Industry 4.0. Accordingly, the PM tasked ministers and ministerial-level leaders, provincial and municipal chairpersons to fulfill solutions and tasks by 2020. Specifically, the government chief asked for solutions to make breakthroughs in infrastructure, IT application and manpower improvement; develop digital connectivity infrastructure; ensure network safety; create equal conditions for citizens and businesses to access and develop digital contents. The directive stresses the importance of implementing the government's Resolution 19-2017/NQ-CP, dated February 6, 2017, Resolution 35/NQ-CP, dated May 16, 2016, and Resolution 36a/NQ-CP, dated October 14, 2015 on further implementation of key tasks and measures to improve the business environment and enhance national competitiveness in 2017 and towards 2020. Ministries and agencies were asked to promptly develop e-Government; review and abolish inappropriate business conditions; amend management regulations on exports and imports towards less administrative procedures. They were assigned to review strategies and action plans in accordance with the development trend of Industry 4.0; build strategies on digital transformation, smart administration, prioritise digital technology industry, smart agriculture, tourism, and urban areas; review and select key products and national strategic competitive products. The PM also noticed the importance of upholding a business start-up ecosystem; boosting scientific research and IT; connecting domestic and foreign IT experts. Policies on teaching methods will be renovated in order to generate a human resource which is able to absorb new technological production trends. Focusing on IT infrastructure development The PM assigned the Ministry of Industry and Communicationsto develop IT infrastructure; encourage businesses to develop new technologies. Especially, telecom enterprises were asked to perfect the 4G network; research and develop a 5G network. The Ministry of Science and Technology was instructed to develop the business start-up ecosystem; promote technological applications and transferring of key industries in Industry 4.0. The Ministry of Education and Training was asked to educate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in universal education programme. The Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs was assigned to renovate vocational training. Encouraging technical innovations The PM assigned the Ministry of Finance to build mechanisms, tax and financial policies to enable businesses to invest in technological research. The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences were asked to research and evaluate the development trends of Industry 4.0. http://www.vir.com.vn/pm-asks-for-better-preparation-for-industry-40.html

PM urges curb on supply gluts 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, speaking at a monthly cabinet meeting in Hanoi on May 4, ordered relevant ministries and agencies to prevent supply gluts from suppressing prices of key export items. In the past a watermelon oversupply for export hit farmers hard, the government leader said, and now the same situation happened to pork. Vietnam's farmers have been vulnerable to China's on-off import policy for years but no measures have been taken to deal with this problem. Prices of goods bound for the Chinese market could rise sharply when Chinese demand surges but they would plunge when China abruptly suspends imports. PM Phuc said some sectors had been persistently dogged by difficulties, particularly industry, mining, farming and animal husbandry. The business situation has remained challenging, with more than 4,000 enterprises disbanded in the first four months and over 27,400 others suspending operations. He called for greater effort and resolve to translate the 6.7 percent growth target into reality, and ensure macroeconomic stability and inflation control. In the first quarter, the country achieved 5.1 percent growth. Prices of produce and livestock, particularly live pigs, have remained woefully low, delivering a blow to farmers, even though the pork price has stayed high. Live pigs cost VND15,000-18,000 per kilogram but pork is priced at VND100,000 per kilogram. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade were told to figure out the cause and find ways to deal with it. He ordered an immediate review of the production, processing, circulation and marketing of those products to prevent similar cases from recurring. "We experienced a couple of watermelon supply gluts in the past. Now, pork. And what's next?" He took note of high-tech agriculture, saying it is on the right track. But he underscored the need to find markets for high-tech agricultural products, instead of focusing too much on production without paying attention to consumption. Industry plays an important role in economic growth but its growth is still modest, he noted. Its January- April growth was 5.1 percent, below the same period last year. Shipments of many key export earners have grown slowly or even tumbled while imports of goods that can be locally made have sharply surged. PM Phuc said: "We just witnessed a lively Reunification Day and International Labour Day celebration. Never before has the number of domestic tourists been huge. "(In the same holiday) last year, the central coast attracted few visitors but this year beaches from Quang Ninh (in the north of the country) to Ca Mau Cape (in the south). The number of international tourists to Vietnam is on the rise. A positive sign." He said he had attended investment promotion conferences including those of Binh Thuan and Tra Vinh provinces and found the investment and business climate there had changed for the better. Macroeconomic stability was the highlight of April, with consumer prices staying stable despite the second round of healthcare price adjustments in 14 cities and provinces, he said. Industrial production expanded 7.4 percent last month, compared to 4.2 percent in the first quarter. Loans grew 4.86 percent, up from 3 percent in the same period last year. This was the highest credit growth rate in six years. Exports continued to rise by a staggering 15.4 percent, with manufacturing and agricultural products as major items. New FDI approvals increased 40.5 percent to $10.6 billion. State budget revenues picked up 17.8 percent. Nearly 40,000 businesses were newly registered and total capital from new and existing domestic enterprises was VND825 trillion. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53779/PM-urges-curb-on-supply-gluts.html

Nine commodities become billion-dollar-plus export earners in Q1 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Vietnam's total exports in the first quarter of 2017 are estimated at nearly $44.64 billion, up 15.1 percent over the same period last year, with nine commodities becoming billion-dollar-plus export earners, shows data of the general Department of Vietnam Customs. The export value of the top 10 commodities amounted to around $31.76 billion, accounting for 71.1 percent of the country's total. In particular, mobile phones and phone components remained the leading export earner despite a year-on-year decrease of 6.1 percent. Exports of phones and phone parts in the first three months of the year amounted to $7.77 billion. Major importers included the EU with $2.38 billion (accounting for 30.6 percent of the total), the United Arab Emirates with nearly $901 million, South Korea with $755 million and the US with $620 million. Textiles and garments brought a total export value of $5.62 billion, up 10 percent versus the same period last year. The US remained Vietnam's largest textile and garment importer with $2.72 billion, followed by the EU with $733 million, Japan with $715 million and South Korea with $617 million. Exports of computers, electronics and components totalled $5.52 billion, up 47.8 percent year-on-year. China remained the largest importer of those goods with $1.37 billion, up 123.5 percent, while the EU came in second with $1.04 billion, up 12.3 percent. These two markets accounted for 44 percent of all computer, electronics and components exports. Meanwhile, the country obtained about $3.12 billion from footwear exports, up 11.9 percent over the same period last year. In the first quarter, Vietnam exported $2.91 billion worth of machinery, equipment and tools, a 37.5 percent year-on-year increase. The US was the largest importer of this group of items with $602 million, up 26.7 percent year-on-year, followed by Japan with $402 million, up 14.5 percent, and China with $370 million, up 85.6 percent. First-quarter exports of agricultural products such as vegetables, cashew, coffee, tea, pepper, rice, cassava and cassava products earned the country $3.94 billion, up 15.3 percent over the same period last year. Wood and wooden products exports totalled $1.78 billion, up $260 million over the first three months of 2016. Meanwhile, the nation exported transportation equipment and accessories worth $1.71 billion, a pickup of $310 million, and fishery products gained an export value of a little more than $1.5 billion, an increase of $110 million over the same period last year. According to data of the general Department of Vietnam Customs, for the first time the nation had 10 groups of items whose imports exceeded $1 billion in the first three months. January-March imports of these 10 groups amounted to more than $30 billion, accounting for 65 percent of the country's total. Vietnam's total imports in the first three months grew 24.9 percent against the year-ago period to $46.57 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $1.93 billion, or 4.3 percent of total exports. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53771/Nine-commodities-become billion-dollar-plus-export-earners-in- Q1.html

Farmed seafood exports likely to hit 30-35 billion USD by 2030 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam's farmed seafood output is likely to reach 4.7 million tonnes with export earnings expected to hit 30-35 billion USD by 2030, said Chair of the Vietnam Seaculture Association (VSA) Nguyen Huu Dung at a workshop in HCM City on May 5. Dung said Vietnam has been one of the world's leading countries in sea-culture since 2012 and its seafood exports have increased in recent years. However, to reach the said-above figures, the government needs to adopt policies to encourage investment in sea-culture, he added. Nguyen Ba Son, a representative from the directorate of Fisheries, said by the end of 2016, the country had 6,300 hectares of ponds and nearly 1.2 million cubic meters of cages to raise saltwater fish. The output of saltwater fish in 2016 nearly doubled that of 2010, reaching 28,300 tonnes. Key fish farming provinces include Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Kien Giang, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Experts advised State management agencies and businesses to clearly define consumption markets to avoid massive development before pouring investment in the field. Lucas Manomaitis, Technical director for Aquaculture in Southeast Asia of the US Soybean Export Council, said most of fish resources in the region, including Vietnam, are being overexploited, resulting in a decline in the supply of sea fish. To prepare for the development of the sea fish farming sector, State management agencies and farmers should study the demand of international customers and improve product quality, he noted. The VSA suggested improving policies to attract investment and support the sector's sustainable development, while implementing programmes to inspect and rehabilitate the marine ecological environment. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/farmed-seafood-exports-likely-to-hit-3035 billion-usd-by-2030/111259.vnp

Glutinous rice price dips despite strong export growth 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Glutinous rice exports, especially to China, have grown significantly this year but the price of this kind of grain on the domestic market has plummeted sharply over the same period last year. Glutinous rice exports reached 74,000 tonnes in February, increasing by 23,500 tonnes over the same period last year. Particularly, sticky rice shipments to China amounted to 67,000 tonnes, an increase of 26,000 tonnes over the same period last year. In March, total glutinous rice exports reached 161,000 tonnes, up 43,000 tonnes over the same period last year and up 87,000 tonnes compared to the previous month. In particular, China imported 149,000 tonnes from Vietnam, up 35,000 tonnes year-on-year and up 82,000 tonnes month-on-month. Despite strong export growth, some traders in the Mekong Delta said sticky rice has edged down by VND1,200-1,300 per kilo over the same period last year. Tran Quoc Tuan, a rice trader in Long An Province, said the price of material glutinous rice harvested by combine harvesters ranges from VND5,000 to VND5,100 per kilo (22 US cents per kilogram), down VND300-400 against half a month ago and VND1200-1300 versus the same period last year. "We stock up on hundreds of tonnes of glutinous rice a day in anticipation of higher prices in the future because China still has large demand for the grain," Tuan added. Nguyen Thanh Phong, director of Van Loi Corporation in Tien Giang Province, ascribed the falling glutinous rice price to a fall in imports by China while glutinous rice output in the Mekong Delta, especially Long An and Dong Thap provinces, has steadily inched up. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53776/Glutinous-rice-price-dips-despite-strong-export-growth.html

Petrol prices slightly drop 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance decreased prices of all oil and petrol products from 3:00pm on May 5. Accordingly, the prices of RON 92 slightly dropped by 309 VND per litre to be sold no more than 17,274 VND (76 US cent) per litre. The prices of E5 bio-petrol declined by 314 VND per litre to trade at a maximum of 17,068 VND (75 US cent) per litre while the new ceiling prices of diesel oil 0.05S and kerosene are 13,603 VND (59 US cent) per litre and 12,053 VND (53 US cent) per litre. According to the two ministries, the average global price of RON 92 during the last 15 days to May 5 was 62,147 USD per barrel, down 4 USD from the previous adjustment. The prices of petrol and oil are adjusted every 15 days depending on changes in the world market. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/petrol-prices-slightly-drop/111245.vnp

US extends antidumping duties on shrimp imports from Vietnam 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The International Trade Commission (ITC) of the United States has recently voted to extend antidumping duties on frozen shrimp imports from Vietnam, China, India and Thailand for another five years. "The US International Trade Commission today determined that revoking the existing antidumping duty orders on imports of frozen warm-water shrimp from China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonable foreseeable time", the commission said in a statement on May 2. It determined that imports of shrimp from Brazil will no longer be subject to antidumping duties. The statement was controversial in the industry in the US. Executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance John Williams said the ITC decision is "good news for our industry", adding that if the four Asian shrimp exporters focus on fair trade, the duties would be lifted. He noted that Brazil was likely exempted from the five-year duty extension because the country "has not exported shrimp to the US for a very long time". Domestic shrimp producers in the US looked forward to five additional years of relief from unfair foreign trade practices, stated David Veal, Executive director of the American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA). Meanwhile, US major retailers, such as Performance Food Group, Costo and Publix Super Markets who sell about 100,000 tonnes of shrimp every year, said the duties should be lifted. At hearings in Washington DC in mid-March, members of ASPA and other groups urged the ITC to keep the duties in place as they believed if the orders were revoked the US market would be flooded with foreign shrimp like in the early 2000s. US Senators Diane Feinstein, Patty Murray, Richard Blumenthal, Elisabeth Warren and Representative Rosa DeLauro wrote a letter to the US government Accountability Office to urge the agency to investigate "the food safety and any remaining gaps in the oversight of imported seafood that are potentially dangerous to the public health of American citizens". http://en.vietnamplus.vn/us-extends-antidumping-duties-on-shrimp-imports-from-vietnam/111241.vnp

China pours large amounts of money to purchase Vietnamese businesses 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Dan Tri By the end of April 2017, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Chinese businesses and investors reached more than $900 million, up more than $530 million year-on-year and the growth rate touched more than 140 percent, according to data of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MOPI). It is worth mentioning that the sharp increase came from the capital contribution to purchase shares. Specifically, in the first four months of 2016, Chinese investors contributed capital to purchase shares in 21 projects. Now, the number of projects has reached 256. This figure was much higher than other that of other partners such as Japan, Singapore, the United States, and only behind South Korea, which is the largest business partner of Vietnam. Regarding the foreign investment in the first four months of the year, MOPI said there were 734 new FDI projects nation-wide with the total capital of $4.9 billion. Of which, there were 345 capital increase projects, reaching $4.36 billion, up 241.8 percent; 1,687 projects capital contribution projects, totalling $1.35 billion, up 106.8 percent year-on-year. generally, in January-April, the total number of newly registered, additional and share purchase projects were $10.95 billion, up 40.5 percent year-on-year. The processing and manufacturing sector still drew a lot of attention from foreign investors with the total capital of $7.36 billion, reckoning for 69.53 percent. The mining sector unexpectedly rose to No. 2 with the total capital of $1.28 billion. The wholesale of motorbikes reached No. 3, beating the real estate sector with the total registered investment of $546.68 million. South Korea continues to be Vietnam's largest investor with a total investment of $4.05 billion, making up 38.25 percent of the total capital. Japan ranks the second with $1.85 billion, representing 17.54 percent; Singapore ranks the third with $1.1 billion and China ranks the fourth with more than $900 million. As per a report on foreign investment of Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), there is a growing trend that foreign investors purchase Vietnamese businesses. Especially, there are new factors coming from Asean, China. This shows that Vietnam trading market is having many opportunities to increase the return on capital. VEPR asserted that foreign businesses and investors are taking advantages of market opportunities, and equitisation process to acquire businesses, sectors, industries, etc. The M&A process of large, branded companies are increasingly favoured. However, the risk of acquiring and eliminating Vietnam's brands and products is very large. For example, wholesale and retail systems such as Metro hypermarket in Vietnam were renamed only after a short time being acquired by Thailand businesses. With China's capital, Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh, director of VEPR asserted, "China is in the process of reforming its economy from a labour intensive, capital and resource intensive economy to a highly added value economy. To achieve this target, they have gradually transferred old technology and machines to investment receiving countries. To support this process, Chinese government supports businesses to bring money and old machines to invest in such sectors as apparel, steel, hydropower, mining, and consumer electronics by borrowing capital from some banks or through ODA. "Vietnam, Asean, South Asian and South African countries are the destinations of Chinese groups and businesses. Most of China's investment sectors and industries have high environmental risks, polluting water resources, low investment costs/rates for environment protection", said Dr Thanh. Currently, apart from investment of the mainland, the two territories of Taiwan and Hongkong are also having very large investment in Vietnam, mainly in such sectors as apparel, electronics, steel processing and acquisition of some businesses at high price to study the market and explore investment environment.

China emerges as biggest importer of Vietnam tra fish 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times China overtook the US as the largest importer of Vietnamese tra (pangasius) fish in the first quarter of this year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. The period saw tra fish exports to the Chinese market soaring a hefty 56.8 percent year-on-year to $69.7 million, accounting for 19 percent of the sector's total export sales. Meanwhile, revenue from tra shipments to the US declined 24.3 percent to $61 million, 16 percent of the total. Even though many Vietnamese enterprises export tra fish to the US, only two seafood processors, Vinh Hoan JSC and Bien Dong Seafood Co Ltd, enjoy low tariffs, according to the association's general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe. Another reason, he said, is American customers might have consumed tra fish inventories in the period. Besides, the rising domestic price of unprocessed tra fish, US trade barriers and other factors were attributable to the fall in tra shipments to America, he added. Meanwhile, he said, the local companies which had difficulty finding their way to the US market shifted to exporting to the northern neighbouring country. As a result, quarter one saw a steep rise in tra exports to China. He said local tra fish exporters should be careful with their dealings with Chinese traders, especially via informal channels. Meanwhile, tra exports to the European Union dropped a sharp 21.5 percent compared to the same period last year at $49.9 million, representing 13 percent of the total. He ascribed the fall to a smear campaign against the quality of Vietnamese tra fish and the volatility exchange rate between the euro and the US dollar. But shipments to Brazil rose a whopping 70 percent year-on-year at $35.5 million, 10 percent of the total. Export turnover of this sector in quarter one rose 1.6 percent against the same period of 2016 at $371.3 million. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53780/China-emerges-as-biggest-importer-of-Vietnam-tra-fish.html

Turkish firms want to beef up export to Vietnam 08/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Turkish businesses want to boost export to Vietnam, which posts high and stable economic growth and is also a gateway for other countries to access the common market in the Asean Economic Community, according to the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM). At a trade exchange programme in HCM City on May 5, TIM deputy Chair Mustafa Cikrikcioglu said the development potential of Vietnam and Southeast Asia is very big, and this is an opportunity for Turkish enterprises to expand trade ties with these markets. Many Turkish companies shared the view that Vietnam and Turkey have different specialised production fields while goods they are strong at are not direct rivals to each other, so their businesses can easily cooperate and support each other. Vietnam has strength in exporting electronic devices and components, rubber, fabric, and agricultural products. Meanwhile, Turkey is good at manufacturing, agricultural product processing equipment, mechanics, and machinery which are now in demand in the Southeast Asian nation. To promote Turkey's export to Vietnam and mutual investment, the TIM will work with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to increase direct contact between the countries' businesses such as by organising trade events or participating in exhibitions. Turkish companies also expressed their hope that the two governments will soon streamline visa granting procedures so that entrepreneurs can have better conditions to meet and set up long-term partnerships. Nguyen The Hung, deputy director of VCCI's HCM City branch, said Vietnam and Turkey boast sound cooperation in various spheres, including trade that has been growing strongly in recent years. However, bilateral trade revenue has yet to be on par with potential and is still dominated by Vietnamese exports. To foster trade activities, the countries' governments and business associations should coordinate more closely and devise more solutions to connect and support their enterprises, he added. In 2016, bilateral trade reached 1.5 billion USD, including more than 1.3 billion USD of Vietnam's shipments. Turkey has 15 investment projects with total capital of 704 million USD in Vietnam at present. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/turkish-firms-want-to-beef-up-export-to-vietnam/111254.vnp

Customs warns of import fraud 08/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The HCM City Customs Department has found some local importers of chicken meat and tiles employing a tricky practice to evade import tariffs. The department told the Daily that those enterprises willingly paid import tariffs at the port of entry based on the artificially low import prices they state in the customs form but they later shut down their offices after their goods were cleared by the customs, making it impossible for the customs to collect tariff differentials after a recalculation of the declared import prices. They moved to other places and changed tax codes. This practice has resulted in import tariff revenue losses as the customs has mailed its notifications on additional tariff payments to these importers but they have been returned due to wrong addresses. Certain businesses have taken advantage of legal loopholes in the Ministry of Finance's Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC, which allows businesses to make additional declarations within 30 days after the date of import clearance, and transport import goods to their warehouses. Tax arrears have surged. By April, more than half of VND2.6 trillion in tax debt was irrecoverable. The recoverable tax debt had a maturity of 90 days. The Ministry of Finance and the general Department of Customs are working to thwart this illegal practice. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/53777/Customs-warns-of-import-fraud.html

Vietnam government beefs up efforts to 'rescue' pig farmers 08/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News Vietnam's agriculture ministry and its trade counterpart should clarify the causes behind falling pork prices and identify effective solutions, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc underlined at a government meeting on Thursday. Pig farmers in southern Vietnam have been plagued by excessive supply against a decrease in demand and prices attributed to drastic reduction of imports from China, the country's main live pig buyer. Similar situations have happened with Vietnamese produce such as watermelon, onion, and banana, "so what will come next?" PM Phuc questioned at the meeting. The premier asked relevant ministries and agencies to review their regulation management procedures and seek solutions that protect local farmers. "Finding solutions to 'rescue' pig farmers was high on the agenda of the government meeting," minister and Chair of the government Office Mai Tien Dung confirmed at a press conference later the same day. Pork prices have slid to a mere VND15,000 to VND18,000 per kilogram in the last few days, but local consumers are still purchasing the meat at high prices, between VND80,000 and VND100,000 per kilogram, at supermarkets. (US$1 = VND22,700) "PM Phuc has directed relevant agencies to determine the causes and adopt measures that prevent similar occurrences," the government Office chair told reporters. Deputy minister of Agriculture Ha Cong Tuan then reassured that different ministries, agencies, businesses, and supermarkets have taken actions in support of the 'rescue pig farmers' campaign, resulting in an increase in the price of live pork prices by more than VND5,000 per kilogram. Supermarkets have also cut pork prices by 10-20 percent compared to ten days ago, Tuan added. As for long-term solutions, Tuan said his ministry will focus on ensuring a balance in supply and demand, improving food hygiene and safety, arranging supply chains, and exploring export markets beyond China. The banking sector will also offer a helping hand to local pig farmers, as the State Bank of Vietnam has requested commercial banks to offer interest waivers and reductions to stimulate manufacturing, according to deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu. The central bank recently agreed to reschedule debt payments worth VND 364.7 billion (US$15.85 million), following field trips to localities with heavy farming activity, Tu added. Aside from the efforts of the agriculture ministry and the central bank, the government has also demanded that relevant agencies closely oversee the temporary import and re-export of farm produce in line with Vietnam's regulations and the accepted terms of various trade agreements Vietnam partakes in, especially those of the World Trade Organisation. "Relevant agencies should also review shortcomings in state management, especially in planning, pricing information systems, and the long-term market outlook," Dung, the government Office chair, concluded, underlining the need to reduce production prices for local pig farms. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-govt-beefs-up-efforts-to-rescue-pig-farmers-349000.vov

VCCI to propose five measures at meeting with PM 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times May 17 meeting with PM and deputy PMs allows enterprises to raise issues of concern directly and identify potential solutions. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) will make five proposals to remove difficulties facing enterprises at a meeting with prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. On May 17, the prime minister and deputy prime ministers will take part in a meeting in Hanoi with the business community to hear their thoughts and aspirations. This is also an opportunity to review and evaluate the implementation of the government's Resolution No.35/NQ-CP on business support and development to 2020, suggesting that solutions are sought to effectively carry out or amend the resolution. Pham Thi Thu Hang, Secretary general of VCCI, said that the review of the resolution will look at what the government and also local authorities and businesses have done during its one year of implementation. VCCI is gathering opinions from associations and the business community and plans to put forward five groups of proposals to remove difficulties for businesses. These proposals remain confidential. Hang said that the proposals from businesses were sent to the Office of the government Office and to VCCI. Two-hundred proposals were resolved at the 2016 meeting and 400 have been sent to the Office of the government and VCCI since the beginning of this year. "With hundreds of such requests, VCCI proposes they be divided into groups of major issues of focus," Hang said. There are two main groups of difficulties that enterprises request be removed by the government as they are unreasonable or overlapping regulations and documents from all levels and administrative procedures. Some appear once more after being included previously. Hang said that most previous issues have been addressed but some only received explanations. "Enterprises hope for more open regulations and for the creation of conditions for development, rather than just receiving explanations from ministries," she said. Looking back over one year of the implementation of Resolution No.35, she said the government has made a great deal of effort to improve the business environment and support enterprises. However, more time is needed to introduce changes at all levels of local government, who directly enforce regulations and administrative procedures. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/vcci-to-propose-five-measures-at-meeting-with-pm

PM directs 4th Industrial Revolution preparations 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered all central agencies and local administrations nationwide to make plans for optimum usage of all advantages offered by the 4th Industrial Revolution. In Instruction No.16/CT-TTG, Phuc asked all heads of central and local government offices nationwide, from now till 2020, to focus efforts on preparing the human resources and developing the infrastructure needed to carry out the 4th Industrial Revolution. "It is time for Vietnam to focus efforts on promoting and creating a real breakthrough in digital infrastructure development, application and human resources development," Phuc said. To create conditions for enterprises to quickly absorb and develop new production technology, all ministries and sectors should apply e-government systems so that they can offer better quality services to the people and enterprises by further simplifying and modernising all administrative procedures. "In the 4th Industrial Revolution, we should focus efforts on developing products to our strengths," Phuc said. He called for concerted efforts to make Vietnam a start up nation, promising that the government would develop specific mechanisms and suitable policies to facilitate this. The Instruction assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications to oversee the development of IT infrastructure to ensure that new IT technologies, particularly the 4G mobile network, run smoothly and safely throughout the nation by 2018. The Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to become a focal point, working with other ministries, sectors and localities to support development of the 4th Industrial Revolution, with emphasis on implementing several programmes including the National Science and Technology Programme on Mathematics, Physics and Basic Sciences. The Instruction assigned the Ministry of Education and Training the task of promoting the teaching of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in general schools. The pilot STEM teaching programme will start implementation in the 2017-2018 academic year, laying a good foundation for the 4th Industrial Revolution to develop and grow in the country. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has to developed a plan to update the vocational training curriculum and tailor it to the labour development needs of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The PM has assigned the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to develop mechanisms and policies on taxes and finance in order to encourage enterprises to invest in applying new technology a well as in Research and Development (R&D) in the field of IT and other advanced technology. The MOF has also been asked to review policies and carry out Resolution No.41/NQ-CP on a preferential tax regimen to boost IT development and application in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and the Vietnam Academy of Social Science have been asked to study and evaluate developing trends of the 4th Industrial Revolution and report them to the PM, so that the government can give timely instructions to all ministries, sectors and localities to update their missions, development strategies and plans. Bac Ninh province has been selected as a pilot province to develop the smart city model in construction and hi-tech agriculture development. It will be a pilot site for science and technology applications through the use of mobile phones; and Ha Nam province will also pilot hi-tech agriculture with high-yielding crops. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/pm-directs-4th-industrial-revolution-preparations/111335.vnp

Ministry lays emphasis on quality and disbursement speed of FDI 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Vietnam is attracting a large amount of FDI, but the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) called attention to the quality of the capital and the speed at which it is disbursed, instead of the registered amount. Rising tides As cited by news site antaranews.com, earlier in May, Indonesian vice President Jusuf Kalla said at a meeting at the vice presidential office in Jakarta that Vietnam and Thailand have become Indonesia's competitors in attracting foreign investment in Southeast Asia, especially in the face of sluggish global economic conditions. He added that Indonesia should improve regulations and facilitate doing business to compete with Vietnam and Thailand. The World Bank's 2017 Doing Business report ranked Vietnam as the 82nd, while Thailand ranked 46th and Indonesia 91st. Through its efforts to improve the business and investment environment, Vietnam has become an attractive investment destination in the Asean over the recent years. In 2016, Vietnam's registered foreign direct investment was $24.4 billion, including added capital contributions to existing companies and stake purchases by foreign investors. During the first four months of the year $10.95 billion was registered in FDI, up 40.5 per cent on-year. The HCM City People's Committee has just chosen South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group as the developer for the $2.2 billion Smart City at 2a functional zone in Thu Thiem New Urban Area. The project was proposed in 2015 and is planned to be built on an area of five hectares, with components such as the integrated financial, commercial, and service area and a multi-functional residential area. Taipei Times reported that major members of Formosa Plastics Group are planning to invest $1 billion in the Vietnamese subsidiary to accelerate the construction of the $10.5 billion steel complex in the central province of Ha Tinh. In the first four months of the year, the $2.5 billion Samsung Display project in Bac Ninh and the $1.27 billion Lot B-O Mon gas pipeline project by a Japanese-Vietnamese consortium have helped increase registered FDI significantly. Quality over quantity Though the Indonesian vice president named Vietnam as a contender, it actually trails behind both Indonesia and Thailand in attracting FDI. In 2016, according to the Indonesia Coordinating Board, Indonesia attracted $29.75 billion in FDI, higher than Vietnam's $24.4 billion. Vietnam is still lagging behind Singapore and Thailand in FDI attraction, especially from the US or Japan. Also, during the first four months of the year only $4.8 billion FDI capital was disbursed, up 3.2 per cent on-year. The figure was 15 per cent in the first four months of 2016 and 7 per cent in the first four months of 2015 showing that the rate of increase is on a decreasing trend. Experts said the suspended Trans-Pacific Partnership is causing investors to hesitate and after last year's Formosa Ha Tinh crisis Vietnam has become more wary of potentially polluting projects. At the April 2017 regular government meeting, MPI's report stated that growth in disbursement is slower than the growth of registered FDI. MPI proposed that cities and provinces nationwide take a look at slow- going projects and put appropriate measures in place and increase the quality of the capital attracted to prevent the slow disbursement. MPI also bid local authorities to carefully monitor the area of land actually used by the project and the total investment, as well as price transfers, and prepare planning, land, infrastructure, and labour force to be ready. "Cities and provinces should not turn Vietnam into a place that uses outdated technology, especially in the context that China is rebalancing its economy towards reducing reliance on investment and increasing consumption," the report said. MPI also said that the local authorities have to ensure the projects are appropriate to the master plan of the economic sector they belong to as well as international commitments, national security, and environmental protection. http://www.vir.com.vn/ministry-lays-emphasis-on-quality-and-disbursement-speed-of-fdi.html

Vietnam adds four high technologies to priority list 09/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The government has added four high technologies to the priority investment list, according to a new decision of the prime minister. The just-added high technologies are Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, smart radio and 3D printing. These new technologies, which are the pillars of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, are believed to have a strong impact on all aspects of life and contribute to building smart cities. In addition to green and clean energy development projects, priority will go to projects developing these technologies, especially in high-tech zones. There are 16 groups of products and services added to the list of hi-tech products, including IoT modules, equipment, software and integrated solutions; virtualisation services and cloud computing software, devices and solutions; software, equipment, solutions and services for e-government, e-business, e-commerce, e- learning and e-advertising; virtual reality and augmented reality software, devices and solutions; IT management service; services of processing, big data; e-signature certification; services of evaluating and investigating network security and information security. english.thesaigontimes.vn/53806/Vietnam-adds-four-high-technologies-to-priority-list.html

Forum promotes Vietnam-Indonesia economic cooperation 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Embassy of Vietnam in Indonesia and the Indonesia Vietnam Friendship Association (IVFA) jointly organised a forum to connect the two nations' enterprises in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 8. The event was attended by Indonesian deputy Foreign minister Abdurrahman M. Fachir, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Hoang Anh Tuan, IVFA President Budiarsa Sastrawinata, and representatives from businesses of both countries. It offered an opportunity for the enterprises to meet and share trade-investment experience and information, thus promoting the bilateral economic cooperation. Addressing the function, the host deputy Foreign minister highlighted the traditional relationship between Vietnam and Indonesia, which was founded by late President Sukarno and late President Ho Chi Minh, has been upgraded to a strategic partnership. He also expressed his hope that the two nations, with the biggest population in the region, will continue being active members of Asean, contributing to realising the bloc's targets and maintaining the stability and prosperity in the region. The two governments need to strengthen cooperation, promote trade and people-to-people exchange, as well as tap their strengths to overcome difficulties and raise bilateral relations to a new height. Le Hong Minh, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Indonesia updated participants on incentives offered by Vietnamese localities in terms of tax, salary, offices renting. Indonesian firms have recognised investment potential in the 90 million-people Vietnamese market with a high economic growth rate, Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan, said, adding that many Indonesian businesses have found business and investment opportunities in Vietnam. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/forum-promotes-vietnamindonesia-economic-cooperation/111368.vnp

US rescinds review of antidumping duty on Vietnam's steel wire hangers 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The US Department of Commerce (DOC) recently published in a Federal Register a notice of rescinding administrative review of the antidumping duty on steel wire garment hangers imported from Vietnam for the period of February 1, 2016 December 31, 2017, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Competition Authority. Earlier on April 10, 2017, based on the request for review by petitioner M&B Metal Products Company, Inc, the DOC announced the initiation of an administrative review of the above products, which covers 66 Vietnamese exporters. On April 24, 2017, the petitioner withdrew its request for the review on all 66 companies listed in the Initiation Notice. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213, the DOC will rescind the review if the relevant party withdraws its request within 90 days of the notice publication. In this case, the petitioner timely withdrew its request, and no other party requested a review. Accordingly, antidumping duties on imported shipments during the above period will equal to the cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption. According to the Competition Authority, Vietnam's steel garment hangers have been subject to respective anti-dumping and anti-subsidy taxes of 157 220.68 percent and 31.58-90.42 percent imposed by the DOC. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/us-rescinds-review-of-antidumping-duty-on-vietnams-steel-wire-garment- hangers/111367.vnp

Thua Thien-Hue appeals for foreign investment 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The central coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue has promulgated an investment promotion plan for 2017, which aims to attract about 300-400 million USD in foreign investment. The locality prioritised investment in tourism, services, information technology, healthcare, aquaculture, light industry, urban development, and economic zones. It will call for investment from traditional markets like Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, China's Hong Kong, Japan, the US and countries Vietnam has signed free trade agreements with. The province will work with FLC Group, Vingroup, Bitexco, and Viglacera, as well as foreign investment promotion organisations like the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korea International Cooperation Agency, and Japan External Trade Organisation. Chair of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Cao said Thua Thien-Hue wants to promote investment by connecting with investors' partners such as banks, infrastructure businesses and consulting companies. The locality also plans to forge connectivity via direct dialogues between authorities, investors and investment management and trade counselling agencies, he added. Currently, investors are studying several projects in the province, including an infrastructure project worth 600 billion VND (26.3 million USD) at a Thien Ha Kameda JSC industrial park. The Chan May JSC has registered 850 billion VND (37.3 million USD) in capital to build a wharf at the Chan May Port. Meanwhile, Phu Quang Spinning JSC has poured 400 billion VND (17.5 million USD) into a spinning line project. The Lang Co marine eco-tourism project of Pacific-Asia JSC has total investment of 580 billion VND (25.5 million USD), while a project refining sand into high-quality materials of A&A Green Phenix JSC is worth 500 billion VND (21.9 million USD) http://en.vietnamplus.vn/thua-thienhue-appeals-for-foreign-investment/111345.vnp

Aquaculture export to reach $13b 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam's exports of marine aquaculture produce is expected to reach $12-13 billion by 2020 and $30-35 billion by 2030, according to the Vietnam Sea Culture Association. Nguyen Huu Dung, the association's president, said with its long coastline and more than 3,000 islands and archipelagos, Vietnam has excellent prospects in marine aquaculture, especially in farming fish, mollusc, and seaweed. Speaking at a workshop on Developing a Sustainable, High Volume, Export-Focused Marine Fish Aquaculture Sector in Southeast Asia in HCM City on May 5, Dung said since 2012 Vietnam had been among the top 10 marine aquafarming countries in the world, with its exports increasing significantly. Nguyen Ba Son of the general Department of Fisheries said marine fish output had gone up to 28,300 tonnes last year from 15,700 tonnes in 2010, with Khanh Hoa, Quang Ninh, Kien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau being the main farming areas. There are many species suitable for marine aquaculture, he said, listing the main species farmed in floating net cages as grouper, snapper, sea bream, yellowtail, kingfish, and wrasse. The industry has achieved early success but faces certain constraints like small scale, outdated technologies, and lack of links between farms and the feed, seed, processing, consumption, and distribution systems, he said. The lack of policies and preferential support to attract investments are other challenges, he said. Dung said the world population was growing rapidly, and was expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 from 7 billion in 2011. By then demand for seafood-based protein would increase by 1.7 times from now, with farmed items accounting for 62 per cent, offering Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, a good opportunity, he said. But to capitalise, the country needs to develop a start-up strategy for the marine aquaculture industry with breakthrough policies, he said. The government should revise Decrees 67/2014 and 89/2015 to add marine farms and activities to the list of beneficiaries of preferential credit, build large-scale breed stock production establishments, and invest in or upgrade feed facilities, he said. He also suggested that the government should have a marine environment monitoring and regulation programme and another programme to regenerate marine eco-systems and train staff and professional workers. This would help develop a large aquafarming industry with advanced environment-friendly technologies to ensure sustainable development, develop both sea- and land-based aquaculture and value chains and expand both export and domestic markets by ensuring the highest quality, traceability, branding and marketing and others, he said. Under the strategy, annual marine aquaculture output (of shrimp and lobster, marine fishes, seaweed, and mollusc) is expected to reach 4.7 million tonnes by 2030, and exports, $30-35 billion, he said. Lukas Manomaitis, the US Soybean Export Council's aquaculture programme lead technical consultant in Southeast Asia, said there are both immediate and medium- to long-term opportunities for those interested in industrial marine fish production in Southeast Asia. The region would move to offshore cage farming, which requires advanced cage technology to withstand harsher conditions, though many areas actually have relatively calm waters, he said. Talking about seafood demand in the US, Matt Brooker, business development manager of the Fishin' Company, a US seafood importer, said per capita consumption has increased significantly and would continue to rise. But to be able to penetrate the US market, suppliers must develop aquaculture species and products that meet all food safety, sustainability, social compliance and traceability standards, he said. They should provide consistently assured supply and familiar products that have flavour profiles consistent with what the US consumer expects, and be competitive in terms of pricing, he added. http://bizhub.vn/news/aquaculture-export-to-reach-13b_285968.html

Mekong Delta rice productivity falls slightly 09/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Mekong Delta region had completed harvesting the year's first rice crop (winter-spring crop) by the end of April, recording a slight year-on-year fall of 2.4 percent in productivity to 6.27 tonnes. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the strongest falls were seen in Dong Thap province at16.5 percent, Can Tho city 8.3 percent, Tien Giang 7.1 percent, and Vinh Long 7.6 percent. As of mid-April, around 676,500 hectares of the second rice crop (summer-autumn crop) in the south have been sowed, making up of 95 percent of the same period last year. Of which, the Mekong Delta region accounted for 660,700 hectares, equal to 97 percent year-on-year. This year's second crop is forecast to face many difficulties due to prolonged drought and unpredictable weather patterns. Localities are required to closely manage the sowing schedules. The sowing period can last longer than the previous years. Meanwhile, the northern provinces have basically completed sowing for the summer-autumn crop on over 1.14 million hectares, nearly half of which was in the Red River Delta. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/mekong-delta-rice-productivity-falls-slightly/111361.vnp

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