finance & business news 6 November 2017

FINANCE ...... 1 Vietnamese middle class on the rise 42 Reference exchange rate up by 7 VND at week's beginning 1 Hung Yen creates favourable conditions for investors 43 Nearly 1.18 billion VND worth of G-bonds mobilised 2 Vietnamese garment industry faces fierce competition from 's global integration: it is now the financial sector's turn 2 , Burma 44 Will bank bankruptcy be allowed? 4 Commerce chamber hoped to boost Vietnam- trade 45 Huge profits and unpredictable consequences from the strong Deputy PM backs Belgian firms expanding investment in VN 45 credit growth 5 HCM City promotes trade, investment, tourism in 46 Credit contacts 7 BIZ NEWS...... 46 Which banks help shareholders best exploit their assets? 7 Business Briefs 06 November, 2017 46 Local insurers still neglect network security insurance 9 Stocks plunge on heavy selling 47 Party official appreciates IMF's assistance for Vietnam 9 Vietnamese stocks tipped for a sluggish week 47 Vietcombank to improve internet banking security 10 Investment funds shift focus on to mid-cap stocks 48 SHB about to issue 83.9m shares to make 2016 dividend payment 10 ROS plans $21m dividend payout, defends profit tally 49 TPP11 quality pact remains significant, vital 10 CMC to finally debut in 50 Potential impact of EU-Vietnam FTA 13 ROS plans $21m dividend payout, defends profit tally 52 Against tide, Apec seeks deeper trade integration 14 VCCI, ILO help SMEs join global supply chains 53 Apec 2017: New vision and position of Vietnam 16 Japanese tourism promoted in Can Tho 54 Japanese daily Nikkei hails Vietnam's economic development 18 Vietnamese goods favoured in RoK 55 An economist perspective on Vietnam's trade future 19 Legal system frowns at Silicon tech giants 55 Finance minister: Ratio of budget revenue to GDP not too high 21 Why foreigners aren't buying houses in Vietnam 56 Accurate valuations are key to luring FDI 22 Due to mistrust of sellers, 3pct VN shoppers pay online 57 Vietnam reports $5 billion phone exports in October 23 Internet users ignore network security 58 10M agri-exports reach $29.76bn 23 Ben Tre's vast coconut groves 59 Tra export value rises, firms cautious 24 When women mean business, society thrives 60 Vegetables emerge as major export earner 25 MobiFone, VNPost restructuring plans approved 63 Farm exports face more technical barriers 25 Toyota Vietnam lowers auto prices 63 Exporters worry as end of foreign loans nears 25 New car maker to hit the road running 64 As oil dips, tourism should soar: HSBC report 26 FLC Faros expects to exceed 2017 profit targets 65 Petrol price up 271 VND per litre 27 Co.opmart supermarkets offer steep discounts on seasoning, E5 fuel shortage growing concern 27 cheese and coffee 66 NA discusses law on public debt management 28 Garment giant Nha Be focused on technology for growth 66 Draft cyber security law mismatches WTO rules 30 McDonald's to open first restaurant in 68 Construction Ministry: HCM City should approve mini-apartments 31 Past & present 68 Private economy thrives in southern localities 31 Suncity to buy into Hoiana An casino resort 69 Government talks development mechanisms for HCM City: Sales at Sanctuary Villas Ho Tram open 70 press conference 32 Construction of Movenpick Hotel & Residences kicked off in E-commerce the ticket to MSME success 33 71 Retail modernisation and e-commerce aiding FMCG 34 Government requires to make clear violations by Khaisilk Group 71 VN plans major solar power growth 36 Seminar talks aquaponics industry in Vietnam, 71 Provinces set special economic units 36 Phu Quoc to host international cashew conference 72 Office rental price in HCM City cools down 38 Workshop seeks to enhance exports of Vietnam agri-products 72 Local wood sector takes firmer root 38 Conference looks to promote online exports in digital era 73 Farmers shift to more resilient crops in the Delta 39 Drugstore chains expand as competition heats up 41 FINANCE FINANCE Reference exchange 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA VNA rate up by 7 VND at The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) set its reference VND/USD exchange rate at 22,469 week's beginning VND/USD in the morning of November 6, up by 7 VND from the end of last week. With the current/- 3 percent VND/USD trading band, the ceiling exchange rate is 23,135 VND per USD and the floor rate is 21,797 VND per USD. At major commercial banks, the exchange rates were quite stable. Intellasia Tel: +844 2213 2244 No. 21, lane 173/63/17, Ngoc Ha Ward, Ba Dinh Dist, Hanoi Fax: +844 3759 2034 © All Rights Reserved Email: [email protected] Websites: www.Intellasia.Net www.TriTueAChau.com Vietnam finance & business 6 November 2017

Vietcombank kept the rates at 22,675 VND (buying) and 22,745 VND (selling), per USD, unchanged from the end of last week. Vietinbank set the rates at 22,680 VND (buying) and 22,750 VND (selling), per USD, both up 5 VND as compared to the end of last week. Similarly, BIDV listed the buying rate at 22,680 VND and the selling rate at 22,750 VND, per USD, both up 5 VND. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/reference-exchange-rate-up-by-7-vnd-at-weeks-beginning/ 120616.vnp

Nearly 1.18 billion 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA VNA VND worth of G- The Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) raised nearly 1.18 trillion VND (51.9 million USD) bonds mobilised by selling government bonds issued by the State Treasury at an auction on November 1. The bonds were offered for four tenures: five years valued at 1 trillion VND, seven years at 500 billion VND, 10 years at 1 trillion VND, and 30 years at 500 billion VND. The five-year bonds did not see a winning volume. Meanwhile, the seven-year bonds were sold at a total value of 500 billion VND, with a winning yield of 4.85 percent a year, 0.02 percent higher than bonds of the same term sold at the previous auction on October 25. The 10-year bonds brought in only 295 billion VND with a winning yield of 5.42 per- FINANCE cent, equal to the sale during the October 25 session. Some 350 billion VND worth of 30-year bonds sold at the auction had an interest rate of 6.1 percent per annum, equal to the previous sale on September 27. Since the beginning of this year, the Vietnam State Treasury has mobilised nearly 156.26 trillion VND (6.87 billion USD) through government bonds issued on the HNX. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/nearly-118 billion-vnd-worth-of-gbonds-mobilised/ 120537.vnp

Vietnam's global 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS integration: it is now Vietnam has made great strides in integrating with the global economy and accom- the financial sector's plished a great deal as its rapid economic growth in the past 30 years testifies. turn It is committed to opening up its finance sector, an important pillar in the economic integration process, and enhancing international cooperation. But the country's financial integration is relatively low, though increasing, especially when compared with its high degree of trade integration. It has been a decade since Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Or- ganisation (WTO). It now has trade relations with around 200 countries and territories and investment relations with 114. The country has signed or wrapped up negotiations for 12 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), including new-generation FTAs with large scope and high-level commitments such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It is also engaged in talks for four other FTAs: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Asean- (China) FTA, and separate FTAs with the European Free Trade Association and Israel. Deepening global economic ties will also lead to deeper financial ties. Vietnam's tariff liberalisation through its FTAs has been vigorous, and the country is set to open up its financial services to carry out its commitments as well as enable a comprehensive eco- nomic structure reform. Under the FTAs, Vietnam's commitments in the financial services sector are the same as those committed under the WTO, conforming to a 'positive list' approach, which in- cludes obligations such as National Treatment and Market Access in three modes: cross-border supply, consumption abroad and commercial presence. Insurance is one of the areas of financial services in which the country has made exten- sive liberalisation commitments. Since its accession to the WTO, Vietnam has disman- tled many barriers and stopped discrimination against foreign insurers. The country now allows access to international transport insurance, reinsurance, insurance and re- insurance brokers and advisory services. Foreign investors are allowed to establish 100 per cent foreign-owned insurance com- panies in Vietnam. Foreign firms are allowed to establish offices to sell non-life insur- ance in the country. In the securities sector, Vietnam allows cross-border information delivery, consultancy

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and auxiliary services and establishment of 100 per cent foreign-owned securities com- panies. It also allows foreign companies to establish subsidiaries to provide asset manage- ment, payments and clearing, financial information, advisory, intermediary and aux- iliary services. However, the country reserves the right to impose a testing programme by capping the number of financial service providers or restricting the scope of the pilot pro- gramme to match the development level of the local banking and financial system. In 2015, Vietnam completed TPP negotiations, for the first time adopting a negative list approach, meaning all sectors would be fully open except where it has taken an excep- tion (non-conforming measure). Under TPP commitments, foreign financial institutions are allowed to enter the Viet- namese financial market in various forms such as by setting up representative offices, branches, joint venture banks or banks with 100 per cent foreign capital. TPP also opens up opportunities for foreign financial institutions to invest in joint- FINANCE stock commercial banks up to regulated limits (total foreign ownership in a joint-stock bank should not exceed 30 per cent while the limit for strategic foreign investors is 20 per cent). Foreign investors may also set up joint ventures or wholly foreign-owned finance com- panies and financial leasing companies. Many foreign banks have opened wholly foreign-owned banks in Vietnam, including ANZ, Hong Leong, HSBC, Shinhan, Standard Chartered, CIMB, Public Bank Berhad, and Woori Bank. Though the future of the TPP is not clear after the walkout by the US, Vietnam's TPP commitments are significantly broader than its WTO commitments as reflected in the country's legislative developments in recent times. This was reaffirmed by Finance minister Dinh Tien Dung when he told the Apec 2017 Finance ministers' Meeting late in October: "Vietnam will be more open." Vietnam is a rising star in the global economic map. From being one of the world's least developed economies, it has risen into the middle-income bracket. Its gross domestic product grew at an annual average of 6.29 per cent in the past decade and is expected to top 6.7 per cent this year. Exports are likely to exceed $200 billion, 4.4 times the value in 2006. Meanwhile, Viet- nam has attracted some $28.24 billion in foreign direct investment in the first 10 months of this year, up 37.4 per cent year-on-year. At the end of September stock market capitalisation had reached 93 per cent of GDP, the highest ever level since the market was set up in 2000. Wayne Golding Obe, chair of the Apec Business Advisory Council, said Vietnam must be doing something right. "Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region," he told Vietnam News. "You're demonstrating to the world and Apec's members that you're growing and you're integrating." Regional integration Though there are concerns over a possible contagion once a crisis occurs when a coun- try opens its financial market, Asia-Pacific economies are nevertheless calling for deeper financial integration to boost trade and investment. Financial cooperation in the region crystallised under the Cebu Action Plan approved at the 2015 Apec Finance ministers' Meeting in the with four pillars: (i) pro- moting financial integration; (ii) advancing fiscal reforms and transparency; (iii) en- hancing financial resilience; and (iv) accelerating infrastructure development and financing. As the host of the 2017 Apec, Vietnam spelled out four priorities for financial cooper- ation, which received broad support from other members as well as international fi- nancial institutions: long-term investment in infrastructure; base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS); disaster risk financing and insurance; and financial inclusion.

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The Asia-Pacific is arguably the most important region of our time with 21 economies including leading ones like the US, China and Japan and most dynamic developing economies such as , , the Philippines and Vietnam. Apec's member economies accounted for 57 per cent of global manufacturing and 46.5 per cent of trade in 2015. Greater financial integration of the region is believed to facilitate greater growth and intra-regional trade and investment as well as catalyse other areas such as expanded financial inclusion, deeper financial sector development and increased infrastructure financing. As a supporter of global economic integration, Vietnam in January 2016 adopted an overall strategy for international integration through 2020 -- with a vision to 2030 -- with the objectives of enhancing the country's aggregate strength, taking full advan- tage of favourable global conditions to turn Vietnam into a modern industrialised country, improving living standards, and raising the country's global profile and pres- tige. FINANCE With other Apec member economies, "Vietnam is always looking for opportunities for cooperation in the financial sector within the framework of bilateral and multilateral FTAs," Vu Nhu Thang, director of the Ministry of Finance's international cooperation department, said. Within the bilateral framework, Vietnam has actively cooperated with other econo- mies in areas like taxation and customs. Vietnam has signed 76 agreements to avoid double taxation, many with Apec member economies. A similar agreement with the US is awaiting ratification. The liberalisation of financial services and greater financial cooperation will bring ben- efits to economies by eliminating protective barriers and improving access for foreign financial institutions and companies, creating a level playing field, enhancing service quality and attracting better quality of foreign capital. http://bizhub.vn/news/viet-nams-global-integration-it-is-now-the-financial-sectors- turn_289904.html

Will bank bankruptcy 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| TBKTNH be allowed? After discussions and detailed explanations of the State Bank Governor Le Minh Hung about the draft on supplementation and amendment of some articles of the Law on credit organisations, National Assembly's representatives face the approval or disap- proval of one of the major problems of the country that is the Law allowing banks to go bankrupt. This is unprecedented in the legal framework of finance and banking operation over the past many years and the reality also has not recorded any official bankruptcy in the sector's history. To persuade National Assembly members, Governor Le Minh Hung emphasized that the government is the body that approves bank bankruptcy plan. In other words, he asked the National Assembly to consider putting bank bankruptcy method into law as a final measure when other measures such as restructuring, merger and acquisition, entire transfer, etc. do not show effectiveness. This is not new but the Governor recalled a long-standing reality. That is the concrete fate of each bank has long been decided by the government. The State Bank is directly under the government and normally, the restructuring, merger and acquisition or compulsory purchase of a credit organisation must have the coordination of concerned ministries and sectors. Mekong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the Asia-Pacific Joint Stock Commercial Bank are the rare names that dissolved after having paid all the debts to the people and busi- nesses as well as settling all the debts. Viet Hoa Commercial Joint Stock Bank has also fulfilled its obligations to repay all the money to depositors many years ago but in principle, Viet Hoa papers are still there. Vietnam banking sector used to witness two periods of consolidation, reorganisation and strong restructuring of credit organisations and the results were secured deposits,

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no bank went bankrupt, and the system became more solid. Though the usual "prescriptions" of management body to settle each ailing bank varies in severity, dose and duration of treatment, basically, they are still such steps as putting under special control, refinancing loans for every six months, applying flexible mechanism to gradually recover. So far, the aforementioned classic "prescriptions" still remain good, and can still be used. However, the scale of credit organisations is increasingly large, not only net- work, human resources, equity but the total mobilisation, total credit granted to the economy. Therefore, once any credit organisation has problems, the rescue method is to mobilise many resources in a large scale. The State Bank, the government announced not to use the state budget to restructure banks. However, the application of favourable mechanisms, including the tax exemp- tion, also indirectly means that the budget is used. Mechanism is also money! From here, it is time to legalise bank bankruptcy not only because the scale of restruc- turing schemes has indirectly used the state budget, the interest of depositors and af- FINANCE fected the business and investment environment but also because of the acceptance of the harnesses of the market economy. Governor Le Minh Hung, in a discussion with the writer of this article, said he suffers from a lot of pressure when reforming ailing credit organisations, including tele- phones, but he always believes in the support of senior leaders because he is open, transparent, and determined to solve problems, if available, to the root cause. Only when the National Assembly approves to put the regulation on bank bankruptcy into the Law on credit organisations, the remaining implementation through decrees and guiding circulars is really a revolution. For example, if a bank makes loses, for ex- ample 50 percent of the equity, major shareholders will have to offset, and when they cannot do so, they will have to get out of the management board. The amount of mon- ey they contribute to banks may still remain at a certain level but their role at banks has ended. Along with that, banks may have to reduce the capital mobilisation scale and credit limit corresponding to the scale of lost equity. The reduction of capital mobilisation scale is a high dose of antibiotics that has never been listed in the term of any State Bank Governor. Intangible hands from management agencies will be real and is ex- pected to be tough enough to deter possible missteps. If we strictly manage banks by visible hands on the basis of the rule of law, clearly, bankruptcy method may not have to be used. The key thing is still to ensure the har- mony of interest of depositors, businesses, system's safety and finally shareholders, in- vestors. It should be remembered that prior to this draft on amendment and supplementation of the Law on credit organisations, the State Bank completed asking for approval of the public about the credit ranking regulation of banks. Though the credit ranking of banks is initially not publicised due to the insufficient maturity of the financial and monetary market, it is also the alert for banks. Nothing is as widespread as information whatever it is close, while information on credit rating is often associated with banks' real situation. After all, Governor Hung expects that the government will consider having more spe- cific regulation in the revised law, so as the payment of ensured deposits to customers is more than 75 million dong per person as prescribed by deposit insurance. This can be the first signal to show that in the future the State Bank will not entirely back all banks as now and depositors will have to choose a reliable credit organisation to de- posit their assets, not banks with the highest savings rate.

Huge profits and 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE unpredictable It is quite noticeable on the third quarter (Q3) financial statements of credit institutions consequences from (CIs) that the credit growth is much stronger than mobilisation growth in the first three the strong credit quarters of the year. The figures from the reports also showed that the profit of com- growth mercial banks is at the highest level in the past four to five years, in which credit activ-

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ities contributed a very important part. In fact, in the first nine months of the year, most banks recorded the ratio of net interest income on total income from 75 percent and more. Vietcombank is still holding the top position on the profit ranking with 7.934 trillion dong in three months, up by 25.4 per- cent compared to the same period of 2016. With this result, the bank has completed 8.2 percent of the annual profit plan. VietinBank ranks the second with total profit in the first nine months reaching 7.232 trillion dong, up by 11.5 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Notably, the ranking in this period saw a significant change as the state-owned bank BIDV has lost its position in the top 3 and gave room for a joint stock bank VPBank. Closing the first nine months of 2017, VPBank posted a pre-tax profit of 5.635 trillion dong, up by 79.2 percent compared to the same period of 2016. This is a reasonable re- sult as the bank has continuously boosted lending in the period. The bank's net interest income currently accounts for up to 85 percent of its total income. Meanwhile, BIDV' profit showed signs of decline with just 5.555 trillion dong in the FINANCE first nine months of the year, down by 3.5 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Considering the profit growth, Sacombank recorded the most impressive change with a profit of up to 1.025 trillion dong, nearly five times higher than the same period of 2016. With this result, the bank has surpassed nearly 75 percent of its annual profit plan. The main reason for the positive profit results is the prosperity in business lines of banks while operating costs were not much volatile. TPBank is also worth mentioning. Most of the bank's business activities in the period saw good growth. In particular, thanks to the acceleration of lending, the net interest income of TPBank rose by up to 54 percent compared to the same period of 2016, reach- ing over 2.2 trillion dong. Its profit from service activities also doubled to 126 billion dong, while profit from the trading of investment securities also increased by six times to 173 billion dong. Accordingly, closing the first nine months, TPBank recorded pre- tax profit of nearly 807 billion dong, nearly 2.3 times larger than the realised figure in the same period of last year, and 3.5 percent exceeding the plan. Many other banks such as Eximbank, ACB, SHB, and MBB, etc. also post remarkable increase in profits with a growth rate from 45 percent to 126 percent over the same pe- riod of last year. According to a recent announcement of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), in the first nine months of 2017, the credit of the entire system grew by up to 12.16 percent com- pared to late 2016. Meanwhile, in late August, the prime minister issued instruction re- questing for measures to boost credit growth to 21-22%. Thus, in the next three months, a large amount of capital is likely to be injected to the economy, and it is also a positive signal for banks' profit. Nevertheless, according to many experts, the hot growth of credit may lead to many risks for the banking system, while the Gross Do- mestic Product (GDP) growth, with current conditions, is more likely to reach the tar- get without the need to boost credit. Talking to reporter of BizLIVE, Dr Can Van Luc, a finance and banking expert said that according to statistics, the relationship between GDP growth and credit growth is not to tight, and if the annual credit growth is raised up too high, it can lead to unpredict- able consequences. "Firstly, the strong credit growth will put pressure on inflation in the end of the year and early next year, with a lag of three to six months. Secondly, if the capital is not strictly controlled, it may be poured into inefficient sectors and in- crease the risk of bad debts for the banking system. Thirdly, banks are currently accel- erating the mobilisation of capital, to on one hand meet the credit growth target, and on the other hand to meet Circular 06. Accordingly, it is by chance pushing up the in- put interest rates, thereby hindering the reduction of output interest rates, in the con- text when the bad debts of banks remain large and the Net Interest Margin (NIM) is fairly low", said Dr Luc. Meanwhile, in a report released a few days ago, the credit rating agency Moody's also

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warned that fast credit growth which is supported by ease monetary policy may in- crease asset risks. Moody's believes that rapid credit growth will continue to erode the capital buffer.... And refinancing will weaken when banks have to mobilise capital to offset the sharp credit growth. The cost of risk provisioning will also weaken the ability of banks in accumulate capital, while their capability to mobilise capital from outside is limited. Moreover, although the growth rate of deposits in dong is strong, it will still be lower than credit growth, leading to the shrink in liquidity.

Credit contacts 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES Accessing loans and cards at banks has been made easier for customers with the ap- pearance of a new startup. High demand among customers for financial products have encouraged banks and fi- nancial institutions in Vietnam to continually launch new services to the market. Choices are many but information lacking in many cases, frustrating customers. Bank-

FINANCE Go was launched to fill the gap. A FinTech platform, the startup provides financial information on interest rates for home loans, car loans, and consumer loans and the credit cards of different banks in Vietnam. New idea, old thinking BankGo's products and services are free to users and include searches and compari- sons on loans and credit cards. After receiving information, BankGo connects custom- ers with a bank official, cutting the time to complete procedures by one-third. Ngo Trung Dung, Co-founder and CEO of BankGo, said preparations for the startup began in March last year and it was officially launched last October. With ten years of experience in credit and risk management at large banks in Vietnam, he understands the market. Demand for credit is high but not met by supply, which bolsters the black credit market in Vietnam. "Credit is a conditional product, which requires customers supply full information," he said. "This can present problems." Another issue for BankGo is mindset. Vietnamese, in general, distrust financial bro- kers. BankGo has therefore spent a great deal of time and energy on establishing belief among customers. The different mindsets found in different cities and provinces also created difficulties when it came to expanding its scale. But BankGo's has set up de- tailed strategies for its staff to deal with any and all issues. Conversely, BankGo has a lot going for it, thanks to its access to data on banks and banking staff in Vietnam at U&Bank. This makes it easier for BankGo to have complete information on the products and interest rates of different banks and to establish rela- tionships with bank officials. Its first year has been quite a challenge, but determination has led to results. The star- tup is connected to 37 banks and finance institutions in Vietnam. Successful loan deals number 280, with loans totalling VND80 billion ($3.5 million). Desire to develop BankGo was ranked as one of seven startups with the most potential by Fintech Singa- pore in 2016, and it received investment from an angel investor last year. While Dung was reluctant to go into details about the investment, he said it has supported BankGo in building and offering its products and services. He also hinted to VET that the star- tup is in discussions with two new investment funds to mobilise additional capital, en- abling BankGo to improve existing functions and introduce new functions on its website during its next stage of development. Product quality is crucial for every enterprise, Dung said, so BankGo's staff pay atten- tion to developing its technology platform and core products. In tandem with the smartphone boom in recent years, BankGo has designed an app to improve interaction between user and bank. "Profit is not the most important thing for BankGo at present," he emphasized. "Instead, we are focusing on finalising our technology systems to launch optimal utilities for customers." Different to other Vietnamese tech startups like DesignBold and iCheck, Dung does not have any plans to take BankGo global just yet. Vietnam's growing population,

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booming internet rates, and high demand for credit provides optimism over the poten- tial BankGo possesses. "Our initial aim is to conquer the domestic market, which is quite large," he said. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/banking-finance/credit-contacts

Which banks help 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE shareholders best The business results in the first nine months of 2017 showed outstanding profits com- exploit their assets? pared to the same period of 2016. There are bright spots from small joint stock banks, while the three major state-owned banks including BIDV, Vietcombank and Viet- inBank recorded inadequate business efficiency compared to their size. The profitability index of banks in the first nine months of 2017 and the same period of 2016 were calculated based on the figures in banks' consolidated financial statement in the third quarter, and based on the numbers in the end of each period. Therefore, the Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) ratios were only relative at

FINANCE each time banks reporting their business results. Of the 13 banks surveyed by BizLIVE, VPBank is currently the most efficient bank for asset exploitation. Closing the first three quarters of 2017, the bank's ROA was 1.77%, which means that of a 100 dong of asset, VPBank's board of leaders brought 1.77 dong of profit to shareholders. This profitability also surpassed the bank's ROA in the same period of 2016, which was 1.27%. In terms of scale, in the first nine months of 2017, the total assets of VPBank reached 235.487 trillion dong, only equivalent to 30 percent of Vietcombank's, 20-22 percent of BIDV's and VietinBank's the two banks that have the biggest assets in the system with over one quadrillion dong. However, VPBank's shareholders are happier as the bank's efficiency in using assets is currently fairly good. Considering the asset exploitation efficiency in the first nine months of the year of the three leading banks including BIDV, Vietcombank and VietinBank, both BIDV and Vi- etinBank saw decline in efficiency as their ROAs were just respectively 0.38 percent and 0.59%, down compared to the same period of 2016. Vietcombank recorded a slight increase in ROA from 0.69 percent in 2016 to 0.71 percent in 2017. The asset exploitation efficiency of these three banks is currently just moderate in the banking sector. However, most of the 13 surveyed banks recorded increase in the effi- ciency of asset exploitation in the period compared to the same period of 2016, includ- ing some other names such as Sacombank, TPB, KienLongBank, ACB, MBB, and Eximbank, etc. Banks having small size of assets such as TPB and KienlongBank, re- corded impressive growth in 2017 although their ROAs remain low. TPB's ROA in the first nine months of 2017 was 0.62%, 1.6 times higher than the 0.38 percent recorded in 2016. ROA of KienlongBank in the same period was 0.44%, up by six times compared to the 0.06 percent in the same period of 2016. It shows that the management ability of the leader boards of small banks is significantly enhancing. In the first nine months of the year, MBB attained the highest return on equity of the 13 surveyed banks. The bank's ROE in the period reached 17.8%, which means that MBB earned 17.8 dong of the 100 dong of capital spent on business. Compared to the ROE in the same period of 2016, the current ROE of 13.1 percent shows that MBB is ex- ploiting its capital fairly well. VPBank remains a bright name in the banking business. Its ROE in the first nine months of the year was maintained at high level as the bank's board of leaders brought 16.3 dong profit from 100 dong of capital, a slight decline compared to the 16.6 percent recorded in the same period of 2016. In the first three quarters of the year, small banks effectively exploited their equity compared to the same period of 2016. Specifically, TPBank raised its return on equity by 1.8 times in the period. The bank brought up to 11.4 dong of profit (ROE of 11.4%) while spending 100 dong doing business, compared to the 6.1 percent ROE recorded in the same period of 2016. For KienlongBank, the effective use of equity was 8.8 times higher from less than 01 dong (ROE of 0.5%) in the first nine months of 2016 to 4.4 dong (ROE of 4.4%) from a

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100 dong of equity. SHB also recorded a 1.5 times higher in ROE with 8.0 percent from 5.2 percent in the same period of 2016. However, BIDV and VietinBank experienced decline in their ROE in the first three quarters compared to the same period of 2016. BIDV's ROE in the period was just 9.3%, down compared to the 10.2 percent in the same period of 2016. For VietinBank, in the period, the bank's ROE only reached 11.8 percent while it was 14.1 percent in the same period of last year. Meanwhile, the equity of VietinBank and BIDV is also in the top ranking, reaching respectively 62.280 trillion and 46.536 trillion dong. The size of equi- ty of the two banks is doubling that of KienlongBank, but their ROE is less. The above profitability indicators showed that the rise of small banks in business op- eration is giving positive signals in banking activities. If small banks continue to pro- mote good business performance, the market share of big banks will be shared.

Local insurers still 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR

FINANCE neglect network Network security has grown into a pressing global issue, and Vietnam is not an excep- security insurance tion. Aware of the growing concerns associated with current network security loop- holes, many local firms are still unprepared to cope with the risk. A recent survey by PwC Vietnam, part of global professional services company PwC, shows that large-scale network security incidents are increasingly commonplace and trigger growing concerns among global consumers as well as governments. In this context, many businesses, including those in Vietnam, are still lacking the nec- essary knowledge and skills on managing new risk related to network security in to- day's complex digital technology era. A PwC representative said that according to the survey results, up to 44 per cent of sur- veyed firms do not have an overall strategy on information security, 48 per cent do not have a training programme to raise awareness about network security among their staff, and 54 per cent do not have a compatible mechanism to confront hackers. In fact, until now just a handful of foreign insurers, such as AIG, QBE or Chubb, have engaged in offering network security insurance products to their customers. These insurance products might cover losses the customers incur in case of hacker or virus attacks or the expenses put into amending and replacing companies' information technology system after network security incident occurrences, and more. "As this is a fresh and specific product line, the insurance policies are still modest in number. Only several dozen such policies have been registered until present," said the representative of a foreign insurer currently deploying the service. "The market has proven to hold great potential as not many insurers have engaged in providing the service. In fact, in developed markets insurance premiums from net- work security insurance products began to increase in recent years only," the source added. According to industry experts, data and network security insurance was intro- duced by international insurers in the late 1990s. The service stemmed from the ICT companies and services firms who wanted to pro- tect themselves from computer viruses and losing customer information. A survey by Aon, a global London-based professional services firm, shows that in 2015 global network security insurance premiums reached approximately $1.7 billion and reach an estimated $2.3 billion in 2016, growing about 30 per cent annually during 2011-2015. In Asia, after the recent WannaCry ransomware attacks, the demand for such insur- ance products has increased sharply. According to Japan Network Security Association (JNSA), the network security insur- ance portfolio of Japan's three leading non-insurers surpassed 1,000 products last year. In 2017's first quarters, the insurance premiums from this segment at some Japanese insurers rose by three to five folds on-year. http://www.vir.com.vn/local-insurers-still-neglect-network-security-insurance.html

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Party official 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA appreciates IMF's Chair of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Economic Affairs Nguyen Van assistance for Vietnam Binh met with a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Chief of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department Alex Mourmouras in Hanoi on November 3. Mourmouras briefed his host about his delegation's assessment and consultation out- comes along with some recommendations regarding the country's macro-economic outlook, fiscal and monetary-banking policies, and State-owned enterprises in 2017. The IMF highly valued Vietnam's macro-economic stabilisation efforts and socio-eco- nomic achievements. It believes that the country will maintain stable development and fulfil its set targets, he said. He affirmed that the IMF will always support Vietnam's development efforts. Chair Binh appreciated the IMF's policy consultancy and effective assistance for Viet- nam's economic development over the past years. He said his country will push on with stabilising the macro-economy, economic restructuring and creating favourable

FINANCE conditions for foreign investors. He also hailed the IMF's fruitful cooperation with relevant agencies and localities of Vietnam, including the State Bank of Vietnam. He asked the IMF to keep close cooperation with and prioritise the Southeast Asian na- tion in the time ahead, especially in giving policy consultancy, providing technical so- lutions, training manpower, and increasing financial aid for economic restructuring. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/party-official-appreciates-imfs-assistance-for-vietnam/ 120573.vnp

Vietcombank to 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS improve internet To improve security in online banking, Vietcombank on Thursday asked customers to banking security change their password structure. Accordingly, from November 1, 2017, passwords for internet banking accounts must have seven to 20 characters, including a number, caps lock, normal letter and special characters. Customers are required to change their password within 12 months. Transactions via internet banking will be automatically stopped if customers do not carry out any trans- action within five minutes. In addition, the effective time for using a one-time-password (OTP) for online transac- tions will be five minutes if being received via SMS and two minutes if being received via EMV-OTP and eToken. All individual customers and organisations using VCB internet banking services will be subject to the changes. Users can access the website, www.vietcombank.com.vn, or call the 24-hour hotline, 1900545413, for any support. http://bizhub.vn/banking/vietcombank-to-improve-internet-banking- security_289909.html

SHB about to issue 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| NDH 83.9m shares to make Saigon Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) has released information about the 2016 dividend issuance of shares to pay 2016 dividends from the non-distributed after-tax profit. payment Accordingly, this bank will make dividend payment at 7.5%. With more than 1,119 million existing shares, SHB will issue an additional of 83.9 million shares. This divi- dend payment method through the issuance of shares to pay dividend was approved by shareholders at the 2017 annual general meeting (AGM). This method was approved by the State Bank. After issuing, SHB's chartered capital will increase from 11.197 trillion dong to over 12.036 trillion dong. SHB said it will announce the final registration date later. Cumulatively, in January-September, SHB's pre-tax profit increased 69 percent to 1.331 trillion dong. Comparing with the ambitious plan of 50 percent profit growth plan that the bank set at the annual general meeting 2017, SHB has now completed 76%. The main reason was that the income from service operation unexpectedly

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reached nearly 900 billion in the last Q3.

TPP11 quality pact 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS remains significant, While the US's withdrawal is a big blow to the TPP, the agreement forged after five vital years of negotiations still has a lot to offer. Vo Tri Thanh* explains. In February 2016, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the world's biggest and most-awaited multinational trade deals was signed by 12 member economies in New Zealand. The deal was the fruit of negotiations that had lasted five years. It can be said that the trade deal was most expected because it offered great advantages and potentials to the signatories. First of all, TPP would have a substantial impact on trade, investment and growth of member economies. With high standards that outperform traditional free trade agree- ments (FTAs) in both scope and depth of commitment, it took freedom of trade to a higher level, with not just greater tax cuts, but also the lowest restrictive non-tariff bar-

FINANCE riers, creating favourable conditions for exports that would help fuel extra economic growth. In their working paper on TPP's economic effects in 2016, Professor Peter A. Petri from the Brandeis University and Professor Micheal Plummer from Johns Hopkins Univer- sity predicted member-country incomes would rise by $465 billion (1.1 per cent) and exports by $1,025 billion (11.5 per cent) annually by 2030, when the agreement is al- most fully followed. Secondly, TPP would be a driving force for strong institutional reforms because it sets out regulations that facilitate trade and investment liberalisation, and forms rules for sensitive issues that are often bottlenecks in global economic integration, thereby forc- ing member economies to change behind-border policies. Such issues include compe- tition, e-commerce, intellectual property rights, labour standards, State-owned enterprises, government procurement, and environment protection. Thirdly, it was a regional agreement of the best quality so far, in the sense that it was a prototype for other FTAs. More importantly, Apec leaders agreed that the TPP could become a stepping stone for a much wider Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), a long-term goal of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec). That's the reason why after the deal was signed, a number of countries in the region expressed interest in joining it, concerned that they would lag and be left behind. In fact, TPP talks began in 2011 with just nine nations Australia, , , Malay- sia, New Zealand, , , Vietnam and the (US). Three others Japan, and asked to join later. Reaching the signing stage is just "an important step," noted New Zealand prime min- ister John Key at the signing ceremony. The massive trade pact "is still just a piece of paper, or rather over 16,000 pieces of paper until it actually comes into force." To take real effect, the TPP had to undergo a two year ratification period in which at least six countries that account for 85 per cent of the combined gross domestic produc- tion (GDP) of the 12 TPP nations -- approved the final text. Given their economic size, both the United States and Japan would need to ratify the deal, because the US alone accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the group's GDP. If everything went smoothly, the deal was supposed to take effect early next year. However, when the countries were yet to get half-way with their ratification processes, the new US administration announced its withdrawal from the pact on the very first day its new president took office as part of his "America First" policy. Though the announcement did not shock the world much as many politicians and businesspeople had envisioned TPP's future with the US absent from it under its new leader, but the withdrawal was still something that no member economy was pre- pared for. Former US President Barack Obama was a strong supporter of the TPP, which he claimed was a tool to remove international barriers to trade and investment, connect- ing 40 per cent of the world's economy. And it is undeniable that the world's largest economy had led and contributed a large

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part to setting rules and regulations for negotiations. Given its economic, trade, investment and service figures, it is true that to an extent, the US administration's decision to pull out of the deal has diminished the TPP's sig- nificance and values, forcing member economies to reconsider the grounds of the deal. Still, amidst the emerging protectionism and anti-trade liberalisation sentiment, we can still see the deal's vitality beyond the basic nature of a free trade agreement. TPP's vitality The vitality of TPP was evidenced by the gathering of remaining members of the agreement in May in Hanoi on the sidelines of an Apec meeting. They looked for ways to move the trade deal forward without the US. The 11 member countries agreed on three points. They unanimously reaffirmed balancing outcomes and the economic and strategic sig- nificance of TPP and agreed to realise the benefits the deal can bring about. They were also determined to consider alternative TPP-11 scenarios before the Apec Summit 2017 taking place later this week in the central city of Da Nang, including favourable con- FINANCE ditions for those who signed the TPP. The members also emphasized the possibility of TPP extension to other economies that can meet and accept the high standards of the agreement. Since then, negotiators showed little signs of stopping. There have been four TPP-11 official meetings: one in Sydney in August and three in Tokyo in July, September and early November. To make the TPP-11 real and as significant as TPP-12, the members have to deal with a couple of challenges. One is to keep several countries on board, especially those that would have benefited most from the deal if the US did not go away. Now, the opportunity to get better access to the US market is fading, they want to renegotiate some points. If some key regulations were frozen or removed, the TPP might not become a high- standard agreement as expected. This also means that countries are trading off between benefits of market access thanks to trade and investment liberalisation, and chances for implementing institutional re- forms which is a foundation for sustainable development. Besides, the perception of TPP as a legal contract for member nations or a template for wider and deeper regional integration would continue to drive the way they act. However, there is a hope that the changes in the playing rules, if any, will be mini- mum, so that the spirit of a high-quality agreement would remain. And the TPP would continue to serve as a building block for the realisation of the FTAAP because Apec has since 2006 been tasked with the role of an incubator for a FTAAP. Vietnam's commitment Vietnam was invited to join the TPP negotiations from the very beginning as an asso- ciate member and guest. After attending three sessions of negotiations, Vietnam offi- cially joined the TPP on 11 January, 2010. According to a 2012 study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), Vietnam would have had the largest income and export increase among the 12 TPP countries, with growth rates of 13 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively, compared to a base line with no TPP. It was estimated that the TPP would potentially help increase Vietnam's GDP by $23.5 billion in 2020 and $33.5 billion in 2025, with exports to increase by $68 billion in 2025. Most of these gains would come from Vietnam's growing production and export of ap- parel and footwear, which would benefit from the removal of high duties in TPP mem- ber countries, especially the US. Therefore, the US's withdrawal would have much more of a negative impact on Viet- nam than any other member. Kenichi Kawasaki, a professor at Japan's National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), has pointed out in a research paper this year that Vietnam's real GDP gains from tariff reductions offered by TPP-11 would tumble to 1.10 per cent from 6.79 per

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cent offered by TPP-12. However, this loss does not mean that Vietnam is no longer keen on joining the trade pact. Vietnam still has reasons to strongly support the TPP-11. Kawasaki's estimated non- tariff reductions in TPP-11 would still bring substantial economic gains even after the US's withdrawal (9.29 per cent in real GDP gains). If the membership increases in the future, Vietnam will benefit from access to more markets. In fact, the deal had brought many advantages even before it came into force. One is easily seen: foreign direct investment worth billion of dollars flowing into Vietnam to take advantage of the TPP deal, inspiring local businesses. According to numbers from the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of the end of 2016, apart from Peru, Papua New Guin- ea, and Chile which do not yet have any projects in Vietnam, the other 17 Apec mem- bers have already entered the country, registering projects worth a total of $230 billion, making up 78.5 per cent of the total FDI flow into Vietnam over the past 30 years. FINANCE Notably, of the top 10 biggest investors in Vietnam, besides British Virgin Islands rank- ing 5th, the remaining nine spots belong to Apec members. Besides, the high-quality deal will require Vietnam to make structural adjustments, in- cluding enhancing transparency and the rules of law, implementing new labour and environmental standards, and improve the competitiveness and efficiency of Sate- owned enterprises, among other significant changes. If the core of TPP obligations is preserved, TPP-11 would continue to be a catalyst for Vietnam's strong institutional reform, especially as globalisation and integration re- main inevitable trends. With this in mind, Vietnam has been and will be a responsible member, actively con- tributing to creating a positive outcome at the Apec Summit 2017. It could be the TPP- 11 members signing a document or promising to sign one in a near future. And who knows, one day, the US might return. http://bizhub.vn/analysts-pick/tpp11-quality-pact-remains-significant- vital_289906.html

Potential impact of 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR EU-Vietnam FTA The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is going to be signed in 2018, will boost Vietnam's GDP by $3.2 billion by 2020, $6.7 billion by 2025, and $7.2 billion by 2030. The EU is an economic union consisting of 28 member states and a population of 508 million people, and an aggregate GDP of $18 trillion, making it the largest unified mar- ket all over the world. The EU is one of Vietnam's leading trade partners, accounting for 19 percent of Vietnamese exports. Vietnam-EU's export turnover was $20.6 billion in 2015. The EU ranks second among the official development assistance (ODA) donors of Vietnam with more than 40 per- cent of non-refundable aid. "The EU is a very important partner for Vietnam in every field of the economy, with strong impact on the country's development. The EVFTA has become more important to the development of Vietnam after the US' withdrawal from the TPP," emphasized Truong Dinh Tuyen, former minister of Trade. EVFTA negotiations were closed in 2015, the document has been translated into 23 lan- guages and are going to be signed in 2018. Upon entering into force, it will impact the development of modern market institutions and Vietnam's international integration via the multiple commitments to open up the market to ensure the freedom of move- ment for goods, services, as well as investment and factors of production, promoting transparency and stability. The FTA will also impact Vietnam's growth through investment and export expansion. Following a 7/10 roadmap, the EU will remove all import taxes on Vietnamese goods within seven years, while Vietnam will do so in return within 10 years. This arrangement means the EU will remove taxes faster, and many of Vietnam's flag-

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ship export products will be able to enter the EU completely exempt of tariffs after the EVFTA comes into effect or a short time later. These advantages will create new moti- vation for Vietnamese exports to the EU. According to a report of economist Pham Thi Lan Huong, a researcher of the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP), presented at the work- shop consultation on the potential impact of the EVFTA held on November 2, 2017, Vi- etnam's export turnover towards the EU will gain approximately $33 billion by 2020, $42 billion by 2025, and $47 billion by 2030. Specifically, 50 percent of the tariff lines on aquatic products will be removed right af- ter the FTA comes online. 0 percent tax will be applied to rice imports (within a quota of around 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes per year). Goods like coffee, pepper, cashew nut, honey, fresh vegetables, fruits and their processed products or juice will see tariff ex- emption instantly, while they are imposed rather high tariffs at the moment (up to 17- 20 percent for some products). Apparel and footwear are two of Vietnam's major export goods to the EU, with annual FINANCE turnover of $3.5 and 4 billion, respectively. These product categories will see tariffs cut by 42.5 percent and 37%, respectively, after the enforcement of the FTA. Wood and wood products, computers, electronic products, and components will also see tariff cuts. Vietnamese businesses could bid to provide goods, services, and to be involved in con- struction projects in EU member states. This is an opportunity for them to approach the EU markets. However, firms must follow the original rules applied to each specific product in the FTA, while conducting export or import activities, as well as understand EU regula- tions and frequently update on information to enjoy the best tax incentives. http://english.vov.vn/economy/potential-impact-of-euvietnam-fta-361766.vov

Against tide, Apec 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR seeks deeper trade Hosting Apec Year 2017 is a focus of Vietnam's external relations activities this year, integration as well as the country's most important contribution to fostering Apec cooperation as part of its deeper and more comprehensive international integration strategy. On the occasion of the 2017 Apec Economic Leaders' Week, held during November 6-11 in Danang, Apec Secretariat executive director Dr Alan Bollard talked with VIR's Van Ngoc about his insight into Apec 2017 and its implications for regional economic inte- gration. As the executive director of the Apec Secretariat, could you give us an overview of Apec's role since its inception as well as how it has contributed to Vietnam and other economies in the region and globally? Apec has been in operation for more than a quarter of a century. In that time, it has fo- cused on improving regional economic integration by tearing down obstacles for trade and investment in its member economies, which are most of the economies around the Pacific Rim. This started with a focus on traditional barriers at the border, like tariffs and non-tariff measures that make it difficult to ship goods between economies. Structural reforms and registry harmonisation within borders was then scrutinised. Apec economies also took into account blockages for supply chains operating across borders and increas- ingly looked at obstacles to uniform trade such as data movement and electronic com- merce. The success of this approach has been huge. It has contributed to a reduction in the number of people living in poverty in the Apec region by around a billion people over the last two decades. That is a massive achievement; of course not all this is due to Apec, but Apec and its ideal of regional economic integration has been a major driving factor in combating poverty. In Vietnam, Apec has contributed to growth that is aligned with the ideals of the coun- try in terms of trade and investment, and has stimulated important regional growth drivers.

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What can be done to change public attitudes about globalisation and advances in tech- nology which can impact Apec's trade agenda? We have been cautious when talking about public attitudes towards globalisation and technology because they differ quite considerably between economies. Within Apec, it is probably fair to say that in some developed economies, there have been growing concerns about globalisation and its potentially negative effects on some jobs and sec- tors. But in emerging markets, there is generally a much more positive view on the advan- tages of globalisation. The work that the Policy Support Unit has done in Apec sug- gests that there is a very clear relationship between trade openness and growth rates in economies. However, the relationship between globalisation and inequality is very complex and differs between economies. The approach of Apec has been continuing to strengthen the benefits of open trade and investment while paying more attention to the fact that some people and some economies can also be hurt by the effects of trade competition. FINANCE The focus of Apec is on moving goods with a progressive trade system where we can find harmony in credible rules. To do this, we have to pay attention to the different rules of trade in different economies. This means that we will keep moving on multi- lateral and regional action. We expect that the current bilateral trade tensions will take place off the table, between the respective economies. Could you share your thoughts about the prospects of Apec's pursuit of free and open trade in the region by 2020 under Bogor Goals? Apec has long dedicated itself to improving trade and investment. It has been doing this through a number of initiatives, the biggest of them being the Bogor Goals. The goals are a set of targets used to pursue free and open trade in developed economies by 2010, most of which has been achieved. However, we have not been completely suc- cessful yet. In addition, they have a target set for 2020 for free and open trade in devel- oping economies. We have seen some progress and are going further on this. Vietnam is currently organising a process to help us consider the direction of Apec be- yond 2020. At that stage, we need to decide whether we will extend the Bogor Goals or push into other areas. Can you talk about trade opportunities for small businesses and how Apec is working to support greater prospects in this area? Small businesses in Vietnam make up a large part of the economy, and the same thing is true for all of the economies in Apec. But when we look at participation in interna- tional trade and investment, it all involves larger firms and the global supply chain. We now see the prospects of bringing the benefits of regional economic growth drivers into these smaller firms. We encourage them to focus on the possibilities they have to link up with the regional value chain and to make use of technology that is becoming available in digital economies and through electronic commerce. That means we are now looking at a whole range of digital possibilities for small busi- nesses to enter their goods and services into the regional markets. And all the while, we try to move towards harmonising ways of dealing with data privacy, cyber securi- ty, global data standards, localisation requirements, and other aspects these businesses need to work with. What are your expectations for Apec Economic Leaders' Week? In November 2017, economic leaders from Apec will get together in Danang to talk about the achievements of the year, put them into perspective with a wider view of global economic progress, and give direction to Apec; to decide where we would like to see things going in the year ahead. First of all, I expect to see leaders emphasize the importance of continuing regional economic integration in terms of improving people's living standards and driving the economy forward. Bearing this in mind, they will certainly talk about the role of social inclusion and the importance of making globalisation work for all. At the same time, I expect they will talk in detail about specific initiatives to improve regional economic integration, to improve food security in markets, to modernise

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small- and medium-sized enterprises, and many other initiatives that Apec has been working on this year. And they will talk about the direction in which they want Apec to move in the future. What is the legacy Apec will have for Vietnam and the region as a whole, and where will things go from there? Vietnam takes on a role of leadership in Apec during a potentially difficult year. There have been growing concerns about globalisation and uncertainty about where some regional trade agreements will end up. Vietnam is in a good position to deal with this because it is a potential member in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a member of Asean, and the leading member of Apec this year. With all our economies together, we will look at how regional economic integration will move forward and work out what to do this year to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. http://www.vir.com.vn/against-tide-apec-seeks-deeper-trade-integration.html FINANCE

Apec 2017: New vision 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR and position of Pham Binh Minh, Politburo member, deputy prime minister, minister of Foreign Af- Vietnam fairs, and chair of the 2017 Apec National Committee, talks about the effects Apec has had on Vietnam, and vice versa. Hosting Apec is a vivid illustration of the dynamic, leading, and responsible role played by each member of this prominent economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region. Apec Vietnam 2017 has been sailing only halfway of the voyage. For what has been achieved, Apec friends and partners all highly appreciate Vietnam's organisation of the year in a thoughtful and professional manner as well as her active and constructive initiatives to promote cooperation and connectivity in Apec. Vietnam hosts the Apec Year for the second time when the world and the region are undergoing complicated transformation and developments. While Apec is accelerat- ing the attainment of the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment by 2020, some obstacles against globalisation and economic linkages have emerged. However, nearly 10 years has gone by since the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, and we are now witnessing more positive developments, including new prospective signals in global and regional economic and trade growth. The reality presents the navigators of the Apec ship with major responsibility to work together so as to carry more signifi- cant new ideas to the forum, and hence bringing about more substantial benefits to the people and businesses. Therefore, the international community considers Apec Viet- nam 2017 both as a challenge and an opportunity to boost growth and connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world, thereby contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, and development in a turbulent world. Apec Vietnam 2017 the strategic vision of Vietnam's foreign policy The Apec Year 2017 is an important opportunity to highlight the spirit and intellectual capacity of Vietnam's diplomacy, particularly the multi-lateral diplomacy in the com- prehensive integration of the country. The successes of Apec Year 2006 and the pres- tige gained through her high responsibility in various international organisations have brought Vietnam to Apec Year 2017 spotlight with a new stature. It is by no accident that theme "Creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future" is welcomed and nurtured by international friends and partners. In the continuation of recent achievements of Apec cooperation, Vietnam has introduced four priorities on fostering sustainable, innovative, and inclusive growth; deepening re- gional economic integration; strengthening micro-, small-, and medium-sized enter- prises' (MSMEs) competitiveness and innovation in the digital age; and enhancing food security and sustainable agriculture in response to climate change. These meet the interests and benefits of member economies, reflecting the common trend in inter- national cooperation, and equally serving the socio-economic development demand of our country in a new period as well. The identification of the right theme, priorities, and directions of cooperation for Apec

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Year 2017 clearly reflects the strategic vision of Vietnam's foreign policy. First and fore- most, it is the vision of a peaceful, stable, and dynamic Asia-Pacific which continues to be the driver of regional and global economic growth and linkages in which the Apec Forum, the Asean Community, the Mekong Sub- regional Cooperation Mechanisms, and bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agree- ments (FTAs) co-developed and complemented each other, thereby forming a sustain- able and comprehensive regional architecture. That strategic vision is driven by the strong belief that the 21st century needs to be shaped by equality, mutual benefit, and fundamental principles of international law, not by the "zero sum" (lose-win) princi- ple, especially in economic, trade, and investment cooperation. All economies in the region, whether they are Apec members or not, share the common interest in building Asia-Pacific partnerships for sustainable and inclusive development in the 21st centu- ry. Second, Apec activities this year should create the new impetus to promote growth and increase regional economic integration to a new height and to reiterate that the Fo- FINANCE rum is for the people and businesses. Apec needs more impetus for quality growth, structural reform, and inclusive socio-economic and financial development. It should also help strengthen connectivity, develop global value chains, and facilitate collabo- ration on the next-generation of economic-commercial issues. At the same time, other pressing needs include accelerating efforts to completely obtain the Bogor Goals and maintaining regional momentum in such frameworks as the Transatlantic Economic Partnership (TPP) and the Economic Partnership Comprehensive Regional (RCEP) to- ward the formation of the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area (FTAAP). Third, 2017 is expected to be the year to continue affirming Apec's role as a forum for initiating ideas, directing and co-ordinating economic linkages, thereby promoting the building of a sustainable, transparent, and highly-adaptable regional architecture which ensures the complementarity and harmonisation of multi-layered mechanisms. Accounting for 39 per cent of the world's population, 57 per cent of GDP, and 49 per cent of global trade, Apec should continue to promote its pioneering role in the global effort for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change, for the promo- tion of multilateral trading systems and to address common challenges such as the ad- verse effects of globalisation and digitalisation and increased inequality. Fourth, after 28 years into its formation and development, this is also an important time to shape the Apec Vision for the post 2020 period. That vision should clearly de- fine the objectives, long-term direction, and pillars of cooperation for the forum in the next 10-15 years. Promoting the spirit of equal, voluntary, and non-binding coopera- tion for mutual benefits is necessary to guarantee the dynamism and attractiveness of Apec with a diverse history of culture and development levels. Bearing that in mind, the Apec Year 2017 promises to create a new momentum for the forum. This is also a great opportunity for Vietnam to join hands with other members to shape the future of not only Apec, but also the regional economic structure. Apec 2017 again serves as a solid testimony that multilateral diplomacy is an important mainstay for nations, large or small, to foster their interests and improve their position in a world of extensive globalisation. Higher position, more substantial benefits For Vietnam, Apec is one of the most important multilateral fora, which offers the most substantial benefits. Thirteen out of 25 of Vietnam's major strategic and comprehen- sive partners and many of Vietnam's leading economic and trade partners come from the Forum. Eighteen Apec members are key partners in bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), to which Vietnam is a signatory. Apec members account for 78 per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI), 75 per cent of trade in goods, 38 per cent of official development assistance (ODA), and 79 per cent of Vietnam's international tourist arrivals. Approximately 80 per cent of overseas Vietnamese students are stud- ying in Apec member economies. Therefore, the Apec Year 2017 is an important lynchpin of Vietnam's diplomacy and the most significant contribution of our country to Apec cooperation in the period of

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extensive and intensive international integration. Together with assuming the role of Asean Chair in 2020, running for the United Na- tions Security Council 2020-2021 and fulfilling the WTO accession commitments by 2018, the successful Apec Vietnam 2017 will contribute to the consistent realisation of the very important policy of the 12th National Party Congress "to improve the quality and effectiveness of multilateral diplomacy and proactively contribute to the building and shaping of multilateral mechanisms". The support and active participation of Apec member economies, regional and inter- national organisations to Apec 2017 efforts will serve as a lever for Vietnam to promote "soft power." It is by no accident that Vietnam became the first Apec host to be invited to the G-20 meetings this year. That reflects the trust and appreciation of international friends for initiatives and ideas above and beyond the regional norms that Vietnam has proposed for Apec. Obviously, the Apec Year 2017 activities have and will contin- ue to affirm the increasingly important role of the forum and Vietnam's deserving stat- ure in regional and global governance. FINANCE Activities in 2017 will also provide opportunities for our country to deepen the estab- lished partnership within stable and sustainable frameworks, and particularly en- hance long-term and interwoven interests with key Apec members. During the 2017 Apec Economic Leaders' Week in November, several meetings and official visits by senior Apec leaders and officials to Vietnam have been scheduled to further strengthen bilateral relations and reinforce co-ordination in regional and international affairs. From a socio-economic perspective, the endeavor to complete the Bogor Goals, to carry out Apec Strategies and Action Plans, together with our efforts to fulfill commitments under Asean's FTAs will provide the driving force for economic reform and restruc- turing, transfiguration of the growth model, and improvement of the business and in- vestment environment of our country. It is a prerequisite to realise the determination to build a government of development facilitation and integrity whose mission is to act and serve the people and businesses. For localities and businesses, various opportunities for cooperation, businesses, in- vestment, and tourism will be brought about through approximately 200 Apec activi- ties in 2017. The 2017 Apec Economic Leaders' Week in Danang will attract some 10,000 delegates from regional and international leading businesses and major main- stream media. This will serve as a golden opportunity to promote the image of a dy- namic and active Vietnam, and to improve the comparative advantages of localities and regions across the country. This is also a chance for ministries, government agen- cies, industries, localities and enterprises to acuminate their capabilities to integrate into the world, thus contributing to promoting the country's culture of integration. It can be said by now that Apec's activities have proceeded smoothly, meeting the set objectives. This achievement is attributed to the unanimity of all state levels and sec- tors from central to local as well as the business community, experts, scholars, and the people. With the new strength and position of the country after over 30 years of Renovation (Doi moi), with the support and precious assistance of our friends and partners, the Apec Vietnam 2017 will definitely be a great success, contributing to our development and security interests, while highlighting our country's new vision and position. http://www.vir.com.vn/apec-2017-new-vision-and-position-of-vietnam.html

Japanese daily Nikkei 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA hails Vietnam's Vietnam's economic achievements after over three decades of Doi moi (reform) were economic highlighted in an article published by Japanese daily newspaper Nikkei on November development 1. Vietnam has enjoyed better economic performance after Doi Moi, the article noted, making a review of Vietnamese gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the past 30 years. GDP per capita also inched up, from 471 USD in 2003 to 2,300 USD in 2016. It gave a positive outlook to the Vietnamese economy with improved business climate, resulting in more foreign investment flows, and two-digit growth of export revenue.

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Key economic zones and industrial areas have been well developed so far. The article also stated that Vietnam has pulled off rosy achievements in mechanism completion, which bolster the sound development of all economic sectors like industry and construction, agriculture, and services. State-owned enterprises have undergone sweeping restructuring while the number of private businesses has grown up significantly and foreign direct investment (FDI) cap- ital is prioritised. Vietnam has shown its deeper integration into the global economy as it has set up stra- tegic partnership relations with many foreign countries. The country has proactively contributed to the construction of the Asean Community and worked to accomplish domestic market mechanisms as committed to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The article stated that 59 countries, including large trade partners, have recognised Vi- etnam as a market-oriented economy. The country has inked ten regional and bilateral free trade agreements and completed negotiations of the free trade deal with the EU, and is working to negotiate three other pacts. FINANCE It has joined three global value chains with the increasingly important role to global economy, including the food value and security chain, the energy value and security chain, and the garment and footwear value chain. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/japanese-daily-nikkei-hails--economic-develop- ment/120539.vnp

An economist 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR perspective on Vietnam's economic prospects are expected to be brighter after the intended comple- Vietnam's trade future tion of Apec trade liberalisation by 2020 under the Bogor Goals, and amid the country's joining a string of free trade agreements. Nihad Ahmed, senior economist for Vietnam for global economic analysts FocusEconomics, shares her view on Vietnam's many ad- vantages in attracting Apec investors and enterprises. Vietnam has pursued various initiatives to facilitate trade liberalisation, enabling it to diversify its production base to higher value-added areas, source inputs from a wider range of overseas markets at more competitive prices, enhance the transfer of technol- ogy, and boost the competitiveness of its exports. Since 1990, when Vietnam started to transition to a market-oriented economy, the economy has expanded at a spectacular pace, propelling the country to middle-income status. It has kept growing at a rate of more than 6 per cent for the last three years. This transition was underpinned by a set of reforms adopted in 1986, which paved the way for Vietnam to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 1995 and sign numerous bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). An important milestone in solidifying Vietnam's commitment to free and open trade was the adoption of the Bogor Goals, agreed upon by Apec member economies in 1994. The Bogor Goals provide a framework aimed at reducing barriers to trade and invest- ment. Following the completion in 2010 of the first phase targeting trade with developed economies, Vietnam is pushing efforts to meet the second phase for developing coun- tries by the 2020 target as it hosts Apec 2017, a year of Apec meetings held in Vietnam, which will culminate with the 2017 Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting in the central city of Danang from November 6-11. Notably, it was Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 which encouraged a massive inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI jumped from $2.4 billion in 2006 to $7 billion in 2007. A hub for low value-added manufactur- ing, together with its low wages, the country brought in billions of US dollars in FDI. From January 2016 to September 2017, Vietnam recorded $28.3 billion in disbursed FDI as the economy moved up the value chain in a shift to high value-added production. The state has also played a pivotal role in steering foreign investment into priority ar- eas to optimise the capacity of capital inflows as engines of growth. Vietnam's advantages for Apec investors and enterprises Attractive opportunities for investment, socio-political stability, membership in the

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WTO, participation in multiple global economic integration frameworks, and favourable corporate tax rates in special economic zones have made Vietnam one of the most attractive investment destinations globally. Apec partners are among the top investors in Vietnam, thanks to lucrative investment opportunities and targeted initiatives by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and In- dustry to connect businesses directly and build partnerships at the executive level across all economies, such as the Apec CEO Summit. Vietnam's membership in Apec has also enabled it to enhance its infrastructure devel- opment, increase the transfer of technology and management skills, and improve mar- ket development through technical and economic cooperation exchange programmes. Moreover, Vietnam remains focused on improving its business climate. A new draft Law on Special-Administrative Economic Zones is expected to be discussed by the Na- tional Assembly later this month or next. The draft law focuses on building a more fa- vourable business environment in three special economic zones in Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa, and Kien Giang provinces. It aims to simplify investment at a regional lev- FINANCE el, especially for public-private partnerships and offshore investment projects. The law would also provide improved access to land for domestic and foreign inves- tors. Investment projects in the priority areas of research-and-development, health- care, education, and projects advancing strategic interests would be granted 99-year land leases. Furthermore, it would provide tax incentives, especially for startups and enterprises operating in the aforementioned industries. Other key initiatives to liberalise trade and their expected benefits The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which was launched in 2012 and is currently under negotiation, is an initiative that would help Vietnam achieve the Bogor Goals by the target year of 2020, by reducing barriers to trade and investment and strengthening cooperation between developing economies. The initiative aims to connect the 10 Asean economies, including Vietnam, with six ex- isting FTA partners (China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand) under one overarching FTA, thereby establishing one of the world's largest free-trade zones. The partnership, which would represent around 30 per cent of global GDP, seeks to deepen ties between the participating economies, including strengthen- ing connections between leading regional manufacturing hubs. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), also launched five years ago and ex- pected to be ratified in 2018, has a similar premise: to widen economic prospects through further trade liberalisation. The EVFTA is seen as one of the furthest-reaching and most ambitious trade and investment bilateral agreements ever between the EU and a developing country. Under the agreement, over 99 per cent of existing tariffs would be dismantled over the next decade, with different tariff elimination timelines for different export goods. Both agreements promise to improve access to Europe and Asia-Pacific, respectively, for Vietnam's exports by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers in Vietnam's areas of interest, including textiles and apparel and agricultural products. Vietnam would also be able to obtain inputs at more favourable prices through access to a greater number of markets. Furthermore, improved technology transfer would help it achieve its mission of diver- sifying production and participating in higher value-added areas, which would not only strengthen trade and investment and accelerate economic development, but also help build the economy's resilience to external shocks. Risks around trade liberalisation FTAs are not in themselves a panacea for growth, however, and their limitations must be addressed. One drawback of having multiple FTAs is the widely-criticised investor- state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism. The ISDS gives exclusive rights to corpo- rations to sue host governments at international tribunals for treatment that is deemed unfair and discriminatory, circumventing domestic regulations and legal procedures. The laws an ISDS can challenge include ones upholding environmental protection and labour rights, which are critical to ensuring sustainable and inclusive long-term devel-

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opment. While the European Commission is taking steps to find an alternative by pro- posing a multilateral investment court system for the EVFTA, the RCEP includes the controversial ISDS clause. Steps to attract more FDI As the economy shifts to high value-added manufacturing, these risks must be fac- tored in, and there is a need to improve the efficiency of technology transfer from for- eign-invested enterprises which has been found to be surprisingly low in the garment and textile and footwear industries by the World Economic Forum. Upgrading the quality of physical infrastructure and the connectivity of technology and communication are also important steps. In addition, it is imperative that Vietnam restructures state-owned enterprises and expands highly-skilled labour through increased investment in educa- tion along with other public services to become an even greater magnet for foreign in- vestment. Completion of the current wave of trade liberalisation should help Vietnam meet the FINANCE Bogor Goals by reducing trade and investment barriers, boosting export capacity, and enabling the development of high value-added industries. The country aims to climb to high middle-income status and eventually break out of the "middle-income trap" that has gripped countries like China, Brazil, and Malaysia. At the core of making this successful is improving the efficiency of technology transfer and enhancing both physical and digital infrastructure, aided by initiatives such as the RCEP and the EVFTA. Moreover, by sustaining a strong business environment, reduc- ing the impact of risks from FTAs by making the processes more transparent and effi- cient, and building buffers to geo-political risks, the country can become even more attractive to overseas investors while also ensuring sustainable economic growth. http://www.vir.com.vn/an-economist-perspective-on-vietnams-trade-future.html

Finance minister: 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES Ratio of budget Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, speaking at the ongoing National Assembly (NA) revenue to GDP not session in Hanoi, said the ratio of State budget revenue to gross domestic product too high (GDP) is not too high compared to other countries, says a report on VietnamFinance news website. A NA deputy earlier said Vietnam ranks third in the world after Japan and China in terms of the ratios of fee and tax revenues to GDP. Dung said State budget revenue accounts for 23.9 percent of GDP this year, of which taxes and fees make up 19.7 percent of GDP. Meanwhile, a report of the International Monetary Fund issued last month showed that the 2016 proportions were 44.3 percent in European Union (EU) countries, 25.5 percent in developed and emerging Asian countries, 28.2 percent in China, 21.3 percent in India, 22.4 percent in and 20.4 percent in Malaysia. In Vietnam, revenues from crude oil exports, land use fees and proceeds from the sale of state-owned houses go straight to the State budget while in some other countries, such revenues are not included. Some developing countries even include social insurance revenues into their budget revenues, which is not the case in Vietnam. The country has cut taxes more considerably than expected to help enterprises over- come difficulties, thus fuelling economic growth. Tax reductions, together with falling crude oil export revenue, have affected tax and fee collections. Fee and tax collections are expected to account for 19.7 percent of GDP next year, down from 20.1 percent this year and failing to meet the 21 percent target for the 2016-2020 period. Dung was quoted by VietnamFinance as saying that the ministry will adjust tax man- agement policies to create favourable conditions for taxpayers and at the same time prevent tax evasion. The government has asked the ministry to make preparations for sending the amended Tax Law to the NA next year. State budget revenue growth this year is expected at 10.1 percent over last year. Of

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which, revenue from domestic production and business activities will edge up 14.1%, offsetting the decline of budget revenue caused by tax deductions and lower crude oil export earnings. In addition, revenue from State-run, foreign-invested and non-State-owned enterpris- es are not as high as expected as the target this year is much higher than last year, 8.8%, 22.9 percent and 23.8 percent higher than last year. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56885/Finance-Minister-Ratio-of-budget-revenue-to- GDP-not-too-high.html

Accurate valuations 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR are key to luring FDI Foreign investment in Vietnam is still on the rise, with the latest number showing that more than $28.2 billion were registered to invest in the country in the first 10 months of this year, up 37.4 per cent on-year. With Vietnam increasingly emerging as an investment magnet, foreign investors are

FINANCE expected to continue flocking here, though some regulatory caveats remain. Even though the Vietnamese government has allowed foreign share ownership of up to 100 per cent in some firms, versus the previous 49 per cent cap, the lack of detailed guid- ance on which sectors are restricted and which will be opened could leave investors confused. It is in this context that investors need to take note of the fact that the 49 per cent ceiling would still apply for areas where "conditions" were placed on foreign in- vestments. Meanwhile, sectors governed by separate ownership regulations, such as banking, still cap total foreign stakes at 30 per cent. When deciding to invest in Vietnam, aside from understanding the regulatory require- ments, foreign businesses must deal with several difficult questions: 'How can the ac- tual value of local businesses be gauged?' 'Why is that important?' And perhaps most significantly, 'What are the hurdles facing foreign investors in this regard and how can they be overcome?' Accurate valuations, a first step Valuation matters because it is the base on which foreign businesses will decide how much they are willing to fork out for their investment. Careful determination of the value of the business is crucial to foreign investors who ultimately need to secure a re- turn on their investment. Key aspects of the business, especially its value drivers, are part and parcel of such valuation. If investors are not able to ascertain the potential value of the business or do not have sufficient data to develop an investment case, they are likely to abort their investment plans. Investors not only need to assess the value of the business, they also need to un- derstand how their participation will help to boost it. It is in the interest of local com- panies to provide detailed projections to investors. In general, there are three main methods considered for the valuation of the company the Income Approach, the Market Approach, and the Net Asset Approach. The selec- tion of the most appropriate method will largely depend on the characteristics of the business subject to valuation. What constitutes the most appropriate method? That should be the one that best captures the current stage the business operates in. The Income and Market approaches For businesses to be valued on a 'going concern' and 'as-is' basis, either the Income Ap- proach or the Market Approach works. The Income Approach, also known as the Dis- counted Cash Flow Approach, indicates the fair market value of a business based on the cash flows that the business can be expected to generate in the future. Typically, the Market Approach is considered when a company is in a stable business environment and has a mature business model. This method is appropriate for the val- uation of a marketable, significant minority or majority ownership interest using the premise of a 'going concern' business. The Net Asset Approach The Net Asset Approach is factored in when the value of a company comes from the assets it holds rather than the cash flows that the business can be expected to generate in the future. The approach indicates the fair market value of a business based on the

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value of the companies' net assets. For foreign investors, picking the right Vietnamese partner is obviously a daunting task, but not the most challenging one in a country where the financial information of companies subject to valuation remains unclear. Among the key challenges standing in the way of conducting valuations of a company, the first one is the lack of detailed financial statements, mainly driven by the absence of regulations that compel private firms to conduct statutory audits. This is especially the case with small- and medium-sized enterprises. Secondly, some companies which are focused on day-to-day operations do not prepare detailed business projections. Even companies that do so fail to furnish enough details to substantiate the budget projection as well as to develop long-term financial projections. Another hurdle is the lack of clarity on the future business strategy and vision, which is likely to hamper the valuation process and create an expectation gap between investors and business own- ers. Taking the public sector out of the equation, differences in the values of state-owned FINANCE enterprises (SOEs) would definitely have a bearing on the speed of their equitisation the term Vietnam uses to describe the process of issuing shares to partially privatised state-owned businesses in which the government will still hold the majority stake. These differences include methods of valuation, benchmarking for valuation, and SOEs' large land assets. But they are not the only hindrance to the equitisation process. Aside from the shortage of detailed information, investors are also most concerned about transparency, fair play, and their control over the business. It is extremely crucial for local companies, private and state-owned alike, to be on the same page with foreign investors on how the latter value their businesses. This would allow local companies to tailor relevant information to the needs of foreign investors. Local companies may also want to conduct their own independent valuation prior to inviting an investor to participate in their business. Doing so would allow local com- panies to pin down the key areas that are on the interest radar of foreign investors and avoid any possible valuation gap. Making life easier for investors to gauge how local companies perform is a prerequisite to cash in on the growing foreign direct investment wave in Vietnam. The willingness to accommodate the legitimate concerns of foreign investors in this regard is a recipe for a win-win joint venture. http://www.vir.com.vn/accurate-valuations-are-key-to-luring-fdi.html

Vietnam reports $5 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES billion phone exports Export revenue from phones and phone parts last month rose a staggering 76.4 percent in October year-on-year to an estimated $5 billion, according to the General Statistical Office. Phones and phone parts were the biggest export earner of Vietnam last month. Their outbound sales were roughly two times higher than those of electronics, computers and accessories (US$2.43 billion), and textile and garment products (US$2.3 billion). Total export revenue from phones and phone parts in January-October increased 28.8 percent year-on-year to over $36.5 billion. Asean and the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States were the main buyers of phones and phone parts from Vietnam. There were four other groups of items bringing in export revenue of over $10 billion each in the period, according to the statistics agency. Textile and garment products earned $21.5 billion, a year-on-year rise of 9.5%; electronics, computers and accessories $20.9 billion, up 38.8%; footwear with $11.6 billion, up 11.9%; and machinery, equip- ment and accessories with $10.3 billion, up 28%. The nation's January-October export turnover expanded 20.7 percent year-on-year to an estimated $173.7 billion while its import bill reached $172.5 billion, up 22%, result- ing in a trade surplus of $1.23 billion. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56884/Vietnam-reports-US$5 billion-phone-exports- in-October.html

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10M agri-exports reach 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES $29.76bn Figure up 12.7 percent y-o-y, MARD report reveals. Agri-product export turnover in the first ten months of this year reached $29.76 billion, an increase of 12.7 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest report from the Min- istry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Vietnam also spent $22.9 billion importing agri-products during the period. It there- fore recorded a surplus of $6.86 billion in the agriculture sector, contributing to a total trade surplus of $1.23 billion. Seafood still leads the way, with $6.73 billion in export value, followed by wood and wooden products with $6.15 billion. Cashew nuts followed, with $2.87 billion. Vegetables totalled $2.48 billion, coffee $2.69 billion, rice $2.25 billion, rubber $1.07 billion, and pepper $1.02 billion. China remains the largest market of Vietnam's agri-product exports, for example ac- counting for 39.3 per cent of its rice exports. Of total rubber export of $1.07 billion, over

FINANCE $1 billion went to China. China also accounts for 76 per cent of Vietnam's fruit and vegetable exports, with growth of 53 per cent. In products such as cashew nuts, seafood, and wood and wood- en products, China receives between 9 and 14 per cent. Input materials also depend on China. Vietnam imported $1.02 billion worth of ferti- liser in the first ten months, nearly 40 per cent of which came from China, while it ac- counted for 54 per cent of pesticide imports worth $805 million. Fruit and vegetables remain among the fastest-growing exports, with most others (ex- cluding rubber) seeing growth of less than 20 per cent. Fruit and vegetable exports for the year as a whole are forecast to exceed the $3 billion mark for the first time. Exports of fruit and vegetables in the first half reached $1.67 billion, an increase of 44.4 per cent year-on-year, according to the general Department of Vietnam Customs. http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business/10m-agri-exports-reach-29-76bn

Tra export value rises, 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS firms cautious The export of tra (catfish) is still facing difficulties although exports for January-Sep- tember hit $1.3 billion, up 5.8 per cent over the same period last year, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). However, values declined in two important markets, the United States and Europe. Specifically, exports to the US reached $258.3 million, making up more than 19.8 per cent of total exports and down 9.9 per cent year-on-year. In the European market, in August and September, exports fell by 8.4 per cent and 23.7 per cent respectively over the same period in 2016. By the end of September 2017, Eu- ropean exports accounted for only 11.8 per cent of total exports. Vice Chair of the Vietnam Pangasius Association Vo Hung Dung said in the meantime, the export value to the Chinese market was growing. A VASEP report showed that the total value of catfish exports to China and Hong Kong was more than $288 million in the first nine months of this year, marking a year-on-year increase of 42 per cent. Dung, who is also director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's branch in the southern province of Can Tho, said although the Chinese market was a breakthrough, there were still worrying signs, so the industry had to concentrate on big and fastidious markets such as the US and Europe. "If we lose in these two markets and focus on the Chinese market, the risk will in- crease," Dung warned. To ensure stable export, Dung said that the association had recently introduced tra fish products to Japan. If successful, it could lessen the risk of relying too much on Chinese demand. According to the association, after the US decided to inspect 100 per cent of Vietnam- ese tra fish shipments in August, it has imposed an anti-dumping tax of $2.39 per kil- ogramme of Vietnamese frozen fish fillets during the 13th administrative review (POR13), three times higher than the single tax rate in the POR12. Dung said the US Farm Bill, which came into effect in 2016, states that catfish exports

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fall under the jurisdiction of US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspec- tion Service (FSIS), which is more concerned with anti-dumping duties. He said that the anti-dumping tax on Vietnamese catfish had affected most tra fish ex- porters. However, a few processors with top quality fish had been allowed to pay low tariffs, including Hoan, Bien Dong and Nam Song Hau. Under the Farm Bill, all shipments of Vietnamese catfish to the US must be placed in US-designated storage for quality inspection before customs clearance. This costs time and money. Director of Bien Dong Company Ngo Quang Truong said if Vietnamese wanted to ex- port to the US, they must accept the difficulties. "(However) the current price of tra fish product in the US market has increased to about $4 per kilo. This is an opportunity for enterprises to increase exports to this mar- ket through improving quality and exercising good farming, processing and market- ing practices," said Truong. http://bizhub.vn/news/tra-export-value-rises-firms-cautious_289932.html FINANCE

Vegetables emerge as 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES major export earner Vegetables have become a major export earner of the country as their export revenue is even higher than that of crude oil, said Nguyen Thien Nhan, secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, at a National Assembly session on November 1. The country last year exported crude oil worth $2.4 billon, rice $2.15 billion, coffee $3.3 billion, fisheries $7 billion, and vegetables $2.45 billion, Nhan said, stressing this was the first time export revenue from vegetables was higher than that from crude oil. He said outbound sales of crude oil in 2005 totalled $7.3 billion, 31 times higher than vegetables (US$235 million). However, the current figure for crude oil represents 98 percent of that for vegetables. Export revenue from crude oil has dipped by $5 billion in the past five years. Mean- while, vegetable exports have soared 30 percent a year, and the export value of this commodity is forecast to amount to $10 billion. He proposed adopting policies to prop up vegetable farming to facilitate the export of this produce. Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said Vietnam has seen strong export growth of agricultural and aquatic products. For example, Vietnamese fruits like drag- on fruit, rambutan, longan and litchi have made their way to the US market. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56886/Vegetables-emerge-as-major-export-earn- er.html

Farm exports face 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES more technical Vietnamese exporters will face more technical barriers to trade when they send farm barriers produce to foreign markets in the near future, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). At a conference on farm export jointly organised by the Plant Protection Department (PPD) under MARD and CropLife Vietnam in HCM City on November 2, a represent- ative of MARD said that as of October, MARD had received 35 notices from foreign countries about the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) standards for farm produce. PPD's report shows the contribution of farm exports to the country's total outbound sales declined from 13 percent in 2012 to 8.6 percent in 2016. One of the reasons is Vi- etnamese farm produce could not meet MRL standards in importing countries. According to PPD, it takes a long time for Vietnam and importing countries to reach agreement on MRL standards and other issues before importing countries allow Viet- namese fruits to enter their markets. Vietnam needs at least two years to wrap up negotiations. Particularly, it took Vietnam eight years to strike a deal to ship dragon fruit to Australia. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56888/Farm-exports-face-more-technical-barri- ers.html

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Exporters worry as end 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS of foreign loans nears Exporters will no longer be allowed to borrow bank loans in foreign currencies begin- ning next year, if the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) does not extend a circular regulating the loans. Under Circular 31/2016/TT-NHNN dated November 17, 2016, which will remain in ef- fect until December 31 this year, commercial banks can provide short-term loans in for- eign currencies for export firms which need funds for production and have turnovers in foreign currencies. After receiving such loans, exporters must immediately sell the amount of foreign currency borrowed to the lending institutions, under the spot forex trading method, except in cases when the foreign currency will be used to make pay- ments. Thanks to this policy, exporters have an opportunity to borrow foreign currencies at low interest rates. Currently, lending interest rates for short-term US dollar loans are roughly 2.5-4 per cent, while the rate for short-term dong loans is some 7-9 per cent.

FINANCE The policy is aimed to support local exporters to increase their competitiveness and boost exports, in the context that their businesses and production still face difficulties. This is also among the government's incentive policies aimed to support and develop local enterprises until 2020, which was approved in Decree 35/NQ-CP issued in May 2016. Previously, the policy had been extended several times to support local exporters. While exporters are still waiting for movement from the SBV, SBV deputy governor Dao Minh Tu has recently said that the central bank has many times wanted to stop the policy, but has instead extended it to support local firms. He admitted that though some exporters should be given priority so they might take advantage of the policy, others whose turnover in foreign currencies is very modest, should not be still enjoying it, as this has proven to be unfair. In the short run, SBV, therefore, might stop the issuance of foreign currency loans for some unqualified firms, Tu revealed, adding that, in the long run, the policy will end for all firms, and all firms must gradually shift from borrowing to buying and selling foreign currencies. However, in contrast to Tu's opinion, the general director of a commercial bank, who declined to be named, was concerned that unqualified firms will try to use this loop- hole to take advantage of the policy. Therefore, the target of ensuring business fairness, as desired by the central bank, would be impossible to achieve, he said. Huynh Nhat Trung, director of an agricultural product export company in the central province of Binh Thuan, said that local exporters still have to significantly depend on bank loans, in which the interest rate in dong is twice or even triple that of foreign cur- rency, meaning it will be difficult to reduce interest costs without this policy. This will result in Vietnamese goods being unlikely to compete with rivals in the region, he said. Meanwhile, financial and banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu proposed that the central bank extend the policy for an additional one year to avoid the country's exports oper- ating at a disadvantage. He believes that the extension will not impact on the govern- ment's anti-dollarisation policy, as the nation's foreign exchange is relatively stable. Besides, the banks' disbursement of foreign currency loans is in dong, not the green- back. To avoid unqualified firms from taking advantage of the policy, Hieu suggested that the central bank could fine-tune the regulation. For example, only firms with at least 50 per cent of turnover in foreign currency be allowed to seek foreign currency loans. Echoing Hieu, expert Can Van Luc proposed that to make the final decision on wheth- er to extend the policy, the central bank should conduct a survey among credit institu- tions and the business community about the loans. The government should pursue the anti-dollarisation policy, but should not do it at all costs, Luc said, adding that it should fight against the dollarisation but, at the same time, should still create favourable conditions to support firms, especially exporters. http://bizhub.vn/news/exporters-worry-as-end-of-foreign-loans-nears_289933.html

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As oil dips, tourism 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS should soar: HSBC Crude oil's days of being a major contributor to national economic growth are over, ac- report cording to a report prepared by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC). The "Out with oil, in with tourism" report released on Wednesday says Vietnam's crude oil output as of September is estimated at 1.06 million tonnes, down 9.9 per cent compared to the same period last year and 11 per cent on a year to date (YTD) basis. The country is looking for new growth channels amidst falling crude oil production. deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue had said on October 24 in a meeting with leg- islators. He said crude oil production would fall about three million metric tonnes in 2017, equivalent to a 0.75 per cent drop in GDP. However, he also noted that tourism and related services could make up for the drop, given the sector's growing share of the economy.

FINANCE Over the past five years, Vietnam's exports have been primarily driven by a rapid growth in electronics and mobile phone shipments, drastically different from the pre- vious decade (2000-10), when crude oil exports were a significant driver of exports growth, in addition to textiles and other goods like agricultural produce and products. GDP growth and PMI According to international economic and market analysts consulting firm IHS Markit, whose work is cited by the HSBC report, Vietnam's GDP growth is expected to reach 6.6 per cent this year and 6.4 per cent in 2018. It evaluates Vietnam's export performance as being good at the moment. October ex- ports increased 26.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, marking the third consecutive month of growth over 20 per cent. In addition, exports of telephones and spare parts continued to rise sharply, a year-on-year increase of 76 per cent. Imports of electronic items including input components for telephones and other elec- tronic items for export have also grown rapidly. Meanwhile, Vietnam's manufacturing sector has sustained its contribution to GDP growth since the beginning of the year and this tendency is set to continue. However, the Purchasing managers Index (PMI) fell to 51.6 in October from 53.3 in September. This was partly due to lower output and new orders. In particular, produc- tion has grown at the slowest pace since October 2016. But output and new orders will continue to increase despite being lower than September figures. Thus, growth in Vi- etnam will remain strong until the end of the year despite the slight decline in produc- tion and exports at this time. Meanwhile, October inflation rate is still in line with expectations, but there is a lot of risk due to recent oil price volatility. The full-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3 per cent from the same period last year, in line with HSBC expectations of 3.1 per cent, keeping inflation in line with the central bank's target of keep it below 4 per cent this year. Inflation for the year is forecast at 3.5 per cent. As in the previous month, the cost of healthcare has been a major factor in the price increase as the government continues to reform its subsidy programmes. It should be noted that the recent rise in oil prices has put a high risk of inflation up until the end of the year. However, a slight increase in oil prices will keep inflation within the central bank's target. HSBC forecasts inflation will remain 3.5 per cent in 2018, too. http://bizhub.vn/news/as-oil-dips-tourism-should-soar-hsbc-report_289930.html

Petrol price up 271 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA VND per litre The Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Finance decided to increase the retail price of RON 92 petrol by 271 VND to a maximum of 18,146 VND (79.8 US cents) per litre from 3pm of November 4. The price of E5 bio-fuel rose by 224 VND to maximum 17,858 VND per litre, while the prices of diesel and kerosene up 201 VND and 199 VND to 14,611 VND a litre and 13,198 VND a litre, respectively. This is the 21th adjustment of fuel prices this year, with nine falls and eight increases.

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The two ministries also decided to keep using the price stabilisation fund for RON92 petrol and E5 biofuel at 300 VND per litre. Meanwhile, the use of the fund for diesel was 250 VND per litre.

E5 fuel shortage 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS growing concern Experts and businesses are raising concerns about the shortage of E5 bio-fuel supply as there are two months left for E5 to be fully replaced RON 92 petrol. Moreover, they are worried about the monopoly in material supply for E5 mixing. Vietnam will replace RON 92 petrol with E5 bio-fuel from the beginning of 2018, and with E10 after 2019. E5 petrol is a mix of A92 petrol (95 per cent) and bio-fuel ethanol (five per cent). A report from HCM City's Department of Industry and Trade earlier this week showed that most local bio-fuel ethanol production plants have operated at low capac- ity due to unstable input. High input prices and loss rate in preservation process have

FINANCE led to an increase in ethanol production fees. According to online newspaper Phap luat thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (HCM City Law), prices of petrol A92 and A95 in the world market have been stable following an in- crease in 2016, and are currently on a downward trend. It is the reason why many pet- rol traders have increased their imports for stockpile. E5 trading is in pilot implementation in some localities that lack integration, thus af- fecting E5 distribution, the department said. It added that customers would prefer using A95 instead of E5 when the government terminates the use of petrol A92 in the market. Bio-fuel E5 depends a lot on ethanol supply for its mix. The country would need more than 275,000cu.m of ethanol per year to fully replace A92 petrol by E5. Currently, the supply of bio-fuel ethanol for E5 petrol comes mainly from two plants owned by Tung Lam Joint Stock Company, which have total annual capacity of 200,000cu.m, resulting in a shortage of some 75,000cu.m a year. The department said the government should have a roadmap to invest in storage tanks, import amount and A95 reserve to avoid shortage in the market. It added that some firms in the city sent documents asking to temporarily halt E5 trad- ing due to low consumption and commission which could not offset operation costs. The current commission for E5 bio-fuel is VND1,000-1,600 per litre, which is not attrac- tive to petrol traders. Moreover, the selling price of E5 bio-fuel is not much cheaper than A92 (VND230 per litre), discouraging both customers and traders from using the fuel. It said the government should ask relevant ministries and agencies to carry out policies on tax reduction and exemption to reduce E5 prices by VND1,000-2,000 less than A92 to attract customers. Sharing the ideas, a representative from Cu Chi Industrial Development and Invest- ment Company told the newspaper that consumption of A95 would be increased after A92 petrol termination. Phan The Rue, chair of Vietnam Petroleum Association, said consumers have not paid much attention to E5 although it has been sold parallel with A92 petrol in the market. E5 consumption accounted for only nine per cent of the total. Rue said total termination of A92 petrol would make customers shift partly to E5. However, it one could not avoid a preference for A95 over E5, especially among those with automobiles. Ethanol supply from a sole company could possibly result in a monopoly in the market and affect customers. He suggested that the government resume the operation of ethanol plants in the cen- tral region and in Binh Phuoc Province. Tran Ngoc Nam, Petrolimex deputy general director, said the group has striven to en- sure A95 supply in case of its increasing demand. He said the group has prepared two plans to ensure ethanol demand -- buying ethanol from local plants and imports.

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NA discusses law on 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS public debt National Assembly (NA) deputies at a discussion on Friday afternoon largely agreed management that the Ministry of Finance should be the focal-point agency to manage public debts to prevent management overlaps and inconsistencies. Still, it was critical to regulate in detail the rights and responsibilities of other minis- tries in working with the finance ministry, they said. The draft amended Law on Public Debt Management only generally said that the gov- ernment would assign responsibilities for ministries in cooperating with the Ministry of Finance in public debt management. NA deputy Tran Thi Hoa Ry of Bac Lieu Province said that if the law did not specify the responsibilities of other ministries, it would be difficult for the law to be applied. "The responsibilities and obligations of relevant ministries and agencies need to be regulated in detail in the amended law," she said. NA deputy Mai Thi Anh Tuyet from An Giang Province said that the law needed to

FINANCE include co-ordination mechanisms for public debt management. Public debt is estimated to reach 62.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of this year, nearing the ceiling of 65 per cent GDP, Tuyet said, adding that the law should also have regulations about sectors and projects to be prioritised for govern- ment-guaranteed loans to ease the pressure on public debt. The regulation in the draft law that loans taken out by State-owned enterprises (SOEs) could not be transferred into public debts was also largely praised. Currently, public debts include the government's debts, local governments' debts and government-backed loans. SOEs' loans were not counted as public debts but several SOEs which fell into insolvency asked the government to help pay their debts, which increased public debt. NA deputy Tran Quang Chieu of the northern province of Nam Dinh said that this reg- ulation would help ease pressure on public debt and enhance accountability and re- sponsibilities for paying debts. According to NA deputy Vu Thi Luu Mai of Hanoi, the responsibility for negotiating and signing debt agreements should be centralised to one agency rather than three as at present the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam. Mai said many countries had only one agency in charge of negotiating borrowing agreements. This would help enhance accountability of borrowing, paying debts and loan efficiency. Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, whose ministry was in charge of compiling the draft, said the law would be revised further to ensure feasibility and consistency. The NA will vote on the law on November 23. Passing an amended Law on Public Debt Management has become urgent for Viet- nam, with public debt nearing the ceiling and the use of loans still largely inefficient. North-South expressway can't be delayed: government Construction of the North-South expressway in the east cannot be delayed as there is no other way to meet rising passenger and cargo demand in the coming years, a gov- ernment report says. Presented by Transport minister Nguyen Van The at the on-going National Assembly (NA) session yesterday, the report estimates passenger and cargo transport demand along the North-South road to increase to 45.37 million passengers per year and 62.27 million tonnes of cargo per year by 2020. The current facilities cannot cope with this demand, the report says. It also states that the investment in building some the eastern sections of the North- South expressway during the 2017-20 period will address limitations on current na- tional highways, particularly the National Highway 1. The new expressway gains added urgency given planned investments in an express train route is not going to happen soon. The report states that around 654km of the road will be built during the 2017-2020 pe- riod. It will be divided into 11 sub projects and built under the Public Private Partner-

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ship (PPP) model. Total investment for the expressway project for the 2017-2020 periods is estimated at over VND118.7 trillion (US$5.27 billion), including VND55 trillion ($2.4 billion) from government bonds and the remaining from investors. Examining the report, the NA Economic Committee agreed with the necessity to invest in the project, saying that the North-South expressway played an important role in boosting economic development. However, the committee asked the government to have clearer, more transparent cri- teria for sub projects in line with the main project's financial and technical conditions. More details and foundations are needed to divide the project into sub projects so as to ensure the projects are comprehensive and feasibly, and the construction progresses smoothly, it said. According to an NA Resolution, VND70 trillion ($3.1 billion) can be allocated for such important national projects. However, the government has proposed VND55 trillion for the expressway project, asking that the other VND15 trillion he assigned to other FINANCE important and urgent infrastructure projects. NA Economic Committee has directed the government to make clear the criteria for selecting projects that will use the remaining VND15 trillion and submit it to the NA for consideration and decision, following provisions of the Law on Public Investment and the Law on State Budget. Some deputies proposed that the government studies the issue in more depth and sug- gested that VND70 trillion be allocated to the main project in full toe ensure efficiency in building the expressway. Regarding mobilisation other capital sources for the project, the NA Economic Com- mittee proposed that the government studies ways to attract foreign investment. Also yesterday, the NA deputies discussed draft amendments to the Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. http://bizhub.vn/news/na-discusses-law-on-public-debt-management_289923.html

Draft cyber security 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES law mismatches WTO The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has pointed out discrepan- rules cies between some provisions of the draft Law on Cyber Security and the nation's com- mitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). VCCI has written to the National Assembly Security and Defense Committee detailing the incompatibility between the draft law and Vietnam's commitments to WTO and EVFTA. The draft law, crafted by the Ministry of Public Security, is now on the table of the National Assembly (NA) for discussion. VCCI said Article 34 of the draft law specifies: "Foreign firms providing telecommuni- cation and Internet services in Vietnam shall comply with Vietnamese regulations, re- spect national sovereignty, interests and security, user interests, obtain licenses, locate their representative offices and servers in Vietnam, and secure user data and ac- counts..." However, according to Vietnam's WTO and EVFTA commitments, foreign telecom- munication and Internet service providers are not required to locate their representa- tive offices in Vietnam. Besides, Article 14.13 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement which Vietnam signed in February 2016 says: "The Parties agreed not to require the use of computing facilities within their territories as a condition for doing business." Although the NA has not approved the TPP, Vietnam and 10 other Pacific Rim coun- tries are still conducting negotiations to finalise a deal without the United States. Therefore, VCCI said the draft law should run counter to the TPP. VCCI said the country's Cyber Information Security Law crafted by the Ministry of In- formation and Communications came into effect on July 1, 2016, so there is no need to issue a law on cyber security. Article 11 of the draft law states the Ministry of Public Security is responsible assessing

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providers of cyber information security services. However, Article 44 of the Cyber In- formation Security Law regulates the Ministry of Information and Communications is in charge of coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to issue licenses for those entities providing cyber information security products and services. This is a clear indication that the Draft Law on Cyber Security and the Cyber Informa- tion Security Law overlap to some extent. VCCI noted some requirements in the Ministry of Public Security's draft law would make life difficult for businesses and push up the cost of doing business in the cyber security domain. VCCI suggested the Ministry of Public Security eliminate Article 49 of the draft law that requires enterprises to ask the ministry for permission before finalising their con- tracts because the draft law does not provide the procedures for doing so. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56882/Draft-cyber-security-law-mismatches-WTO- rules.html FINANCE Construction 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGON TIMES Ministry: HCM City The Construction Ministry has proposed the HCM City government permit the devel- should approve mini- opment of commercial apartment units measuring 25 to 45 square meters each, an is- apartments sue which has remained controversial. The city wants to curb the minimum area of a commercial apartment at 45 square me- ters and that of a low-cost social home at 25 square meters given insufficient infrastruc- ture in densely populated areas and severe traffic congestion. The ministry reasons that the management of planning, and urban order and aesthet- ics depends on a variety of factors, not just apartment size. The planning criteria for housing projects are intended to deal with population, building density, and residen- tial block height issues. Countries such as Thailand, South Korea and France allow for mini-apartments meas- uring 14 to 20 square meters each. But their authorities can well manage population and planning issues in major cities, according to the ministry. The ministry underscored the need to create favourable conditions for residents and companies to build affordable condos to meet the demand for housing of low-income people, especially factory workers at industrial parks. Therefore, the ministry proposed the city limit the proportion of commercial apart- ments measuring 25 to 45 square meters in a housing project at 20-25 percent in the city centre that has high population density and insufficient technical infrastructure. Housing projects outside the city centre can have a higher proportion of mini-apart- ments if there are a lot of factory workers there, said the ministry. The ministry is crafting a set of national technical criteria for apartments, including the minimum area for commercial apartments. Earlier, the city said apartments of less than 45 square meters would speed up urban- isation, increase the population, and put more pressure on its already-overstretched technical and social infrastructure. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56892/Construction-Ministry-HCM City-should-ap- prove-mini-apartments.html

Private economy 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA thrives in southern The increasing number of newly-established firms in the southern region in recent localities years has demonstrated their stronger confidence in Party and State policies designed to support the development of the private economy. Policy platform The private economy is defined as an important contributor to the economic develop- ment of cities and provinces and the country as a whole. Therefore, such southern lo- calities as HCM City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces have attached great importance to promoting private firms and creating all possible conditions for their development. Following the spirit of the 12th Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Commit-

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tee's Resolution on developing the private economy, the southern economic hub of HCM City has put forth a number of policies to support businesses' operation, includ- ing taxes, customs and production premises, according to Huynh Thanh Dien, mem- ber of the city's Support Industry Development Project. Statistics from the municipal Department of Planning and Investment showed that more than 309,000 enterprises are active in the city with a total charter capital of over 3.5 trillion VND (154 million USD). The number of businesses is forecast to double by 2020. Similarly, Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces have devised numerous policies to de- velop the private economy, especially improving administrative procedures and in- vestment promotion efficiency. As a result, more than 29,000 enterprises have registered to operate in Binh Duong with a total capital of over 200 trillion VND, generating jobs for 15,000-20,000 workers annually. The province targets additional 23,000 new firms in 2016-2020. The number of newly-established businesses in Dong Nai is increasing with an aver- FINANCE age of over 2,000 firms each year. Creating development momentum Synchronous measures from both State and businesses are essential to create a driving force for the private economy, including the reduction of production costs. Nguyen Dinh Tue, director of HCM City Centre for Supporting Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, said the southern metropolis is leading the country in promulgating policies to support businesses. He advised the city to create fundamental changes in administrative reform and im- prove the business environment. For Dong Nai, the province has given priority to improving the quality of administra- tive procedures and ensuring transparency in addition to encouraging businesses' in- novation and application of science and technology into production and supporting individuals and start-ups. Vice Chair of the Binh Duong People's Committee Dang Minh Hung said the province aims to become a developed industrial locality in the Southeast Asian region by 2020. The promotion of start-up movement is considered a key strategy, he said, adding that local authorities have approved a plan to carry out a project on national innovative start-up ecosystem through 2025. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/private-economy-thrives-in-southern-localities/120613.vnp

Government talks 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA development The government's monthly meeting featured discussions on pilot development mech- mechanisms for HCM anisms for HCM City, with a plan to be submitted to the National Assembly during its City: press conference ongoing fourth session for review. The information was made by Chair of the Office of the government Mai Tien Dung during a press conference in Hanoi held following the meeting on November 3. The mechanisms for the southern economic hub will concern four main areas: urban planning and land management, finance and investment management, authorisation mechanisms, and the income of the city's public servants. According to the chair, the issuance of a resolution on these mechanisms is "a necessi- ty" as HCM City is the 'economic locomotive' of the country and contributes the most to the State budget. Regarding the country's economy situation, also according to Dung, Vietnam's macr- oeconomy remains stable and in line government's monetary and credit plans. Foreign direct investment (FDI) reached a record of 28.2 billion USD in the first 10 months, up 37.4 percent from the same period in 2016. Import and export of goods also posted positive results, increasing by 22 percent over the same period, and the trade surplus reached 1.2 billion USD. In terms of tourism, international arrivals reached 10.4 million by the end of October against the end of the year target of 13 million. Regarding slow the equitisation of State-owned enterprises, deputy minister of Plan-

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ning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong said this even though this process must be done quickly, but "in order to achieve effective equitisation, thorough asset evaluation must be carried out, otherwise, serious losses of State assets could occur." On the controversial draft law on cyber security, whereby foreign technology corpora- tions like Facebook and Google could be asked to relocate servers holding Vietnamese users' information to Vietnam, the chair of the government Office said the fact remains that overseas servers make State management much more difficult especially with hostile organisations and individuals having used social media to spread anti-State propaganda. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/govt-talks-development-mechanisms-for-hcm-city-press- conference/120574.vnp

E-commerce the ticket 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS to MSME success E-commerce has become the easiest way for micro, small and medium-sized enterpris-

FINANCE es (MSMEs) in Vietnam to achieve success in both the domestic and foreign markets. This trading method has become popular in Vietnam, a concomitant to the surging number of internet and smart-phone users. Last year 65 per cent of the population using the internet shopped online, according to the white book on e-commerce released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Besides, consumers' purchasing habits are changing, with even people visiting shops searching online for information about them before going there. Companies too are greatly benefiting from e-commerce, especially small ones that struggle with capital and human resources. Tran Dinh Toan, deputy CEO of OSB Investment and Technology Joint Stock Compa- ny, said e-commerce enabled companies to approach customers anywhere in the world at any time. "It is also cheaper than traditional trading methods," he said. Besides, if MSMES use online shopping platforms, they would also get support in terms of managing orders, payment, and shipping, he added. Pine Kyaw, managing director of Shopee Vietnam, said: "E-commerce in Vietnam is currently still in its infancy. Vietnamese online sales are expected to grow four-fold to become a $7.5 billion market. "The adoption of e-commerce by SMEs will enable them to access a larger database of users and expand their reach to consumers across Vietnam and grow their business." Lai Viet Anh, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's E-commerce and Digital Economy Department, said: "It is estimated that around 200,000 businesses in the country use e-commerce and most of them are MSMEs." She told Vietnam News that e-commerce is a supportive method that helps businesses, especially MSMEs, enter the market and bolster their competitiveness. "Using e-commerce is an important step for MSMEs to connect with each other and in- vestors so that they can enter the market with competitive prices." MSMEs in e-commerce are supported by the government in the form of training pro- grammes to improve their knowledge of e-commerce and how to effectively exploit it. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as of the end of last year around 66 per cent of companies had dedicated IT and e-commerce staff in their business struc- ture. E-commerce to give wings to MSMEs There are many ways for MSMEs to use e-commerce, the most popular being setting up their own websites and cooperating with online shopping platforms in and outside the country. Some MSMEs opt for a single method but others combine several. Phong Van Trade and Production Investment Company Ltd has decided to both set up its own website and tie up with an online shopping platform. Owner of fashion brand Laka, Phong Van is one of many MSMEs in Vietnam trying hard to develop in a market which is becoming more and more competitive. Two years after expanding its business by using e-commerce, the company has re- vealed that selling online helped it increase turnover by 20 per cent.

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The company's e-commerce team leader Nguyen The Phuong told Vietnam News that the idea of developing e-commerce had come to them as soon as the company's found- ers had thought of establishing the company. The company chose to go with an online shopping platform because of the great sup- port it was offered, he said. The platform, Shopee.vn, helped with transportation and quick payment, an impor- tant factor for a newly established company. Tying up with an online shopping platform has also been useful because it, besides ad- vertising the platform, also advertises its merchants, he said. "E-commerce has played an important role in the development of MSMEs in Vietnam because it offers us many benefits, especially creating and developing brands." Bach Coffee Company Ltd chose a tougher way, but one which has started to bear fruit. With a dream of taking Vietnamese coffee to the world market, the company's owner bravely chose three years ago to work with Amazon. FINANCE The company's deputy director, Ton Nu Dieu Thao, told Vietnam News that after list- ing on the website, more and more customers and investors began to visit her factories. While admitting that revenue growth has not been as expected, she said e-commerce has instilled a strong belief in her and her colleagues that even small companies can enter foreign markets. Hoa Lu Fine Arts and Handicrafts Company set up its own website but also sells on many online shopping platforms. Tu Anh, the company's deputy director, said the company has developed e-commerce for many years now, and thanks to selling online, it has found partners and customers in many countries. Pham Thong, Lazada Vietnam's CMO, said selling online is an inevitable trend. Talking about cooperation between merchants and online shopping platforms, he said MSMEs tying up with online shopping platforms get many tools they can utilise. Flying higher Experts said, the early success notwithstanding, MSMEs have to make more efforts to develop online sales and overcome challenges. Toan of OSB said companies need to make detailed plans on how to invest in and ex- ploit e-commerce. "MSMEs should clearly know what their strengths and weakness are and who their competitors are. Finding a professional company providing e-commerce services is also important because these companies will help them avoid risks and become suc- cessful." Furthermore, "developing skilled human resources is necessary, and there should be staff to answer all questions from customers 24/7," he said. "Be patient. Not everyone can be successful right away." "E-commerce using the business to customer [B2C] model can achieve result in two or three months. But business to business [B2B] model can take three to six months." Viet Anh said: "MSMEs should be creative and think outside the old models that other companies have already used. They should bravely adopt new models of e-commerce. "Learning by studying e-commerce models around the world and developing human resources are important." Kyaw of Shopee said one of the key challenges is the slow pick-up in non-cash pay- ments. Vietnamese are still highly dependent on cash on delivery (COD), which tends to have a high rate of mid-transaction cancellations, which causes hassle and increases costs. Another challenge is the large geographical area of Vietnam, he said, explaining this poses a logistical challenge in terms of how to extend the delivery network to cover most areas and also ensure efficiency is not compromised even in case of remote loca- tions. The third challenge is the low overall awareness of e-commerce and digital technology in Vietnam, he added.

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http://bizhub.vn/news/e-commerce-the-ticket-to-msme-success_289905.html

Retail modernisation 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR and e-commerce Vietnam's fast-moving consumer goods segment is gaining new momentum thanks to aiding FMCG the expansion of modern retail and e-commerce. Hirohisa Yamanouchi, general manager of the Merchandise and Marketing Depart- ment at FamilyMart Vietnam, told VIR that FamilyMart's average sales per store in Vi- etnam have been growing at stable, double-digit figures in recent years. "As more Japanese convenience stores spring up in Vietnam, modern retail has changed Vietnamese consumers' shopping habits," he said. Almost 70 per cent of FamilyMart's products are sourced locally, 10 per cent are made in Japan, and 20 per cent come from other countries. The firm's strategy is to choose fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), which are con- venient and easy to use, according to Yamanouchi. "We see that Japanese confection-

FINANCE eries are more popular in Vietnam than Japan. Meanwhile, prepared food has more room to grow in the country due to the lower number of products compared with those in Japanese chains." In the future, FamilyMart plans to introduce new snacks, candies, beverages, ice creams, and children's books from Japan in Vietnamese chains, as part of the Japan Fair from November 2017 to January 2018. According to the Japan External Trade Organisation in HCM City, 76 products from 26 companies in Japan will be available at 153 FamilyMart convenience stores, 99 Min- istop convenience stores, and four AEON malls during the fair. The fair aims to pro- mote more Japanese products in the growing trend of FMCGs in Vietnam. This is the second Japan Fair in Vietnam. The first fair introduced around 78 Japanese products in 200 FamilyMart and Ministop convenience stores, 40 per cent of which are still sold locally. In addition to Japanese investors, other foreign investors also see bright prospects for this segment. In October, Vietnam-based Digiworld JSC, through its subsidiary Digi- world Venture, announced the completion of its purchase of 50.3 per cent of CL Co., Ltd as a move to secure a foothold in the FMCG segment. CL is a partner of Lion Corporation, a top Japanese firm in the toiletry and household product business. In 2001, CL started distributing Lion's high-end FMCG products, in- cluding the Essence series; Kodomo, Fresh and White, and Zact toothpaste; Bio-Zip, Look, and Top powder detergent; and Systema toothbrushes. Using CL's distribution network across 63 cities and provinces, Digiworld expects to save time in penetrating the FMCG market, which has great growth potential. Moreover, the FMCG sector is expected to gain further traction in the wake of e-com- merce. Fabrice Carrasco, managing director of Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam, predicted that e-commerce in Vietnam will grow more than fivefold by 2020 on the back of wide- spread smartphone usage and increased demand for consumer convenience. "The value share of e-commerce within FMCG is only about 0.2 per cent in Vietnam, while this figure reaches up to 3.9 per cent globally. The opportunity is there for some- one to jump in and take the lead," he said. Traditionally known as an electronics retailer, Mobile World Group has branched out into the mini-mart sector under the name Bach Hoa Xanh, with hopes to open 80 stores by the year's end. The firm also plans to expand its e-commerce business by opening an online store at Vuivui.com in 2020. Vietnamese leading property developer Vingroup is also expanding its retail reach. The number of VinMart+ chains reached 1,000 outlets as of September this year, and the firm plans to increase this number to 3,000 within the next two years. Vingroup's e-commerce arm Adayroi.com is also leading the pack of online shopping sites, with a 24 per cent market share, followed by Lazada and Tiki in second and third, respective- ly. A Nielsen report named "What's Next in E-Commerce" highlights the latest trends in consumer purchasing online within the FMCG sector, and points to strengthening

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growth in online adoption and spending around the world. The report illustrates that while FMCG has historically lagged behind categories like electronics, mobile goods, and travel when it comes to online spending, that trend is set to change in the coming years. As retailers and manufacturers continue to solve many of the existing barriers to e- commerce adoption such as retail infrastructure and supply, credit card fraud, and lo- gistics (especially in supporting 'last mile' transportation) the FMCG sector is set for exponential growth. These factors for growth are further compounded by surging con- sumer demand for products anywhere and at any time. http://www.vir.com.vn/retail-modernisation-and-e-commerce-aiding-fmcg.html

VN plans major solar 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS power growth Over 100 provincial government officials, investors and other stakeholders gathered yesterday in HCM City to discuss policies for the developmnet of solar energy.

FINANCE "We would like to provide guidance to investors, local governments and financial in- stitutions about how to develop solar energy in Vietnam," Pham Trong Thuc, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Electricity and Renewable Energy Agen- cy, said in his speech at a workshop on "Introduction of circular 16/2017/TT-BCT on so- lar power project development and standardised power purchase agreement for solar power projects". He explained the contents of the circular and took questions from participants. Consultants from the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) shared the international perspective on solar power development in Vietnam, and made a presentation on international and regional experiences in the technical and fi- nancial assessment of solar power projects. Solar has been high on the agenda in Vietnam since the publication of the prime min- ister's decision 11/2017 in April, which fixed the price for solar power at 9.35 cents/ kWh. It also sets June 2019 as the deadline for solar power plants to be built and connected to the grid to receive the guaranteed solar feed-in tariff (FIT) price. "In this context, the workshop is an opportunity for local governments to gain deeper understanding of the circular and insights into the latest solar developments, which will be helpful for better assessment and approval of solar power plants at provincial levels," Sonia Lioret, head of the GIZ's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Project, said Solar projects require high upfront investments. In some provinces, land availability or grid capacity limit the number of projects that can be approved by local and central authorities. "It is therefore important to carefully assess the general viability of these new solar projects. This includes in particular the choice of site, experience of all parties and con- tract partners involved in the project and the quality of equipment and installation to avoid project failures or economic underperformance," Lioret added. "As solar power is still quite new in Vietnam, and having in mind that all projects have to be built and connected by June 2019, we believe that the combination of local knowl- edge and international experience will be a great recipe for successful solar power projects", Rainer Brohm, a German solar energy expert said. According to the Vietnamese government's targets, solar power is expected to become the main new renewable energy source in the future, with an installed capacity to be increased from around 6-7 MW by the end of 2017 to 850 MW by 2020 (equivalent to 1.6 per cent of the country's power generation) and 12,000 MW by 2030 (equivalent to 3.3 per cent of the country's power generation). http://bizhub.vn/banking/vn-plans-major-solar-power-growth_289926.html

Provinces set special 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS economic units Quang Ninh, Kien Giang and Khanh Hoa are gearing to develop special administra- tive-economic zones with expectations that preferential policies will be increased as

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the National Assembly is discussing the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units. The southern province of Kien Giang People's Council, at a meeting on Thursday, ap- proved the Phu Quoc Special Administrative-Economic Unit project. Under this project, Phu Quoc will have an area of more than 57,530ha and population of 117,460, with nine administrative zones which were founded from two existing towns and seven communes (excluding Tho Chau Commune as the province is plan- ning to turn it into a district). The province expected that the establishment of the Phu Quoc Special Administrative- Economic Unit would bring into play the island's potential to attract investment and high technologies to boost development. By 2030, Phu Quoc is expected to become a modern tourism and resort hub, as well as a hub for trade, exhibition and meeting, with international competitiveness towards global reach. Investments in Phu Quoc have been robust in recent times, especially in tourism de- FINANCE velopment, with the island having rich potential. Phu Quoc has, so far, attracted more than 250 projects with total registered capital of some $16.7 billion. Quang Ninh also hastened preparations for Van Don. The northern province recently said it would not seek funds from the central budget to develop Van Don into a special administrative-economic unit. Vu Van Hop, chief of the provincial People's Committee, said entire expenditure for developing the Van Don Special Administrative-Economic Unit project and imple- menting the infrastructure system would be done through the local budget and invest- ments of businesses. The province would only, therefore, require preferential mechanisms for Van Don. Vu Hong Thanh, chair of the National Assembly Economic Committee, said special administrative-economic units would need preferential mechanisms, rather than in- vestment from the budget, adding that appropriate mechanisms would create resourc- es and impetus for development. The Van Don Special Administrative-Economic Unit project, which got approval of the provincial People's Council late last week, proposed to the government 12 groups of preferential policies for Van Don, according to Hoang Trung Kien, deputy head of Quang Ninh's Economic Zone Management Board. These included policies in taxes, land-real estate, finance-banking and monetary, as well as investment-business, human resources, immigration and import-export, along with strategic investors, hi-tech development and tourism development. Kien said proposed preferential policies for the project were developed on the basis of international experiences and trends and in compliance with established laws. The project was under development since 2012 with the aim of creating outstanding institutions to boost growth and develop an innovative administrative management system. The project also received approval from residents, with more than 98.78 per cent of voters in the district saying they agreed with the project. The northern province is now gearing up its efforts to develop social, technical and transport infrastructure systems to attract investors to Van Don. The province is also hastening the construction of important infrastructure projects, in- cluding Van Don International Airport, a tourism-casino complex, and Ha Long-Hai Phong and Van Don-Mong Cai expressways, which are considered the driving force for the development of Van Don into a special administrative-economic unit. Statistic showed that Quang Ninh has, so far, attracted investment worth some VND55.1 trillion ($2.5 billion) in Van Don. In 2018, a series of large-scale tourism complex projects worth a total of some VND61 trillion will begin construction in Van Don, such as the VND4.95 trillion Sonesea Drag- on Bay's phase 1, the five-star Furama Ha Long Vietnam Resort & Vilas (worth VND1.12 trillion), the Van Don Heritage Road estimated at VND5 trillion and the

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Ngoc Vung Complex. Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy chair of Quang Ninh People's Committee, said he expect- ed the Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units would be passed soon to create a legal framework for development of Van Don, as well as two other selected special zones -- Phu Quoc and Bac Van Phong. Meanwhile, central Khanh Hoa Province is also implementing a project to turn Bac Van Phong into a special administrative-economic unit. Bac Van Phong has significant potential for developing ports, logistic services, trade and international financial services, as well as tourism and high technologies. http://bizhub.vn/news/provinces-set-special-economic-units_289927.html

Office rental price in 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| BIZLIVE HCM City cools down The office rental price in Q3 decreased compared to the previous quarter, according to the report of HCM City's Real Estate Association (HoREA).

FINANCE The Association said the office leasing market in HCM City was developing very sta- bly, the occupancy rate was rather high, reaching about 80%, and the total office leas- ing supply currently had about more than 1.8 million floor square meters. In Q3/2017, the supply in HCM City had an additional of about 26,000 square meters of Grade A offices, there were no new Grade B office supply. The average rent of Grade A office was about $36.7/m2/month, decreasing slightly compared to June 2017 ($37/ m2/month); the average rent of Grade B office was about $20.7/m2/month, decreasing slightly compared to June 2017 ($22/m2/month). The market of trade centres, supermarkets, convenience stores are developing strongly with many famous Vietnamese brands such as Co.op Mart, Satra Mart, VinMart and many international brands have strongly penetrated into the market such as Aeon, Central, Auchan SuperSimply Mart, Family Mart, Seven Eleven, E Mart, etc. According to HoREA, the development of e-commerce, online business, and the con- tinual penetration of world's major brands into the country, including the acquisition of Vietnamese brands, is strongly affecting domestic businesses. At the same time, with many condo apartment projects with average scale commercial business podium (only several hundreds to several thousands of square meters), many investors are facing a lot of difficulties in seeking for partners to do business. The market of officetel, condotel, hometel, serviced apartment is having very strong development in the last period and is showing signs of oversupply. The fact that the proportion of condotel apartments now accounts for about 56%, high- er than the supply of hotel rooms and resorts (only accounting for about 44%) of the total supply is not normal because in other countries, the supply of condotel apart- ments is often lower than the supply of hotel room and resorts. The fact that investors commit the profit amounting to 8-12%/annum in 8-12 years but have no measure to ensure the full compliance with the commitment has had potential risks to secondary investors. An issue that needs to be solved by the State is the legal nature of this product as currently, it is not clearly defined in the legal system.

Local wood sector 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR takes firmer root With the leading position in Southeast Asia, Vietnam's wood production and process- ing industry is under the spotlight of foreign companies and suppliers. Ingo Bette, a representative from German Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers (GWMM), said that Vietnam's woodworking industry was still in its infancy com- pared to other regional markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Today, the country has gone through very impressive development. Vietnam has surpassed its re- gional peers to become the largest buyer of wood processing technology in Southeast Asia, despite its scarce wood resources. In addition, Vietnamese wood manufacturers have shifted from producing solid wood to indoor furniture. They have also improved their design competency to sell their own products on the global market. Thanks to the transition to more value-added products, GWMM companies have achieved sturdy sales performances in Vietnam

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compared to neighbouring countries. The association is looking to raise its market share in the country in the near future. The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) ranked Vietnam as the second fast- est growing global market for US-sourced hardwood lumber, following China in the number one position. Continuing its recovery from lows in 2015, the Vietnamese wood market's demand for American hardwood was off to a great start in 2017. Through the first six months of the year, US hardwood lumber exports to Vietnam were up 18 per cent, led by a strong surge in the popularity of yellow poplar. AHEC's international programme manager Tripp Pryor said, "Back in 2012, Vietnam's market share in Southeast Asia was 67 per cent. But in just five years, this market now purchases nearly three-fourths of all US hardwood lumber exported to the region. Vi- etnam's purchasing decisions affect the rest of the region and truly lead the way for American hardwood exports." Through the first half of 2017, US hardwood lumber shipments to Vietnam averaged FINANCE an additional two million board-feet shipped every month compared to last year. This growth added up to a significant increase this year, which will likely make 2017 the biggest trade year ever between the US and Vietnamese lumber and furniture indus- tries. Deputy chair of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, Ngo Sy Hoai, said, "As Vietnam opened up the wood production and processing industry, a large number of foreign companies relocated their production to Vietnam to manufacture and export wood products. The total export turnover of wood products is projected to reach $8 billion in 2017, half of which will come from foreign companies." According to Hoai, Vietnam's wood production and processing sector has achieved a double-digit annual growth of approximately 10 per cent throughout the past decade. The sector slowed down some last year with full-year exports valued at $7 billion but rebounded in the first 10 months of 2017 with a growth rate of over 10 per cent. Exports of wood products are expected to increase once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agree- ment comes into effect next year. http://www.vir.com.vn/local-wood-sector-takes-firmer-root.html

Farmers shift to more 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS resilient crops in the When Bui Van Muon decided to grow tu quy mango trees 16 years ago, he did not ex- Delta pect the fruit would become a key agricultural crop cultivated to adapt to climate change. "Back then, when I asked neighbours to buy and plant tu quy mango trees here, they showed little interest as the fruit tasted a bit sour and they thought it might not fetch good prices in the market," the 50-year-old farmer in Ben Tre Province recalled. Farmers in the area had never considered growing other crops than watermelons and jicamas, as most of the farmland in the coastal communes of Thanh Phong (Muon's hometown) and in Thanh Hai in Thanh Phu District is composed of sandy soil. But times have changed. With climate change, the area has seen more frequent rains, saline intrusion, flooding and drought, leading to lower yields and losses for jicama growers. Fluctuating prices have also taken a toll on watermelon farmers. When yields are good, prices fall. Meanwhile, Muon's bet on mangoes is paying off. "You can always make a profit from growing mangoes. Sometimes it's high and some- times it's low, but it's never a loss," he said. A kilo of tu quy mangoes can be sold for VND12,000 (50 US cents) and sometimes up to VND20,000, compared to jicamas that sell for VND2,000-3,000, while the price of watermelon fluctuates, depending on the harvest season and market demand. Starting with 5,000sq.m of land for his tu quy mangos, Muon has now expanded the area to two hectares. One hectare of mango trees aged 9-10 years yields a profit of about VND250 million per year.

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Tu quy (meaning four seasons as it bears fruit year-round) mango trees now trail only rice and coconut as a key agricultural product in the province. The mango plant is resilient to saline intrusion and drought that pose a challenge to agricultural production in the Mekong Delta, especially in coastal areas. And the sandy soil is also a perfect fit for the fruit. For the past three years, many farmers in Thanh Phong and Thanh Hai communes have been growing tu quy mangoes, as they are easy to take care of and yield higher incomes than other crops, according to Truong Thanh Hai, head of Thanh Phu Dis- trict's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Last year, the department set up a mango cooperative of 100 tu quy mango household growers to connect them with companies that can get export contracts. New crops The Mekong Delta last year was hit by the worst drought in the last nine decades, along with saltwater intrusion on a massive scale. The country's biggest rice basket suffered losses of more than VND4.7 trillion ($207 FINANCE million) due to natural disasters, with some 225,000 households lacking fresh water for daily use and irrigation. Thanh Phu District alone lost 7,700ha of rice and 1,500ha of blue-clawed prawns which had been bred in paddy fields. Coconut yield fell by 50 per cent. The district's loss was estimated at around VND180 billion. Following the drought, many farmers in the district began to grow coconut and grass for cows on around 330ha, replacing ineffective paddy fields. Farmers also started looking for new types of crops more resilient to the impact of cli- mate change. They called this process "going upland", meaning turning part or all of their rice paddies into gardens. Ben Tre Province has shifted more than 7,500ha of rice paddies to orchards or aquac- ulture farms, and neighbouring Tien Giang Province has also followed a similar trend. Since the beginning of the year, around 2,300ha of rice fields in Tien Giang have been switched to fruits and vegetables that bring higher yields and more economic value. Tran Thi Hong Chau, 63, of Song Binh Commune in Tien Giang's Cho Gao District, has given up on rice and grows green-skinned pomelos now. She owns 4,500sq.m of pomelos and makes an annual income of VND200 million, which has helped put her four kids through college. "This area is not good for growing rice as it is usually flooded because of the river near- by," Chau said. The new farming trend in the region appears to be supported by data released at an international conference held in Can Tho last September on resilience and sustainable development in the Mekong Delta. Results from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey showed that per capita rice consumption in the Mekong Delta fell from 10.89 kilos per month in 2008 to 9.38 kilos per month in 2014. The World Bank predicts that Vietnam's rice consumption will fall by about 10 per cent by 2030, while that of meat, milk, seafood, vegetables and fruits will double compared to 2009 figures. It also forecasts that Vietnam's fruit demand will increase to seven million tonnes an- nually by 2030 from five million tonnes in 2009. "In the past 25 years or so, in the name of food security, Vietnam has pursued an un- written rice first policy which focuses on maximising rice production," said Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent researcher who has worked for decades on natural re- source management, biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, and climate change in the Mekong Basin countries. "However, after all this time, intensive rice cultivation has not helped farmers thrive, while depleting the soil of nutrients and polluting the environment with excessive amounts of fertilisers and agro-chemicals. "In the context of climate change, farmers have to deal with many uncertainties. No sci- entist or computer model will be able to provide exact predictions. It is understandable

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and in fact advisable that farmers seek to diversify their crops and livelihoods." At a September conference on sustainable development in the Mekong Delta in the context of climate change, prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reiterated that the region would take an adaptive approach, respecting the rules of nature instead of fighting them with a "fortress defence approach". "This means that livelihoods and farming systems will be flexible and take advantage of changes in the environment (soil, weather, etc.)," the researcher said. "For example, instead of trying to build mega-structures to maintain rice and freshwa- ter farming systems near the coast, farmers can switch to saline or brackish farming systems permanently or seasonally. "Agriculture will be redirected away from intensive farming toward a more sustaina- ble agriculture producing quality products while conserving land and protecting the environment, especially water resources. "Of course, any transformation and especially any changes in the way of thinking and working is a long and challenging process. Persistence is required." FINANCE Clean agriculture Ky Quang Vinh, former chief of the Can Tho Climate Change Coordination Office, warned that switching from rice to new crops or aquaculture might not always be a good idea. "Agricultural production and farmers' incomes will be unstable regardless of what kind of crops they grow if they do it the wrong way," he said. The delta is coping with problems caused by both natural and human factors, and this needs to be recognised and addressed, according to Vinh. "Floods and drought are occurring more frequently due to climate change, but that's just one factor; human activities are another," Vinh said. Vietnam is located in the lower Mekong River basin and nearly 100 per cent of the wa- ter flow to the delta comes from outside the country. Vinh is worried that the building of hydropower dams, deforestation and urbanisation on upstream sections of the river also affects the water level, this makes it difficult to ensure water for agricultural production. Worsening water pollution is another problem created by household activities and ag- ricultural and industrial production. The shortage of fresh water has led to overexploitation of groundwater, and the delta has been sinking at a faster rate. There are places that are sinking by up to four centimetres each year. To ensure that farmers can make a living on their land, the government and authorities should ensure sufficient water for irrigation and domestic use, and also take measures to prevent land subsidence, Vinh said. Instead of asking farmers to change crops, authorities should inform farmers about products that are selling well and then let them decide what to grow, he said. Cooperatives or farmer associations could also help farmers produce higher-quality products that could be sold at good prices. "But farmers still need guidance as they may create unfair competition by selling prod- ucts at lower prices or overusing pesticides to maximise productivity," Vinh said. "The road to sustainable agriculture is clean or organic production," he stressed. "For some time, our agricultural production has been following the path of increasing quantity, rather than quality. This is not OK." http://bizhub.vn/news/farmers-shift-to-more-resilient-crops-in-the-delta_289902.html

Drugstore chains 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIETNAMNET expand as competition Drug distributors have been expanding their networks by opening new drugstores heats up and taking over other chains. Recently, the Vista drug store on Hai Ba Trung street did not have popular drugs avail- able for some customers on one evening. According to the manager, the company is in a hand-over process. The manager is one of hundreds of workers who passed an exam to obtain a job in the Vista chain after Century Healthcare, Indonesia's biggest health-

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care product distributor, took over Vista. Century is a pioneer in the Vietnamese market, but it is not the only foreign drug dis- tribution chain to enter Vietnam. An analyst predicted that the number of drug chains will be increasing rapidly as the market has become attractive enough for investors. He said that once the market becomes professional, it will attract giants such as Aeon, which owns more than 4,000 drugstores in many markets; Walgreens Boot Alliance with 13,000 stores in 11 countries; and CVS with 7,000 stores. Sources said The Gioi Di Dong, a mobile phone distribution chain, is also eyeing a drug chain Pharmacity, while FPT Shop is eyeing Long Chau. The Gioi Di Dong hopes the deal can be wrapped up in 2017 and is moving ahead with an ambitious plan to open 800 drugstores. Phano is believed to be the largest drug store chain now with 80 stores and advantages in cooperating with large manufacturers. Unlike other chains whose stores are mostly located in HCM City, Phano is present in more than 10 cities/provinces. It has kicked off the 3P franchise model (professionalism, profit, protection) in a plan to be at the FINANCE leading position in the drug retail market. Meanwhile, Pharmacity opened the 78th store in HCM City, a part of its plan to open 200 stores by 2020. Pharmacy is located at Petrolimex-run filling stations and family doctors' clinics. There are many other well-known drugstore chains, namely Phuc An Khang, Saphar- co and My Chau. Sapharco has over 30 retail and wholesale branches, while Phuc An Khang has 20 stores. Eco Pharmacy follows anorganisation model similar to Phano's, but it has smaller scale with 20 stores, mostly located near large hospitals in HCM City. Analysts said that the drug retail chains formed nearly 10 years ago, but they have changed very slowly. There are over 50,000 separate drugstores all over the country, while the number of modern drug retail chains remains small. No drug chain has more than 100 stores. BMI estimated that the Vietnamese drug market value was $4.7 billion in 2016, while the revenue from retail accounted for one-third of the total. Meanwhile, IMS Health predicted that the market value would reach $10 billion by 2020. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/189485/drugstore-chains-expand-as-com- petition-heats-up.html

Vietnamese middle 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA| VNEXPRESS class on the rise Le Tien is an outbound tour guide at a company in HCM City that specialises in escort- ing tourists to visit Singapore. Taking advantages of free time frames, he accepted to purchase portable goods to Vietnam. He said the number of customers are rather sta- ble and have gradually increased. They are middle class people who he divides into two types. "There are two types of customers. The first are those who are born to be rich. They order whatever they like, not concerning about price. The second are those who be- come rich thanks to work. These people will purchase if they find anything reasonable. The price might be expensive, but they will not hesitate if they find them worthy", said the tour guide. Tien mainly brings home portable clothes, shoes, bags, cosmetics of famous brands. Though Vietnamese market now does not lack of branded goods, in his opinion, cus- tomers still favour foreign goods. They like the samples that are not sold in the domes- tic market to differentiate. Sometimes, he accepted to purchase for customers limited editions of Dior or Gucci that is 70 million dong or 80 million dong each. The middle class not only helps flight attendants or tour guides such as Tien to earn extra incomes. This force is becoming the "God" of many foreign businesses from all industries that are doing business in Vietnam. Daryl Tay CEO of UPS Vietnam said Vietnamese middlemen are purchasing more and more goods across borders. His company invests in trucks to deliver items that they order from the U.K, the U.S right at the door.

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"Cross-border e-commerce is growing. More and more e-commerce companies are seeking for supply in Vietnam. On the contrary, Vietnamese middle class also goes to foreign websites to order goods and transfer home in a larger number", said Daryl Tay. From the point of view of the CEO, Vietnamese middle class are those having monthly income from 15 million dong and above. With this criterion, by 2020, it is forecasted that the entire country will have 44 million middle class people. As per the Study Centre on Consumers and Customers of Boston Consulting Group (the U.S), the Vietnamese "middle and wealthy" class are those who earn an average income of $714 per month. The study of Brookings Institute shows that the growth rate of Vietnamese middle class in 2005-2015 period was more than 14 percent per year. It is estimated that during 2016-2020 period, this figure will continue increasing by about four percentage points, equal to more than 18 percent per year. Compared to East Asian countries, the growth rate of the Vietnamese middle class is among the highest. For example, in 2016-2020 period, the middle class in Malaysia and FINANCE Thailand has increased by more than four percent, compared to nearly 12 percent in Indonesia and just about three percent per year in Singapore. In 2015, the total consumption of the global middle class was $34.8 trillion. Brookings Institute forecasts that by 2030, this figure will almost double. "By 2030, the global mid- dle class consumption may increase by $29 trillion compared to 2015. Countries with average low income such as India, Indonesia, and Vietnam will create a market with the total consumption value to increase an additional of $15 trillion compared to the current moment", said Homi Kharas. Not only increasing in volume, the change in money perspective and expense of the middle class is also an attractive point. This creates changes in many sectors from food to banking. "Vietnamese consumers are changing their lifestyles very quickly and are increasingly ready to spend on large items in order to upgrade their life", Nguyen Huong Quynh, CEO of Nielsen Vietnam said on the occasion that Vietnamese people no longer hold the title of the most economical in the world. Under Nielsen's report, the proportion of people spending money on savings in Q2/ 2017 decreased more than 13 percent compared to the previous quarter, ranking be- hind Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. In a recent meeting with the press, Alexandre Bouchot Agricultural counsellor at French Embassy said in 2015-2017 period, the country's agricultural export to Vietnam increased 25%. "Vietnam imports more and more products from abroad, so we are cooperating more closely together. This is a newly emerging country with growing middle class and ris- ing demand for quality food", he said. As per the forecast of PwC Vietnam, the domestic middle class is growing fast, which will strengthen the demand for more complicated banking services, such as bancassur- ance and asset management. Along with that, cashless payment will have the oppor- tunity to grow. "Moving from cash to non-cash payment is an indispensable trend. We find that many Vietnamese banks are shifting their focus to retail bank thanks to increased spending of young people. The development of technological infrastructure facilitates the tran- sition from a cash to a cashless economy", said Dinh Thi Quynh Van, CEO of PwC Vi- etnam.

Hung Yen creates 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV5 favourable conditions Hung Yen province's economy has improved in recent years thanks to more invest- for investors ment in local industrial zones and incentives for domestic and foreign enterprises. Hung Yen plans to build 10 industrial zones on an area of 2,400 ha. Four industrial zones have been put into operation attracting about 380 projects. Around 70 percent of these industrial parks have been filled, thanks to their favourable location.

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Nguyen Duc Thang, director of Thang Long Industrial Park II Company of the Japa- nese Sumitomo Group which has been operating in Hung Yen since 2006, said "Sumi- tomo Group invested in Hung Yen because of its favourable geographical location and developed transport infrastructure. It's easy to go to Hanoi or to major sea ports in the north including Hai Phong and Cai Lan. We have received much support from the pro- vincial People's Committee, particularly in land clearance." Hung Yen has particularly focused on luring high tech and environmentally friendly projects and those on mechanics, electronics, and support industry. Pham Thai Son, the director of the Management Board of Industrial Zones in Hung Yen, said, "Every year since 2014 Hung Yen has attracted $300 to $350 million worth of foreign investment. They include high tech projects from Japan's Nikiso Group, Hoya Glass Disk Vietnam, and TOTO Vietnam Company with registered investment capital of between 70 and $100 million each. Some Vietnamese companies including Hoa Phat Group and Nuti- food have invested in Hung Yen." FINANCE Son said Hung Yen province is speeding up land clearance and constructing three more industrial parks. "Hung Yen plans to develop a 3,000-hectare urban industrial park which is close to the Hanoi-Hai Phong Highway and the new Road 39 to attract more investment. The province is calling on Vietnamese, Japanese, and the Republic of Korean investors to invest in the local infrastructure. We hope to draw American and European investors whose investment in the province remains modest," Son added. By September, FDI projects in Hung Yen came from 17 countries and territories with a total registered investment capital of more than $3 billion. Japan is the biggest investor with 107 projects worth more than $2 billion, followed by the Republic of Korea with 37 projects worth more than $412 million. The achievements are attributed to the province's specific solutions to create a favour- able environment for investors. Hung Yen has invested in electricity, transport, water supply, and drainage, and speeded up administrative reforms. Nguyen Duc Thang, director of Thang Long Industrial Park II Company, praised local support for enterprises, adding, "The province has created favourable conditions for Japanese investors in Thang Long Industrial Park II. They talk with businesses every year to promptly address problems and difficulties encountered by enterprises in the production and business process." "The provincial People's Committee has also supported investors with streamlined ad- ministrative procedures. It takes only one to three days to get an investment license or business establishment certificate. If we have any administrative difficulties, we dis- cuss with the provincial People's Committee for a prompt solution," he added. http://english.vov.vn/economy/hung-yen-creates-favourable-conditions-for-inves- tors-361568.vov

Vietnamese garment 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV industry faces fierce Competition in the world garment market is forecast to be stiffer, not only with China competition from but also with countries such as and as they increase competitive China, Burma pressures on Vietnamese products. The information was announced at a seminar on the prospect of garment exports in 2018 held in HCM City on November 3. Speakers at the seminar said that in addition to advantages and potential, the added value of the garment industry is not high because domestic businesses mainly do out- work for foreign firms. Its weakest point is an undeveloped supply chain, resulting in a lower added value compared to other countries around the world. Pham Xuan Hong, chair of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery- Knitting (Agtek), pointed out the challenges for the industry in the near future, includ- ing greater competition from regional countries like China, Myanmar, and Cambodia. To overcome barriers and compete successfully, Hong said domestic businesses must prove workers' skills and renovate management methods to optimise production and

Intellasia 6 November 2017 44 / 73 Vietnam finance & business 6 November 2017

improve efficiency. He forecast that the garment sector will thrive next year if strategies are implemented effectively to put the industry on the right track. Particularly, businesses are research- ing new trading methods, which will help create more added value. To iron out the snags and increase added values of export garment products, the gov- ernment and other relevant ministries and departments have gradually removed hur- dles and issued policies to develop the support industry, contributing to the development of the supply chain in the garment sector. Participants at the seminar proposed measures such as fully exploiting the domestic market of more than 90 million people, and maintaining and developing key markets such as the US, EU, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as well as other markets like Asean, Eurasian Economic Union, India, and Latin America. Other proper policies should be devised to attract foreign investment in fibre produc- tion, weaving, and dying, and mobilising sources to develop smart garment and textile plants. FINANCE http://english.vov.vn/economy/vietnamese-garment-industry-faces-fierce-competi- tion-from-china-myanmar-361751.vov

Commerce chamber 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA hoped to boost Trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Malaysia are expected to enjoy a new Vietnam-Malaysia driving force created by the recently established Malaysia-Vietnam Chamber of Com- trade merce (MVCC). Key leaders of the MVCC officially made debut in Malaysia on November 2 at an event attended by representatives of the Embassy and trade office of Vietnam, some major Vietnamese businesses, and many Malaysian firms that have business partnerships with Vietnam. In his speech, Vietnamese Ambassador Le Quy Quynh reviewed bilateral trade and in- vestment relations, elaborating that Vietnam is currently the fourth biggest Asean trade partner of Malaysia. Bilateral trade surpassed $10 billion in 2016. Meanwhile, Malaysia is the seventh largest foreign investor in Vietnam with total FDI of $914 million as of December 2016. Big Malaysian enterprises like Petronas, SP Setia, Emivest, Berjaya Land and Gamuda have been operating in Vietnam. Quynh stressed that the MVCC will be a bridge linking Malaysian businesses with Vi- etnamese partners, thus creating more business and investment opportunities and contributing to each country's prosperity. He added the Vietnamese Embassy will coordinate closely with the MVCC to strength- en trade-investment ties, including raising bilateral trade to $15 billion in 2020 as tar- geted by the two countries' leaders. With a view to boosting trade, the MVCC will help develop joint ventures between Vi- etnamese and Malaysian private companies, organise trade delegations' visits to Viet- nam and hold forums to discuss issues of shared concern, according to MVCC Chair Howard Choo. Malaysia's minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed expressed his interest in the MVCC's foundation and asked the chamber to organise trade forums between the two countries annually. http://english.vov.vn/economy/commerce-chamber-hoped-to-boost-vietnammalay- sia-trade-361758.vov

Deputy PM backs 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS Belgian firms Deputy prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue received Mayor of the Belgian city of Ostend expanding investment Johan Vande Lanotte in Hanoi on Thursday. in VN At the meeting, the deputy PM said the Vietnamese government is committed to build- ing a transparent and open business climate to facilitate investment. He stressed Vietnam supports Belgian investors to operate in Vietnam, carry out mar- ket research, and invest in local green energy projects. Vietnam expects European and Belgian enterprises to help accelerate the signing and

Intellasia 6 November 2017 45 / 73 Vietnam finance & business 6 November 2017

ratification of the Vietnam -- EU free trade agreement for mutual benefits, he added. For his part, Johan Vande Lanotte, former Belgian deputy prime minister, said Belgian businesses want to expand their operations in Vietnam and highlighted his support to- wards the ratification and implementation of the Vietnam -- EU FTA. http://bizhub.vn/news/deputy-pm-backs-belgian-firms-expanding-investment-in- vn_289893.html

HCM City promotes 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA trade, investment, A workshop and business networking programme was recently held in Auckland city tourism in New of New Zealand to promote HCM City's investment, trade and tourism. Zealand The event, co-organised by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), the municipal Department of Tourism and the Vietnam Trade Office in New Zealand, drew the participation of representatives from 20 companies and officials of HCM City and 40 businesses of New Zealand.

FINANCE Nguyen Kim Phuong, Commercial Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand, briefed the participants on trade cooperation between Vietnam and New Zealand over the past years. She stressed that the cooperation activities have been enhanced through government to government (G2G), Businesses to Businesses (B2B) and People to People (P2P) rela- tions, which showed comprehensive development in not only in trade but also in ed- ucation-training, agriculture, labour, aviation and tourism. These cooperation achievements have contributed to the annual growth of 20 percent, bringing two-way trade to 1.5 billion NZD (nearly 1.04 billion USD). Vietnam had be- come the 16th biggest trade partner of New Zealand by the end of the financial year which ended in June. At the event, representatives from HCM City's Department of Tourism introduced the city's economic advantages and tourism potentials, as well as its plans to attract more visitors and businesses in the near future. Meanwhile, enterprises from New Zealand voiced their hope to expand business op- erations in Vietnam and HCM City in particular. They also suggested launching a fre- quent direct flight between HCM City and Auckland, as currently there are only seasonal flights operated by Air New Zealand. https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-promotes-trade-investment-tourism-in-new-zea- land/120553.vnp BUSINESSEWS

Business Briefs 06 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | November, 2017 * Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG) has passed a plan to issue over 9.2 million shares to high-ranking and outstanding staff at VNDI0,000 each, accounting for 3 percent of the total volume of shares with voting rights. MWG will proceed with the share issue in December after securing approval from the State Securities Commis- sion. The new shares will have a lock-up period of four years, with 25 percent to be available for trading each year. * Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corporation (HQC) has decid- ed to buy back a maximum of 10 million shares as treasury shares. According to viet- stock.vn, HQC announced the purchase after its stock price plunged to its floor levels earlier this week due to poor results in the third quarter of 2017. The firm reported VND1l5.5 billion in revenue in the period, down a staggering 46 percent year-on-year. * Ben Thanh Trading and Service Company (BTT) has distributed an additional 621,500 shares, or 4.8 percent of its current outstanding volume, to key personnel un- der the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Of which, over 621,000 shares will be additionally issued. All the ESOP shares will not be transferable in one year from the date of the issue being completed and 50 percent will not be transferrable in two years. * Tan Tao Investment & Industry Corporation (ITA) said its consolidated net profit in- creased 24 percent year-on-year to VND38.3 billion in January-September. Its revenue rose 90.7 percent to over VND354 billion in the period.

Intellasia 6 November 2017 46 / 73 BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam week tipped for asluggish Vietnamese stocks heavy selling on Stocks plunge Intellasia http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/568 stock BID, national gasgroup ch blue into bought strongly they Notably, shares on theHCMCitymarketandVND2 of Foreign investorsactive remained net buyers share. a VND20,000 at percent over 5 tumbled The stockalso traded. shares PIV, which is activeinthe finance sector, share. per VND20,000 Dinhthe Nam Province-based education eq DST became themost actively traded stock percent at VND7,800 a share with trade volume of 2.7 million shares. to VND29,800 per share with over 3.2 million shares traded while SHB declined 1.3 In drags. index the main were stocks HNX30 tively. VND727 billion transacted, up11.4 percen against the previoussession. The Hanoima The HNX-Index also closed at an intraday share. per hands lost1percentat VND6,320 but lion. Property stock FLC was the liquid was most FLC stock lion. Property million sharesan 193 nearly percentto 12.5 pressuremade active Selling trade on th with matching volume of over 1.8 million shares. The electronicstorechain oper over 9.2 million employee stockownership session for afourth Notably, MGWdeclined share, down6.6percent against the previous day. week. northern in points. market week at104.36 The The HNX Index on theHanoiStockExchangerose 0.91 per centtoend the trading Itma points. at843.73 finish Friday The benchmark VNIndex on theHCMStock Exchange (HOSE) rose1.28per cent to cap shares. cent after asix-daywinning its floor price. In the oil and gas sector, GA oil andgassector,In thefloor price. its Among the bankstocks,BIDfe sharestraded. 776,000 6.4 construction stocklost The noon phase. Having stageda strong recovery on Wednes points. earlier at 833.09 hours, pushingtheVNIndex down a massive 9.62 points, or 1.14%, from thesession Stocks tookanosedive onNovember 2 as se 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGONTIMES over 5.5 sharesofthe million firm, thereby cu cent to5.9%.In August, theinvestorbought Joint Venture GlobalInvestmentCompany (K * LienThanhSeafoodProcessing Company lion convertible bond sale to secure the share issuanceproject. willraise its chartered capitalVND7.5to tril million shares 32.3 nearly shareholders and cluding 38.7 million shares for dividend pa appr obtained Vietf'ostllank (LPB)has * Lien gish this week given alack Despite astrong rebound onFriday, Vietname 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS ofbusinessinformation an streak. PLXclosed atanin GAS and food enterprise KDC. ator's stock dropped 5.4 percent at VND120,000 ashare atVND120,000 ator's stockdropped5.4percent ll 2.2%, CTG lost 1.6 percent andVPBdropped tonear 1.6percent ll 2.2%,CTGlost de a weekly gainof0.4per cent. 95/Stocks-plunge-on-heavy-selling.html e HCMCitymarket, with volume jumping ranked second by liquiditywith4.2million S lostaslight0.5%, low of 103.42 points, points, down 1.48percent lowof103.42 t and 18 percent versus Wednesday 18percentversus t respec- and ips on the southern exchangesuch as bank d value soaring 20.9 percent to VND4.3 tril- 20.9percenttoVND4.3 d valuesoaring yment, 32.9 million shares for existing shares for existing million 32.9 yment, percent at VND200,300 asharewithover percent atVND200,300 lion. Earlier, thelender haltedaVND2 tril- for employees. Iftheissue is done, LPB rket saw 51 million shares worth nearly million sharesworth 51 saw rket with nearly 4.8 million shares traded but plan (ESOP) shares uipment firmplummeted5.2percent at three million shares ofKLF before selling before selling ofKLF shares three million day, bellwethertumbled ROS after- inthe tting itsholdingtoover 8.2 million shares. the bank stock group, ACB fell 2.9 percent 2.9 percent group, ACBfell stock the bank llers took the upper hand in transaction in the upperhand llers took has acquired five million shares ofKLF oval toissue over 104 million shares, in- stock with7.4mill in a row although it announced a sale of announced asale although it row in a as they net bought over VND216 billion astheynetboughtoverVND216 2 billion of shares on the Hanoibourse. on 2 billionofshares dex dropped a total of 1.9percentlast LF), raising itSownership from2.8per- se shares are expected toremain slug- d marketdependence onlarge- traday low of VND56,800 per lowofVND56,800 traday and PVD dipped 1.6per- dipped and PVD at VND10,000 each. each. VND10,000 at ion shares changing ion shares 6 November2017 6 November 2017 47 / 73 47 / 2017 6 November BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia back to the market, boosting thein back tothe market, boosting Low-priced stocks would help improveinvestor confidence anddraw investment said. Lan quidity, areattrac that price ranges lower to stocks ca margin that impacts ofnegative In spite Apecweek with lining Silver suffer. Margin to calls areexpected VND4.36 trillion in the second quar signs of slower growth in August, with daily average trading liquidity falling from to tighten marg beganHowever, thosefirms formance inthefirst seven monthsto encourage investorstoborrowmore. growth rate of12per cent. Most brokerage Margin lending grew atthefastestinse ond and percentyear-on-year. quarter 22 The 30. figure trillionbySeptember VND36.15 According to VDSC, the total margin lending of all securities firms hadreached about must either deposit more moneyinthea money decreases inva with borrowed bought An investor receives a margin call from abrok formula. the broker'sparticular by lated nance margin. Margin calls occurwhen the ormoney securities so that themargin a A margincallisabroker'sdemandonan forinvestment, said. Lan loans big taken had tors that lower,and send the triggered indices securiti The decline ofthestock market suggested in and investorsremainedlosers," he either slightgrowthor "The indicesposted stock market had not reflected itstr According toHoangThachLan, head of in cautious. In addition, November alwayslacks supporti Viet Dragon steam," loses if ROS versal ma "The dependenceon aparticularstockmeans ROS alsosame hadtheclosingmovement, upatotal 9.2cent per lastweek. days. losing with ternating al- days gaining with two, in down closed and sessions in three gained Index The VN est effects index. on thebenchmark the (HOSE: ROS)was FarosConstruction FLC Large-cap stocks remained the most influential factor on the market last week. ue compared to the previousweek. of4.1 increase an posted figures The trading million). (US$173.7 Each session saw anaverageof mill 206.3 week_289931.html http://bizhub.vn/markets/vietnames businesses." Vietnam and other Apec member economies, benefiting thecountry's economy and ket,"said. "Peoplehe arelooking foragreem Leaders'"The ApecEconomics cr Week could and isexpectedto today toSaturday from the Apec In addition, Vietnamishosting push stocksdownfurther, makingthe continueto market dices after one gloom told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn last week. ue strengthin thepasttwoweeks. ter to aroundVND3.9 trillion. e-stocks-tipped-for-a-sluggish- Securities Co (VDSC) said inanote. (VDSC) Securities Co ccount isbroughtuptotheminimummainte- ccount or sell off some of his assets. off some ofhis sell ccount or Economic Leaders' Week, which takes place takes Economic Leaders'Week, which ion shares traded,wo investor using margin to deposit additional additional todeposit margin using investor be good news for the stock market, Lan said. Lan market, stock the for news be good tive enough to boost bottom pickingandli- to boostbottom enough tive decline, while share prices continued to fall to fall continued prices share while decline, lls could have on the ithelpssend market, firms took advantage of strong market per- took advantageofstrongmarket firms dividual investor division atVDSC, the cond ofthe quarter year withaquarterly ents and contracts that are signedbetween in lending whenthestockmarket showedin account value depresses toa value calcu- vestors shouldstart selling, whichwould per centinvolumeand4.9 val- es firms to make "margin calls"make "marginfores firms inves- to ve information, forcing investors tobe investors forcing ve information, eate a wave thatsupports the stockmar- er if one or more of the securities he had securitiesor moreoftheone er if lue past a certain point. The investor certain point. The a lue past increasedby9.2per cent fromthesec- large-cap share that created the strong- rket sentiment isinhigher riskofre-rket y week, he added. rth VND3.91 trillion 6 November2017 6 November 2017 48 / 73 48 / 2017 6 November BUSINESS cap stocks mid- shift focusonto Investment funds finance& business Vietnam defends profit tally defends profit dividend payout, ROS plans $21m Intellasia Pyn Elite Fund sold two mill Development Share Holding (KBC) Corp and HoaBinh Group(HBC). Construction It redu week. last portfolio Another foreignfundfrom Finland, PynEl tively. have reached of49 percent afte thelimit VND per share on the HCMStockExchange. The foreignholdings in the company KDH's share price has expanded 30 percent th 3.8 million shares. KDH In arelated development last week, proper ments Limited boughtacombined3. million shares. BothGrinling Internationa Dien Investment&Trading House JSC (KDD) Meanwhile, an investor group related to Dragon Capital raised its stakes in Khang average trading volume ofnearly 1.4 million shares per session. ashareon the VND at USD) 31with an October end of VND(0.46 to10,500 last year Shares ofHARhaveincreasedbynearlyfour chair NguyenGia Bao. sharehol shares, and thesecondlargest became Joint Stock Company(HAR), an equivalent lastweekpurchased VinaCapital over 11.18 stocks. mid-cap change recently,focusingon Investment managementfunds have been 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA announced. rate of10 a dividend get soon andwillpay Company (R Joint Stock Faros Construction FLC 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS 120544.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/investment-f Company Public Unlisted on the trading JSC (DBD) Equipment shares after and Medical mi 10.5 nearly sold Fund Development and inve direction, domestic the opposite In panies. ing focuson to mid-capfirms. They are all inla investment its reduced has the fund vestment Corporation 3-2(C32)andVanPhat shares purchased Fund Pyn Elite Meanwhile, to13.32 percent. percent 14.08 offloaded 854,900 percent,whileit 4.94 percen 114 fulfilling 2017), 30, to September VND inth trillion andnetprofitof1.33 VND HoaSenGr activities, In termsofbusiness Sen Group. of Hoa shareholdera major as linquishing itsposition HSG Norges Bankshares,reduci sold 330,000 Dragon fundsoffloade Capital's cent higher thantheselling priceof27, placement shareis last week. being NKG's inaprivate toinvestors issued steelmaker shares the 30million partoftotal is This the company. million NKGshares. These investment fund lifting3 itsholdingLtdbought and hereto6.51IdrisSPC Aquila Ltd percent,while Steel JSC (NKG). Amersham Industries Limited purchased 7.5million NKGshares, KDH, DragonCapital'sBesides investorgr ced holdings in two construction companies Kinh Bac City KinhBac companies two construction in ced holdings ion KBCshares, reducing its d shares ofanothersteelmaker, HoaSenGroup(HSG). 8 million KDH shares last week. last shares KDH 8 million 000 placement. ashareinthe 000 VND private unds-shift-focus-on-to-midcap-stocks/ HBC shares, decreasing itsownership from stment fundssuch as BinhDinhInvestment r recent trad r recent active rge-cap construction companies while shift- while companies construction rge-cap Market (UPCoM) in January this year. this January in (UPCoM) Market l Limited Enterpriseand Vietnam Invest- mid-sized construction and real estate com- oup reported netrevenue of26.15 trillion active in trading on the HCMStockEx- active intradingon -12 per cent for this year, the companyhas for thisyear, -12 percent oup also bought a big stake in Nam inNam Kim oup alsoboughtabigstake ite Fund(Non-Ucits),hasrestructured its traded around 35,000 VND apiece, 30 per- 30 apiece, VND 35,000 traded around ty fund Vietnam Vent ty fund of 11.06 percent of total outstanding outstanding of11.06 percent oftotal t and 81 percent of its its 81 percentof t and llion shares ofBinh Dinh Pharmaceutical e fiscal year 2016-17 (from October 1, 2016 2016 1, (fromOctober e fiscalyear2016-17 s hold a combined 22.41 percent s holdacombined percent in stake 22.41 million shares of An Duong ThaoDien fold this year, soaring from just 2,660 2,660 soaring fromjust year, fold this of Fecon Corp (FCN), Construction In- (FCN), Construction Fecon Corp of ng its ownership to4.96 percent andre- is year, being traded around at 26,000 Hung Corp (VPH). It can beseen that to 17.63 percent, an equivalent to anequivalent percent, of 57.8 17.63 its after developer estate der ofthereal gained 49 percent invaluesince first OS) expects to beat its 2017 profit tar- profit its2017 OS) expectstobeat stake from 5.38 percent to percent stake from5.38 es by foreign funds. 6 November2017 ures Ltd picked up 6 November 2017 49 / 73 49 / 2017 6 November yearly goals,respec- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam in Japan CMC to finallydebut Intellasia markets. Previously, we had worked with ma software andITproducts.We wanttoin of March thisye in CMC Globalwasestablished readers? toVietnam News the strategy announced itsstra CMC Corporationrecently the Vietnamese ICTindustry. spoke withVietnamNews reporter Yen Vy the corporation Nguyen ChinhTrung an "Go Global" strategy to expand toforeignco CMC Corporation, one oftheleadingVietna 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS tally_289928.html http://bizhub.vn/markets/ros-plans-2 vestors' evaluation about th of thelarge impact toanalysts, According cent.11.8 per by only cent ofthe VN Index's gains. Without the toSSI thegrowthofth Research, According heavily Exchange andtheirmovements influence index. the 10biggest top aretwoofthe and SAB ROS sion by27 per cent of the benchmark VN is Togetherwith brewerSabeco (SAB),ROS 2016. stocks on the HCMStockExchangeinover one yearsince its debut on September 1, share toover VND214,000 each. It has become one ofthe top three most expensive The priceofROSshareshasmorethan doub onthe Index VN Heavyweight plex. range ofprojects suchasFLCGarden Ci also speeding uptheimplementation for ha It expects to record combined revenueofVN trillion. worth VND1.4 project VinhPhuc FLC and high-end entertainment project worth VN villa golf, Binh theQuang as such deals large-scale including trillion, reached VND20.1 that projectsvalue ofcontracts and The meet itsprofit target activities anditsnewlybegunprojects (EPC) With thebreakthroughs ROShas made inEngineering Procurement Construction process ofindividualprojects. profit ofaconstructioncompany can be However, the company's CEO Do QuangLa million). ($25.6 September, approximatelythrough cent 36per ROS posted an profitofVND208 after-tax lion) forthedividend payout on a total 473 mil- (US$21-25 billion VND473-568 tospendabout forecast rate, thecompanyis this At high demand. ices. This has ourquality asJapa proved many othe by HondaVietnamover chosen For example, we built labsforVietnamese South Korea, Singapore, France, Ge cooperated wi we havethe pastyears, In and ITservices products. but outsourcing besoftware not only goinwill we The way group. termined togothe market ours global by ahead ofschedule. e overall market outlook. rmany and the United States (US). 1m-dividend-payout-defends-profit- irregular anddepends on theimplementation the company has signed and carried out has carried out has signedand the company ty, FLC Twin Towers and FLC ty, Ha Longcom- FLC TwinTowersand nese companies are mostly customers with two stocks, the VN Index may have increased haveincreased VN Index may stocks, the two d CMC d CMC Japan's CEO KumedaMasakuni th many foreign partners, includingJapan, Index since the beginningofthisyear. the twostockson the market affectin- may billion ($9.2 million)intheninemonths customers ofIBM Vietnam. Wewere also r competitors in providing SAP ERP serv- ERP SAP inproviding r competitors stocks bymarketvalueontheHCMStock troduce ourbestproductstointernational about thecompany's global strategy and untries, starting with Japan. Chair/CEOof seen as themainpushbehind expan- elves. CMC Global elves. CMC will be thefaceofour million outstanding shares in the market. shares inthe million outstanding ese two stocksaccounted forover 50 per ndover in the 2017-18 period atawide ndover inthe 2017-18 led thisyear,rising per from VND104,000 , the executive believes the company will the executivebelieves , m said the accounting ofrevenue and mese ICT group, recentlymese ICTgroup, announced its D3.5 trillion from 12 major projects. It is tegy to"GoGlobal", couldyouintroduce ar with the aim of promotingtheexport ar withtheaim ny foreign partners, ny foreign D5.6 trillion and the second phase ofthe of its yearly target of VND580billion 6 November2017 6 November 2017 50 / 73 50 / 2017 6 November but recently, we de- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia At the moment, we are building moment, weareAt the of 4.0 industry? the inthecontext ly fields arethekey What strategy. velopment Could you tellusabout the newest achievemen company inVietnam. security we wh invested inagroup, In 2008-2009, have aninnovativefund,justlikeangel capital. organiseoftenand shareideas. meetingsWe nect toshareresearch results. Wealso Besides the R&D Institute, we have InnovationCentre,CMC whichis a place tocon- meeting ourdemands after theygraduate. connections withuniversities and colleges R&D institute sothatwecan train our own people. In the future, wehopetohavemore for staff our market To ensure global of we alsohave centre and innovation vest in facilities for schools. We builta re ties canproduce staffs that meet the dema There should bemore linkages between univ teaching methods. Vietnamese students n in education, including both individuals an ICT's humanresources here, there shouldbe po The country's ICThumanresource islacking thelevelof you evaluate Vietnam. Howdo in technicians2,000 ICT than more Being acorporationmanaging and China. fromJapan sources tomers. ForCMC Japan, notonly Vietname Having acompany based inthe locality, itis have nothad any officialcompaniesbased in the locality. I mentioned,wehave enue wassmall.As Our determinationwasnotdrasticenoughat the 10 year approached Japanese We market nology companies like us toinvest. pan wasabout $30 billion per year.Therefor A report fromGartnerlastyearshowedthat choose Japanas its first market to enter? corporation did the Why month. this branchinJapan first its inaugurate CMC will US. tries, includingSingapore, Asian thenEurope countriesSouthand theas to Korea such Japanese market, CMCwillcontinue After the market. tothat of domestic the similar arevenue us bring will CMC Global to have intends 1,00 CMCGlobal By 2020, crease this to $5million or $10million in the future. investme with atotal inAugust ment licence invest- an We received in Yokohama. open officially will Japan 7, CMC On November nam andgotoother countries. Through these experiences, we are more conf vice for Vietnamese ICTenterprises inthe integration period? companies in Vietnam. Being the leader of su develo and building of years 24 Overcoming pacity ofcybersecurity. information sercurity.Therefore, al CMCis In the context ofInternet ofThingsdevelopment, there are moreandrisksfrom banks. and it fields weareis oneofthe platform Fintech focus onbuildingacl In addition, we are transferring traditional Google. such as applying, are intheworld companies oud platform forenterprise customers. Vietnamese ICTstaffs? an organisation in a popula anorganisationina policies topromote creativeness. up to 1,000-1,500 up to1,000-1,500 people, we ourown built ich has now become CMC InfoSec,a leading search and (R&D)institute, development an eed more chances topractiseinreality. had manyJapanese partnersbut we before, 0 to 1,500 employees. We also expect 0 to1,500employees.Wealsoexpect that interested in. We are working with FE Cred- FE with in. working interested are We nd of enterprises while enterprises can in- so thatwe can recruit more employees so strengthening investment toenhanceca- so strengthening service products to digitalisation. We will Wewill todigitalisation. products service se, we even employ foreign human re- d enterprises. Wealsoneedtorenovate that the group wants to promote,especial- that thegroupwants thevalueofoutsourcing themarket ofJa- e, there are manyopportunities fortech- ch a successful company, what isyourad- successful company, a ch ping, CMCisnowoneofthe leadingICT easier forus to cus- connect toJapanese s ago, butwere only doing outsourcing. in both quality and quantity. Toenhance andquantity. both quality in nt capital of $2million. We expect to in- that time. Therefore, the successrev- and ersities and enterprises so that universi- ident to step outside theborder of Viet- to expand market to more Asean coun- Asean tomore market expand to licies boostingmoreresources toinvest ts ofthecorporation as well as its de- r creative model thatmany r creativemodel 6 November2017 6 November 2017 51 / 73 51 / 2017 6 November BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia ese businesses, which requires themtotryandimprove. are barriers culture and language However, businesses in this market. and comprehensive productsand services, which are fully capable of competing with The second strong pointis that Vietnamese resourcesmaximiseth can toensurethey resources forthemarket.Howe Therefore, thereare manyopportunities fo by 590,000 2030. number ITengineers. The more 100,000 than oping inthe Japanese market, isthe abunda In myopinion, the strength ofVietname oping intheJapanese market? Vietname of difficulties and strengths the Vietnamese to market a is potential Japan possess thecore values of creati competitive competency that is human. strong internal with strength withsustai for CMC, and responsiblehumanresources.As I think that Vietnamese IT enterprises have ITenterprises I thinkthatVietnamese in general? do youHow evaluateCMCCorporationin this market. egy and soon become aleadingcompany in providing ICT solutions andservices in Japan CMC wholeheartedly buildanddevelop ciplined organisation. The challenge isama ence, one of thetop2ICTenterprisesinVi or CMCTelecom. Myapprecia Corporation and CMC and workat visit to challenges. Beforeaccepting I amakindofpersonwho likes challenges. reasons foryou to choose toworkforCMC? suchasOracle,IBM, companies tinational Having had experiences foralong time in automation, services and ITintegrated solutions. standards, we willmeetthe needs ofJapane anese market. We believe thatwith the pr goal ofprovidingproductsand services with Corporatio outsourcing experienceofCMC over 24yearsofexperiencein Leveraging project? CMC Corporationwillinaugurateitsbranch example. atypical is Bird Flappy this. about know will people intheworld are products your if that is The importance Android platforms. tomill Thousands In addition, it is easy to approach users worldwide by uploading products on iOS or places, even athomeor at a coffee shop. ment forspace or facility. Theyjustneed derInternet onthe environment. Acompanyor One oftheadvantagesICTindustry over goals and firmly pursuethem. My advice forVietnamese ICTcompanies or I willI try tomake themost ofmy30-year expe With your experiences, whatare your plansforthedevelopment of CMC Japan? companies. 10 member opportunities with will havemany and I the position as CEO of CMC Japan, I had the opportunity ofCMCJapan,Ihadthethe positionasCEO tion forCMCisnot onlyaunit ver, thedifficultyto is vity, professionalism vity,and teamwork. professionalism ions userscanseeyour products. CMC peopleare young technologists who se enterpriseswhen approaching and devel- nable development and especially has acorenable development the supportofCMCparentcompanyandits eir ability of deployment andcreativity. one or more computers and work at simple se companies when approachinganddevel- se companies ofessional experiences that meet global that meet ofessional experiences the fieldof ICT and worked with many mul- CISCO, NetOneorEMCJapan,whatarethe etnam butalsoayoung, innovativeand dis- ICT ICT businesses. In your opinion, what are the field of ICT and more than 10 fieldofICTandmore than10 years of the r Vietnamesebusinesses toprovidehuman With CMC,Irealise both opportunities and particular and Vietnameseparticular and ICTcompanies businesses have good capacity, qualified good, it may be easy to go viral and many many and viral go to easy be may it good, nt human resources. Japancurrently lacks its member companies such as CMC Soft as CMC member companiessuch its good capacity, especial good capacity, n, CMC Japan was established with the with was established Japan CMC n, also difficult and challenging forVietnam- challenging and difficult also rketbu likeJapan, se enterprisesintheareas oftechnology, is expected to reach 230,000 by 2020, and by2020, 230,000 is expectedtoreach in Japan. Could you share the goal of the the of goal the share you Could Japan. in the best quality thebest tocustomers intheJap- start-ups isthatthey should determine start-ups rience in the field of the field rience in Irealisethatthis other industries is that thereisno bor- in line withglobalisation CMC's strat- a start-up doesn't need a largestart-up doesn'tneed invest- a improve thequality of human with 24 years of experi- t I believe CMC Japan believe CMC t I is a technology group is a 6 November2017 6 November 2017 52 / 73 52 / 2017 6 November ICT inJapan.Iwill ly plentiful, young young plentiful, ly BUSINESS defends profit tally defends profit dividend payout, ROS plans $21m finance& business Vietnam chains join global supply VCCI, ILOhelp SMEs Intellasia tally_289928.html http://bizhub.vn/markets/ros-plans-2 vestors' evaluation about th of thelarge impact toanalysts, According cent.11.8 per by only cent ofthe VN Index's gains. Without the toSSI thegrowthofth Research, According heavily Exchange andtheirmovements influence index. the 10biggest top aretwoofthe and SAB ROS sion by27 per cent of the benchmark VN is Togetherwith brewerSabeco (SAB),ROS 2016. stocks on the HCMStockExchangeinover one yearsince its debut on September 1, share toover VND214,000 each. It has become one ofthe top three most expensive The priceofROSshareshasmorethan doub onthe Index VN Heavyweight plex. range ofprojects suchasFLCGarden Ci also speeding uptheimplementation for ha It expects to record combined revenueofVN trillion. worth VND1.4 project VinhPhuc FLC and high-end entertainment project worth VN villa golf, Binh theQuang as such deals large-scale including trillion, reached VND20.1 that projectsvalue ofcontracts and The meet itsprofit target activities anditsnewlybegunprojects (EPC) With thebreakthroughs ROShas made inEngineering Procurement Construction process ofindividualprojects. profit ofaconstructioncompany can be However, the company's CEO Do QuangLa million). ($25.6 September, approximatelythrough cent 36per ROS posted an profitofVND208 after-tax lion) forthedividend payout on a total 473 mil- (US$21-25 billion VND473-568 tospendabout forecast rate, thecompanyis this At announced. rate of10 a dividend get soonandwillpay Company (R Joint Stock Faros Construction FLC 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS grate deeply intotheglobal economy. tration capacity and develop high-quality pr help SMEsovercome shortcomings, increa gramme and proposed solutions toimprove EnterprisesSCORE programmeorgani and the Dong Nai,LongAnand HCM City. Labour, general Confederation of Vietnam City, the World Bank Group,the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the ofthe Embassy Norway in Vietnam, the programme implemented sinceJune 2011, also The forum,partofthe Sust CI-HCM) andthe Internationa Viet the of branch City the HCM by 27 glob in productivityParticipating labour ing Many small and medium-sized enterprises (S 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGONTIMES ahead ofschedule. aining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) (SCORE) Enterprises Responsible and Competitive aining e overall market outlook. l LabourOrganisation (ILO). 1m-dividend-payout-defends-profit- nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VC- of Commerceand nam Chamber irregular anddepends on theimplementation the company has signed and carried out has carried out has signedand the company ty, FLC Twin Towers and FLC ty, Ha Longcom- FLC TwinTowersand two stocks, the VN Index may have increased haveincreased VN Index may stocks, the two Consulate general of Switzerland in HCM general inHCM of Switzerland Consulate Index since the beginningofthisyear. the twostockson the market affectin- may billion ($9.2 million)intheninemonths se labour productivity, improveadminis- -12 per cent for this year, the companyhas for thisyear, -12 percent stocks bymarketvalueontheHCMStock and relevant depart seen as themainpushbehind expan- million outstanding shares in the market. shares inthe million outstanding ese two stocksaccounted forover 50 per ndover in the 2017-18 period atawide ndover inthe 2017-18 led thisyear,rising per from VND104,000 al supply chains" jointly held onOctober held jointly chains" supply al , the executive believes the company will the executivebelieves , m said the accounting ofrevenue and its effectiveness. Theprogramme aims to oducts for global supply chainsand inte- D3.5 trillion from 12 major projects. Itis MEs) attended aforumthemed"Increas- MEs) attended D5.6 trillion and the second phase ofthe attracted representatives of VCCI, ILO, ofVCCI, representatives attracted of its yearly target of VND580billion sers talkedaboutbenefits ofthepro- OS) expects to beat its 2017 profit tar- profit its2017 OS) expectstobeat ments ofBinh Duong, 6 November2017 6 November 2017 53 / 73 53 / 2017 6 November BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam promoted in CanTho promoted Japanese tourism Intellasia "As CanTho is the biggest ci TNT, SongHanTourist and Tagger Travel. Among around20travel firms showingup said. Ayumi forthisyear, Japan As looks toattract up rate ever, he noted. up Japan, to came visitors Vietnamese of from Vietnam inall of 2016, but in the first nam officeofJNTO was openedinMarch th Vi upsurge in has beenan thereseminar that ofJN chiefrepresentative Ayumi, Takahashi in theMekongDelta city of Can wasThis thefirst the time Japanese touris Mekong Delta. in CanThoCityabidtopromotetour Or The JapanNationalTourism 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGONTIMES chains.html http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56830/ in global supply chains. wear, food processing and electricity-electroni The programme is expected to and labo costs increase inproduction 50,000 has gained a global satisfactionrate of88%, China,Colombia, inBolivia, enterprises has benefited over 300,000 employees, with Michael Elkin, chief technical advisor of the SCOREprogramme, said the programme the numberof employees quittingtheir jobs has dropped by 42%. errorsIn addition,nication skills. inproduc production costs and 61percent ofcompanies can apply solutions to commu- improve Some91 got supportfromtheprogramme. More than110 wood processing firms and cent ofwater use and60percent of gas emissions. has million saved VND200 a year andChutex competitiveness.their ment, thusenhancing Thanks to many theprogramme, companie expanded toother key sectorssuch Binh Duong,Dinh,DongNa in companies stage, the initial In SMEs. for services ing business inasustainableTheSCORE way. development sustainable to key the have Over theyears,VCCIanditspartners is productivity labour for workers. conditions working and incomes improving thereby SMEs, at increasing said HCM, VCCI phasized Hardegger. VoTanThanh, vice conditions, increase productivityandassu workers' and employers' organisationsfind strong social shows that with more VietnameseSMEsinother sect working conditionsandintegration into SMEs develop embraced to Switzerland has mentation ofPhaseII. He expected that eral toVietnam, congratulated VCCI, ILO WorkshopSwitzerland atthe "Representing noted. sidesspecific informat need morehope both dialogue is essential forthepr dialogueis ty in the Mekong Delta and and Delta intheMekong ty support SMEs insupporting industries, textile, foot- ganisation (JNTO) on November 2organisedaseminar on ganisation (JNTO) Tho topromotetravelJapan. Tho as supporting industries and textile. VCCI-ILO-help-SMEs-join-global-supply- through phase III "the core values that ism exchanges between JapanandVietnam's Ghana, Vietnam and Peru. The programme Peru. and Vietnam Ghana, the programme focuseson wood processing the world economywillbe further shared to 300,000 Vietnamese tourists, Takahashi tourists, Takahashi Vietnamese to300,000 30 percent year-on-year, thehighestgrowth percentyear-on-year, 30 m agencypromotion hasheldsuch an event ors". "The experience fromSwitzerland re the competitivenessreeconomy", em- ofthe and their partners for the successfulimple- nine months of this year, number thesame tion lines have decreased by29percentand 30 mechanicalandtextile enterprises have percent of participating companies cancut President ofVCCI and director general of programme includes tr programme includes sought measurestohelpenterprises grow s can save costs and improve the environ-and improve the save costs s can tailored solutions tailored toimproveworking helped 70 percent of businesses save $500- businesses savepercent of helped 70 at theseminar on November 2were JTB- include socialdialog 30 percent of them being women, at 1,400 at1,400 30 percentofthembeingwomen, ion about each other to boost tourism," heto boosttourism,"ion abouteach other ur productivity by 30percenton average. , OthmarHardegger, SwissConsulgen- Tan Thanh JSC TanThanhJSC in Binh Duong Province is year. Japan welcom Japan is year. TO in Vietnam, saidattheVisit Japan etnamese touriststo Japan since the Viet- International CoLtdhas reduced 33 per- cs so that they can effectively take part they caneffectively take that cs so i, LongAnand Cityand HCM will be osperity of a country. Together, Together, acountry. of osperity a fast-growing market, we we market, fast-growing a ue, solidarity, human human solidarity, ue, 6 November2017 6 November 2017 54 / 73 54 / 2017 6 November ed 230,000 tourists tourists ed 230,000 aining andconsult- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Silicon techgiants Legal system at frowns favoured in RoK Vietnamese goods Intellasia https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietname tivenessmarket, shesuggested. inthe packaging andpapersdeclarationmapou Vietnamese to theRoK, promote exports To agreements,trade including10effectiveones. free cences and configureadministrative server Deputy director Nguyen ofthedepartment bordergates,a the country's through the of2017, city In the ten first months parts, woodandtimbercomputers, products. garment-textile, exports mainly City HCM gest importer ofthecity, making up nearly According tothemunicipalDepartmentIn of expand itspresence in the RoK. Notably, Vietnam's southern economichub products. high-quality tocreate designs in investing market and the ofstudying significance Apart frommaking use ofpref on November 2. RoK and Asean-RoK free trade agreements, ex According toArticle34(4) re growth. FourthIndust in ordertocatchupwith the shou the bill in stated regulations However, and personal privacy information. co space thevirtual of security Likewise, the co which terrorism and attacks, virtual bill security an internet that voiced (NA) such as Facebook,such as Google, Vibe Accordingly, foreign-owned busi nam." ting up representative offices, serversin th businesses shall comply with the nation'sla A notable majorityofmembersintheStan is inthedraftingprocess. the law Currently, involved and the in engaged cyberspace for the operation,theresponsibilities ofth The draft stipulatesprinciples, measures,c mid-2018. for scheduled Drafted by the Ministry of Public Security, the passage of the cyber Security Law is etnam in accordance to the DraftCyberSe Facebook, Google, Viber, and Amazon arerequ 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR toth ofKorea(RoK) thanks the Republic Made-in-Vietnam goods are more 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56891/Ja tourists. more tract which issettotakeplaceinCanThothisweekend are expected tohelp both sides at- th the seminar Japan and Visit Nam added in the region." infrastructure to CanThois still small duetoa shortage year."H last Vietnam visited Japanese 740,000 Can Tho vice City chair QuangHoai Truong garding reinforcing internet security, "foreign-owned "foreign-owned security, internet reinforcing garding r, and Amazon, would be reques and Amazon,wouldbe r, erential tariffs, Vietnamese nesses whose services are being distributed in Vietnam, in Vietnam, distributed are being services whose nesses competitive than those of other Asian countries in se-goods-favoured year-on-year rise of 13.3 percent. year-on-year riseof13.3 uld pose threats to national security. threatsuld pose tonational exported 29.15 billi exported 29.15 inthecountry'sinternetsecurity. was vital in the context of arising cybercrime, cybercrime, arising contextof inthe vital was e effective implementa e effective s in Vietnam after the draft bill is passed. billis draft Vietnam afterthe in s panese-tourism-promoted-in-Can-Tho.html e ministry, businesses, andanyindividuals of informationfortouristsandpoor traffic curity Law, which could be achallenge. curity Law,whichcould ding Committee ofth e territory of the Socialist Republic of of Viet- Republic e territory Socialist of the ontent, operations, fa ontent, operations, e Vietnam-Japan culture andtrade event five percent of its total export export turnover. total five percent ofits rial Revolution (Industry 4.0) and digital digital 4.0) and (Industry Revolution rial ld take the consumers' benefit into into account benefit theconsumers' ld take footwear, electronic products and spare spare footwear, electronicand products Huynh Trang said Vi Trangsaid Huynh w abusiness by attaining license andset- uld trigger threats major to internet users' firms shouldaddress firms shortcomings in of HCMCity has many opportunities to dustry and Trade, the RoK is the fifth big- fifth the is RoK the Trade, and dustry Nam said at the seminar that more than Nam saidatthe that more seminar owever, the number of Japanese arrivals ofJapanesearrivals number owever, the t a proper strategy to increase competi- toincrease aproperstrategy t perts said at a workshop inHCMCity a said at perts ired to set uptheir own servers in Vi- -in-rok/120522.vnp businesses are aware ofthe on USD worthofgoods ted toobtain business li- tion oftheVietnam- e National Assembly vourable conditions 6 November2017 etnam hassigned12 6 November 2017 55 / 73 55 / 2017 6 November BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Vietnam buying housesin foreignersaren't Why Intellasia overseas Vietnamese is huge," he said. "M in working and living community "The expat lion overseas Vietnamese, that's opened itsreal estate toforeigners. market that's hundreds, and stands inthe timate his officeoverlookingSitting in Hanoi's sk ofsalt. with agrain try's statement minis- the havetaken insiders industry conflicting, strikingly remains thedata While Vietnam eignershad bought housesin week,However, earlier this HCMCity'sDe to thecountry. ther marriedVietnamese national,held toa Before that theyhadbeen onlyeligible to years. leaseholds of50 with tial properties inVietna international firmsoperating and Law foreign allows The 2015 Housing investme clear andopen." a statement,said incl before, theministry since a newhousing law came intoeffect tw cal assaying 750 media that last August TheMinistry varygreatly. estimates Official are ministrative agencies "Expats donot haveaclear understanding of to thecomplicated rules and excessivepaperwork. inViet interest is foreign there said Thang years. the pasttwo of inHanoiover charge in the number ofpotential foreignbuyerswho legal barriers,"saidreal estatemanagerNg housesbuy to are able "Only afewexpats off. redtapeis them but ket, putting There's a wealth ofexpatsand overseas Viet 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNEXPRESS Meanwhile, the request ofstructuring server Phan Thi HoaiThu,vicepresident oftheVi and deleteblockanti-state andfalse info the draftbill 47(2) of Article andunnecessary. praised ascomplicated http://www.vir.com.vn/legal-system-frowns-at-silicon-tech-giants.html tions oftraffic to Google productsand services. tran and Congo,accordingtoGoogle's2015 Russ Vietnam, like incountries barriers legal seem Leading technologyfirms,likeGoogle, the returning time for the tech giant. by anot followed ging insession2016, way tothe Chinese digitalsp According tonewswire CNBC, Google's services, mostly almost Gmail, made their Chineseblocked fromthe GreatFirewall. YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, like sites ing Earlier, Silicon Valley tech fi maximum constructive criticism for anopti de legal international and tween domestic accentuated theagency'sco (VCCI), merce thelega of general director Tuan, Anh Dau proportion ofcyberinformation. incharge ofaminor are only ers woul regulation such stating ter this section, not used to dealingwith foreign buyers," he said. stipulatesthattelecommunicationproviders andInternet rms, suchasGoogle,Facebook,andothersocialnetwork- ace byendingthesix-yearembargo withatwo-hour log- virtually anunta since thenew law into came effect. foreigners had boughthousesinVietnam rmation on the Internetwithin 24 hours. her Internet blackout which did not specify did notspecify which her blackout Internet counting since 2009 countingsince2009 when Vietnam first aiming thatthewere newprocedures "really buy one apartment providingtheywereei- apartment buyone nam's housing market, butit often fadesdue yscraper-dotted WestLake, Thang'sown es- any of them havemoneyand want toown partments with the intent of gathering of partments withtheintent Flickr, Dropbox, and even Bloomberg were Bloomberg even Flickr,Dropbox,and in Vietnamso many becausein still thereare mmitment to fully support cooperation supportcooperation be- tofully mmitment With 80,000 expats and more than four mil- l department of Vietnam Chamber ofCom- of l department uyen ChienThang,counting onhisfingers etnam Internet Associat m and overseastobuy unlimited residen- had visitedthe housingdevelopmentshe's partment ofConstruction saidonly15for- mal legalsystem ofInternet security. a managerial position or had contributed managerial positionorhad a sparency report regarding known disrup- known reportregarding sparency d be impossible to abide as service provid- service as to abide beimpossible d o years before. That's six times morethan That's sixtimes before. o years ofConstructionwaswidelyquoted bylo- thelegalprocedureshere, whilesomead- namese interested in the realestatemar- s as for foreign-owne ia, Egypt, Turkey,especially China, Iran to encounter major challengesto encountermajor tight with Vietnamlarge, is nt funds, foreigners with valid visas nt visas valid funds, foreignerswith pped goldmine. while the number of 6 November2017 6 November 2017 56 / 73 56 / 2017 6 November d businesses is ap- ion, proposedto al- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia More than 300 potential individual invest individual than300 potential More ing tothe China Morning Post. South mainland Chinese investors, as prices contin Vietnam isbecoming one oftheregion's hot the local housing market. Industry insiders believe that removing mo in thesouthern province ofKien Giang. nearand PhuQuocIsland Hoa,the Chineseince the centralprovince ofKhanh border, Vietnam has 18 specialeconomiczonesand is developing more in Quang Ninh Prov- leaseholds of 99 years in specialeconomiczones. offered be should foreigners that suggesting inAugust law adraft tabled vestment In a move aimed at attracting more foreig Hot market in thelucrative propertysector." young people want toinvest whileland, "Many oldpeoplebuy houses sotheycan sp Hieu saidmany overseas able toaccess credit." is insurance, which propertytitleprovide can will banks foreign "However, hesaid. loans," "Unlike Vietnamesepeoplewho buy houses wi years, has been unable tobuyahouse. Because of this, Hieu, whore Hieu, who is anov insurance, astandard document issued in Another barrier facing foreigners and overseas but toforeigners, sale Given the restrictions, authorities are required It now forecasts 8 to 10 8to10 perc forecasts It now es real from data Hanoi, in percent pricesgrew6.9pe In Saigon,newapartment considerable growthinrecent years. costs, housing inthecountry'sprices two Encouraged byfasteconomic growth,supportivegovernmentpolicies and lowentry property investment seminar inHong Kong. defense and sensitive tonational considered toforeigners, apartmentbuilding in an AccordingHousingca to theLaw,developers gest obstacles, according toindustry insiders. The shortageofpublicisedprojects thatfore houses in thecountry, but only a small numberare able to do it." 2017, market sentiment isvery sentiment market 2017, "On the backofitseconomic improvement jor thisyear. cities nam-3665707.html https://e.vnexpress.net/news don't want totakerisks." ar procedures when legal doit only "I will Sa in looking tobuyacondominium is He ideal propertymarket forinvestors Neil Jensen, afinancialindustrialworker in second homes buy is alsoatrendto There thesame these cities replicate and District 7," he said. "And many invest "Foreign buyers typically like the new urba Vietnam. erseas Vietnamese. in practice don't. in practice they Vietnamese want to buyhousesintheir home country. ent annualgrowthinresident /business/why-foreigners-are turned home eight years ago after living in the US for 30 for US in the home eightyearsagoafterliving turned growth as Beijing and Shanghai." positive," said Stephen Wyat said Stephen positive," tate firmJonesLa if legal procedures are improved. and a maximum of 250 houses in a ward. Areas inaward. and amaximumof250houses ors recently attended from Malaysia, said Vietnam would be an from Malaysia,would be saidVietnam n buyers, the Ministry many countries, said economistNguyenTri largest cities, Saigon and Hanoi,have seen ors from mainlandChina are hopingto see e clearer and opener," Jensen, 34, said. "I igon to lease to overseas workers there.overseas workers to igon tolease n districtssuchas HCM City's District2 and of6.7percentin with aGDPtarget re barriers would create more interest in test marketsforHongKongand property igners are eligible to buy is oneofthebig- is buy to eligible are igners ue to go through the roof at home,accord- roof through the ue togo coastal areas such as Da Nang, he added. he Nang, as Da coastal areas such end therest oftheirlivesinhome- rcent in and7.3 of2017, the first quarter onlyoffer amortgageiftheir customers security are off-limits to publicise housing projects eligible for eligible projects housing publicise to unavailable in Vietnam, so they are un- are sothey inVietnam, unavailable n sella maximum of th their savings, expats often need bank Vietnamese isthe lack of property title ng LaSalleshows. ial value in the country's ma- n-t-buying-houses-in-viet- t, the country head of JLL of JLL head t, thecountry atwo-dayVietnam of Planning and In- of Planningand 6 November2017 6 November 2017 57 / 73 57 / 2017 6 November toforeign buyers. 30 percent of units percentofunits 30 BUSINESS shoppers payonline 3pctVN sellers, tomistrustof Due finance& business Vietnam network security ignore users Internet Intellasia online_289924.html http://bizhub.vn/tech/due-to-mistr enhance competitivenessmaximise resources. andto werealsourgedtotake Local companies ad in curr changes continuous with up item should be special. They should ther Many Vietnamese firm and development (R&D) for theirproducts and ignored markettrends. bu of domestic up to90percent In addition, tomers toselect, whil Products in the price range ofVND250,000- range inthe price Products consumption, with high tion toproducts AccordingCEO ofAd Nguyen VanThien, to online. customers tobuy easier for make it to In thetime to come, the ministry would have companies, causingdifficulties su to has ashortageofsystem Vietnam prestige. and alsomaintain qu theyhavetoensure In firms. addition, Anh noted that building trustAnh noted duced trust amongbuyers online. Products and services boughtonline are often not what were promised. This has re- tation (69per cent). the quality of goods andproducts (81 per cent that onlin VECITA surveyalsorevealed The added. "E-commerce companies shouldimprovetheir in2017. to19,000 in 2016 transactions. Thenumber of e-commerce firm countryhas over25,000websites The now could create amore He addedthatthe increasing number of es havenotbuilt the trustnecessaryfor cu chased online, thusmaking them hesitate in most Vietnamesereality, people In are transaction floors, groupbuying, soci Goods areoftentradedthroughonline ch line. andrailwayti (48percent),air appliances per cent)andhi-techelectronicsmetics (56 showed that in2016 fromVECITA Statistics Anh attributed this tothelackof Agencyunder (VECITA) theMini recent years, saidLeDucAnh,from holds truethoughe-commerceha This even percent. at 92 still is (COD) on cash delivery while In thecountry's e-commerce industry, online 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS Some 53per cent of Vietnamese security. network toensure on ability International Telecommunication Unionreport Vietnam's security index isvery low, rank 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS 16th among the top 20 countries top 20 16th amongthe Security (AIS) under the Ministry ofInfo fierce competition. e purchasingonline. s have concentratedon akey pr witha vi customershasbeen usetheinternet,accordingto for both sellers and buyers. and forbothsellers with the highest number of with thehighest number trust between customersand sellers. stry of Industry and Trade stry ofIndustry ust-of-sellers-3-v ent consumption habits,Thien said. ent the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy E-commerce and the Vietnam al networks and mobilephone apps. rmation and Communications,rmation and rankingVietnam worried about thequa about worried businesses joining the e-commerce market efore alwaysdevelopnewproductstokeep pervise the qualityofgoods for e-commerce big market scale and necessity in demand. ing of membercountries on 101st out 193 the ality, true advertisement, on-time advertisement, true ality, delivery on-time annels, including commercial websites, websites, commercial annels, including ckets (45 per cent) and food(26percent) on- ckets (45percent) stomers tochangetheir purchasinghabits. registering with the ministry foronline the ministry registering with sinesses have not given not given sinesses have vantage ofthefourthindustrial revolution 600,000 (US$10-26) shou (US$10-26) 600,000 paying online. Meanwhile, local business- local online. Meanwhile, paying s seen rapid development in Vietnamin people often purchase clothes, shoes,cos- people oftenpurchaseclothes, e customers oftenpaid payments account foronly 3 to4per cent, stampsensuring thequality ofproducts am Group,businesses should pay atten- s has significantly increased from 13,000 increasedfrom13,000 significantly s has ), prices (79 per cent) and sellers'repu- cent) prices (79per ), products (55percent), aswellhome products and sale services quality," he servicesquality," products andsale ontheGlobalNetworkSecurity Index n-shoppers-pay- oduct and forgotten that each and forgotten that oduct internetusers inAsia. the Authority ofInformation tal factorfor onlinetrading lity of products pur- ofproducts lity 6 November2017 6 November 2017 58 / 73 58 / 2017 6 November priority to research mostattention to ld be easy for cus- for easy be ld BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam groves Ben Tre's vast coconut Intellasia Communication Centre and theResearch Cent oration on internet safetyinitiatives be As acontinuation of the symposium, the work need forsafebehaviour when using the internet. and buil to inVietnam safety to internet issu discuss to Hanoi in held was 2017 Day At the beginning of2017, the Symposium mation leak," he noted. "Internet users shouldfollowtheprocess of governmental websites, cooperated to increase people'sawarenesson The InformationSecurityAsso nam, but also worldwide. attending to crowds ofvisito how sticky coconut candies are madeand, of course, tobuysome candy.Evenwhile Every day,Trung's workshop welcomes hundre are donemanually." minutes, thencooled, molded into bite-siz the bitsofbrownskin is the coconutfleshisseparate said, "First She inpaper. candies the stepsused Dat Duaworkshop,described traditional methodsco use tomake family Tam Trung's Dat Dua candyworkshop is lo total output. Ben Tre brand coconut products are diverse andaccount for 85 percent of the region's put. from 70,000 hectares ofland Trom. Annually,th and Giong Lach, MoCay, Most ofBenTre's vastcoconutgrovesarein 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VOV5 http://bizhub.vn/tech/internet-users velopment. the ne especially security, internet said He added. The themselves online," do notprotect latest study of Kaspersky showed thatup to "However, theissueofnetworksecurityVi Asian region. Southeast main nameinthe chair of the Vietnam Internet Association sa Sharing the ideas, Nguyen VietThefrom situation. ulations clearlythe toimprove framework toenhance network security. Theframework shouldspecify andstatereg- tives inVietnam," held inHanoiyesterday, "Researchon Di told the workshop,titled Hai Hai, AIS's director,Thanh said. environment," Nguyen Many Vietnamese usersdo not know how to "However, thepopularityof onto thesite every month. enth among all countriesin number ofusers, lation. Ifone considers justFacebook,the Internet users are mainly the youth, accounti is usedtomake char coal. Coconut juice is Coc fine art pieces. make to used is trunk "Ben Tre is hometo coconut many trees. Al conut products. businesses and users oninternetsecurity. toleadVietnam inbothgrowingareaand production out- removed.The white coconut is dried on ahotpan for 45 rs, Trungstillpay clos hasto the internet in Vietnam comes with several challenges. challenges. comeswith several inVietnam the internet ciation andVietnam Internet -ignore-network-security_289929.html tween VietnetInformationTechnology and d a programme d aprogramme to raiseawarenessabout the onut flesh isfor candies while thehard shell the Ministry ofPublicSecurity-cum-vice largest social network, Vietnam rankssev- on Digital Citizenship and Safer Internet and Safer on DigitalCitizenship ed pieces andwrapped for making coconut jelly. When coconuts When coconut jelly. formaking conut candy. TranThiHuong,aworker at twork war, is a hot is twork war,isahot es, policies and practical activities andpracticalactivities es, related policies that the government shouldhavealegal l partsofthecoconut are useful. The tree- cated in TanThanh hamlet. Trung and his settingavoid infor-passwords to upnew d fromthe hard shell, ground, and allof thewestern Thanh,Cho districtsof Chau id Vietnam takes interms the lead takes of id Vietnam do- three-fourth ofinternet usersinVietnam to make coconut candywhilewrapping to with a total of 64 million users logging logging users of64 million atotal with ng for thanhalfofthe more entire popu- e coconuts provinceharvests600 million protect inthe themselves social network etnamese internetusersisverylow.The theissue as well as providealarms to gital Literacy and Digital Initia- Safety Digital Literacy and gital re forManagement shop was organisedas shop ds offoreign visitors who come to see e attention to making hisco- e attentionto Association sue not only in Viet- 6 November2017 6 November 2017 59 / 73 59 / 2017 6 November and Sustainable De- and Sustainable in paper. All steps in paper.Allsteps partofacollab- have closely BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam thrives business, society When women mean Intellasia development, leadershipapplic and wome memberscalled forstatement tosupport At the Apec Women and the EconomyForum held late September inHue City, ajoint- roots level, assumes greaterimportance. generationfemale en havebecomehottopics, economyis stagna the world At atimewhen employment forlocalwomen, facilita A female entrepreneur's initiative has help women. local pected at triple to almost duced 60,000litres ofdragonf DucCommune, in Ham District. Thuan Ham Bac By end the of theyhadpro- 2016, wa the 2015, Ham Duc Cooperative In November Nguyen said. price,throw orthefruit away,and ofcourse "I todothis sothat wanted product. farmers,reasonableand pricelocal from and up withtheideaShe came ofestablishing ways toredeemsituat theShe thoughtabout 2015. and huge lossesin2014 shocking sightoflargThe sad, ThuVan. writes stewards, sponsible ment generation and sustainable development;the evidence is that theyaremore re- areasemploy- important most in the a no-brainer is entrepreneurs female Empowering 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS http://english.vov.vn/economy/ben-tr ports turnover. comprisi yearand million a $200 of revenues Ben Tre's products are available in68 coun for export. intosomething or made used in cooking including the trunk, the leaves, hard-shells, the fiber even coconut worm larvaecan be Ben for Tre isfamous its coconut industry. of Ben Tre people." Tree',thetr theCoconut of called 'Posture "Generallytreescl areproud, adding: coconut symbolisesNguyet saidthecoconuttree th defense. during timesofnational arms of an enteredand poetry literature Vietnamese some locals,thecoconuttreehasbeenclosFor stems." for example, canutilise the mostof free time "Our livingconditions have muchimproved long beeninvolved Phan ThuNguyet,who has years oldor more." useful. To are cause allpartsofcoconuttrees coconut trees didn'tproduce muchincome. Bu Tu Dang who has created statues fromcoconu hot, tokeepteapots clocks, tainers and to On displayatTrung'sworkshopare numerous Trung. turn browner andlighter, weuse the fleshto Thuan, aprincipal producer ofdragon fruitin Le Nguyenwas alsothe fateof hauntedby roadsidespl on inmany aces smote her heart. 170,000 litres. nowhires22workers, 170,000 cooperative The mostly farmers wouldn't have to sell their crops to traders at any ruit wine, and by the end of e amounts of dragonfruit being e amountsofdragonfruit ation ofinnovation andtechnology. ting genuinely sustainable growth. es-vast-coconut-groves-361735.vov ee representsee friendliness the andhospitality y animals all made by Tan Thanhvillagers. byTan made all y animals a cooperative to buy dragonfruit at a stable at buy dragonfruit to a cooperative ed stabilise farmers' lives and generateded stabilisefarmers'lives Everything thatcomesfromcoconut trees, tries bringing province and territories the farmers inthe southern provinceofBinh e Ben Tre people, who are also sturdy and e BenTrepeople,whoarealsosturdy to make decorative lanternsfrom coconut d helpedthevillagers I wanted tomake a profitable product," ion and ensure it would notberepeated. it and ensure ion ting, and jobs and other formsofincome thanks to fineartsproducts.making We, make fine art pieces,make fine thetreesmustbe40 make coconut oil or food for fish," said food forfish," oil or make coconut ng 40 percent of the province's totalex- percent of 40 ng trepreneurship, particularlyatthe trepreneurship, grass- to make wine with it as an added value Vietnam, as prices fe t it alwaysoffered a ose to the locals. In the lyrics ofasong locals.ose tothethe In ely linked to their lives for years. It has lives foryears.to theirely linked It t tree trunks, said t treetrunks,said "In the growing past n'scapital access andmarkets, to skills fineartpieces,including baskets, con- in coconut-based fine arts, told VOV: arts,told fine in coconut-based s set up with 17 me up with17 set s this year, the output is ex- fed to cattle or left to rot torot orleft fed tocattle 6 November2017 6 November 2017 60 / 73 60 / 2017 6 November stable livelihoodbe- ll and they suffered achieve heroic feat heroicfeat achieve mbers, all farmers mbers, all BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia have opened up forfemaleworkers in ex Vietnam Academy ofSocialSciences, noted andtheWomen (UNWomen) powerment InstituteforGender of Studies, Familyand for Women", prepared by theUnited Nations titled "TowardsGend A report Wide gap when you it's verystressful times, some- and work, my in trouble or difficulties have I when me just much pretty it's "So a businesswoman," saidYen, whosecompany employs 20people. husband a happyfamily,my I have "Although Hai Yen, director ofBenew, a clothing co said. there and haveher own business shouldhave didn't wantit.Idon't"I totally wantan But the choicecame at "When ourconflicts could notbe solv housework," shesaid. "My husband didn't want me todo business, later theydivorced ayear husband, and shewas in struction But not 2010. company Nguyen, who graduated as anengineer in Duc DragonfruitCooperative. Many Vietnamese womenhave experienced this, includingLe Nguyen of the Ham sector andlower paying jobs," he said. horizontal segregationof the "The notion thataparticularskill,job or in are considered unsuitable forthem. provideshome care.Thisfamily arati and the presumpti "The Labourreflects Code the labour forwomen market in Vietnam. etnam, saidtherewere multiplebarriersto der Policy Coordination Group and Resident Kamal Malhotra, Co-ChairoftheInformal business forwomen. opportunities of Competitiven Talent Global year's this In Multiple barriers than men inthe world. business Therefore, it does notmake socio-economic nam, and Korea. in several Apececonomies, including China, toa14per the gendergapcouldlead cent ri A GoldmanSachs reporthassaidthatunlo and importance ofboosting women's access to growth opportunities. tributing more 50per than cent ofglobal thebloc.Plac to billionannually to $89 up bour force,and over 60percent of themar Currently, inthe 21 Apececonomies,appr enterprises." improveaccess to policies that responsive Apec leaders also encouraged thepublicand private sectors to collaborate on gender- ers." su workers, en greaterroles, "whetheras It calledontheprivate sectortochampion bution ofMSMEstothe GDP ofever novative and inclusive growth inthe regi "We recognise women's immense contribution a high price, shefeels. labour market,oftenclusteri erEquality inVietnam: Making InclusiveGrowth Work can't share this with with yourpartner." this can't share y Apec economy," thestatementsaid. ed, Ichosemy career," shesaid. d don'tthinkanywomanwhowantstogoout . Nguyen took care oftheir twokids. Nguyen took . port-oriented manufacturingsectors, women ppliers, distributors, on thatonlywomen have responsibility for ess Index, Vietnam was placed 88thin terms mpany in Hanoi, shared inHanoi,Nguyen'smpany feelings. real GDP growthonlyunderlinesreal GDP the value on and acknowledge theremarkable contri- resources and opportunities for women-ledand opportunitiesfor resources ing thesefiguresinthecontextofApec con- e engagedintheformalsector,contributing cking the potential of women by narrowing by women cking thepotentialof Ambassadors andHeads ofAgencies Gen- oximately 600 million women are oximately 600millionwomen in the la- onale for excluding women from jobs that jobs from onale forexcludingwomen dustry is better suited toone to sex dustry suited leads better is an inclusive business agenda, giving wom- 2004, first managedtoopen her own con- equal access, participation and progress in in progress and access,participation equal sense that women face more challenges se in capitaincomes per theyear2020 by lucky enough to have thesupportofher that while a number of job opportunities that whileanumber ofjob juststay at home and take care ofthe , Indonesia,the Viet-Philippines, Coordinator ofthe Un Entity for Gender Equality andthe Em- does not really support the fact thatI'mnot really support the does to sacrifice theirfamilies for that," she to theachievementofsustainable, in- ng women into the informal informal ng womenintothe customers or consum- 6 November2017 6 November 2017 61 / 73 61 / 2017 6 November ited Nations in Vi- Nations ited BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia the main source of livelihood for a large po for alargemain sourceoflivelihood the also widened.The gender-earning Th gap has are lesslikelythanmen to receive training and be promoted. new connections for new connections findeach another andwith SMEs, where female can shareexperiences entrepreneurs The bankisalsofacilitati years. incoming significantly portfolio The bankexpressestheirambition of incr loan arewomen. for women-ownedbusinesses; andnow,around one ofthefirstbanksinVietnam VPBank was A viable strategy "Even in times of difficulties, women are be are more careful inrunningtheirand businesses. tend to loans, they own businessestake according toth said that Hung ofVPBank and services." products tailored uniquely with customer tegic segment, an opportune time for bankstorecognise women-owned SMEsas a separate and stra- Kyle Kelhofer, IFCCountrymanager for Viet more support, andare therefore costlier "This isbecauseofthemisc etnam Prosperity Ba said profitable," less as segment the view differ no needfora seebanks either "Most estimate is gap financing the stands, it less receive to tend they loan, whenHowever, that even thestudy said for men). $543,000 against revenue showed averageannual of $548 ofmen,withsimilaraverage that annual prises; and42percentareSMEs.Women-owne or about 21 centper of formal enterprises. Some57per centofthese are micro-enter- Enterp GSO tothecountry's 2014 According and tendtoreceive. capital what they fi was alarge theregenerally supportive, the WorldBank Group, found that while Vietnam's investment climate for women is A study released inOctober by the Internat ally to expand my business." tofind trying am them but I don'tblame I un Cooperative can't meet. the HamDuc like "Although there's no gender bias, banks woul smallfor businesses like mine,"shesaid. factory, costalottoset up such "It would does nothave the financ factory a is toopen Nguyen saidherdream market informationandashortageof skilled employees. owners. business bymale shared also and der-specific barriers,challenges manyfa In Mekongby the Business A recentreport Credit discrimination the report. to according work, inpaid engage to capacity and portunities parison withmen. Theburden ofunpaidwo Women alsospenddisproportionately more with limited opportunities toearn more se age of women work withoutpay on theirfami Hi and Central central-north women inthe nk's SMEs Division. nk's SMEs their businesses. ial capacity todoso. ial capacity ng free-access tonon-financia onceptions thatwomenareless thanwhattheyask for, and thanmen.As lower amounts d at $1.19billionfor women-owned SMEs. be more serious about repayment thanmen ,000 for small forsmall ,000 women-owned enterprises cing women-owned businesses aregeneric customers toacquire and serve," he said. mywayround andsavingupmoney gradu- revenues, (the 2015Enterprise Census nancing gap between women's demand for women entrepreneurs do qualifyfor a bank Dao QuangHung, deputydirector ofthe Vi- easing the women ownedbusinesseasing thewomen in their eir data, thefact is that when women who and bank loans are very difficult toaccess areverydifficult and loans bank cure incomes and become moreproductive. cure incomes and ent approachtowomen entrepreneurs, or These include limited capital, inadequate include limitedcapital, These that can produce dragon fruit juice, but she produce dragonfruitjuice,but can that itiative (MBI) showed that apart fromgen- ghlands regions. Besides, alarge percent- rtion of the populati rtion ofthe rise Census, Vietnam's women own95,906 rise Census, ional Finance Corporati tter at managing situ atmanaging tter time onunpaid time domestic workincom- rk limitswomen's accesstoeconomicop- nam, Cambodiaand Lao PDR, said: "Itis d require conditions that newcompanies to adopt a strategy specificallydesigned strategy adopta to e report found that agriculture was still agriculturewas e reportfoundthat ly farms.This leaves them vulnerable, derstand that banks have their risksderstand thatbankshavetheir so d businessesd arealso similarin size to 25 per centofitsSMEclients having l services forwomen-owned business savvyandrequire on, particularly for on, particularly ations," Hungsaid. 6 November2017 6 November 2017 62 / 73 62 / 2017 6 November on, an affiliate of on, anaffiliate BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam lowers autoprices Vietnam Toyota approved plans restructuring MobiFone, VNPost Intellasia parts from the AssociationofSoutheast As from parts to be slashed by5percent next year. Vietna engi consumption taxforautos with The special millionto dipped byVND42-50 proved.html http://english.thesaigonti unions, and VND5.06 sold to billion VND212 investors, strategic trillion, VND25.93 with VND12. trillion of it being State capital. Regarding Total valueofthese38enterprises is esti plan. restructuring SOE in the2011-2016 co 27 and year this ing 11settogo public Thirty-eightenterprises approval havegot forequitisation intheyear todate,includ- October 13, 2017. Trading Corporation (DATC) in 2016-20 Ministry ofFinancehasallo Theing plans. ty Corporation havealsosecu Southern Vietnam Maritime Safety Corporat news report quoted the Mini and Gas Group whichwillhave to be restru etnam ElectricityGroup(EVN)and a list of In thethe primemini January-October period, issuedon Decision 1586/QD-BTTTT Octobe in two sepa weregranted The approvals a report on VietnamFinance newswebsite. and Vietnam of MobiFoneCorporation plans The MinistryofInformation andCommuni 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGONTIMES http://bizhub.vn/news/when-women-mea Nguyen and Yen todobusiness will yi motiva including banks,shouldbe holders, urgent needforsustainabledeve the Given well as other Apec members, havemuchtodo. inorder women'spartic 2020. But to foster the targetof has set Vietnam necessary documentation. dress specificconstraints onaccesstofinance World Bank Country director forVietnam, Ousmane Dione, spoke of the need toad- of theBenew clothingcompany. customer care services, networking, and soon think non-financialsupport es. I I "I foundtheseactivitiesveryhelpfulas 31 million to VND678-936 mill 31 milliontoVND678-936 Toyota Corollasubcompact andcompactcars perunit. million ota Vios marked have G, ECVTandMT Othermodels saidVietnamnet. (US$25,820), Toyota ViosTRDhas declined by VND5 report.the Camry,said for cles, except The Japanese automaker has adjusted down cent since Wednesday thisweek, according Toyota Vietnam has cut pricesofdomestical 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | THE SAIGONTIMES trillion auctioned. mes.vn/56900/MobiFone-VNPos having 35 per centof bu stry ofFinanceassaying. red MinistryofTransporta ion per unit. Notably, ToyotaInnova retailpricesunit.perion have VND817-995 million perunit. VND817-995 67 trillion owned by the Stat trillion ownedby 67 likehelpingSMEswithfi eld disproportionatelyhigher returns. get to network and learn from othernetworkgetenterpris- andlearnfrom to 20 through its Decision 2068/QD-BTC dated 20 throughitsDecision 2068/QD-BTC ntinuing their equitisa ntinuing their mated at VND81.05 trillion, with VND20.92 trillion,with VND20.92 mated atVND81.05 rate decisions Decision 1799/QD-BTTTT and rate decisionsDecision1799/QD-BTTTT 8 million (US$2,553) to VND586 million to VND586 8 million (US$2,553) down by VND48-53 million to VND484-586 milliontoVND484-586 down by VND48-53 chartered capital, their combined amount is theircombinedamount chartered capital, wed for the restructuringwed fortheAsset ofDebtand n-business-society-thrives_289907.html ipation ineconomic sectors, Vietnam, as ian Nations (Asean)to ian employees, VND20billi ctured, equitised anddivested by 2020, the lopment, policymakersand other stake- m will also reduce import tariffs on auto tariffs import reduce also m will enterprises under Vietnam National Oil cations hasapproved the restructuring ted bythefact that enabling women like r 20 and 25respectively. September to areport onVietnamnet news website. ion and Northern Vietnam MaritimeSafe- ion and ly assembled autos by ly assembledto9per- autos 3 percent of the four-door subcompact likeToy- car of the four-doorsubcompact prices ofVios, Innova and Corollavehi- for women, such as lack ofcollateraland suchaslack for women, ster approved a restructuring planofVi- ster approvedarestructuring have seen their prices falling byVND24- theirprices falling seen have Post Office Corporation (VNPost), said Corporation (VNPost),Post Office are very useful," said Hai Yen, directorHai are veryuseful,"said ne capacityof two litres or below is set sinesses owned by women in sinesses ownedby pproval for their restructur- pproval t-restructuring-plans-ap- nancial management skills, nancial management e, VND7.97 trillion sold to sold trillion e, VND7.97 tion plansasapproved 6 November2017 6 November 2017 63 / 73 63 / 2017 6 November 0%, saidthe Viet- on soldon tolabour BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam the road running New car maker tohit Intellasia suppliers, aiming at gradually achievinga loca partnersand domestic with close relationships tobuild endeavor always will VinFast produce for VinFast? anAmerican and designers. Whatparts and components willVietnamese companies It is also said thatdesigns of key compone of Vietnamese people canown a car. atreasonab ternational quality the mostadvanced technologies,applying By segment tomeet demand? broader consumption There isspeculationthatVinF the twosedans first launching preparation, I andsystematic careful With fers frompartners. operation ofmodernproductionlinesaswell to preparehigh-qualified so as followingthe Southeast the Asia, Du German centre fo set upaleadingtraining to nam VinFast is also cooperating the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Viet- operations. based plant in theproject planning process, foreq with world leading corporations such as Bo professionals inautomobile manufacturing. b we have accomplish theseobjectives, To maximise the use of green energy in green energy of maximise theuse compliance witheuro5and 6.0emissi euro will apply the mostmoderntechnologiesin the guidelinesofadapting to new and en year first vehicles inthe 100,000 sales of first its launch will VinFast planned, As Fast's production plans. http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/56887/ their autos imported issued bycompet Specifically, they arerequired toprovide th onOctober into force 17. that came services of and import manufacturing, assembly to meetthe new requirements provided ingovernment Decree 116/2017/ND-CP on There are high hopesforthefirst evermade are There mestic automobile willex market 2025. vehiclesby 900,000 to 800,000 reach to 45 sales ofabout total reaching 2020, now to The domestic automobile market is growing strongly with a double-digit rate from doesyour company'sadventportend What for Vietnam's industry? auto market vision. reporter MaiHuong spoke with VinFast CE hopes of a bigboostfor the domesticauto The launch of production plansforthe firs 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS their importorders for completely-built-up In arelated development, some foreign-invested companies havedecided tocancel ed many customerstobuyit the firm'sselling prices are nowequivalent dealers Some of Toyota VietnaminHanoiwe current 15%,whichmight resultinthethe will parts auto on tax average the Therefore, namnet report. s vehicles since since Wednesday. s vehicles ast is targeting high-end ca high-end targeting is ast le prices for domestic market, ensuring that the majority themajority that ensuring market, domestic le prices for and SUV models ofVinFast. SUV and engineers to work in the factory, ensure proficiency in proficiency ensure factory, to in engineers the work perience even stronger growth. our production process at the factory. process at our production uipment and component supply, anddigital- supply, and uipment component ent authorities in exporting countries. inexporting ent authorities Toyota-Vietnam-lower Sedan and SUV in September 2019, targeting targeting 2019, inSeptember and SUV Sedan of operation and 500,000 units by 2025. With units With by 2025. and500,000 of operation autos, and autos, warrantyand auto maintenance vironmental friendly technologies, VinFast r mechatronics and industrial mechanicsin r mechatronicsandindustrial and autopartsindustries. VietnamNews nts willbepurchased fromleadingEurope- een building a team of highly experiencedeen buildingateam ofhighly t-ever made-in-Vietnamcars has ignited ston ConsultingGroup, Bosch and Siemens automaker revising down itsretailprices. am very enthusiastic and look forward to look forward and veryenthusiastic am 0,000 to 500,000 vehicl 0,000 to 500,000 to thoseofotherdealers. Thishasprompt- on standards; at the sametime, we will (CBU) autos next autos Januar (CBU) e scanned copies of quality certificates for for certificates quality of copies e scanned be around 5 percent next be 5percentnext year, downfrom around O James B. DeLuca aboutthe company's -in-Vietnam car. Please the world to production, ensuring strictworld toproduction,ensuring the With VinFast's With entry, we believethat do- In addition, VinFast as the ability toreceive technologytrans-as VinFastwill re quoted by Vietnamn al Systemal (Learn & lisation rate of 60 per cent.of 60 perlisation rateis plan Our rs. Why notthers.lower market manufacture vehicles ofin- manufacture s-auto-prices.html es, with expectations expectations es, with 6 November2017 has also cooperated has alsocooperated 6 November 2017 64 / 73 64 / 2017 6 November Practice) standards Practice) standards tellusabout Vin- y as they have yet have they as y et assaying that BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam targets exceed 2017 profit to expects Faros FLC Intellasia Even before theFTSE Vietnam UCITS ETF,iShares MSCIFrontier 100fundthat ETFa each.Theshar ($5.8) of VND131,000 In total, the fund is holding the holdingthe twoconsequent duringlifted With suchalarge volume of year. this within over it finish itwill confident is Faros FLC pacity, a frontoffice areas, gate. parkinglots,and theater with3,400 seats, roads and infrastr whichal Impressionthemepark, boastsmajor FLC Faros is currently carrying out work at and the FLC HaLongcomplex. period,su range ofprojectsinthe2017-2018 from 12 major projectsonwhichitisfocuse a revenue of company expectstorecord The million). Vinh FLC the secondphaseof lion), and Binh golf,villaandhigh-end trillion reached VND20.11 ($88 the projectsvalue ofcontracts and The bi planofVND580 annual ($9.15 million) inthefi billion just VND208 ofschedule, ahead 2017 for targets profit its process.Th the implementation and dependson The accounting ofrevenueandprofit hasirregular the report, characters, accordingto and will pay a dividend of 10-12 per cent, according to its latest report. FarosThe FLC Construction(ROS) expects JSC despit says, company insight, Target 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES http://bizhub.vn/wheels/new-car-make compete well with other products leading manufacturing experts and technologies. meet consumers'tastes. Allproduccars that have acleardirectiontocreate a series car bodytomotors,mechanicalsystems, manufactured incomp products willbe Our Asia. What willmakeyour productsstand out fromothers? the le become it aimsto VinFast hassaid meetings and discussions on thistopic recently. Complex in Dinh Vu-Cat HaiEconomic Zone serve 30per cent oftheareafor suppliers most modernte the using automotive parts VinFast, andassistotherdome "made-in-Vietnam purchaseof the to prioritise at an averageprice ofVND156 at an has purchasedover 3 million shares of ROS Besides theMarket Vectors Vietnam ETF,th ber 24, the investmenthad returned priceofVND8 atanadjusted 10and17 June The MarketVectorsVietnam ETFboughtarou portfolio. the fund's stituents of Vietna bytheMarket was Vectors acquired After MVIndex Solutions announced its revi funds foreign for return cent per 100 orders for the nextfive yearsandcan ma llion ($25.7 million). nearly 4 million ROS shares, shares, ROS million 4 nearly entertainment project wort entertainment contracts, FLC Faros says that contracts, FLCFarossays ,000 ,000 ($6.9) each.Thefund 5.3 million). Among its its larg Among 5.3 million). stic suppliers in further acce stic suppliersinfurther of similar type in the world.the in ofsimilartype 124 per centafter four months. es 45.8 percent. have returned e lowprofits infirst nine months. of safe, high-quality, r-to-hit-the-road-running_289912.html company has signed and carried out has ading automobile manufacturer in Southeast Southeast in manufacturer automobile ading ke full use of its existing resources. existing ofits use ke full technologies, and interior decoration. We at the VinFast Automobile Manufacturing Manufacturing attheVinFastAutomobile With provenexperienceandoutstandingca- rst nine monthsoftheyear compared tothe construction injustninemonths andhand ucture surroundingthe island, service and the GAMI Group-invested Hoi theGAMIGroup-invested An Cultur- since its first-quarter review in March 2017 since 2017 reviewinMarch its first-quarter Phuc project worth VND1.41 trillion ($62.6 trillion ($62.6 VND1.41 worth project Phuc ch asFLCGardenCity,TwinTowers, m ETF and becameone ofthe biggest con- chnology. In particular, VinFastwillre- chnology. In d. It is speeding uphandover at a wide combined VND3.5 trillion ($155.5 million) trillion ($155.5 VND3.5 combined even thoughitrecorded after-tax profitof e db x-trackers FTSE Vietnam UCITS ETFVietname dbx-trackers UCITS FTSE 5,000 ($3.7) apiece on average. As atOcto- 5,000 apieceonaverage. As ($3.7) quarterlySeptember.in Juneand reviews tion stages willbe directly operated by liance with international standards, from ew forthesecond quarter of 2017, ROS in HaiPhongCity.Wehave held many " partsthatmeettec nd 4.1million shares inROS between facilities such as a three-story open-aira three-story facilities suchas to exceed its 2017 profittargetshortly to exceed its iswhy isupbeat ROSis about meeting So, we believe that our products will So,webelievethatour continued tobuyingROS and h VND5.58 trillion mil- h VND5.58 ($248 acquired at an average price an at acquired e-scale deals are the Quang Quang deals arethe e-scale ithasalready guaranteed lerating the production of theproduction lerating luxurious and premium 6 November2017 6 November 2017 65 / 73 65 / 2017 6 November hnical criteriasetby BUSINESS coffee seasoning, cheese and steep discounts on offer supermarkets Co.opmart finance& business Vietnam for growth focused on technology Be giantNha Garment Intellasia Our traditional customers have Long (Mekong)Delta. kept investing in technology inourmodern plants from the centralregion to the Cuu human resources includingapr produceits products,wea diverse of range we haveas giantgarm theadvantages With a toour due strengths. was success Our From thesecondquarter, however, everything got better. tial election. political caused culties thetrickyglobal by Be yearNha this of quarter the first In How wasthe company's performance this ye withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). ness and challengesthat the Nguyen NgocLan,general directorofNha an countries to many products. Itexports ster a established has yearsthecompany 40 ga leading Nha BeCorporationisoneofthe 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS seasoning-cheese-and-coffee_289936.html http://bizhub.vn/corporate-news/coopmart during thisperiod (November 4-26). promotions,running presenting surpriseb John Henry, GaviyaKorea fashion, Bach Khoa Game, GalaxyCinema, Diamond an Company, Toco milktea,ThePizza Wrap well as retail chainssuch as Fahasab Co.op, such as Co.opFood, supe Co.opXtra addition toCo.opmartand In consecutivedays. everyday for23 gifts 200,000 and and Co.opXtrawillgive Notably, Co.opmart each. VND20,000 and VND10,000 ing oil, detergents and dishwashing liqu gramme,many pr offering steepdiscounts on In addition, everyFriday to Sunday inth customers who havebeen with them formany years. tions, which is being heldfrom November 4 This ispartofCo.opmartand programme others. riCo.opmart chickysticks,beef Gild waffles, KinhDo Cosy milk, fermented su fish sauce, Minh Tam jasmine rice, Vinh isapplicableThe programme ber 10. In Get Great More, under theBuy product the second, buy by halfwhencustomers ucts supermarketsnati and Co.opXtra Co.opmart 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNS targets http://vneconomictimes.com/article/business value of$589millionhad combined a with theglobe across markets infrontier stocks 100 around in investing is board (FOB) to original design manufacturer (ODM). traditional customers withwhomwedo bu added ROS toitsbasket Co.op Smile, SenseCity,Sens the Vietnamese garment sector faces following the US's garmentVietnamese sectorfacesfollowingthe the to Aji-ngon seasoning, Safoco helped ustideover difficul ofessional sales team and skilful designers. We have World, The Blues fashion, Belluni men's fashion,World, The Bluesfashion,Bellunimen's ookshop, KFC, Singapore Chewy Junior, Toco and other garmentcompanies had faceddiffi- id, with prices reduced to VND5,000, VND5,000, to reduced prices with id, e period, there willbeaSuper Incentive pro- d territories. VietnamNews speaks with centive programme fromnow untilNovem- Hao mineral water, Teamacheese, Betagen situation caused byBrexit and USpresiden- Co.opXtra supermarkets'seriesofpromo- ce noodle, Co.opmartseasoningandmany onus pointsand offering sharp discounts ling reputation forpr -supermarkets-offer-steep-discounts-on- Be Corporation, about the company's busi- company's the Be Corporation,about rment producersinVietnam. Over thelast siness inmany waysrangingfromfree on of products. Furthermore, wehavestrong Vina instant coffee, Co.opmart lemon tea, lemon coffee,Co.opmart instant Vina ent producer that exportsover90percent away between one to fouriPhone8plus one awaybetween to 26, toexpress their gratitude toloyal onwide willslash prices on several prod- d Roll restaurant, TiNi World, Kim Phat Kim TiNiWorld, d restaurant, Roll /flc-faros-expects-to- ar and what do you attribute ar andwhat do it to? you attribute fourth, sixthor eighth item of the same rmarkets, other retail chainsofSaigon oducts, such as pasteurised milk,cook- Computer, Bach Khoa IT Mart are also , since February 10. e Market, and HTVCo.op, e Market, as and HTVCo.op, ties. NhaBe hasabunchof large-sizednoodles,Chin- oducing high-quality high-quality oducing 6 November2017 6 November 2017 66 / 73 66 / 2017 6 November exceed-2017-profit- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Intellasia The Vietnamese garmentsector willface many future thecompany's Can youtell about us sector. nies anditsgarment create advant That will between economies. boost cooperation with Vietnam.Wealsohop We hope that big import markets like theUS tracking? you those discussionsare The Apecsummit has been disc capacity. working the improving and rials like theItelloCutprogramme. Thesetechnolog technoloNha Beisworkingwith Currently importers inthe EU, theUS and Japan. warehouses havebeen developed based on thestandards andrequirements of major Kontum, BinhThuan and other provinces in inou we havekeptinvesting In addition, system. expertLanka. TheyworkwithVietnamese countr hired expertsfromforeign also have technolog has acquired advanced The company terised. Allthe problems are reported in a toallstagesof all informationpertaining The programmehas since been developed 2014 theenterprise by applying ment Nha BeCorporationhassuccessfullydevelo orate, we invest in design, sales and automation. For manyyears now developing advancedte achieve consistentquality. to modernisation andautomation. Thiswi Investing intechnologywill contribute much world is going through industry 4.0?What in see the ofinvesting do you importance How ne with and Novelty, Mattana have keptexpa we the domesticmarket, In ing Itochutoexpandthe market. alsoThe company signed manylong-termc market. in that (ODM) We haveopened anofficeinthe UK to and by to theEU Japan cent. per 5-10 withdrawal ofthe US. Wehave restructured Nha BeCorporationchanged itsstrategyi positions from work Training human resources is alsoaneed. The need toinvestmore in technology to op terials needed by the garmentsectorare imported from China. Besides, companies chain so thatthey can cut costs. This isne To overcomethechallenge, Vietnamese co costs. competitive are stronger thanVietnam sincetheyhave a from rivalsli tor facesstrong competitions brought byit to Vietnam willnolonger exis TPP, pulled market inthe After theUS,akey fusal tosign the TPP andhow canit overcome them? difficulties are the the What greatly improveourcompetitiveness. to costs are abletocut that, we Thanks to ce middlemen. Some80per using without signs c Furthermore, ourcompanydirectly ers toexecutives. Vietnamese garment sectorfa arly 150 stores nation-wide. stores 150 arly ussing many aspects ofth ussing many resource planning(ERP)programme. become anoriginal design manufacturer timise theirproducti r warehousing network inBinh Dinh, Gia Lai, planning, production, logistics being compu- production,logisticsbeing planning, timely manner for finding suitable solutions. suitable for finding manner timely cessary becauseover 70 mpanies need to develop acompletesupply need to mpanies ke China, India and Pakistan.Thesenations ke China,India mmediately after being informedaboutthe ndingdevelopingby three brands, Decelso, s for setting up a professional management s forsettingupaprofessionalmanagement ll greatly help companies cut costs and costs cut greatly helpcompanies ll nt of our contracts now are direct. our contracts now nt of ontracts withcustomersall over the world gy supplierstostudy modern technologies is your company doing in this area? inthis company is doing your t. Dueto that,theVietnamese garmentsec- plans howyou plan toachievethem? and ped a programme to computerise manage- to computerise ped aprogramme ies such as the US, UK, Hungary, and Hungary, Sri ies suchastheUS, UK, ageous conditions for Vietnameseageous conditionsforcompa- , Australia, Canada and Japanwillfurther Canada , Australia, ourexportmarketsby ontracts withbiggroupsinJapaninclud- better supply chain that offersthemmore chainthat supply better chnologies hasbeen our strategy. Toelab- theCuu Long (Mekong) Delta. These outofthe agreement, many taxbenefits tothe development ofthe sector thanks e there will be closer bilateral relationscloser bilateral there willbe e training is required for peopleinmany technology in Vietnam especially as as the especially inVietnam technology challenges in future. Besides the chal- ies from Germany, Italy and Japan. We Japan. Italy and Germany,ies from ies willhelp us greatly insaving mate- and has yielded fruitful results, with and has yielded fruitfulresults, e garment sector. Which of ces because of the US'sre- on systemandcosts. 6 November2017 6 November 2017 67 / 73 67 / 2017 6 November per cent of raw ma- cent ofraw per increasingexports BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Past &present Hanoi restaurant in first open McDonald's to Intellasia "We have adjusted our fashion "We haveadjusted our smart casualline with a youthful, dynamic st remainskey product officefashi line Its country, but has refreshed itsbrands however, fromincreasing numbers offoreig duction and distributionboth 40 years inVietnam'sgarmentindust With of alwaysunderstanding de fore," said Phan Van Kiet, deputyCEO of Vi of Viettien being dynamic, young, luxurious, andmodern is gradually coming to the 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES https://en.vietnamplus.vn/mcdonalds-to-o the restaurant. profparking, 24-houroperationandaMcCafe McDonald's offers uniqueexperiences for Vi ofthecity, Sword the centre near Returned Lake. of thefirstMcDonald's restaurant in Hanoi, No 2HangBaiStreet, Hoan The buildingon cityand northern the markets in expandtothe capital future. will the people torealise the expansionplan. Hoan young many talented recruiting is company his that reiterated Bao Hoang Nguyen At a recent human resourcesconference, there are no McDonald's restaurants in Hanoi ornorthern provinces. after early 2016, its annual growth ratewa The plantoexpand its toHanoioperation rants, all inHCMCity. Launched inVietnam in Mc February 2014, dateforthe ofthis However, the opening pany, McDonald's developmentallicensee for Vietnam. The informationwasrevealed byan office in Hanoi. leading foodservice retailer,The world's McD 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA Realising the trend, our company has since trend. be an unavoidable will face a labourshortage. in companies garment years five next In the ed tolabour. lenges posedbystrong foreig of long-standingfashionbr elimin has Thecompany years. few the last ment Corporation(Viettien) hasreimagined it brand associatedwithgent a Once knownas nam withoutneglectingits becoming a dy hasturned towards Viettien growth_289911.html http://bizhub.vn/business-insight/garmen In the domestic market, we hope todouble City market willalsobe expanded. afive havesigned We Supply. Suit mani, City, wewill focusonproducing suits forbig companies like HugoBoss, Versace, Ar- In the next fiveyears we willcontinue to and MekongDelta. gion laboursworkinHCM 36,000 our of only 4,000 ands ofbeingtootraditi original customersegment. Because ofthat, movingmanu mand formodernfashion." n competitors, companies will will companies n competitors, domesticallychallengeshas seenand overseas. It come, lines to keep up with thec up lines tokeep and triedto abreastoftrends. stay on for but men it has recently developed a boostourproduction inprovinces. InHCM -year contract with Suit Supply. The HCM HCM contract with SuitSupply. The -year Good Day Hospitality's general director general Day Hospitality's Good t-giant-nha-be-focuse first restaurant inHa r of Good Day Hospitality Joint StockCom- s doubled from 2014. tilldate, s doubledfrom2014. However, g also confirmed g also thatMcDonald's Vietnam pen-first-restaurant was prepared by GoodDayHospitality in ated the claims sometimesthrownthe way ry, Viettien possesses advantages in pro- in advantages possesses Viettien ry, our revenuesin thenext five years. Donald's Vietnam currently 16restau- currently has Vietnam Donald's namic andmodernfashionbrandinViet- namic 2002 builtplants 2002 in big cities like HCM, Hanoi and Da Nang Nang Da and Hanoi HCM, like cities big n fashion brands openingoutlets in the has an area of 697sq.m and is located in Kiem district,to bethelocation expected etnamese consumers, such as drive-thru such as etnamese consumers, leman'soffice fashion,theViettien Gar- ettien. "Thisis in line withourthinking, yle inorder to offer more choicetomen. self in adynamic and modern style over essional coffee shop lo essional coffeeshop onald's, is set to open its first restaurantfirst onald's,is settoopenits City. The others workinthecentralre- onal andmonotonous."Animage onstantly changing tastes of facturing to provinces will will toprovinces facturing also facechallengesrelat- -in-hanoi/120595.vnp noi wasnotdisclosed. d-on-technology-for- provinces. Currentlyprovinces. 6 November2017 6 November 2017 68 / 73 68 / 2017 6 November cated right inside BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam resort Hoiana Ancasino Suncity to buy into Intellasia With the 34 percent holding in the project, Su project, the in holding percent the 34 With millioninto vested $89 and the first phase The project'sfirst,$650million phaseisin gain fromthe cooperation," Manh said. "The fo "But thesecondgoal, which is evenmore important, is the experience the companycan business. traditional its ing pose is toexpand its customer segments an branding.Thefranchise about co Vietnam, saidthat in Brand Finance Assessing Viettien'smovespositively,Lai strategy. about itsdesign andmanufacturingcapabili distribution system will be willbe said itsoutletnumbers expanded in popular locationsinfloor spaceslocated success forafashionbrand is outlets. Ther The company also focuses on investing in it and productdiversification to reach a and,this represen importantly,ien's clothing shoes via its distributi In August,Viettiens ers, wehaveadded products for men aged consumers," Kietsaid. "In addition to our op the $4 billion Hoiana project in billion Hoiana project the $4 op Suncity entered intoacooperation withGY tablished to develop theHoianaproject. (GYE), Enterprise Yield Golden subsidiary Accordingly, Suncitywill takeover 34 Dealstreetasia. simultaneously$26.2 confirmingtopour mill cent stakeinSouthHoi An integrated casi Macau's biggestjunket operator SuncityGr 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VIR http://vneconomictimes.com/ar ofresults measure accurate for activitiestobe proveneffective or othe Experts saythat investment in brands inth other international ion brands. The partnership with Skechers partnerships, andbecomingadistributionpa ducing yourown brandedproducts. Italso the in Expanding brands and diversifying product succeed can that investment sound by fiercely competitive market backed brands new develop to is Viettien as animagehasformed in theirmindsover difficult tochange very tage. Itcanbe Other localinsidersthat, havesaid inthe tomers, rather than creating overlapping markets." added. "Brandextensionsmu Manh pocket," existing segment, to avoid takingmoney from will help Viettien increase sales. "It is impo Fashion isastronggrowthmarket inViet instability." has much still which Through these,Viettienwillgainexperi ness standards toViettien, from design and display toservices and customer care. hook handswithaUSpartnerin a on network. According Kiet, the shoes are suitable with Viett- planned inacoordinated manner. Heremains confident and create opportunities. from branding activities. brandingisanever-endingprocess and timeisneeded deal has twin purposes for Viettien. The primarytwin purposesforViettien.hasdeal pur- ticle/business/past-present e future, accordingtoKiet. thecentral provinceofQuang Nam. nnual growthofover 20 per cent. customer mindsets about agarmentcompany, mpany leaders have adopted anew mpany mindset leaders have adopted percent stake from Chow-Tai-Fook Group's Chow-Tai-Fookstake from percent ence for its mainstream fashionence foritsmainstream business, throughout the country by 2018 and its entire andits throughout thecountryby2018 no resort complex, now called Hoiana, while nam andekingoutany sizablemarket share implementation.Asof rwise. Thereaction ofthemarket is the most fashion industry, inflexibility is adisadvan- traditional segment ofmiddle-aged custom- e are 30 Viettien House outlets with large 30 ViettienHouseoutletsare e Tien Manh, Managing will mobilise an $484 additional million. involves expanding relationships, strategic d products toincrease sales withoutaffect- rtant thatthisexpansion does notaffectis E and Vietnam-based Vinacapital todevel-and Vietnam-based E is apioneering step incooperation with a longperiod.To succeed, the bestwayfor which is apartner in the joint venture es- 24 to 35, whichisa segment." 24 to35, fashionable oup isnegotiating the purchaseof 34per- major cities and certain provinces. Kiet certain provinces. cities and major ties meetingtheneedsofnewbusiness s distribution network, as thekey behind ncityto contribute willhave $26.2million ts a step in its strate its in astep ts ranges doesn't stopatdesigning andpro- ion in the project, according to newswireaccording toproject,ion inthe st targeteither newproductsorcus- rtner ofotherfamousinternationalfash- the left pocket and putting in in in the right putting pocket the and left reign partner willtran franchise deal to sell Skechers gy of brand extensiongy of now, VinaCapital in- now, 6 November2017 director ofMibrand- 6 November 2017 69 / 73 69 / 2017 6 November sfer all of its busi- BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Villas HoTramopen Sales atSanctuary Intellasia 361776.vov http://english.vov.vn/investment/suncity ga ingross billion muchas $1.2 as Union an analystatMacau-based Gaming Secu the gaming sector. According Manning, CEOofSanctuary Vill looking fora areand shoppingmalls,people Suncity selected Vietnamasanoverseas inve the group'slisted vehi of tor and restaurants, ourclients willus,"withmore stickexecutiveAndrew Lo, said direc- "In thefuture, ifweown integratedcasinore year. last began rebound that tinues the Starting from around $395,000 around$395,000 from Starting an overall oflife better quality community forweek second homeresort fers a getmore andthe continue to widen cities "Like other majorcitiesaround Villas tuary is atwo-hour beach betw a gleamingstretch of Located on an inFebruary begin will front villas have recently been completed and the majori 28of which villas, luxury 44 including compound a private features Villas Sanctuary Tram. Ho Villas Sanctuary Community, Residential recently kickedoff Sanctuary HoTramhas forsecond sales Developer opens 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VN ECONOMIC TIMES aboard. Theambitiousexpansion isplanned toseize casi in ownership plans still Suncity In spiteofoperating VIP rooms where mont sorts Ltd coming anoverseasonpa casinooperator integrated casino resorts in Vietnam andJapa Investing intheHoianaprojectispartof Sunc teccons. was im The construction breaking ceremony. Afterfinding suitable partners, Ap inlate project. midst of site clearance, forcing to VinaCapital sudd Genting However, inSeptember2012, tourists. hot five-star of comprised and Berhad laysia initially was project the Licensed in2010, the to develop first phase,whichis ex home properties as the trend ofsecond hom as thehome properties There havebeen awide range ofbothlocal andforeigndevelopers investing insecond country.property inthe front theiraccl maintain construction, after years oneered tourismdevelopment inHoTramwith 28 luxury residences which,eight The firststage of Sanctuary people for business style investment "Sanare notinresidence. they revenue when successful very a operates Villas Sanctuary benefit fromspaciousground pool. Withanaveragelot size kitchen and dining space that open outont drive east of HCM City. drive eastofHCM Residential Resort Community, Sanctuary Residences pi- Residences Sanctuary Community, Resort Residential cle, Suncity Group Holding Ltd Holdingcle, SuncityGroup s and beautiful views of either theriver or the beach. of 500 sq m, villas are an expansive 350 sq m and further sqmandfurther 350 are of sq m, villas expansive an 500 to areport publishedon Au (VND8.9 billion),eachprivat (VND8.9 the world, as the middle and upper classes of Vietnam Vietnam of classes upper and middle asthe world, the at averyaffordablepricepoint." as. "Within two hours ofthe phase of Ho Tram villa project. Tram phase ofHo ming revenueupcoming years. intheming d completion is expected in October 2018. completion isexpectedinOctober d and growing families," Manning added. and growingfamilies," pected to come into operation in 2019. operationin into come pected to -to-buy-into-hoiana-an-casino-resort- r with Las Vegas Sands Corp. and WynnRe- Sands Corp. r withLasVegas ril 2016, the joint venture theground- joint held venture 2016, the ril developed by VinaCapital andGentingMa- developed byVinaCapital congested withhigh-r aim as being the highest standard of beach- highest standard aim asbeingthe sales fortheof the secondphase Sanctuary nos andbidon contractstomanage casinos o asun-drenched terrace with a private rental scheme, allowing owners toearn enly announced itswithdrawalinthe enly een Vung Tau and Phan Thiet cities, Sanc- Phan Thietcities,een VungTauand e ownership is growing rapidly inViet- rapidly growing is e ownership hlyrecently bets $17 billion, surpassed sorts with golf courses, swimming pools, even asMacau's high els, villas, and a casino targeting foreign ty sold. Construction ofthefinal16 river- stment destination due find other partners to jointly developthe plemented byVietnamese contractor Co- ctuary Villas isagreatfinancialand life- drivable yetrelaxingsaid John escape," n, aiming torealise itsambitionofbe- ity's plan to pour billions ofdollarsinto ends with familyand friends well as as rities Asia Ltd, Vietnam could generate gust 9 by Grant gust 9byGrant Govertsen, e villaenjoysampleliving, city, Sanctuary Villas of- city, Sanctuary ise towers,vehicles, 6 November2017 6 November 2017 70 / 73 70 / 2017 6 November -roller businesscon- to its potential in potential to its BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam in Vietnam, Australia aquaponics industry Seminar talks Group violations byKhaisilk to makeclear Government requires in Da Nang Residences kicked off Movenpick Hotel & Construction of Intellasia khaisilk-group-70898.html http://sggpnews.org.vn/business/governme consumers' right. prestige and condemnIn addition,theyshould and denou nesses whoproduce or trade productsof fraudulence, counterfeit trading, intellectual He promptednewsagencies Results should bereported tothe prime minister before December 15. ment. lic Security,Science and Technology and rele Binhassignedthe Mini etnam' and 'made inChina'. The requirementKhaisilk scar after wasmade Group. by Khaisilk trade in silk violations clearlegal to cies make trade mittee andco smuggling, against fraud Ho TruongStanding deputyprimeminister 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | SGGPNEWS kicked-off-in-da-nang-70919.html http://sggpnews.org.vn/business/constr restaurant. rooftop bar andrestaurant, lobbylounge, Cafe porary amenities to support its well-appointed riverside rooms, including asignature kilometres fromDanang International Airpor Located inon thebanksof the Han River wi rooms. as well as club, kids' and centre,spa fitness Le apartments. 300 and suites, 259 room and 31-stor District includestwo an coveringon property billion 1,800 The VND mit. has beenkickedoff on Novemb The construction ofMovenpick Hotels&ResidencesRisemount Apartment Da Nang 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | SGGPNEWS http://vneconomictimes.com/article/property villa. fora $900,000 a one-bedroom standard unitto $400,0 le allforlong-term frontvillas, eight beach 164upofmade condotel unitssituated ina12-story tower,double 36 keyvillas, and Strip, afive-starcondotelan The HoTramProjectCompany Ltd inearlySeptember launched Kahuna Ho Tram market. nam's realestate ber economies are yetto attentionpay toit. syst aquaponics commercial tobuild plans beginning itsstudy Australia, said Lennard aquaponics potentials in Australia andVietnam. The seminarwas heldVietnamthe Australia by Business Council (AVBC),discussing uaponic Solutions,made the calculation AUD (385.6USD), Dr WilsonLennard, head of The figure isbasedon theassumption that ea AUD. model, they will together make it a potent If 3 percent of26.9million Vietnamese 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA stry ofIndustry and Trade to wo d villa project. Kahuna is ey MovenpickHotels towers. and associations tointensif er 4, as part of activities marking the 2017 Sum- the2017 er 4,aspartofactivities Apec marking 00 for a penthouse to 00 forapenthouse and from$350,000 farming households engage in aquaponics in aquaponics engage households farming uction-of-movenpick-hotel-residences- at a seminar in Sydney on November 2. on a seminarinSydney at craft villages cross over the country. ase. Investment costs range from $88,800 for $88,800 costs rangefrom ase. Investment ial market valued at at more than403 million ial marketvalued ems, while Vietnam and many Apec mem- aballroom and state-of-the-art meeting of the model inearly 2000s, has developed nt-requires-to-make- a Binh, head of the national steering com- a Binh,headofthenational thin Danang's commercialheart, justsix ch household makes aninvestment of500 propertyviolations isure facilities include a swimming pool, aswimming include facilities isure vant agencies to carry out the require- the vant agenciestocarry out nce law violations to protect thenation's nce lawviolationsto /sales-at-sanctuary- unterfeit, hasrequir unterfeit, t, thehotel willoffe fs were found labeled both "made in Vi- both"made labeled found fs were area of 5,000 square meters in Hai Chau inHai meters square 5,000 of area and winebar, pool bar and speciality the international consultingfirmAq- a 244-key resortdevelopment a 244-key rk MinistriesofFinance, Pub- y propagandaagainsttrade &Residences 151hotel has clear-violations-by- villas-ho-tram-open especially tobusi- 6 November2017 r arangeofcontem- ed authorisedagen- 6 November 2017 71 / 73 71 / 2017 6 November BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam Vietnam agri-products enhance exports of Workshop seeksto conference international cashew hostPhu Quocto Intellasia namese farmers still applyoldproduction PesticideDirector ofthe Southern Control send their experts to inspect the growing ar For example, such major markets as theUS, dures andlong duration. domestic production,while othersrequest pe the ofgoodsandprotect tries oftechnical tendtomakeuse imports measures tolimit from consultant Huong, asenior Le ThiThu lations ofplants, food fierce global including challenges, and ties Despite high growth over thepastfive years, cent. agri-products inthefi worth of and RuralDevelopment Le VanThiet said Plant ProtectionDepa head ofthe Deputy Vietnamese agri-products. A workshop was held inHCMCity on November 2 to seek toincrease theexport of 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA 120557.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/phu-quoc-to- USD. at 5.5 billion estimated ket whichis the With figure, retain will continue Vietnam in 3.3billionUSD the highest amount so far. 330, abroad is expected toship sector The 25.6 of 0.4percent and porting 294,000tonnesofcashew Statistics releasedVinaca by and processing firms raise their incomes. to promotetrade and expand markets for Vinacas vicePresident and ge international cashew cooperation andwomen's role in thecashew sector. gramme,dialogues between domesticand foreign cashew businesses, conferenceson A number of activities willtake place du from40countr delegates international is (Vietrade), PromotionAgency nam Trade The event, co-organised by the Vietnam Ca conference in HCM City on November3. Phu Quocislandofsouthern Kien Giang The 9thVinacas Golden Cashew Rendezvous 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA 120546.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/se operation among itsmembers,friendsandgovernments. andco- communications andto Vietnam between investment facilitate and Australia Formed in1996,theAVBCaims to promote the developmentoftrade, commerce and 2018. inMarch Summit Special Australia business forum during his trip to Strano expressed his hopeto host primemini uaponics and large-scale aquatic farming, he added. The AVBCandVietnamesegovernmenthave supplemented eachother topropelbila AVBC PresidentLaurence Strano saidtheVi jobs, boostgrowth, and ensure Hesaid the model holds potential tobecome a key industry inVietnam, asit willcreate safety and quality. and safety percent, respectively. s showed thatVietnam earned minar-talks-aquaponics-industry-in-vietnam-australia/ neral Secretary Dang Hoang Giang said the event aims Dang HoangGiangsaidtheneral Secretaryevent food security and safety. rst ninemonthsof2017, aye nuts in the first 10 months first nutsinthe ies andterritories across the world. teral trade over the past 26 26 years. past tradeover teral the host-international-cashew-conference/ ring the event, including anetworkingpro- province, organisers announced at apress organisers announcedprovince, 000 tonnes of cashew nuts tonnes ofcashew 000 rtment under the Ministry ofAgriculture cashew products, helpingcashew growers customs and make unreasonable use of pes- and makeunreasonableof usecustoms r competitionandstricter regu- quarantine Centre (SPCC) Tran Th Centre (SPCC) Tran eas, packaging facilities and phytosanitary. and facilities eas, packaging Vietnam exported over Australia toattend theAsean-Australia shew Association (Vinacas) and the Viet- and the (Vinacas) shew Association expected to draw about 400 domestic and 400 expected todrawabout etnamesehave Australian economies and Fresh Studio company, said manycoun- Japan and the Republic of Korea wantto alion share of the global cashew nut mar- the sector is still meeting somedifficul- meeting still the sector is ster Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a Vietnam Nguyen PhucataVietnam ster Xuan st risk analysis with complicated proce- complicated with analysis risk st will be held from November 13-15in willbeheld from November sealed anumberofagreements in aq- 2.98 billion USD fromex- of 2017,year-on-yearrises ar-on-year rise of17.7per- 6 November2017 6 November 2017 72 / 73 72 / 2017 6 November anh Tungsaid Viet- 14.3 billion USD thisyear, raking BUSINESS Vietnam finance& business Vietnam exports in digital era exports in promote online Conference looksto Intellasia End 120535.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/conference-looks- ply online exportsolutionstocreateexplosive growth. Meanwhile, Novaon Chair Nguyen Minh Quy pled Countrymanager ofAlibabatoVietnam. Xuan Thuy, will receive supports to take onlineexpo in Through the"1,000pioneers overall online export solutions. Viet and Alibaba, LinkedIn sis likeGoogle, consid Novaon's dustry andTrade,saidthat Tran ThanhHai, deputy headof the Foreig cal businesses toboostsh redu and time save firms local helping while As online export servesasauseful channe online orders. However, only1percent ofexportersknowho crucial roletothe economic development. with percent ascompared 93.6 export revenueVietnam's captured thelion's overseas. Vietnam, exportershesitate touse many e- Experts attheconference saidthatalthou tosupporttheprogramme"1 ibaba The conference wasjointlyheld byNova on November2. Hanoi in at aconferenceheld nam we tobolsteronlineexports solutions Overall 06/NOV/2017 INTELLASIA | VNA in additiontoenhancing nego She urged relevant agenciestobuildasetof productionchain tocontrolthe the According toHuong,itisnecessary to encourage farmers and businesses todevelop duce and prevent trade competition. fraud andunhealthy He called ontheStatetosupport farmersan long run. develop large-scale production models anden connectivity betweenfarmers,scientists,busi and processing technologies toincrease th Thiet recommended selectinggood varieties ucts. th toenhancing key is quality said Experts brand names.and affectinglosses national in differentmarkets, result ticides. Furthermore, theyareunaware of ucts/120547.vnp https://en.vietnamplus.vn/workshop-seeks standards. ipments throughonline sales. ing inviolation of import advantageofe-commerce to tiations withexportersto tiations the world's averageof30percent. Thisshowsexports' ,000 pioneers,000 inonlineexports". quality of agri-products effectively. ofagri-products quality on InternetGroupandE-commerce GiantAl- themaximumresiduelevel (MRL)regulated gh e-commerce has beenwelldevelopingin l to provide information on foreign markets foreign information on l toprovide e export capacityforVietnamese agri-prod- e valuesof farm produce while enhancing commerce websites to sell their products -to-enhance-exports-of-vietnam-agriprod- namese exporterscanaccesstoefficient rts" programme, Vietnamese businesses rts" programme, n Trade Agency under the Ministry ofIn- under the Agency n Trade d businessestopromote trade offarm pro- criteria on food safety and phytosanitary criteriaonfoodsafetyandphytosanitary erable experience and power of global ba- and powerof erable experience ce transaction costs, ce transaction and developing post-h to-promote-online-exports-in-digital-era/ share of national gross domestic product,share ofnationalgrossdomestic State management agenciesto nesses and re introduced forthe first time in Viet- sure the quality of agri-products ofagri-products in the sure thequality w toutilise e-commerce tools to attract ged his efforts to help exporters ap- exporters help to efforts his ged regulations, causing economic have appropriate technicalhave appropriate promote exports, said Tran experts encourage lo- experts encourage 6 November2017 6 November 2017 73 / 73 73 / 2017 6 November arvest, preserving,