Stock market

Markets slow down as banks lose steam 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Local markets slowed their upward pace on Tuesday morning as bank stocks, which had given the bourses momentum in the previous session, tumbled unexpectedly. On the HCM Stock Exchange, the VN Index inched up marginally by 0.1 per cent to close at 744.86 points. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index edged down 0.1 per cent to 92.63 points. Only two of nine listed banks recorded growth this morning; six declined. BIDV (BID) rose 2.5 per cent, and Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) was up 0.4 per cent. While Vietinbank (CTG) closed unchanged, all others dropped between 0.1 and 4.4 per cent. On Monday, the government submitted a new resolution on bad debts to the National Assembly, which is expected to facilitate and speed up the process of settling bad debts. Many analysts predict that bank stocks will soon be on a rising wave owing to this. On the positive side, steel and food-beverage shares continued to advance. The big gainers were Vinamilk (VNM), Masan Group (MSN), brewery Sabeco (SAB), Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and Hoa Sen Group (HSG). Around 200 million shares worth a combined VND3.1 trillion (US$138 million) were traded in the two markets. The afternoon session starts at 1pm. http://bizhub.vn/markets/markets-slow-down-as-banks-lose-steam_286319.html

Bank stocks buoy market 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Stocks staged a strong surge as the market started the new trading week on May 22, with large caps and banking stocks rallying strongly on huge demand. Closing the day, the VN Index stood at 744.1 points, up 1.4 percent versus last Friday. There were 272.7 million shares worth VND5.8 trillion changing hands on the HCM City market, including 33.3 million shares worth VND714.8 billion traded in bloc deals. In the banking sector, BID stayed at the ceiling price in much of the day, closing at VND18,400 a share with 15.7 million shares traded. Meanwhile, VCB gained 2 percent to VND37,500 per share with volume of 3.4 million shares, CTG added 5.5 percent at VND19,200 with 5.1 million shares changing hands and STB rose 2.4 percent at VND12,700 a share with 5.1 million shares traded. The oil and gas industry also performed well, with PXL hitting the ceiling price of VND60,600 per share with matching volume of over three million shares. GAS added 3.9 percent to VND58,100 a share on 1.58 million shares traded while PVD rose 2.5 percent at VND16,200 with volume of nearly 1.8 million shares. According to the stock market news website at vietstock.vn, petroleum and banking stocks contributed 1.16 percent to the rise of the main index. In contrast, ROS was among outstanding laggards for plunging to the floor price with matching volume of over 4.5 million shares. Despite its modest impact on the market, ROS alone took away 0.26 percent from the VN Index. SGT made a sharp turnaround, going from the upper limit at VND12,500 to the floor price of VND10,900 at the close due to a sudden rise in selling. Some blue chips such as SSI, REE, GMD and DCM were also among decliners. FLC led the market by liquidity, losing 3.4 percent to VND7,700 a share with over 22 million shares traded, followed by HQC with 19.4 million shares and SCR with 11.3 million shares. On the Hanoi market, the HNX-Index gained 0.58 percent at 92.71 with turnover jumping to over VND1 trillion. ACB hit an intraday high of VND25,700 per share but closed the day VND25,100 a share, rising 1.6 percent against the previous session with 8.1 million shares traded. SHB remained the volume leader with 19.3 million shares, jumping 2.9 percent to VND7,100 per share, while PXV soared 4.5 percent to VND2,300 a share with 8.5 million shares changing hands. Meanwhile, VCG increased 4.9 percent in the morning before closing with a 1 percent loss, standing at VND18,100 a share with matching volume of 4.3 million shares. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54091/Bank-stocks-buoy-market.html

Main indexes lose ground 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Strong afternoon selling on May 23 sees VN Index nearly fall through 740 point-level. All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market closed down on May 20 but the VN Index remained over 740 points. On HSX, the VN Index fell 3.17 points (1.4 per cent) and the VN30-Index 2.24 points (0.32 per cent). On HNX, the HNX-Index lost 0.82 points (0.88 per cent), the HNX30-Index 2.19 points (1.26 per cent), and the UPCoM-Index 0.04 points (0.07 per cent). Liquidity on HSX reached VND4.4 trillion ($194 million), 14 per cent lower than yesterday, and on HNX was VND620 billion ($27.3 million), 32 per cent lower. The VN Index opened at 744.1 points and rose to 745.5 points early on before fluctuating over the remainder of the session and closing at 744.9 points. In the afternoon it reached its peak of the day of 746.1 points in early trade before falling sharply during the rest of the session and closing the day at 740.93 points. In food and beverages, SAB and SBT increased 1.9 per cent and VNM 0.8 per cent, respectively, MSN closed at its opening price, and BHN and KDC lost 0.4 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively. BID was the only banking share to increase, by 0.8 per cent, while MBB fell 3.8 per cent, CTG 2.6 per cent, STB 2.4 per cent, EIB 1.3 per cent, and VCB 0.8 per cent. In energy, PLX and CNG closed at their opening price while GAS lost 1.2 per cent and PGD 0.2 per cent. In real estate, QCG reached its ceiling in rising 7 per cent, while FLC fell 5.8 per cent, KBC 1.8 per cent, VIC 0.9 per cent, NVL 0.3 per cent, and KDH 0.2 per cent. Among other large caps, HPG increased 0.5 per cent, ROS hit its floor in falling 7 per cent, and BVH lost 0.7 per cent and VJC 0.5 per cent. ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND545 billion ($24 million), followed by HQC with VND243 billion ($10.7 million), SSI VND205 billion ($9 million), and VNM VND110 billion ($4.8 million). On HNX, VCS gained 2.9 per cent and NTP and PHP 0.6 per cent. PVI and VNR closed at their opening price while SHB shed 4.2 per cent, ACB 2.4 per cent, VCG 1.7 per cent, and PVS 1.2 per cent. Foreign investors net bought on HSX by VND123 billion ($5.4 million) and on HNX by VND12 billion ($528,840). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/main-indexes-lose-ground-2

Big money flowing into VN stock market 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Many new shares entered the bourse in late 2016 and early 2017, and the VN Index has bounced back to the 700 point threshold for the first time in the last nine years. The liquidity has improved considerably with trading value of VND4.5 trillion in each trading session. One month ago, Nguyen Huu, an investor, decided to buy Sacombank shares (STB). "If I make a bank deposit, I would get an interest rate of a maximum 7 percent for six months. Meanwhile, with the investment in STB, I expect profit at 15-20 percent at minimum," he said. Huu bought STB when the share price was at VND9,500 per share. And if he had sold the shares some days later, he would have made a profit of 10 percent. According to Nguyen Duc Hung Linh from the Saigon Securities Incorporated (SSI), the cash flow to the stock market mostly comed from big investors who prepare in financial capability and have big targets. The VN Index has for the first time in the last nine years has regained the 700 point threshold, while the trading value has reached VND4.5 trillion per daily trading session and foreign investors' portfolio value has reached the highest peak. On May 15 morning, the stock market witnessed a record morning trading session with VND3.1 trillion worth of shares were traded. Investors were excited when seeing 56 shares hitting the ceiling price level. On May 16, the trading volume increased to VND3.659 trillion, an increase of 18 percent, the highest trading volume in the history of the Vietnamese market. "There is so much money from new sources and new investors who are more hot-headed than old investors," the representative of a closed-end fund said. Nguyen Tri Hieu, a renowned banking expert, at a workshop on the stock market held some days ago, commented that this was good news for Vietnam, but investors have been advised to be cautious. "The index has been escalating rapidly. If the trend continues, I think the VN Index would reach the 740 point threshold or even higher," Hieu said. Tong Minh Tuan from VCB Securities commented that the most important thing is that the stock market has more good commodities this year to offer. "Foreign funds are very excited and they have taken action. I think the market would be even more busy towards the end of the year," Tuan said. Other analysts also commented that they were optimistic about the market in 2017-2018, because there would be more good shares on the market once the state divests from several profitable companies. Ngo Tri Long, a renowned economist, commented that in 2016, Vietnam was one of the five strongest markets in SE Asia. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178813/big-money-flowing-into-vn-stock-market.html

VNDIRECT Securities Corporation chooses Horizon for warrants & futures market making 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Bobsguide Horizon Software (Horizon), the leading global provider of electronic trading and investment management technology, today announced that VNDIRECT Securities has chosen Horizon for warrants and futures market making on the HNX (Hanoi Stock Exchange) and HOSE (Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange). Ekaluck Chaiyaporn, Asean Sales director at Horizon, said: "We are excited to be an integral part of Vietnam's futures and warrants trading, which will be launched later this year. We have an impressive track-record of understanding emerging markets and the technology needed to support the development of derivatives warrants trading. We played a central role in the development of futures and warrants trading in Thailand, Malaysia and China, working with a broad range of firms, from global market makers, to local customers. We have shown that our trading platform is flexible and can easily be adapted to local trading requirements, rules and regulations." Giang Nguyen Hoang, CEO at VNDIRECT said: "We were looking for a proven platform for our market making businesses. We needed the core elements of flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and prestigious references in the region. Horizon's Platform for Automated Trading is clearly the platform of the future: it will enable us to have first market-mover advantage, to respond quickly to market innovations and to keep pace with new product developments, for example, the introduction of options trading. Horizon allows us to create differentiation through its tools which will enable us to build quickly tailor-made systematic trading strategies on the platform. The platform's flexibility will allow us to expand into other business areas in a very cost-efficient manner." Earlier this year HNX and HOSE announced the launch of derivatives trading, designed to support the Vietnam market by bringing more high-quality investment fund flows from around the world. Known as the first choice of every investor, VNDIRECT was founded in 2006 and quickly became one of Vietnam's leading securities corporations providing business activities, including securities brokerage, securities depository, corporate finance advisory, proprietary trading, underwriting and portfolio management. VNDIRECT is the leading securities company in Vietnam, founded in 2006, founding shareholder: IPA Investment Group with the license number 22/UBCK-GPHDKD dated 15 November 2006 issued by the State Securities Commission (SSC) Became the first securities company in Vietnam providing comprehensive solution for securities online trading. Held the 2nd largest share of brokerage services on HNX and maintained the 4th position on HOSE. Moreover, VNDIRECT held top 3 securities companies with the best brokerage service in the period of 2005 2015. Clients come to Horizon because of our Trade Your Way philosophy, which means the trader's needs are our top priority. Uniquely, in a world where traders have always had to adapt their trading and risk management requirements to fit the technology available, Horizon does the opposite by building the solution around the user, providing the best mix of tools for systematic trading, market-making, speed, functionality, flexibility, openness and scalability. The result is a high-functionality trading system configured to the needs of each user, but without the costs and uncontrolled risk usually associated with bespoke development. With reference sites ranging from global banks to boutique hedge funds, clients value the expertise of our people, the adaptability of our solutions and the fast delivery, which gets you up-and-running and trading your way very quickly. Horizon gives every client a clear trading advantage from the outset, with the best technology, functionality, support and cost base in a one-stop gateway to the world's equity and derivatives markets. Horizon Software has offices in Europe and Asia, providing algorithmic trading software to a wide range of financial institutions, including investment firms, proprietary trading houses and some of the world's largest investment banks. http://www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/2017/May/23/vndirect-securities-corporation-chooses-horizon- for-warrants-futures-market-making/

Thai investors come to study stock market and listed companies 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Investors visit from May 17 to 19 in search of opportunities. Vietnam is one of the most interesting markets for investment in Asean, Veraphong Chutipat, director of the Innovation Investments Programme at Rangsit University in Thailand said when he and 30 Thai investors visited Vietnam and researched its stock market and listed enterprises. "Although there are many challenges, Vietnam also has many opportunities that no market in the region can match," he believes. Investors have said that Vietnam has long been considered a top investment destination in Asean but it is not easy for international investors to decide to invest in a new market, especially individual investors and small and medium-sized investment funds. Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Maybank Kim Eng), who accompanied the Thai investors in Vietnam, said they spent three days from May 17 to 19 surveying investment opportunities at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) and met with business leaders from the Phu Nhuan Jewellery Company (stock code PNJ), the Phu My Fertiliser Company (stock code DPM), the Vietnam Dairy Products Company (Vinamilk, stock code VNM), and the MobileWorld Joint Stock Company (stock code MWG), among others. Vietnam's stock market is the same as Thailand's 20 years ago, according to Chutipat, but is seeing much faster growth than Thailand did at that time. He also said that major opportunities come quickly and he urged Thai investors to jump into the Vietnamese market. There is a major barrier to foreign capital flows, he added. When foreign investors want to invest in a sound enterprise they have to make a deal through the over the counter market (OTC) instead of dealing directly on exchanges. In order to attract Thai investors, he said that Vietnamese enterprises should provide full information about their business results and Vietnam's business environment. Vietnam and Thailand are improving their bilateral relations to become strategic partners, with trade to reach $20 billion by 2020. Vietnam will have greater opportunities to welcome indirect funds from Thailand in the future. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/thai-investors-come-to-study-stock-market-and- listed-companies

ACA Investments acquires 20pct stake in Bibo Mart 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Bibo Mart chain stores today (May 23) announced that a private equity fund managed by ACA Investments has acquired a 20 percent stake in its outstanding shares of common stock. Founded in 2006, the Bibo Mart baby and mom chain of stores operates under the management of Bibo Mart JSC and specialises in providing products for moms during pregnancy and postpartum and children through six years of age. The company started out with only two stores in 2006, but now that figure has grown to 120 nationwide. http://english.vov.vn/economy/aca-investments-acquires-20-stake-in-bibo-mart-350139.vov

KIDO increases holding in Vietnam Vegetable Oils to 51pct 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Food producer KIDO Group reported on Tuesday that it has increased its holding in the Vietnam Vegetable Oils Industry Corporation Joint Stock Company (VOC) from 24 per cent to 51 per cent. On Monday the company bought nearly 32.9 million shares of VOC through negotiated trading, and now owns 62 million shares. "KDC has followed the trading for three years," the company said. KIDO began to acquire VOC shares in 2014, buying 24 per cent then. At an extraordinary shareholders meeting in November that year KDC expressed its ambition to have a controlling stake. Last November KIDO also became a majority shareholder of Tuong An Vegetable Oil Company. It has told the media it would continue to be active in mergers and acquisitions in the food industry, and is in talks with foreign partners for the purpose. Last year Tuong An's revenues were nearly VND4 trillion ($175 million) and VOC's was over VND4.1 trillion. KDC Foods' revenues were worth VND1.4 trillion ($61.4 million). KDC used to be a confectionery manufacturer before selling its snack business to a foreign company in 2014 and entering the food sector. Its products now include cooking oil, coffee and instant noodles. http://bizhub.vn/markets/kido-increases-holding-in-viet-nam-vegetable-oils-to-51_286325.html

TruMan Holdings unveils 'Tripod leg extension' strategy 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR TruMan Holdings will focus on its main business areas, namely textile, seafood, and real estate, in the 2017-2022 period, aiming to seize top market share in each product segment. In the middle of May 2017, TruMan Holdings' leadership and senior advisors, board members, senior executives, and the senior officers of its member companies met in the central city of Danang and talked about the group's development strategy for the period of 2017-2022. At the meeting, in addition to celebrating the group's achievements in the past, the leadership and staff of TruMan pointed out the shortcomings that can slow down their development. "If we do not praise our achievements, we cannot take pride in ourselves. On the other hand, we must recognise the limitations and inadequacies so that we can avoid being mired down in them," said Le Manh Thuong, chair and CEO of TruMan Holdings. "I appreciate the sincere comments and serious critiques from all the staff of TruMan. I can say with confidence that having all of you on board, I can do everything, even things that I previously doubted I could do," he added. Keeping up the startup spirit According to Thuong, the startup spirit is TruMan's greatest value. Therefore, TruMan has been always striving to attract and welcome all candidates with the desire to work in a dynamic and creative environment where all individuals can maximise their performance. "We are continuously working to ensure a professional and modern working environment that is as productive and rewarding as possible," Thuong said. TruMan pays special attention to human resources development to provide employees with expertise through on-the-job training and cooperating with reputable universities, such as HCM City University of Technology and HCM City University of Industry. These training activities not only aim to improve employee productivity, but also raise each member to become a worthy representative of TruMan under any circumstances. "Tripod leg extension" strategy One of the three economic resolutions issued by the Fifth Plenum of the 12th Communist Party of Vietnam's Central Committee emphasized the importance of the private sector in the country's economic development. "The private economy is an important engine for economic development. Private enterprises are encouraged to innovate management methods and take part in corporate governance to improve operational efficiency, as well as promote the competitiveness of goods and services, thus building brand loyalty," the resolution read. Taking advantage of this opportunity and TruMan's competitive advantages, the company has built a "tripod leg extension" strategy for the period of 2017-2022. The member companies will continue to seek M&A targets and invest selectively to create closed-loop value chains. TruMan will particularly focus on three main areas. First, the company will develop the textile value chain. From the strengths of producing high-quality cotton yarn, it will expand its towel weaving, fabric weaving, dyeing finishing, apparel, and fashion operations. Second, TruMan will continue to develop seafood processing and export activities by investing in aquaculture, cold storage, and feed mills. Third, it will continue to promote investment and development of available real estate projects in Thai Binh, Danang, Binh Thuan, and HCM City. Additionally, it will also step up efforts in resort, civil construction, and industrial zone projects. Effective, sustainable growth The meeting agreed and decided some key points for the strategy of sustainable and effective development, thereby bringing benefits to shareholders and partners. In terms of capital, by 2022 the company will increase its chartered capital to VND8 trillion ($350 million), corresponding to an annual average increase of 20 per cent (the current chartered capital is VND2.8 trillion). The capital will be mobilised through capital contributions from shareholders, bank loans, the stock market, as well as domestic and international bonds. Regarding the brand name, the company will raise the prestige of the TruMan brand and associate it with professionalism, giving them an advanced and modern image, green growth and environmental friendliness. Moreover, the company will support social charitable activities to raise its credit with the community. As to human resources, the company will focus on developing a strong workforce with a culture of discipline, creativity, progress, and fairness. It will make itself a brand that cares for employees' lives. As to products and market share, the company will strive to become a market leader in each major product segment, not only domestically but also internationally. With its current solid foundations, the focus points of the development strategy for the period of 2017- 2022 will provide TruMan with a guideline to move towards becoming a large private sector economic group in Vietnam and the region, which is managed transparently and effectively to bring the highest value to its shareholders. TruMan is a private sector economic group specialising in producing, investing, and trading products and services associated with the essential needs of life: food clothing living. The group's current capital is VND2.8 trillion. It has more than 2,500 employees and its EPS is about VND2,000 (9 US cent) per share. TruMan Holdings currently has three member companies: (1) Duc Quan Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (Fortex, HSX: FTM) that has three factories in the northern province of Thai Binh and is one of the top three largest producers and exporters of natural cotton yarn in Vietnam; (2) Danang Seaproducts Import-Export JSC ((Sea Danang, Upcom: SPD), one of the top 10 seafood processing factories with over 40 years of experience; and (3) Light Land Holdings, which currently manages and develops real estate projects, including New City Thai Binh, New City Danang, and 55 Tran Nhat Duat in HCM City among others. In 2016, the group sponsored the "Children and Family Expo", a meaningful playground providing opportunities for parents and their children to become closer. In March 2017, the group also visited and gave presents to children at Huong Duong Shelter for Homeless Children with the desire to inspire and help them overcome their difficult circumstances. http://www.vir.com.vn/truman-holdings-unveils-tripod-leg-extension-strategy.html

All main indexes close higher 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times All main indexes on Vietnam's stock market gained ground on May 24. On HSX, the VN Index increased 1.81 points (0.24 per cent) and the VN30-Index 9.66 points (1.36 per cent). On HNX, the HNX-Index rose 1.07 points (1.16 per cent) and the HNX30-Index 1.4 points (0.82 per cent), while the UPCoM-Index fell 0.71 points (1.22 per cent). Liquidity on HSX reached VND4.5 trillion ($198.4 million), more or less the same as yesterday, and on HNX was VND681 620 billion ($30 million), 10 per cent higher. The VN Index opened at 740.93 points and eased to 739.8 points in early trade before falling to its bottom of the day of 737.4 points. It then fluctuated and increased strongly to close the session at 743.2 points. It reached its peak of the day of 744.2 points in the beginning of the afternoon session before falling and closing at 742.74 points. In food and beverages, SBT and KDC increased 6.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively. BHN and VNM closed at their opening price while SAB and MSN lost 1.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. All banking large caps closed higher, with MBB hitting its ceiling in increasing 6.8 per cent, while BID rose 3.8 per cent, CTG 2.9 per cent, VCB 1.5 per cent, EIB 1.3 per cent, and STB 1.2 per cent. In energy, PLX lost 2.6 per cent, CNG 1.5 per cent, GAS 0.2 per cent, and PGD 0.2 per cent. In real estate, QCG and FLC increased 3.7 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, KDH closed at its opening price, and NVL fell 1.2 per cent, VIC 0.9 per cent, and KBC 0.3 per cent. Among other large caps, HPG increased 1 per cent and FPT 0.5 per cent. ROS lost 5.6 per cent, BVH 0.7 per cent, and VJC 0.6 per cent. ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND771 billion ($34 million), followed by BID with VND181 billion ($8 million), HBC with VND175 billion ($7.7 million), and VNM with VND106 billion ($4.6 million). On HNX, ACB and SHB increased 2.9 per cent and VCG and PVS 0.6 per cent. PVI, VNR and VND closed at their opening price while PHP fell 2.5 per cent, NTP 1.3 per cent and VCS 0.9 per cent. Foreign investors net sold on HSX by VND191 billion ($8.4 million) and net bought on HNX by VND25 billion ($1.1 million). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/all-main-indexes-close-higher

Shares rebound on financial stock recovery 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Shares rebounded on the two exchanges on Wednesday, with many large-cap stocks, especially financial stocks, recovering. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was up 0.31 per cent at 743.22 points. On the smaller Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index edged up 0.82 per cent to 92.66 points. Financial stocks regained their strength, especially bank shares, following a brief fall on Tuesday. Eight of nine listed lenders advanced and only one remained unchanged. Military Bank (MBB) hit the maximum rise of seven per cent allowed for a single trading session on HCM City's exchange. Others advanced by 2-3 per cent. Shares of securities firms also increased, including big names such as Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), HCM Securities Corp (HCM) and BIDV Securities Co (BSI). Twenty one of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on the main bourse in HCM City's market gained value and eight tumbled. A total of nearly 167 million shares worth a combined VND3.34 trillion (US$147 million) were traded on the two markets. Afternoon trade starts at 1pm. http://bizhub.vn/markets/shares-rebound-on-financial-stock-recovery_286350.html

Petrolimex enjoys huge benefits through treasury stock sale 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) has announced that it sold all 20 million registered treasury shares at transaction value five times higher than par value. According to the group, the shares were purchased at an average price of VND50,553 (US$2.22) each from May 4-23 through transactions at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) Currently, Petrolimex owns more than 135 million treasury stocks. The state-owned group has charter capital of approximately VND13 trillion (US$571 million). Its market value is estimated at VND73.3 trillion (US$3.2 billion), ranking fifth among the biggest enterprises on the Vietnamese stock market. Petrolimex aims for year-on-year profit growth of 10 percent this year. Last year, the group generated approximately VND123.2 trillion (US$5.4 trillion) in revenue and VND5.2 trillion (US$229 million) in after-tax profit, up 50 percent from 2015. http://english.vov.vn/economy/petrolimex-enjoys-huge-benefits-through-treasury-stock-sale-350199.vov

More than 1,000 investors register for Viglacera auction 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Investors register to purchase 314.33 million shares, with only 120 million up for grabs at HNX auction on May 29. The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) has announced the results of registrations to purchase Viglacera Corporation (VGC) shares at auction. There will be 1,026 investors participating in the auction, including 78 institutional investors and 948 individual investors. The total volume of shares registered to purchase was 314.33 million; 2.6-times higher than the 120 million offered. Seventy-eight institutional investors registered to buy 247 million shares and 948 individual investors registered to buy 67.29 million shares. The auction will be held at 8.30am on May 29 on HNX. The starting price is VND12,300 ($0.54) per share, equivalent to a total value of about VND1.5 trillion ($66 million). Viglacera has 307 million outstanding shares (equivalent to charter capital of VND3.07 trillion ($135.3 million)) and has listed 65 million on HNX. At the close of trade on May 23, VGC was priced at VND17,400 ($0.77). The number of shares offered for sale at this time is equivalent to 39 per cent of total outstanding shares. Viglacera's Management Board said that the company would issue an employee share ownership plan (ESOP) in October, expected at 5 per cent. The shareholding of the Ministry of Construction will therefore only be about 54 per cent by the end of this year. By 2019, Viglacera will increase its capital by VND259 billion ($11.4 million), to VND4.74 trillion ($208.9 million), reducing State ownership to 51 per cent. According to its consolidated business results for the first quarter of this year, Viglacera recorded after- tax profit of VND199 billion ($8.8 million); almost double the result in the first quarter of last year. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/more-than-1-000-investors-register-for-viglacera-auction

Kido completes Vocarimex stake acquisition 25/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Kido Corporation (KDC) on May 23 announced the completion of its acquisition of nearly 32.9 million shares from Vietnam Vegetable Oils Industry Corporation, also known as Vocarimex with the stock code VOC. This deal has made Kido one of the major players in the cooking oil industry of Vietnam. With the acquisition of nearly 32.9 million shares, equivalent to 27 percent of Vocarimex's chartered capital, Kido is now the largest shareholder of this business, with a majority stake of 51%. This stake purchase had been pursued by Kido for about three years. With a controlling stake in Vocarimex, Kido also holds stakes in many large oil companies in the country. It is because Vocarimex is a leading player in the edible oil industry, with a network of subsidiaries and affiliates with a large market share such as Tuong An Cooking Oil Joint Stock Company (TAC), Cai Lan Oils and Fats Industries Company, Golden Hope Nha Be Edible Oil Company, and Tan Binh Vegetable Oil Joint Stock Company (Nakydaco). Kido now directly and indirectly owns 92 percent of Tuong An, a leading enterprise in the cooking oil market with annual revenue of about VND4 trillion. Tuong An has two factories, with one in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and the other in Nghe An Province, plus a strong distribution network. CEO Tran Le Nguyen of Kido is now board chair of this company. As such, Kido has quickly secured a major share in the edible oil and refrigeration sectors via M&A only three years after its withdrawal from the confectionery industry. In the refrigeration industry, Kido Foods (KDF) takes charge of the frozen food division of Kido. KDF has a plant in HCM City and another in Bac Ninh Province with a designed capacity of 50 million litres per year, including 25 million litres of ice cream and 25 million litres of yogurt. After more than 13 years of development, KDF now holds the largest share of the local ice cream market with 35 percent (2016 data). Before its transformation into a joint-stock company in 2016, KDF operated as a limited liability company wholly owned by Kido. After the plan to launch KDF shares on the stock market in 2017 is actualised, Kido will keep a 65 percent stake in this company. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54115/Kido-completes-Vocarimex-stake-acquisition.html

VN Index advances on energy stocks 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The benchmark VN Index added 0.33 per cent to close Thursday's morning trade at 745.21 points after blue chips continued to grow. Eighteen of the top 30 largest shares by market value and liquidity on the HCM Stock Exchange advanced while 11 slumped. Energy stocks were the market driver as the largest companies in this sector all climbed. Largest listed energy firm PV Gas (GAS) increased 1.4 per cent. PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD) rose 4.7 per cent and petrol retailer Petrolimex (PLX) edged up 0.34 per cent. Banks also maintained their growth with big names such as BIDV (BID), Vietinbank (CTG), Military Bank (MBB) gaining between 0.3 and 4.8 per cent. On the other side, however, VinGroup (VIC), Vinamilk (VNM), Vietcombank (VCB) and brewery Sabeco (SAB) tumbled and dragged the market down. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was up 0.91 per cent at 93.82 points. A total of 161.4 million shares worth a combined VND3.1 trillion (US$134.3 million) were traded on the two markets this morning. Afternoon trade starts at 1pm. http://bizhub.vn/markets/vn-index-advances-on-energy-stocks_286391.html

HSX down while HNX up 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Mixed bag on May 25 but VN Index still above 740 points. Main indexes on HSX lost ground while those on HNX gained on May 25. On HSX, the VN Index fell 0.83 points (0.11 per cent) and the VN30-Index 1.88 points (0.26 per cent). On HNX, the HNX-Index rose 0.5 points (0.54 per cent), the HNX30-Index 1.41 points (0.82 per cent), and the UPCoM-Index 0.18 points (0.31 per cent). Liquidity on HSX reached VND4.3 trillion ($190 million), 4 per cent lower than yesterday, and on HNX was VND736 billion ($32.4 million), 8 per cent higher. The VN Index opened at 742.74 points and quickly reached its peak of the day of 746.2 points before falling to 743.4 points mid-session. It then recovered ground and closed the morning at 745.2 points. In the afternoon it slipped to 741.7 points early on then fluctuated and closed the day's trade at 741.91 points. KDC was the only food and beverage share to increase, by 4.8 per cent, while SAB closed at its opening price and SBT lost 2.2 per cent, MSN 1.2 per cent, and BHN and VNM 1 per cent. In banking, MBB and EIB increased 1.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. CTG fell 1.8 per cent, VCB 1.7 per cent, STB 1.2 per cent, and BID 0.8 per cent. In energy, GAS increased 1.8 per cent, CNG and PLX closed at their opening price, and PGD lost 1.4 per cent. In real estate, QCG increased 1.7 per cent, KBC 0.3 per cent, and FLC 0.1 per cent. KDH closed at its opening price and VIC and NVL lost 1.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. Among other large caps, FPT and BVH increased 1.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, HPG closed at its opening price, and VJC fell 0.8 per cent. ROS saw the highest liquidity on HSX, with VND665 billion ($29.3 million), followed by BID with VND165 billion ($7.3 million), SSI with VND153 billion ($6.7 million), and VNM with VND93 billion ($4.1 million). On HNX, PHP increased 4.7 per cent, PVI 3.8 per cent, PVS 2.3 per cent, VCG 2.2 per cent, and VCS 1.1 per cent, while NTP and ACB shed 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively. Foreign investors net sold on HSX by VND30 billion ($1.3 million) and on HNX by VND991 million ($43,683). http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/hsx-down-while-hnx-up-1

Financial stocks prop market up 26/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The stock market bounced back on May 24, buoyed by strong demand for financial and banking stocks like BID, CTG, MBB and SSI. The VN Index rose a slight 0.24 percent against the previous session at 742.74 points. Trading volume on the HCM City bourse declined 15.4 percent to over 225 million shares but value improved 8.5 percent to VND5.1 trillion. Among the top five contributors to the index's gain were four bank stocks, with VCB increasing 1.5 percent, CTG advancing 2.9 percent and BID rising 3.8 percent. MBB shot up to the ceiling price of VND18,800 a share with over six million shares traded as it had received approval from the central bank to sell its stake in MCredit. Securities stocks also increased. SSI added 3.1 percent with matching volume of 6.5 million shares and HCM jumped 6.5 percent with 1.8 million shares traded. PNJ picked up 4.2 percent, sending its rise since a year ago to 68 percent. In contrast, ROS, PLX, SAB, VIC and MSN dragged the VN Index down by nearly 0.6 percent. Notably, ROS alone took nearly 0.19 percent from the main index. Foreign investors net sold nearly 1.94 million ROS shares with a total value of VND241.3 billion in the morning before its net selling value dipped to VND239 billion at the close. Strong selling by foreign investors drove down ROS to the floor price but the stock managed a mild recovery in the last minute. ROS closed the day down 5.7 percent to VND126,000 a share with matching volume amounting to nearly 6.2 million shares. Overall, foreign investors net sold nearly VND192 billion of shares on the southern bourse. Aside from ROS, they net sold VND31 billion of BMP shares and VND23.6 billion of VIC shares while acquiring HBC, VNM and BID with a net buying value of VND34.3 billion, VND23.6 billion and VND18.7 billion respectively. Meanwhile, foreigners stayed on the buying side on the Hanoi market, acquiring VND6.1 billion of SHS shares and sending the price of this securities stock soaring to its upper limit with matching volume of 4.2 million shares. Bank stocks ACB and SHB made gains, with the former edging up 2.8 percent to VND25,200 per share and having 2.7 million shares traded. SHB, which again led the exchange by liquidity with over 22 million shares changing hands, closed up 2.9 percent. The strong financial stocks drove the HNX-Index up 1.16 percent to 92.96 points. Turnover on the northern bourse increased to VND720.6 billion, including VND39.5 billion from bloc deals. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54150/Financial-stocks-prop-market-up.html

UPCoM gets new classification rules 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) recently issued a stock classification code on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), in order to help investors keep closer watch on existing companies' owners' equity and prepare to categorise a large number of goods to be released into the market soon. Classification rules on the UPCoM will categorise registered stocks into three categories, except for stocks on the Investors Warning list. Under the system, stocks issued by companies or organisations with a registered owner's equity of more than VND1 trillion (US$44.67 million) will belong to the UPCoM Large category, while stocks from those with VND300 billion ($13.4 million) to VND1 trillion in equity will be classified as UPCoM Medium. The UPCoM Small is for those from VND10 billion ($446,747) to below VND300 million. These lists will be displayed on the live screens at the HNX's headquarter in Hanoi and will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis. There are exceptions for stocks whose companies fail to meet the required level of capital, stocks being replaced by another or exchanged between lists. UPCoM classification, based on levels of current capital, will sort registered companies' stocks into their respective list according to the company's owner's equity, which will be calculated from the closest balance sheet stated in the latest audited and published financial report. In case the registered organisation is the mother company of another firm or is a firm with non legal entity subsidiaries, owner's equity will simply be based on audited financial reports. The new classification rule will replace the UPCoM Premium currently being used, and the official list of categorised stocks will be published by the HNX on June 24, 2017 on the occasion of the UPCoM's eighth year in operation. For the first five months of 2017, 125 businesses have been newly listed on the UPCoM, with an average of 10.74 million shares being traded each session, amounting to VND202.9 billion ($9.06 million). This marks a 10.2 per cent increase in terms of quantity traded and 62.4 per cent in terms of quality compared to the same period in 2016. At the end of Thursday's session, there were a total of 540 listed companies on the UPCoM, with VND419 trillion ($18.71 billion) in capital and VND185.55 trillion ($8.28 billion) in traded value. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377161/upcom-gets-new-classification-rules.html

Five firms get permits to trade in derivatives market 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Five brokerage firms have obtained permits from the State Securities Commission (SSC) to operate in the derivatives market. The companies are Sai Gon Securities (SSI), VPBank Securities (VPBS), BIDV Securities (BSC), VNDirect Securities (VNDirect) and MB Securities (MBS). The five brokerages can now trade in the derivatives market, including derivatives brokerage, proprietary trading and consultancy. The brokerages must comply with SSC regulations, derivatives market regulations and other relevant policies and company charters. According to Decree 86/2016/ND-CP and Decree 42/2015/ND-CP on requirements for a brokerage firm to trade in the derivatives market, a brokerage firm needs to have at least VND600 billion (US$26.6 million) in its owner's equity capital and chartered capital to perform proprietary trading. Regulations also state that a brokerage firm needs at least VND800 billion in chartered capital and owner's equity capital to consult for derivatives trading. Among the five brokerage companies, SSI has VND4.9 trillion in owner's equity capital, VNDirect has nearly VND1.55 trillion, BSC has VND902 billion, VPBS has VND970 billion and MBS has VND1.22 trillion. Of the five brokerages, SSI, VNDirect, BSC and VPBS are also certified by the SSC to perform settlement and clearing activities for derivatives trading orders. Other requirements for brokerage firms to operate in the derivatives market include not being in the process of merger, acquisition, dissolution or suspension by authorities. The brokerage firm must have turned a profit for the last two years and the rate of available capital must be at least 220 per cent in the last 12 consecutive months before it submits its application. The derivatives market is expected to come into operation in June 2017. The SSC last week made the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) the first financial institution to be eligible to carry out settlements for derivatives trading orders. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377055/five-firms-get-permits-to-trade-in-derivatives-market.html

Bamboo Capital targets 30 per cent growth 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Bamboo Capital JSC has set revenue and profit targets of VND1.77 trillion (US$78.3 million) and VND81 billion this year, 8 per cent and 30 per cent higher than last year. Speaking at the annual shareholders meeting in HCM City on Thursday, Nguyen Thanh Hung, BCG's deputy general director, said in the short term, exports would be the main contributor to revenues and profit. This year, the company plans to increase exports of cocoa, cassava starch, coffee and micro-organic fertilisers. It will speed up work on a BOT project to widen and upgrade DT830 road in Long An Province and do a study on building a part of the North South expressway project, social housing for workers in Long An Province, and other projects. Renewable energy, especially solar, is also in its long-term plans, Hung said. BCG has already received approval to build four solar farms, including two in Long An. Nguyễn Hồ Nam, BCG's chair, said South Korea's Green Eggs Co., Ltd, which owns a 3.5 per cent stake in BCG, plans to invest an additional $10 million in the company for the solar projects in Long An. Nam said agricultural production and trading, infrastructure, real estate and renewable energy are among the company's core businesses in the 2017-20. In 2015-17, agriculture accounted for the biggest share of profits, but from 2020 renewable energy, infrastructure and real estate would take over, he said. The company did not pay dividends last year but will be 6 per cent for 2017. http://bizhub.vn/markets/bamboo-capital-targets-30-per-cent-growth_286398.html

Finance

Reference exchange rate goes up 9 VND 24/May/2017 Intellasia| BizLive The State Bank of Vietnam set its reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,384 VND/USD on May 24, up 9 VND from the day ago. With the current +/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,055 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,713 VND per USD. Major commercial banks made slight changes to their rates. Vietcombank listed its buying rate at 22,650 VND/USD and its selling rate at 22,720 VND/USD, down 5 VND. BIDV also offered its buying and selling rates at 22,650 VND and 22,720 VND, down 5 VND. Techcombank cut its buying and selling rates by 5 VND at 22,640 VND and 22,730 VND, per USD. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-goes-up-9-vnd/112184.vnp

Is there any risk of virtual capital as large number of banks plan to increase capital? 24/May/2017 Intellasia| BizLive *Sixteen banks plan to raise capital this year In order to improve competitiveness and meet Basel II requirements which will come into effect from September 2017 for 10 pilot banks and from 2019 for all other banks, many banks will actively carry out the plans to raise capital this year. Up to now, 16 banks have announced their plan to raise capital with a total of nearly 37 trillion dong. Vietcombank plans to increase its chartered capital from 35.977 trillion dong to 39.575 trillion dong this year through public offering or private offering to institutional investors, which may include one or more existing shareholders of Vietcombank, but at a maximum of ten investors. BIDV also intends to increase its chartered capital by 4.445 trillion dong to 38.632 trillion dong through the ESOP programme and private offering. MB increases charter capital by more than one trillion dong by paying dividend and ESOP. VPBank also plans to increase chartered capital by 53 percent from 9.181 trillion dong to 14.059 trillion dong by paying dividend and private offering to investors. Meanwhile, Techcombank chooses to increase its chartered capital by five trillion dong through offering shares to its existing shareholders. NamABank expects the majority of its capital increase of two trillion dong is through the new issuance of shares. *Is there any risk of virtual capital? With nearly 37 trillion dong of capital expected to be added this year, the operation of the Vietnamese banking system is likely to improve. However, virtual capital from capital increase in the period 2008-2010 is unforgettable. Previously, in order to create a safe buffer for financial performance of banks, the government issued Decree No. 141/2006/ ND-CP on legal capital level of credit institutions. Specifically, for commercial joint stock banks, the minimum legal capital was one trillion dong by 2008 and three trillion dong by 31 December 2010. However, due to the stagnant stock market and difficulty in increasing capital through other plans, many banks were in the deadlock, facing the risk of M&A or even dissolution. As an inevitable consequence, the failure to increase real capital has caused the "spider web" of cross ownership and virtual capital to appear in the system. The case of the former Chair of ACB Nguyen Duc Kien is one of the most typical examples of this failure. However, experts say that in this capital increase, the virtual capital in banks is very difficult. Talking to BizLIVE reporter, Dr Can Van Luc says that the capital increase through virtual capital is almost impossible because the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has implemented strict supervision and can monitor and control in the system. In particular, SBV is also very proactive in introducing measures to combat virtual capital and ensure transparency of information and prevent cross-ownership in the system. Besides, he believes that after the period from 2008 to 2010, banks themselves have recognised the risks of virtual capital, then find their own way to "real money". According to him, the government and SBV needs to give their one hand to enable banks to raise capital to meet Basel II standards and capital requirements to achieve credit growth target of 18 percent this year. For example, one suggestion is to allow banks to issue shares to employees and existing shareholders. In the long run, allowing banks to keep potential dividends to increase capital is an option. Many countries have chosen this option, of course, they do not allow to keep all but a certain percentage, of about 50-60 percent. In addition, it is necessary to speed up the process of restructuring ailing banks and deal with bad debts to remove bottlenecks in credit flows. "If dealing with bad debts is done faster, there is no need for banks to spend more on provision and they also have more available resources to supplement their chartered capital," Luc said.

Why does monetary market suddenly reverse? 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Thoi Dai The monetary market has recorded unexpected fluctuations over the last two weeks. Since the beginning of this year, the system's liquidity has always been in the state of tension as credit growth has been higher than deposit growth right from the beginning months of the year. *Interest rates in interbank market fell sharply As per the statistics of the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC), while the credit of the whole system increased 5.2 percent, the capital mobilisation only increased 3.7 percent only in January- April. However, the monetary market suddenly reversed as liquidity has improved markedly. Interbank interest rates in the past week were quite different from the previous week, when they fell sharply from the average of 4.7-4.9 percent to 3.9-4.1 percent for overnight term On the Open Market Operations (OMO), for the first time since the beginning of 2017, no bank has registered to borrow money from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in the session on May 19, 2017. The average balance on OMO in April that always remained at over 35 trillion dong has now decreased to just over four trillion dong. *Where does the money flow to the banking system come from? Theoretically, that interest rates in the interbank market suddenly reversed sharply only came after the SBV pumped capital into the market, and the fastest way for the SBV to support liquidity is through the capital injection via OMO. The amount of capital pumped into the market to support liquidity will be equal to or greater than the loan balance of banks on OMO. However, the first scenario did not occur when banks' outstanding loans on the OMO have been decreasing and returning to zero in the following week. The second scenario may be that the SBV has bought a huge amount of foreign currency from the market. That can either be the Foreign Direct Investments or Foreign Indirect Investments (FII), or even foreign currency from commercial banks in the country. However, all the aforementioned scenarios are very difficult and almost impossible to occur in just one week because it will be very difficult for foreign investors (both direct and/or indirect) to disburse more than $1 billion only within a week of entering the Vietnamese market. Meanwhile, the foreign currency purchase price of the SBV is currently at 22,675 dong/ US dollar, still far away from the actual transaction price among banks now, at about 22,700 dong/US dollar. The third scenario, which is also the highest probability scenario at this time, is the SBV has refinanced banks through the special VAMC bonds discount. And certainly the discount rate of VAMC bonds will have to be lower than the interest rates on OMO. With the balance of VAMC bonds of the whole system now reaching over 280 trillion dong, the SBV's discount of about 35-40 trillion dong, equivalent to about 13 percent, is nothing too surprising and worrying for system. *Timely information needed from State management agencies If the statement as in the third scenario is correct, a question that should be clarified now is how much the State Bank has pumped out, to which banks and what are the specific interest rates? Will the SBV continue injecting capital? How do commercial banks have criteria to be refinanced by SBV? Because, only when the market is fully aware of the information, as well as understands the operating policies of the State management agencies, they will take the initiative to put forward coping scenarios in the near future. In addition, the transparency of information will help market participants to be more confident in the management of regulatory authorities. This is also the spirit of the prime minister's direction in the dialogue with the business community that took place on May 17, 2017.

Fintech poses both opportunities and risks 24/May/2017 Intellasia| DNSG The recent boom in technology has fueled the appearance of financial technology (Fintech) models in Vietnam. What is Fintech and what are the risks and potentialities of this model in the future? Fintech is not just remittance or payment services as most people think but it also provides a wider range of services such as crowd-funding, peer to peer lending, personal finance, Crypto Blockchain, and Data Management. *Potential of Fintech in Vietnam In the recent time, a series of startups on technology in general and financial technology in particular have been born and developed in Vietnam. Vietnam is a potential market for new technological products and services because of the young population and the rapid growth of smartphone users. It is noteworthy that the activities on mobile phones today are mainly interactive social networking, searching, music playing, movies watching while activities for financial services are very limited, accounting for under five percent of the online time of Vietnamese internet users. Therefore, e-commerce and financial technology services have a lot of potential for development, especially when Vietnam is one of the countries receiving large amounts of remittances. However, Fintech startups in Vietnam have mainly provided mobile payment services (52 percent). The provision of other services is very insignificant. This fact is quite easy to understand because not until 2008, did SBV research and allow non-bank institutions to provide payment service while other services have been very limited up to now. As per SBV, as of 10 February 2017, 20 non-bank institutions were licensed by the agency to provide intermediary payment service. In fact, as KPMG's statistics among the main activities of the top 100 Fintech companies in the world, payments and transactions account for 25 percent, compared to 22 percent for lending accounts, 14 percent for asset management, seven percent for insurance and 32 percent for other services. Therefore, Fintech startup projects providing remaining services will be able to thrive in the near future to be in line with the general trend of the world, especially when Fintech projects are increasingly attracting capital from overseas. Topica Founder Institute's statistics show that among the call-ups of technology startups, the Fintech group is the third-most investment field, behind e-commerce and communications. In 2016 alone, the total value of Fintech startup deals in Vietnam was $129 million, representing 63 percent of the total startups. According to a report by DealStreetAsia, more than $7.8 billion will be poured into the Fintech market until 2020. *Is there a risk to the traditional transaction model? A recent forecast shows that people in the banking industry will face a great risk of losing their jobs in the future as the technology evolves and Fintech models are increasingly being upgraded and offer a variety of services to the customer more quickly and conveniently. However, in Vietnam, the traditional banking transaction model in the immediate future has not been affected much, especially when the current Fintech model in Vietnam is at dawn and mainly supplies payment services as mentioned above. On the other hand, other services of the Fintech model such as peer-to-peer lending, crowd-funding are still difficult to develop in the short term due to the suspicious psychology of Vietnamese people with these services via electronic network-based environment. Many people believe that transactions at traditional distribution channels with specific address sometimes still expose risks of trick or loss, then depositing or lending through web-based services and applications seem riskier, especially when they do not understand the technology companies' role as well as what they do with their bank accounts. In addition, the management and provision of information about citizens and personal records in Vietnam is still limited while this is very crucial for the development of Fintech-based services. Another problem is that rules and regulations are not transparent, the legal corridor has not kept up with the pace of development of Fintech companies, so legal risk for some of Fintech services is inherent. Thus, banks with traditional trading channels are still preferable. In fact, some banks have researched and actively implemented some Fintech applications for their customers, but the effectiveness of these new services as well as the customer's reception cannot be assessed at this time.

Payment through POS reaches 9pct only 24/May/2017 Intellasia| BizLive As of the end of 2016, Vietnam had 111 million issued bank cards with the total of 919 million transactions in 2016 alone, totalling nearly 2.9 trillion dong, said Nguyen Thi Hoa, deputy director of the Banking Strategy Institute under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). However, domestic cards still account for about 90 percent (99 million cards) of which 85 percent of arising transactions are ATM withdrawals and only 15 percent are payment activities. ATM cards are mainly used for withdrawing or transferring money. The rate of card use, especially credit cards is very low. ATM system has 17,472 machines, with a total of 717 million transactions in 2016, worth more than 1.809 trillion dong. Total number of POS in 2016 were 263,427 machines with 97 million transactions worth 250 billion dong. The strongest growth was internet banking and mobile banking channels, with total transaction value via internet banking at over seven trillion dong with nearly 126 million transactions, increasing by 42 percent compared to 2015 compared to 303 trillion dong of total transaction value through mobile banking with nearly 98 million transactions, up 126 percent compared to 2015. To date, 21 intermediaries have been licensed with 3.9 million issued e-wallets.

Techcombank to mobilise $220mn from shareholders 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times The Vietnam Technological & Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) expects to mobilise VND5 trillion ($220.34 million) from shareholders in 2017. The content of its plan to does not, in general, differ from the previous version submitted to the annual general meeting (AGM), but the offering period is expected to be extended to all of 2017, from only the second and third quarters. 500 million shares are to be issued at a minimum price of VND10,000 ($0.44) per share. If the deal is successful, Techcombank's charter capital will increase from VND8.8 trillion ($387.69 million) to VND13.8 trillion ($607.96 million). This is the largest capital increase Techcombank has made since 2008. From 2008 to 2012 its charter capital increased regularly, from VND4.7 trillion ($207.07 million) to VND8.8 trillion ($387.69 million). All proceeds from the share offer are expected to be invested in the VND916 billion ($40.35 million) expansion of its head office and fixed assets. It will also spend VND1.6 trillion ($70.5 million) on technology and equipment. The bank will also increase its capital for credit activities and investment in government bonds, to some VND2.4 trillion ($105.76 million). Techcombank's pre-tax profit was VND1.3 trillion ($57.29 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 130 per cent year-on-year and representing 26.3 per cent of the 2017 plan. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178923/techcombank-to-mobilise--220mn-from- shareholders.html

LienVietPostBank to buy Sacomreal bonds worth $22 million 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times 42-month bonds to sell at lower interest rate than real estate developer expected. LienVietPostBank has approved a plan to buy VND500 billion ($22 million) worth of bonds at a company belonging to Sacombank's founder and his family, the first move in a long-term partnership between the two, a source close to the matter told VET. Founded by Dang Van Thanh during his time at Sacombank in 2004, real estate developer Sacomreal will issue VND500 billion ($22 million) worth of bonds with a 42-month tenure to LienVietPostBank at an interest rate lower than what Sacomreal anticipated. The interest rate, though, reflects the credibility and efficient use of capital in a project LienVietPostBank has evaluated, the source said. The agreement between the two may shed light on the restructuring process of one of Vietnam's five weakest banks, which is set to hold its annual general meeting on May 26. A senior executive at LienVietPostBank resigned from his post in April and then withdrew from a list of candidates for the new Sacombank Board for the 2017-2021 term, together with a representative from the State-owned Vietcombank. Nguyen Van Huong, the recently-resigned deputy Chair of LienVietPostBank, is the deputy Chair of the one-year old Vietnam Macadamia Association, a social and professional organisation co-founded by LienVietPostBank and real estate giant the Him Lam JSC, which holds more than 30 per cent of LienVietPostBank. It is still unclear why Thanh withdrew from the list of candidates for Sacombank's new Board, even though in a statement sent to the central bank earlier this year he proposed participating in the restructuring process of the bank, which he founded in 1991 alongside local and foreign groups and individuals such as the New York-based investment bank Evercore Group and M&A consultants Redsun Capital Limited. One point of note is that Thanh had previously planned to acquire LienVietPostBank in 2012. At the bank's annual general meeting in 2013, Chair Duong Cong Minh, who owns 99 per cent of Him Lam, revealed that Thanh and his family were looking for 6 to 7 per cent of LienVietPostBank at VND20,000 ($0.88) a share after being excluded from Sacombank. The plan never come to fruition, as Thanh and his son were briefly held in custody at the end of 2012 while an investigation was conducted into his time at Sacombank, the sale of bank assets, and the family's outstanding debts. They were released after 48 hours and cooperated fully with authorities. The case faded from the headlines and wrapped up without a formal conclusion. Sacombank leaders then announced a purchase of 80 million Sacombank shares, worth VND1.6 trillion ($73.4 million), from the family, in a bid to "clear up the credit and bonds that remained valid among related parties." At the end of 2016, Thanh son, Dang Hong Anh, was the largest shareholder in Sacomreal, with a 10.95 per cent stake, while his family business, the Thanh Cong Group, held 4.91 per cent, according to Sacomreal's 2016 financial report. Having recorded consolidated after-tax profit of VND23 billion ($1 million) during the first three-month of this year, up 142 per cent year-on-year, Sacomreal is currently among Vietnam's Top 10 real estate developers. Revenue from its real estate business increased VND12 billion ($528,840) year-on-year, while financial income rose VND53 billion ($2.3 million) to VND119 billion ($5.24 million) as at March 31. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/lienvietpostbank-to-buy-sacomreal-bonds-worth-22 million

Shinhan Bank introduces Digital Branch service 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times The first in Vietnam, bank's Digital Branch service allows customers to access banking services without visiting a branch. Shinhan Bank Vietnam officially announced its Digital Branch service on May 22, the first time that the service has been launched in Vietnam and allowing customers to access a variety of banking services using tablet devices in their own home rather than having to go to a branch, as previously. The Digital Branch service is based on South Korea's Shinhan Bank's Outdoor Sales System (ODS). It was the first bank in South Korea to develop this service for the global market. The Digital Branch service was studied and integrated into in-depth technologies to ensure optimal performance for retail banking services in Vietnam. Customers can still perform banking tasks from home, like opening a bank account, applying for a debit card or credit card, registering for loans, and conducting online and SMS banking. The service also provides assistance in calculating financial investments, such as deposits or loans. "With the goal of becoming a leading digital bank in Vietnam, we are constantly striving to introduce optimal banking services, and the new Digital Branch service is one example of this," said Shin Dong Min, CEO of Shinhan Bank Vietnam. "With a technology platform developed from the parent bank and a deep understanding of the needs of customers in Vietnam, Shinhan Bank will digitalise all banking activities, from services and products to working and management processes, to ensure our customers are always served quickly, efficiently and safely." In April, Shinhan Bank Vietnam announced that it had agreed to acquire ANZ Vietnam's retail division. The successful transaction is a major step for Shinhan Bank Vietnam's development and for the rapid growth of Vietnam's retail banking sector. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/shinhan-bank-introduces-digital-branch-service

Farmers need $4.4b support package: experts 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Farmers and enterprises need practical support from the credit package of VND100 trillion (US$4.44 billion) for clean and high-tech agriculture development, according to experts. This policy on encouraging investment in high-tech agriculture production has created a new investment wave in local agriculture, which is why many non-agricultural enterprises have invested in clean agriculture. Agriculture expert Vo Tong Xuan said the government's credit package will provide capital support for farmers and enterprises to boost development of high-tech agricultural production. Therefore, capital should be provided to enterprises undertaking projects that produce farming products that are safe and of high quality. The projects must ensure many farmers join the production chain, he said. Nguyen Lam Vien, general director of Vinamit Joint Stock Company, said the policy should focus on encouraging organic production with the development of clean agriculture for sustainable development of local agriculture. Local experts said the country should have a long-term development strategy for high-tech agriculture, while enterprises must have a consumption plan for farming products when they invest in agriculture projects to avoid oversupply of farming products, Vietnam News Agency reported. Enterprises should choose suitable technology which ensures farming products of high quality and reasonable price. However, many enterprises said farmers and enterprises were facing difficulty in obtaining capital from the credit support policies. Vo Minh Khai, general director of Vien Phu Trading and Production Joint Stock Company in Ca Mau Province, said according to Decree 61/2010/ND-CP, his company's organic agricultural production project should get preference in capital, but in fact, the project was unable to obtain loans from all resources, including preferential credit policies. Phan Quoc Hung, a farmer growing orchids in HCM City, also faced difficulty in obtaining preferential loans to further develop his orchid garden, requiring total investment capital of VND2-3 billion. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376900/farmers-need-44b-support-package-experts.html

Vietnam values financial grants from OFID 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam welcomes technical support from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) via official development assistance and preferential loans. Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the remark when talking about Vietnam's demand for infrastructure development at a meeting with OFID director-General Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish in Hanoi on May 23. The PM lauded the signing of a 21.8 million USD loan agreement between the finance ministry and OFID on May 22 for the construction of Dam Vac Bridge in the northern province of Vinh Phuc. He noted that the two sides have implemented many effective joint projects in Vietnam's remote areas. He asked the OFID to continue financing projects in Vietnam, adding that the government is willing to work with the fund in designing programmes in line with OFID funding criteria and the country's growth strategy. Stressing that Vietnam wants to develop the private sector, the PM called on the OFID to create favourable conditions for the sector access the fund's capital. He suggested holding discussions on the matter and assigned the finance ministry to work on the cooperation. For his part, Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish said his current visit reflects the OFID's willingness to expand affiliation with Vietnam in any field at any time within its capacity. Noting 2018 will mark 40 years of collaboration between the OFID and Vietnam, he said the joint work has produced sound outcomes and unveiled that the organisation is studying a number of projects in the country. The OFID hopes the prime minister will direct relevant agencies to prepare all needed procedures for joint projects so that they can be signed right after being approved by the OFID executive board, he said. The OFID director-General said his organisation has a private sector department that could work with the Vietnamese finance ministry on cooperation between OFID and Vietnam's private sector. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-values-financial-grants-from-ofid/112159.vnp

Reference exchange rate stays unchanged on May 25 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The daily reference VND/USD exchange rate on May 25 stayed unchanged from the day before at 22,384 VND. With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applied to commercial banks during the day is 23,055 VND and the floor rate 21,713 VND per USD. The opening hour rates at commercial banks also stayed stable. Vietcombank listed the rates at 22,650 VND (buying) and 22,720 VND (selling) per USD, the same as on May 24. The rates at BIDV were kept at 22,650 VND (buying) and 22,720 VND (selling). At Vietinbank, the greenback was bought at 22,650 VND per USD, up 10 VND from May 24, and sold at 22,720 VND, the same as the May 24 rate. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-stays-unchanged-on-may-25/112244.vnp

Fitch Revises 3 State-Owned Vietnam Banks' Outlooks to Positive 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Reuters Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlooks on the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of three state- owned Vietnamese banks Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank), Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) to Positive from Stable. At the same time, the agency has affirmed the Long-Term IDRs on the banks at 'B+'. A full list of rating actions is provided at the end of the rating action commentary. The Outlooks have been revised following a revision in the Vietnam sovereign's Outlook to Positive from Stable on 18 May 2017, which takes into account Vietnam's strong macroeconomic performance and improvement in the country's external stability indicators. The improvements are reflected in persistent current-account surpluses, manageable debt-service costs and sustained foreign direct investment inflows. For more details on the Outlook revision on the sovereign, see the rating action commentary Fitch Revises Outlook for Vietnam to Positive; Affirms at BB-, dated 18 May 2017. KEY RATING DRIVERS VIABILITY RATINGS, IDRS, SUPPORT RATINGS AND SUPPORT RATING FLOORS The Outlook revision on the three banks' IDRs reflects Fitch's view of improving sovereign ability to provide extraordinary support, if needed. The Long-Term IDRs of Agribank, Vietinbank and Vietcombank are driven by Fitch's expectation that government support will be forthcoming, if needed, in light of their high systemic importance and the government's controlling stakes. They are among the top four Vietnamese banks by assets and have strong domestic franchises. The banks' IDRs and Support Rating Floors are one notch lower than Vietnam's sovereign rating (BB-/Positive) as Fitch believes the large size of the banking industry relative to GDP and the government's limited resources may hamper the timeliness of support. The 'b-' Viability Ratings of Vietcombank and Vietinbank reflect their limited balance sheet buffers relative to the size of their problematic assets, their weak financial performance and high loan concentration risk in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The Viability Ratings also consider their solid domestic franchises and their stable funding profiles. Fitch does not assign a Viability Rating to wholly government-owned Agribank. The bank's role in providing support to the domestic economy has a high influence on its standalone profile and makes it likely that Agribank will continue to benefit from regulatory forbearance. RATING SENSITIVITIES IDRS, SUPPORT RATINGS AND SUPPORT RATING FLOORS OF AGRIBANK, VIETINBANK, VIETCOMBANK The Long-Term IDRs, Support Ratings and Support Rating Floors of Agribank, Vietinbank and Vietcombank are sensitive to movements in the sovereign's ratings, which are currently on a Positive Outlook. An upgrade of the sovereign ratings would likely lift the banks' support-driven ratings. The banks' ratings may also be affected by any perceived change in the government's propensity to support the banks. VIABILITY RATINGS OF VIETINBANK, VIETCOMBANK Fitch may take positive rating action on the banks' Viability Ratings if structural issues, such as corporate governance, bad-debt resolution and thin capitalisation, are more adequately addressed, leading to greater transparency and, together with sustained strong economic performance, to continued improvements in the banks' overall credit profiles. Viability Ratings may be pressured if excessive growth or an increased loan concentration leads to significant impairment risks and weakened balance sheets. Downward pressure for Vietinbank may be higher given its low capital ratio and higher SOE loan concentration risk. The rating actions are as follows: Agribank Long-Term IDR affirmed at 'B+'; Outlook revised to Positive from Stable Short-Term IDR affirmed at 'B' Support Rating Floor affirmed at 'B+' Support Rating affirmed at '4' Vietinbank Long-Term IDR affirmed at 'B+'; Outlook revised to Positive from Stable Short-Term IDR affirmed at 'B' Viability Rating affirmed at 'b-' Support Rating Floor affirmed at 'B+' Support Rating affirmed at '4' Vietcombank Long-Term IDR affirmed at 'B+'; Outlook revised to Positive from Stable Short-Term IDR affirmed at 'B' Viability Rating affirmed at 'b-' Support Rating Floor affirmed at 'B+' Support Rating affirmed at '4'. https://www.reuters.com/article/fitch-revises-3-state-owned-vietnam-bank-idUSL4N1IQ3P3

Treasury mobilises more capital from government bonds 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Over 5.86 trillion VND (262.77 million USD) worth of government bonds issued by the State Treasury were sold at an auction at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) on May 24. The sale included 1.5 trillion VND (66.13 million USD) worth of five-year bonds with an interest rate of 5.03 percent per annum, 0.13 percent lower than bonds of the same term sold in the previous auction on May 17. Similarly, 1.95 trillion VND (85.97 million USD) worth of seven-year bonds sold at the auction bear an interest rate of 5.35 percent, 0.09 percent per lower than those sold in the May 17 session. Meanwhile, the sold 20-year bonds, worth a total 1.3 trillion VND (57.3 million USD) bear an interest rate of seven percent per annum, 0.09 percent lower than the successful bid at the previous session on May 10. The successful bids for 30-year bonds worth 1.115 billion VND (49.16 million USD) put the interest rate at 7.55 percent per annum, 0.09 percent lower than those sold at the May 10 session. Since early this year, the State Treasury has mobilised more than 97.5 billion VND (4.3 billion USD) from the auction of G-bonds on the HNX http://en.vietnamplus.vn/treasury-mobilises-more-capital-from-government-bonds/112249.vnp

Flawed regulations on handling collateral hinders bad debt settlement 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Flawed legal regulations on collateral for debt collection have hampered bad debt settlement, participants said at a workshop in Hanoi on May 23. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reported that the credit institution system handled VND616.7 trillion (US$27.18 billion) of non-performing loans (NPLs) as of January 2017. The sum of handled bad debts has increased each year, from VND74.68 trillion (US$3.29 billion) in 2012 to VND118.49 trillion (US$5.22 billion) in 2016. Bad debts settled in January 2017 alone were valued at VND5.14 trillion (US$226.52 million). NPLs settled by credit institutions themselves were VND349.7 trillion (US$15.41 billion), accounting for 56.7 percent of total bad debts. The remaining 43.3 percent were sold to other organisations and individuals. About VND53.24 trillion (US$2.35 billion) of debts collected through the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) from 2013 to March 31, 2017 were solved. However, only VND17.1 trillion (US$753.6 million) or 2.8 percent of the handled NPLs was collected through selling collateral, the SBV said. Legal regulations did not protect the rights of credit institutions and VAMC and hindered the development of a bad debt market which includes sales and purchases of bad debts guaranteed by land use rights and land assets. Legal regulations on collateral settlement haven't ensured creditors' rights to collateral seizure. Meanwhile, it takes up to two years to solve bad debts and collateral via courts, making expenses account for 29 percent of collected debt value. At the workshop, participants said that if credit institutions can't seize collateral will it substantially influence their debt collection capacity. Nghiem Xuan Thanh, Chair of Vietcombank's board of directors, asked courts to streamline procedures for resolving disputes over collateral. He also called for police assistance in dealing with debtors who intentionally dodge debt repayment obligations. Nguyen Duc Kien, vice Chair of the NA's Committee for Economic Affairs, said the NA Standing Committee and the economic committee agreed on the need to issue a resolution on bad debt settlement, which is expected to be approved at the NA's ongoing third session. http://english.vov.vn/economy/flawed-regulations-on-handling-collateral-hinders-bad-debt-settlement- 350200.vov

Banks to up capital by $1.6b 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The banking system is expected to further develop this year, as 16 banks have announced plans to increase capital by a total of nearly VND37 trillion (US$1.62 billion). Vietcombank plans to increase charter capital from VND35.977 trillion to nearly VND39.6 trillion this year through the issue of an additional 360 million shares, equivalent to 10 per cent of its capital. The shares will be sold either to the public or offered to no more than 10 investors (including existing shareholders) in a private placement due late this year. BIDV also approved a plan to increase charter capital by VND4.445 trillion to VND38.63 trillion. The plan will be conducted via the issuance of 2016 dividend-paying stocks worth nearly VND2.39 trillion, shares for investors worth over VND1 trillion and others for employees, known as Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) valued at over VND1 trillion. The same trend was also seen at Military Bank, VP Bank, Techcombank and Nam A Bank with capital hike plans ranged between VND1 trillion and VND5 trillion. According to the banks, the capital hike is aimed to enhance their competitive edge and meet requirements of Basel II, which is due to take effect in Vietnam in September 2017 in a pilot programme for ten banks. With the capital hike plans, some are concerned about a wave of increasing illegal bank capital as in the 2008-10 period. In 2006, in order to improve bank financial status and stability, the government issued Decree No. 141/2006/ ND-CP issuing the list of legal capital levels of credit institutions. Under the decree, minimum legal capital for commercial banks must be VND1 trillion in 2008 and VND3 trillion by December 31, 2010. However, the capital increase caused difficulties, due to the stagnant stock market and some banks failure to follow through. Therefore, to meet the regulations, they increased financial capital illegally through cross-ownership to avoid being acquired or merged. However, experts said that such an increase of financial capital at this time is unfeasible. Banking expert Can Van Luc told online newspaper bizlive.vn that the increase of illegal capital is now almost impossible as the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) monitors and controls the issue very strictly. In particular, the SBV is also very active in introducing measures to combat the increase of financial capital, helping transparency of information and prevent cross-ownership in the banking system. In addition, Luc said, through the occurrences in the 2008-10 period, banks themselves recognise the risk of raising financial capital illegally and do not dare to do so. However, he recommended the government and the central bank to help commercial banks increase capital to meet the Basel II requirements. The government can allow banks to keep roughly 50-60 per cent of dividends for capital increase as some other countries do, Luc suggested. Besides, he said, it is also necessary to speed up the restructuring of ailing banks and recover bad debts to remove the bottleneck in the lending capital flow. If the recovery of bad debts is sped up, banks can reduce their provision for risky loans and have more funds to add to their charter capital, Luc said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377056/banks-to-up-capital-by-16b.html#yrezSpxtlD41vXY1.97

Banks keep racing to increase capital 25/May/2017 Intellasia| NDH 2017 Banking Annual general Meeting (AGM) season has basically ended except for several banks. The most noteworthy point is that many banks plan to increase capital from small-scale banks to the "big four". Methods of capital increase are quite diversified, from issuing to existing shareholders, seeking strategic partners to using undistributed profits, equity surplus and other bonus funds. *A hundred ways to raise capital Techcombank plans to raise capital the most in 2017 and is also one of a few banks planning to increase chartered capital from existing shareholders. The Bank plans to issue 500 million shares with a minimum issue price of 10,000 dong per share. If the offering is successful, Techcombank's chartered capital will increase from 8.878 trillion dong to 13.878 trillion dong, equivalent to 56.5%. This will be the largest capital increase of this bank from 2008. For four years from 2008 to 2012, Techcombank's chartered capital has steadily increased from 4.705 trillion dong to 8.848 trillion dong and has not raised much capital over the last four years. According to the plan approved by shareholders at the AGM, Vietnam International Bank (VIB) will raise more than 7.9 trillion dong of chartered capital this year, equivalent to 44.6 percent compared to the current level by paying dividend in shares (3.5%), bonus shares (36.1%) and issuing ESOP (0.4%). *Capital increase to prepare for Basel II There are two main reasons for this trend. The first is the need to expand banking scale in the context of fierce the competition to enlarge market share. The second comes from the requirement of maintaining capital adequacy ratio CAR when the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is actively introducing Basel II standards. Banks who increase capital with the aim of expanding scale are mainly banks with low chartered capital but high growth rate in the past two years, such as Vietnam Prosperity Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VPBank) or VIB. For example, VPBank had more than 10 trillion dong chartered capital, attained more than 15 trillion dong in net interest income and nearly four trillion dong in profit after tax in 2016 equivalent to two thirds of BIDV's profit whose chartered capital is 3.5 times as much as VPBank's. Similarly, VIB, with a chartered capital of more than five trillion dong, also earned more than 700 billion dong in profit with the credit growth of 25 percent in 2016. Both of these names have had a very high growth rate in two recent years thanks to the expansion of the retail market. The general formula for the capital increase of these banks is to use the capital surplus or profit accumulated for many years to issue bonus shares to shareholders in lieu of paying dividend in cash only. Although the capital increase is expected to be between 30 percent and 40 percent compared to the end of 2016, this does not affect the size of Tier 1 capital. Instead, this only changes its composition while still helping to increase chartered capital significantly. In order to increase the capital adequacy ratio (CAR), these banks choose to expand the Tier 2 capital scale through the issuance of secondary bonds. VIB, besides the plan to raise chartered capital by 40 percent in 2017 through paying dividends in shares and bonus shares, also proposes to mobilise seven trillion dong of Tier 2 capital to increase the CAR and other adequacy ratios for business needs. In addition to the aforementioned reason, most of the remaining banks are rushing to improve the CAR when the adoption of Basel II is coming. Of the 10 banks piloting Basel II under SBV's decision in early 2016, with the exception of Maritime Bank and Sacombank who have no specific plan, seven out of eight remaining banks proposed to raise capital this year. Compared with other countries in the region and in the world, the application of Basel standards in Vietnam is quite slow. While many countries have completed Basel II, moving towards Basel 2.5 and Basel 3, most Vietnamese banks have basically met Basel I standards and are in the process of piloting the higher level. Under Basel II, the risk is also calculated by the three main factors that banks have to face instead of one such as Basel I, including credit risk, operational risk and market risk. Although the regulation on CAR does not change (minimum eight percent), the requirement for capital adequacy is significantly improved when the denominator is raised by adding weightings when assessing risk level. With this new calculation, many banks will fall into risky situation when they do not meet the minimum when recalculating. As per Military Bank Securities Company (MBS)'s analysis report issued at the time the SBV promulgated to pilot applying this standard at the beginning of 2016, the CAR of banks following the new formula would reduce by 1-3 percent compared to the current level. Therefore, there will appear banks whose CAR will be lower than the minimum eight percent after recalculating. Pressure to "push up" CAR is an obvious thing to do if you do not want the adequacy indices to hit the danger level. In order to increase this ratio, there are actually only two ways which are to raise capital or reduce the total risky assets. Of course, in the context that banks race for credit growth, it is not easy to reduce risky assets and the fastest way to raise capital. Only cases such as BIDV, which is very difficult to increase capital, choose to reduce risky assets.

Credit growth faces dilemma 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNF At the recent prime ministerial meeting with businesses in 2017, State Bank Governor Le Minh Hung said that credit growth in the first four months of 2017 reached 5.76%, highest level in the last eight years. Compared with the credit growth target in 2017 of approximately 18%, the credit growth in the first four months has completed 32 percent of the year plan. Credit growth has gone one-third of the way after one- third of the time of 2017. Basically, in order to complete the credit growth target for the whole year, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) needs to maintain the credit growth as in the first four months of the year. This is not difficult because normally, the credit growth in the first few months are often low due to low production capacity as well as low pressure on payment and repayment. In the past four years, credit growth in the first four months of the year has never met more than 25 percent of the full year target. In 2013, credit growth in the first four months (2.22%) was equal to 18 percent of the whole year credit growth (12.52%). In 2014, credit growth was even lower with only 10%. In 2015 and 2016, this figure was 23 percent and 22 percent respectively. The projected figure of 32 percent for 2017 is "breaking" the annual rule. In fact, whether this breaks the rule or not depends on whether the SBV will increase credit growth target for 2017 or not. If SBV does not aim to increase, for the remaining months, credit growth will be shaky in the context of high credit pressure as production capacity, pressure of payment and repayment is increasingly higher in the coming months. Can the rule breaking affect the efficiency of economic resource allocation? Does credit shameless lead to the situation that businesses which need capital and meet the conditions for lending cannot access credit? Loosening credit growth target at this time can be seen as a solution in the context of much lower GDP growth than forecast, and low inflation. Breaking the rule of annual credit growth will therefore be unlikely. However, the efficiency in allocation of economic resources is once again mentioned. "The quality-growthists (including me in this group) think that loosening monetary policy to grow at this moment is unreasonable. We think that the economy and business like forests and trees, credit is like fertiliser. Only moderate application should be made for the root itself to find other sources of nutrients. Thus, the root will develop deeply underground, then the tree will stand firm under the storm and the forest will not be destroyed," said Nguyen Duy Hung, Chair of Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI). The risk of "bubble" is also a concern when loosening credit growth target. As per the National Assembly Economic Committee, in the context that credit growth in the first four months hit 5.76%, some have proposed to strengthen the risk control for real estate loans to reduce the risk. The "bubble", especially when more than 3,100 real estate businesses are set up in 2016, nearly doubles 2015. Bad debt is also a major barrier to credit expansion. According to a recent government statement, as of December 31, 2016, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in the balance sheet and bad debt sold to Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) and potentially irrecoverable bad debt was 10.08 percent of the total outstanding loan. If the net debt ratio of 2.46 percent is subtracted, as of December 31, 2016, the NPL ratio sold to VAMC which has not been settled and the potentially irrecoverable bad debt will be 7.62%. With such a high unsolved bad debt ratio, if the full provision is made, the banks' profits will be greatly eroded, even many banks will be hard to avoid big losses. Accordingly, the equity will grow slowly for years or even shrink. Equity is like the most important capital adequacy "buffer". With thin capital safeguards, banks will be forced to be cautious in boosting credit, as the higher the credit, the greater the risk of arising new bad debt in the context that unsolved bad debt remains large.

Risk tolerance of Vietnamese banks very low: Dr Le Xuan Nghia 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre Dr Le Xuan Nghia, a financial shock from the outside or from the property market (real estate market, stock market) will have a very bad impact on the whole financial system and economy. It can take many years to recover. As per Dr Le Xuan Nghia, a finance and banking expert, dealing with bad debts and restructuring banks is the most urgent issue today. According to reports by commercial banks and the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), the total unsolved bad debt is now between 450 trillion dong and 500 trillion dong, equivalent to about $20 billion to $25 billion. "The worry is that the bad debt concentrates in some ailing banks that are in the process of restructuring, with limited additional funds. Despite the government's plan to restructure the system of credit institutions since 2011, the results are still relatively modest, mainly due to the limited financial resources, lack of financial resources to quickly deal with bad debts. On the other hand, we have not built a strong legal corridor to handle bad debt quickly and efficiently," said Nghia. The treatment of bad debt has so far been based mainly on financial resources of the banking system, mainly debt recovery, sale of collateral or use of risk provisions deriving from the business results of the commercial banks themselves. So far, commercial banks have handled about 250 trillion dong of bad debts on their own. These are great efforts of the banking system, but this also makes their financial fundamentals be drastically reduced. The commercial banks' profitability is only half that of 10 years ago and the lowest in South East Asia, with some commercial banks experiencing negative equity. "This shows that the risk tolerance of Vietnamese commercial banks is very low and only a financial shock from outside or from the asset market (real estate market, stock market) could have a very bad impact on the entire financial system and economy that will take many years to recover. In the current international context, the instability of financial markets can take place at any time and with ever increasing scale," the expert said. *There should have separate legal corridors to handle bad debt Dr Le Xuan Nghia said that the handling of large scale non-performing loans, in all cases, needs a separate legal corridor. For example, Korea and Thailand in 1997, despite the huge financial support from IMF with about $50 to $70 billion needed a special legal corridor, for example, the regulations on nationalisation of private banks to restructure and the privatisation or the regulations on the power of debt trading, the right to recover collaterals for selling of commercial banks. In Vietnam, if there is no centralised financial resources but based on the self-restructuring of commercial banks, a stronger legal framework is required. Because the commercial banks themselves are not competent enough to take back debt, recover collaterals or buy and sell debts on the market principles without conflicting with other relevant laws. Up to now, the handling of bad debts at commercial banks and at VAMC needs to overcome legal barriers, such as the recovery of security assets, the sale of assets, the legal enforcement, the search for new investors to replenish their own capital, off-balance sheet accounting, debt write-offs by risk provision, etc. These legal hurdles are making the process of dealing with bad debts so sluggish, ineffective, even wasting resources and greatly affecting the financial foundation, credit expansion and risk tolerance of commercial banks. At the same time, it also affected the reduction of interest rates, financial investment costs and access to credit by businesses, especially small and medium enterprises. Nghia pointed out in the next few years, many bad debts from VAMC will be returned to commercial banks while these banks are struggling to deal with bad debts that have not been sold to VAMC. At that time, the difficulty of dealing with bad debt and restructuring of these banks will be multiplied. That can seriously affects the financial security of the whole banking system. Thus, more than ever, state-run agencies need to have strong political will to break through the old law- making mindset, quickly building a separate legal corridor as the basis for commercial banks to successfully carry out the NPL process as set out in the restructuring plan of the government's credit institutions. This is also the only solution to ensure the stable stability of the entire financial sector and make decisive contribution to stabilising macroeconomic and sustainable growth of Vietnam in the coming years," the expert said.

ABBank, TPBank join ADB trade finance programme 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA An Binh Joint-Stock Bank (ABBANK) on May 24 officially signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) on joining the Trade Finance Programme (TFP) one of prominent programmes enabling Vietnamese enterprises to increase competitiveness and get more opportunities to promote economy. Under the agreement, ABBANK will promote the implementation of regulations on safe management and operation, towards constantly improving the quality of services and helping enterprises easily access international market. Becoming a member of the TFP, ABBANK will serve as an effective bridge, bringing opportunities to Vietnamese firms to expand links with other 200 member banks of the TFP worldwide. "Our Trade Finance Programme aims to help Vietnam and Vietnamese businesses expand trade opportunities, increase competitiveness, and promote trade-led inclusive growth," said Steven Beck, ADB's Head of Trade Finance. According to Cu Anh Tuan, Chief Executive Officer of ABBANK, the signing with the TFP marks the start of a positive development and close relationship between ADB and ABBANK in developing banking services of the Vietnamese bank. Cooperating with the TFP will not only bring higher business efficiency, but also create an opportunity for our bank to affirm its brand in the banking and financial market, he stressed, hoping that ADB's continued trust and support will further promote trade development between Vietnam and other countries. The same day, Tien Phong Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (TPBank) signed a similar agreement with ADB. According to Nguyen Hung, Chief Executive Officer of TPBank, ADB's extensive network of banks and other financial institutions will provide great opportunities for TPBank to expand its global partnerships. He said that the guarantee limit from ADB shall be used to support Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises to optimise their businesses so they can contribute to Vietnam's economic growth. ABBANK is one of the leading commercial joint-stock banks and is among the top ten largest commercial banks in terms of charter capital in Vietnam. Its current charter capital exceeds 5,319 billion VND (about 234 million USD) and it has an extensive network of 164 transaction offices located in 34 provinces nationwide. Meanwhile, TPBank is one of the most dynamic commercial banks in Vietnam with total assets of around 106,000 billion VND (4.6 billion USD), about 4,000 employees, and an extensive network of 55 branches and transaction offices across Vietnam. Currently, with more than 1.5 million individual customers and businesses, TPBank has been asserting its position as a strong, sustainable and healthy bank in the country. To date, TFP has supported 8.2 billion USD in trade through 5,814 transactions covering both guarantees and direct funding in Vietnam. Out of TFP's total transactions in Vietnam, 67 percent are related to small and medium-sized enterprises. TFP is currently working with 11 commercial banks in Vietnam and, with the signing of agreements with ABBANK and TPBank, this will increase to 13 commercial banks http://en.vietnamplus.vn/abbank-tpbank-join-adb-trade-finance-programme/112228.vnp

Sacombank postpones AGM to June 30 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Bank's restructuring plan secured central bank approval on May 22. In an announcement published on its website on May 24, Sacombank said it cannot hold its 2015 and 2016 annual general meeting (AGM) in May as expected, with a new date set for the end of June. "Due to the incomplete preparations of AGM documents and personnel for the new Board of directors and Supervisory Board during the 2017-2021 tenure, Sacombank will postpone the AGM, which was set for May 26, and expects to hold it on June 30," the statement read. This is the second time Sacombank has postponed its AGM, which was initially set for April 28. The announcement also noted that the bank's restructuring plan post-merger was approved by the State Bank of Vietnam on May 22, and its audited financial statements are currently being completed. Sacombank is yet to publish its 2015 and 2016 audited financial statements. It will send an invitation letter to shareholders and publish documents for the AGM within the prescribed time limit. In addition to the bank's current senior officials, including Chair Kieu Huu Dung, the list of candidates for the new Sacombank Board for the 2017-2021 tenure includes Nguyen Van Huong, the recently-resigned deputy Chair of LienVietPostBank. Huong is currently the deputy Chair of the year-old Vietnam Macadamia Association, a social and professional organisation co-founded by LienVietPostBank and real estate giant the Him Lam JSC, which holds more than 30 per cent of LienVietPostBank. 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. 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 bank posted an after-tax profit of VND210.5 billion ($9.28 million) in the first quarter of this year, a 30 per cent increase year-on-year, according to the bank's latest financial report. Its bad debt ratio fell from 5.35 per cent at the end of 2016 to 4.88 per cent as at March 31, but remains the highest among its peers. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/sacombank-postpones-agm-to-june-30

Asset Magazine lauds Citi and Citi Vietnam as the banks to go 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Leading industry publication Asset Magazine announced the 2016 winners of its annual poll. Accordingly, Citi Vietnam was the Best Corporate and Institutional Bank in 2016, and Citi was the Best Bank in the Asia-Pacific, as well as the Best Corporate and Institutional Bank and the Best Digital Bank in Asia. The decisions were made by the editorial team of the magazine and were based on the 12-month performance of the banks. In the editorial write-up announcing the awards, the editors explained their pick of the best bank and the best corporate and institutional bank as follows: "Citi reported positive revenue growth last year. It opened a new office in Hong Kong One Bay East, launched voice biometrics across Asia, and added new credit card offerings across the continent. In terms of corporate and institutional banking, Citi is consistent in arranging marquee transactions across equity, equity-linked, debt capital markets, and M&A. Citi was also a trusted financial adviser and represented clients in deals such as Chinese outbound acquisitions and divestments from multinationals." Regarding the digital award, Asset Magazine said, "During the review period, Citi excelled in refining its mobile offering and struck a number of partnerships with new age companies. From India to Korea, Citi in the Asia-Pacific has undergone a digital transformation over the past 12 months. The bank has pushed forward with a number of digital services aimed at making customers' lives easier. Citi has also taken a mobile-first approach to retail banking, enhancing its mobile capabilities across its regional footprint. The bank has pushed forward in its engagement with customers over social media platforms, including Line and WeChat. Moreover, the bank has continued to support the growing fintech community in Asia through its Citi Mobile Challenge." "In a highly competitive market, this independent recognition is greatly appreciated by all of us at Citi. I would also like to thank our clients who place their trust in us to meet their financial needs. Asia and Vietnam is at the heart of Citi's growth strategy and we are well placed to capture more of the growth opportunities in this region, including further digitisation and from our clients using our Asian and global network," said Natasha Ansell, Citi Vietnam CCO. The last 12 months were pivotal in Citi's 115-year history in Asia, with a deliberate shift in strategy in response to the market environment to generate growth. In institutional banking, Citi helped raise over $150 billion for clients and advised on over $85 billion of M&A for clients in the region during 2016, according to Dealogic data. During 2016, Citi's consumer banking business in the Asia-Pacific, which spans over 12 of the 19 global consumer markets globally, was further transformed to a model that is simpler, dramatically faster, more scalable, and far more digital. On average, Citi announced a new digital innovation or partnership on a fortnightly basis in the last 12 months. Today, more than half of the bank's consumer banking clients uses digital channels, with mobile being the fastest growing channel (35 per cent growth year-on-year). One of every four new credit card accounts acquired comes from digital sources and over 50 per cent of our clients are actively using digital banking channels, up from the 30 per cent three years ago. During 2016, Citi announced strategic partnerships in leading digital ecosystems across the region. Some of these included Alipay and WeChat in China and Line in Thailand and Taiwan. The bank also formed digital credit card partnerships with the likes of Amazon, Airbnb, Grab, Uber, and Lazada in various countries across Asia. Over the last year, Citi launched the newly-refreshed Citi Mobile App, featuring easy-to-use functionality and interfaces, such as Snapshot and Touch ID, which has seen over two million downloads to-date. The bank was also the first to launch Voice Biometrics across the region, which has since received more than one million sign-ups from customers. Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. http://www.vir.com.vn/asset-magazine-lauds-citi-and-citi-vietnam-as-the-banks-to-go.html

Bonds sell well 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre Last week, the State Treasury held a successful auction session. For the first time after seven months, 100 percent of bonds consisting of four trillion dong bonds called for bid and 1.2 trillion dong bonds called for additional bids were sold out, according to the weekly money market report of Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI). Following the success of the auction in the previous week, the State Treasury only focused on four short terms ranging from five years to 15 years as the 20-year and 30-year tenor bonds have exceeded the full- year issuance plan. Demand for bonds continued to move positively with the registration rate soaring 356%, the highest level since October 2016, helping the State Treasury to easily issue bonds at the interest rate reducing six percentage points for each term, reversing the continuously increasing trend of interest rates since February. In addition, in the context of improved liquidity, the Bank for Social Policies also successfully issued one trillion dong worth of bonds in 5-year, 10-year and 15-year terms, gaining 720 billion dong with interest rate decreasing six percentage points for 10-year term and 20 percentage points for 15-year term. In the common trend with the primary market, the secondary bond market was also very active. The increased demand for bonds helped the liquidity to rise significantly. The total transaction value reached 42.5 trillion dong, equivalent to an average of 8.5 trillion dong per session. Particularly, demand from foreign investors increased with the buying value to improve from 800 billion dong to 1.3 trillion dong, leading to the net buying back of 477 billion dong of foreign investors. Bond yields continued to decline, with a common decrease of 2-11 percentage points. In particular, the three-year term slumped 11.6 points compared to 11 points to 4.16 percent for one-year term and 6.4 points to 4.77 percent for two-year term.

NA aims to better recover bad debts 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The National Assembly's Economic Committee on Monday agreed to streamline existing legal regulations to better recover bad debts and restructure credit institutions. During the meeting, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Le Minh Hung, on behalf of the prime minister, presented a report on the draft resolution on fixing bad debts by credit institution. He also presented amendments to the Law on Credit Institutions for consideration and approval. The draft resolution comprises 18 articles regarding the rights of legal lenders, the development of debt markets, the settlement of guaranteed assets and other topics. Chair of the NA's Economic Committee Vu Hong Thanh said that the committee basically agreed with the government's report on the need to settle bad debts and further restructure the system of credit institutions during the 2016-20 period. The committee stressed the need to streamline laws to build a system of financially healthy credit institutions that operate under international rules. It asked compiling agencies to continue reviewing draft law regulations to ensure that they are synchronous with the Constitution and relevant laws. Once the resolution is approved by the Legislature, the government affirmed that it would focus on improving legal documents, mechanisms and policies for restructuring credit institutions and settling bad debts. The government would also improve plans to fix weak banks in line with market rules in an expeditious, sweeping and cautious manner to safeguard the banking system and depositor interests. According to Governor Hung, after four years implementing a project on settling bad debts of credit institutions, the entire system of credit institutions recovered VND611.59 trillion (US$26.82 billion) of non-performing loans (NPLs). Of that total, over 56 per cent were settled by the institutions themselves, and the remaining were sold to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) and other individuals and institutions. "The results of settling bad debts have helped credit institutions expand loans to the economy, especially to priority and strategic sectors. It has contributed to removing difficulties in production and business, thereby promoting economic growth," Hung said. However, the restructuring of ailing CIs and settlement of bad debts still faced difficulties, Hung said, adding that total NPLs of the entire credit institutions system until March 31, 2017 were VND160 trillion, equal to 2.56 per cent of the institutions' total outstanding loans. According to Hung, because of inadequate legal regulations, there remain obstacles to speeding up the restructuring of ailing banks and settlement of bad debts. For example, the law on the handling of mortgaged assets to recover debts still has many inadequacies related to the confiscation of mortgaged assets, especially land, which limits the progress and effectiveness of debt settlement. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376955/na-aims-to-better-recover-bad-debts.html

Vietnam values financial grants from OFID 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam welcomes technical support from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) via official development assistance and preferential loans. Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the remarks when talking about Vietnam's high demand for infrastructure development at a meeting with OFID director-General Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish in Ha Nội yesterday. The PM lauded the signing of a $21.8 million loan agreement between the finance ministry and OFID on Monday for the construction of Dam Vạc Bridge in the northern province of Vĩnh Phuc. He noted that the two sides had implemented many effective joint projects in Vietnam's remote areas. He asked the OFID to continue financing projects in Vietnam, adding that the government is willing to work with the fund in designing programmes in line with OFID funding criteria and the country's growth strategy. Stressing that Vietnam wants to develop the private sector, the PM called on the OFID to create favourable conditions for the sector to access the fund's capital. He suggested holding discussions on the matter and assigned the finance ministry to work on the cooperation. For his part, Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish said his current visit reflected the OFID's willingness to expand cooperation with Vietnam in any field at any time within its capacity. Noting that 2018 would mark 40 years of collaboration between the OFID and Vietnam, he said the joint work had produced sound outcomes and revealed that the organisation was studying a number of projects in the country. The OFID hoped the prime minister would direct relevant agencies to prepare all needed procedures for joint projects so that they could be signed right after being approved by the OFID executive board, he said. The OFID director-General said his organisation had a private sector department that could work with the Vietnamese finance ministry on cooperation between OFID and Vietnam's private sector. http://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/376992/viet-nam-values-financial-grants-from- ofid.html#E3pfMcqcOxucRwbX.97

Reference exchange rate kept stable 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The State Bank of Vietnam continued maintaining its reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,384 VND/USD on May 26. With the current +/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,055 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,713 VND per USD. At opening hours, major commercial banks made slight changes to their rates. Vietcombank listed its buying rate at 22,655 VND/USD and its selling rate at 22,725 VND/USD, up 5 VND from the day ago. Vietinbank also offered its buying and selling rates at 22,655 VND and 22,725 VND, per USD. Meanwhile, BIDV set its buying and selling rates at 22,660 VND and 22,730 VND, up 10 VND from May 25. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-kept-stable/112316.vnp

State Audit: NPLs at 8.85pct at end-2015 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Figure from State Audit of Vietnam three and a half times higher than figure for end-2015 reported by SBV in March. In a report sent to the National Assembly, State Audit of Vietnam revealed that non-performing loans (NPLs) at banks in Vietnam accounted for 8.85 per cent of all outstanding loans at end-2015, three and a half times higher than the 2.55 per cent rate for end-2015 the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced in March. The bad debt rate in the entire banking system as at December 31, 2015, including outstanding debts at the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC), restructured loans, and loans not classified as non- performing, totalled VND476.86 trillion ($21 billion), equal to 8.85 per cent of total outstanding loans, according to State Audit. Agribank's bad debts, including loans sold to VAMC, totalled VND73.5 trillion ($3.24 billion) at end- 2015, equal to 10.7 per cent of its outstanding loans. Post-audit, most Agribank branches were found to have a range of flaws in lending procedures, with some loans not carefully assessed and lacking collateral. State Audit pointed out in its report that the debt bank VAMC has not actively handled bad debts, with NPLs mainly being handled by the credit institutions themselves, resulting in low efficiency. The balance of capital at the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, meanwhile, was extremely tough. Many loans from the State Treasury and SBV have either been extended or declared irrecoverable. Audits at some banks revealed inadequacies. For instance, Agribank's risk provision for credit losses was short by VND2.85 trillion ($125.6 million), while Vietcombank hasn't counted all compound interest on current deposits smaller than VND1,000 ($0.04) since 2001. State Audit also named banks that remain under special supervision or with extremely poor financial capacity, including the three ailing banks the SBV took over in 2015, VNCB, GP Bank and Ocean Bank, together with Dong A Bank and other finance companies. Many credit institutions have been recording unstable and uncertain profit. For instance, the accrued income of restructured loans and income earned but not yet received in the entire banking system was VND50.5 trillion ($2.2 billion) at end-2015, including VND21.5 trillion ($947.7 million) at Saigon Commercial Bank, VND6.7 trillion ($295.3 million) at Sacombank, and VND5 trillion ($220.4 million) at PVcomBank. Many commercial banks accumulated public debts and loans that were hard to recover due to violations by bank officials, which resulted in a difficult handling process and a fairly low recovery rate, such as ACB, Eximbank, Sacombank, VNCB, GP Bank, and Ocean Bank. Via open market operations, the central bank has ensured stable liquidity for credit institutions and stabilised the exchange rate, with credit growth in 2015 reaching 17.26 per cent year-on-year, higher than the 13-15 per cent target. While the mid and long-term interest rate in 2015 fell 0.2-0.5 per cent from a year earlier, it did not meet the targeted 1-1.5 per cent. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/state-audit-npls-at-8-85-at-end-2015

Three 'bottlenecks' in bad debt settlement remain unresolved 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Dau Tu Chung Khoan Sharing with the local Newswire Dau Tu Chung Khoan (or Securities Investment), Aaron Batten, country economist of Asian Development Bank (ADB), said that although the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio had reduced to about 2.6 percent of the total unsolved debt, it is mainly because the debt has been transferred to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC). As per Dr Can Van Luc, a financial expert, VAMC is "overloaded" with the bad debt settlement. The bad debt was mainly settled by credit institutions (about 55 percent of bad debt) by various measures while VAMC has only handled about 20 percent of the total debt it bought. In the proposal recently submitted to the government on the Law on support to restructure credit institutions and settle bad debt, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has provided the estimated NPL ratio of 8.86 percent. "Settling bad debt is stuck in three main stages: collateral, bad debt trading market and VAMC's capacity. I hope the resolution on dealing with bad debt will solve these three main problems," said Luc. Agreeing with this opinion, Nguyen Toan Thang, general Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association, believes that one of the key points to deal with bad debts is to handle collateral. The resolution of the National Assembly on dealing with bad debt will help to handle collateral more quickly and fluently. In other words, the lender (credit institutions) should have the right to seize collateral if the borrower cannot repay the debt. After seizure, credit institutions may sell collateral at market price, which may be lower than the book value. The credit institution may also transfer the asset to the buyer and is prioritised in being paid for the debt obligations. When a dispute is brought to court, it can be processed under the shortened procedure and proceedings in court, helping the credit institution quickly deal with collateral. "These are the prerequisites needed to formulate an international debt trading market and help asset management companies and debt settlement companies, including VAMC, resolve quickly the amount of bad debt bought from credit institutions," Thang said. Dr Vu Dinh Anh, an economist, thinks that the right to dispose of collateral is only efficient when and only when the perception of the rights, interests and obligations of all concerned parties in the credit relationship is properly established on feasible legal bases that are appropriate to the real conditions in Vietnam and to international standards and practices. The right to dispose of collateral should be recognised consistently in order to protect the interests of the lender but also protects the interests of the borrower. Furthermore, it also cares for the interests of the whole economy. In addition to financial barriers to buy and dispose bad debts, VAMC says that unsuitable legal regulations has made VAMC confused and is unable to speed up the process of dealing with bad debts. Therefore, according to Dr Anh, it is necessary to soon complete the legal basis related to VAMC's activities in general and VAMC's bad debt settlement in particular. Specifically is the revision of Circular 19/2013/ TT-NHNN to ensure the consistency with the Decree 34/2015/ ND-CP on amendment and supplementation of some articles of Decree 53/2013/ ND-CP on the establishment, organisation and operation of VAMC. In particular, the most important thing is the rationalisation of procedures for dealing with collaterals related to the bad debts that credit institutions have sold to VAMC, including procedures for initiating lawsuits and enforcing litigation in the field of banking credit. "VAMC is working as a 'warehouse' of bad debts, but without the full legal framework for bankruptcy and asset redemption, then the process of dealing with bad debt will be limited," said Aaron. Batten. In fact, bad debt and bad debt handling is not a problem of the banking system, but of the whole economy that has much effect on the socio-economic development. It is the legal constraints that have led to uncoordinated cooperation across sectors and levels, causing delays and difficulties for dealing with bad debts, especially dealing with collaterals. However, Thang says, "When the resolution on the handling of bad debts is passed by the National Assembly, which clearly defines the responsibilities of each ministry, branch and government, I believe that in the near future, there will have a more consistent and smooth coordination, which will help accelerate the process of dealing with bad debts more thoroughly, meeting the requirements set by the Party, the National Assembly and the government."

Short-term deposit rates forecast to reduce in 2017 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The market research company Market Intello forecast that the average interest rate this year would reduce by 0.5 percentage points compared with 2016. In the "Vietnam Macroeconomic Report May 2017" released this week, Market Intello expected the short-term deposit rates to drop to 4.5 per cent for the three-month term and 6.3 per cent for the 12-month term due to inflation management measures of the State Bank of Vietnam and the government. The research company also anticipated that exchange rates would increase by between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent as the US Federal Reserve's plans to raise rates twice in June and September may put pressure on the exchange rate. In addition, the trade deficit may make the demand for US dollars rise much more than in 2016, it said, adding however, that the Vietnamese Dồng will not be depressed because of the ability to control inflation below 4 per cent and abundant foreign reserves of the State Bank of Vietnam. Under the report, Market Intello also maintain its forecast for Vietnam's economic growth at 6.1 per cent in 2017. "Agriculture is expected to recover slightly but the decline in the mining industry will impact the economic growth considerably," it said. Market Intello cut the CPI forecast to around 3.8 per cent, explaining that raising electricity prices could push up inflation in the third quarter, but weak domestic demand will hold inflation under the inflation target. According to Market Intello, boosting investment from the domestic economic sector should be the biggest challenge in improving Vietnam's economy for the rest of the year. "The government has taken actions to accelerate capital disbursement from the State budget and improve the business environment for the private sector. However, until April 2017, the rate of capital disbursement from the budget was slower than the target rate," it said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377112/short-term-deposit-rates-forecast-to-reduce-in-2017.html

Market Intello forecast short-term interest rates to fall 26/May/2017 Intellasia| DTCK Market Intello, a market research firm, has released a macroeconomic report in May 2017. Accordingly, Q2's economic growth rate will improve compared to Q1, reaching 5.35 percent (5.1 percent for Q1). The company retains its forecast for economic growth in 2017 at 6.1 percent. "With the economic growth forecast of 6.1 percent in 2017, agriculture is expected to rebound, but the decline in the mining industry has a significant effect on economic growth. The full-year inflation is forecasted at 3.8 percent. Consumer price index in the second quarter is expected to increase by four percent. The possibility of raising electricity prices may push up inflation from the third quarter but weak domestic demand will help keep inflation under control following the National Assembly's target (four percent),” said Dinh Tuan Minh, director of Market Intello. The company also forecasts that interest rates in 2017 may decrease by 0.5 percentage points compared to 2016, depending on terms. Short-term deposit rates are likely to fall to 4.5 percent per annum for 3- month term and 6.3 percent per annum for 12-month term thanks to the inflation control from the State Bank and the government. Regarding exchange rate, Market Intello forecasts an increase of 1 1.5 percent. Accordingly, the Fed's possible decision to raise rates in June and September may put pressure on the exchange rate. Besides, the trade deficit makes the demand for US dollar increase more strongly than in 2016. However, the dong will not depreciate much thanks to the ability to control inflation at less than four percent and the State Bank's abundant foreign reserves.

VPBank shocks consumer market with fast loan product 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Tri Thuc Tre Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) has introduced VPBank Fast Loan brand with the online portal of VPBank.vn. The product drew customers' attention right from the commencing date. Accordingly, customers may access secured loans no collaterals are required which meets fast borrowing demand to solve important issues in life. VPBank Fast Loans is the solution for customers' essential financial needs when getting married, repairing home, purchasing cars, expanding business and production. The targeted customers are office staff, civil servants, business owners and small business households. Understanding the barrier making customers reluctant to access capital from banks and have to approach other risky credit channels such as procedures and collaterals, VPBank Fast Loans provides customers official information about unsecured loans with no collaterals needed. VPBank Fast Loan products are characterised by clear and simple documentation requirements, and quick and transparent approval procedures. VPBank Fast Loan currently has three product groups that can quickly meet most of customers' borrowing demand, including: personal unsecured loans for people with monthly salary from 4.5 million dong; unsecured loans for medium, small and micro enterprises; and unsecured loans for small traders with interest rates collected daily, monthly, instant lending, Tax +. With these products, customers of VPBank will easily be able to borrow from the Bank without having to have collaterals. VPBank Fast Loan also includes instant loan products approved within two hours such as VIP Loans (for individual customers) and five hours such as Mini BIL Loans (for SMEs), etc. On the occasion of the product launch, VPBank also launches a promotional programme called "Borrowing without a mortgage immediately receiving six million dong" in the form of cash promotion to customers participating in the programme during the promotional period. Apart from the chance of winning six million dong in cash for each successful disbursement, SMEs also receive a credit card with approved limit of up to 200 million dong.

VIB to make 2016 dividend payment in cash 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietstock.vn Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) announces that June 2, 2017 will be the ex- dividend date for 2016 dividend payment in cash at five percent. The payment date will be on July 05, 2017. With more than 564.4 million outstanding shares, VIB will have to spend more than 280 billion dong for this dividend payment.

Fitch rates 3 Vietnam banks' outlooks as positive 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Fitch Ratings on Wednesday revised the outlooks on the long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of three State-owned Vietnamese banks Vietinbank, Vietcombank and Agribank to positive from stable. At the same time, the agency has affirmed the long-term IDRs on the banks at 'B+'. The outlooks have been revised following a revision in the Vietnam sovereign's outlook to positive from stable on May 18, which takes into account Vietnam's strong macroeconomic performance and improvement in the country's external stability indicators. "The improvements are reflected in persistent current-account surpluses, manageable debt-service costs and sustained foreign direct investment inflows," Fitch said. The outlook revision on the three banks' IDRs reflects Fitch's view of improving sovereign ability to provide extraordinary support, if needed. The long-term IDRs of Agribank, Vietinbank and Vietcombank are driven by Fitch's expectation that the government support will be forthcoming, if needed, in light of their high systemic importance and the government's controlling stakes. They are among the top four Vietnamese banks by assets and have strong domestic franchises. The banks' IDRs and support rating floors are a notch lower than Vietnam's sovereign rating (BB- /Positive) as Fitch believes the large size of the banking industry, relative to GDP, and the government's limited resources may hamper the timeliness of support. The 'B-' viability ratings of Vietcombank and Vietinbank reflect their limited balance sheet buffers relative to the size of their problematic assets, their weak financial performance and high loan concentration risk in State-owned enterprises (SOEs). The viability ratings also consider their solid domestic franchises and their stable funding profiles. Fitch does not assign a viability rating to wholly government-owned Agribank. The bank's role in providing support to the domestic economy has a high influence on its standalone profile and makes it likely that Agribank will continue to benefit from regulatory forbearance. The long-term IDRs, support ratings and support rating floors of Agribank, Vietinbank and Vietcombank are sensitive to movements in the sovereign's ratings, which are currently on a positive outlook. An upgrade of the sovereign ratings would likely lift the banks' support-driven ratings. The banks' ratings may also be affected by any perceived change in the government's propensity to support the banks. Fitch may take positive rating action on the banks' viability ratings if structural issues, such as corporate governance, bad-debt resolution and thin capitalisation, are more adequately addressed, leading to greater transparency and, together with sustained strong economic performance, continued improvements in the banks' overall credit profiles. Viability ratings may be pressured if excessive growth or an increased loan concentration leads to significant impairment risks and weakened balance sheets. Downward pressure for Vietinbank may be higher given its low capital ratio and higher SOE loan concentration risk. http://bizhub.vn/banking/fitch-rates-3-viet-nam-banks-outlooks-as-positive_286399.html

Citi Vietnam named Best Corporate and Institutional Bank 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times The Asset magazine also named Citi as best bank in a number of Asian categories. Citi Vietnam has been named Best Corporate and Institutional Bank 2016 by leading industry publication The Asset magazine, while Citi was named Best Bank in Asia Pacific for 2016, Best Corporate and Institutional Bank, and the Best Digital Bank in Asia. "In a highly competitive market, this independent recognition is greatly appreciated by all of us at Citi," said Natasha Ansell, Citi Vietnam CCO. "I would also like to thank our clients, who place their trust in us to meet their financial needs. Asia and Vietnam is at the heart of Citi's growth strategy and we are well placed to capture more of the growth opportunities in this region including further digitisation and from our clients using our Asian and global network." Winners were decided by the editorial team at the magazine and were based on the performance of banks over the last 12 months. "Citi reported positive revenue growth last year," according to editorial write-up announcing the Awards. "It opened a new office in Hong Kong One Bay East, launched voice biometrics across Asia, and new credit card offerings across Asia. In terms of corporate and institutional banking, Citi is consistent in arranging marquee transactions across equity/equity-linked, debt capital markets, and M&A. Citi was also a trusted financial adviser and represented clients in deals such as China outbound acquisitions and divestments from multinationals." Of the digital award, The Asset stated: "During the review period, Citi excelled in refining its mobile offering and had a number of partnerships with new age companies. From India to Korea, Citi in Asia Pacific has undergone a digital transformation over the past 12 months. The bank has pushed forward with a number of digital services aimed at making customers' lives easier. Citi also has taken a mobile-first approach to retail banking, enhancing its mobile capabilities across its regional footprint. The bank has pushed forward in its engagement with customers over social media platforms including Line and WeChat. Moreover, the bank has continued to support the growing fintech community in Asia through its Citi Mobile Challenge." The last 12 months were pivotal in Citi's 115-year history in Asia, with a deliberate shift in strategy in response to the market environment to generate growth. In Institutional Banking, Citi helped raise over $150 billion for clients and advised on over $85 billion of M&As for clients in the region during 2016, according to Dealogic data. During 2016, Citi's Consumer Banking business in Asia Pacific, which spans 12 of 19 global consumer markets, was further transformed into a model that is simpler, dramatically faster, more scalable, and far more digital. On average, Citi announced a new digital innovation or partnership fortnightly over the last 12 months. Today, more than half of the bank's Consumer Bank clients use digital channels, with mobile being the fastest-growing channel, with 35 per cent growth year-on-year. One out of every four new credit card accounts acquired comes from digital sources and over 50 per cent of its clients are actively using digital banking channels, up from 30 per cent three years ago. During 2016, Citi announced strategic partnerships in leading digital ecosystems across the region. Some of these include Alipay and WeChat in China and Line in Thailand and Taiwan. The bank also formed digital credit card partnerships with the likes of Amazon, Airbnb, Grab, Uber, and Lazada in various countries across Asia. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/citi-vietnam-named-best-corporate-and-institutional- bank

Foreign capital dominates insurance sector 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Through merger & acquisitions (M&A), the world's leading insurance conglomerates have been buying Vietnamese companies, which has helped the former hasten their entry into the Vietnamese market. The shareholder structure in insurance companies has seen big changes in recent years. Many Vietnamese partners have withdrawn capital in joint ventures, while foreign conglomerates have increased their ownership ratio to 100 percent. VietinBank's capital contributed to VietinAviva, a life insurance joint venture, which has been transferred to the foreign partner the UK-based Aviva. The insurance joint venture established in 2011 has charter capital of VND800 billion with the capital contribution ratio of 50/50. After six years of operating in the Vietnamese market, VietinAviva has become one of 10 life insurance firms with the highest new premium revenue and is now leading the Bancassurance segment. PVI has also wrapped up the capital transfer in PVI Sunlife Vietnam to the Canadian partner Sun Life Financial. With the deal, Vietnam's PVI made a fat profit, but this also means the withdrawal of PVI from the life insurance market after three years of presence. After wrapping up the deal to acquire 100 percent of capital in PVI Sun Life, Sun Life Finance has acquired 25 percent stake of Crescent Asia, the company which owns Global Online Financial Solutions (GOFS). In the non-life insurance market segment, PJICO, one of the companies with the largest market shares in Vietnam and total assets of VND4.3 trillion, last week signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (SFMI). Under the agreement, PJICO will issue 17.74 million shares to SFMI, while the South Korean group will spend VND530 billion to acquire 20 percent of stakes of PJICO. Vietnam's Petrolimex will reduce its ownership ratio in PJICO from 51 percent to 41 percent, while Vietcombank from 10 percent to 8 percent and other shareholders from 37.77 percent to 23.19 percent. An analyst said a lot of M&A deals in the insurance market have been made in the last few years. The M&A deals worldwide have also led to major changes in the ownership and investment structure in Vietnam. ACE Life Vietnam, for example, has become Chubb Life Vietnam after the merger of the holding company. FWD Pacific Century has bought Great Eastern Vietnam and renamed it as FWD. Prior to that, BIDV teamed up with Metfile to set up a joint venture, while South Korean Dongbu invested in PTI. In early 2017, MBBank launched a life insurance joint venture MB Ageas Life with charter capital of VND1.1 trillion, of which it holds 61 percent of capital. Vietnam is a young market with an annual two-digit growth rate, so there are many opportunities to exploit, analysts say. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178885/foreign-capital-dominates-insurance-sector.html

Corporate

Vietnam exports tuna products to 140 countries 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Vietnam tuna products have been shipped to nearly 140 countries in the world two years after implementing the pilot projects to exploit, purchase, process and consume tuna based on value chains in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces. These provinces are key tuna production and processing localities. Fishermen joining the chain have got higher income while the price of tuna has increased from VND50,000-VND60,000 per kilo in 2012 to VND95,000-VND100,000 in 2017. Currently the three provinces have 2,372 ocean tuna fishing vessels with a total output of more than 92,000 tonnes last year and 15 businesses which process and export tuna products to 138 markets in the world. Key importers of Vietnam tuna products included the US, EU, Thailand, Israel and Japan. Vietnam tuna exports hit more than $500 million last year. http://english.vov.vn/market/vietnam-exports-tuna-products-to-140-countries-350113.vov

Vietnam, Australia seek energy cooperation opportunities 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA A forum was held in Hanoi on May 23 with a view to providing Australia with an insight into the real situation of Vietnam's energy industry and helping domestic firms to explore the possibility of cooperation with Australian partners. Energy security is a priority of both Vietnamese and Australian governments. The two countries have been enhancing partnership in industry, education-training and research on energy. At the forum, co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Australian Embassy, representatives from Australian agencies, organisations and businesses shared their experience and latest technologies in energy. Deputy minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa said Australia's strengths in the fields of coal and gas with modern technologies can help Vietnam ensure energy security and protect the environment. Hence, the two nations hold great potential for cooperation in the sphere, she noted. Janelle Casey, Commercial Counsellor of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), expressed her hope that through the event, the two sides will understand better about cooperation opportunities and bolster linkages in energy, trade and investment. Report released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that commercial electricity growth has been on the rise over the past 15 years. Demand for electricity also strongly increased, growing by 13 percent in 2006-2010 and 11 percent in the last five years. It is estimated that the country's electricity demand will grow about 10 percent in the next 10 years. To ensure its energy security, Vietnam has been shifted from an energy exporter to an importer. The country is projected to import 17 million tonnes of coal, accounting for 31 percent of coal demand to generate electricity in 2020. Meanwhile, Vietnam also considers the possibility of increasing electricity imports from neighbouring countries such as Laos. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-australia-seek-energy-cooperation-opportunities-350138.vov

Australia may lift Vietnamese shirmp ban 24/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Australia is considering lifting its ban on the importation of Vietnamese shrimp and uncooked shelled shrimp, which has had a negative impact on Vietnam's shrimp exports. Australia's Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources has sent a letter in response to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) regarding the ban. The letter said the ban is based on biological safety and the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources is currently focusing on reviewing all requirements regarding the ban so it may be lifted as soon as possible. Australia appreciates the relationship between Vietnam in all fields, including the trade of agricultural products, the letter noted. It is willing to have close cooperation with Vietnam in reviewing all risks in order to restart trade in shrimp products. On January 7, the Department announced the suspension of prawn and uncooked shelled shrimp imports from Asian countries, fearing an outbreak of white spot disease in Australia. The ban took effect on January 9 for six months. MoIT has raised the issue of the ban at all bilateral meetings with Australia, expressing Vietnam's concerns and asking Australia to consider lifting the ban or replacing it with other measures that would have less impact. Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh sent a public letter to the minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment and the minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in Australia regarding the matter in February. In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, MoIT has been working with relevant agencies in Australia in this regard. According to MoIT, Vietnam and Australia enjoy favourable conditions to boost economic and trade ties. Two-way trade reached $5.26 billion in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 per cent. The Vietnamese trade office in Australia said that Vietnam posted a trade surplus of about $480 million last year. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/51014/australia-may-lift-vietnamese-shirmp-ban.html

Future bright for rice exporters 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS There are some positive signs for rice exports after a period of lull, the Vietnam Food Association has said. According to Huynh The Nang, its chair, the Philippines plans to import 250,000 tonnes to augment its buffer stock for the lean months. Bangladesh plans to import around 600,000 tonnes, including 50,000-100,000 tonnes of white rice and the rest parboiled rice, to offset crop damage caused by torrential rains. Some companies have won tenders to export 40,000 tonnes of the grain to Malaysia, he said. Vietnam's exports recovered somewhat in April after a big slump in the first quarter, according to a report by the association. Exporters shipped 509,628 tonnes last month for free-on-board value of $228.9 million, a year-on-year increase of 14.6 per cent in volume and 9.75 per cent in value. Export earnings in the first four months were $701.1 million, a 10.62 per cent fall. China was the biggest buyer of Vietnamese rice in the first four months followed by the Philippines, Cuba, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast. Exports of high-grade white rice surged, accounting for nearly 33 per cent of total exports. Exports of glutinous and Japonica rice also went up sharply in the first four months, but shipments of low-and medium-grade varieties plunged. The association said the number of export contracts signed in April increased significantly after prices fell, making Vietnamese rice more competitive than others'. Thailand's rice inventories have fallen and prices have risen, which could bring back last year's price gap of $40 per tonne with Vietnamese rice, according to the association. Government-to-government deals are expected to shrink to very low levels as commercial export contracts dominate. According to the Department of Crop Production, farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta had sown 950,000ha of summer-autumn rice. Nang said in some areas farmers had begun harvesting, and enterprises keep a close eye on harvests to buy paddy in time to meet new import demand. According to rice traders in Dong Thap Province, a kilogramme of OM5451 and OM4900 paddy in the field costs VND5,200-5,300, VND250 VND300 higher than a year earlier. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376966/future-bright-for-rice-exporters.html#jxMAr1hgzqTQDB3l.97

Vietnam, Bangladesh extend rice trade deal 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Bangladeshi minister of Food Advocate Md Quamrul Islam have signed a document extending the two countries' memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice trade that will allow Vietnam to sell up to 1 million tonnes of rice to Bangladesh each year. The MoU, inked on May 23 in Hanoi during the Bangladeshi official's visit, will last five years to 2022. The provision of rice will depend on Bangladesh's yearly demand. It took Vietnam and Bangladesh only two weeks to discuss and reach the deal. Right after sealing the deal, the Bangladeshi side wanted to buy 250,000-300,000 tonnes of 5-percent broken rice immediately and a total of 500,000 tonnes by the end of 2017. Speaking at the signing ceremony, minister Anh spoke highly of minister Quamrul Islam's visit, expressing his hope that it will help connect businesses and strengthen bilateral partnership and friendship between the two countries. The MoU was signed for the first time on April 18, 2011 in Hanoi and expired on December 31, 2013. On January 2, 2014, the two sides re-signed the deal that was valid until December 31, 2016. In 2011 and 2012, Vietnam shipped over 300,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh. As Bangladesh was then able to produce enough rice, it ceased the import of Vietnamese rice. However, in two recent years, Bangladesh faced consecutive natural disasters that have affected its crops and resulted in a shortage of rice for domestic consumption. On the day, minister Tran Tuan Anh and minister Quamrul Islam also discussed measures to enhance their coordination in the future to improve bilateral economic, trade and industrial cooperation, especially in the trading of rice. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-bangladesh-extend-rice-trade-deal/112172.vnp

Bittersweet reality: China doubles tariffs on sugar imports 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV China said on May 22 that it will impose hefty penalties on sugar imports after a six-month probe that began last year by the government at the request of domestic mills resulted in a finding that imports were 'seriously damaging' its domestic market. The ruling by the Chinese ministry of commerce will affect about one third of the annual sugar imports into the country and impose an extra tariff for the next three years on out-of-quota shipments. China currently allows a quota of 1.94 million metric tonnes of imports at a tariff of 15 percent as part of its commitment to the World Trade Organisation. It also imports an estimated additional out-of-quota three million metric tonnes a year for which the tariff imposed was 50 percent. The duty on out-of-quota sugar imports will now raise effective this year from 50 percent to 95 percent, said the ministry and is a move aimed at stemming the tide of imports that began flooding the market in 2011. After a year, the rate will fall to 90 percent; after two years, to 85 percent. The tax on the in-quota imports of 1.94 million tonnes will remain 15 percent, according to the ruling by the Chinese ministry. The ruling exempted about 190 smaller countries and regions from the new duty including those producers such as the Philippines and Pakistan as well as Myanmar on its southern border. China is the largest sugar importer in the globe, say leading industry analysts. Chinese farmers and factories can produce roughly one-half of the country's needs but because of antiquated technologies their costs are much higher making imported sugar more attractive due to its lower more competitive selling price. In fact, it has been profitable to import and resell sugar even with 50 percent tariffs on out-of-quota sugar imports, said Charles Clack, a sugar analyst at Rabobank, adding that this tax increase is aimed at discouraging imports. But traders said the higher tariffs will also likely spur increased smuggling across the Chinese porous southern border, while some imports from major producers may be shipped through third-party nations excluded from the tariffs. The impact of the Chinese ruling on the Vietnam sugar segment is not clear, as Vietnamese experts have yet to fully weigh in on the issue, but it is expected by some industry analysts to be bittersweet news. Nguyen Thanh Long, chair of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association said local farmers and sugar producers are in much the same predicament as their Chinese counterparts as they use outdated technology that results in a much higher production cost when compared to Thailand and Cambodia. He noted sugar and sugarcane production by Vietnamese farmers is approximately one-half of that in Thailand and Cambodia who produce 120 metric tonnes of sugarcane and 12 metric tonnes of sugar per hectare. As a result, even at record soaring prices amid an ongoing sugar shortage in Vietnam, local farmers and producers aren't profiting and many are still losing money and have been forced to shutter their doors and go out of business. The price of sugar in Vietnam is roughly $50 per tonne, almost at par with the most expensive sugar in the world, while the price in Thailand and Cambodia is $25 per metric tonne. This disparity in price has encouraged illegal imports of sugar into Vietnam by unscrupulous criminal enterprises. As recently as last week the HCM City Market Management Department discovered 70 metric tonnes of smuggled sugar into a province in the Mekong Delta that housed inventories from both Thailand and Cambodia. Beijing has been cracking down on such shipments from both Myanmar and Vietnam over recent months, helping push down overall imports as one of a series of steps taken to make sending exports there less appealing. It is too early to know how the Vietnamese farmers and sugar mills will adapt to this latest move by Chinese officials, the doubling of import tariffs, or how they will adjust their commercial strategies but many analysts are already indicating the news is bittersweet. http://english.vov.vn/economy/bittersweet-reality-china-doubles-tariffs-on-sugar-imports-350124.vov

Supply chains need reforms to meet importers' strict standards 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Businesses must change their thought about the supply chain and methods to organise it for meeting increasingly stringent standards of import markets, a representative of the Business Association of High- Quality Vietnamese Goods has said. The association held a workshop on May 23 to help enterprises gain an insight into regulations and standards in countries importing Vietnam's agricultural products. Chairwoman of the association Vu Kim Hanh said: "We are facing a challenge of technical barriers set up by import countries. Instead of focusing solely on verifying the quality of final products, developed countries request a whole process to be verified to prevent risks." She said each step in the supply chain must have a standard to prevent risks. Meanwhile, both farmers and processors must also strictly comply with the production process. The business association has established a new set of criteria for high-quality Vietnamese goods so as to help producers satisfy importers' requirements, she noted. Hanh also urged state management agencies to make new regulations to assist Vietnamese firms in meeting import countries' standards. Nguyen Kim Thanh, a specialist in supply chains and food safety, said European markets require food safety and the farm-to-table chain, as well as producers' responsibility, to be ensured. Dao Duc Huan from the Institute for Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development said numerous opportunities and challenges will appear for Vietnamese products during the integration process. Exporters are likely to encounter difficulties posed by import countries' technical barriers. Therefore, producers and processors must make bigger investments into building and managing safe food-oriented supply chains, he stressed. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/supply-chains-need-reforms-to-meet-importers-strict-standards/112154.vnp

Workshop promotes VN -Thailand trade, investment cooperation 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Thai Ministry of Commerce jointly organised a workshop to promote trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand in Hanoi on May 23. Addressing the event, deputy minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said the event takes place when member nations of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) are accelerating the realisation of commitments towards a single market and production base, a competitive economic region, equitable economic development, and integration into the global economy. Hai suggested the two sides organise more trade and investment promotion activities and encourage more Thai investment in Vietnam while assisting Vietnamese firms in entering the Thai market, thus contributing to the trade balance. With the determination of the two governments and proactive involvement of the nations' enterprises, Vietnam and Thailand will see stronger economic cooperation, with two-way trade to reach 20 billion USD by 2020, Hai said. For his part, Thai deputy minister of Commerce Winichai Chaemchaeng spoke highly of the assistance the MoIT has provided for the two countries' enterprises to promote trade and investment cooperation. He underlined the huge trading potential between the two neighbours thanks to their favourable transport conditions and policies on goods exchanges. The Thai official expressed his belief that the cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand will contribute significantly to the solidarity and cooperation in Asean. During the workshop, the Investment Promotion Centre for Industry and Trade under the MoIT's Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) and the Thai Kasikorn Bank signed a cooperation agreement to help the two nations' firms. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/workshop-promotes-vn-thailand-trade-investment-cooperation/112145.vnp

Wood pellet spike in Japan signals potential for Vietnam 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV New record highs for trade of wood chips from Vietnam are projected for 2017 with China and Japan accounting for 70 percent of total exports followed by Finland, Sweden and Turkey, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. Over the past 15 years, the global trade of wood chips has risen dramatically by almost 75 percent, mainly because of major expansion of pulp capacity in China. Wood chips, with the exception of Turkey, are used to produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Turkey is the only country to import wood chips for use in producing medium density fibreboard, which is a wood product with a wide variety of uses that is similar but much denser than plywood or particleboard. The Chinese demand for wood chips has been further heightened by governmental logging bans in 14 provinces that have forced buyers to source more heavily from surrounding countries including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. In Vietnam, officials estimate that almost 90 percent of Central Highlands timber has been sold to buyers in China. The major sources of hardwood chips for the two dominant importers, China and Japan, are Vietnam followed by Australia, Chile and South Africa in descending order of magnitude of the volume of their exports. However, Vietnam suppliers face constraints going forward, says the Wood Resource Quarterly, as current export volumes are not sustainable. Past growth of the industry is attributable to the fact that it has been driven by demand from China; it takes low levels of capital, technology, and labour to establish a wood chip factory; and government policies that have facilitated growth through easy factory licensing and wood chip export tax exemptions. In 2016, analysts point out, that the Vietnam government for the first time levied a tax on wood chip exports, with the aim of conserving the country's timber resources and reducing exports in 2017 and later years to China. Meanwhile, the burgeoning demand for wood pellets in Japan is principally due to aggressive energy policy initiatives that have been introduced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aimed at reducing the East Asian island nation's dependence upon traditional fossil fuels as an energy source. One of the most significant developments along these lines is the recent announcement by the Japanese Environment Ministry that the country intends to construct 43 high-efficiency coal-fired power plants over the next 10 to 12 years. This robust expansion of the country's coal-based energy capacity is viewed as a boon for biomass wood pellet producers, as the stringent emissions targets for these new coal power stations will virtually guarantee a need for co-firing with wood pellets. Vietnam is not currently well-positioned to take advantage of this increased Japanese demand for biomass wood pellets because producers cannot meet the standards for quality, sustainability and reliability that have been outlined by Japanese importers. Specifically, Japan requires all imported wood pellets to be Forest Management (FM) certified, and Vietnamese wood pellets do not meet these requirements but could with adequate industry leadership and training. The Japanese plans to double down on coal-based energy production presents a unique opportunity for forward thinking concerns in the Vietnamese wood pellet export market as demand shows no signs of slowing any time soon. Conditions are ripe for a long-term trade partnership between Japan and Vietnamese business concerns that offer significant benefits for the mutual benefit of industry participants from both countries. http://english.vov.vn/market/wood-pellet-spike-in-japan-signals-potential-for-vietnam-348534.vov

Ministry admits to failure in localisation rate for car industry 24/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has admitted that the local car industry has failed to achieve the set localisation rate. In a recent report on the development of the local car industry and key engineering products, minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that over the past years, the local car industry had seen a quite fast development. In 2015 for the first time, the number of vehicles produced and locally assembled reached 200,000 units per year, up 51 percent against 2014. The figure increased to 283,300 in 2016 with some models exported to Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Central America. By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 173 car makers and assemblers. However, most of them were small and medium-sized. Meanwhile, car prices in Vietnam are still high compared to the regional average. To purchase a passenger vehicle in Vietnam, customers must pay three types of taxes and five different fees. The quality of locally-made and assembled cars has seen an improvement, but remained inferior to imported models, Anh added. The localisation rate for cars of below nine seats also failed to be met. A localisation rate of 40 percent was set for 2005 and 60 percent in 2010, however, currently the rate is only 7-10 percent. Most locally- produced components are simple parts, electric wiring, seats, batteries and plastic products. Meanwhile, Vietnam spends up to USD2-3.5 billion on importing auto parts. At present, the average car manufacturing localisation rate of South-east Asian countries is around 65-70 percent. The rate is up to 80 percent for Thailand. With many bilateral and free trade agreements coming into force over the next couple of years, import taxes on auto vehicles and parts will fall, translating into opportunities for more price competitiveness in the market. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178913/ministry-admits-to-failure-in-localisation-rate-for-car- industry.html

Vietnam sees rise in mobile e-commerce 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam has seen a rise in mobile e-commerce, also known as m-commerce, an effective channel for retailing in the digital era. By January 2017, Vietnam was home to almost 47.2 million mobile internet users, half of the country's population, according to the report "Vietnam Digital Landscape 2017" by We Are Social. Some 39 percent of the population have purchased products or services online, of them 29 percent have placed at least one online order via a mobile device. The total value of the country's e-commerce market was estimated at about $1.8 billion in 2016, the report said. The 2017 Vietnam e-Business Index by the Vietnam e-Commerce Association (VECOM) shows that the internet has been a great tool for local enterprises in cross-border trade. They can communicate with overseas partners via the internet and can access online public services, for example, e-customs and e- certificate of origin. It also found that 45 percent of domestic enterprises own a website but only 19 percent of the websites are compatible with mobile devices, down from 26 percent in 2015. To succeed, domestic firms must catch up with mobile e-commerce trends to maintain a competitive edge over the others, said VECOM vice President Nguyen Ngoc Dung at the Vietnam Mobile Day last weekend. Dung suggested that selecting a suitable domain name should be the first step in building a reliable online presence for a business as a domain name is not simply an address on the internet but is closely attached to the enterprise's operations and branding. A mobile-friendly website will draw more customers to the brand name and improve its competitiveness, he added. For those who wish to reach out to the global markets, the domain name ".com" indicates credibility thanks to its popularity and stability over the past 18 years, said Executive director of Mat Bao Corporation Huynh Ngoc Duy at the event. Sharing this view, Nguyen Tu Hong Quan, director of the Nhan Hoa software company, noted that many international companies, including those listed in the Fortune 500, use ".com" for their website, aiming to reach new customers outside their regions. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-sees-rise-in-mobile-ecommerce-350127.vov

Foreigners look to home purchase guidance 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Bao Dau Tu Regarding the prospects for real estate demand from overseas Vietnamese, foreigners, Neil MacGregor, CEO of Savills Vietnam said that the positive signs of the economy and the law have brought about a large number of overseas Vietnamese and foreigners wishing to own real estate in Vietnam. Specifically, Vietnam is one of the most vibrant emerging markets in South East Asia region, said Neil MacGregor. From 2013 to 2016, Vietnam's economy recovered with the GDP growth rates of 5.4 percent, 6.0 percent, 6.7 percent and 6.21 percent respectively. The positive signs of the economy and the revised Law on Land led to the strong demand from foreign buyers wishing to own real estate in Vietnam. "With more than 80,000 foreigners living and working in Vietnam and more than four million overseas Vietnamese, the demand for housing in Vietnam is not small. But to realise the desire to own property of these customers, state management agencies need more specific guidance", said Neil MacGregor. As per Neil MacGregor, a matter of particular importance is the payment through banks. According to the government's Decree No. 99/2015/ND-CP dated October 20, 2015 detailing and guiding the implementation of the Housing Law, the State Bank shall provide detailed guidance on the payment to purchase or rent houses via credit institutions of foreign organisations and individuals, and Vietnamese residing overseas when buying or renting houses in Vietnam. However, up to now, commercial banks have not had specific guidance to solve this important problem. Prior to that, for a long time from 2008 to 2014, customers who are overseas Vietnamese, foreigners were not mentioned in the Housing Law, and the Real Estate Business Law. At that moment, to own real estate in Vietnam, these customers had to meet many strict conditions in Resolution No. 9/2008/QH 12. However, the Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law 2014 (amended) allowed the aforementioned customers to buy houses in Vietnam. However, there has not had specific guidance on how to carry out these regulations in practice. As per Greg Ohan, director of Jones Lang LaSalle Vietnam Co., Ltd, the housing ownership in Vietnam of overseas Vietnamese, foreigners is still extremely difficult. It's been nearly two years since the Housing Law officially allowed foreigners to invest in real estate in Vietnam, but the law still lacks detailed guidelines and other related administrative procedures", Greg Ohan emphasized. Nguyen Manh Ha, vice President of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, Chair of Vietnam Real Estate Brokerage Association, said since the 2014 Housing Law came into force (July 1, 2015), the number of overseas Vietnamese, foreigners buying houses in Vietnam have nearly tripled. However, the absolute number is extremely small, i.e. just about 800 transactions. It is because of the fact that customers who are overseas Vietnamese, foreigners are still afraid of administrative procedures as many contents of the Housing Law And Decree No.99/2015/ND-CP detailing the implementation of the Housing Law still have not had clear guidance. As per Ha, there still have many issues, such as the regulation that there cannot sell more than 20 percent to foreigners for a building or a project. Especially, when the owner rents a house and earns profits from it, the evidences of lawful origin under the regulations of the bank to move to the country is also very complicated. These reasons make the number of overseas Vietnamese, foreigners buying houses in Vietnam not to be as high as expected.

Encouraged by high profits, more investors jump into property market 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet The number of newly set up businesses in the real estate sector in the first four months of the year increased sharply compared with the same period last year. In addition, giants in other business fields have also jumped on the bandwagon. More than 1,390 new businesses were registered in the real estate sector in the first four months of the year, according to MPI, an increase of 66 percent over the first four months of 2016, while registered investment capital soared by 50 percent. Analysts said more investors pour money into the property market as they are encouraged by the high profits reported by property firms. Dat Xanh (DXG), for example, reported net turnover of VND586 billion in Q1 2017, a sharp increase of 86 percent over the same period last year, and post-tax profit of VND151.6 billion, or 5.2 times higher. Meanwhile, Thu Duc House (TDH), reported net revenue from sales and services at VND191.3 billion, up by 152.9 percent. Its post-tax turnover reached VND41.5 billion in Q1, three times higher than the same period last year. Prior to that, TDH gained a high growth rate in 2016, when it for the first time had turnover of over VND1 trillion. Following prosperity in 2016 and the first months of 2017, real estate firms have set high business targets for 2017. The Hoa Binh Construction & Real Estate JSC plans to obtain turnover of VND16 trillion and post-tax profit of VND828 billion this year, higher than the VND568 billion in 2016, a 586 percent increase compared to 2015. The promising real estate market has attracted big players in other business fields. CII, a big construction firm with many BT (build, transfer) projects, has joined the real estate market with the decision to set up CII Land to realise investments in two high-end real estate projects in the Thu Thiem new urban area. Coteccons (CTD), another construction firm, has also set up a subsidiary specialising in real estate business. Convestcons, the subsidiary, with charter capital of VND26 billion, will act as broker and trader. CTD's director Vu Duy Lam said the real estate market does not always prosper, so CTD needs to grab the opportunities now when the market is warm. The real estate market is so attractive that it has lured seafood producers as well. Saigon Seafood Import/Export JSC has announced it would pour VND250 billion into a 20-storey complex in Tan Binh district. At a shareholders' meeting held days ago, the Hung Vuong Seafood Company said the company now owns a land fund large enough to prepare for the property sector this year. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178675/encouraged-by-high-profits--more-investors-jump- into-property-market.html

Office-tel model shows promise 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times In early 2017, Tran Trung Duc, a 31-year-old businessperson, was looking for a small office space in HCM City's District 7 for his startup on agricultural products. After a few months of consideration, he selected a 35 sq m office apartment at Novaland's Sunrise City, for around VND13 million ($570) a month. "I think the price is reasonable and the space suits our business," Duc said. "It may be more expensive than a co-working space but we have a private and quiet environment to work in." The office-tel model, which has been found in Vietnam's real estate market for a decade, is a "hybrid" product between the office and hotel models, combining residential and commercial purposes. It has actually been the focus of many developers and been growing in popularity over the last three years. The segment remains unrecognised under the country's legal framework, however, and been difficult to develop as a result. Swift expansion An office-tel is a self-contained living environment with an apartment and working space, on an area ranging from 25 to 50 sq m and sells for between $66,000 and $150,000. They are also equipped with facilities found in a standard apartment, such as a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room, and a bathroom. The owner of an office-tel can do business and live in the building without being concerned about annual rent increases. The first in Vietnam was Bitexco Group's The Manor II, introduced a decade ago. The latest figures from CBRE show that the model has become more popular recently, especially over the last two years, with ten newly-launched projects in 2015 and 20 in 2016. As at the end of 2016, there were over 8,000 office-tel units in 39 projects in HCM City and over 1,000 units in two projects in Hanoi. The office-tel market is dominated by local developers, in which Vingroup and NovaLand are the most active. The Novaland Group had launched a series of projects in HCM City by the end of 2015, such as Sunrise Cityview, Sunrise Riverside, and Orchard Parkview, with hundreds of office-tels included in each project. In 2016, it introduced RiverGate in District 4 and Lexington Residence project in District 2. There will be several thousand office-tel apartments coming onto the market over the next two years from these projects. Novaland has had more than 18 projects including the office-tel model. It is estimated that the profit from CBD office-tel leasing stands at around 10 per cent per annum and will continue to increase as trade agreements come into force in the years to come, bringing stable incomes and value added assets to investors, a representative from Novaland told VET. The Saigon Commercial Real Estate JSC (Sacomreal) introduced a new project in District 10 in 2015, Charmington La Pointe, comprising 163 apartments ranging from 51 to 80 sq m and up to 345 office-tel apartments on areas from 31 to 45 sq m. At the same time, Hung Thinh Land also introduced several projects: Sky Centre, with office-tels ranging from 34 to 60 sq m, and Florita in District 7. Meanwhile, Vingroup and the Tan Hoang Minh Group have co-developed projects under the office-tel model in Hanoi, including Vinhomes D'Capitale and Vinhomes Giang Vo, which are expected to provide a total of around 3,000 office-tel apartments this year. "It isn't an exaggeration to say that the office-tel model has emerged as a new investment channel and garnered much interest over the last few years in HCM City," said Alex Crane, general manager of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam (C&W). However, "certain obstacles remain in the segment," he added. Legislative limits A conference on the office-tel market held in HCM City in March raised a host of issues relating to development demand and difficulties in promoting office-tels. According to Nguyen Tran Nam, Chair of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), the model has been mushrooming over the last three years, especially in HCM City, where there are 40-50 projects. As it is a relatively new concept, however, the legal framework is yet to be adjusted, creating many concerns and problems for authorities, investors, and customers regarding approval, licensing, investment, distribution, and transactions. "The greatest obstacle is the issue of granting land use rights certificates, because the apartment is neither fully used for accommodation nor as an office," Nam said. For example, in a ten-story building with seven floors for apartments, the owners of the apartments are entitled to a long-term land use rights certificate, while the owners of office-tels on the three remaining floors can only secure a 50-year license. As a result, there will be issues 50 years down the track as to how authorities will act. In cases where office-tels are built on land that is projected to become apartments, this violates regulations in the Law on Housing, and if they are built on land projected to be office space, owners will not be allowed to stay, he added. Lawyer Tran Duc Phuong from the HCM City Lawyers' Association told the conference that the latest Law on Property 2014 does not regulate office-tels, so the government must promptly complete the legal framework to recognise and regulate the segment. He suggested that in multi-purpose buildings, whatever proportion is larger should determine the type of land use rights issued. It is necessary to distinguish between 50-year land use rights and land use rights for building construction. Meanwhile, Nguyen Manh Khoi, deputy director of the Department of Housing and Real Estate Market Management under the Ministry of Construction, pointed out there are five main obstacles that need to be resolved when building the legal framework for this type of real estate. Firstly, there needs to be an accurate definition of an office-tel as being be an office in combination with living or residential areas. Secondly, will ownership be 50 years or indefinite. Thirdly, it is necessary to specify that investors are authorised to build office-tels on land that is planned for housing or for mixed-use developments. Fourthly, if defining it as a type of property for living, investors must pay other land use fees. Finally, office-tels must also have distinct standards in design, utilities, and infrastructure. It therefore would take at least three years before a full legal framework dedicated to office-tel segment is in place, he said. Nevertheless, some experts commented that office-tels will not be easily accepted by authorities because of difficulties in management, and even developers themselves don't want to be in competition with a property model outside of legislation. According to Nguyen Van Duc, deputy general director of Dat Lanh Land, if this segment is not strictly regulated there will be a series of office-tel projects appearing with small apartments, and buyers will use them as a place to live, not to conduct business. Nam added that office-tels should only be built in multi-function zones and be restricted in area. For instance, the space used for office-tels should be limited and not exceed 15 per cent of the living space in a building. Concurrently, office-tel buildings must have their own construction standards in apartments, lifts, parking lots, and other facilities, he said. Potential for development According to the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), as at the end of 2016, the number of SMEs operating in Vietnam accounted for nearly 98 per cent of the country's enterprises. As Vietnam is also encouraging startups, demand for office-tels is expected to rise due to the increasing number of startups and expats coming to work in Vietnam, experts said. Moreover, office-tel projects are often concentrated in the CBD, which is convenient for business transactions. Office-tel products have good liquidity due to their multi-function nature and being still in the early stages of development. According to some investors, the segment's rate of return has been fluctuating from 8 to 12 per cent of total investment capital. The investment channel is usually suitable for investors with a need for both profitability and asset value preservation. A C&W survey found that office-tels are well-suited to SMEs, startups, foreign companies wishing to open a representative office, and long-term foreign experts working in Vietnam. Forty per cent of tenants at most office-tel projects are startups and companies wishing to open representative offices, while 10-15 per cent of buyers have actual accommodation needs and the remainder are buyers planning to sub-lease. Le Hoang Chau, Chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said the trend towards the development of office-tels in complex projects has been emerging and is a good sign for the local real estate market. The office-tel model is particularly suitable with the startup spirit of an economy in which SMEs account for the majority of companies. "Vietnamese people may be ready to exploit an effective and stable real estate asset over 50 years without insisting on indefinite ownership," he said. "Office-tels will have many opportunities to soar." CBRE Vietnam has commented that with the combination of both commercial and residential elements, office-tels provide many benefits to both the investor and the owner or user. The economical element is also a positive point in the eyes of users, rather than paying office rents and other fees. It also provides more options in terms of office rentals and contributes to enriching a real estate product's structure and helps in recovering cash flow faster than other types of commercial property. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178853/office-tel-model-shows-promise.html

JLL: Bright outlook for Hanoi and HCM City tourism 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Hanoi and HCM City have been listed among 26 key cities in regard to hotel destinations in the Asia Pacific region, according to the latest report from JLL, which includes the latest tourism trends and provides an overview of current supply and demand and a future outlook. Tourism In 2016, Hanoi saw 4 million international arrivals, up an impressive 21.2 per cent year-on-year and exceeding the initial expectation of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) of 3.8 million. This represents a five-year combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1 per cent from 2011 to 2016. As at March, the city had welcomed 6 million visitors this year, a 7 per cent increase year-on-year, of which over 1 million were international visitors. Meanwhile, international arrivals to HCM City reached 5.2 million in 2016, a 10.6 per cent increase year- on-year and exceeding the initial expectation of 8.5 per cent. Between 2011 and 2016, the city registered a CAGR of 10.9 per cent. Growth has come as the city has stepped up its efforts to increase arrivals and average spending with more festivals focused on culture and eco-tourism and has attended travel marts and roadshows overseas. Supply In 2016, just over 200 new rooms were added to the Hanoi hotel market in addition to rebranded supply, while a larger addition of over 800 branded hotel rooms is expected this year. A further 2,000 rooms will be launched in 2020. Between 2017 and 2020, almost 60 per cent of new room supply, or 1,700 rooms, will be in the luxury segment. 2016 saw 703 new rooms added to the HCM City market. As the city gains traction as an international tourist destination, over 3,500 rooms are expected to be added to the market by 2020, with 1,000 keys expected in 2017. Demand Top source markets to Vietnam include mainland China, South Korea, Japan, and the US. While continuing its promotional efforts in Japan, Hanoi also aims to expand its market in Russia and France through cooperation with international agencies and diplomatic representatives. In its tourism drive, Hanoi will position itself as a cultural destination for its food, culture, and relic sites. While continuing its promotional efforts in Japan, HCM City also aims to expand new markets, targeting Russia and India as future growth in international arrivals of nearly 6 million is expected in 2017. The domestic market relies on the city as a key economic and recreational hub, with 21.8 million visitors in 2016 and 24 million targeted for this year. Outlook VNAT continues to strongly market Hanoi as a cultural destination through an advertising campaign with CNN across its international network. The campaign will run on both CNN on air and online media from 2017 to 2018. In addition to ongoing initiatives within Hanoi, to further enhance its tourism offerings, the capital looks to link its tourism coordination with other northern localities to lengthen international stays. VNAT's initiatives are expected to drive an increase in visitor arrivals, so the outlook for the market remains positive. Named by Conde Nast Traveler as among the 50 most beautiful cities in the world, HCM City is fast becoming an international tourist destination as the government continues to focus efforts on marketing and on improving tourist attractions and safety. With ongoing upgrades to museums and approval for a safari park and the Saigon Cultural and Tourism Village, the city's People's Committee is preparing a tourism development strategy to 2030 and beyond to ensure sustainable tourism development. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178948/jll--bright-outlook-for-hanoi-and-hcmc-tourism.html

Business Briefs May 24, 2017 24/May/2017 Intellasia | * Hoa Binh Construction & Real Estate Corporation (HBC) and Hungarian firm Thermowatt Energy and Building Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in Budapest last week. Under the MoU, Hoa Binh will be an exclusive technology distributor of Thermowatt, focusing on the utilisation of sewage water heat for cooling large buildings like hospitals, industrial parks and high- rise buildings. Both also agreed to cooperate for promoting the Thermowatt cooling solution in Vietnam. The programme is expected to cost $5 million annually. * Techcombank will issue 500 million bonds for existing shareholders ata I-for-0.56 ratio to raise its capital by VND5 trillion. The bonds will be sold at no lower than'VNDI0,000 each. Of the expected proceeds, Techcombank plans to invest VND916 billion in fixed assets, VND1.6 trillion in technology and VND2.4 trillion in government bonds. * Bien Hoa Sugar Company (BHS) and Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Company (SBT) have announced to spend over VND1.3 trillion acquiring a 100 percent stake at Hoang Anh Gia Lai Sugar Company (HAGL Sugar) between May and December, including a 99.99 percent stake owned by Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agricultural Company and a 0.013 percent stake held by a minority shareholder. After the acquisition, BHS and SBT will own 60 percent and 40 percent of HAGL Sugar respectively. In the coming time, SHB will be merged into SBT to form the largest sugar firm in the country- with a 30 percent market share. Besides, BHS will issue VND638.4 billion of bonds to raise funds for its projects while SBT is going to issue VND425.6 billion of bonds in the second quarter. The debt will have a face value ofVNPI0 million each and a maximum term of six years. * VNDirect Securities Company (VND) plans to offer nearly 51.7 million shares to existing shareholders at the 3-for-l ratio this year, using the proceeds to supplement capital for margin trading, proprietary trading and issuance guarantee services. In addition, VND will issue nearly 15.5 million shares to pay a 2016 dividend at 10 percent. The brokerage plans to move to the HCM City market in the second or third quarter. In 2017, VND targets to obtain VND866 billion in revenue and VND231 billion in after-tax profit, up 26 percent and 24 percent versus the previous year respectively.

Vietnam should move away from coal power 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Dr Frank Rijsberman, director general of the Global Green Growth Institute a Seoul-based international organisation talks about the potential of renewable energy What is your forecast of the future power demand of the Asian region in general and of Vietnam in particular? What does renewable energy mean to countries' economic development? Asia is moving to the centre of the global energy arena, and whether the Paris Agreement will be a success or not will be determined by how rapidly Asia can move away from coal and adopt clean and renewable energy. According to the Asian Development Bank, electricity demand in Asia and the Pacific is projected to more than double between 2010 and 2035. Vietnam's power demand is rising rapidly in line with robust economic expansion. It has grown nearly four times in the last decade and the trend is set to continue. Unfortunately, under the Business as Usual scenario, Vietnam is shifting to coal fired power generation, creating significant green growth challenges. Currently, coal fired plants' capacity nationwide accounts for 36 per cent of total power productivity but is set to increase to 56 per cent. Vietnam, like other countries in the region, needs to move away from coal and towards renewable energy, which would help mitigate climate change, reduce air pollution, create green jobs, increase energy security through reduced reliance on energy imports, provide savings through fossil fuel subsidies removal, and take advantage of private capital to provide financing for energy production, thereby supporting the reduction in public debt. Why does Vietnam still lag behind other regional countries in developing renewable energy projects? In which countries are the kinds of energy used the most efficiently? What can Vietnam learn from them? Unfavourable policy environment has stalled renewable energy development in Vietnam. Currently renewable energy accounts for 6 per cent of the energy mix, with large scale hydro accounting for 98 per cent. The Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs) [payments to ordinary energy users for the renewable electricity they generate] for wind and solar have been too low for investors. The power purchase agreements are below international standard. Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) is the sole off-taker and has poor credit rating, resulting in dampened private capital investment. However, we also need to recognise the government's willingness to turn to renewable energy. The conditions for biomass energy are economically viable, and through the recent launch of the solar FIT in April 2017, there is going to be a new net metering scheme. Further, provinces are turning away from coal. For example, Bac Lieu's request to cancel a coal fired power station due to environmental concerns was accepted by the prime minister and the province will instead develop wind energy. The government has shown a willingness to look into alternative policy arrangements, such as improved direct power purchase agreements, but these are still in the inception phase. Right now the renewable energy revolution is led by China and India, where the construction of renewable energy projects is speeding up very rapidly. Smaller countries in the region are on the cusp they are close, but have not yet seen a big flood of commercial projects. Countries such as Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam can be next if they get their policies right, attract the right mix of capital and develop good bankable projects. Why are hydropower projects still part of GGGI works while they are opposed by people due to their consequences like flooding and deforestation? Should Vietnam continue developing them? We do not count large hydropower dams as renewable energy, but believe there are still good opportunities for small scale hydro and micro hydro plants that have less or manageable environmental impact. Vietnam can continue to develop hydropower plants if it does so responsibly, mitigating environmental and social impacts appropriately, and looking for smaller scale. Existing (and new) hydropower projects can combine well with other renewables like solar and wind to provide stability to the grid, until battery storage becomes commercially viable. ADB and other multilateral development banks jointly committed to support developing countries' transition to green growth in Rio+20 in 2012. Since then, how has the commitment been realised? What is the role of GGGI during the progress? The Paris agreement was the strongest ever reached by both rich and poor countries as more than 190 countries submitted their national plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There are no countries left that will only take climate action if they are paid to do so. A significant number of developing countries, ranging from Thailand and Fiji to India, are committed to taking initiatives to combat the issue of climate change and move towards a green and climate resilient future. A key challenge is, first, to make climate funding available, and second, to develop a strong pipeline of bankable projects to deliver on the climate commitments. The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have committed to significantly increasing their share of climate financing. We have seen new commitments at the ADB meeting in Yokohama such as the new Japanese fund worth $40 million to focus on clean energy and sustainable infrastructure. What's critical now is to build capacity in developing countries to submit solid project proposals to attract investment. We need to help countries understand how they can access an array of finance and blend it and develop a conducive environment for investors. Therefore, a top priority for GGGI is to assist countries to develop pipelines of projects that are investment-ready. GGGI is attempting to change the direction of investment towards climate smart and green growth investments by building capacity of governments in designing bankable projects, initiating and pilot testing de-risking instruments and blended financing and helping governments to access international climate finance. Could you share with our readers GGGI's operations in Vietnam as well as GGGI's work with the ADB in Vietnam? Do you have any plans to further work with the ADB and other MDBs? GGGI is working with several ministries of Vietnam on renewable energy issue. We are providing the Ministry of Planning and Investment strategic policy advice to increase green growth financing through ensuring green growth is integrated into the government's investment appraisal process. We are also supporting Vietnam's SME Development Fund to integrate green growth into their lending operations. We help the Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop provincial action plans for biomass waste-to- energy and bankable projects for implementation. This year, GGGI will complete two pre-feasibility studies for sugar companies to generate electricity from their waste biogases. In 2018, GGGI will develop more bankable projects on the back of the provincial action plans. GGGI partnered with the ADB in Vietnam in 2016 to develop a feasibility study for a wastewater treatment facility in Ben Tre City, enabling the city to access an ADB loan of up to $30 million. ADB is moving away from concessional loans to Vietnam and towards ordinary capital lending with market-based rates (as is the case with the World Bank's shift from International Development Assistance to International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), imposing greater financial pressure on Vietnam to meet the financing requirements for green infrastructure. GGGI will continue to partner with ADB and other MDBs, as well as the Green Climate Fund, to combine their financial resources with those of national governments, and the private sector, to fund renewable energy projects, set up energy efficiency programmes and national green funding mechanisms. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178874/vietnam-should-move-away-from-coal-power.html

Black pepper price in Central Highlands drops strongly 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The price of black pepper in the Central Highlands provinces has continued to plummet, hitting 80,000 82,000 VND per kilogram, a low record in the last seven years. According to the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands, the price of black pepper once reached 230,000 VND per kilogram, bringing profits of 3-4 folds higher than those coffee and cashew nuts. Therefore, farmers in the Central Highlands expanded pepper growing areas despite authorities' warnings, leading to excess supply and falling prices. According to plans, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Gia Lai provinces will have 6,000 ha of pepper growing areas each by 2020. However, the current pepper coverage in the provinces is 28,000 hectares, nearly 25,000 hectares and 15,697 hectares, respectively. Additionally, farmers grow pepper on poor land, or replace old coffee plants with pepper without treating disease-infected soil. They also use fertiliser and chemicals, and small pepper trees, running the risk of mass pepper plant deaths. The committee urged localities to review planning and management of pepper growing and production. According to the committee, localities should also provide technical assistance for local farmers in selecting suitable land, sibling trees, growing, caring, harvesting and drying. Focus should be put on developing regional or local pepper brand names while forming linkages among farmers, enterprises and scientists to ensure the sector's sustainable development. The Central Highlands region has more than 71,000 hectare of pepper, producing at least 120,877 tonnes, mostly in Dak Lak. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/black-pepper-price-in-central-highlands-drops-strongly/112136.vnp

Local giants suffer heavy losses from fuel hedging 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Some major firms such as Vietnam Airlines and Petrolimex have incurred hefty losses since 2014 due to fuel hedging contracts, according to a report on audit results of 2016 released recently. The State Audit of Vietnam's report sent to the 13th National Assembly at its third session showed that Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) have employed derivative financial instruments in the process of buying fuels, but their poor market forecasts have resulted in heavy losses. Vietnam Airlines in 2014 signed four fuel hedging contracts that lasted until 2015 and had to offset a loss of nearly VND2.58 trillion (about $112 million) when the fuel price tumbled. Meanwhile, Petrolimex Singapore Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Petrolimex, lost $38.23 million in 2015 due mainly to fuel hedging contracts signed between September 10, 2014 and December 11, 2014. In all of 2014, Petrolimex posted losses of $35.96 million as fuels were bought at high prices from the petroleum bonded warehouse at Van Phong economic zone and then sold at lower prices. The losses of Vietnam Airlines took place during the final year of operating as a state-owned corporation before transforming itself into a joint-stock company and launching its initial public offering in November 2014. Prior to mid-2014, when the price of crude oil hit a record high of $110 per barrel, many domestic firms had been plagued by the rising fuel prices which had a great impact on their balance sheets. Therefore, large enterprises whose production and business costs greatly depend on fuel prices have started to sign hedging contracts in recent years as a risk-averse measure. However, from mid-2014 onwards, oil prices have fallen sharply. From June 2014 to October 2014, crude oil prices have fallen by $25 a barrel and continued to edge lower in the years 2015 and 2016. The crude oil price once fell to $35 per barrel before slightly rebounding from early 2017 till now, leading to the great losses of those major enterprises. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54086/Local-giants-suffer-heavy-losses-from-fuel-hedging.html

Japanese firms eye organic agriculture in An Giang 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Japanese businesses have expressed their wish to invest in organic agriculture and agricultural tourism in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. Toshitsugu Hagihara, general director of Hagihara Company one of Japan's leading businesses in organic agriculture, told local leaders at a working session on May 23 that his company wants to plant mask melon in glass houses using Japan's cutting-edge technologies, in the province. Hagihara Company will firstly analyse soil samples in An Giang to put forth a suitable cultivation process and then send leading experts to the locality to transfer farming techniques to local farmers, he said. If the work proves effective, the company will build factories processing farm produce, helping musk melon and other agricultural products of An Giang penetrate the Japanese market through supermarket chains. Although An Giang has favourable conditions for organic agriculture, local farmers have yet to meet requirements of organic agriculture, he said. Koichiro Abe, director of Raycean Company, said Raycean and Hagihara are confident to become An Giang's important and long-term partner in organic agriculture and agricultural tourism development in order to raise competitiveness of local farm produce. Vuong Binh Thanh, Chair of the An Giang People's Committee, pledged that local authorities will help the Japanese businesses with legal procedures, promotion and technology transfer. He highlighted low-cost labour force and production as advantages of An Giang despite its limitations in infrastructure. A project to transfer technologies between An Giang and Hagihara is expected to be implemented in 2017, under which four musk melon farms will be built in Tinh Bien, Chau Doc, Chau Thanh and Thoai Son districts. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/japanese-firms-eye-organic-agriculture-in-an-giang/112165.vnp

Taekwang Joins Race to Acquire Vietnam's No. 1 Logistics Firm 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Korea Economic Daily Taekwang jumped into a race to take over Gemadept, the largest logistics firm in Vietnam, as part of an effort to establish a secure logistics base in Southeast Asia. According to industry sources on May 22, Taekwang recently submitted a letter of intent to acquire the company listed on the country's HCM City Stock Exchange. Founded in 1990, Gemadept has about a dozen of subsidiaries in the areas of logistics, port operations, and real estate development. Gemadept is also running logistics and plant facilities not only in Vietnam but in Cambodia and Laos. It has an annual sales of around 200 billion won, with net profit estimated at around 20-30 billion won. Taekwang is pushing to acquire Demadept as a way to create synergies by combining its existing manufacturing operations in Vietnam with Demadept's logistics business. The Korean company, which made an entry into the Vietnamese market in 1994, is running a variety of businesses, including a shoe- making subsidiary Taekwang Vina. http://english.hankyung.com/business/2017/05/23/1633331/taekwang-joins-race-to-acquire-vietnams-no- 1-logistics-firm

Lotte Vietnam on losing streak since operations began 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Since entering the Vietnamese market in 2006, Lotte Mart Vietnam has never had profit. As newswire Dan Tri reported, as of December 31, 2016, Lotte Mart Vietnam, the owner of the Lotte Mart chain in Vietnam, has a total asset value of nearly KRW470 billion, an equivalent of VND9.4 trillion ($413.6 million). Of the total, its owners' equity was VND500 billion ($22 million), while the remaining was liabilities. Since Lotte Mart Vietnam was launched and first generated revenue in 2007, the company has been piling up consecutive losses. Recently, in 2016, Lotte Mart Vietnam generated a revenue of VND5.137 trillion ($226 million), and still suffered a loss of nearly VND261 billion ($9.5 million), Dan tri reported. Currently, Lotte Mart is one of the largest retailers in Vietnam. However, during its ten years of operation in Vietnam, Lotte Mart has never closed a year with profit. Despite repeated losses, the Korean parent company Lotte Shopping has continuously expanded its business in Vietnam. At the end of 2006, Lotte Vietnam Shopping Co., Ltd was established as a joint venture between Korean giant Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd and Minh Van Commercial and Production Company. Lotte Shopping held 80 per cent of the stakes and the remaining 20 per cent belonged to Minh Van. However, in 2012, Lotte Shopping bought out the entire stake of Minh Van and took 100 per cent ownership of Lotte Vietnam. In 2016, Lotte Vietnam Shopping was renamed Lotte Shopping Plaza Vietnam Co., Ltd Up till now, Lotte has opened 13 shopping malls in favourable locations in numerous big cities, such as Hanoi, HCM City, Danang, Dong Nai, Vung Tau, Can Tho, and Nha Trang. Lotte Shopping is an important subsidiary of the parent company Lotte Group in South Korea, a leading firm in the South Korean distribution industry. http://www.vir.com.vn/lotte-vietnam-on-losing-streak-since-operations-began.html

More than 1,300 river-sea ships join coastal transport routes 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Up to 1,302 river-sea compatible ships (VR-SB) have operated on coastal transport routes by May 15, according to the Vietnam Register. They include 32 container ships, mostly operating on Quang Ninh Quang Binh, Quang Binh Binh Thuan, and Binh Thuan Kien Giang routes. The number, which is 100 ships more than two previous months, is expected to rise as dozens of river ships are to be upgraded to VR-SBs. Relevant bodies are building regulations on managing the boats and their routes for submission to the Ministry of Transport. The first VR-SB transport route was launched in 2014, connecting Quang Ninh and Kien Giang provinces. An official from the Ministry's Department of Transportation said goods are transported on the route from Quang Ninh and Hai Phong to Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh are varied, including construction materials, machines and coal for the Nghi Son Petrochemical Refinery project. Goods transported on the route from Nghe An, Ha Tinh to Hai Duong are mainly rock materials while cement, oil and gas, coal, and others are transported from the Nghi Son Petrochemical Refinery Factory to Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue. Rice, fertiliser, construction materials, timber and consumable goods are the main goods transported between HCM City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Kien Giang. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/more-than-1300-riversea-ships-join-coastal-transport-routes/112130.vnp

City seeks to calm land speculation 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The HCM City People's Committee has instructed relevant authorities to develop software that will allow the public to obtain land-use plans on their mobile phones as a means to avoid the land "fever" that occurs periodically. "The recent land fever in HCM City has occurred because of several reasons and the city needs to respond immediately to stop it," Le Van Khoa, deputy chair of the People's Committee, told a recent meeting to review the phenomenon. He pointed out four causes for it: a lot of infrastructures was built recently, directly affecting prices of land nearby; media reports about some big plans in Can Gio and Cu Chi districts; last year the city rescinded many public works that had been on paper for many years, preventing people from buying or selling the lands earmarked for the projects, and prices shot up as a result; and speculation. "We must publicly announce all land-use master plans from commune to district levels and all should be accessible by mobile phone." He instructed the Master Plan and Architecture Department in cooperation with districts Thu Duc and 12 to ready the software by the end of this year. He confirmed that the city did not have any plans to upgrade Nha Be, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon districts into downtown districts. "We have the government's decision to build Can Gio Bridge to replace the Binh Khanh ferry, but from policy to reality takes a very long time." He was implying that people should not buy land thinking the bridge construction would push up land prices. "The city People's Committee did not approve the Marina City project in Trung An Commune, Cu Chi District, as was rumoured, not even the road along the river in the commune," he said. The People's Committee has instructed all districts to improve land management and stop people from carving up lands into plots for selling without approval. It also called on the State Bank of Vietnam's HCM City office to instruct all banks to tighten lending to the property sector. Tat Thanh Cang, deputy secretary of the city Party Committee, said: "The city Party Committee will issue instructions for the real estate market and guide related authorities in making land-related notifications. "City spokespersons should make official announcements immediately if any problems crop up and not wait for meetings because if we provide accurate information the media will help the public know about them." He also agreed to publicise the land use master plan in every commune and district and called on relevant authorities to create favourable conditions for the public to know about it. "All HCM City socio-economic, urban and infrastructure development must follow the approved master plan." The Party Committee would get the police to investigate those who spread rumours to benefit from them. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376876/city-seeks-to-calm-land-speculation.html

Real estate market reduces fever in HCM City outskirts 24/May/2017 Intellasia| SGGP News Land price has reduced fever in HCM City outskirts after city leaders required police agency to investigate land price fever and tackle brokers for spreading false rumours to rocket the prices and make profit. According to Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper record, land price has reduced by 10-20 percent in parts of outlying 9, 12, Thu Duc, Binh Tan, Nha Be, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi and Can Gio districts. On May 22, the newspaper's reporters saw that land brokers no longer noisily invited customers to buy land. Banners, leaflets were not delivered as much as before. The reporters spent two hours around an empty land parcel in To Ngoc Van street but did not see any broker. Returning to Road 659, Phuoc Long B ward, District 9 where has been named the metropolis of real estate brokerage companies and centers, SGGP reporters were surprised with the gloomy and deserted scene there. Many companies closed their doors. Phu Huu ward's area near HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway fell in the same situation. Many residents' houses and shops removed land brokerage boards of housing land projects. Owner of a coffee shop in Bung Ong Thoan street, District 9 said that local residents had earned bread by acting as a go-between customers and property companies. Land prices have mitigated from VND26 million to 24 million a square metre in the area for the last couple of days. Some plots in the alley of Bung Ong Thoan street has seen the price drop by 20 percent, from VND22 million to VND17-18 million a square metre. The price of plots along large streets have remained unchanged. After the media published information that rural districts are not qualified to upgrade into urban districts, land price in Binh Chanh has sloped without brake to the level in early 2017. Dien from Phong Phu commune said that the district returned to tranquility during the last weekend. Previously, automobiles traveled in great number and customers continuously asked to buy land. Local no longer saw coaches transporting delegation of customers to the district to buy land, he said. Many land brokers have disappeared while many investors have faced hardships. Formerly, brokers bought agricultural land at the price of VND2 million a square metre and offered for sale at double price. They pushed housing land price from VND7 million to VND16-22 million a square metre. Dien said his family sold two land plots to a customer who has been crying for losing VND2 billion investing in the properties. http://sggpnews.org.vn/hochiminhcity/real-estate-market-reduces-fever-in-hcmc-outskirts-66944.html

HCM City builder fined over $44,000 for violating permit 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News The developer of a residential area in HCM City has not only been fined over $44,000 for illegal alterations to the original building design, but also been forced to dismantle the illegal components. The municipal People's Committee decided to impose the administrative penalty upon TDS Company, developer of the Thao Dien Sapphire Residential Area, located in Thao Dien Ward, District 2. The firm was given a VND1 billion ($44,124) fine, the highest ever issued to a construction company in HCM City. The company was charged for altering the design of the project in violation of the building permit granted by the HCM City Department of Construction on June 18, 2015. The developer increased the area of the ground floor in several buildings, with the total area in violation measuring 1,396 square meters. Local authorities had previously made a report and issued a warning for the offense, but these were eventually ignored by the developer. Therefore, the municipal administration decided to not only impose the penalty, but stop the entire project until the firm pays the fine and complies. TDS will also have to tear down the offending constructions that have been built beyond the approved design. TDS was given 10 days to follow the order by the relevant authorities. The Thao Dien Sapphire project covers an area of over 27,000 square meters, including 30 three-story villas. According to a broker from TDS's partner company, buyers can chose a villa with a garden, a swimming pool, or situated along the riverbank. Prices range from VND45 billion ($1.98 million) to VND100 billion ($4.41 million) depending on size and category. The construction is nearly finished and some of the residences have already been sold to customers. Buyers are expected to receive their houses in August, according to a TDS employee. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41111/ho-chi-minh-city-builder-fined-over-44000-for-violating-permit

VN Power Group strives to meet power demand 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS To deal with possible electrical shortages during the dry season, the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) will make the most of all power sources, including coal, gas, diesel-fueled and hydropower stations, a representative of the corporation has said. EVN predicts that electricity demand during this year's dry season will increase 12 per cent over the same period last year, due to higher temperatures. The electricity generation capacity of the entire power system could be up to 31,800MW in May and June, much higher than the maximum capacity of 27,066MW in the first quarter. According to deputy director general of EVN Ho Manh Tuan, in the first quarter, electricity production and import of the entire system reached 44 billion kWh, increasing 7.7 percent over the same period in 2016. The maximum capacity of the entire system was 27,066MW, increasing 10.6 per cent over the same period of 2016. Demand for power consistently peaks in the second quarter of the year. To meet this increased demand for electricity, EVN said they would use reservoirs to ensure sufficient water for the operation of hydropower facilities in the lowlands, and will continue tapping coal and gas sources. If necessary, the group will operate oil turbines to ensure supply. Meanwhile, the corporation has called for the reduction of power wastage. Vu Xuan Khu, deputy director of the National Load Dispatch Centre, said that the electricity system will be able to meet national demand. However, the sources are unevenly distributed, mainly in the north, thus the central and southern areas often have to be supplied with extra power. EVN has requested the National Power Transmission Corporation to strengthen the management and operation of the transmission lines and ensure their safe operation, ensuring high capacity and continuous transmission during the dry season, especially on the North-South 500kV transmission system. According to the Vietnam Energy Association, during the 2017-20 period, the southern area would face a shortage of 10 to 15 per cent of its own demand for power and would have to receive a transmission of 15 billion kWh in 2017 and 21 billion kWh in 2019. Khu, from the National Load Dispatch Centre, said in the coming six months, the transmission output to the south would be 5.9 billion kWh. Last year, EVN completed 351 electricity works of 110 kV to 500 kV with a total power line length of 4,800km across the nation. At the meeting with relevant ministries, localities, investors and contractors for construction of Long Phu 1 thermal power plants in the southern province of Soc Trang and Song Hau 1 in Hau Giang Province in March, deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung stressed the possibility of severe power shortages in the south in 2018 and 2019. Power shortage in HCM City The Steering Committee for Power Supply and Conservation of HCM City has forecast that in 2017, especially in the dry season, drought and high temperatures will lead to high demand for electricity and thus power shortages. Data from the HCM City Power Corporation (EVN HCM City) showed that at the moment, the city's daily electricity consumption amounts to 76.5 million kWh, 5 per cent higher than the same period last year, and is forecast to rise. To ensure sufficient power supply for production, business and household activities, the steering committee has called for energy saving measures to be adopted. According to city authorities, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade is coordinating with EVN HCM City to closely monitor electricity consumption. Enterprises have been urged to use energy efficiently, restrict power use at peak hours and prepare backup generators. In addition, the Department of Industry and Trade will provide energy saving guidelines for public agencies to make sure at least 10 per cent of electricity costs are saved. Meanwhile, EVN HCM City will work with districts to promote electricity conservation by encouraging households to restrict the use of high-capacity devices at peak hours to prevent the power grid from overloading. The city is accelerating preparations for backup power sources to ensure normal business and production activities in case of a power shortfall. Vietnam currently has 70 large and medium sized hydropower plants with a total capacity of more than 14,000 MW. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178928/vn-power-group-strives-to-meet-power-demand.html

Hoang Anh Gia Lai sells sugar business for $59m 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Bien Hoa Sugar JSC and Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar JSC, two subsidiaries of the Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group), will take over the sugar business from Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agriculture International (HAGL Agrico) for VND1.33 trillion (US$59.1 million). Bien Hoa Sugar JSC will acquire a 60 per cent stake of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Sugar Co Ltd, worth VND798 billion, and Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar JSC will obtain the remaining stake in the sugar business, worth VND532 billion. The transactions will be carried out between May and December 2017 and HAGL Agrico had already handed over key positions, as well as operational and management systems in its sugar business to TTC Group. HAGL Sugar Co Ltd is a member of HAGL Agrico a subsidiary of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group. The sugar business owns 100 per cent of capital in Hoang Anh Attapeu Sugar Co Ltd in Laos. After the deal was announced, the two sugar companies said in their management board resolutions on Friday that they will issue non-convertible bonds, which can be guaranteed by the assets of the two firms and a "third-party company". The two companies will carry out their bond issuance in the second quarter of 2017. The bonds will have a par value of VND10 million, and a maximum maturity of six years. The annual yield rates were not disclosed. Interest payments for the bonds will be made 12 months after the issuance date for the first year and every six months for the following years. In order to pay back the loans to bondholders, the two firms will buy back some bond notes with the same par value every 12 months, starting from the second year after the issuance date. The value of the bonds is VND638.4 billion for Bien Hoa Sugar JSC and VND425.6 billion for Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar JSC. Both Bien Hoa Sugar JSC and Thanh Thanh Cong Tay Ninh Sugar JSC are the two leading sugar producers of the TTC Group. The two companies have planned to merge with each other in order to become the biggest sugar company in Vietnam in terms of output, which is expected to occupy 30 per cent of the market share. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376895/hoang-anh-gia-lai-sells-sugar-business-for-59m.html

Work begins on Ca Mau garment factory 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Construction of a garment factory worth VND153 billion (US$6.8 million) commenced late last week in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Covering more than 16,000sq.m in Ly Van Lam Commune, the factory will be the first to produce garment products for export in the province. The project will be divided into two phases, the first slated to be completed in the first quarter of 2018, providing 2,000 local jobs. Addressing at the factory's ground-breaking ceremony, the provincial People's Committee vice Chair Le Van Su spoke highly of the factory's development, saying it will help increase the province's export turnover. In the first quarter of this year, the province's export value experienced a year-on-year drop of 7.2 per cent to $172.3 million, according to the province's Department of Industry and Trade. VNS http://bizhub.vn/news/work-begins-on-ca-mau-garment-factory_286317.html

Emirates SkyCargo helps export of perishables from Vietnam 24/May/2017 Intellasia| GDN Online Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has played a key role in strengthening trade links in perishables between Vietnam and the UAE. Over the last year, the carrier has facilitated a near five-fold increase in the volumes of exports of fruits including rambutans and lychees from Vietnam to Dubai, said a statement from the airlines. Vietnam is an important market for food exports and in 2016, Vietnam's agro-forestry-fishery exports were valued at over $32 billion, it said. As an important global facilitator of trade, Emirates SkyCargo has been working closely with Vietrade- Vietnam's Trade Promotion Agency to understand the requirements of Vietnamese exporters and to help develop export opportunities for Vietnamese produce in international markets specifically in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East, it added. As a result of the collaborative efforts between Emirates SkyCargo and Vietrade, the volume of perishables exports from Vietnam to Dubai has increased considerably touching a record of close to 110 tonnes in January 2017, said a statement. Ravishankar Mirle, Emirates vice president, cargo commercial, Far East and Australasia, said: "Our company has started operations in Vietnam in 2008 and has since then played an important role in the growing trade between Vietnam and the UAE." "By working closely with Vietrade and by building upon our expertise in shipping perishables, we developed air freight solutions that have helped increase the exports of premium fruits and vegetables from Vietnam to Dubai," he said. "We will work with our customers and stakeholders to promote and develop new trade lanes for exports from Vietnam to global markets," he added. Pham Binh Dam, ambassador of Vietnam to the UAE, said: "Vietnam has huge comparative advantages in agriculture. That is why we requested our company to position its product offering to facilitate exports of perishable products by air freight to capitalise on the country's vast potential." "We are happy to see the sharp increase in volume in the past year and will continue to work with Vietnamese producers and exporters for their greater market penetration. We thank our company for listening to us and for the great cooperation," Dam said. Emirates SkyCargo offers exporters in Vietnam a weekly capacity of over 580 tonnes through 18 flights including four weekly freighter services. The launch of the daily passenger flight from Dubai to Hanoi on the Boeing 777-300ER, offering up to 20 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight from July 1, will further support trade from Vietnam to other markets through the airline's global network of 155 destinations in 83 countries, said a statement. In addition to perishables Emirates SkyCargo also helps export electronics and marine products from Vietnam, it stated. Emirates SkyCargo operates a modern fleet of 259 aircraft including 15 freighters- 13 Boeing 777-Fs and two B747-400ERFs. The carrier recently launched Emirates SkyFresh- a suite of solutions that help maintain the freshness of perishables and fresh consumables during transportation. The airlines operates state-of-the-art cool chain facilities at its Emirates SkyCentral cargo hubs at Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central including over 25,000 sq m of dedicated temperature controlled storage space and reefer trucks operating 24/7 between Dubai World Central and Dubai International airport, it added. http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/216274/Emirates-SkyCargo-helps-export-of-perishables-from- Vietnam

Food Safety Expo opens in Hanoi 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS A wide selection of clean food products and specialties from different regions are on display at the Food and Food Safety Expo, which opened in Ha Nội on Monday. The expo is being held by the Vietnamese Artists and Trademarks Association (VATA) at the Việt Nam Agricultural Exhibition Centre in Ha Nội's Hoang Quốc Việt Street till May 28. Themed "Say No to Dirty Food", the expo has 200 participants who have on display safe food products and safe food processing technology. The 200-odd stalls offer a variety of items such as cordyceps fungus, honey, forest mushroom, fish sauce, free-range chicken, coffee, gấc oil and black garlic, all from reliable suppliers such as certified companies and clean agricultural cooperatives across the country. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fair, Le Ngọc Dũng, president of VATA, said food safety was a big area of concern for the Party, the government, and to all Vietnamese citizens. Through the fair, businesses can showcase what they do to ensure food safety in production, work towards gaining a foothold in honest business, and provide information on food hygiene and safety, he said. It was recommended that businesses apply advanced quality management systems, and follow food safety standards promulgated by Việt Nam and international organisations. At the expo, Hoang Hải from HCM City-based Enjoy Life Việt Nam JSC introduced visitors and customers to its Aquaponics system a model of growing fish and vegetables in the same pond. The company has attended the fair several times, but this is only the second time that it is introducing people to its Aquaponics system, Hải said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376934/food-safety-expo-opens-in-ha-noi.html

Vietnam Dairy 2017 to open in Hanoi 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam Dairy 2017 will take place at the Hữu Nghị Culture Palace in Ha Nội from May 31 to June 3. Some 150 international and domestic businesses will participate in the event, including famous brand names such as Vinamilk, Mead Johnson, Nestle and Tetra Pak, as well as Nutricare, Vitadairy, IDP, Mộc Chau and Ba Vi, along with Ha Nội Milk, Kido, Elovi, Fonterra, Abbott, New Vietdairy and Delaval, Vietnam Dairy Association chair Trần Quang Trung said at a press conference held in the capital city on Monday. Trung said the exhibition would showcase milk and milk products, additives and other products for the milk sector; processing technology and packaging; as well as veterinary medicines; food safety and quality management standards; and environment treatment technologies. Trung said the dairy sector had been actively contributing to the country's economy, with average growth of between 15 per cent and 17 per cent per year. Under the planning for the dairy processing industry by 2020 and a vision to 2025, which was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country will produce 2.6 billion litres by 2020, with estimated export turnover of $120-130 million and expected consumption volume of 27 litre per capita per year. By 2025, the industry plans to produce 3.4 billion litres, reaching annual consumption volume of 24 litres per head and export turnover of $150-$200 million, said Trung. The consumption volume is expected to reach 26 litres per head this year, three and two litres higher than 2015 and 2016, respectively. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376985/vietnam-dairy-2017-to-open-in-ha- noi.html#3jutZ1CV8R1weUTW.97

Chicken, eggs prices drop 24/May/2017 Intellasia| SGGP News Prices of eggs and chicken meat raised in industrial farms in HCM City fell, said local distributors. For instance, an egg is sold at VND1,200-VND1,400. With such price, breeders will lose if they have not applied techniques to cut down expenses. Meantime, industrial chicken is sold at VND25,000 a kilogram at farms which can bring profits to farmers in the South yet their counterparts in the North suffer loss because industrial chicken is sold at VND 19,000 a kilogram. Prices of chicken meat dropped because pork prices are down drastically. Moreover, the northern provinces are facing that much imported chicken meat from Korea is cheaper than domestic meat. http://sggpnews.org.vn/business/chicken-eggs-prices-drop-66943.html

Egg price makes turnaround 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The chicken egg price has increased in the past five days after a period of falling, said farm owners and enterprises trading in chicken eggs. The price of eggs increased by VND300 to VND1,100 each on average, said Nguyen Phuong Sang, owner of a farm with 45,000 egg-laying hens in Long Khanh District, Dong Nai Province. His farm supplies 38,000-40,000 eggs a day to HCM City, Dong Nai and some central provinces. However, the increase still cannot save farmers from losses due to the high production cost estimated at VND1,400 an egg and the sharp fall to VND900 an egg that had persisted for a long time. Trinh Duc Khoa, director of Trinh Dang Khoi Co Ltd with a farm in Vinh Cuu District, Dong Nai Province, said the price of eggs ranges from VND1,100 to VND1,300 each, an increase of VND200 compared to the previous week. Khoa expected to earn some profit due to the fall of chicken feed prices. At present, Khoa's farm has over 100,000 hens, supplying 90,000-100,000 eggs a day to markets, companies, factories and schools. Truong Chi Thien, director of Vinh Thanh Dat Food JSC in HCM City's District 12, said the egg price increased by VND300 each. Specifically, grade-A eggs sell for VND1,500-1,600 each. However, the company has to purchase mainly grade-B eggs at VND1,200 each due to the scarcity of grade-A eggs. Thien suggested that farmers build a long-term business relationship with traders and distributors to sell products at stable prices. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54090/Egg-price-makes-turnaround.html

Livestock feed producers, traders in hot seat 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times As farmers have sold pigs at a loss, livestock feed producers and traders have found themselves in the same boat as it is increasingly difficult for them to sell their products and collect debt owed by farmers. Nguyen Hong Van, a feed trader in the southern province of Dong Nai, hoped the price of live pigs would recover quickly so that famers could pay their debts owed to him at the end of the year. A financial report of Vietnam Livestock Corporation shows its sales and service revenue reached a modest VND56.6 billion in the first quarter of the year, compared to around VND96.3 billion in the year- ago period. In its official letter to the State Securities Commission, the corporation attributed its profit decline to tumbling pig prices in the period. It has no choice but to reduce the price of breeder pigs sold to farmers. As a result, its revenue is more likely to decrease further in the remaining quarters of the year. Large companies are having difficulty maintaining their sales revenue given the low pig price, according to the Animal Husbandry Association of Dong Nai Province Pham Duc Binh, the association's vice chair, said many farming households have cut feed rations for their pigs so they could barely gain weight in recent months. If the situation drags on, livestock feed producers would suffer substantially. The total import turnover of feed products and raw materials in January-April reached $1.19 billion, a rise of around 30 percent over the same period, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. This means that domestic sales revenue declined, but enterprises still purchased a large quantity of ingredients for livestock feed production in the coming months. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54075/Livestock-feed-producers-traders-in-hot-seat.html

Budget airline soars in Vietnam, but no more bikini-clad models 24/May/2017 Intellasia| MB Budget carrier VietJet used to be best known for its rather un-Marxist promotional gimmick of flying bikini-clad models on its airplanes. "The first time we did it we were fined $1,000 by the civil aviation authority," said chief executive and founder Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. It was a cheap and fun way of drumming up publicity for new beach destinations, she explained. The company has also sent flash mobs to an airport in Taiwan to perform dance routines to Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" and released music videos featuring ground staff. In March, Thao drew attention for a more serious reason: Her airline passed state-owned behemoth Vietnam Airlines in market capitalisation, reaching a valuation of over $1.8 billion. That made her the country's first woman billionaire and turned VietJet into a bright illustration of communist-run Vietnam's changing economic DNA. Vietnam's leaders have moved in recent years to encourage foreign investors and have made it easier for private firms to compete against the state. People familiar with the situation say the idea is to make Vietnam less dependent on China, its giant neighbour to the north. "Vietnam needs to make itself important to the rest of the world if it wants to avoid being absorbed into China's orbit," said one person close to the situation. "And this is how the government is going to do it: through trade and business." Investment officials have offered a range of tax incentives to lure foreign manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co., which makes products in Vietnam and now accounts for a fifth of the country's exports. Vietnam is expanding its network of trading partners including with the European Union even as the Trump administration withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. "Everything is speeding up. It's faster getting permits and all the other papers we need. It's becoming like America," said Nguyen Trong Nghia, who runs an engineering firm with his two brothers in HCM City. Vietnam's GDP grew 6.2 percent in 2016, one of the fastest in the world. To be sure, progress is slower than some would like. Notably, the privatisations of state-run companies have been fewer and smaller than some investors had hoped. But amid the changing times, VietJet has flourished. Thao, 46 years old and soft-spoken, excelled at school, and the government sent her to study finance and economics in Moscow. She stayed on after the collapse of the Soviet Union and made her first million trading commodities between Eastern Europe and Asia. She returned to Vietnam in the 2000s and began investing in property developments in HCM City on what was then the sparsely-populated south side of the Saigon River. As the neighbourhoods there began to boom, Thao generated enough money to leap into the airline business. Her initial plan was to launch a luxury rival to Vietnam Airlines. "We were going to be like a JW Marriott of the skies," she said. After the global financial crisis struck Vietnam, however, she began studying low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines (based in the US), Ryanair (Ireland) and AirAsia (Malaysia) before launching VietJet in 2011 as a budget carrier. "It was difficult letting go of everything we had done. It was like saying goodbye to a child. But we had to do it if we wanted to make a profit," Thao said. "It was a real turning point for us." At first, VietJet met resistance, say two aviation-industry executives. At times it had to wait until Vietnam Airlines planes were allocated parking bays before getting clearance to unload their own passengers. "They also had to wait for air-traffic controllers and maintenance services," one person close to matter said. " Vietnam Airlines was always first." Civil-aviation officials say they treat state and private airlines equally and are working together with VietJet to expand the air travel sector and, in turn, the country's growing tourism business. Thao agrees. "They are very supportive," she said. Vietnam's Communist Party general Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong underscored the change this month at a top-level party meeting, calling for the "elimination of all prejudices and obstacles" hindering private businesses. Aviation analysts at the Centre for Aviation, or CAPA, now predict VietJet will overtake Vietnam Airlines as the country's largest domestic carrier. Its international operations are growing too, fueled in part by a 30 percent rise in tourism arrivals in the first quarter of the year. VietJet carried 3.7 million passengers in that period, up 29 percent from the same quarter last year. That helped drive up first-quarter revenue by more than 44 percent to reach 5 trillion dong, or around $219 million. VietJet is now planning to ask the government to raise its cap on foreign shareholders to 49 percent of equity from 30 percent as part of a longer-term plan to list its shares overseas and generate more money to meet the growing demand. The company also signed an $11 billion order with Boeing Co. last May to buy 100 737 Max 200 jets, followed by an order for 20 Airbus A321s, highlighting the importance of Asia's new generation of budget carriers to the aircraft makers. Vietnam Airlines isn't standing pat, having recently took delivery on 11 new 787 Dreamliners from Boeing in an effort to broaden its appeal among business travellers. It also lifted a page in March from the VietJet business plan, releasing a video of flight crews and ground staff lip-syncing and dancing to a local pop song, "Bang Bang, Boom Boom." http://business.mb.com.ph/2017/05/23/budget-airline-soars-in-vietnam-but-no-more-bikini-clad-models/

Budget airline to launch Da Nang-Osaka route 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Budget carrier VietJetAir plans to launch a new route from the central city of Da Nang to Osaka, Japan later this year, becoming the second budget airline to offer the new air route. An official from VietJetAir confirmed to the Việt Nam News that the new route will help lure more Japanese tourists and investors to Da Nang and destinations in central Việt Nam. He said the airline had been completing procedures to launch the flight soon. According to the city's tourism department, low cost carrier Jetstar Pacific will officially launch its Da Nang-Osaka in September, and booking will be opened next month. The department said VietJetAir, who launched a Da Nang-Seoul route last week, will operate the Da Nang-Incheon with daily flight from May 31st. VietJet Air plans to launch flights from Da Nang to South Korea's Daegu City on 15 June, with seven flights per week. In 2014, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines officially launched the first direct flight connecting Narita Airport, Tokyo, and Da Nang with seven direct flights per week. The number of Japanese tourists to Da Nang is expected to grow 15 to 20 per cent due to the launch of direct flights. More than 400,000 Japanese tourists visited the city last year. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376971/budget-airline-to-launch-da-nang-osaka- route.html#SCggSF5ALowjwWYH.97

Classic Nokia phone hits the right buttons on return to Vietnam 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress 'It has triggered a hunt like when the iPhone first arrived.' Nearly two decades after being crowned the king of Vietnam's cellphone market, Nokia's classic 3310 has made a successful return to the mobile-crazy country, proving that its charms still work. The classic talk and text phone, which was reintroduced in a brightly colored version at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last February, hit Vietnamese shops on Monday and has already become a phenomenon. "It has triggered a hunt like when the iPhone first arrived in Vietnam," said one customer who has been trawling the shops in vain for the revamped model. Many mobile retailers in Hanoi and HCM City said they had received limited supplies that sold out in a day. An independent shop in Hanoi was sent 20 phones while a retail chain received 500 for its more than 400 outlets. A source from the official distributor said that supplies will stabilise from next week. Many buyers have put deposits down for the phone, which costs VND 1,059,000 ($46.67). Retailers said customers are buying out of a sense of nostalgia. The phone is a powerful reminder of Nokia's popularity back at the start of the millenium, when the 3310 was one of the most popular models in many markets, including Vietnam. The original 3310 sold 126 million phones, the 12th best-selling phone model in history. Nine of the top 12 selling models were produced by Nokia. Many Vietnamese still consider the old model a benchmark for durability and battery life. The new model is designed for 22 hours of talk time and up to one month of standby time, which might heighten the phone's appeal as a backup for smartphone users. Analysts hailed the 3310 launch as a smart retro gambit, but one which could overshadow the Finnish company's re-entry into the global smartphone market. Nokia has also launched four moderately priced smartphones ranging from 139 to 299 euros ($156-336). Nokia sold its by-then ailing handset operations to Microsoft for $7 billion in 2014, leaving it with its network equipment business and a large patent portfolio. But last year, it gave the Nokia brand a fresh start by licensing its devices brand to HMD Global, a new company led by ex-Nokia executives and backed by Chinese electronics giant Foxconn. Industry analysts say the revived Nokia 3310 has the makings of one of the hit devices of 2017, appealing to older Nokia fans in developed markets looking for an antidote to smartphone overload, while also appealing to younger crowds in emerging markets. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/retro-nokia-phone-hits-the-right-buttons-on-return-to-vietnam- 3588970.html

Nearly 300 units sold Citadines Marina Halong's opening 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The first sale opening of Citadines Marina Halong in Hanoi on Sunday saw successful transactions of nearly 300 condotels and luxury condominiums. The large number of transactions was evidence of the huge draw of the first ever world-standard condotel project in northern Quang Ninh Province. Developed by BIM Group in the 284ha Halong Marina Urban Area with a developed infrastructure system, Citadines Marina Halong will be run by The Ascott Limited, the world's leading serviced apartment operator. Following the successful first sale, BIM Group said it would soon launch the second sale in Quang Ninh Province. The success of Citadines Marina Halong is due to a combination of a number of factors, among them the reputation of the developer and the operator as well as the project's promising returns, given the attractive profit-sharing policy by the developer. Ngo Dieu Huyen, an overseas Vietnamese from Australia, said: "I have total trust in Citadines Marina Halong, the quality of which is guaranteed by the capacity of BIM Group and premium services of The Ascott Limited." "In particular, with the profit-sharing policy of 85 per cent with guaranteed profit of no less than 10 per cent of the condominium value in the first five years by the developer, my investment in Citadines Marina Halong will bring me stable returns in the long term." According to Nguyen Truong Nam, director of a travel agency, Quang Ninh is currently a hotspot for economic development, especially tourism, attracting a number of mega projects. "I decided to buy two luxury condominiums at Citadines Marina Halong because of its prime location at Halong Marina Urban Area, with its beautiful view of the bay along with the modern facilities and amenities." The developer is offering zero service charges for five years for buyers and supporting buyers to borrow at zero interest rate for 24 months as well as a discount of five per cent. Joining with property marketing solution firm Vni, BIM Group, at the first sale opening of Citadines Marina Halong, provided buyers with unprecedented experiences about the project using Microsoft Hololens, which enable buyers to get a glimpse of the future project via the mixed reality technology. Citadines Marina Halong, consisting of 176 luxury condominiums with area from 36sq.m. to 157sq.m. and 637 condotels with area from 31sq.m. to 126sq.m, is the first world-class condotel project in Quang Ninh Province. BIM Group has also introduced dual-key apartments which can be divided into two separate condos and are suitable for those who want to lease a part of their apartment and optimise their profits. VNS http://bizhub.vn/property/nearly-300-units-sold-citadines-marina-halongs-opening_286320.html

Immersed in Iris Homes' elevated design 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Vneconomic Times Rarely can a project create an integrated ecological green area like Gamuda Gardens Township. Vietnam's real estate market is gradually catching up with the global trend of "green architecture" but rarely does a project create an integrated ecological green area like Gamuda Gardens Township in Hanoi's Hoang Mai district. Its Iris Homes product is where luxury homes meet excellent design and perfect greenery in every detail. The superiority of Iris Homes within the Gamuda Gardens Township lies in providing owners with exactly what they want in a private residence in Hanoi. All details are designed with the utmost care, from the appeal of the exterior of the house to the connectivity, space utilisation, and interior flair, and how homeowners can enjoy daily life. Iris Homes focuses on building proficient architecture that helps save energy and is environmentally friendly, right within the city of Hanoi. Its style provides a healthy living and working space, while enhancing quality of life and increasing future value of the house. Spacious and full of natural energy, Iris Homes carries within itself a consistent "green spirit", from its name to the landscape planning of the whole area and the design of each unit. The uniqueness of Iris Homes' design is its emphasis on energy solutions, taking full advantage of natural light and breezes, creating a resonant positive environment full of energy for homeowners. Stemming from the idea of bringing harmony to architectural design, each Iris Homes unit is filled with green details, including a fresh garden in the front yard and beautiful flower bushes around the balconies and windows. At the same time, green solutions and a large anti-heat roof system reducing direct radiation from the sun into the house provide a fresh airy space inside, even on hot summer days, keeping room temperatures pleasant. Meanwhile, architects have mastered the overall layout of the house by planning a reasonable floor area so that the garden in front of the house can accommodate car parking, while the backyard garden can be utilised as a BBQ area. At Iris Homes, each house has a width from 7 meters and a depth from 21 meters, built to a moderate height of 3.5 stories. The layout of each unit is designed to optimise the area, creating convenient connections between floors. The floor plan is meticulously arranged to give people sitting in the living room, dining room and kitchen a frontal view of the garden on the first floor, while all bedrooms are interconnected with open balconies and loggias on the second and third floors. Not only bringing customers a homely haven, Iris Homes also offers a high standard of living with the ultimate amenities, so that everyone can enjoy activities outside their home. The surrounding area is decorated with green grass and luscious trees, creating a relaxing space ideal for family picnics, BBQs on the weekend, or just simply strolling, cycling, or playing sport after a hard day's work. Gamuda Gardens Clubhouse, with its Olympic-standard swimming pool, modern spa and gym areas, as well as comprehensive educational system such as Singapore International School (SIS), allow residents and the young generation to live a healthy, balanced and sustainable life. Iris Homes is truly a place of happiness, where families can enjoy peaceful moments of relaxation and shake off daily worries while immersed in nature every day. On the Introduction Day for Iris Homes, Sunday, May 28, at Clubhouse, Gamuda Gardens Township, Gamuda Land will offer customers purchasing Iris Homes exclusive rebate of up to 10 per cent, a two-year Clubhouse Membership, and free M&O services for two years. Additionally, in celebration of Gamuda Land Vietnam's tenth anniversary, customers who purchase properties at Gamuda Gardens, including Iris Homes, will have the chance to win several attractive prizes, including Mercedes Benz car, Piaggio motorcycle, iPhone 7Plus, Samsung 60-inch TV, and many more. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/immersed-in-iris-homes-elevated-design

Water park opens in Hoa Binh Reservoir 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Hoa Binh Tourism Investment JSC last weekend opened a water park in Hoa Binh Reservoir as part of a community tourism project in the northern province of Hoa Binh. The water park in Ngoi Hoa cultural and ecotourism site offers 34 games and water sports such as water- scooters, inflatable boats and fishing boats as well as local traditional sports. In addition to the water park, the company has cooperated with local people to use seven stilt houses in Ngoi village to serve international tourists. Another eight stilt houses are expected to cater to tourists by the end of this year. Visitors can experience the cultural traits of Muong ethnic people in Ngoi village and localities around the reservoir such as Hoa Binh, Cao Phong, Tan Lac, Da Bac and Mai Chau. The company is building five ships capable to transport 16-18 passengers each, floating wharfs, floating swimming pools, floating inns and three-star restaurants with capacity of 200 people, planned to be put into operation next month. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54088/-Water-park-opens-in-Hoa-Binh-Reservoir.html

Vietnam's shrimp export to Japan sees sharp increase 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam's shrimp exports to Japan in the first quarter of this year increased by 29.6 percent year-on-year to reach $135.4 million, making Japan the country's largest shrimp importer. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP), shrimp exports to Japan recovered since August 2016 and kept growing until March 2017. The association attributed the rise to changes in tastes of local consumers who now prefer cheaper aquatic products to salmon, tuna and cuttlefish. Demand for different kinds of shrimp among high-end consumers also increased, the association said, noting that all these factors have drawn shrimp businesses to Japan. Although Vietnamese shrimp is sold at a high price of $12 per kilogram on average, they are still popular thanks to their improved quality, the association said. Cooperation programmes in agriculture between the two countries have also facilitated Vietnam's shrimp export to Japan, the association added, asking Vietnamese businesses to maintain product quality and prestige. Vietnamese shrimp firms, however, said they still face various difficulties, especially a shortage of raw shrimp. The director of Thien Phu Export Seafood Processing Company Limited said the company is making every effort to ensure material supply by connecting with shrimp farms which follow GlobalGap standards, covering a total area of 500 ha in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu. VASEP forecast that Vietnam's shrimp export turnover in 2017 will amount to about $3.4 billion, up 9 percent year-on-year, of which export value of white-leg shrimp is expected to edge up 8 percent to hit about $2 billion. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnams-shrimp-export-to-japan-sees-sharp-increase-350210.vov

Australian delegation visiting in search of energy cooperation 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR A delegation of sixteen Australian energy firms is visiting Vietnam to meet with representatives of the domestic energy industry and to participate in Vietnam-Australia Energy Forum in Hanoi to find business opportunities. "Vietnam is an important partner to Australia in the Asean region. The two countries share a number of common interests, including energy development and security," said Craig Chittick, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, at the forum organised by the Australian government in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). "Energy security continues to be an economic priority for Australia and Vietnam. Australia is among the top coal exporters in the world and in the future years will be the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter," he added. Coal mining in Australia is an increasingly sophisticated and hi-tech activity. Continuous improvements in mining technology, occupational health and safety, and environmental performance have ensured that Australia is an efficient and reliable producer of high-quality thermal and metallurgical coal for the international market. Janelle Casey, Trade Commissioner at the Australian Embassy said, "Australian companies have contributed to the transformation of the electricity market. This has been achieved through effective market design, enabling technologies, commercial energy solutions, and an attractive investment mechanism." Vietnam has been developing mechanisms and policies to transit from fossil fuel to clean energy and renewable energy alternatives, to create a low-carbon and environmentally friendly economy. Simultaneously, Vietnam's power market has also been developing to gradually enhance the competitiveness and transparency of electricity activities and create a positive signal to attract investment in developing new power resources. Nguyen Anh Tuan, director general of MoIT's Electricity Regulatory Authority, said that, "Australia's strengths in the energy sector are in line with the needs of Vietnam in ensuring energy security as well as protecting the environment. So the potential for expanding the two country's cooperation in the energy sector is very positive." http://www.vir.com.vn/australian-delegation-visiting-in-search-of-energy-cooperation.html

HCM City's retail space strongly differentiates 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress In the first months of this year, the average rent of retail space in HCM City increased slightly by one percent compared to the previous quarter while the projects located in the Central Business District (CBD) continued to increase positively or have stable price, according to Savills Vietnam's report. Meanwhile, CBRE Vietnam's Q1 data also showed that shopping centers outside the CBD saw rents falling five percent quarter-on-quarter. These types of retail space are gradually receiving little interest from tenants. Colliers International's latest research shows that in the first three months of the year, the position of retail space continued to be a big determinant for the ability to attract tenants as well as position rents. A newly opened shopping centre that occupies six storeys of a luxury apartment project in District 3, the heart of HCM City, with 12,000 square meters of retail space has quickly gained the special attention of tenants. As much as 35 percent of tenants come from familiar catering industries such as Starbucks, King BBQ, HotPot, Lotteria, etc. This shopping centre also welcomes the key tenant in the basement i.e. Bon Grocer. This is the first commercial centre of RomeA retailer in Vietnam. The offer rate in District 3 amounting to $80/m2/month raised the average asking rents of shopping malls in this area. As per Colliers International's statistics, the retail space rents at some of the ground floors in Caravelle, New World, Continental Saigon which are located in the heart of Saigon is less than $100/sqm/month. According to market data of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Vietnam, retail space rents having the primmest location in the downtown of HCM City reached $120-130 per square metre per month. This price is three times higher than the average rent of retail space of the entire market ($46.3/m2/month). As per the forecast of consultancy units, the number of medium and high-end consumers will increase 1.7 times in 2020 and the rapid increase in many major cities will be the major factor in the consumption of comfort products. This customer group will lead the change towards a modern shopping model, which will make Vietnam become a very attractive market for foreign brands. As more international retailers promote their plans to enter the domestic market, the demand for retail real estate in HCM City will continue growing strongly. Colliers International's representative said that the huge supply of over 600,000 m2 of floor space from 19 projects is expected to enter HCM City market from now until the end of 2018. The retail area offered to serve the shopping needs of residents in the complex is growing rapidly. Large-scale commercial centers will move to suburban districts due to limited land area in the CBD, so abundant supply, rents and occupancy rates will tend to decrease in the next two years.

Assembled-in-Vietnam cars are twice as expensive as Thailand's 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Car prices in Vietnam are nearly two times higher than in other countries in the region such as Thailand and Indonesia, and much higher than in countries with developed automobile industries such as the US and Japan. In the latest report about the auto industry development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) said the industry contributes billions of dollars to the state budget and helps reduce the trade deficit, while it creates 120,000 direct jobs. By 2016, Vietnam had 173 automobile manufacturers and assemblers, of which 56 enterprises make cars from separate parts and 117 make products from base vehicles. Most of them have small scale operation. MOIT admitted that the automobile industry still cannot meet the requirements of a real automobile production industry as most of them do simple assembling. Their production lines mostly undertake four works welding, painting, assembly and inspection. MOIT also pointed out that the car prices in Vietnam are still higher than in other regional countries. They are nearly two times higher than in Thailand and Indonesia, and much higher than the US and Japan. This is attributed to high taxes and fees, and to the low domestic cumulative yield (enterprises' output is far lower than the designed capacity). The quality of domestically assembled cars is still lower than imports despite the considerable improvement recently. MOIT has admitted the failure in the attempts to increase the localisation ratio in less-than-9-seat cars. Vietnam hoped to see the localisation ratio of 40 percent by 2005 and 60 percent by 2010. However, at present, the figure is just 7-10 percent. Thaco, a Vietnamese owned enterprise announced the localisation ratio of 15-18 percent, while Toyota Vietnam, a joint venture with Japan, reported the localisation ratio of 37 percent for Innova model. It is estimated that enterprises have to import $2-3.5 billion worth of components to serve tdomestic assembling. "The locally made content level in the products made in other regional countries is higher than Vietnam, at 65-70 percent, while it is 80 percent in Thailand. So, if domestic manufacturers don't have effective solutions to increase the localisation ratio, they won't be able to compete with foreign products in the context of Afta," the MOIT report said. However, though many experts have advised to give up the dream of developing the automobile industry, MOIT persists in developing the industry. The ministry has set up an inter-ministerial taskforce to give comprehensive assessment of the Vietnamese automobile market. The taskforce has had working sessions with enterprises on the production plans of every enterprise in the 2018-2020 period. MOIT is considering applying safeguard measures when necessary (imports increase too sharply) to protect local production. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178815/assembled-in-vietnam-cars-are-twice-as-expensive-as- thailand-s.html

Hometel property segment promises big profits, big challenges 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet Though hometel properties are new in Vietnam, the segment is well known as a profitable business model as investors can make high profits when reselling or leasing. This is expected to be an attractive investment channel in Vietnam in the time to come. The Vietnamese real estate market has recently witnessed the boom of many 'hybrid' products officetel, condotel and hometel. At first glance, hometel is just like condotel, because hometel is also a hybrid product between 'home' and 'hotel', while it is similar to condotel, a hybrid between 'condo' and 'hotel'. However, in fact, hometel is different from these. Hometel has all basic features of a high-end apartment that serves as long-term accommodation for the owners. In addition, hometel has all 5-star services and amenities, so it can ensure comfortable lives for the owners, while it can be re-leased if the owners want. Hometel buyers have long-term ownership for hometels and they have land use right certificates, or a 'red book' as called by Vietnamese. Meanwhile, condotel owners only have ownership for up to 50 years. The other important difference between condotel and hometel is that the owners of hometels can determine the lease plans and they don't have to share profits with investors. In other words, hometel owners have permanent ownership over their properties, while they can make decisions themselves to make profits with the assets. However, hometel also has disadvantages. Investors will have to operate and manage the leasing themselves. Therefore, they need to have good knowledge and skills to manage the assets. While condotel and officetel owners can foresee profitability of their investments, hometel owners cannot. The other disadvantages include limited access to bank loans, interest rate unpredictability, the lower- than-expected income and cash flow interruption when making payment for bank loans. Nguyen Van Duc, deputy general director of Dat Lanh Real Estate, said the capital flow to the real estate market, especially to the high-end segment, has been tightened with Circular 06 officially taking effect in 2017. This will have direct impact on the scale, conditions and interest rates of bank loans reserved for the high-end segment, including hometels. He said the interest rate has been stable, but no one can say for sure how the interest rate will perform in upcoming years. Therefore, an interest rate risk always follows investors. The Vietnam Real Estate Association's secretary general Tran Ngoc Quang commented that investors understand they have to accept risks when they are the pioneers. However, research and experience show that hometel is a promising business model. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178824/hometel-property-segment-promises-big-profits--big- challenges.html

Vietnam luxury hotel market becomes 'hotspot' in SE Asia 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet As luxury hotels prosper, more and more investors are pouring capital into the sector. The high growth rate in the tourism sector and strong investment growth in Vietnam has created a new momentum for the hotel service sector, helping it gain a new record revenue of $15 billio. In 2016, Vietnam served 10 million travellers, an increase of 26 percent over 2015. The tourism sector made up 6.6 percent of GDP, while the figure is expected to increase to 10 percent in 2017. Foreign travellers coming to Vietnam in tours mostly book 4-5-star hotels. Experts predicted that with big cultural and social events to take place, including the Fireworks Festival and Apec Summit, Vietnam may see a hotel room rate deficiency. According to CBRE, the indexes of both the hotel room rate and hotel room revenue in Vietnam both increased in 2016. The hotel room occupancy rate in Hanoi was 75 percent, rivaling the Number 1 position with Bangkok of Thailand, while it was 65 percent in HCM City. A Savills Vietnam report shows that in the fourth quarter of 2016, though the hotel room supply increased by 5 percent quarterly, the room occupancy rate rose by 4 percentage points yearly. It is expected that in 2017, Da Nang would have nine 4-5-star hotels with 2,200 rooms to join the market. JLL has recorded a series of hotel M&A deals in 2016. One of them was the Mapletree purchase of Kumho Asiana Plaza from Kumho Industrial and Asiana Airlines in a deal worth $215 million. The other big affair made in the year was the transfer of Duxton Hotel Saigon from Low Heng Huat to New Life RE, worth $49.4 million. JLL predicted that many large M&A deals would be made in 2017. The prediction that about 200 sea tourism projects would be licensed in 2016-2030 has caused analysts to believe that the resort real estate, tourism service, restaurant and hotel markets would be bustling with the expected arrivals of many international hotel brands. Vietnam, for example, has seen many Japanese brands such as Rounte Inn Group, Super Hotel, Kuretakeso and Azumaya Hotel with a series of hotel chain projects in Hanoi, Da Nang and Hue. Starwood has announced that it would open six new resorts and hotels in Vietnam. Route Inn Group from Japan last April put Grandvrio City Da Nang, a 4-star hotel, into operation. The VND400 billion hotel is expected to be the first that the Japanese hotel group will launch in the mid-end hotel segment. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178825/vietnam-luxury-hotel-market-becomes--hotspot--in-se- asia.html

Worries loom as international arrivals seen surging 25/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The local tourism sector will likely see a strong upsurge in international tourist arrivals this year, but some are of the opinion that the sector should attend more to quality improvement instead. Addressing the National Assembly session in Hanoi on May 22, deputy prime minister Truong Hoa Binh said the government has set a goal of achieving a 30 percent rise in international arrivals in 2017. If the target is realised, the country would welcome some 13 million international visitors this year, up from 10 million last year. However, even some industry players are worried about overheated development given the poor preparedness in terms of both human resources and infrastructure. They stressed the quality of services and tourism staff needs improving for sustainable development. Nguyen Quoc Ky, general manager of tour operator Vietravel, said higher tourist numbers would cause many problems such as shortages of tour guides and hotel rooms, and a possible fall in service quality. The lack of hotel rooms in Nha Trang in the upcoming summer holiday, for example, needs thorough consideration to better respond to the high growth of tourist arrivals, and supporting services need improvement. Ky cited the so-called "zero-dollar" tours in Vietnam as example, saying the unchecked development had caused huge injury for the tourism industry as many tour operators had failed to develop services and secured sufficient tour guides to serve a strong surge in tourists from China and South Korea. Consequently, foreign tour operators have jumped in, leading to lost revenue for Vietnamese firms. Ky also underscored the importance of human resource and service development, which have been left unattended to. At present, localities have expressed the desire to develop tourism and attract as many tourists as possible, but they have not developed tourism services and anticipated the pressure of a large number of visitors on local infrastructure. Phu Quoc is an example to this effect. Numerous hotel and resort projects have been licensed on the island off Kien Giang Province, but operators of these hotels and resorts are struggling with many difficulties such as human resource shortages and waste treatment problems. Nguyen Duc Quynh, deputy general manager of Furama Danang Resort, told the Daily that the tourism sector should improve the quality of products and services instead of target visitor numbers. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54119/Worries-loom-as-international-arrivals-seen-surging.html

Business Briefs May 25, 2017 25/May/2017 Intellasia | * Thanh Nam Group Company (TNI) will float 21 million shares on the Hochiminh Stock Exchange on May 29 at the reference price of VNDI0,900 each. Founded in 2004, TNI is active in steel, stainless steel trading and metal processing services. In 2016, TNI saw its revenue slumping 45 percent from the year earlier at VND709 billion but its profit rose 15.4 percent to VND12.7 billion due to a sharp fall in costs. This year, the firm looks to attain revenue of VNDI trillion andafter-tax profit ofVND20 billion. * LienVietPostBank yesterday approved a VND 500billion investment to buy bonds issued by Saigon Thuong Tin Real Estate Company (SCR). The debt comes with a term of 42 months. * City Auto Company (CTF) will debut on the HCM City market on May 30, offering 18 million shares at the reference price of VND12,OOO each. As an authorised dealer of Ford Vietnam, CTF has chartered capital of VND180 billion with 58.33 percent of it owned by New City Group, a the distributor of Land Rover, Jaguar, Maserati and Volkswagen car brands in Vietnam. In the first quarter of 2017, CTF got .VND806.6 billion in revenue and VND1.9 billion in after-tax profit,up 9.1 percent and down 54.4 percent year-on- year respectively. * Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) released its preliminary results in the first four months of 2017, with revenue growing 62 percent year- on-year at VND20.7 trillion, and after-tax profit soaring 30 percent at VND723 billion. These results were driven by solid same-store- sales growth, aggressive store openings, contribution of stores opened in 2016 and 92 percent growth in online sales. Between January and April, MWG opened 50 new 'I'h eg io'i did o ng mobile phone shops and 102 new DienmayX- ANH home appliance stores, bringing the total to around 1,000 and 358 respectively, said Viet Capital Securities Company. * The Hanoi Stock Exchange has issued regulations to classify enterprises listed on the market for unlisted public firms, or UPCoM, to help investors keep track of business quality. There will be the UPCoM Large table with enterprises having equity from VNDI trillion, the UPCoM Medium with firms having equity from VND300 billion to less than VNDI trillion and the UPCoM Small with those from V DI0 billion to below VND300 billion. The tables will also have their own indexes.

Vietnam's 10 years in WTO through expert's glance 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Looking at Vietnam's achievements in several areas, including economic growth pace, the country's belief in the renewal process has been a success. Former general director of the World Trade Organisation Pascal Lamy made the remark during an interview with Vietnam News Agency. Ten years after it became a member of the WTO in 2007, Vietnam has made significant progresses, including economic growth, foreign investment attraction, import-export, and tourism, among others. According to Pascal Lamy, trade exchange and international relations have expanded as a result of the DoiMoi (renewal) policy. Through the country's open door policy, many enterprises have grabbed a bigger share. However, he added in the context of international integration, many challenges await Vietnamese enterprises. Lamy said that to grow more, Vietnam needs to invest more in infrastructure and logistics. He also said Vietnam needs to intensify product quality standard to meets world market standards, which could pressure the country's enterprises. However, if the country was determined to follow international standards for its products, it will be an opportunity to lift the country's economy. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnams-10-years-in-wto-through-experts-glance/112246.vnp

Prime minister welcomes Siemens CEO 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc lauded Siemens AG's cooperation with Vietnam in various fields during his reception in Hanoi on May 24 for Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of the German group. The PM hoped Siemens increases comprehensively collaboration with Vietnam in service, production, investment as well as in areas that Vietnam obtains high export turnover, so Siemens's initiatives in the fourth industrial revolution can be transferred strongly in Vietnam. He highlighted Vietnam's advantages such as a gateway to the Asean market and the country's engagement in 12 free trade agreements with major partners in the world, saying that Siemens AG can access a wide market through Vietnam. For his part, Kaeser said he had several meetings with Vietnamese partners, during which the two sides discussed the possibility of transport infrastructure development like construction of airports and expressways. Transport infrastructure development is the premise for industrialisation and modernisation, he added. After a meeting with PM Phuc in Davos, Switzerland, early this year, Kaeser expressed his wish for continued cooperation in order to boost the fourth industrial revolution's development in Vietnam. He said Siemens is willing to assist personnel training and promote cooperation with Vietnam in such fields as energy and information technology. http://english.vov.vn/economy/prime-minister-welcomes-siemens-ceo-350223.vov

MoIT proritises letting Dung Quat Shipyard go bust 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Ministry of Industry and Trade report to National Assembly states it is prioritising allowing the shipbuilder to go bankrupt. In a report sent to National Assembly delegates, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said it is prioritising the bankruptcy option for Dung Quat Shipyard (DQS), one of 12 loss-making projects belonging to the ministry, foreshadowing losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars for PetroVietnam. There were three options considered for the shipbuilder in the report: an ownership conversion through valuation, auction of assets and liabilities, and allowing it declare bankruptcy or restructuring the company. "Based on careful consideration regarding lawful matters and the actual situation, MoIT proposes prioritising the bankruptcy option for DQS in accordance with the law," the report stated. Plans for ownership conversion through valuation or an auction of assets and liabilities may still be considered if investors meeting requirements are identified, the ministry noted. Originally a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vinashin, which went belly up in 2012 and was renamed the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) in 2013, DQS came under PetroVietnam's umbrella in July 2010, shortly before being tasked with several shipbuilding projects and eventually descending into extreme debt. According to financial statements as at June 30, 2010, the shipbuilder had charter capital of VND3.76 trillion ($165.8 million) and total losses of VND7.44 trillion ($328 million), including bank loans of VND4.8 trillion ($211.6 million), 70 per cent of which were in foreign currencies. After taking over the management of DQS, PetroVietnam pumped VND5.1 trillion ($224 million) into the company, including charter capital of nearly VND2 trillion ($88 million) and VND3.1 trillion ($136 million) for paying its debts. These contributions, though, will be irrecoverable if the shipyard goes bankrupt. Figures from MoIT show that by the end of June last year, DCS's total debts were VND6.89 trillion ($307.6 million), accumulated losses VND3.68 trillion ($164.3 million), and negative equity VND1.18 trillion ($52.7 million). As at the end of last year, most equipment at DQS was backward, inappropriate, and failed quality requirements for manufacturing and production processes, resulting in a large annual depreciation cost for the shipbuilder, according MoIT's assessment. The shipbuilder still has three large loans pending: one of VND490 billion ($21.6 million) from the Vinashin Finance Company (VFC), one of VND528 billion ($23.3 million) from the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB), and one of VND548 billion ($24.2 million) from YMC-Transtech, a DQS contractor. In an earlier proposal sent to the government, MoIT suggested a fourth option: returning the shipbuilder to SBIC's management. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/moit-proritises-letting-dung-quat-shipyard-go-bust

Can Tho wants more firms, jobs 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Solutions to develop nearly 7,000 new enterprises by 2020 were top of the agenda of a meeting organised by Can Tho City's People's Committee and relevant agencies on Tuesday. Can Tho City, currently, has more than 6,900 enterprises with total registered capital of VND55.5 trillion (US$2.47 billion), creating jobs for over 101,500 workers. On average, each enterprise has registered capital of over VND8 billion. To carry out government's Resolution 35, Can Tho City targets to have 13,800 enterprises by 2020. Of the total, 6,900 enterprises will be newly-established and some 20-25 per cent of them will apply high technologies in production. The enterprises are expected to help increase the contribution of enterprises to the city's Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) to 50-60 per cent and create over 210,000 employees of whom 40 per cent will be female. Last year, there were 1,100 enterprises set up in Can Tho City and more than 400 enterprises were established in the first four months of 2017. Thus, from now until the end of 2020, to achieve the set target, each year, Can Tho City needs some 1,700 newly-established enterprises. Nguyen Phương Lam, deputy director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Can Tho branch, said that for developed countries, for every 10-15 people, there is one enterprise, but in Vietnam the ratio is 1:248. In the Mekong Delta region, the ratio of enterprises to the population is only half that of the whole country, which is some 450 people per enterprise, but Can Tho City, with more favourable conditions, has some 250-300 people per business. Lam said the city's target of new businesses by 2020 is achievable, provided that the city continues to improve its investment climate, including its provincial competitiveness index. According to Lam, among Mekong Delta localities, Can Tho City currently has the best conditions for business development, but the city still lacks leading enterprises to create a driving force for small and medium-sized businesses. In the long term, Can Tho needs to focus on developing startups, meaning businesses with new innovations and creativity, rather than establishing new ones in the normal sense, Lam stressed. Besides this, the city should also pay attention to seeking investment from businesses from other localities, such as from HCM City, Lam said, adding that the municipal authorities need to create good conditions for university graduates to start their own business. Tran Quoc Ha, director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Can Tho branch, said the city's information e- portal should set up a forum for startups, providing information about the city's startup policy so that all individuals know and participate. The city also needs a resolution served as the basis for implementing its startup plan, Ha said, stressing the importance of having a very specific policy for commercial banks to join hands in the programme. Can Tho also needs concrete policies and directions to develop enterprises in the fields of information technology and automation, Ha added. Nguyen Van Hong, director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, said the city could reach the target of newly-established enterprises, but the number of new businesses set up according to the nature of startups i.e. be creative and apply new technologies is not many. This is the most challenging issue that Can Tho City and many other places in the Mekong Delta are facing, Hong said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377073/can-tho-wants-more-firms-jobs.html

Dong Nai attracts $483 million in FDI 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The southern province of Dong Nai has attracted around $483 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first four months of this year, which is funding 26 new and 38 existing projects. The FDI projects' investors are spread across 45 countries and territories, mainly from Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China) and Singapore, the provincial Department of Planning and Investment said. Some funds have come from the British Virgin Islands and Germany as well. Both Pou Phong Vietnam Ltd Co, which has invested in a $55 million project, and Powerknit Vietnam Ltd Co, which has launched a $60 million project, have got funds from the British Virgin Islands. Long Thai Tu fabric company from Korea contributed another $50 million to its ongoing project in the province. The department said all projects are in the high technology and support industry, which need limited labourers and cause no environmental damage. Dong Nai is now home to 1,692 projects worth $30. 8 billion, including 1,275 projects worth $25.9 billion. In 2017, so far, 15 domestic-funded projects with a total investment of VND6.92 trillion ($3.04 billion) have received licences. Another VND604 billion has been injected into five ongoing projects. Read more at http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377029/dong-nai-attracts-483 million-in- fdi.html#i7iM9TFALBHgeVQ2.99 http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377029/dong-nai-attracts-483 million-in-fdi.html

Thai Binh 1 thermal power plant joins national grid 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The first turbine of Thai Binh 1 thermal power plant in the northern province of Thai Binh began supplying power for the national grid on May 23, according to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). Work on the plant, located in My Loc commune, Thai Thuy district, began in February 2015. It costs a total of over VND26.5 trillion (US$1.17 billion), of which 85 percent comes from the official development assistance (ODA) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the rest is funded by EVN. Comprising two turbines with a combined capacity of 600 MW, the plant is expected provide nearly 3.3 billion kWh every year once operational. The plant plays a significant role in ensuring electricity for socio-economic development and industrialisation in Thai Binh province and its neighbouring localities. http://english.vov.vn/economy/thai-binh-1-thermal-power-plant-joins-national-grid-350195.vov

Enterprises want a level playing field 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Phan Duc Hieu, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management talks to the Kinh te & Do thi (Economic & Urban Affairs) newspaper about private enterprises' recent meeting with prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi. Do you have any comments on the prime minister and other cabinet members' messages to enterprises at the May 17th conference? A key message delivered by the prime minister and other cabinet members was their determination to put the government's commitments into practice. In my opinion, those commitments have consolidated enterprises' firm confidence in the government's commitment to help them feel at ease in their investment and business development. What do you think about the impact of the government's Instruction No 20 promising that from now on each enterprise will only be inspected once a year? One of the costs that enterprises have to bear is the time they have spent receiving management agencies. So, under the government's instruction, each enterprise receiving just one inspection or audit from a government agency is a positive step. It will help enterprises have more time to focus on their business and think about plans to develop their production. I'm confident that the prime minister's instruction will have positive impacts on the business community. At the same time it will consolidate their confidence in the government's leadership. The atmosphere of the conference was not as heated as in previous years. Was a reason for this the improvement of the business climate? This is a strong indication of support for the government's efforts in the ongoing reform process, particularly administrative reform. Yet, frankly speaking, our business environment still needs to be reformed. The quality of our current business environment is just a medium level on the international scale. Equal footing among economic sectors, risk reduction and business safety all require urgent and strong reform. Some people say that now private enterprises do not need special treatment from the government, but what they need is fair treatment and an open business environment. What do you think? I want to support this point of view. What we should emphasis is that reforms must create a business environment with a basic idea; freedom for creativity. All ideas should be provided with conditions to be applied and invested, intellectual assets especially must be protected. That's why administrative reform must pay special attention to lifting all barriers to creativity or legal risks preventing business development. Reforms should offer a shield to protect business rights and a healthy competitive environment. In addition, in my opinion it is time for government agencies to strictly carry out the government's administrative regulations. That's why structural reform should be geared toward creating favourable conditions for the freedom of business, including lifting geographical restrictions on business registration procedures. What should enterprises do to improve their business performance? There are two main factors which will have direct impacts on the enterprises: national institutions and the market. The State will try to reform its institutional factors by reducing negative impacts while increasing positive factors to help enterprises. Enterprises should be pro-active against all economic factors; make innovations; and improve their competiveness. Last but not least, enterprises must act in accordance with the law. This is one way to help them avoid legal risks, including paying fines for violating the law. - Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics Enterprises do not want to grow if they are given many preferential policies. What's more important is that they need "healthy air to breathe and to develop". To help the private sector develop, it is important for the State to conduct reforms in State enterprises or Foreign Direct Investment enterprises sectors. - Economist Bui Kien Thanh To develop the private sector, the government should do five things: Complete the legal system and lift all barriers preventing its development; step up the fight against corruption; reduce the lending rate; learn experiences from the US Small Business Administration in giving supports to small enterprises; and finally, offer training for entrepreneurs. - Economist Dao Ngoc Lam Low investment return has become one of the reasons making public debt surpass its ceiling. In 2015, the public debts/GDP increased from 50 per cent in 2011 to 62.2 per cent; the government debt/GDP increased from 39.3 per cent to 50.3 per cent and the foreign debt increased from 37.9 per cent to 43.1 per cent. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179043/enterprises-want-a-level-playing-field.html

Suppliers meeting distributors effective for commodity trading 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA To facilitate enterprises, a programme connecting suppliers in the south with distributors in the north has been launched, aiming to be an effective channel for businesses to expand. Organised by the Export Support Centre under the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the first time, the programme is highly valued by enterprises, being considered a good channel for trading and expanding markets. Nevertheless, enterprises in southern localities maintain that supplying their products to distributors in the north is difficult. More than 100 kinds of southern fruits are being introduced to northern distributors at the show. Experts say to make the programme effective, relevant sectors need to engage fully. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/suppliers-meeting-distributors-effective-for-commodity-trading/112248.vnp

Competitiveness key for goods distribution flow 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Nguyen Van Nam, former director of the Trade Research Institute, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, speaks to the Hai quan (Customs) newspaper on challenges in setting up retail chain stores in Vietnam Many people have complained that most profits in supply chains go to middlemen. What's your opinion? I couldn't agree more. It is a matter of fact, supply chains in our country are much like the old subsidisation system with many middlemen. As a result, goods prices are above their true value. I myself was a member of an investigation team on rice exports. I was told that traders went directly to the rice fields to buy paddy during harvest. The paddy was then transported to threshing mills. From the mills, rice was graded into high, middle or low quality rice. The best rice was for export while the middle or low quality rice was transported to dealers to sell on the domestic market. In the end, rice consumers have to pay higher prices for the rice they eat. In short, most of the profits go to middlemen. In my opinion, it is time for us to create a goods value chain, just like the model from farm to fork so that we can cut down product costs while still keeping quality high. Do you mean that a lion's share of the profits goes to middlemen due to the tradition of small scale production? I didn't mean that. Our farmers are hard working and they know that most of the profits from their products go to middlemen. But they can't do anything. I'm sorry to say that we lack a good trading system from goods procurement to distribution. In the past, we had many State enterprises operating under the system of state subsidisation. Their key objective was not to make profit, but to serve the people. But now, those State enterprises have been dissolved and the distribution channel is in the hand of private commercial enterprises. One thing I have to admit is that many private enterprises have put profits top of their priority list. Large agricultural production fields have been formed in many localities. But our distribution system remains small and scattered. This has caused problems to farmers when the harvest season comes but traders are not interested in buying from them. Who is to blame? Agriculture production in our country has experienced many changes in recent years. But the consumption and distribution systems have not been up to scratch. Which ministry is responsible? The question remains. It is high time for Vietnam to set up distribution systems like in other countries. Such systems operate in a loop, from farm to fork. I'm sure that if we can organise good distribution systems, it will be good news for farmers. However, we need the State to act as midwives for the systems to help them operate smoothly initially. Many retail markets in our country are dominated by foreign firms. What do you think of this? I have to admit that Vietnamese enterprises are in much weaker positions than their foreign peers in terms of capital, technology, management and more. In such a situation, in my opinion, the Ministry of Trade and Industry should play the role of the "midwife" to help reorganise the domestic commercial system and support Vietnamese enterprises to establish stores nationwide. If the current situation drags on for 5-10 years, I'm pretty sure that our domestic market will completely fall into the hands of foreign enterprises. In my opinion, at the start, the government should adopt lucrative policies to support private enterprises, including low interest loans, land to build factories or shops and others. http://vietnamnews.vn/opinion/377068/competitiveness-key-for-goods-distribution- flow.html#YMt5LwDSsK35IHpe.97

City to monitor produce supply chain 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS HCM City plans to strengthen links with provinces supplying farm produce to improve oversight at the points of origin, officials said. The city's own agricultural output meets only 20-30 per cent of demand and the rest is supplied by other cities and provinces, according to Nguyen Thi Nha Truc, head of the Food Safety Management Board's quality management office. Therefore, the city faces a huge challenge in supervising, managing and tracing the origins of agricultural, forestry and fishery produce. The city had various programmes to safeguard consumers' health and benefits, which have been reasonably successful, she told a conference on food safety management in HCM City yesterday. A programme to trace the origin of pork started last December allows consumers use their smart phones to check product information on farming facilities, abattoirs, producers, distributors, and retailers. The programme, carried out by the city Department of Industry and Trade, has signed up 1,130 farms that supply more than 10,000 pigs a day and 25 abattoirs in HCM City and other cities and provinces. Hoc Mon and Binh Dien wholesale markets, 23 traditional markets and all modern distribution systems such as supermarkets and convenience stores are taking part. In January the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development began a pilot programme to trace the origin of vegetables using QR code scanning apps in phones. Two participants, Phuoc An Cooperative in Cu Chi District and Phu Loc Cooperative in Binh Chanh District, supply 8-8.5 tonnes of vegetables and fruits daily with electronic stamps with information on their packaging. Since 2013 a programme has been building up a safe supply chain from breeding, slaughter and transport to processing and distribution. A total of 45 food producers and trading establishments are certified as 'safe' for farm produce like vegetables, seafood and poultry eggs. The city is set to sign agreements with provinces to develop the safe supply chain further in terms of quantity and variety of products. Excessive chemicals "The excessive use of plant protection chemicals and antibiotics in agricultural production has yet to be brought under control, causing great health concern," Truc said. As most food producing and processing facilities in the city are small-scale, they had not fully complied with food safety requirements, she added. Nguyen Thi Dan An, head of the health office under the Binh Chanh District People's Committee, said local authorities regularly inspect and support these facilities to ensure they improve food safety practices. But she admitted that the lack of severe penalties and lax enforcement are barriers to reducing violations related to food safety. Enterprises need to be aware of their responsibility to produce safe products, she said. Le Truong Giang, chair of the city Public Health Association, said the production and trading of chemicals and food additives are not well managed, especially at Kim Bien market, and many with dubious origins are used as a result. Authorities do not impose large enough fines on production and trading facilities which fail to prove the origin of their raw materials and products, he said. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, head of the Department of Industry and Trade's commercial office, said efficient management of agricultural supplies from other provinces at three wholesale markets, Thu Duc, Hoc Mon and Binh Dien, and supermarkets means 95 per cent of agricultural products consumed in the city "is controlled". He suggested that products of unknown origins and without clear records should be prohibited at wholesale markets. "Only severe punishment will help ensure the safety of products in the market." A shortage of human resources prevents frequent inspections and other actions to keep out unsafe food products, he admitted. http://bizhub.vn/news/city-to-monitor-produce-supply-chain_286346.html

Northern provinces enjoy bumper Winter-Spring rice harvest 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The northern region from Thua Thien-Hue province northward reaped a bumper harvest in the 2016-2017 Winter-Spring rice crop for the 10th consecutive year, heard a conference held in Thanh Hoa province on May 24. Northern localities grew rice on 1,145,000 ha in the crop, down 10,500 ha year-on-year, and harvested an estimated 7.12 million tonnes of rice, with an average productivity of 6.22 tonnes per ha. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development attributed the bumper crop partly to favourable weather. In the upcoming summer crop, northern localities plan to plant rice on 1,308,000 ha in the hope of producing around 6.57 million tonnes. As the crop is vulnerable to storms and floods, the Ministry advised farmers to use short-duration rice varieties and localities to prepare extra rice seedlings in case of damage. Local agricultural sectors are also required to get anti-flood plans ready to minimise losses. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/northern-provinces-enjoy-bumper-winterspring-rice-harvest/112223.vnp

Cattlemen look to imports to meet growing demand for beef 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Vietnamese cattlemen have requested the Vientiane Cattle Breeding and Entrepreneurs Association to supply up to 400 head of cattle per day to meet the increasing consumer demand for beef. This request comes on the heels of the Association signing a contract under which it agreed to supply beef cattle to the Vietnamese cattlemen, Viengsavanh Southivong of the Association told reporters on May 22. The problem is that Association has entered into an agreement that it is currently not prepared to fulfil, said Viengsavanh, noting the 27 Lao members need more time to come up with a plan to meet their commitment. To start a cattle ranch the Association and its members are currently seeking equity capital to purchase the equipment, grass, seeds, and cattle it needs to get it up and running, said Viengsavanh. The Association has plans to import 2,000 animals from Australia to use in Vientiane as breeding stock. Nor does the Association have the technical skill and staff or the land and natural resources needed, he said. We hope to establish collaborative agreements with Thailand ranchers to supply some grass seeds, technology, and vaccines among other things. With support from the government and the assistance of local residents, we are hoping to find 1,500 hectares of land along the That Luang marsh channel to establish a cattle ranch. This year, the Association also plans to purchase 300 hectares of land for cultivation and will further expand when the ranch gets up and running with visible progress. The farmland is in the district of Xaysettha in the villages of Phonthong, Na Pien, Doung, Kharm-ngoy, Na Xangphay and Haykham. As we learned from the mistakes of a foreign business entrepreneur in the province of Xieng Khuang, we must prepare meticulously before importing the cattle, said Viengsavanh. The number of head of cattle currently being reared by the members of the Association are still insufficient to meet the current commitments it has already made to supply the domestic market. The Association needs more than 500 cattle to meet its obligation to supply local slaughterhouses daily and is currently bringing in cattle from other provinces like Saravan and Attapeu to do so. The supply issue has caused beef prices in Vientiane to spike, while pork has remained relatively inexpensive in comparison. Most startling is the fact that Viengsavanh acknowledged that the Association members are still lacking in the expertise to operate a cattle ranch and compete with their peers in the Lao marketplace. This situation highlights the importance of Vietnamese businesspeople being careful in entering contractual agreements with foreigners in Laos. In this situation clearly, the Association is not prepared to meet its end of the bargain. In English, one would say the Association clearly put the 'cart before the horse.' But in any event, it looks like the Vietnamese cattlemen will need to look to other suppliers to meet the rising demand for beef by Vietnamese consumers. http://english.vov.vn/economy/cattlemen-look-to-imports-to-meet-growing-demand-for-beef-350181.vov

Korean firm plans to acquire Gemadept 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Korea's Taekwang Industrial Co Ltd has submitted a letter with intention to acquire Gemadept Corporation, Vietnam's largest logistics firm, as part of efforts to establish a logistics network in Southeast Asia. This was reported by The Korea Economic Daily. If the acquisition is successful, Taekwang expects to create synergy between its existing manufacturing plants and Gemadept's logistics network. Taekwang, established in 1950, is a large Korean corporation in the field of synthetic fibre, textiles and petrochemicals. The company has been present in Vietnam for more than 20 years and is one of the largest footwear manufacturing enterprises in the country. Founded in 1990, Gemadept has several subsidiaries in the areas of logistics, port operations and real estate development. In terms of overseas investment, Gemadept is planting rubber in Cambodia and building a real estate complex in Laos. Gemadept's share price has increased sharply recently following information that the enterprise can withdraw capital from subsidiaries in logistics, selling its entire 15 per cent stake in Gemadept Tower. In 2014, Gemadept sold 85 per cent stake in Gemadept Tower to the Korea's CJ Group. Vienam News contacted Gemadept but the company declined to comment. http://bizhub.vn/markets/korean-firm-plans-to-acquire-gemadept_286356.html

Kantar Worldpanel releases fifth annual Brand Footprint report 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Report identifies Vietnam's most chosen brand owners in 2017. Kantar Worldpanel's fifth annual Brand Footprint report was released on May 24, revealing the Top 10 FMCG brand owners and the Top 10 brands in Health & Beauty, Homecare, and Food and Beverages being purchased by the most consumers most often in Urban 4 Cities (HCM City, Hanoi, Da Nang, and Can Tho) and Rural Vietnam. Unilever, Masan Consumer, and Vinamilk continued to be the Top 3 brand owners in both Urban 4 Cities and Rural Vietnam, for the fifth year running. Unilever retained its lead ranking as the most chosen brand owner in the Non-Food sector, where international players dominate over 80 per cent of value share. Meanwhile, in the Food sector, where over 50 per cent of total value comes from local players, Masan Consumer and Vinamilk preserved their positions as two local FMCG giants owning top Food brands. Staying fourth in the Urban rankings, Nestle achieved the highest growth, of 8 per cent, in Consumer Reach Points (CRPs) among the Top 10 Urban 4 Cities and gained one place to ninth in the Rural rankings. The global manufacturer has made a lot of effort in innovation and marketing activities to expand its consumer base, especially in Rural Vietnam. As a result, Nestle was able to reach nearly 600,000 additional Rural households and increase its CRPs by 4 million times in the Rural market. Climbing two places, Calofic took eighth position in the Urban rankings and fifth in the Rural rankings, with healthy growth of 6 per cent. Its products (mainly cooking oil) were chosen more than 15 million times by 84 per cent of Urban households and over 100 million times by 83 per cent of Rural households last year. By recruiting approximately 1.3 million Rural households and growing 14.5 per cent in CRPs, Uniben saw impressive performance and continued rising, up two positions to sixth in the Top 10 Rural rankings. The local player has focused on Rural Vietnam (68 per cent of Vietnam's population and 60 per cent of its GDP) with good product quality at competitive prices, with innovation and aggressive distribution that helped its products win over more Rural consumers. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/kantar-worldpanel-releases-fifth-annual-brand-footprint- report

Clayton-based Enterprise Holdings inks Vietnam franchise deal 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Stl Today Clayton-based Enterprise Holdings Inc. has inked a franchise agreement with a Vietnamese firm, the car rental company's first franchise agreement in Asia as it continues to grow its international footprint. Enterprise announced the agreement Wednesday with MP Logistics, a Vietnamese firm specialising in cargo, warehousing and distribution. MP Logistics plans to initially begin offering long-term car rentals next year to employees of multinational companies under the Enterprise-Rent-A-Car brand in the major cities of HCM City, Hanoi and Danang. Eventually, MP expects to expand into short-term car rentals for businesses and leisure travellers. "MP Logistics looked at many potential car rental partners, and the company is confident that the combination of Vietnam's emerging economy and Enterprise's unique value proposition and unmatched customer service reputation will add up to yet another Vietnamese-American business success story," Minh Phuong Dang, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of MP Logistics said in a statement. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/clayton-based-enterprise-holdings-inks-vietnam-franchise- deal/article_d2c82a75-9c2d-5bbd-af3c-bd5dc099d9e3.html

LG Display Vietnam proposes to increase investment 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS LG Display Vietnam Hai Phong Co has proposed to raise its investment capital from the current $1.5 billion to $1.59 billion, baodautu.vn reported. The additional capital will be spent on building 13 dormitory buildings and other social welfare projects for 10,000-12,000 workers. Construction work is underway on 12.6ha of land. Two hostels and some social welfare projects will be completed in the year's third quarter and all the dormitory buildings will be completed by 2020. Located in Hai Phong City's Trang Due Industrial Zone, the company's project will produce organic light emitting diode (OLED) display products once operational in the third quarter of this year. http://bizhub.vn/news/lg-display-viet-nam-proposes-to-increase-investment_286359.html

Vietnam's tax authorities to take closer look at foreign retailers 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress With tax avoidance among multi-nationals a growing global concern, Vietnam is keen to know what retailers are up to. The general Department of Taxation has asked local tax authorities to inspect foreign retailers operating in Vietnam to see if they are transfer pricing or shifting profits to avoid tax. Tax authorities will audit corporate, value added and personal income tax paid by these retailers between 2012 and 2016. The department will also monitor the use of brand names in the form of franchising or ownership transfer among foreign retailers. Transfer pricing is not illegal per se, but it is a gray area that tax agencies keep a close eye on. Abuse of the practice is often very difficult to prove, especially when it involves multinational corporations with a complex network of internal buyers and suppliers. Vietnam's retail market grew 10.2 percent last year with total sales reaching VND2,670 trillion ($117.6 billion), according to the general Statistical Office. The country, recently ranked by A.T. Kearney among the world's top 30 retail markets with the best opportunities, has seen many foreign arrivials. BigC supermarket chain, MM Mega Market (previously Metro Vietnam), electronics chain Nguyen Kim and Aeon Vietnam are several of the major foreign retailers operating in the country. In 2015 retail giant Central, run by Thailand's third-richest family, the Chirathivats, made headlines with its $200 million purchase of a 49 percent stake in electronics retailer Nguyen Kim, via its subsidiary Power Buy. Then in 2016, Central and Nguyen Kim acquired Vietnam's biggest foreign-owned supermarket chain Big C. Vietnam's tax authorities last year gave Big C Vietnam a tax bill of VND2 trillion ($88 million) for its capital gains tax obligations after its former French owner Casino Group sold its stake to Central for 1 billion euros ($1.14 billion). In 2015, authorities also collected VND1.9 trillion ($85.6 million) in tax arrears from the $700 million acquisition of Metro Vietnam. German-retailer Metro Cash & Carry, before being sold to Thailand's TCC International Land, was accused of falsely reporting losses for 12 years in Vietnam and failing to pay tax bills worth $23 million, according to the general Department of Taxation. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/vietnam-s-tax-authorities-to-take-closer-look-at-foreign- retailers-3589658.html

CJ's road to dominance in Vietnamese food sector 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR With its recent acquisition of Cau Tre Export Goods Processing Joint Stock Company, South Korean conglomerate CJ is one step closer to playing a crucial role in the Vietnamese processed food sector. However, the earlier failure in the race to control major player Vissan is going to pose a challenge. On a roll with M&A On May 21, the shareholders of Cau Tre Export Goods Processing Joint Stock Company ratified the decision to change the company's name to CJ Cau Tre. Only a month earlier, then-second biggest shareholder of the company, Saigon Trading Group (SATRA) announced the public auction of a 20 per cent stake in the company. Two subsidiaries of CJ, CJ Foods Vietnam Ltd and CJ CheilJedang Corporation, have bought the stake and raised CJ's total holding in Cau Tre to 71 per cent. CJ's journey to become the controlling majority shareholder at Cau Tre has been swift. At the end of 2016, it increased its holdings to 47.33 per cent by buying stakes from three big shareholders in the form of private placement, surpassing then-biggest shareholder Satra, which was holding 45 per cent. Then Cau Tre's extraordinary shareholders' meeting ratified to put four CJ personnel into management roles. At the end of March, CJ's holding was already a bit over 51 per cent. CJ produces ready meals and frozen food, such as spring rolls, tea, raw meat and sausages. As its products, such as BBQ sauce, started appearing more aggressively on supermarket shelves in Vietnam, CJ has also been on a roll with its M&As. In early 2016, it bought the Ong Kim kimchi brand. Recently, another Vietnamese company also changed name to bear the CJ mark. At the end of April, CJ finished transacting $13.4 million to acquire 64.9 per cent of food processing company Minh Dat and changing its name to Minh Dat CJ. Minh Dat has been holding the largest market share for meatballs and fishballs in Vietnam. Completing the supply chain With CJ's involvement, Cau Tre is ramping up its food processing capacity and upgrading its technology. Besides changing its name, the company will add operations, such as processing and preserving vegetables, producing cakes and other processed foods, and whole-selling food. The new food processing plant in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park in Nha Be district of HCM City also saw its investment raise to VND1.2 trillion ($53 million) from the earlier planned VND600 billion ($26.5 million). Cau Tre has been maintaining losses for the past two years, and this year, it also expects a VND25 billion ($1.1 million) before-tax loss this year. However, in the long-term, the management commits a higher profit margin in its main business area and higher dividend. However, what investor CJ is mainly after is the distribution network Cau Tre possesses. Though it only has a market share of less than 3 per cent, Cau Tre has a large distribution network in Vietnam and has been steadily exporting its products to global markets that have very high quality and safety demands. Having Cau Tre under its belt is thus going to help CJ strengthen its position in the frozen food market. CJ has also struck a deal with the second-biggest shareholder of Cau Tre, Satra. In September 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two parties in Seoul during a diplomatic visit by a HCM City government delegation. As reported by Vietnam Economic Times, under the agreement, CJ CheilJedang, CJ's food subsidiary, will work with Satra to develop new products based on a combination of their existing product lineup. On the same day, CJ Freshway, CJ's food and food service distributor, also inked an agreement to become Satra's exclusive distributor of South Korean fruit. Last November, the company launched the CJ Feed Ingredient Vietnam factory in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, adding to its portfolio of plants in Long An, Dong Nai, Vinh Long, and Hung Yen. All in all, CJ's investment approach in Vietnam has been comprehensive, focusing not only on production, but also distribution. One crucial setback CJ's expansionary ambition was only checked by a highly-publicised failure in the race to acquire VISSAN Joint Stock Company (Vissan) earlier last year. In March 2016, Vissan held the auction for a 14 per cent stake reserved for a strategic investor. International Agriculture Nutrition JSC (ANCO), a subsidiary of Masan, ended up the winner, after buying the whole offering at the price of VND126,000 ($5.6) a share. The price was a little bit higher than the CJ's offer of VND120,600 ($5.32) a share. After the sale, Masan and its subsidiaries hold 24 per cent, while CJ holds 4 per cent. Similar to CJ, Vissan (freshly acquired by ANCO) is also completing its supply chain. At its April 5 shareholders' meeting, Vissan's management said that as the company is building a complete feed-farm- food value chain, the strategic investor ANCO is going to provide feed, one of the three pieces of the puzzle that Vissan is lacking. The company expects a revenue of VND4.54 trillion ($200 million) in 2017, up 23 per cent, and pre-tax profit of VND156 billion ($6.9 million), up 5 per cent on-year. Being unable to acquire Vissan was a disappointment to CJ, because Vissan reportedly holds 65 per cent of the market for sausages, 75 per cent for Chinese sausage, 40 per cent for frozen food products, 30 per cent for Vietnamese ham, and 20 per cent for canned food. The company's products are distributed at 130,000 sales venues all over the country. As reported by newswire dantri.vn, after two decades in Vietnam, CJ has reached a revenue of VND17 trillion ($750 million) in 2016, up 30 per cent on-year, and an operating profit of VND834 billion ($36.8 million). The food operation has had the highest growth of 86 per cent between 2011 to 2015. Market research firm StoxPlus estimates that the Vietnamese processed food market is valued at about $4 billion, of which processed meat and seafood accounts for 45.1 per cent. As cited by cafef.vn, market research firm Euromonitor estimated the processed meat and seafood market to have been growing for the past five years. Last year, the growth rate was 6 per cent in value and 5 per cent in volume. It remains to see how the battle for dominance is going to play out in this highly potential market. http://www.vir.com.vn/cjs-road-to-dominance-in-vietnamese-food-sector.html

Former Vinaconex boss faces prosecution for regulation violation 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Ministry of Public Security's Police Investigation Agency has prosecuted Phi Thai Binh, former chair of the Vinaconex board of directors, for violating construction regulations and causing serious consequences. The Ministry of Public Security's Police Investigation Agency has prosecuted Phi Thai Binh, former chair of the Vinaconex board of directors, for violating construction regulations and causing serious consequences. Binh, who is also former vice chair of the city's People's Committee, was found to be responsible for the mismanagement during the time he held the position at the company. State-owned Vinaconex was the investor of the Da River water pipeline, with total investment of VND1.45 trillion (US$64.4 million). The pipeline was put into operation in 2009 and has been ruptured several times in the past several years, causing serious impact on some 177,000 city households due to the water shortage. Former CEO of Vinaconex Nguyen Van Tuan and five other executives also face charges for violating construction and investment regulations. They are all on bail due to old age and poor health. The decision has been handed over to the Supreme People's Court. Previously, the Police Investigation Agency had announced the results of the investigation on the Da River water pipeline. Construction of the pipeline, which carried water from Da River to Hanoi, was completed in 2004 and put into use five years later. However, the pipeline was ruptured 14 times between 2012 and 2015, leading to a shortage of water for 177,000 households for nearly 350 hours and an estimated loss of 1.5 million cu.m of water. The company has spent more than VND13 billion ($572,900) to fix the incidents. The investigation's results revealed that members of the Vinaconex's board of directors, including Phi Thai Binh, Nguyen Van Tuan, To Ngoc Thanh, Hoang Hop Thuong and Vu Dinh Cham, decided to use substandard untested fiberglass composite, causing massive ruptures, and chose a disqualified and inexperienced contractor to supply the poor quality pipeline for the project. In March 2016, the Supreme People's Court prosecuted nine officials for violating regulations on investment and construction management. Several months later, Binh and his former partners were proposed to be exempt from criminal prosecution, leading to outrage among the public. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178999/former-vinaconex-boss-faces-prosecution-for- regulation-violations.html

Phu Quoc possesses great potential for second home market 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Tran Dao Duc, deputy general director of the CEO Group, tells VET about the potential of Phu Quoc Island. What do you think about the development of the second home market (or holiday home market) in Vietnam at this time? Vietnam's second home market has achieved impressive results in recent times, reaching regional and global standards. Many hotels and resorts have been introduced, with rapid construction progress and international quality. In 2016 and the first half of 2017, investment into the second home market has grown considerably, especially coastal projects that possess beautiful locations and improved infrastructure and attract tourists, such as those in Phu Quoc, Da Nang, and Khanh Hoa. Domestic and international tourists are visiting these destinations in rapidly increasing numbers. The CEO Group recently opened Novotel Villas in Phu Quoc. Do you think Phu Quoc is a wonderful destination for property developers to build second home projects? Phu Quoc has a great location and is an ideal investment opportunity for the CEO Group and other investors because of the following reasons. Firstly, it is a peaceful tropical paradise, floating in the warm turquoise waters of the Gulf of Thailand, 50 km from the Vietnamese mainland and a 50-minute flight from HCM City. The island is at the centre of Asean, just two hours away from its major cities, giving it potential in travel. Because it is located in the Gulf of Thailand, it has ideal weather conditions, with a stable temperature of about 28C, and is not hit by storms, so it is not risky to develop the tourism business. Secondly, Phu Quoc has natural conditions that are not always available in other cities and provinces. It has 150 km of coastline, with many beautiful white sand beaches. The water is very warm, so tourists can swim at night. This can't be found in other cities and provinces. Two-thirds of its area is primeval forest, providing fresh air and a good climate for visitors. Thirdly, infrastructure and technical infrastructure have been invested in heavily on the island, which is ready to become a special economic zone. Phu Quoc's traffic network was mainly red dirt roads in the past, but now there is a main road running through the island, an international airport, and a tourist port, where ships with over 7,000 passengers can berth. The island also has clean water and underground cables, which have completely changed the face of Phu Quoc. There are also many new projects, such as golf courses, a safari park and zoo, entertainment areas, a cable car, and a casino. Fourthly, Phu Quoc offers preferential policies, such as a 10 per cent corporate income tax exemption for the first four years and a 50 per cent reduction for the next nine years, exemptions from land rentals for the first 15 years, and 30-day visa exemptions for international visitors. Fifthly, Phu Quoc will become one of Vietnam's three special economic administrative zones, creating a breakthrough for the island to take off and contributing to Vietnam's development. Sixthly, Phu Quoc's market is still new compared with other cities and provinces and there are many opportunities for all types of services. What are the challenges for second home developers at this time? The more developed the second home market becomes, the more intense the competition and the more sophisticated customers are, so developers need to affirm their brand and reputation and make a difference. Products must come with attractive policies, in addition to quality, timeliness, and commitment. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property/phu-quoc-possesses-great-potential-for-second-home- market

Vietnam sees six-fold rise in foreign workers since 2004 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress Officials are now looking into possible ways to collect social insurance payments from all of them. Nearly 84,000 foreigners are working in Vietnam compared to 12,600 in 2004, and the country is working out policies and methods to collect social insurance, according to media reports. Most of them are skilled workers with work permits, Tran Hai Nam, deputy head of the Social Insurance Department under the labour ministry, was quoted as saying in a report published Wednesday by Voice of Vietnam. That figure is a rise of 1.8 percent from a year ago, when the country had 82,500 working foreigners, as reported by the labour ministry. The ministry is now consulting experts and the public on the formulations of new rules that would require foreign workers to pay social insurance, which is already compulsory for all Vietnamese salary earners. Under a draft decree, the basic insurance package for foreign employees would cover sickness, maternity, occupational diseases and accidents, retirement and death, which is similar to that for Vietnamese workers. If approved, it will come into force from January 1, 2018. But many have questioned this plan, saying there are also many foreigners working under the radar without permits and bringing them all into the system would be a tough task. Others are concerned that without bilateral agreements, foreign workers could be required to pay for insurance coverage both in Vietnam and in their home countries. Some also want to know about payout policies when a foreign worker leaves Vietnam. The annual HSBC's Expat Explorer survey last year found that good career opportunities in a stable economy have made Vietnam one of the best host countries for foreigners. A good proportion of expats in Vietnam, 35 percent, agree that the country is a good place to progress their careers. The top three reasons they choose to move to Vietnam are for a new challenge (46 percent), being sent by an employer (26 percent) and to improve their quality of life (24 percent). According to the survey, expats in Vietnam could earn $103,000 annually on average, which is above the global level and a quarter less than Singapore's. That is around 50 times higher than the annual income average for Vietnamese, which was $2,100 last year according to the World Bank. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/vietnam-sees-six-fold-rise-in-foreign-workers-since-2004- 3589451.html

OFID lends $21.8mn for Vinh Phuc bridge 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Loan to go towards building Dam Van Bridge in northern province. A signing ceremony was held in Hanoi on May 22 for a loan of $21.8 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) to Vietnam for the construction of the Dam Vac Bridge in northern Vinh Phuc province. Total investment capital for the bridge project is $25.5 million, with reciprocal capital of some $3.6 million. The loan term is 20 years, including a five-year grace period, with an interest rate of 2 per cent per annum and a service charge of 1 per cent of the principal. The bridge will be built over the Dam Van River from 2017 to 2021 and upon completion will connect the north and the south of the provincial capital of Vinh Yen city. Vinh Phuc province has borrowed from OFID based on the government's policy on strengthening public debt management to ensure sustainable national finances, according to minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung. He also proposed the OFID assist other Vietnamese projects. Vietnam and OFID will lend to projects and programmes that belong to the medium-term public investment programme 2016-2020, which has been approved by the government in line with its development strategy for 2016-2020. OFID is the development finance institution established by the member states of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to developing countries. It works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services delivery, and promote productivity, competitiveness, and trade. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/ofid-lends-21-8mn-for-vinh-phuc-bridge

Clean Air Asia urges Can Tho to control air pollution 25/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Certain air pollution indicators in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho have exceeded permissible levels, and the pollution there would worsen if the municipal government does not take drastic preventive measures, said Ho Quoc Bang, an expert from Clean Air Asia. Speaking at a working session with the municipal government and the Vietnam Environment Administration on, he said a draft action plan for air quality management in Can Tho showed that Can Tho has seen a number of pollution indicators worsening. Air pollution will be far worse by 2025 if authorities do not tackle the issue properly, he stressed. Specifically, the concentrations of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and dust by 2025 are forecast to rise by around 45%, 25%, 30 percent and 20 percent respectively against 2015. He mentioned three major sources of air pollutants in Can Tho, namely manufacturing in industrial parks and export processing zones; living activities like cooking and straw burning; and emissions from vehicles. He said three solutions are needed to control these three main causes of air pollution. For instance, with regard to transport, he urged the local government to inspect motor vehicles like buses more frequently, set up supporting mechanisms for bus companies, create enough space for pedestrians, and develop a bike- sharing system on a trial basis. Hoang Duong Tung, deputy general director of the Vietnam Environment Administration, said the draft plan has pinpointed major sources of pollutants as a foundation to look for suitable solutions. Therefore, he hoped Can Tho and other cities would come up with better air quality management methods. Meanwhile, the city's vice chair Dao Anh Dung asked local departments and agencies to stick to the plan so that they could advise municipal authorities to handle relevant problems. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54121/Clean-Air-Asia-urges-Can-Tho-to-control-air-pollution.html

Expensive car imports decrease 25/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The number of automobiles with nine seats or less imported into Vietnam has grown strongly this year, but the volume of expensive cars has decreased, according to the general Department of Vietnam Customs. Over 20,800 such vehicles had been imported into Vietnam with a total value of more than $329 million by May 15, a 46 percent surge against the same period last year. However, the average price was $15,776 a unit, around $1,000 lower than that last year. This falling average price points to the fact that fewer luxury cars were imported in the period. As import duty on cars from Asean countries has been cut from 40 percent to 30 percent early this year, and 0 percent by 2018, tax revenue is poised to fall sharply in the near future despite a rise in imports. Last year, imports of cars, especially luxury ones, helped raise tax revenue. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54116/Expensive-car-imports-decrease.html

Milk and dairy fair set for Hanoi 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Vietnam International Milk and Dairy Products Exhibition from May 31 to June 3 the first of its kind in Vietnam. The Vietnam International Milk and Dairy Products Exhibition, the first event of its kind in Vietnam, will be held in Hanoi from May 31 to June 3 at the Friendship Cultural Palace, 91 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hoan Kiem district, with support and sponsorship from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). Dairy products and technology will be on display at the exhibition, including powdered milk, fresh milk, additives used in the dairy industry, milk processing lines and packaging technology, machinery for dairy farming, cattle feed, cattle breeding models, and environmental treatment technology. Three conferences will also be organised, on sterilisation technology in milk processing, milk and dairy products for community health, and using high technology in dairy farming. Various activities will be available for children, to mark World Milk Day and International Children's Day on June 1, such as a floating house, a ball house, a roller coaster, fishing, and tug-of-war. Those attending the event can taste free milk products from brands at the exhibition and receive advice on nutrition and dairy products. Financial consultancy for dairy enterprises and breeding and households and dairy farms will also be available. The exhibition aims to boost the sustainable development of Vietnam's dairy industry and is an important trade promotion activity, linking domestic and international enterprises while facilitating the seeking of business opportunities and expansion as well as enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnam's dairy industry. The event is expected to attract 150 domestic and foreign enterprises from 15 countries and territories, including the US, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, France, Japan, and India. Famous brands from home and abroad will be present, such as Vinamilk, Moc Chau, Ba Vi, New Vietdairy, Hanoi Milk, Mead Johnson, Nestle, Abbott, Elovi, Tetra Pak, Nutricare, and IDP. The dairy industry has made a positive contribution to the national economy, recording average growth of 15-17 per cent each year. The industry plans to record export revenue of $120-130 million by 2020. Total milk consumption per capita in Vietnam was 23 litres in 2015 and 24 litres in 2016 and is expected to increase to 26 litres this year and 34 litres by 2025. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/milk-and-dairy-fair-set-for-hanoi

VN firms eye untapped foreign markets 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency held a workshop in the capital on Thursday on trade promotion to the Middle East and Africa, which followed a conference on South American trade promotion on Wednesday. Khai Hoan, deputy director of the Africa, Western and South Asia Markets Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told Thursday's attendees that these populous regions have a high demand for imports of many key Vietnamese export products, including garments, footwear, fisheries, food and consumer products. To date, Vietnam has established diplomatic relations with more than 70 countries in the region, opening opportunities to boost exports to these markets. However, the ministry urged firms to study market information carefully to seek out trustworthy partners. In addition, payments are a difficult matter, as many firms are not used to using the letter of credits. If using document against payment method, Vietnamese firms should require deposits of at least 30 per cent. For South American markets, deputy director of the Trade Promotion Agency Ta Hoang Linh said Wednesday that a region with more than $6 trillion GDP and a population of more than 600 million must hold significant opportunities for Vietnamese firms. In recent years, Vietnam's exports to the region have experienced an annual average growth of 30-40 per cent, Linh said. However, Vietnamese enterprises still face several challenges in exporting to the region, such as geographical distance, high transportation costs and cultural and institutional differences. Former Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Chile Tran Dinh Văn agreed. He mentioned inadequate market information and difficulties in language as two obstacles facing Vietnamese exporters. As for the Chilean market, Vietnam's goods also face fierce competition from their peers from South America and Asia, he noted. Le Thi Van Anh, director of Thanh Dat Joint Stock Co, which exports farm produce in the northern province of Hung Yen, said her enterprise stopped searching for export opportunities to the region after it failed to receive payment for a cashew nut shipment in 2014 from a South American partner. Her company couldn't even retrieve its products, Van Anh told the Industry and Trade (Cong Thuong) newspaper. To facilitate Vietnamese exports to the region, Van called on closer cooperation between relevant State agencies and enterprises, especially in trade promotion. He also suggested domestic firms improve their understanding about South American trade information, customs procedures and payment methods. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377133/vn-firms-eye-untapped-foreign- markets.html#LLrAcDrw0L2EGf6O.9

Spanish press informed about Vietnam's tra fish products 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Accurate and detailed information about the production and trade of Vietnam's tra fish was provided to the Spanish press at a press conference held in the Vietnamese Embassy in Spain on May 25. airing the event, deputy minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung noted that recently, some media reports in Europe painted a distorted picture about Vietnam's tra fish, thus affecting the product's prestige and consumers' trust. The deputy minister stressed that in order to export tra fish to the EU, Vietnamese producers and exporters have to pass multiple inspections of the union. The list of eligible exporters is reviewed by the EU every year, and every batch of Vietnamese tra fish exported to the EU has to undergo inspections of EU-approved centres. He told the conference that Vietnam's tra fish are shipped to over 160 countries and territories worldwide with export turnover reaching about 1.66 billion USD a year. He affirmed that Tra fish breeding has become one of the means for Vietnamese farmers to escape from poverty and ease adverse impacts of globalisation. At the press conference, representatives from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Producers and Exporters (VASEP) and Vietnamese tra fish exporters also presented detailed information on the situation of Vietnam's tra fish sector. In January this year, Spanish commercial television channel Cuatro broadcast a report with incorrect and defamatory information on tra fish breeingd in the Mekong River. As a result, Carrefour Group stopped selling Vietnamese tra fish at its supermarkets and stores in Spain, Belgium and France. A number of schools in Spain also refused to buy Vietnamese tra fish. Spain is an important market in Europe for Vietnam. The two countries have recorded increasing trade, with two-way trade hitting 2.9 billion USD in 2016 and 835 million USD in the first four months of this year. They aim to bring bilateral trade turnover to 5 billion euro by 2020. Vietnam mainly exports aquatic products, coffee, textiles, rice and footwear to Spain, while importing chemicals, machines, pharmaceuticals, milk, electronics and spare parts. http://english.vov.vn/economy/spanish-press-informed-about-vietnams-tra-fish-products-350255.vov

Japan replaces US as Vietnam's biggest shrimp importer 26/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Japan has replaced the US to become the Vietnam's biggest shrimp importer in the first quarter of this year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). The VASEP's first quarter statistics showed Vietnam's shrimp exports to Japan reached USD135.4 million, a year-on-year rise of 29.6 percent. This was attributed to the rise of the yen which encouraged Japanese firms to import more shrimp. It was also due to changes in tastes of Japanese consumers who now prefer cheaper aquatic products to salmon, tuna and cuttlefish. Although Vietnamese shrimps are exported to Japan at a high price of USD12 per kilo on average compared to Indonesia's rate of USD11 and USD10 of Thailand, they are still favoured in Japan thanks to their improved quality, VASEP added. The association reported that in the first quarter of this year, Vietnam exported shrimp to 68 markets. The top ten importers were Japan, EU, the US, China, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Asean, Taiwan and Switzerland which make up 95.4 percent of the country's shrimp export value during the period. Despite being the spearhead export item of Vietnam, the local shrimp sector is still facing many difficulties. The country is now home to 1,800 shrimp breeding farms, but most of them in Vietnam are small scale and they have to depend on imported broodstock. Recently, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged the shrimp sector to achieve an export value of USD10 billion by 2025; however, it won't be easy for the sector to reach the ambitious target. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/51042/japan-replaces-us-as-vietnam-s-biggest-shrimp-importer.html

Vietnam rice prices hit 13-month high; Thailand up on lower supply 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News Vietnam rice hit its highest level in over a year this week on potential export deals and prices in Thailand firmed up as supply eased, while the Indian variety gained on growing demand from Africa, traders said. Expectations of strong demand from top importing countries such as Bangladesh and the Philippines are fuelling the uptrend in Vietnam and Thailand rice prices. Vietnam's 5-percent broken rice RI-VNBKN5-P1 was quoted at a level unseen since April last year, at $360-$380 a tonne, FOB Saigon, up from $365-$370 last week, as suppliers eyed export deals, traders said. Bangladesh said on Tuesday it will buy 250,000-300,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice immediately and planned to increase rice imports from Vietnam to 500,000 tonnes by end-2017. It will also buy one million tonne of Vietnamese rice annually until 2022. The Philippines said on Monday it would issue a tender next month to import 250,000 tonnes of the grain from key suppliers Thailand and Vietnam, and possibly also India. Thai benchmark 5-percent broken rice RI-THBKN5-P1 firmed this week to $411-$412 a tonne, free-on- board (FOB) Bangkok, from $385-$411 last week, the highest in nine months. "Prices have strengthened greatly, and supply is running low while demand remains constant," a trader in Bangkok said. But traders in Thailand and Vietnam said the price hike has started making the local grain too expensive for them to buy for export, raising a possibility for short supply in the market. "After the Bangladesh news, I can no longer buy anything," said a trader in HCM City. "The market is really stressed already, even though there's no real trade," another trader said, referring to the Bangladesh deals. Thailand and Vietnam are the world's second and third biggest rice exporters. In India, the world's biggest rice exporter, 5-percent broken parboiled rice RI-INBKN5-P1 jumped by $7 per tonne to $398-$403, on a slight improvement in demand and a rally in local paddy prices. "Export prices are going up, tracking rise in other countries. Demand has also improved from African buyers," said M.Adishankar, executive director at Sri Lalitha, an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In the past two months, there has been a sharp rise in Indian rates on government buying and as appreciation in the rupee caused a rally in local paddy prices. "Rising paddy price in the local market has been forcing us to raise export prices," said another exporter based in Kakinada. Global rice prices are likely to go further up due to demand from Bangladesh, Dhaka-based traders and government officials said. Earlier this month, Bangladesh's state grains buyer said the country will import 600,000 tonnes of rice. Bangladesh, the world's fourth-biggest rice producer with around 34 million tonnes, could emerge as a major importer this year, as low stocks and soaring prices led the government to import the grain. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41149/asia-ricevietnam-prices-hit-13month-high-thailand-up-on-lower- supply

Ministry considers extending deadline to close gold mine 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is considering extending the deadline for the closure of Bong Mieu gold mine to the end of this month. If Bong Mieu Gold Mine Co Ltd failed to comply by then, the ministry would select a unit to carry out the mine closure, deputy minister Nguyen Linh Ngoc said. In a report sent to the government, the ministry said it conducted an inspection following allegations of illegal land exploitation at Bong Mieu gold mine, located in Phu Ninh District's Tam Lanh Commune of the central province of Quang Nam. Inspection revealed that the total exploited area was 385ha. Of this, 230ha was open cast, 100ha was underground, and the rest a waste disposal site. Its mining capacity was 180,000 tonnes of ore per year, with an average of 2.8gm gold per tonne of ore. As per the company's report, the exploited output between 2005 and 2013 was around 829,950 tonnes of primary ore. From November 2013 to March 2014, the mine halted operations and resumed its activities on September 2014. The company has not reported its output since then. During its operations, the company fulfilled its obligations under the law on mining. As required, its environmental impact assessment report was approved by the provincial People's Committee. The company spent $230,580 and $18,650 on recovering the environment around the gold mine in Ho Gan and Nui Kem areas, respectively. It also contributed around VND240 billion ($10.56 million) to the local budget, to upgrade and repair roads, bridges, and clean water systems. However, there had been several violations as well, the report said. The company had not submitted a report on the results of exploration and upgrading the reserve in the area to the National Mineral Reserve Assessment Council for approval. It had not provided information on mineral mining rights, and had not yet paid fee for geological surveys to the State budget. In particular, a tax report showed that since May 2012, the company stopped paying tax worth around VND95 billion ($4.18 million). In July 2016, the ministry ordered the company to stop exploitation and close the gold mine. In its report, the ministry also said that illegal mining for gold had occurred mainly in mountainous areas such as Nam Giang, Phuoc Son, Bac Tra My and Phu Ninh districts, leading to fatal accidents, environmental pollution, loss of cultivated land for locals, and public disorder. As of April 2013, around 15 cases of violations had been reported in the province, which claimed 21 lives. Over the years, the provincial People's Committee sent many reports on drastic steps to be taken to stop illegal gold mining in the area. From 2011 to 2015, the provincial police organised 2,066 inspections, investigated 2,033 cases, prosecuted 40 suspects for violating regulations on exploitation of natural resources, and charged VND33.5 billion ($1.47 million) in fines. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179094/ministry-considers-extending-deadline-to-close-gold- mine.html

Vietnam to license three more coal-fired power plants in June 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Japanese, South Korean, and Saudi Arabian investors expected to secure licenses for projects. The Vietnamese government will grant investment licenses to three foreign-invested coal-fired power plants costing a combined $7.5 billion early next month, foreign media cited minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung as saying. Japanese, South Korean, and Saudi Arabian investors are expected to secure licenses for their projects ahead of prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's visit to Japan next month, minister Dung said. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, South Korea's Taekwang Power Holdings Co. and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power will both invest $2.07 billion in a 1,200 MW thermal power plant scheduled to begin operations in 2021. Meanwhile, Japan's Marubeni Corp. and the Korea Electric Power Corp. will invest $2.79 billion in a 1,200- MW plant, with operations expected to also begin in 2021. Japan's Sumitomo Corp. will invest some $2.64 billion in a 1,320 MW plant to kick off in 2022, the ministry said. South Korea's Posco Energy Company has secured approval from the Vietnamese government to build a $2.5 billion coal-fired thermal power plant in the country, with construction expected to begin in 2022 and be completed by 2026. In a recent message to the power industry, deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung said thermal power will be the mainstay of Vietnam's electricity supply over the next two decades and possibly longer. His statement came as confirmation of Vietnam's continued reliance on coal-fired power to keep up with demand, which will pose a number of challenges in mitigating the power sector's environmental impact while increasing the country's dependence on coal imports. The country's energy demand is expected to grow 13 per cent annually over the next four years. Energy sources such as hydropower have reached their maximum capacity while the renewable energy sector remains in its infancy and nuclear power's steep price tag is too high for a country in which public debt is approaching 65 per cent. According to the revised National Power Development plan, coal-fired power will account for 42.7 per cent of total energy sources by 2020, higher than the current 33.4 per cent. Historically, Vietnam has been self-sufficient in coal, but this has changed. More than $400 million was spent during the first quarter of this year on importing coal, based on recently published figures from the Vietnam Industry and Trade Information centre (VITIC). Vietnam will have as many as 64 coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 56,325 MW by 2030. Twenty-six plants, with a total capacity of 13,810 MW, are operational and 15 are under construction. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vietnam-to-license-three-more-coal-fired-power-plants-in- june

Vegetables and seafood hold high potential for development 26/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Vegetables and seafood are forecast to bring a lot of added value to agriculture this year if the processing of these products gets due investment, although prices of farm produce tend to fall in the near future, heard a seminar on market prospects for Vietnamese agriculture. At the seminar organised by the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) and Economics Department under the National Assembly Office on May 24, Sergio Araujo from the Trade and Market Division of FAO Rome said the demand for agricultural products on the world market is showing signs of saturation. Prices of agricultural products will decrease slightly given abundant supply. Vietnamese agriculture has been affected by global political, economic and trade uncertainties. Specifically, new economies focus on developing domestic markets while developed markets gradually become saturated. China, a major market for Vietnamese farm produce, has seen its economy slowing and is seeking to rely more on domestic supplies, said IPSARD director Nguyen Do Anh Tuan. In addition, international markets tend to consume high-value agricultural commodities at a time when consumption growth is poised for a slowdown. Tuan pointed out that only high productivity and quality can help boost agricultural development. The sector also needs to identify the strengths of each product from the global market perspective, and allocate resources for its development. It is necessary to boost the processing of vegetables and seafood products in the near future, he said. In the last few years, vegetables and fruits have emerged to become key products of Vietnam's agriculture, instead of rice and husbandry products, which is evident in drastic changes in export sales. Especially, Vietnamese enterprises have successfully shipped certain farm produce to choosy markets at high prices. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54139/-Vegetables-and-seafood-hold-high-potential-for- development.html

Compliance wooden products exporters will gain strong support 26/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Vietnam has plans to classify companies active in the woodworking industry into compliance and non- compliance categories, and strong supporting policies will be accorded to compliance ones to facilitate their exports, heard a seminar on the HAWA Due Diligence System in HCM City on May 24. The move is intended to honor the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initialed on May 11 between the Vietnamese government and the European Union. Enterprises will be divided into two categories of compliance and non-compliance in line with the government's criteria. The aim is to assess the risk of all enterprises in compliance with the Vietnam Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS), said Nguyen Tuong Van, deputy director of the Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation under the Vietnam Administration of Forestry. She added the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development intends to develop a set of criteria for categorising enterprises and then submit the document to the government for approval. Notably, enterprises wishing to be classified as compliant must conform to not only timber-related regulations but also a host of others such as tax obligations, social insurance and health insurance for workers. Those in the compliance group will be entitled to more competitive advantages than others, such as export verification and FLEGT licensing. Vietnam is committed to tightening management over inbound products, the verification of outbound shipments, and the issuance of FLEGT licenses. Specifically, timber importers must give an account on the origin of their products. If their timber comes from high-risk species or vulnerable geographical areas, they must submit sustainable forest management certificates and logging permits. Export verification is the assessment of outbound shipments in line with the requirements of VNTLAS. If enterprises are put in the compliance category, they will not be subject to verification. However, others will have their documents and shipments checked. Local enterprises shipping their products to the European market must obtain an FLEGT license for each consignment when going through customs clearance procedures. Compliance enterprises will be issued licenses right away while others must carry out export verification procedures before applying for licenses. These requirements are expected to facilitate the export of domestic wooden products to foreign markets, especially European countries, as well as improve the business environment, she stressed. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54147/-Compliance-wooden-products-exporters-will-gain-strong- support.html

Sugar firms bitter as smuggling soars unchecked 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The huge volume of cheap sugar smuggled in from Thailand is among the key reasons for high inventories at sugar factories, according to the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association. Speaking at a meeting in HCM City on Wednesday, Pham Quoc Doanh, chair of the VSSA, said as of May 19, sugar mills had crushed 12.2 million tonnes of sugarcane to produce 1.13 million tonnes of sugar, about the same as during the last crop. But demand for their products has been very low compared to last year, and inventories have risen to more than 748,000 tonnes, a record high for the industry, he said. He listed several reasons for this. This year's crushing season started 15-30 days later than usual due to the changing climate, causing inventories to pile up, he said. Smuggled sugar entering the local market affected demand for local products, he added. "Smuggling of sugar into Vietnam is becoming more sophisticated. It used to come mainly through border gates in the south-west, but now this has spread to the central and Central Highlands provinces and even the north." Smuggling is done not only on motorbikes but also boats, he said. The prices of the smuggled products are VND1,000-2,000 per kilogramme lower, he said. Despite authorities' efforts to combat the smuggling, the situation has not been improved, and in fact is worsening, he said. Le Trung Thanh, vice chair of the Lam Son Sugar and Sugarcane Company, said the volume of smuggled sugar this year is more than 500,000 tonnes. It comes mainly from Thailand, which subsidises sugar production and export, he said. Besides, sugar is imported for re-export but a portion is sold in the domestic market at lower prices, he said. The average consumption in Vietnam is estimated at 1.5 million tonnes a year, but has been lower this year. Many beverage and confectionary firms have reduced production due to an increase in imported beverages and confectioneries, Dang Phu Quy, a board member of Quang Ngai Sugar and Sugarcane JSC, said. Traditional villages in Hanoi did not buy its sugar this year and major factories bought less than 50 per cent of what they had registered to buy, he said. Delegates at the meeting said an increase in the use of sweeteners by many processing firms also affects consumption of sugar. Urgent solutions The association as well as businesses have suggested many measures to resolve the problem, including stepping up the fight against smuggling, establishing technical barriers and inspecting the quality of sugar in the market, tightening checks of imports for re-export and others. Local authorities should step up inspection of business establishments that are licensed to produce sugar but do not have factories and instead sell smuggled sugar. The association urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to auction quotas for sugar imports under Vietnam's WTO commitments in the third quarter. Bui Thị Quy, general director of Van Phat Wine JSC, said sugar mills need to improve quality of domestic sugar and reduce their prices. Tran Văn Hung, deputy general director of Can Tho Sugar and Sugarcane Company, said authorities should penalise smugglers more severely and organise the auction to smuggled goods. Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said his ministry would work with other ministries, agencies and localities to check smuggling. He suggested that sugar mills should invest more in technology to cut production costs and extract all the sugar from sugarcane. If home-made sugar is cheap, there would be no chance for smuggled sugar to flood the country, he pointed out. His ministry would consider the petitions received at the meeting from the association and businesses to find solutions to their difficulties, he promised. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377147/sugar-firms-bitter-as-smuggling-soars-unchecked.html

Domestic tourism gold mine for travel firms 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Vietnamnet All beaches and tourism sites throughout the country were overloaded in the May holiday. 'Overcrowding' was the word local newspapers used to describe the wave of people flocking to tourism points in Vung Tau, Da Lat, Ha Long, Sam Son and Sa Pa. A report from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) shows that the number of domestic travellers has been increasing steadily since 2000. In 2000, there were only 11.2 million domestic travellers, while the figure rose to 62 million in 2016 and is expected to soar to 66.7 million this year. Every year, the tourism industry has several million new domestic travellers, while the travellers' spending is also on the rise. The 2014 report, the latest report released by VNAT and the EU, showed that one-fourth of domestic travellers travel within the day and the average spending was VND944,000. The travellers staying overnight spend VND4.1 million and the average stay time is 3.79 million. The reports from some HCM City-based travel firms show that in the past, tourists only had demand for excursion and relaxation, but now, they have many more requirements, such as meetings and special tours. Travel firms can sell package tours and provide separate services. According to Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing and communication director of Saigontourist, the number of domestic travellers at the firm is increaseing by 18-20 percent per annum. The revenue from domestic travellers accounts for 40 percent of total revenue of the firm. "The domestic market still has plenty of room to exploit," Tra said. "In the past, we only sold package tours. But now, there are many kinds of services. And the more services we provide, the more customers we have," she said. However, though the domestic market has seen a stable increase of travellers choosing domestic destinations, more and more Vietnamese tend to go abroad because many outbound tours are cheaper than domestic tours. The tours to Taiwan and Thailand, for example, are cheaper for Saigonese than tours to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. The services at foreign destinations are diverse and more stable in price, and it is easier for travel firms to design tours. Meanwhile, foreign tourism promotion agencies launch promotion programmes to help travel firms advertise products and approach customers. Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre, said it is difficult to design domestic tours because of the high and unstable service fees. In the May holiday, for example, air tickets to many destination points increased by 20-30 percent. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178883/domestic-tourism-gold-mine-for-travel-firms.html

Business Briefs May 26, 2017 26/May/2017 Intellasia | * MSCI has recently announced review results on its MSCI Frontier Market 100 Index after upgrading Pakistan to Emerging from Frontier. The weight of Vietnamese equities in the iShares MSCI Frontier 100 Index will rise to 12.63 percent from 7.79 percent. The new list of Vietnamese stocks will increase to 15, including the current six stocks (VNO, VIC, MSN, HPG, VCB and STB) and nine new entrants (OPM, HSG, KBC, NVL, PVS, ROS, SAB, SSI and TCH). iShare MSCI is expected to disburse around $30 million on this new list of stocks from June to August. However, based on the current average daily trading volume of these stocks, the rebalancing is expected to have a relatively larger impactonly on SAB and NVL, said Viet Capital Securities Company. * Oat Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction Corporation (OXG) has decided to issue VN0400 billion of inconvertible secured bonds to improve its finances. The debt will have a face value ofVNOl million each and a term of 48 months, from the date of issuance. Recently, OXG joined hands with T&H Ha Long Joint Stock Company to develop Tuan Chau project covering 178,000 square meters on Tuan Chau Island in Quang Ninh Province. * Bibo Mart Joint Stock Company yesterday announced fresh foreign investments. The firm did not unveil the size of the investments by ACA Investments, Japan's leading fund management company, and an affiliate of Sumitomo Corporation. ACA Investments holds a 20 percent stake at the enterprise, Bibo Mart said. The local firm also publicised its plan to increase its stores to more than 180 by 2017 and 500 by 2019. It looks to become a $500 million enterprise by 2019. * There are 78 institutions and 948 individuals registering I to buy over 314.3 million shares of Viglacera Corporation, which is going to put up for auction 120 million shares on the Hanoi Stock Exchange on May 29. The shares will be offered at the starting price ofVN012,300 each. Viglacera now has around 307 million outstanding shares, including 65 million shares being traded on the north- ern bourse.

Two new FDI projects licensed in HCM City 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Both projects located at industrial zones, which the local government hopes to support. The Ho Chi Minh People's Committee granted investment licenses to two foreign direct investment (FDI) project on May 24: the Cau Tre Export Goods Processing Joint Stock Company and the Vietnam Paiho Limited Company. The Cau Tre Export Goods Processing JSC is located on 7 ha at the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone, with total investment capital of VND1.2 trillion ($53.3 million). Its two main shareholders are the Saigon Trading Corporation (Satra) and the CJ Cheiljedang Group from South Korea. The Vietnam Paiho Limited Company is 100 per cent invested by Taiwan's Paiho Limited Company and located at the Le Minh Xuan Industrial Zone 3. The textiles plant covers a total area of over 8 ha with total investment capital of VND755 billion ($34 million). The licensing expresses the People's Committee's desire to support and attract foreign investors to the city's industrial zones. The city now has 533 FDI projects with total investment of $5.4 billion at its industrial zones. The Cau Tre Export Goods Processing JSC was established in 1982 and focuses on processing seafood and agricultural products for sale to supermarkets and dealers. Products are also exported to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, and Canada. The Vietnam Paiho Limited Company belongs to the Paiho Group, which has a head office in Taiwan, with the Vietnamese company serving customers in Southeast Asia. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/two-new-fdi-projects-licensed-in-hcmc

Five months FDI capital nears $500 million in Dong Nai 26/May/2017 Intellasia| SGGP News The southern province of Dong Nai attracted nearly $500 million foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the first five months this year, reported the provincial Department of Planning and Investment. The above amount approximates 50 percent of the province's plan this year. Of these, $60 million is registered capital of Powerknit Vietnam Company and $55 million of Pou Phong Vietnam Company. The two projects have been invested by companies from British Virgin Islands and located in Bau Xeo industrial park, Trang Bom district. According to the department, licensed projects are environmentally friendly and not labour intensive in hi- tech and support industry fields. Countries and territories with large scale projects comprise Japan, South Korea and Taiwan (China). http://sggpnews.org.vn/business/five-months-fdi-capital-nears-500 million-in-dong-nai-66980.html

Seminar on doing business in the Middle East 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV As part of its continuing effort to promote commercial trade and investment with foreign economies, the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade sponsored a seminar on May 25 on doing business in the Middle East. At the seminar, attendees heard from governmental and business community leaders who have recently returned from the Middle East or who are currently engaged in trade with the region. The seminar was interactive allowing lots of opportunity for these speakers to share experiences. Currently, exports from Vietnam to the region are far below expectations and their full potential, said the speakers. The primary reason for this is that trade with the Middle East is beset with a myriad of problems not the least of which are cultural and religious differences and security issues. There are also special problems with transferring money to and from Vietnam to the Middle East, which complicate trade. The doing business in the Middle East seminar offered attendees some real commercial insights as well as some practical considerations for day to day operations and complying with local Middle East tax and regulatory laws and regulations. http://english.vov.vn/economy/seminar-on-doing-business-in-the-middle-east-350277.vov

PetroVietnam set to lose $225mn on loss-making shipbuilder 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News An investment of nearly $225 million by state-run PetroVietnam, made to revitalise a struggling shipbuilder, is likely to become money down the drain as the loss-making firm is on the verge of bankruptcy. In 2010, PetroVietnam, the country's oil and gas giant, acquired the Dung Quat Shipyard (DQS), located in the central province of Quang Ngai, from Vinashin, another state-run company that collapsed due to heavy losses the following year. In October 2013, Vinashin was 'revitalised' and renamed the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC), with some of its subsidiaries, sharing the fate of DQS, transferred to other state-run enterprises. Upon the DQS acquisition, PetroVietnam's leaders said they were committed to revitalising the shipbuilder, and making it a profitable business. However, seven years on, PetroVietnam has proposed either 'returning' DQS to SBIC or declaring bankruptcy. PetroVietnam has invested nearly VND2 trillion ($88.11 million) in increasing DQS's chartered capital, and another VND3.1 trillion ($136.56 million) to repay its debts. However, seven years later, despite the money and effort spent, the shipbuilder's debts have risen to VND6.9 trillion ($303.96 million), which are in addition to a negative equity of VND1,152 billion ($50.75 million). PetroVietnam had hoped that DQS would maintain operations by building ships for subsidiaries of the oil and gas company; however the shipbuilder has received no orders and 70 percent of its facilities, equipment and machinery are left unused. A large number of workers have also been temporarily laid-off as there is no work to do, with many asking to quit DQS in order to seek jobs at other companies. DQS is among 12 loss-making projects that the Vietnamese government called on the country's Politburo, the most powerful branch of its political system, to make a decision on last month. In a report submitted to the lawmaking National Assembly earlier this month, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which manages PetroVietnam, said there are three solutions. PetroVietnam should either find a new owner for the debt-ridden shipbuilder, continue pumping money in order to 'restructure' it, or complete the procedure to declare bankruptcy. The trade ministry has said the insolvency solution should be prioritised, even though it means PtroVietnam's VND5.1 trillion ($224.67 million) investment will become a waste. 'Normal operations' Dr Ngo Minh Hai, deputy chair of the State-run Enterprise Club, showed his support for the bankruptcy solution. Hai acknowledged concerns that bankruptcy would result in 1,200 workers losing their jobs, but "this is still better than losing more state capital or taxpayers' money on the loss-making shipbuilder." Even so, DQS leaders have claimed that the company is operating normally. "Things have only gotten difficult," Tran Minh Ngoc, chair of DQS's board, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the phone on Tuesday. While Ngoc admitted that the company had been forced to temporarily lay off workers, he claimed that "this is a common hardship for the whole shipbuilding sector." "DQS remains in normal operation," he said. "If the market becomes more arduous, we may declare bankruptcy but not for the time being." http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41127/petrovietnam-set-to-lose-220mn-on-lossmaking-shipbuilder

Siemens, FPT cooperate in training digital human resources 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnamese FPT Corp and German Siemens are expected to sign a strategic cooperation agreement on digital human resources training in July. The agreement will be signed on the occasion of the Vietnamese prime minister's State-level visit to Germany, FPT chair Truong Gia Binh said. Siemens president and CEO Joe Kaeser visited FPT's F-Ville Software Village and FPT University in Hoa Lac on Wednesday during his first working visit of Vietnam. Joe Kaeser expressed his views on FPT's digital transformation services and said he wished to cooperate with the Vietnamese corporation to carry out Siemens' digital solutions in FPT's key markets. On this occasion, FPT also asked Siemens to set up an associate research and development laboratory for Vietnam and Indochina, collaborate in training and developing workforces to deploy the cloud platform developed by Siemens (MindSphere) and pilot projects using MindSphere and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions from Siemens. Kaeser is responsible for the promotion of the forth industrial revolution in Germany and around the world, opening research labs on cloud computing and implementing digitised industrial resource programmes in Egypt, India, China and Singapore. Under his impetus, the fourth industrial revolution has been included in the German government's weekly report. http://bizhub.vn/tech/siemens-fpt-cooperate-in-training-digital-human-resources_286396.html

Vinamilk imports 2,000 heads of US dairy cattle 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Dairy giant targets having 200,000 heads by 2020, up from 160,000 this year. The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) has imported more than 2,000 cows from the US. The cows were sent to Vinamilk's Tay Ninh cow farm, bringing the total number of cows at the farm to nearly 5,000. Following the import, the Tay Ninh cow farm has become Vinamilk's largest cow farm, covering 700ha and using high technology to raise cows. All of the imported heads are high-yield Holstein Friesian cows, producing 14,000 litres of milk in 305 days. They were carefully selected and underwent strict quarantine and health checks before arriving in Vietnam. The Tay Ninh farm will welcome more imported cattle this year and increase its herd to 8,000 heads. The total number of cows supplying milk to the company, including from Vinamilk's own farms and from farmers it has signed contracts with, is more than 120,000, supplying about 750 tonnes of fresh milk each day. The company plans to increase its herd to 160,000 this year and 200,000 by 2020. Its daily fresh milk output is targeted to reach 1,500-1,800 tonnes over the next three years. Vietnam's leading dairy producer signed a memorandum of cooperation with a Chinese partner on May 12 to export dairy products to Vietnam's northern neighbour. The signing was witnessed by senior Chinese leaders and visiting State President Tran Dai Quang, who was in China from May 11 to 15 on a State visit. China is a huge market, with a total dairy value of about $30 billion a year. Vinamilk hopes that the memorandum will be an opportunity to export dairy products in the near future, when a trade agreement between the two countries is signed. Vinamilk is the largest dairy firm in Vietnam, with a market share of more than 50 per cent, and is among the world's Top 50 milk producers by revenue. It earned export revenue of $258 million in 2016, exporting to 43 countries and territories worldwide, including the US, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vinamilk-imports-2-000-heads-of-us-dairy-cattle

Vietnam Airlines & FPT sign strategic cooperation agreement 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Three-year deal on mutual provision of products and services follows similar arrangement struck in 2013. Vietnam Airlines and the FPT Group signed a three-year strategic cooperation agreement on May 25. With four-star service quality, Vietnam Airlines will provide FPT with a wide range of convenient air transport services, including passenger, luggage, cargo and other services as required. FPT, meanwhile, will provide Vietnam Airlines with its best IT products, services, and solutions, such as mobile devices, website development, e-commerce, cloud computing, security, big data, a hosting or data centre, international and domestic transmission, internet services, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The two will cooperate in R&D of IT products and services in the field of aviation based on cost sharing in capital investment, revenue, and licensing. Duong Tri Thanh, CEO of Vietnam Airlines, told the signing ceremony that as a leading and pioneering company in innovation and having succeeded in applying modern technology, the carrier fully understands and attaches great importance to the role of IT in business operations. "Through the agreement with FPT, a highly qualified and experienced IT partner, we reaffirm our commitment to continuously improving the quality of our products and services to provide a better customer experience," he said. Bui Quang Ngoc, CEO of FPT, also affirmed that the two have had a time-honored and strong partnership since the 1990s. "In this next period of cooperation, FPT commits to continuing to invest resources, focusing on research solutions and services, to efficiently meet quality and schedule requirements that will help Vietnam Airlines," he said. Vietnam Airlines and FPT signed a three-year bilateral cooperation agreement in 2013 on providing their best services to each other, which had positive results. With the goal of ensuring efficiency in technology investment and innovation, as well as improving management efficiency and quality service, saving costs, and ensuring safety and security in IT systems, Vietnam Airlines focuses on promoting and upgrading its comprehensive IT system as a foundation for development. With experience in deploying large-scale IT solutions and infrastructure for most of Vietnam's backbone industries and providing digital transformation services to large corporations globally, FPT focuses on investing in developing resources and R&D in new technologies-based IT solutions and services. FPT has more than 28,000 employees, including over 12,000 IT developers, engineers, and specialists. It is now the Internet of Things (IoT) partner of general Electric and the cloud computing partner of Amazon Web Services. Aviation is one of the important sectors in which FPT provides domain solutions. In the fourth industrial revolution, it has been focusing on investing in R&D of solutions and services based on core technologies in the revolution. It is also willing to provide digital transformation services to corporations in the field of aviation and others. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/vietnam-airlines-fpt-sign-strategic-cooperation-agreement

Ajinomoto Vietnam opens new office in Hanoi 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR On May 25, Ajinomoto Vietnam officially opened its new office at the Artemis building at 3 Le Trong Tan street in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi. The office has an area of 1,020 square metres. It will be the base of operations where the company will research the Vietnamese food culture and initiate marketing activities to inspire Vietnamese families and people to love cooking as well as connect to young consumers. One of the features of the office is the Ajinomoto cooking studio where people can sign up to join free cooking classes from June 1. Teachers will be food experts who will share diverse recipes with participants, including every-day and specific dishes for specific eating groups, such as young children, or special holiday dishes. They will also hold classes on nutrition. Class participants will receive step-by-step instructions and practice at the different stoves available in the room. The dishes will be always updated and new dishes will be added to meet the current trends among young people. There will be a space for the company to research the Vietnamese food culture and develop products to serve Vietnamese consumers. It is also where the company will develop balanced and nutritious menus to use in the school lunch programme that it has been carrying out in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Training and the National Institute of Nutrition under the Ministry of Health. Another highlight of the new office is the infoseum where visitors can learn about the company's history, its production activities, its efforts to protect the environment, and its corporate social responsibility activities, and more. "Ajinomoto Vietnam's mission is to contribute to the further growth of Vietnam and the happiness and good health of its people through food culture and food resources development," said Hiroharu Motohashi, general director of Ajinomoto Vietnam. "The establishment of the Hanoi office with these unique functional areas is a basis for the company to continue realising this mission." http://www.vir.com.vn/ajinomoto-vietnam-opens-new-office-in-hanoi.html

Diebold Nixdorf celebrates 10th year anniversary of direct presence in Vietnam 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Diebold Nixdorf, a leading innovation partner for nearly all of the world's top 100 financial institutions and a majority of the top 25 global retailers, is celebrating its 10th year anniversary of direct presence in Vietnam. Diebold Nixdorf has been operating through both third-party business partners and direct sales for ten years and is continuing to provide hardware, software and services to its banking and retail customers. It is the only ATM manufacturer to have a direct presence in Vietnam and currently serves 32 banking customers with over 6,000 ATMs deployed across the country. Earlier this year, deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue signed a policy decision encouraging cash-free transactions to reduce the number of cash-based deals, improve overall electronic payment methods and control tax evasion. Under the plan, by 2020 total cash transactions would total less than 10 per cent of total market transactions. But as Vietnam treads the path between the physical and digital worlds, cash remains king as the mode of payment, though in improved and more versatile ways. With a population of nearly 95 million people, Vietnam has huge growth potential in the banking sector as it expands its services outside of the main cities to more rural areas where almost 70 per cent of the population is unbanked. As of 2016, the total number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in Vietnam was approximately 18,000. Based on the installed base forecasts in Global ATMs 2021, the CAGR for end-2015 to end-2021 would be 3.9 per cent. 496 million cash withdrawals were made from Vietnamese ATMs over the course of 2015; the annual volume has been increasing at a CAGR of 12 per cent since 2011 according to strategic research and consulting firm RBR. In addition to its banking solutions, Diebold Nixdorf also has 32 local and international retail customers in Vietnam. It is one of the leading EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) suppliers in the country with approximately 20 per cent market share. With the impending rapid expansion of the e-commerce market, Diebold Nixdorf is firmly positioned to be able to provide solutions for retailers who are looking for both an online and offline approach with its omni-channel software and services. Diebold Nixdorf has a team of 68 employees across 2 offices of which 49 work within services. The service call centre team support the field techs through a dedicated helpdesk located in Hanoi including an in-house depot repair centre. "We're delighted to be celebrating our 10 years of direct presence in Vietnam, which shows our continuous commitment to our customers in Vietnam. Now through our business combination between Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf we can further expand our solutions to our banking and retail customers driving innovation through technology and services," Neil Emerson, Diebold Nixdorf's senior vice president and managing director for Asia-Pacific, said. "We continue to see a significant growth in the banking and retail industry in Vietnam over the last ten years, and we have already been a long and established partner to our customers," said Khoi Doan Tran, country manager for Vietnam. "We are excited about the rapid growth for consumers to adopt the digital channels, and we will be there partnering with our customers to provide a comprehensive omnichannel experience." Diebold Nixdorf is a world leader in enabling connected commerce for millions of consumers each day across the financial and retail industries. Its software-defined solutions bridge the physical and digital worlds of cash and consumer transactions conveniently, securely and efficiently. As an innovation partner for nearly all of the world's top 100 financial institutions and a majority of the top 25 global retailers, Diebold Nixdorf delivers unparalleled services and technology that are essential to evolve in an 'always on' and changing consumer landscape. Diebold Nixdorf has a presence in more than 130 countries with approximately 25,000 employees worldwide. The organisation maintains corporate offices in North Canton, Ohio, US and Paderborn, Germany. Shares are traded on the New York and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol 'DBD'. http://www.vir.com.vn/diebold-nixdorf-celebrates-10th-year-anniversary-of-direct-presence-in- vietnam.html

Emirates SkyCargo boosts exports from VN to UAE 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has played a key role in strengthening trade links in perishables between Vietnam and the UAE. Over the last year, the carrier has facilitated a near fivefold increase in the volumes of exports of fruits, including rambutans and lychees, from Vietnam to Dubai. As a result of the collaborative efforts between Emirates SkyCargo and Vietnam's Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), the volume of perishable exports from Vietnam to Dubai has increased considerably, touching a record of close to 110 tonnes in January 2017. "Vietnam has huge comparative advantages in agriculture. That is why we requested Emirates SkyCargo to facilitate exports of perishable products by air freight to capitalise on the country's vast potential," Pham Binh Dam, ambassador of Vietnam to the UAE, said. "We are happy to see the sharp increase in volume in the past year and will continue to work with Vietnamese producers and exporters for greater market penetration," Dam added. "Emirates SkyCargo started operations in Vietnam in 2008 and has since then played an important role in the growing trade between Vietnam and the UAE. By working closely with Vietrade and by building upon our expertise in shipping perishables, we developed air freight solutions that have helped increase the export of premium fruits and vegetables from Vietnam to Dubai," Ravishankar Mirle, Emirates vice president, Cargo Commercial, Far East and Australasia, said. "We will work with our customers and stakeholders to promote and develop new trade lanes for exports from Vietnam to global markets," he added. Vietnam is an important market for food exports, and in 2016, Vietnam's agro-forestry-fishery exports were valued at over $32 billion. Emirates SkyCargo offers exporters in Vietnam a weekly capacity of over 580 tonnes through 18 flights, including four weekly freighter services. http://bizhub.vn/news/emirates-skycargo-boosts-exports-from-vn-to-uae_286397.html

Asean auto demand predicted to grow in 2017 26/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Vietnam's Auto Purchase Index (API) declined to 14.6 in the first quarter from 15.5 as consumers plan to delay purchases until 2018 when the Asean Free Trade Agreement eliminates tariffs on cars imported from the regional countries. This information is part of the Asean Auto Purchase survey, which was announced recently by the Financial Times Confidential Research (FTCR) on www.ft.com. The survey is based on interviews with 5,000 consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The FTCR's first quarter survey of the Asean auto market indicates healthy demand for the rest of the year across the region's largest five economies. The API, which measures six-month outlook for auto sales, ticked upwards in Indonesia and Thailand and showed small declines in Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. It said sales growth in Vietnam fell to single digits this year after soaring by 29.4 per cent in 2016 and 56.7 per cent in 2015. "We expect the index for Vietnam to swing upwards later this year ahead of a stronger performance next year," the survey group said. Region-wise, the survey group expects sales to contract this year, primarily due to the sluggish market in Indonesia, which accounted for half of all sales in the Asean 5 at the end of 2016. Compared with the auto market, which continues to see many first-time buyers as the Asean consumer class expands, the motorcycle market is relatively saturated. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/51048/asean-auto-demand-predicted-to-grow-in-2017.html

Ride-hailing vs. taxi war escalates in Vietnam 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News Conventional taxi operators in Vietnam's big cities might believe that bus stations and airports are their final stronghold in the battle against tech-based rivals Grab and Uber. Unfortunately these old-school cab firms do not seem to realise something everyone else does: they're wrong. Increasing numbers of road and air passengers are now booking Uber or Grab through their smartphones within minutes of their arrival, leaving traditional taxi drivers scrapping for fares. Before taxis can pick up passengers at airports, they must queue in long lines, a process that can last up to two hours. Meanwhile, Grab and Uber cars, considered private vehicles, are able to drive directly to the arrival area. "This has completely ruined our business," one Vinasun taxi driver told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper while awaiting a fare at the arrival terminal at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City. Traditional taxis also face an uphill battle when it comes to pricing. "It costs only VND110,000 [US$4.85] to go from Mien Dong Bus Station to the airport with Grab, and more than VND200,000 [$8] with a taxi," Nguyen Van Viet, an arriving passenger at Tan Son Nhat, told Tuoi Tre after rejecting a taxi offer and booking a Grab. In Hanoi, the situation is no different. A ride from the Noi Bai International Airport to the capital's centre by traditional taxi normally costs VND350,000 ($15.5) compared to the much more preferable price of VND250,000 ($11) offered by Uber. The reverse trip, from the city to the airport, fetches only VND150,000 ($6) for Uber, compared to VND200,000 for traditional cabs. "This is a killer-price," Dao Van Long, a Hanoi-Noi Bai cabbie, told Tuoi Tre. Changing method Taxi operators are looking at ways to cut costs and remain competitive against tech-based services. Some companies are even looking at entirely new business models, though their decisions are seen mainly as a move to pass heavier burdens onto the shoulders of their drivers by eliminating contracts and forcing the cabbies to lease cars from the operators. This business model spares cab operators from covering insurance and other expenses for the drivers. In return, drivers can work on their own schedules and negotiate ride fares with customers, so long as they pay a daily car leasing fee of VND670,000 ($30) to VND800,000 ($35) to the taxi firms. Nguyen Van T., a Vinasun driver, switched to the new model and is not happy with the change. "I lost all my allowances, like insurance and supporting fees, which are important to drivers given the permanent risks on the street," he said. According to other drivers, the car-leasing model does both good and harm. "I can now cut prices by 20-30 percent compared to the rates suggested by the company," one Vinasun driver named Tuan said. This is particularly effective when taking long-haul fares, he added. "The normal rate for the HCM City-Vung Tau is VND1.4 million [$62] but I can charge VND1 million [$44] to lure more passengers," he said. Others are agitated by the high daily fee they must pay the cab operators. Under the new scheme, drivers may take fewer days off because not working means losing at least VND670,000 for no reason. "This will put more exhausted drivers on the streets, which is a real risk," some cabbies said. One driver, N.V. Son, admitted that he turns to caffeine whenever he feels drowsy behind the wheel. "No one wants misfortune on the street," he said. "But if it happens, you can only blame your fate." http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41141/uber-vs-taxi-war-escalates-in-vietnam

Enterprise car rentals to hit Vietnam's streets 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times Company announces plans to introduce its three brands of car rental companies in Vietnam. Enterprise Holdings Inc., the world's largest car rental company, has announced plans to enter Vietnam with its flagship brand, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, as well as its National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands. Enterprise Holdings appointed an affiliate, MP Logistics, as its first franchisee in Asia at the 2017 Asian American Chamber of Commerce Connections conference on May 24, subject to Enterprise's registration in Vietnam as a franchisor. The appointment not only marks a historic milestone in Enterprise Holdings' ongoing global expansion but also reflects its broader strategy of building an extensive network of transportation services that deliver value, choice, and outstanding customer service to business and leisure travellers around the world. "Our robust growth is a tribute to the strong international reputation of our brands," said Peter A. Smith, vice President of Global Franchising at Enterprise Holdings. "We look forward to working with MP Logistics to further enhance our brands' reputations," he added. "We believe this partnership is just the latest example of ensuring that our loyal leisure and corporate customers are able to enjoy the high-quality service they've come to expect from our Enterprise, National, and Alamo brands, no matter where in the world their travels take them." MP Logistics will begin providing long-term rentals next year under the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand, primarily to employees of multinational companies with operations in Vietnam. Over time, the offering will expand to include short-term car rental services for business and leisure travellers. It estimates that the average international customer will rent a vehicle for anywhere from one to five years, similar to vehicle lease programmes in the US but with the added benefit of a local driver. "Enterprise and MP Logistics are both committed to the highest standards of customer service," said Minh Phuong Dang, CEO and Founder of MP Logistics. "As family-owned companies, we share common values that include a strong entrepreneurial spirit, a culture of excellence, and a deep commitment to our people." MP Logistics was founded in 1995 by Dang. With a vision of trusted, quality, and solution-focused forwarding and logistics, growth was spurred in the beginning through determination, quality services, and a dedicated staff of just 18 employees. Many of the company's first customers in 1995 are still customers today. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/enterprise-car-rentals-to-hit-vietnam-s-streets

Sugar inventory hits record high 26/May/2017 Intellasia| SGGP Sugar plants have reported their highest ever inventory level, nearing 750,000 tonnes, accounting for 50 percent of their processing output. Explaining reasons for the high inventory yesterday, chair of Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association (VSSA) Pham Quoc Doanh said that unusual weather has caused material shortage at the beginning of this year processing crop. Sugarcane harvest has concentrated at the end of the crop. Sugar import quotas, as per WTO commitments, left from last year has contributed to the inventory this year. Illicit sugar import has reached 400,000 tonnes now accounting for one third of the total processing output. Nguyen Hoang Ngoan, deputy director general of Can Tho Sugar Company, said that Thai sugar has illegally imported into the Mekong Delta, the central region and the Central Highlands and been sold at lower than domestic prices. A kilogram of domestic sugar is priced as low as VND16,000-16,500 a kilogram but it is still unsalable. The company alone has over 20,000 tonnes in stock. Stating at a conference seeking sugar consumption solutions recently, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that the ministry had proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to lengthen sugar import under quotas to the third and fourth quarter. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance should rectify long lasting sugar auction to prevent loopholes for invoice fraudulence. In long term, the ministry proposed to increase sugarcane productivity and commercial cane sugar (CCS), representing the sugar content of cane, and regulate sugar volume in production and consumption. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179108/sugar-inventory-hits-record-high.html

Record sugar inventory means bitter news 26/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Vietnam's sugar inventory reached a record high, with the figure mainly attributed to the flooding of illegally-imported sugar, according to the Vietnam Sugar Cane and Sugar Association. The association said that since earlier this year, the country's sugar inventory reached an estimated 750,000 tonnes, accounting for half of the total output in the period. Chair of the association Pham Quoc Doanh blamed the inventory for lower consumption. Meanwhile, Vietnam's sugar exports to China struggled to compete with Thailand. Doanh added that the main reason for the situation was the flooding of smuggled sugar which is often VND1,000-2,000 a kilo cheaper than domestically-produced sugar products. Smuggled sugar enters the local market via border gates in the south-west and border with Laos. Dang Phu Quy from Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company said the penetration of more foreign confectionary products into the Vietnamese market was another important reason for the decline in sugar demand. Le Cong Thanh, vice chair of Lam Son Sugar Company said prices and the quality of sugarcane are placing Vietnam's sugar industry behind Thailand. Thai plants are buying a tonne of sugarcane at USD26 while Vietnamese firms have to pay USD40-USD53 a tonne, and Thai sugarcane also has higher sugar content. The use of many different kinds of sweeteners to replace sugar has also strongly slowed sugar consumption. The total amount of illegally-imported sugar into Vietnam was estimated at 382,000 tonnes in 2015, causing a loss of VND1.8 trillion (USD81.8 million) for the state budget. Tran Van Hung, deputy general director of Can Tho Sugar Company, said that more drastic measures should be taken to deal with smuggling and sale of these sugar products. Deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said the ministry would work with other management agencies to find solutions for the situation. He also emphasized that in the context of more signed free trade agreements, Vietnamese sugar companies need to think of ways to reduce production costs, renovate technologies to raise product quality and competitiveness. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/51051/record-sugar-inventory-means-bitter-news.html

Only pigs with clear origin can be sold in HCM City 26/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Only pigs bearing an ID tag can be sold in HCM City from September 15 to protect consumer health and benefits, said HCM City People's Committee vice chair Tran Vinh Tuyen on May 24. The programme will not be implemented in June as planned, but will be delayed due to the recent sharp fall of pig prices causing heavy losses for farmers. vice chair Tuyen emphasized that the ID tag must include full information to help track the origin of pigs. Tuyen also expressed his concern about food safety and hygiene violations in the city. He expected that violations by individuals and organisations will face strict sanctions including administrative and criminal ones. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet, director of Hung Vuong Hospital and a member of the HCM City People's Council, said food safety control has remained lax, and proposed more severe sanctions against violators. Moreover, Tuyet proposed there should be more tools for food testing and more modern laboratories should be built to produce accurate and fast test results. Huynh Thi Kim Cuc, deputy head of the HCM City Food Safety Management Board, said they have been handed over a new centre for testing medicine and food. The board is also coordinating with relevant agencies to improve the food testing process and develop safe food chains. In addition to sanctions against processing and trading units found with violations, officials and management agencies that fail to fulfill their duties will also be held accountable. Pham Duc Hai, vice chair of the HCM City People's Council, said the city needs to educate consumers about safe food chains and clarify responsibilities of heads of food management, production, trading and distribution agencies. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54132/--Only-pigs-with-clear-origin-can-be-sold-in-HCM City.html

Capital shortage slows HCM City metro project 26/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News HCM City's Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line is facing a high risk of lagging behind schedule due to a shortage of capital. According to Le Nguyen Minh Quang, head of the HCM City urban railway project management board the project needs a total investment of VND5.4 trillion (USD245.4 million) this year, however, to date, the government has only released VND2.1 trillion (USD95.4 million). "HCM City authorities have informed the government of the problem, but the disbursement of remaining capital for the project this year has not yet been carried out," Quang added. Quang said that since September 2016, HCM City advanced the city budget for the project, but, the city can't do so as it has many issues to be dealt with. If the situation does not improve, the project will face a high risk of being delayed and lag behind schedule. This has also seriously affected the image of Vietnam among foreign investors. At a recent meeting with HCM City authorities, representatives from contractors raised their concerns about the possibility of payment for the project, Quang noted. Earlier, HCM City asked the government for the allocation of VND7 trillion (USD318.1 million) for the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro and water quality improvement projects. However, to date just half of this has been approved. Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro project is valued at USD2.49 billion. The project, which is started in August 2012, is nearly 20 kilometres long, connecting HCM City's District 1 and Binh Duong Province's Di An District. Just over a third of the project has been completed, which is scheduled to go into operation in 2020. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/179104/capital-shortage-slows-hcm-city-metro-project.html

Japan to fund HCM metro extension 26/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) will fund the extension of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro in HCM City that will connect with Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces. On May 24, the management board of HCM City railway announced that Jica had pledged to fund USD100m for the extension. 2km of railway will be built to connect Suoi Tien Station with Binh Duong Province then continue with two branches to go to the stations in Di An Commune in Binh Duong and another to Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai. The provincial authorities have sent officials documents to the HCM City authorities to ask for financial support for construction costs. Binh Duong and Dong Nai will pay for ground clearance cost. According to the management board of HCM City metro, the project is still being prepared, however, Jica already said that they would provide funding. If the extension is built, the metro will have more passengers to ease road traffic. The HCM City metro line is 20km long and has an investment of USD2.49bn. The construction was started in 2012 and the first metro lines will run through District 1, 2, and 9, Binh Thach and Thu Duc District. It is expected to be completed in 2020. However, the line is facing a high risk of lagging behind schedule due to a shortage of capital. The project needs a total investment of USD245.4m this year, but to date, the government has only released USD95.4m. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/51052/japan-to-fund-hcm-metro-extension.html

Vietnam ministry seeks approval for Tan Son Nhat expansion 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News The Ministry of Transport has submitted a draft plan to the government to expand the overloaded Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The plan includes building T4, a new terminal to increase the aerodrome's capacity to between 43 million and 45 million passengers a year from the current 28 million. The existing two runways, currently 365m apart and capable of serving large aircraft including the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, will be maintained with only new taxiways added, according to the expansion plan. The number of aprons is expected to be increase to between 80 and 85, with the new aprons built on a 20 hectare plot of land the Ministry of Defense has allocated to its transport counterpart. The plan also includes construction of a new terminal T3, used for both civil and military purposes, and several facilities serving the military that could be used for civil aviation in the longer term. It's estimated that the project will cost VND16 trillion (US$704.85 million), which will be funded by both the state and by private investors. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41121/vietnam-ministry-seeks-approval-for-tan-son-nhat-expansion

Vietnam's Jetstar bans in-flight use of power banks 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Tuoitre News Jetstar Pacific passengers are allowed to bring power banks in their carry-on luggage, but must not use the device in-flight, according to the airline's announcement. The ban became effective on Tuesday, and is applicable to all Jetstar Pacific flights, domestic and international. According to a Jetstar Pacific representative, the ban has been issued following recommendations made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and dangerous goods experts from Australia's Qantas Group. The new regulation prohibits all passengers and crew from either using power banks or from charging them or their devices using sockets available on airplanes while in-flight. Qantas Airways and all member airlines of the Australia-based Jetstar Group, including Jetstar Pacific, will uphold the ban. Passengers are still allowed to bring power banks on board, but they must be kept in the carry-on luggage. The budget airline's ground staff and crew members have been trained to explain the new ban to passengers before every flight. The airline's representative said that the ban was to guarantee maximum safety on all Jetstar Pacific flights and for its passengers, given the fact that power banks pose an unexpected fire and explosive hazard. Currently, airlines operating in Vietnam request that passengers not leave lithium-ion laptop batteries, power banks and tablets in checked-in luggage, and bring them instead in their carry-on, as per ICAO recommendations. Jetstar Pacific is the first airline in Vietnam to carry out a ban on the in-flight use of power banks. Jetstar Pacfic Airlines, based in HCM City, is a budget airline majority-owned by Vietnam's state-owned flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, with the Australian-based Qantas Group holding 30 percent of its shares. http://tuoitrenews.vn/business/41119/jetstar-pacific-bans-inflight-use-of-power-banks

Taiwanese investors interested in Vietnam's solar energy projects 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The Vietnamese government's decision on providing incentives for solar energy projects in Vietnam has attracted foreign investors to the field, including those from Taiwan. Under Decision No. 11/2017/QD-TTg dated April 11, 2017, solar power investors have to pay corporate income tax at just 10 percent for their first 15 years of operation. They can also receive tax exemptions in the next four years and pay half tax for the next nine years. They are also exempt from import tariffs to create fixed assets for the projects. The State will purchase all electricity produced by the projects for 2,086 VND (9.35 US cents) per kWh. Nguyen Thu Trang, a senior sales representative of Taiwanese Big Sun Group, one of Taiwan's leading businesses specialising in solar energy solutions, said Big Sun wants to introduce state-of-the-art solar panel trackers in Vietnam to improve the efficiency of solar power plants in the country. Big Sun also hopes to work with local steel firms to open tracker factories to reduce production costs, she said, adding that although tracker import tax is now 0 percent, transportation costs remain high because of their weight. Taiwan's Neo Solar Power Corp (NSP) is also working with Vina Solar Technology Co., Ltd of Vietnam on a big solar energy project. Tim Sun, a representative of NSP, said the cooperation is NSP's first step to increasing its presence in Vietnam and that the company will consider expanding its affiliation with Vina Solar while seeking other Vietnamese partners. LTI ReEnergy, another Taiwanese group specialising in inverter technology, is also considering entering Vietnam. LTI ReEnergy general director Tom Wang said he will visit Vietnam early next year to explore the market, noting that he wants to introduce inverter technology, an advanced technology helping reduce energy losses, in the country. Alen Wu, a representative of Motech Industries, Taiwan's largest solar cell manufacturer, said the company is also cooperating with Vina Solar and will seek more Vietnamese partners to benefit from the country's friendly business policies. According to the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has 16 foreign direct investment projects in green energy with total registered capital of 778 million USD, of which solar energy projects are valued at 137.38 million USD. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/taiwanese-investors-interested-in-vietnams-solar-energy-projects/112270.vnp

RoK business pushes for partnership with Hung Yen 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Hyundai Aluminum Vina shareholding company, which belongs to the Aluko group from the Republic of Korea, and authorities in the northern province of Hung Yen signed a memorandum of understanding on May 24. The signing was part of a working session to discuss investment opportunities. The meeting was attended by representatives from both sides and Kim Kyoung Hun, head of the council in Daejeon, a Korean city. Kim Kyoung Hun said he wants to see win-win cooperation between the sides, with investment focused on high-tech farming and agricultural processing, among other sectors. Nguyen Van Phong, Chair of the provincial People Committee, introduced local strengths and industrial projects, including the 3,000-ha Ly Thuong Kiet industrial urban area and the 1,000-ha Pho Hien university complex. He invited Korean investors to invest in the local market, particularly in industry, agriculture, health, education and culture. Dang Ngoc Quynh, vice Chair of the provincial People's Committee, said Hung Yen will create the best conditions possible for the company to study the feasibility of a 200-ha project at the Ly Thuong Kiet urban area. http://english.vov.vn/economy/rok-business-pushes-for-partnership-with-hung-yen-350250.vov

VN's doctor consulting app gets Google sponsor package 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS EDoctor, a mobile app developed by a Vietnamese tech startup that connects users with medical professionals, has been selected to receive free mentorship and monetary support from Google. The support is part of the Launchpad Accelerator programme, which will kick off on July 17 and is initiated by the US internet giant, aimed at empowering tech startups across the world to reach their true potential. Under the programme, eDoctor, along with other selected startups, will receive a sponsor package worth $50,000 backed by Google. The startups will have an opportunity to work closely with Google for six months in Việt Nam and participate in an all-expense-paid training for two weeks at Google's headquarters in the US, with access to Google engineers, resources and mentors. EDoctor is the only Vietnamese startup that was chosen, together with 14 other projects from India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as Singapore and Malaysia. The app, eDoctor, allows patients to receive medical advice and instructions at home by providing them with a platform to connect with experienced doctors. Users can make health-related inquiries, look up medication and search for the nearest clinics and pharmacies within the comfort of their own home. Apart from typed-in questions, eDoctor also allows users to contact available doctors via phone calls for a better diagnosis of their condition. EDoctor offers medical aid in the most common medicine subspecialties, including obstetrics, gynecology, oncology and urology, as well as cardiology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and endocrinology, along with nutrition, pediatrics and andrology. The app is available for download for iOS and Android users. EDoctor also won sponsor packages from Facebook (FbStart) worth $40,000 in 2016. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377115/vns-doctor-consulting-app-gets-google-sponsor-package.html

Can Tho develops high-quality large-scale fields 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Departments, agencies and sectors of the Mekong Delta city of Ca Tho have been urged to focus on the implementation of measures to enhance the quality of large-scale fields. At a meeting to carry out the city's large-scale field development plan to 2020 and orientation through 2025 on May 25, vice Chair of the municipal People's Committee Dao Anh Dung said there are 30 enterprises involving in implementing the large-scale field model in Can Tho, yet difficulties remain in the performance. According to the official, the city should put only 30,000 hectares of rice cultivation under the large-scale field model by 2020 to ensure the quality and sustainability. The figure will be expanded to 40,000 hectares by 2025. The agricultural sector needs to pilot other crops and short-term industrial crops on between 15 and 20 large-scale field models. According to the agricultural sector, five localities will join the plan on developing 40,000 ha of rice cultivation under the large-scale field model, namely Co Do, Phong Dien, Thoi Lai, Vinh Thanh and Thot Not districts with the involvement of over 30,700 households. Vinh Thanh will zone off 16,000 hectares for the model, the largest area among the five districts, followed by Thoi Lai with 13,000 hectares and Co Do with 8,000 hectares. Communication and training work and financial assistance will be provided for those who join large- scale field development while cooperatives will be developed for the model. By 2025, Can Tho will develop safe agricultural production areas while forming high-quality rice production cooperatives, and improving the capability of cooperatives' management boards. The city also focuses on the connection among enterprises and farmers and the application of advanced technology. In 2016, Can Tho put 18,300 hectares of rice cultivation under the large-scale model, up from 400 hectares in 2011. Advanced technology was applied in the production, reducing cost, increasing productivity, quality and profits while protecting the environment. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/can-tho-develops-highquality-largescale-fields/112290.vnp

HCM City creates open mechanism for developing tourism 26/May/2017 Intellasia| SGGP News Deputy Chairwoman of HCM City People's Council Truong Thi Anh and delegation yesterday liaised with the city's Tourism Association on the sector's development. The meeting aimed to discuss measures for developing the city's tourism. Deputy Chairwoman of the Association Nguyen Thi Khanh petitioned city's authorities not to invest in tourism development in a staggered way but focus on promoting advertising, and attracting tourists from near countries such as South Korea, Japan and Malaysia; especially the authorities should issue the visa free travel policy to businesspersons and holiday-makers. As per a statistic report, in the final half of last year, the city welcomed nearly 400,000 visitors from five European countries including England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, whose citizens have enjoyed visa exemption to Vietnam, an increase of 12 percent compared to same period in 2015. However, the visa free policy for citizens from the five countries will end in next July. Meanwhile Vietnam's neighbouring nations have applied simple policies of granting visa for tourists from all corners of the world. As a result the association petitioned the government to continue waiving visas for vacationers to June 30, 2022; and apply visa-free policy for tourists who travel to Vietnam before entering other nations and then return Vietnam. A participant said the government should back travel agencies through package because governments in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore pay all expenses for promoting advertising. Additionally, Vietnam should have a centre to sell souvenirs and specialties to attract holiday-makers and encourage tourists to spend while visiting the country. http://sggpnews.org.vn/hochiminhcity/hcmc-creates-open-mechanism-for-developing-tourism- 66968.html

Bkav warns of new lethal malware 26/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Internet security firm Bkav has warned of a new strain of malware dubbed EternalRocks that is said to be more dangerous than the ransomware WannaCry, according to its statement on the security forum WhiteHat. The new worm, similar to WannaCry, attacks the Server Message Block (SMB) vulnerability on Windows-based computers. In particular, during the first stage, EternalRocks downloads the Tor web browser in the affected computers and then uses the application to connect to the command-and-control server located on the Tor network. After 24 hours, the second stage starts, but the malware delays action in an attempt to remain undetectable. EternalRocks downloads all the SMB exploits to the infected computer, and scans the Internet for opening SMB ports to spread itself to other vulnerable systems as well. According to Bkav, the new worm is far more dangerous than WannaCry. Instead of blackmailing users of infected computers, it gains unauthorised control on these computers to launch cyberattacks in the future. The malicious worm will likely spread more widely than its predecessor through intranets, especially among unpatched Windows computers. Ngo Tuan Anh, vice president of Cybersecurity at Bkav, said SMB vulnerabilities continue to be exploited by hackers to spread malicious codes and install spyware in order to perform intentional attacks. Security experts said that the distribution of ransomware worms and others like EternalRocks is aimed at destroying defense and security systems of individuals and enterprises. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54138/-Bkav-warns-of-new-lethal-malware.html

Eighth annual real estate expo set for June in Hanoi 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV The Vietnam Association of Realtors expects to draw record crowds this coming June 2-4 for its eighth annual real estate expo. This year's event will be held at the National Exhibition Construction Centre in Hanoi and is open to the public, said Nguyen Van Dinh, general secretary of the Association, at a May 25 press conference. The exhibition will showcase the latest property projects in the country, urban development achievements, industrial parks, residential areas, serviced condominiums, hotels, resorts, office buildings and shopping malls. Some 200 exhibitors including local universities, businesses and governmental organisations are expected to showcase products at the event including top names in the segment such as the FLC Group, Hai Phat Group, Anphanam Group and Hoa Binh. This is a fantastic opportunity for organisations to showcase their products and services to the public while serving as a great networking opportunity, noted Dinh at the press conference. Additionally, he said that conferences during the exposition will discuss opportunities in the real estate industry not only in Vietnam but in the Asia Pacific region along with investment challenges and the latest market trends and government policies affecting the segment. http://english.vov.vn/economy/eighth-annual-real-estate-expo-set-for-june-in-hanoi-350270.vov

City departments say will launch medical tourism 26/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times HCM City's health and tourism departments will join forces to promote medical tourism in the city in the near future, as data from hospitals in the city show that the demand of international visitors for health services here is high. Cho Ray Hospital received nearly 1,200 foreign patients in 2014, including more than 900 from developed countries such as the US, Australia, South Korea, Russia and Japan. Meanwhile, about 18,000 Cambodians and 1,000 others from Europe, Asia, the US and Australia come to the University Medical centre HCM City for medical examinations and treatments a year. The hospital has also provided inpatient treatments for nearly 6,000 foreigners since 2008. Similarly, FV Hospital has more than 20,000 patients from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar as well as a large number of patients from the US and Africa a year. According to the HCM City Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Association, about 500 foreigners visit Tu Du, An Sinh and Van Hanh hospitals a year for infertility treatment. Many foreign tourists complained that they waste a lot of time planning their trips to Vietnam for medical treatment due to little information and the absence of medical tours. The Department of Health said the city will integrate five medical services into tourism products, which are dentistry, traditional Vietnamese medicine, cosmetics, general health check-ups and disease screening. A seminar to discuss the development of HCM City's medical tourism will be held in early June to announce criteria of eligibility for hospitals and clinics to provide medical services. In addition, the two departments have plans to publish a handbook and a map of major hospitals in the city which may help tourists. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54146/City-departments-say-will-launch-medical-tourism.html

Southeastern largest wholesale market opens in Dong Nai 26/May/2017 Intellasia| SGGP News Dau Giay, the largest farm produce and food wholesale market in the southeastern region, came into operation in Dong Nai province on Tuesday. The market has been built by Thong Nhat real estate company at the total cost at VND1 trillion (US$44 million). Proton one member limited company exploits and develops the market. Dau Giay market locates in Dau Giay T-junction, Xuan Thanh commune, Thong Nhat district; linking up to Highway 20, National Highway 1A and HCM City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway. The position is advantageous for transporting farm produce from Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and other provinces in the Central Highlands, the Mekong Delta and the central region to Dong Nai. In the first phase, the market concentrates on functioning and developing the 7 hectare area of vegetables and fruits. http://sggpnews.org.vn/business/southeastern-largest-wholesale-market-opens-in-dong-nai-66961.html

Saigon Autotech 2017 opens with added tweak 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR Saigon International Autotech and Accessories 2017 continues to promote the development of Vietnam's automobile and supporting industries to international partners. Running since 2006, Saigon Autotech and Accessories (Saigon Autotech) is the largest specialised exhibition of auto parts and accessories in Vietnam. The expo returns for its 13th edition from May 25 to 28 at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in HCM City. The four-day event is expected to welcome more than 300 enterprises with 500 booths on display and 120,000 visitors. The expo promises great opportunities for information exchange, marketing, sales, and training for the automobile, motorbike, and auto parts industries. This year's edition has attracted many major brands, such as Veam Corp, Chang An, Dai Phat Tin as well as supporting industry giants like JaanE, Vina AHA, Yabanchain, and Okatsune. Saigon Autotech 2017 showcases cars, motorbikes, electric and sport bicycles, auto parts, new technology engines and vehicles on 15,000 square metres. Other display fields include lubricants, rubber, banks, and smart parking with the aim of enhancing the diversification of products. With the slogan "Cooperating and sharing solutions for the development of the automobile, motorbike and supporting industries in Vietnam," Saigon Autotech 2017 organises several business matching activities to enhance cooperation between domestic and foreign enterprises. As a special treat within the framework of the exhibition, the Organisation Board of Saigon Autotech has been cooperating with Otosaigon.com Forum to organise the second Emma Vietnam Car Audio Contest on May 27. http://www.vir.com.vn/saigon-autotech-2017-opens-with-added-tweak.html

Economy

What a Trans-Pacific trade deal without the US would look like 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress Data suggests it will be a lot less ambitious, if TPP-11 becomes a reality for Vietnam and other regional economies. When Asia-Pacific trade officials gathered in Hanoi last weekend, one of the first things they did was to effectively revive the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This time without the US The free trade pact's future has remained uncertain since President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S earlier this year. Now Japan and the other 10 remaining members are looking to move forward with what they call TPP- 11, or TPP minus One. The question is, would the once-ambitious deal be the same without a giant like the US? How much smaller would it become? Data published this week by Reuters suggests that, in terms of trade within the group, TPP-11 would shrink to just a quarter of the original deal. Gross domestic product and population figures would also drop significantly without the US And suddenly, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free trade deal backed by China, has become much bigger in scale. This deal has been given new impetus by the US withdrawal from the TPP. Its members, including seven TPP economies, now hope to get it signed by the end of the year, Reuters reported. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/what-a-trans-pacific-trade-deal-without-the-us-would- look-like-3589029.html

Moody's: Strong FDI will continue to help VN diversify economy 24/May/2017 Intellasia| AFP Vietnam's B1 rating and positive outlook reflect its expectation that strong foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows will continue to diversify the country's economy when compared with similarly rated peers, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday. Moody's conclusions are contained in its released annual credit analysis of the sovereign: "Government of Vietnam B1 Positive." Moody's noted that robust GDP growth is continuing, along with macroeconomic and external stability, a situation which is favourable for the stabilisation of the government's debt burden. Vietnam's B1 issuer rating incorporates credit strengths, which include the size and diversity of the country's economy relative to similarly rated peers. It has also improved its cross-country assessments of institutional quality over the past four years, particularly in government effectiveness, albeit from low levels. However, the banking system remains an important rating constraint, and the recovery of domestic demand since 2015 has coincided with rapid credit growth, challenging a system still encumbered by poor capital adequacy and legacy non-performing loans. Moody's considers Vietnam's advances in competitiveness and reforms have in part been driven by the country's entry into several free-trade agreements in recent years. The economy has notable strengths in a range of sectors, including soft commodities; traditional labour-intensive manufacturing such as shoes and textiles; and more recently, moderately high value-added manufacturing, which includes mobile phones and other electronics. With economic growth, Moody's projects it to increase in the coming quarters, with full-year 2017 real GDP growth at 6.5 per cent, slightly below the government's target of 6.7 per cent. Improvement in the external environment has provided a boost for exports, which rose 16.4 per cent year-on-year in US dollar terms through the first four months of the year, up from 9.1 per cent for the full year in 2016. The country's improving competitiveness and reform impetus have, as indicated, supported net FDI inflows which averaged 5.2 per cent of GDP between 2014 and 2016, higher than the B1-rated median of 3.6 per cent. A risk to Vietnam's outlook for investment, exports and GDP growth is the rising protectionism from key trading partners, a risk that affects the global trading system in general. A shift in US policies towards protectionism that significantly and durably lowers growth in global trade would affect Vietnam, given the economy's reliance on trade. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376943/moodys-strong-fdi-will-continue-to-help-vn-diversify- economy.html

NA doubtful about 6.7pct growth target 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times With economic results in the first four months of the year below the average performance in previous years as reported by the government, the National Assembly (NA) is afraid that GDP growth in 2017 can hardly meet the 6.7 percent target. The NA Economic Committee tentatively put GDP growth this year at 6.3-6.5 percent. The NA gave such comments after listening to the government's report on the 2017 socio-economic development plan delivered by deputy prime minister Truong Hoa Binh at the third session of the 14th NA which opened on May 22. "Growth in the first quarter was just 5.1 percent, the lowest in the same period in several years. (Therefore,) to achieve the economic growth target of 6.7 percent, the average rate in the remaining quarters should be over 7 percent. However, with the actual situation in 2017, this goal is very difficult to accomplish, with probably only 6.3-6.5 percent attainable," said Chair Vu Hong Thanh of the NA Economic Committee. Results According to the government's report, the consumer price index (CPI) this April picked up 0.9 percent against December 2016. Credit grew 5.75 percent, the highest same-period rate in six years. Exports of manufactured, processed and agricultural goods increased 16.8 percent. State budget revenue leapt 17.8 percent and met 32.7 percent of the yearly estimate. The industrial production index (IIP) rose an estimated 7.4 percent last month, higher than in March (5.5 percent) and the first quarter of 2017 (4.1 percent), said deputy prime minister Binh. However, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was below expectations. "GDP growth was 5.1 percent in the first quarter, lower than the same period last year (5.48 percent). The IIP in the first four months edged up 5.1 percent, mainly due to a 9.7 percent contraction in the mining sector, with crude oil falling 14.2 percent. The manufacturing and processing of electronic components grew less than in the same period last year. The distribution and allocation of public investment funds is slow," he said. As of April 20, the total money supply had increased 3.78 percent over December 2016 (versus 4.54 percent year-on-year). Total deposits in credit institutions had risen 3.39 percent against the end of last year (versus 4.01 percent), while credit had gone up 4.86 percent over December 2016, and 2.99 percent against the same period last year. International tourist arrivals in the first four months of 2017 surged 30.3 percent year-on-year to some 4.3 million. January-April exports totalled $62.09 billion, up 16.8 percent over the same period last year, while imports amounted to nearly $64 billion, a surge of 24 percent, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.91 billion in the first four months, accounting for 3.1 percent of export turnover. Slow economic restructuring Following the presentation by deputy prime minister Binh, Chair Vu Hong Thanh of the NA Economic Committee delivered the NA's assessment report on the aforesaid results. Thanh said that realising the economic growth as targeted by the government looks unattainable. He suggested that a number of policies be adopted to remove difficulties and maintain macroeconomic stability at the same time, and continue to promote growth quality and sustainability, rather than attaching importance to growth. Low growth in the first quarter is ascribed to the shift in the growth model, slow economic restructuring, heavy dependence on the mining industry, the lack of a new driving force replacing this shrinking sector and the failure to fully tap the home market. Thanh asked the government to weigh how a lower GDP growth rate would affect other indicators such as public debt and budget overspending. Besides, it is necessary to give a second thought to a boost of crude oil pumping and mining activities in order to attain the growth target. It is concerned that the trade deficit is high. Therefore, from now to the end of the year, the factors behind the trade deficit must be thoroughly considered to make flexible adjustments. Despite the average CPI rise of 4.8 percent in the past four months over the same period in 2016, there is concern that inflation in 2017 may be higher than the target approved by the NA. Considerable budget deficit and public debt are continuing to put pressure on debt repayment and pose risks to sustainable economic development. Budget spending on capital investment in four months reached 19.2 percent, a low level, putting pressure on disbursement in the final months of the year, a situation that has occurred for many years with no remedies. Solutions Deputy prime minister Truong Hoa Binh on behalf of the government proposed a number of solutions be adopted in the near future to meet the set targets. These include control of credit growth associated with credit quality improvement, credit expansion for production and business, bad debt settlement coupled with the restructuring of weak banks, and a gradual reduction of lending rates for production and business. The government will continue to strengthen controls on public debt, with resources to be allocated for full repayment on schedule. Technical solutions will be implemented to achieve a higher crude oil output than the plan assigned by the prime minister. In addition, agricultural restructuring will be sped up to ensure higher efficiency. Further efforts will be given to restore production and fisheries in areas affected by marine environmental incidents. Deputy prime minister Binh also placed emphasis on assisting business development, promoting the development of services and markets at home. Thanh said the NA Economic Committee basically agreed with the solutions proposed by the government. Still, the committee wants due attention to be paid to a number of innovative solutions for institutional reform, and long-term policy changes such as selective FDI attraction. The government needs flexible monetary policy, concentrate credit on manufacturing, restrict unsustainable credit and that for real estate investment, and offer enterprises favourable conditions to access bank loans with reasonable interest rates. The NA Economic Committee also asked the government to tighten fiscal policy, strengthen fiscal discipline, cut overspending, reduce public debt, closely control lending to those repaying foreign loans and improve the efficiency of using loans. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54074/NA-doubtful-about-67-growth-target.html

Trade deficit exceeds $3 billion 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Vietnam's trade deficit in the first half of May alone hit nearly $1.1 billion, taking the total this year to a little more than $3 billion, according to data of the general Department of Vietnam Customs. The trade gap was equivalent to 4.3 percent of the country's export turnover. So far this year, the country's exports have brought in nearly $69.7 billion, up 17.6 percent year-on-year, while import spending has surged 25 percent to over $72.71 billion. Notably, while export earnings in the first half of May fell sharply compared to the half month earlier, import expenditures rose strongly. The export decline is attributable to strong slides in the export of key products. Phones and phone parts plunged by 30.7 percent, or $780 million, while textile products had tumbled 20 percent, or $199 million. Computers, electronic products and components, and machinery, equipment and accessories fell by 13.1 percent (US$132 million) and 19.1 percent (US$111 million) respectively, said the customs agency. Only some commodities saw export growth, such as coal with a rise of $20 million, and fruits and vegetables with a 4.1 percent increase, or $7 million. On the other hand, imports in the first half of this month soared over the second half of April. Specifically, import of animal feed and materials increased by a sharp 40.3 percent or $49 million, fabrics 12.6 percent or $62 million and plastic materials 16.1 percent or $44 million. Import of vehicles and accessories was 1.6 times higher than a fortnight earlier, equivalent to $40 million. According to the general Department of Vietnam Customs, the widening trade deficit this year mainly resulted from domestic businesses. The foreign direct investment (FDI) sector gained a trade surplus of $5.41 billion. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54081/Trade-deficit-exceeds-US$3 billion.html

Vietnam enjoys trade surplus with Australia 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV Trade between Vietnam and Australia hit more than $1.89 billion in the first four months of this year, of which Vietnam's exports reached nearly $1.05 billion (up 21.2 percent) and imports were $848 million (up 14.2 percent) against the same period last year. According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of $202 million with Australia in the period. Top export products to Australia was telephones and components with $252 million (up 9.9 percent), trailed by computers, electronics and components with $117 million (up 76.5 percent) and footwear with $68.3 million (up 26.3 percent). Meanwhile, major import products included metal (up 44.6 percent to nearly $182 million) and coal (up 87 percent to $167 million). http://english.vov.vn/trade/vietnam-enjoys-trade-surplus-with-australia-350106.vov

Vietnam increases trade deficit with Korea, Asean instead of China 24/May/2017 Intellasia| Dan Tri In the first four months of the year, out of 10 Asean countries, Vietnam had the trade deficit $3.7 billion with four major markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. For the Philippines market alone, Vietnam had a trade surplus of over $500 million, according to statistics of the general Department of Customs. As for the Korean market, Vietnam's trade deficit was about $10 billion, up nearly $4 billion year-on- year. For the Chinese market, Vietnam maintained the trade deficit of $8.8 billion, unchanged from last year. Thus, it can be seen that Vietnam's trade surplus from the Chinese market is leveling off. Instead, Vietnam's trade deficit from South Korea and Asean countries is rising sharply. This number is increasing as Vietnam has made many commitments to remove tariffs on South Korea under the Vietnam-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, especially when the preferential import tariffs on gasoline is reduced to 0 percent 5 percent. Besides, trade relation between Vietnam and Asean member countries is strengthened as the tariffs of many commodities from Asean countries to Vietnam are eliminated. It is expected that Vietnam's trade deficit with Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia will increase in petroleum, automobile, machinery, and consumption goods. As per the data of the general Department of Customs, for the first four months of 2017, Vietnam's trade deficit from four major countries in Asean reached $3.7 billion, up more than $1.2 billion compared to the same period of 2016. Vietnam's trade deficit with both Asean and South Korea in the first four months of this year has been about $13.7 billion, up $5.1 billion year-on-year, an increase of nearly 60 percent. This has made Korea and Asean countries to become Vietnam's largest trade deficit, surpassing China, Vietnam's major trade deficit country for many years. In fact, Vietnam's imported goods from Asean countries are now mainly industrial goods, electronic components, machines and consumer goods of high value (cars, motorbikes, electronic goods, gasoline, etc.). These are the items of which import tax has been reduced when the Asean Economic Community was officially established at the end of 2015. Imports from Korea in the last four months and 2016 were mainly electronic components, electronic machinery, automobile and spare parts, chemicals, etc. In addition, from 2015 to 2016, import turnover of machinery, components, telephones, consumer electronics and cars from Korea to Vietnam increased dramatically. Specifically, in January-April, imports of telephones and parts from South Korea to Vietnam reached $3.8 billion, surpassing the value of imports from China with $2.1 billion. In the same way, in the past four months, Vietnam spent nearly $3.8 billion on importing machinery and equipment from South Korea, while importing machinery from China, which provided a variety of machinery to Vietnam, reached the turnover of $3.4 billion only. As per the general Department of Customs and the general Statistical Office, the increase of imports and trade deficit from Korea is because Vietnam's import tariffs decreased quickly and strongly compared to other peers. Of which, the tariffs on imported petroleum, machinery, equipment and electronic components and accessories under the Korea-Vietnam FTA plummeted. Specifically, compared with the import tax rate of petroleum products from other countries, the import tax on gasoline from Korea to Vietnam (under the FTA Vietnam-Korea Agreement which took effect in 2016) is 10 percent instead of 20 percent in comparison with many other markets. Diesel, kerosene and jet fuel are reduced to five percent instead of 10 percent compared to other markets. Besides, there are many Korean corporations investing and setting up production bases here, including such big giants as Samsung, LG and Hyundai, etc. This is the cause of the import orders in large quantities from subsidiaries, parent companies from Korea to Vietnam.

Vietnam's commerce group finds loopholes in draft law to support SMEs 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Express 'Are all SMEs qualified to receive assistance or do they have to meet certain requirements?' The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recently given its feedbacks on a draft law designed to extend financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The chamber pointed out that a loophole remains in terms of which firms are eligible for the support. "Are all SMEs qualified to receive assistance or do they need to meet certain requirements?" the chamber questioned in its feedback to the National Assembly, Vietnam's legislature. The legislature recently decided to focus on "creative start-ups", considering them a top priority. However, according to the VCCI, the definition of a "creative start-up" proposed in the draft is ambiguous, making it difficult to establish which firms the law is targeting. To transform Vietnam into a "start-up nation" by 2020, tax incentives have been proposed for SMEs and start-ups to stimulate their businesses, but how much lower the rates are still remains a puzzle, the VCCI said. Tax breaks for SMEs are "necessary", Vu Tien Loc, chair of the VCCI, said at the launch of a report on taxpayer satisfaction in March. It is noted that approximately 97-98 percent of total registered companies in Vietnam are SMEs, so if tax incentives are applied it will hurt the state budget. Accordingly, the chamber asked the National Assembly to calculate the deficit these incentives would leave on the state budget before implementing the resolution. The role of local authorities when it comes to supporting businesses should also be clearly stated in the draft, it said. Small firms are classsed as those with less than VND20 billion in the agriculture and industry sectors, and less than VND10 billion in the services sector. Medium-sized businesses have capital of less than VND100 billion. SMEs accounted for 43.2 percent of gross domestic product last year. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-commerce-group-finds-loopholes-in-draft-law-to- support-smes-3588940.html

Trade ministry pledges to handle loss-making projects 24/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times The Ministry of Industry and Trade said it would resolutely handle loss-making projects and affirmed that the State would not finance these projects anymore. Data shows that 12 massive projects managed by the ministry are moving at a snail's pace or operating poorly with total accumulated losses of more than VND16 trillion as of the end of 2016. They include four fertiliser plants, three bio-fuel projects, two steel projects, Dinh Vu polyester fiber factory, Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited (DQS), and Phuong Nam paper pulp mill. Currently, six active projects are running at a loss (the four fertiliser plants, DQS and Viet Trung Steel Plant), three are being put on hold because of cost overruns and shortage of operating capital (the bio-fuel project in Phu Tho, phase 2 of the expansion of Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Complex and Phuong Nam paper pulp mill), and the other three have stopped production due to ballooning costs and big losses (the bio-fuel projects in Quang Ngai and Binh Phuoc and Dinh Vu polyester fiber factory). The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed solutions to the aforesaid loss-making projects in 2017. The project owners must concentrate on resolutely settling the outstanding problems of these projects, particularly the troubles with engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contractors. The groups and corporations concerned along with the project owners must strengthen their management and take measures to cut costs of management, labour and inputs, and improve corporate governance to cut losses and make profit in the future. The trade ministry wants these solutions to be soon adopted to put an end to the poor performance of such projects. In 2017, the ministry will complete a plan for submission to competent authorities for approval, implementation and making changes in the operation and finance of these projects. It will strive to bring about fundamental changes in dealing with the shortcomings and weaknesses of these projects by 2018. Also, the ministry will clarify the responsibilities of and strictly handle those organisations and individuals that commit violations in the course of investment and operation of projects which have suffered losses. In addition to the above 12 projects, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue reviewing the projects under its management that are at risk of causing losses. The ministry will then suggest appropriate and timely solutions, contributing positively to the overall development of the economy. The total initial investment of these 12 projects was some VND43.67 trillion, which was later adjusted up 45.65 percent to VND63.61 trillion. Of this sum, VND14.35 trillion, or 22.56 percent, was their equity, while loans made up 74.6 percent, about VND47.45 trillion, and the remaining 2.84 percent came from other sources. The accumulated losses of the 10 projects that are operational or have stopped production had totalled over VND16.12 trillion as of end-2016, with total liabilities of more than VND55.06 trillion The total disbursed capital of the three incomplete projects had been around VND8.61 trillion compared to the estimated VND13.06 trillion. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54082/-Trade-ministry-pledges-to-handle-loss-making-projects.html

PM approves $1b Nghe An industrial park 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The prime minister released a decision on Monday approving the development of the WHA Hemaraj 1 Industrial Park in Nghe An Province's Southeast Economic Zone, local online newspaper baonghean.vn reported. This project will be developed by a joint venture between Vietnam-based Civil Engineering Construction Corporation No. 4 (CIENCO 4) and Thailand-based Hemaraj Land & Development Public Co., Ltd at a total cost of VND23 trillion (US$1 billion). It will cover a combined area of 3,200 hectares in the two districts of Nghi Loc and Dien Chau with rental contracts for 70 years. Last October, Hemaraj-Cienco 4 Co signed a deal with the provincial government of Nghe An to start building the industrial zone in the middle of July 2017 and complete it by 2038. The project plan was then appraised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and then submitted to the government for approval. Construction will be divided into seven phases. In the first phase, the team will develop an industrial estate of about 500 hectares with a total investment capital of VND2.1 trillion. "With this project, we plan to invest in the construction of infrastructure systems for industrial parks, logistic facilities and urban areas to attract secondary investors," said Nguyen Tuan Huynh, Chair and general director of CIENCO4. David Nardone, CEO of Hamaraj Group, said Hemaraj was an infrastructure developer for industrial park, urban area and power infrastructure in Thailand. Currently, Hemaraj owns eight world-class industrial zones with an area of 7,000 hectares, bringing together 600 enterprises from all over the world, including many major names in the fields of logistics, automobile manufacturing and energy. "With the capability and experience in the field of infrastructure construction for industrial zones, combined with CIENCO4's core competence and prestige, we hope to develop the WHA Hemaraj 1 IP into a model industrial park in Nghe An," said Nardone. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376972/pm-approves-1b-nghe-an-industrial- park.html#Dgb1eLr46sYfpHZE.97

VINPA asks for petroleum protections 24/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Vietnam Petroleum Association (VINPA) has proposed to establish commercial barriers to protect local firms once import duties on fuel products are gradually reduced to zero per cent. Association chair Phan The Rue said gradual tax reduction to zero per cent had put pressure on domestic petroleum producers and distributors. Rue told the media that the country should have a long-term development strategy for the petrol market, at least to the year 2020. In particular, important policies of whether the local market should be opened to foreign companies or not should be formulated. Currently, several petroleum firms have been selling shares to FDI businesses, he said, adding that the government should have economic solutions or technical barriers in place to stipulate what FDI firms are allowed to do for the sector to ensure energy security. The technical barriers could include non-tariff measures, requirements on standards or a distribution system. The chair also shared experiences from the retail sector, citied by the tuoitre.vn newspaper. He stated that the lack of strict barriers had led to FDI businesses dominating the market. The government, therefore, should have solutions to resolve difficulties faced by Binh Son Refinery and Nghi Son Refinery to improve the competitiveness of the local petroleum sector. Nghi Son Refinery, which is meant to become operational in 2018, in particular, could sufficiently meet Vietnam's petrol demand. However, the issue was whether the production cost of local refineries could compete with foreign firms, the chair told the newspaper. According to trade accords Vietnam has joined, import duty on fuel will be zero by 2024. Rue proposed the adjustment of special consumption tax to avoid a serious State budget deficit. Specifically, environmental protection tax should be adjusted this year, followed by special consumption tax next year and VAT in the 2020-22 period. Currently, income from fuel import tax accounts for seven per cent of the State budget, he said, adding that agencies should carefully prepare a roadmap for raising other taxes to ensure the harmony of State budget income. The association said fees and taxes make up more than 50 per cent of the fuel price. Therefore, cutting fuel import tax to zero per cent necessitates increasing other taxes to make up for the lost income. "Once the import duty is cut to zero, we should increase other taxes to make up for the loss. It is necessary to ensure that the total tax sum accounts for half the retail fuel price. As the import tariff moves down to zero, other taxes must be raised to offset the shortfall. Paying higher taxes is how every citizen shows his/her responsibility to the country," he said. In fact, the Ministry of Finance has several times indicated its intention to raise environment tax for fuels from the current VND 4,000 per litre to VND 8,000. A92 gasoline, the country's most widely used fuel, currently sells for VND 17,063 per litre, including the VND 3,000 per litre environment tax. If the new tax rate is approved, the price would rise to more than VND 22,000 per litre, analysts calculated. The association is strongly supporting the proposal on so-called environment tax hike policy. However, the public is not. Bui Danh Lien, chair of the Hanoi Transport Association, said a shortfall in the State budget required solutions other than hiking environment tax, which is not used for the benefit of the environment. He believed there were many solutions to the budget shortfall with the most important one being to cut public spending. Sharing his ideas, Truong Dinh Tuyen, former minister of industry and trade, said increasing taxes was not the right solution. Tuyen said increasing taxes might help reduce losses to the State revenue in the short-term but was not a sustainable solution. "We should try instead to cut taxes and assist local businesses in reducing input cost, which will help boost their performance," he said, adding that what's more important is to create a competitive fuel market that provides the best retail prices for consumers. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376922/vinpa-asks-for-petroleum- protections.html#yIFfekwqIkEjw7Ul.97

Capital aims for 4.5pct export growth in 2017 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The capital aims to generate $11.1 billion from exports this year, 4.5 per cent higher than 2016, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade has said. To achieve this goal, Ha Nội will continue work on accelerating administrative reforms with special focus on customs, tax and business licencing procedures, as well as draw up effective policies. Priority will also be given to improving the competitiveness of local enterprises and their export products, and attracting investment for infrastructure that is needed to promote export activities. The city will also strengthen promotional activities, and provide businesses with more information on international markets and export products. Training sessions will be held for businesses to make them aware about export policies and regulations in Vietnam and other countries so that they can meet international commitments and overcome trade barriers. In 2016, the city's exports rose by a modest 1.5 per cent to around $10.6 billion. The growth was much lower than the 7-8 per cent target set for the year. This unsatisfactory export performance was the result of a fall in turnover of key export goods such as textiles and garments at $1.4 billion, down 5.7 per cent year-on-year; computer components at $1.29 billion, down 3 per cent; and farm produces at $889 million, down 8.4 per cent. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376953/capital-aims-for-45-export-growth-in-2017.html

Vietnam & Thailand set trade target 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vneconomic Times Trade to reach $20 billion by 2020, conference hears. Vietnam and Thailand have targeted increasing trade turnover to $20 billion by 2020 based on the determination and proactive nature of the two governments and enterprises from both countries, deputy minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai told the "Vietnam-Thailand Trade and Investment Embrace the Potential of the Strategic Partnership" conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Thai Ministry of Commerce on May 23. The $20 billion goal, he said, is perfectly achievable. "In the years to come, the two countries' trade will increase as they move towards the implementation of the Asean Free Trade Agreement and other agreements," he explained. Thai deputy minister of Commerce, Winichai Chaemchaeng, told the gathering that Vietnam is the second-largest trade partner of Thailand in Asean and Thailand is the largest trade partner of Vietnam. "The cooperation between the two countries will contribute to solidarity and cooperation within Asean," he believes. Trade was estimated at $12.5 billion in 2016, an increase of nearly 9 per cent compared with 2015. As at the end of March, Thai investors had poured $8.13 billion into 458 projects in Vietnam, ranking it tenth among 115 countries and territories. As at January 1, 2015, Vietnam had cut 8,600 tariff lines to 0 per cent and will do likewise to the remaining 669 tariff lines by 2018. More than 9,500 tariff lines have also been listed in the tariff reduction schedule in the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement. "The two governments are actively cooperating to realise measures to support businesses to take full advantage of preferences for enhancing exports," Hai said. "In the future, the Vietnamese government will issue policies to develop support industries and the production of materials, to connect foreign enterprises with domestic counterparts." Vietnam's Trade Promotion Agency signed a cooperative agreement with Thailand's Kasikornbank at the conference, as part of a series of measures to boost trade between the two countries. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/vietnam-today/vietnam-thailand-set-trade-target

VN, Denmark exchange lessons in food control 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Vietnamese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) met with the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark (MFVM) on Tuesday in HCM City at a conference on safe management of the pork product value chain. The conference's goal was to raise awareness for both farmers and consumers in Vietnam. The guiding principle was "from farm to fork", and the discussions spanned areas such as feed, veterinary medicine, chemicals and product origin. Phung Huu Hao, deputy head of the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) under the MARD, said at the conference that Denmark has one of the world's top food quality control systems, and Vietnam looks forward to collaborating with Danish agencies. Commenting on agricultural and animal husbandry in Vietnam, Finn Clemmensen, Senior Counsellor of the Food and Veterinary Management Department under the MFVM, stated that despite the presence of numerous associations in these fields, actual inspection and monitoring of farms and businesses are usually done by government agencies. According to Clemmensen, after a field tour, he noted that several slaughterhouses did not strictly obey safety and sanitary procedures, and the whole pork production business is in need of further regulation. He emphasized the need for a complete and safe value chain to ensure the benefits of domestic consumers and the potential for Vietnamese pork exports. Representatives from the NAFIQAD agreed with Celemmensen, stating that while Danish pig farms are all numbered and registered before the authorities, in Vietnam there are around 4.5 million unregistered household farms with about 29,000 slaughterhouses. This has greatly inconvenienced State run agencies responsible for pork safety and quality control. Until 2020, relevant agencies will continue implementing annual origin inspections for animal products, along with projects ensuring food safety in transporting and slaughtering cattle and poultry. Agencies will also enhance international cooperation in the field, said Huynh Thi Thanh Binh, head of the Community Veterinary Division under the Department of Animal Health. The two countries have been working together since 2013, after the signing of a protocol on food safety control between the MARD and the MFVM. In 2016, both sides agreed to carry out strategic pork value chain cooperation to take place between 2017 and 2018. To honour this cooperation agreement, Danish MFVM will grant about $45,000 to Vietnam, together with field experience and technical support from experts and administrative departments from Denmark. The objective is to enhance capability among Vietnamese authoritative agencies to help them chart their own sustainable strategies in food safety control. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377046/vn-denmark-exchange-lessons-in-food-control.html

Deputy PM chairs Vietnam-Spain business forum 25/May/2017 Intellasia| DTI News Deputy prime minister and Foreign minister Pham Binh Minh reaffirmed the Vietnamese government's commitment to welcoming foreign investors, including those from Spain, with all possible support at the opening of the Vietnam-Spain business forum in Madrid on May 24. Highlighting Vietnam as a bright spot in terms of investment attraction and tourism, Minh said Vietnam has so far lured nearly 300 billion USD in foreign direct investment, 154 billion USD of which has been disbursed. The number of tourist arrivals in the country has surpassed a record 10 million thanks to political-security, investment and economic policy stability. A representative from the Spanish government described Vietnam as one of the priority markets, particularly in the fields of infrastructure, railway, seaport, agriculture and tourism, and pledged to facilitate collaboration between the two nations' businesses. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu introduced Vietnam's preferential investment policies while deputy minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung talked about business opportunities with Spanish enterprises. The two officials had direct meetings with Spanish firms operating in wind and solar power, construction of airports and seaports, water treatment, waste and plastics treatment, which expressed their wish to travel to Vietnam to learn about specific projects. On the occasion, Minh also witnessed the signing of agreements between Vietnamese and Spanish firms in infrastructure design consultancy. As part of celebrations for the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, the forum was co-organised by the Vietnamese ministries of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Investment, Industry and Trade; the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the Vietnamese embassy in Spain; the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness; and the Spain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attracting nearly 200 officials and businesses from the two nations. At a meeting earlier the same day, Minh and Spanish minister and Secretary of State for Trade Maria Luisa Poncela promised to lift two-way trade to 5 billion euro by 2020 by increasing partnerships across transport infrastructure, renewable energy, environment, ecological agriculture and tourism. Minh witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two governments on the establishment of Vietnam-Spain Trade and Investment Inter-Committee, and a deal on the fifth stage of the financial plan on providing financial support for the construction of metro line No.5 in Vietnam. http://dtinews.vn/en/news/018/51038/-deputy-pm-chairs-vietnam-spain-business-forum.html

Annual exports to South America expand by 30-40pct 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Vietnam's exports to South America enjoy an annual average growth of 30-40 percent with many popular and highly-competitive products, heard a workshop in Hanoi on May 24. Deputy head of the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ta Hoang Linh said with a population of over 600 million people and total gross domestic product (GDP) of over 6 trillion USD, South America is a potential market for Vietnamese businesses. At the same time, he highlighted difficulties and challenges facing businesses when entering the market such as geographical distance, transportation cost, cultural and institutional differences. The bilateral trade between Vietnam and Latin America is quite balanced. In 2014, Vietnam exported 4.71 billion USD worth of goods to the market, a year-on-year rise of 36.8 percent. vice versa, the country imported 4.8 billion USD from the market, up 44.9 percent. Vietnam mainly exported footwear, seafood, rice, garment-textile, coffee, plastic products, electronic equipment and components, and computers, while importing textile-garment and footwear materials, paper, plastic material, cattle-feed, soybeans, and cotton. Former trade counsellor of Vietnam in Chile Tran Dinh Van said Chile is one of the leading open economies in the world, and Vietnam's goods face fierce competition by counterparts from the South American region and Asia. Currently, Vietnam has surpassed India and Thailand to become the biggest Asean exporter to Chile, ranking ninth among countries exporting to Chile. The free trade agreement between Vietnam and Chile took effect in January 2014, covering 9,000 lines of products. This has created good opportunities for businesses to boost exports to the market. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/annual-exports-to-south-america-expand-by-3040-percent/112222.vnp

Bangladesh in the market for 300,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress A new deal signed by the two governments should ease the pressure on Vietnam's flagging rice shipments that have fallen to multi-year lows. Bangladesh is looking to buy 250,000-300,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam, the world's third-largest exporter of the grain, in the near-term to offset a domestic shortfall after extending a government-to- government rice trade pact, the Vietnamese government said. The South Asian nation has extended a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam, under which it promises to import up to 1 million tonnes of rice a year until 2022, Vietnam's Industry and trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday after signing the pact with Bangladeshi minister of Food Qamrul Islam during his Vietnam visit. The pact comes as a relief for Vietnam as rice shipments have been falling to multi-year lows. This is in part due to the Philippines, one of the world's biggest rice buyers and a frequent importer of Vietnamese rice, placing a purchasing cap on rice for three more years. Manila said on Monday it will only allow private traders to import 805,000 tonnes a year until 2020 at a tariff of 35 percent, Reuters reported. After the MoU siging, Bangladeshi officials said their country was ready to import 250,000-300,000 tonnes of Vietnam's 5 percent broken rice immediately, and invited detailed offers as part of a plan to buy 500,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice by the year end. "Over the past two years, Bangladesh has faced multiple natural disasters that have damaged crops and led to a domestic rice shortage," Vietnam's trade ministry said in the statement. Climate change has been affecting low-lying areas of Bangladesh, where arable land has been lost to saltwater intrusion and agricultural production has been damaged by droughts, floods and storms. Bangladesh stood among the top 25 percent of the world's most hungry countries in 2016, according to the Global Hunger Index compiled by the International Food Policy Research Institute. The Bangladeshi government's request, its first since 2013 and a significant jump compared with the 44 tonnes of Vietnamese rice it has purchased so far in 2017, has prompted Vietnamese exporters to halt offers and hold on stocks to wait for prices to rise, traders said. "The market has frozen recently due to speculation over demand," a trader in HCM City said. He said nobody was willing to sell the rice grade sought by Bangladesh given that indicative export quotations for 5 percent broken rice have been rising so far this month and hit $370 a tonne last week, free- on-board (FOB) basis, from $350-$352 at the end of April. Exporters may agree to sell at $380, the trader said, adding that prices may firm further if Vietnam secures a contract. At $370/tonne, the price is already at its highest since August 2016 but it is still around $30 a tonne cheaper than Thai rice of the same grade, which may give Vietnam a competitive edge, traders said. Vietnam's rice exports in the first four months of 2017 fell 10 percent from a year ago to 1.8 million tonnes, the lowest volume for the same period in nine years, based on Vietnam Customs data. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/bangladesh-in-the-market-for-300-000-tonnes-of-vietnamese-rice- 3589692.html

Vietnam plans to open 'outstanding' special economic zones 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Daily Times Vietnam plans to open three special economic zones that offer investors greater incentives and fewer restrictions than available to date in the country, the investment minister said. Foreign direct investment, largely in manufacturing, has been key to Vietnam's growth. It hit a record of $15.8 billion last year and has risen 6 percent in the first five months of 2017 from a year earlier. The new economic zones will be in the north, centre and south of the 1,650-km (1,000 mile) long country, Planning and Investment minister Nguyen Chi Dung told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. The ministry is drafting a law for the zones in northern Quang Ninh province, central Khanh Hoa province and southern Phu Quoc province. Approval from lawmakers in the communist state is expected by the end of 2017. Dung said the zones would be free from local regulations to make them competitive internationally. "It will be a massive attraction to investment and investment will boom next year," Dung said. "It will be outstanding in everything: free and favourable in every aspect." Vietnam currently has 18 economic zones, offering incentives for investors from free tariffs in selected items to lower personal income tax or reduced rent and fees. There are another 325 state-supported industrial parks, which have fewer incentives. A survey by ANZ Research last year said investors were broadly positive about the industrial parks because of tax incentives and the ease of customs clearance. Occupancy in operating industrial parks is more than 70 percent. Vietnam's government this week reiterated its annual economic growth target at 6.7 percent, despite a drop to a three-year low of 5.1 percent in the first quarter. The government blamed the low rate on drought, salination issues and a temporary drop in production for Samsung Electronics due to its Note 7 battery woes. Dung said the government was confident of meeting its 2017 growth target given factors including improved weather, solid loan growth, a rise in tourism and rising numbers of new businesses. http://dailytimes.com.pk/business/25-May-17/vietnam-plans-to-open-outstanding-special-economic- zones

High time for high-tech farming in Vietnam 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The government will focus on technology-based agriculture to resolve problems like the lack of value- added products for export, the low competitiveness of Vietnamese farm produce in world markets and inconsistency in quality. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong speaks to Vietnam News Agency about all these issues. Applying science and technology to achieve large-scale production is common in many countries in the region and world. Vietnam also wants to do that. What do you think about it? Development of high-tech agriculture is the right policy and should be done soon. This dovetails with current global trends and will also help Vietnam's agriculture sector resolve its problems like lack of value- added products for export, low global competitiveness of produce and inconsistency in quality. Recently I had the opportunity to visit many high-tech agricultural enterprises and cooperatives in Da Lat in Lam Dong Province. I saw flower and vegetable farms that are equipped with modern equipment and have automatic operation like in Europe. This modern production model has also developed strongly in many cities and provinces in the north and south. However, what direction high-tech agriculture should take needs to be discussed carefully to ensure sustainable development of local agriculture. This is a big responsibility for government management offices and local authorities. The issues requiring attention include how to created partnerships between links in the high-tech agricultural production chain, who should be given licences to develop large-scale production and the stipulations for enterprises to enjoy the government's support policies. You mentioned building partnerships between links in the high-tech agriculture chain. To be specific, did you refer to partnerships between enterprises and farmers? That is right. In this relationship, farmers are satellite producers and their representative is the cooperative. The cooperative is a legal person and a partner of enterprises. Building a healthy partnership between enterprises and farmers will accelerate high-tech agriculture. Many countries in the world have developed agriculture based on this principle. They have focused on building partnerships between enterprises and farmers, creating a consensus to pool land for large-scale production, have same cultivation models and apply scientific and technological advances for agricultural production. This cooperation will increase productivity and ensure quality, improving value addition. I fully support this development method and cooperation between enterprises and farmers is very important. The government plans to give more land to individuals and organisations to develop agriculture and pool lands for large-scale production. However, there are many hurdles to implementing this plan. What is your opinion about this? The government's policies will benefit agricultural development, especially the widespread application of technology in agriculture. The government will create favourable conditions with respect to land and preferential credit for eligible enterprises and encourage them to invest in technology. However, if land is accumulated by private enterprises or a group of people, many farmers could lose their lands, leading to instability in society and affect the sustainable development of the agriculture. In many developed countries, they do not accumulate land by changing ownership; instead, they pool lands land for large-scale production to enable application of technology in agriculture. It should be noted that in many cases private enterprises will not use land for agriculture and will use it for other purposes. So, the government must carefully consider land policies to harmonise the interests of parties taking part in high-tech agricultural production. What does the Ministry of Planning and Investment do to promote high-tech agriculture? To carry out the government's policy on developing high-tech agriculture, the ministry will collaborate with the Ministries of Finance and Science and Technology to efficiently carry out programmes and projects under a plan for the development of high-tech agriculture by 2020 under the government's Decision 176/QD-TTg. Besides, the ministry will develop cooperatives under the new model to support large-scale agricultural production and also enterprise development, especially by applying technology in agriculture production. The ministry has linked up with localities to apply high technology in agriculture. The localities know about the need to using high technology in agriculture to increase value addition. Many provinces and cities such as Binh Thuan, Can Tho and HCM City have cooperated with the ministry to study their unique farm produce and develop investment promotion programmes to seek funding for those items. The provinces and cities have preferential policies to attract agricultural enterprises with capability and technology. High-tech agriculture is expected to develop strongly in future. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/talking-shop/377044/high-time-for-high-tech-farming-in-viet- nam.html#iByV7GKo8xJGxQMq.97

Vietnam set to approve coal-fired power plants worth $7.5 billion 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Reuters Vietnam expects to grant investment licences for three coal-fired power plants worth a combined $7.5 billion in early June, the country's investment minister said. Although Vietnam wants to boost renewable energy output amid resources scarcity and environmental issues, it has been mostly reliant on coal-fired and hydro power plants to meet its annual electricity demand growth of around 11 percent. The projects by Japanese, South Korean and Saudi Arabian investors are expected to receive licences ahead of Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc's visit to Japan next month, investment minister Nguyen Chi Dung told Reuters on Tuesday. Details provided by the ministry showed South Korea's Taekwang Power Holdings Co. and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power would invest $2.07 billion for a 1,200-megawatt thermal power plant. Each investor would have a 50-percent stake in the plant and commercial operation is expected to start in 2021. Japan's Marubeni Corp and Korea Electric Power Corp would invest $2.79 billion in a 1,200-megawatt plant, with operation expected to start in 2021. The investors will also share half of the investment each. Japan's Sumitomo Corp would invest about $2.64 billion into a 1,320-megawatt plant, with an expected starting date of 2022, the ministry said. http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-vietnam-set-to-approve-coal-fired-power-plants-worth-75 billion-2017-5

Upbeat signs for Vietnamese rice exports 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Encouraging signs for rice exports after a down-period have boosted the Vietnamese rice market. According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), the country earned free-on-board (FOB) export value of more than 701 million USD from shipping 1.6 million tonnes of rice to foreign countries in the first four months of the year, down 14.2 percent in volume and 10.6 percent in value from the same time last year. However, Vietnamese rice exports recovered somewhat in April after a big slump in the first quarter. Exporters sold nearly 510 tonnes of rice abroad last month on FOB value of 220 million USD, a year-on- year increase of 14.6 percent in volume and 9.75 percent in value. VFA Chair Huynh The Nang said that the Philippines plans to import 250,000 tonnes to augment its buffer stock for lean months from July to September. Some exporters have won tenders to supply 40,000 tonnes of the grain for Malaysia. Meanwhile, 40,000 tonnes of Jasmine rice was shipped to Iraq. Also, Bangladesh plans to buy 600,000 tonnes, including 50,000-100,000 tonnes of white rice with the remainder parboiled rice to offset crop damage caused by torrential rains. Lam Anh Tuan, director of Thinh Phat Food Co., Ltd, predicted a bright future for rice exports. He said that the fall in Thailand's rice inventories will help the Vietnamese and global rice trade recover. Furthermore, Vietnamese enterprises are more competitive than their competitors as each tonne of Vietnamese rice sells for 350-360 USD while Thai, Indian and Pakistani rice is purchased at more than 390 USD per tonne, he added. The VFA said that drop in rice price has triggered an increase in the number of rice export contracts. However, enterprises are unsure if the positive signs are enough to significantly boost Vietnamese rice exports, with worries of being unable to meet demand from foreign countries rife. Improving rice quality and building rice brand names will make Vietnamese rice more competitive. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/upbeat-signs-for-vietnamese-rice-exports/112193.vnp

Coffee output to near 2016 yield 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The 2017-18 coffee crop is expected to be around 1.4 million, which is equal to or slightly lower than last year's crop, according to the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association. Nguyen Nam Hai, the deputy chair of the association, said the annual coffee crop would enter the harvest season in October or November. If the weather is favourable this year, Central Highlands' provinces, which account for more than 90 per cent of the country's coffee cultivation area, will have 1.3 million tonnes of coffee. Last year, the region encountered a severe drought but this year coffee gardens have had enough water for irrigation. But because coffee farms have many old trees, coffee output is expected to remain about the same last year, he said. Coffee prices in the domestic market reached a peak in January when a kilo of coffee sold for VND47,000. The price was VND43,000-VND43,500 a kilo on May 19 depending on locality, a reduction of VND200 from the preceding day. Vietnam's coffee exports in the 2016-17 crop (which ran from October last year to September this year) will reach 1.4-1.5 million tonnes, he said. As of April 30, the country exported more than 960,000 tonnes of coffee, he said. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, enterprises exported 1.79 million tonnes of coffee for a value of $3.36 billion last year, a year-on-year increase of nearly 34 per cent in volume and 24 per cent in value. The average export price was $1,872 a tonne, a reduction of 6 per cent over 2015. The average export price reached $2,267 a tonne in the first quarter of this year, up 33 per cent over the same period last year, according to the ministry's figure. The country earned $1.34 billion from exporting 592,000 tonnes of coffee in the first quarter, an increase of 19 per cent in value but a reduction of 11 per cent in volume. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/376751/coffee-output-to-near-2016-yield.html

Vietnam's 2017/2018 coffee output to rise 10 pct on good weather, prices 25/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress Good news for exporters with the 2016/2017 crop likely to fall short of expectations. Vietnam, the world's largest robusta producer, is forecast to harvest 28.6 million bags (1.72 million tonnes) of coffee from its next 2017/2018 crop, a rise of 10 percent from the current season, thanks to favourable weather conditions and higher domestic prices, a US Department of Agriculture attache said. Higher output from Vietnam, which stands only behind Brazil in terms of global coffee production, supports an industry view which envisages stable global supply in the next crop year. "Adequate rains starting in January through March helped coffee trees trigger more branches and early flowering," the USDA attache said in a May 17 report. High domestic prices have also helped farmers purchase sufficient fertiliser, triggering higher yields even though the total planting area remains unchanged, the report said. Vietnam's coffee crop year lasts between October and September, starting with the harvest in the Central Highlands region that accounts for around 90 percent of the country's output. While it is still too early to forecast the size of the next harvest, Vietnam's coffee belt has seen favourable weather for production in recent months, said Bach Thanh Tuan, head of the Community Development Centre, a state-backed facility in Dak Lak Province. The centre is tasked with ensuring sustainable production in the province as well as the entire region. "The supply outlook for 2017/18 seems increasingly positive," the London-based International Coffee Organisation said in its April report, adding that initial concerns about frost in Brazil and a shortage of rainfall in Vietnam have eased. Coffee prices on the domestic market rose to VND47,500 ($2.1) per kilogram on March 21, the highest since September 2011. The price hike coincided with the coffee watering period, during which Vietnamese growers feed fertiliser to their trees. Smaller 2016/2017 crop The USDA report has revised down its output forecast for the ongoing 2016/2017 crop year by 2.6 percent to 26 million bags, saying extended rain in October-November 2016 had damaged cherries and reduced the quality of beans. Vietnam's coffee exports in the next 2017/2018 crop year are forecast to edge up 0.4 percent to 26.65 million bags, the report said. The export volume includes green beans, soluble and roasted coffee. Consumption of roasted, ground and soluble coffee in Vietnam in the next 2017/2018 season is projected to rise 2 percent to 2.93 million bags, the report said. It cited the continuing growth of coffee shops, saying domestic market competition remains fierce due to the arrival of foreign brands. Even though Vietnam's coffee exports fell to 2.25 million bags last month, a five-month low, based on Vietnam Customs data, the shipments still helped extend Vietnam's position as the world's biggest coffee exporter, which the Southeast Asian nation seized from Brazil in March. Robusta beans account for most of Vietnam's exports and are used mainly for making soluble coffee. Top producer Brazil shipped a combined 2.13 million bags of arabica, conillon (a variety of robusta), soluble coffee and roasted beans in April, down 13.5 percent from a year ago, the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council said in a report released earlier this month. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-2017-2018-coffee-output-to-rise-10- percent-on-good- weather-prices-3589513.html

Opportunities for Vietnam's fruits, vegetables export 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA The global demand for fruits and vegetables is forecast to soar in the near future, affording Vietnam a chance to expand to choosy markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US, as heard a seminar in Hanoi on May 24. On the global market, fruits and vegetables account for over 59 percent of the total and are predicted to grow 2.88 percent for the 2016-2021 period, reported the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD). Nguyen Duc Loc from the IPSARD said the demand for certified produce is growing. Over the past years, Vietnam has strived to improve the quality and hygiene of GAP certified products and issued regional codes for quality ones. However, Vietnam still meets difficulties regarding fruits and vegetables preservation while connectivity between producers and businesses remains loose. A representative from the Pan Group said the government targets restructuring agriculture towards a growth of 3.5- 4 percent from 2016-2020, with a focus on high-tech farming, but also admitted that the domestic farm produce quality management system and origin tracking capability remain weak. Nigel Smith, general director of the Fine Fruit Asia, said fruit is gaining the upper hand in regional exports and Vietnam is one of the important partners in Asean. He suggested diversifying fruits and vegetables to ease reliance on China, and developing partnership between businesses, farmers and the government at the regional and sectoral level so that Vietnam's fruits and vegetables could compete well in international market. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/opportunities-for-vietnams-fruits-vegetables-export/112231.vnp

Right approach necessary for private sector to drive Vietnamese economy 25/May/2017 Intellasia| VIR The best approach to grow the Vietnamese economy is to create a level playing field in all sectors. For the private sector to become a driver of the economy, several macro- and microeconomic preconditions need to be met. When talking about growing the private sector, microeconomic elements, such as management or marketing abilities, are usually a point of discussion. However, this article is only focusing on the macro level and the role of the government, specifically what the government should do to allow the private sector to flourish. Bling picking the cuter pig The debate on the role of the state-owned and private sectors has been going for the past 10 years. Looking at the arguments, it seems that we are divided between the state-owned and the private sectors. We need the private sector but we also need the state-owned sector. We need to grow the private sector, but we also need to grow the state-owned sector. This is the usual channel of the circular debate. However, in reality, much of the debate is semantics and issues of real substance receive little attention. History shows that government failure, or heavy government interference in the market, always leaves worse and harder-to-fix consequences than market failure. Apparently, the government should limit its involvement. In a debate about the role of the state-owned and private sectors in the United States, when asked by the moderator to comment on the role of the state in a market economy, Professor Michael Munger (Duke University) brought up an amusing analogy of a contest to find the cuter of two contestant pigs. Upon seeing the first pig, the judges gasped "This pig is so ugly, let us give it the second prize." Michael Munger argued, the first pig, like the private sector, is ugly, but why pick the second pig (the state-owned sector) as the winner, when nobody has seen it. Now, looking at the Vietnamese state-owned sector, the question is how to restructure and help it achieve the highest efficiency with the right approach that takes into account historical legacy. However, if the argument is that the private sector is too small, and hence state-owned enterprises are needed for the economy to continue to grow, we are repeating the mistake in Professor Munger's analogy. John Stuart Mill, the famous philosopher and economist who argued in favoụr of market economy in Principles of Political Economy (1848), contended that lighthouses in England need to be built by the state because the private sector would not collect enough revenue and therefore have no incentive to build them. John Stuart Mill's argument proved inaccurate. At the beginning of the 19th century, in John Stuart Mill's very hometown in England, up to three-quarter of the lighthouses were built by funding from families of sailors and non-profit organisations. This story about John Stuart Mill's argument illustrates Professor Michael Munger's analogy. The question is, why do we favour the state-owned sector when we do not know how the market will work? A right approach to grow Vietnam's private sector would be to create a level playing field for all, one that does not lean towards the state-owned sector because the private sector is too small. Certainly, national security and defence-related industries require state oversight, but if we continue to favour the state-owned sector, it will be difficult for the private sector to grow. Macroeconomic stabilisation by all means When discussing the role of the state in a market economy, what is often overlooked is the importance of limiting the state's arbitrary interference, no matter the political system or current situation of the country. The underlying condition to limiting the state's arbitrary involvement is macroeconomic stability. Economist Milton Friedman is known as the fiercest and most extreme defender of the free market. His idea that the government needs to create macroeconomic stability through a central bank's management of the money supply made him famous. When discussing market economy and the government's role, we need to avoid the "deregulation" mistake. It is true that "deregulation," or removing rules and red tapes, gives everyone a fair chance to pursue wealth, but there is a distinction between deregulation and the inability to manage the economy. The 2008 financial crisis in the US in which monetary policies and banking regulations allowed banks to become "too big to fail" (necessitating government bailout) is an example of incompetence on the part of the government, not a result of deregulation. The question whether to rescue several commercial banks in Vietnam in recent months resembles the banking problem facing the US government. At a closer look, when the government cannot ensure macroeconomic stability, the private sector will not only thrive in this volatile environment, but it will also be hurt by its. Racing to meet growth targets at all costs will cause a rapid rise in public debts, tax burden, inflation, or interest rates, which will hurt the private sector. Meanwhile, the state-owned sector and the well-connected interest groups will not only avoid these problems, but will also seize opportunities to enrich themselves. Following interest rate or gold or real estate bubbles, it is the super-rich that got richer, while small and mid-sized enterprises were further squeezed. To create a level playing field for all sectors, the government needs to find long-term solutions, such as reforming the system or removing and reducing red tapes that are a burden on the private sector, instead of half-hearted solutions targeting one or two industries. Studies show that when the government intervened in specific industries or markets with supportive policies, economic growth was hurt. These policies not only distort the market, but also redistribute resources inappropriately. Rescue packages or stimuli for a few agricultural segments in recent years have left more questions than answers for the goal of sustainable economic growth for the private sector. Private sector and reducing poverty Economic reforms will create a level playing field for many, but will not necessarily eliminate the informal economy in Vietnam, where small and very small businesses play a key role in reducing poverty. Putting enough resources into growing this informal economy is an important task for the government. The best policy is to give everyone access to resources to do business and earn a living, as well as ensure that property and land ownership is protected so people can have access to credit in the course of doing business. We need to avoid the misconception that the informal economy lacks skill and information, has low productivity, and therefore needs to be limited. The right approach should be to consider the private sector and the informal sector to be the main drivers of the economy. When the potential of the official economy is strong enough, resources and labour from the informal economy will flow in. The private sector will become the main driver of growth if we do not forget the informal economy. Otherwise, policies to grow the private sector will lose their effectiveness in the long term. http://www.vir.com.vn/right-approach-necessary-for-private-sector-to-drive-vietnamese-economy.html

Not all SMEs to enjoy lower tax 25/May/2017 Intellasia| The Saigon Times Not all small and medium enterprises (SME) in Vietnam could enjoy a preferential corporate income tax under the draft law on tax support for SMEs, said minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung at the ongoing sitting of the National Assembly on May 23. Dung said SMEs, accounting for 98 percent of enterprises in the country, are identified as an important driving force for the national development by the Party Central Committee in a resolution adopted at its 5th plenum. According to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, only profitable enterprises will directly benefit from the law on supports for SMEs. Vice Chair of the National Assembly Phung Quoc Hien explained that the number of profitable entities accounts for 49.4 percent of operating enterprises, thus an estimated 301,300 units, including about 4,160 medium enterprises, 116,920 small enterprises and 173,271 micro enterprises, would benefit directly from these regulations. According to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the draft law does not specify the reduction level compared to the current rate of corporate income tax, but it is assumed that the reduction would be 1 percent for medium enterprises, 2 percent for small enterprises and 3 percent for micro enterprises compared to the current tax. The tax cuts are predicted to send State budget revenues falling by about VND1,920 billion (about $84.7 million), including VND103 billion for medium enterprises, VND1,314 billion for small enterprises and VND502 billion for micro enterprises. The draft law stipulates that in each certain period, the government would decide the policy to support credit institutions to increase lending to SMEs. The draft law has abolished the regulations that interfere directly in the operation of the banking system which is not in line with market principles. In particular, the draft law eliminates a provision urging banks to provide loans with interest rates and loan terms consistent with the solvency of the SMEs and the financial situation of the bank. According to Article 11 of the draft law, foreign-invested and state-owned SMEs are not eligible for support in terms of production space. The draft law defines SMEs as micro, small and medium enterprises with an average number of employees covered by social insurance in the preceding year of no more than 200 each. Such SMEs must also meet one of two conditions, namely total capital in the preceding year shall not exceed VND100 billion and turnover in the preceding year shall not exceed VND300 billion. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/54111/-Not-all-SMEs-to-enjoy-lower-tax.html

Poor management causes Vietnam's public debt to rise rapidly: official 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress While debt ratios are still within safe limits, both the government and foreign creditors have noticed a fast growth. The numbers are sobering. In the period of 2001-2015, foreign debt increased 6.5 times, according to a report prepared by the Ministry of Finance for legislators this week. Dinh Tien Dung, the finance minister, has named the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan the three biggest creditors. "Public debt and government debt are increasing rapidly," Dung said on Thursday during a parliamentary session. "It's mainly because of the weaknesses in managing and using loans." He said some debtors of government-guaranteed loans also lost their repayment ability, passing on the burden to the government. The minister did not elaborate or name any specific state-owned companies. Vietnam has depended on foreign loans to develop cash-hungry infrastructure and public projects. Hanoi, the capital city, for instance is looking to borrow VND53 trillion ($2.3 billion) from foreign creditors to develop its metro lines. Dung said the Law on Public Debt Management needs to be amended to include stricter rules on borrowing and on enhancing capital management. Data from the Ministry of Finance showed debt ratios were still within limits at the end of 2016: public debt, government debt and foreign debt stood at 63.7 percent, 52.6 percent and 44.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product respectively. The World Bank has forecast that Vietnam's public debt will climb to 64.4 percent in 2017 and 64.7 percent in 2018. The growing debt will impose a steadily increasing burden on Vietnam's economy, and make it ever harder to cut the budget deficit, the bank said in a report last year. http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/data-speaks/poor-management-causes-vietnam-s-public-debt-to- rise-rapidly-official-3590360.html

Foreign direct investment picks up nearly 41pct 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam reached $11 billion from the outset of the year, a year- on-year surge of nearly 41 percent, said the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). More than 39,580 enterprises were set up in the first five months of the year with total registered capital of nearly VND370 trillion (US$16.3 billion), up 14 percent in number of newly-established businesses and 48.9 percent in capital year-on-year. The MPI said that the business climate and competitive and business development had improved. Nearly $5 billion in FDI capital was disbursed in the period, 3.2 percent higher than the same time last year. The Republic of Korea ranked first in capital disbursement, followed by Japan and Singapore. The rapid increase of FDI in Vietnam was spurred by several large-scale projects approved in March. Notably, Samsung Display project got expansion approval in Bac Ninh province with additional investment of $2.5 billion. This pushed FDI figures to $7.71 billion in the first quarter, double that of the first two months. Other big projects getting cash included Taiwan Polytex Far Eastern (Vietnam) Company in Binh Duong province (US$485.8 million), Coca-Cola Vietnam in Hanoi (US$319.8 million additional capital), Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park III (US$284.75 million), Tole Panel plant in Binh Phuoc province (US$269.5 million) and Kolon Industries Inc (US$220 million) in Binh Duong province. http://english.vov.vn/economy/foreign-direct-investment-picks-up-nearly-41-350259.vov

FDI firms clock $50b export turnover 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The total value of the export turnover earned by foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises as of May 15 reached $49.4 billion, accounting for 71 per cent of the nation's export turnover. This information was recently released by the general Department of Vietnam Customs. The proportion of turnover of FDI enterprises increased by 1 percentage point compared with the same period last year. FDI enterprises have shown a growth rate of 19 percent, which is higher than the average growth rate of nationwide enterprises at 17.6 per cent. The rapid growth of FDI enterprises is due to their strong operation in the major export sectors of Vietnam such as telephones, computers and electronic products. In localities witnessing large exports such as Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, the value of the turnover is mostly created by FDI enterprises. For example, in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, before the appearance of the South Korean technology giant, Samsung, the locality saw very little export value. Now, Thai Nguyen is the second largest exporter in the value of export turnover, after HCM City, among 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hao, Head of the Import-Export Management and International Economic Integration Division under the Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade, said that the key export products of the province were telephones and telephone components, and computers and tablets manufactured by the Samsung Group. She said the spectacular breakthrough in export activities of Thai Nguyen in recent years is thanks to the efficiency in investment activities of Samsung. "Local traditional export sectors have also shown improvement, but they cannot make the breakthrough for Thai Nguyen without the presence of the Samsung Group," Hao said. http://bizhub.vn/news/fdi-firms-clock-50b-export-turnover_286386.html

Trade deficit increases sharply 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh The trade deficit in the first period of May 2017 at nearly $1.1 billion has made the trade balance from the beginning of the year to May 15, 2017 to suffer the deficit nearly $3.02 billion, equaling 4.3 percent of export turnover, according to the latest information from the general Department of Customs. Meanwhile, up to mid-May, foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses reached the import-export turnover of nearly $ 93.39 billion, accounting for 65.6 percent of the total, up 23.1 percent or nearly $17.54 billion compared to the same period of 2016. The general Department of Customs says that the trade balance FDI businesses in the first half of May 2017 posted the surplus $173 million, bringing the surplus of this sector from the beginning of the year to May 15, 2017 to nearly $5.41 billion. As of mid-May, the import turnover of FDI businesses touched more than $43.99 billion, up 28 percent, equivalent to $9.62 billion, or 60.5 percent of the country's total import turnover. Obviously, FDI sector has had a big impact on the import-export picture, industrial production and trade deficit. Dr Vu Thanh Tu Anh, director of Research at the Fulbright University, expresses his concern about GDP growth in 2017 as the economy is increasingly reliant on FDI. The trade deficit has caused Vietnam's GDP to decrease 4.42 percent in the first quarter of 2017 while the figure for the same period in 2016 was just 1.5 percent. The question where does the trade deficit comes from? Again the answer is Samsung or widely spoken Korea, Japan, Thailand and other Asian countries. In the first quarter of 2017, Vietnam's imports increased by 22.4 percent year-on-year. According to the latest information from the general Department of Customs, by mid-May 2017, import turnover had totalled more than $72.71 billion, up 25 percent (equivalent to $14.55 billion) compared to the same period of 2016. This is an unbelievable number for economists and policy makers. Vietnam's highest import period was in the mid-2000s with an average growth rate of 15-17 percent. The sharp increase in imports as in the first quarter 2017 is clearly a mutation. Looking at the major exporter to Vietnam, according to the latest update from the general Department of Customs, it is Korea, not China as before. For the first time, Korea overtakes China that Vietnam runs the highest trade deficit in the first four months of 2017 with $9.3 billion. The country ranking second in trade deficit with Vietnam in the past four months was China, with $9 billion. Thus, for South Korea and China alone, Vietnam had more than $18 billion trade deficit in four months. This means that Vietnam's export to the world is not enough to offset the trade deficit from these two countries. Looking at the current situation of imports from Korea, it can be seen that the goods are mainly machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts (Korea has replaced China to become the largest supplier of these goods to Vietnam in January-April 2017 with $3.79 billion, up 135 percent) and computers, electronic products and components, telephones and components, etc. In this case, Samsung, an FDI company from Korea should be mentioned. So far, Samsung has invested more than $15 billion in Vietnam, leading to strong demand for imported machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts, materials, components for production in Vietnam. Dr Tu Anh said when Vietnam South Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) officially came into force, Vietnam becomes a trade deficit country. This may be also true for Thailand. By 2018, when the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) comes into effect, Vietnam's trade deficit will increase further. That means the Vietnamese economy is having fundamental shortcomings in competitiveness because any international trade opening will lead to trade deficit with the countries which we have relations. However, with increased trade deficit, the pressure of FTAs and the impact of FDI being on the rise, the connection between FDI businesses and domestic ones has so far shown no signs of improvement. There are many limitations, especially in some important sectors. Actually, there are too few joint ventures in FDI projects (about 80 percent of FDI in Vietnam is 100 percent foreign-invested) and the vertical integration between FDI and local companies is very weak (only about one fourth of FDI input is purchased in Vietnam, of which a significant proportion is purchased by other FDI firms) The trade deficit increase demonstrates the larger loss of domestic businesses due to their poor competition. The "losing at home" situation has allowed FDI sector to import many items that domestic businesses can produce.

$6.15b FDI capital disbursed in first 5 months 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Nhip Cau Dau Tu The total newly-registered, increased and contributed capital in the first five months of 2017 was $12.13 billion, up 10.4 percent year-on-year, the Foreign Investment Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment) reported. The agency also estimated that by May 20, 2017, foreign direct investment (FDI) projects disbursed $6.15 billion, a year-on-year increase of six percent. During this period, 939 new projects were granted with investment certificates with the total registered capital of $5.59 billion, equivalent to 73.9 percent compared to the same period of 2016. There were 437 projects adjusting capital with total increasing capital of $4.74 billion, up 83 percent compared to the same period of last year. At the same time, there were 2,061 turns of capital contribution, purchase of shares of foreign investors totalling $1.79 billion, up 116.2 percent over the same period. By investment fields, foreign investors have invested in 18 industries, of which the processing and manufacturing sector drew much attention from foreign investors with total capital of $8.09 billion, accounting for 66.7 percent of the total registered capital. The second largest was mining sector with the total investment capital of $1.28 billion, accounting for 10.5 percent of the total investment. The following ones were wholesale and retail. South Korea continued to rank the first with the total investment of $4.41 billion, reckoning for 36.4 percent of the total investment. Japan ranked the second with a total registered investment of $1.94 billion, making up 16 percent of total capital. Singapore ranked the third with $1.23 billion. By investment areas, foreign investors have invested in 58 provinces and cities, of which Bac Ninh was the locality attracting the most foreign investment with a total registered capital of $2.76 billion, occupying 22.7 percent of the total investment. Binh Duong ranked the second with $1.64 billion, followed by HCM City with $1.39 billion.

Vietnam steps up equitisation to get ready for free trade with EU 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VOV The process known as equitisation in Vietnam is turning government owned enterprises into joint-stock companies with ownership shares possessed by workers or other private sector interests. The Vietnamese government policy to divest itself of these enterprises is twofold, said speakers at a recent forum in Hanoi discussing the country's preparedness for the Vietnam-EU free trade pact that is on track to come into force in 2018. On the one hand, it has been undertaken to raise badly needed funds to cover the budget deficit and on the other, it marks a monumental step forward in raising the competitiveness of the country in the face of free trade with the EU. In parallel with the ongoing equitisation process of these enterprises the government has also undertaken a programme of divestment of its interest in blue-chip former enterprises it owned for which it had retained a significant post-privatisation interest. The country's leading dairy company Vinamilk and the two largest breweries, Habeco and Sabeco, are prime examples of former state owned enterprises where the government retained significant post- privatisation interests for which it is now in the process of liquidating and converting into cash. To speed up the process the prime minister has issued a Decision setting out plans for the government to reduce its ownership interest to less than 50 percent in 106 government owned enterprises by 2020. Additionally, the Vietnam national wealth fund, the State Capital Investment Corporation, has reportedly began implementing a plan to rid itself of 137 government owned enterprises by the end of 2017. Speaking at the forum in Hanoi, Economist Nguyen Minh Phong said one of the overarching goals of equitisation is to diversify the country's private sector and create broad based healthy competition across all segment of the economy. Phong noted that the quicker the process is completed the better for the private sector and the economy. Businesses need to gain motivation to diversify, innovate and compete in a healthy open market economy. The surest way to accomplish this end, said Phong, is to build up the private sector by transferring to it all the governments ownership interests in businesses. This is especially true considering the Vietnam-EU free trade pact. Privately owned businesses must boost their competitiveness on just about every front if they are to have any chance of meeting the challenges that lie ahead. Government owned enterprises, said Phong, stifle the economy and serve as a major limit on integration. The government should focus on putting mechanisms in place to support the private sector by establishing substantially more meetings between policy makers and leaders of the business community. It should as well, noted Phong, sponsor more training workshops to introduce the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement to the business community. Enterprises must get fully engaged and participate in all phases of preparing for and implementing the free trade pact. Most importantly, businesses should already have begun the process of completing their due diligence activities regarding the agreement and be investigating and exploring the EU market in terms of finding business associates and understanding consumer purchasing habits. None of these activities are currently being conducted by the management of government owned enterprises to any real extent and likely won't be performed by the private sector until the governments ownership interest is transferred to it via equitisation. Further, said Phong, the government should step back and leave it to businesses to determine the logical steps in the process of negotiations and implementation of the trade agreement with the EU. The government's role should be to support Vietnamese private sector enterprises in building distribution channels and national brands in the EU but it should not attempt to micro manage the endeavour. http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnam-steps-up-equitisation-to-get-ready-for-free-trade-with-eu- 350261.vov

VN firms eye South America 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS With GDP totalling more than $6 trillion and a population of more than 600 million, South America has great investment opportunities for Vietnamese companies. Deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Trade Promotion Agency Ta Hoang Linh made the statement during a conference held on Wednesday in Hanoi. In recent years, Vietnam's exports to the region have experienced annual average growth of 30-40 per cent, Linh said. However, Vietnamese enterprises still face several challenges in exporting to the region such as geographical distance, high transportation costs and cultural and institutional differences. Former Vietnamese Trade Counsellor to Chile Tran Dinh Van agreed. He mentioned inadequate market information and difficulties in language as two other obstacles facing Vietnamese exporters. As for the Chilean market, Vietnam's goods also faced fierce competition from their peers from South American and Asia, he noted. Le Thi Van Anh, director of Thanh Dat Joint Stock Co, which exports farm produce in the northern province of Hưng Yen, said her enterprise stopped searching for export opportunities to the region as it had failed to receive payment for a cashew nut shipment in 2014 from a South American partner. Her company couldn't even get its products back, Van Anh told the Industry and Trade newspaper. To facilitate Vietnamese exports to the region, Van called on closer cooperation between relevant State agencies and enterprises, especially in trade promotion. He also suggested domestic firms improve their understanding about South American trade information, custom procedures and payment methods. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377076/vn-firms-eye-south-america.html

VN's agriculture needs sustainable solutions 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS To achieve sustainable development, Vietnam's agriculture sector needs to improve productivity and quality as well as define the market structure for each farming product, experts said at the Vietnam agricultural outlook conference in Hanoi on Wednesday. At the conference, held by the Economic Department of the National Assembly Office and the Ipsard, the experts provided updated forecasts on Vietnam's agriculture sector for this year and the next two to three years, and discussed feasible solutions to develop major farming products such as rice, seafood, vegetables and fruits. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (Ipsard) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), said Vietnam's agriculture sector has good supply capacity so it can meet changing demand on local and global markets. The sector has also restructured itself as well as faming products, opened more export markets and re- organised products to meet demand on the markets, he said. This year, the local agriculture sector has faced many challenges, but vegetable and fruit exports have grown strongly over the past few years. In the first four months of this year, the local agricultural sector achieved year-on-year growth of 32.6 per cent, to a record of $1 billion from vegetable and fruit exports. Local exporters have opened four more export markets for Vietnamese vegetables and fruits. Le Van Binh, deputy head of the Economic Department at the National Assembly Office, said export value of vegetables and fruit in 2016 reached $2.46 billion, a year-on-year surge of 33.6 per cent. This farming product is showing strong growth in exports and significant success in expanding its export markets. Strong investment by the private sector, especially in high-tech, has helped the vegetable and fruit industry compete against other farming products, he said. However, Vietnam's vegetable and fruit industry has faced increases in technical and commercial barriers on export markets and the short usage time of raw vegetables and fruits, Binh said. Other major farming products like rice and seafood have faced strict competition and challenges in the short and long term. Those products need to redefine markets and improve management ability for creating value chains and building brands, he said. According to Ipsard's forecasts, in 2017, Vietnam's agriculture sector will still face restrictive trade barriers and fierce competition with other countries that have promoted production and exports of farming products on the global market. The export prices of farming products will not recover in the short term. In terms of supply, extreme weather conditions due to climate change and marine environmental pollution are predicted to impact agricultural production. At the same time, surplus production capacity of some commodities such as livestock will make these industries struggle in the export market. Ipsard also said Vietnamese rice has competed fiercely with other large rice exporters such as Thailand and India and new rice exporters like Cambodia and Myanmar. Meanwhile, the traditional export markets for Vietnamese rice have also limited imports of rice. Regarding price trends, the actual price of rice is expected to decrease in the medium term, the institute said. To develop the rice industry in the direction of improving quality, value and increasing sustainable development, Ipsard said that the local agricultural sector needs to redefine the market structure, specialised areas, and the structure of varieties and crop; and to study the development of processing and diversification of rice products. For the fisheries sector, global protection policies and climate change will be challenges for the sector in the short and long terms. The fisheries sector needs to focus on added value in processing and brand building. Nguyen Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, said many enterprises have paid attention to investment in the agriculture sector instead of the State and farmers as before. Therefore, the State should promote the relationship between enterprises and farmers. It is necessary to change the development for Vietnam's agricultural and rural area, including farming products, to focus on increasing output and agricultural production based on cooperation between the State and farmers, Thien said. The state should have solutions to attract investment to agriculture, including solutions on land use licences and land accumulation, he said. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377080/vns-agriculture-needs-sustainable-solutions.html

Policy changes needed to boost rice sector's growth 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA Despite rapid growth for years, the rice sector of Vietnam is hamstrung by policies that reduce its competitiveness. Amidst this situation, strong actions are needed to broaden markets and increase rice exports. Analysing global market forecasts, Sergio Araujo from the Trade and Market Division of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) noted that global rice production mostly depended on higher productivity in Asia and Africa, which produced nearly 500 million tonnes in the 2015-2016 crops Calculations showed that the world needs more than 50 million tonnes of additional rice. It is forecast that inventories in the future will be lower than production and demand, he said at a conference in Hanoi on May 24. He said that global rice trade will recover in 2025, but instability in policies and currency is likely to continue, adding that all predictions pointed to a slight fall in global rice inventory and declining rice prices. Currently, large rice producers face the problems of salinity and climate change. Experts also asserted that in Vietnam, small-scale production has led using many rice varieties leads to differences in quality and difficulties in tracking origin. Mechanisation levels in harvesting remain low, reducing rice export quality and raising post-harvest losses and production costs, they said, adding that current unsuitable processing procedures also affect quality. Commenting on the prospects for Vietnam's rice sector in 2017, Pham Thi Kim Dung from the Institute of Policies and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development said the average rice price in 2017 may drop 2.7 percent over 2016 before increasing 6 percent in 2018. Dung said that Vietnam's rice sector should focus on systemising, especially in trade intermediate and processing processes. Besides boosting exports, should also pay more attention to domestic market. Along with keeping a close eye on the Chinese market, it is necessary to maintain traditional markets and develop new ones, she added. Experts at the event also agreed that in the future, the local rice sector will encounter great challenges, requiring it to continue overcoming its weaknesses and design measures to respond to changes in the world rice market, while raising export revenue with high quality rice varieties and promoting trademark building. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/policy-changes-needed-to-boost-rice-sectors-growth/112272.vnp

Co-processing, solution for industrial waste 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS Vietnam is the third largest footwear maker in Asia and fourth in the world (behind China, India and Brazil), accounting for about 10 per cent of global production. Leather and footwear products are also a key export item for the country, accounting for 10 per cent of revenues. The Ministry of Industry and Trade recently unveiled a plan for the development of the country's leather and footwear industry. It expects exports of leather and footwear to increase 10-15 per cent a year between 2016 and 2020 and 8-9 per cent the next five years. There are around 1,700 companies in this sector employing 1.2 million workers. However, too much of anything is not good, especially with the footwear industry having a huge environmental impact. With the development plan, the lack of a controlling and monitoring system and funds shortage make the need for effective waste management and treatment solutions more important than ever. Prof Dr Nguyen Mai, chair of the Association of FDI enterprises, once talking about the wave of FDI investment in the footwear industry in Vietnam, has warned that the industry poses a high risk of pollution and therefore it is necessary to select suitable projects to avoid environmental disasters. World Bank economist Pham Minh Duc said: "Investments in the upstream sector must be accompanied by stricter environmental regulations because the [footwear] industry discharges a large volume of wastewater and pollutants. So Vietnam is at risk of using toxic chemicals. To mitigate these impacts, Vietnam needs to have policies that encourage the use of advanced and environmentally friendly technologies." Under increasing pressure from consumers, society and the government, the footwear industry is seeking ways to become more sustainable. Though manufacturers would like dearly to be sustainable and environment-friendly, there are limitations with respect to the information they have about technologies and their adoption due to financial issues. According to experts, 25 per cent of the leather used is discharged and causes bad odour. Duc said: "Burning wastes from the footwear industry creates large amounts of dioxin. If not treated with the right method, it will have fatal impacts on human beings. "Even storing this kind of waste in the wrong manner causes chemicals to leak into soil and water, destroy the environment and damage public health." At the end of last year a factory owned by Dao Quang Viet in Kien An District, Hai Phong city, which burnt footwear waste, was severely criticised by neighbours. Vietnam Law newspaper carried out an investigation and found that the 1,200sq.m facility stored a huge amount of rubber and leather shoe soles and PVC. The facility has a two-metre high fence, but dumps waste outside. Residents of Lam Ha Ward reported that the plant's main work was recycling footwear waste into plastic, and its 20-metre chimney discharged swirling black fumes day and night. In 2011 the footwear industry was involved in a serious case of violation of waste treatment laws in Binh Phuoc Province. The Dong Xoai town police inspected a facility belonging to Thai Binh Leather and Footwear Company in Tan Dong Ward, and discovered it landfilled solid wastes in front and directly discharged effluents without treatment. The inspection uncovered that the plant had landfilled more than 160 cubic metres of PVC, plastic packaging, PU and other wastes. The management blamed the company's partner, a waste treatment company, for it. It had stopped its work due to several problems. Every day the facility discharged one cubic metre of waste, and the electricity company insisted it should clear the waste so that it could do construction. Solution While waste management in certain industries has been a perennial problem in Vietnam with State agencies being responsible for finding solutions for waste management and garbage disposal, some corporate players are forging ahead with modern technologies to resolve the problem and draw closer to nature. Large footwear companies have also been looking for long for ways to reduce and eliminate the practice of landfilling waste. Vietnam's most popular waste disposal methods are incineration and landfilling. However, handling the waste generated daily is becoming more and more of a problem as the technology at incineration plants is very basic and therefore insufficient. Though these plants are assessed by the government for technical standards and gas emissions, Vietnam lacks the technology to identify dioxins and other pollutants. Garbage collectors are not sufficiently monitored or tracked, and their backyard facilities have insufficient waste treatment capabilities. This poses a serious threat to people and the environment as ground and surface water are often contaminated by this untreated waste. "Consequently, efficient waste management is one of the biggest social and environmental challenges," a sustainability report by a footwear manufacturer said. "One proven alternative and possible solution on the way to a 'zero waste society' in Vietnam is the so- called 'co-processing' technology with the help of which waste is transformed into thermal heat to produce cement with strict quality control." Co-processing: transform disposal waste Co-processing makes best use of the 2000 degree Celcius heat in cement kilns to completely destroy waste, leaving no residues for landfilling and thus reducing CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. Geocycle, a waste management brand of Holcim (now Insee), takes over wastes from a wide range of footwear manufacturers in Vietnam and has so far converted 690,000 tonnes of industrial waste, which would have affected even groundwater if dumped into the environment. Its work has a triple benefit waste management, contributing to a cleaner environment; reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels with the generation of energy from the waste; and thus reduction in emission of greenhouse gases. Nguyen Thanh Danh, an independent environmental evaluator told Vietnam News that Geocycle is a pioneering company in waste management offering professional and environmental-friendly waste disposal. He said its method is a globally established best practice to dispose of hazardous wastes. It is technically advanced and superior to landfilling and incineration since there are no residues. "Though the price for this treatment is higher than for burning, it brings a lot of benefits to society by discharging nothing into the environment." Co-processing is recognised and encouraged by international institutions such as the World Health Organization, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Hazardous Chemical and Waste conventions, the Basel Convention, The European Cement Association, and GTZ (German Technical Corporation). A report released at the 2015 national environment conference showed there were almost 458 solid waste landfills in Vieät Nam with an area of more than 1 hectare each and countless smaller landfills. An efficient solution is needed for this. Large attention should be drawn to co-processing. http://bizhub.vn/news/co-processing-solution-for-industrial-waste_286374.html

Second review of anti-dumping duties on imported steel 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued a decision to conduct a second review of anti- dumping duties on imported cold-rolled stainless steel. Decision No 1849/QD-BTC, dated May 23, 2017, was issued in response to a review proposal submitted by several steel import companies and firms that sell steel to Vietnam. The period for the second review is from May 1, 2016 to April 30, 2017. As per the country's anti-dumping regulations, concerned parties can request for a review of anti- dumping duties one year after the decision to impose it. On September 5, 2014, the MoIT had issued Decision No 7896/QD-BTC related to imposing anti- dumping duties on several cold-rolled stainless steel products imported to Vietnam from countries and territories including China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. The first review concluded on April 29, 2016. After the first review, the anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled stainless steel imported from China-based Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co Ltd was hiked from 6.58 per cent to 17.47 per cent, and from between 4.64 and 6.87 per cent to 25.35 per cent for other Chinese steel producers. Cold-rolled stainless steel products from Indonesia was levied an anti-dumping duty of 13.03 per cent, up from 3.07 per cent. On the other hand, duty on products from Malaysia dropped from 10.71 to 9.55 per cent. For products from Taiwan, the duty was maintained at between 13.79 and 37.29 per cent. The duties are applicable from May 14, 2016, to October 6, 2019, as per the results of the first review. http://bizhub.vn/news/second-review-of-anti-dumping-duties-on-imported-steel_286393.html

Experts discuss draft Law on Tourism 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VN Economic Times VET Group holds conference on tourism becoming a sprearhead economic sector. The Vietnam Economic Times Group held the "Creating a Breakthrough for Tourism to Develop into a Spearhead Economic Sector" workshop in Hanoi on May 25. A range of ideas were floated by economic experts and business leaders about the draft Law on Tourism 2017. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chair and general director of Vietravel, said the draft law is no different from the Law on Tourism 2005. "Vietnam has targeted tourism turnover of $35 billion and international visitors to increase 190 per cent, but the changes in the draft law do not match these goals," he said. "A tourism law must be built based on support, to create impetus in terms of mechanism and development." Many comments at the workshop involved the establishment of tourism promotion agencies being separated from the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Luu Duc Ke, director of Hanoitourist, spoke of the tourist inspection issue, saying that if tourism is considered a key sector, it must have its own inspection force. Speakers including economic expert Le Dang Doanh, entrepreneur Ky, and the Chair of the Vietnam Tourism Association and member of the National Assembly Duong Trung Quoc, believe the National Assembly will not pass the draft law. Similarly, Huong Tran Kieu Dung, deputy Chairwoman of the Board of Management of the FLC Group, agreed that there were many barriers to tourism becoming a key economic sector, such as planning and regulations for tourism development remaining complex. "The government should have more laws to encourage businesses to invest in real estate, resorts, transport infrastructure, and aviation for tourism development," she proposed. The number of international visitors in the first fourth months of this year was estimated at over 4.2 million, up 30.3 per cent year-on-year, according to the general Statistical Office (GSO). Hoping to give the tourism industry a major push, the Vietnamese government has launched a much- touted online visa system for travellers on short holidays or business visits. Tourism authorities are eyeing a 15 per cent increase in international visitors this year. The sector is expected to contribute 10 per cent to Vietnam's GDP and become a key economic driver by 2020. By that time, the country is expected to welcome up to 20 million foreign visitors and earn $35 billion in tourism revenue. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/experts-discuss-draft-law-on-tourism

Government to name and shame agencies that don't help enterprises 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS State agencies that fail to help enterprises overcome difficulties will be named and publicly shamed. That is one of the decisions emanating from the May 17 meeting between prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and leading business enterprises, deputy minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong tells Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. What are the prominent results after the year-long implementing of Resolution 35 on supporting and developing enterprises? The most prominent result is the public responsiveness. According to preliminary figures, 28 support centres for start-ups have opened in the private sector. This is a biggest boom ever, showing that the private sector has been responsive to the government's call. The number of enterprises also increased. In 2016, there were about 500,000 active, tax-paying enterprises. After one year, the figure has risen to more than 610,000. Registered investment capital and registered capital for investment expansion have also increased. Results of a survey conducted among enterprises with foreign investment indicate a positive message that Vietnam continues to be a priority destination for investment and investment expansion. In a report of the Asean-US Enterprises Association to the US Ambassador one month ago, all enterprises doing business in Vietnam reported growth and profits and said they wished to continue their operations. So why did the GDP growth in the first quarter mark the lowest in several years, and the number of enterprises dissolving was equal to the newly-established enterprises? We can't deny that the GDP growth was low, but the business sentiment has increased. The low growth rate of GDP correctly reflects the fact that the economy still needs reform and innovation. It is absolutely possible to boost growth by increasing State investment and budget spending, but in that case, the growth is not substantial. The dialogue between the prime minister and enterprises shows that only high-level leaders are imbued with a reform spirit, whereas at lower levels, there seems to be a gap between talk and action. What do you think? Frankly speaking, the awareness is unequal among ministries, sectors and localities. Some ministries are actively engaged in solving difficulties for enterprises. However, the actions of others still produce modest results. Some policies, such as those on land, construction, and investment, still have shortcomings and need further revision. There are also local authorities, particularly district and commune authorities, which have not helped solve difficulties and create favourable conditions for enterprises. Because they still have the mindset that they have the upper hand as the management authority and thus their relations with enterprises still follow the ask-give mechanism. These problems will be addressed thoroughly in a direction to be issued soon by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) after studying opinions of enterprises at the recent conference. What are the main issues that MPI will focus on to support the development of enterprises? The ministry will set up bodies to directly receive complaints and proposals of enterprises about difficulties and harassment. We will immediately carry out solutions such as increasing cooperation among ministries to help enterprises in terms of credit, land, technologies or information. We will also increase monitoring of activities to pinpoint the agencies that do a good job and those that don't. The ministry will apply IT to gather statistics [on this issue] and make them public. Based on these statistics, the ministry will compile and publish periodic reports on activities of ministries, sectors and localities. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/178866/gov-t-to-name-and-shame-agencies-that-don-t-help- enterprises.html

How to improve the role of private economic groups? 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Nhip Cau Dau Tu The expectation that private economic group will become the driving force for the Vietnamese economy is quite justifiable. But, it can be a far cry from the desire to reality. Over the past 10 years, the Vietnamese economy has consistently witnessed the appearance of multi- sector companies, which are similar in appearance to the world's model of private economic group, although the official name is still Joint Stock Company or Joint Stock Corporation. It is impossible to deny certain contributions of Vingroup, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Hoa Phat or Masan, and while 97 percent of private businesses only have small and medium scale, the key role in directing the economy certainly belongs to the aforementioned companies. However, many experts said these types of businesses often develop on the basis of resources (minerals, land and forest) and receive significant incentives compared to other companies doing business in the same field. On the other hand, when the so-called Vietnamese finance, economic groups largely come from the real estate sector and are still focusing on this area, the driving force of the economy is not very prominent. For example, although Vingroup has quite large scale in Vietnam, Dr Bui Trinh frankly said that it is not yet the engine of the economy as the current expectations. Meanwhile, real estate is always among the areas that attract most investment from inside and outside the country for the last nearly ten years. This is also the field that appears the highest number of billion dollar businesses and billionaires of Vietnam. As per the Foreign Investment Agency (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment MPI), real estate business attracted $297.4 million, accounting for 21.2 percent of the total FDI in January 2017 and equal to about 25 percent of the figure in 2016. The activities of real estate businesses, in spite of creating certain spillover in the construction sector and construction auxiliary products, it is not really substantial. On the other words, the real estate industry cannot be expected to be the driving force for the knowledge economy that relies on gray matter and technology to maximise product value. The growth of resource-based businesses, either directly or indirectly, will limit the development of other ones. However, in a more optimistic perspective, economist Nguyen Tri Hieu acknowledged the remarkable changes that large real estate businesses have done in many rural areas. However, if we just stop at that level, these businesses will hardly be able to become powerful economic groups like Korean chaebol model. Some corporations have participated in retail and agricultural systems but their mark on the market in these two areas remains modest. The expert recommends that apart from the efforts made by these businesses themselves, management agencies need to make positive changes and give incentives to production sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and processing industry, etc. However, these must be the advantages originating from the general policy adjustment, which ensures the equity for all businesses. We cannot let big businesses take advantage of market position to abuse policy because behind these phenomena are corruptions and negative things that are extremely difficult to control. As per Vietnam Report, the total revenue in 2015 of the top 10 Vietnamese largest businesses reached just $7.23 billion, equivalent to 3.4 percent of the $211.32 billion revenue of the top 10 largest businesses in the US Fortune 500 rankings. Vietnam's Top 500 businesses are too small compared to large international ones. Many of Vietnam's large private businesses are actually still classified as small and medium-sized enterprises under the US's standards. Vietnam's private business i.e. Vinamilk achieved the biggest revenue in 2016, at $2.08 billion, which was still only equal to 28.9 percent of the world's 2,000 biggest company i.e. Hanwha Chemical ($7.2 billion). Vietnam is ranked in the 6th generation of industrialised countries but it has not taken the advantage of the follower. The picture of private businesses, expectation of private economic corporations as an engine for the economy would be better if Vietnam really has large private firms in the fields of manufacturing and processing, especially technology, not just the "follower" of FDI businesses by exploiting natural resources or processing at low added-value stages. So how can this come true? Dr Nguyen Quang Thai, Vietnam Economics Association, affirmed that this can only be achieved on the basis of new policies that create equal opportunities for domestic private businesses and state-owned enterprises, joint-stock companies, to make up the most important role in the development. On the contrary, our country's economy is prone to a "hollow" state, which is very worth concerning, as having happened when selling, divesting capital from state-owned enterprises, or M & A activities to wipe out many Vietnamese brands and products in recent years. As per Dr Nguyen Hong Nga, HCM City University of Economics and Law, it is important that the government creates the environment for private sector's investment. This environment liberates competitive forces to create a strong incentive for investment and liberate the dynamics of the private sector. At present, public investment in Vietnam accounts for about 30 percent of GDP. According to theory and practice, to achieve seven percent growth rate, state investment should be around 5-7 percent of GDP. Thus, the state has had an excessive investment of about 23 percent of GDP. If this investment goes to the private sector, it will generate at least eight percentage points of growth. And the economy will have an average growth rate of 12-14 percent per year. "This is the number that China attained in the years of hot growth. At that time, we will have many billionaires in the fields of industry, commerce, electronics, information technology, etc.. However, it will take at least one more generation for us to see the bright prospect as aforementioned ", the expert predicts.

Will Vietnamese workers have a place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution? 26/May/2017 Intellasia| Vnexpress Most of them cannot afford to prepare themselves for the wave of automation, or even worry about it. Quyen wakes up every day with the same routine: working until 6 p.m., rushing to her room to cook a quick meal with some vegetables and 150 grams of meat for both dinner and breakfast the next morning, and heading back to the factory to work overtime. Despite holding a teaching degree, the young woman from the northern province of Yen Bai chose factory life at the Bac Thang Long Industrial Zone in Hanoi as she could not afford the VND300 million ($13,200) needed to bribe herself into a school job back home. She still owes more than VND30 million of a social loan borrowed to pay for her college tuition. She hopes the factory job will help clear that debt. Vietnam's average annual income was around $2,200 last year. Many of Quyen's co-workers are also college or university graduates, trained to use their academic knowledge to help the economy. But the only doors they found open to them led to manual jobs, many of which will be redundant when machines take over. The world is standing on the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a term introduced by Germany around two years ago to project a new period of fundamental changes to global production with a wave of new technology. A study by the International Labour Organisation late last year found that 86 percent of workers in Vietnam's garments sector face increased automation, while about 75 percent of workers in the electronics sector could be replaced by robots in the coming decades. Prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a directive earlier this month laying out plans for the country to prepare for the revolution. It asked the labour ministry to revise training and education for workers to focus on mastering and making use of advanced, innovative technology, and to combat any negative effects the revolution may have on the labour market. That is the plan, but right now non-government organisations specialising in labour find it "very hard" to make Vietnamese workers enrol on training courses, even when the classes are free. Factory owners want their workers to simply sleep and recharge for the next working day, they said. The workers themselves believe their future is not going anywhere. To many of them, worrying about technological advances is a luxury they cannot afford, especially when they don't have the money to pay for TV or the internet, and when all their meals consist of instant noodles and water spinach, one of the cheapest vegetables in Vietnam. That's how Lam and her husband, both workers at Bac Thang Long, measure their income how much water spinach and instant noodles they can buy. They have no savings. She gets paid VND3.75 million a month, the exact minimum wage set by the government, and combined with her husband's income, the family of four, which includes her child and grandmother, has VND8 million a month to live on. They live in a 10-square-metre room that costs nearly VND1 million a month and gives them space for two pieces of furniture: a bed and a wardrobe. Lam said they once looked for a better option, but the VND1.2 million price tag was more than they could afford. A national survey conducted in March this year found that 12 percent of workers said their wages were not enough to live on, so they had to take on extra jobs. 33 percent said their wages were low and they had to live thriftily, while only 16 percent of workers, most of them in the mining sector, were able to save. Many young workers across Vietnam, some of whom are just in their 20s, live that same life. They get a break once in a while by going to a karaoke parlor especially designed for factory workers so it can accommodate a whole assembly line, with 20 of them, at a time. Some of them have broken from the cycle by taking up farming jobs back in their hometowns, where "life is less harsh," according to a worker's mother. Some have signed up for overseas labour. The rest are left to worry, not about the industrial revolution, but how to find enough money to take the next trip home for the Lunar New Year. "We are broke and cannot go home for the holiday," a young man from central Vietnam told a police officer in the southern industrial province of Binh Duong three days before the holiday in 2011. "That's why we decided to rob someone," he said. "This is our first time, sir," http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/will-vietnamese-workers-have-a-place-in-the-fourth-industrial- revolution-3590206.html

Mekong Delta startup valley takes shape 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNA A startup network of the Mekong Delta was launched at a ceremony held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)'s Can Tho chapter (VCCI Can Tho) on May 24. Speaking at the event, director of VCCI Can Tho Vo Hung Dung stressed that the Mekong Delta region is oriented to develop into a "startup valley", inspired by the US model of Silicon Valley, but the region will focus on agricultural production and food processing. He noted that startup is an urgent need in the Mekong Delta as the region is facing formidable challenges like stagnant economic growth and climate change. However, startup is not the work of an individual or a single organisation, he said, explaining that it needs a network of suppliers, distributors, partners and state organisations in order to roll out a product or service for customers through both competition and cooperation. This is the real meaning of a startup ecosystem, he said. The delta had nearly 30,000 corporations in 2016, accounting for just 7.7 percent of the country's figure. However, the companies operated in small scale and there were only two percent of high-tech businesses in the region. As a major urban centre in the region, Can Tho city has advantages in infrastructure for technology development, and thus it should become a locomotive of innovative startup. A representative from Vinh Long province suggested that Can Tho city needs to coordinate and give specific startup orientation to prevent overlapping ideas, adding that ideas on organic farming and coffee plantation are flourishing but they are only pale imitations and lack creativity. Director of Can Tho city's Department of Trade and Industry Nguyen Minh Toai said startup businesses often meet difficulty in accessing capital, recommending that the government should help with connecting startups and commercial banks. Reforms in administrative procedures and business laws and upgrade of research institutes were among recommendations to facilitate startups in the delta. According to vice director of VCCI Can Tho Nguyen Phuong Lam, the chamber set up a startup support programme for 2016-2020 with vision to 2030 called "Mekong Startup" with the goal of 1,000 new enterprises in technology and management by 2020. http://en.vietnamplus.vn/mekong-delta-startup-valley-takes-shape/112288.vnp

Local consumer trends changing significantly 26/May/2017 Intellasia| VNS A forum on "Vietnam's consumer trend in 2017" was held in Hanoi on Thursday to discuss changes in consumption habits and how to promote the sustainable development of consumer goods in Vietnam. As the nation with the third largest population in Southeast Asia, about 70 per cent of whom are at working age, Vietnam has potential for consumer goods with significantly rising purchasing power. The forum was an opportunity for businesses in consumer goods, managers, economic researchers to exchange information. Participants also evaluated opportunities for Vietnamese consumer markets and discussed promoting consumption and market development, said Nguyen Van Nam, director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy (BCSI). The event covered various themes such as changes in consumer trends in Vietnam, internet shopping, brand positioning, consumers' confidence in local goods and quality and cost of clean products. Chaitanya Kishore Reddy, research director of P&S Mekong at the TNS Global market research company, said that consumption was changing in Vietnam due to improving living standards and lifestyle changes. Consumers want changes in packaging, as they want to see eye-catching products when they shop, he said. Consumers tend to prefer foreign brands to domestic ones, which has harmed local firms. Some 64 per cent of rice sold in Vietnam has a foreign name instead of a Vietnamese language name tag, with some Vietnamese firms using foreign languages to boost sales, reported Tran Nhat Tan, deputy head of Vibiz's research department. Consumers also tend to focus on safe food and beverages which are good for health and "green" products that protect the environment. The seminar also discussed the effects of the fourth industrial revolution on consumption. By applying digital technology into consumption habits, people can save time by shopping online. Global market research firms predicted that in 2017-25, the number of online consumers in Vietnam would surge, with a diverse range of buyers and sellers. Therefore, enterprises should engage in high technology to introduce products to many online consumers in the era of technology development. The event was organised by BCSI in accordance with the Vietnam Economic Times (Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam) newspaper. http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/377144/local-consumer-trends-changing-significantly.html

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