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Superdry looking at good prospects in Hanoi
In the morning of April 21, the Superdry fashion store in Hanoi welcomed hundreds of visitors and shoppers to celebrate its official opening day.
People, especially young people, excitedly lined up to buy their first Superdry productsin the Hanoi store and win attractive gifts from the retailer.
Besides, the opening ceremony attracted famous actors and models, including stylist Hoang Ku, and models Huu Vi and Cao Minh Thang.
Numerous people stated that before Superdry arrived to Vietnam, they had to order products online from overseas. They were enchanted by the exciting contemporary brand which focuses on high-quality products that fuse vintage Americana and Japanese-inspired graphics with a British style.
On this occasion, Superdryalso displays its latest perfume collection called “Superdry SS18,” which was inspired by the summers of the 1990s on the Italian seaside.
Superdry has a significant and growing presence around the world, operating through 515 Superdry locations in 46 countries. The brand owns 139 stores across the UK and mainland Europe and has 208 franchised and licensed stores, all but one outside the UK, as well as 168 concessions.
According to a VIR reporter’s latest observations, despite being launched in Hanoi six months ago, both popular global fast-fashion brands Zara and H&M still report stable numbers of consumers, mostly young people.
Therefore, with the stable development of fast-fashion in Hanoi, Superdry is forecasted to reach good revenue this year, especially as the branch saw great interest from young people at its opening in Hanoi.
577 Investment Corporation halts all business plans after Carina Plaza
577 Investment Corporation has halted all business plans in order to focus on overcoming the consequences of the Carina Plaza fire and compensate victims.
On April 24, at the annual general shareholders’ meeting of 577 Investment Corporation (code: NBB), Doan Tuong Trieu, chairman of the corporation, expressed his concern for the victims of the fire and pleaded for shareholders to be sympathetic.
He also affirmed that the fire has caused significant damage to the developer Hung Thanh Co., Ltd. and its parent company 577 Investment Corporation.
He said that the corporation has halted all business plans to focus on fixing the building and spent VND21 billion ($0.93 million) compensating the families of victims, support residents to rent temporary accommodations, and cover vehicles damage.
The corporation has spent over VND11.1 billion ($0.5 million) repairing 41 cars and 363 motorbikes. The expenses needed to overcome the consequences and assist residents are estimated at VND60 billion ($2.64 million).
Meanwhile, the charter capital of Carina Plaza’s developer Hung Thanh Co., Ltd. is only VND45 billion ($2 million). Thus, these expenses have exceeded the capacity of this company and 577 Investment Corporation has to provide support.
Thereby, it will increase expenses and reduce the profit of the corporation in the several fiscal years to come. However, Trieu expressed that the company is still waiting for the final conclusions of the investigation agency to allocate responsibility for the fire. “The company will comply with the investigation conclusions and wrongdoers will have to take responsibility for their violations,” he stated.
The sharp decrease of NBB shares has directly damaged 577 Investment Corporation, which has lost 25 per cent of its value. In 2018, the corporation set the goal of VND850 billion ($37.45 million) in revenue and VND170 billion ($7.5 million) of profit. All business plans have been halted, as the corporation only focuses on project development.
In 2017, the corporation hit over VND1.117 trillion ($49.2 million) in revenue, including VND73 billion ($3.2 million) in after-tax profit.
Digiworld to strengthen FMCG involvement after year of success
Digiworld expects to earn around VND200 billion ($8.8 million) in revenue after one year in the FMCG sector.
Digiworld (DGW) has just approved the target of VND4.7 trillion ($207 million) in net revenue this year, an increase of 23 per cent compared to last year. Distribution of laptops, mobile phones, and office devices is expected to make up 96 per cent of this.
However, chairman of Digiworld Doan Hong Viet affirmed that this figure will change drastically in the middle and long term due to the emergency of the FMCG sector.
“Digiworld is the exclusive distributor of the washing liquid, fabric softener, and toothpaste of Japan's Lion Corporation. We only started in the middle of 2017 but the growth is astounding,” Viet said.
This company confirmed that its FMCG business segment will bring VND200 billion ($8.8 million) in revenue, four times higher than last, year due to good market development, including research and development, expansion of distribution channels, marketing campaigns.
Digiworld also broke into the pharmaceutical sector last year, and confirmed the great market potential, because demand for healthcare among Vietnamese consumer is on the increase. The sector is expected to grow by 100 per cent in revenue, hitting VND1 trillion ($44 million) within the next two years.
The chairman of Digiworld identified that pharmaceutical distribution is very different from the firm’s traditional sector, electronic devices. Digiworld will strengthen connectivity with pharmacies to create and expand its distribution system as well as launch new healthcare products.
In order to implement this plan, Digiworld’s management board planned to raise charter capital by issuing six million individual shares.
In the first three months of this year, the company recorded VND1.264 trillion ($55.7 million) in net revenue, increasing 66 per cent compared to the same period last year. Gross profit doubled to nearly VND20 billion ($0.88 million), making up 19 per cent of the annual plan.
PV Power to take over Nhon Trach 3 and 4 thermal power plants
PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), Vietnam’s second largest electricity producer, will replace PetroVietnam as the investor of Nhon Trach 3 and 4 thermal power plants located in Ong Keo Industrial Zone (IZ) in the southern province of Dong Nai.
The prime minister recently approved the proposal of PV Power to take over these two projects from PetroVietnam after collecting the opinions of ministries and relevant authorities.
Previously, in February 2017, the prime minister agreed to add the Nhon Trach 3 and 4 projects to the National Power Development Master Plan VII and assign PetroVietnam as the investor of the projects.
According to the plan, the two thermal power plants will cover an area of 34 hectares and have a total investment capital of VND33.3 trillion ($1.46 billion), with the production capacity of 750-800MW each.
Nhon Trach 3 power plant will occupy nearly 16.6 hectares, while the second power plant will be spread over an area of 17.4 hectares (excluding the complex area, surface water, and public service buildings).
They will use liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from the Thi Vai storage terminal.
Nhon Trach 3 thermal power plant is expected to come into commercial operation in 2020, while Nhon Trach 4 is due for 2012.
PV Power will use VND9.99 trillion ($438.29 million) of its equity and VND23.31 trillion ($1.02 billion) from loans to develop these two projects.
In late January, PV Power organised a successful IPO by selling out the offered shares and acquiring VND6.99 trillion ($307.8 million) in proceeds.
PV Power’s success came as no surprise because the company has been reporting profitable operations with profit and stable, increasing revenue and profit figures.
After the successful IPO, PV Power reported positive business results in the first quarter of this year.
Notably, the firm acquired VND8.38 trillion ($368.08 million) in revenue and VND726.9 billion ($31.9 million) in pre-tax profit, exceeding its quarterly targets by 110 and 224 per cent.
Haiphong boosts FDI attraction through key infrastructure connectivity
With the recent major infrastructure developments, the northern city of Haiphong has stepped up its game for FDI attraction to drive economic growth.
The information was stressed at the Haiphong Investment Seminar organised by Eurocham and DEEP C Industrial Zone with the support of KPMG and Saigon New Port. The seminar gave an insight into the investment climate and potential business opportunities at Haiphong city.
The development of Haiphong International Gateway Port, also known as Lach Huyen Deep Sea Port, is a recent key infrastructure project in the city. Haiphong International Container Terminal, a joint venture between local company Saigon Tan Cang Port and its partners Mitsui OSK Lines, Wan Hai Lines, and Itochu Corporation, pioneer the deepest seaport in the north of Vietnam.
With a draft of minus 14 metres, vessels with a capacity of 14,000 TEU will be able to make calls to Haiphong, a significant improvement compared to the existing 2,000 TEU port. Once Lach Huyen Port is in action from May this year, shipping times to Europe will be substantially reduced from 30 to 23-25 days, to the US West Coast from 35 to 27-30 days, and to the US East Coast from 20 to 13-15 days, thanks to new direct routes and the omission of transshipment. Accordingly, the incoming opening of Lach Huyen Port will bring more logistics advantages for the projects in the active city.
Substantially, the Lach Huyen port project is connected to the hinterland with other mega infrastructure projects, including highway connections to Hanoi, the coastal provinces, Quang Ninh, and China, as well as Cat Bi International Airport. These projects have turned Haiphong into the main gateway of North Vietnam to regional and world markets. In particular, they lowered the barriers to Vietnam’s major trading partners, such as Europe, America, the ASEAN, China, turning Haiphong into the new Ho Chi Minh City in the north of Vietnam.
"DEEP C Industrial Zones lies in the heart of this infrastructure network, bringing to investors advantages not only in logistics but also international-standard utilities provision, economic zone tax incentives, and support for investors to start business," stated Hans Kerstens, international business development manager of DEEP C.
The seminar also brings practical guidelines from experts of KPMG on setting up an expansion project in the north by companies that are already present in the south, while maximising the benefits of tax incentives.
The development in the region also caught the attention of European investors. This is the reason why EuroCham started its northeastern chapter last year, said Almut Roessener, executive director of EuroCham. Investment from market leaders, such as Accor Group, Hilton, Daiwa House, Fujita, and AEON have been pouring into the city to develop facilities for business.
Vinh Tan 1 thermal plant to reduce power thirst in southern provinces
The $1.75-billion Vinh Tan 1 thermal power project, the largest Chinese-invested project in Vietnam, will come into commercial operation ahead of schedule after concerns of potential power shortages in the
According to the latest report of Vinh Tan 1 thermal power project, its first unit will come into commercial operation in July 2018, five months earlier than initially scheduled.
Phan Ngoc Cam Thanh, deputy director of Vinh Tan 1 told the National Steering Committee for Power Development that after 1,025 consecutive days of construction, the project is now 93 per cent complete.
“We target to push forward the date of commercial operations,” said Thanh.
On April 18, 2018, the first unit of Vinh Tan 1 was successfully connected to the national grid and met all standard requirements during the testing as well as operation.
Member of the National Steering Committee for Power Development Dinh The Phuc, deputy director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Vinh Tan 1 thermal power plant’s significant generation capacity will help increase energy supply in the nation.
The 1,240MW project is the first thermal power plant applying the pulverised coal combustion technology in Vietnam. It will play an important role in supplying power to the country’s southern parts, as there are concerns over power supply risks due to delays in the Song Hau 1 and Long Phu 1 thermal power plants.
The Long Phu 1 and Song Hau 1 projects in the Mekong River Delta provinces of Soc Trang and Hau Giang are designed to produce 1,200MW each annually. However, the two plants are now years behind schedule. Both of them are invested by Vietnam’s state-run oil and gas group PetroVietnam.
Vinh Tan 1 is expected to provide more than 7.2 billion KWh per year, increasing the southern region's electricity supply and helping reduce the region's dependence on hydropower—especially during the dry season or droughts.
Electricity demand in Vietnam is expected to see an increase of more than 10 per cent per annum in the coming years due to rising population and accelerating economic growth.
Southern Vietnam, the country’s largest economic bloc which includes Ho Chi Minh City, faces a critical situation in relation to the current imbalance between existing supply and the increasing demand for electricity. There is therefore urgent need for the development of power generation infrastructure in the region.
At a recent visit to the southern provinces, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung urged the acceleration of the pace of constructing power plants, especially in the south, as well as called on investors to upgrade transmission projects as a main task in the years to come.
Tran Viet Ngai, president of the Vietnam Energy Association, is also concerned over the power supply of southern provinces. He called for synchronised solutions to minimise power shortages, including ensuring progress on schedule, operational safety, quality management of power projects, as well as environmental protection and effective power usage.
Chin Well Fasteners fails to resolve environmental violation?
Malaysian-owned Chin Well Fasteners Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Chin Well Fasteners), located in Hung Nghiep Formosa Co., Ltd.’s industrial park subdivision in Dong Nai province, is waiting for the authorities’ conclusion on the suspicion that it has not resolved environmental issues at its facility.
On April 18, during the inspection to verify whether the firm has successfully remedied the damage caused by its environmental violations, the authority found large amounts of waste mud and chemicals buried around the factory of Chin Well Fasteners Vietnam.
The representative of the board of management of Dong Nai Industrial Zones Authority told VIR that during the past two years, the inspection team of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has conducted weekly inspections to supervise the firm’s actions to mitigate the it caused.
“At the latest inspection, the inspection team found abnormal signs at the firm’s landfill. The team collected samples of waste at the landfill for testing. To date, the authorities have not published their findings,” said the representative.
He added that entirety of the wastewater pipeline system which was directly connected to the surrounding lakes and rivers was removed and the firm paid the fine to the provincial authority.
Previously, Dong Nai Police co-operated with the province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment to stage an unannounced inspection at the facility, whereby they detected that the company discharged untreated wastewater into the environment.
In addition, the company was found to have illegally buried approximately 200 tonnes of harmful waste mud.
At the time, local residents also complained that their daily lives were affected by environmental pollution caused by Hung Nghiep Formosa’s industrial park subdivision, where Chin Well Fasteners is located.
Established in June 2005 with the investment capital of $80 million, Chin Well Fasteners Vietnam, a subsidiary of Chin Well Fasteners Co., Sdn., Bhd., manufactures screws, nuts, bolts, threaded parts, rivets, and special cold form parts. Its products are exported to the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
MBLand's high-end apartment building violates fire regulations
The Hanoi Fire Department has just proposed evacuating MBLand Holdings JSC’s Golden Field high-end apartment building in My Dinh urban area due to violations of the fire code.
MBLand paid a fine of VND40 million for putting the building into use without being checked fire prevention system.
Previously, on April 17, Hanoi Fire Department’s inspection team checked MBLand’s building. Accordingly, the 30-floor building was only approved the fire prevention system design, but has not been granted the documents to confirm work acceptance. However, the investor has put the building into use despite its huge risk of fire explosion.
In addition, the Golden Field building also has many fire prevention violations, including the uncompleted fire prevention system of the 1-7th floor trade and service area, 24-27th floors have no fire escapes as the approved fire prevention system design with one fire escape for each floor, and some positions have not been removed the fire alarms’ protective hoods.
With these violations, the inspection team recommended individuals, households, and organisations not to live, do business in this building. The department’s team also requested the investors immediately not to allow people living in the building’s apartments until to overcome its violations and to be granted documents to confirm work acceptance about fire prevention.
According to Vnexpress, representative of MBLand Holdings JSC said that the company completed and sent the dossier of checking the building’s fire prevention system to the Ministry of Public Security. On April 17, the Hanoi Fire Department checked the building and indicated some fire prevention issues and offered the time to fix.
The department on April 27 will check the overcome of the building’s violations, and the two sides in May will complete the procedures about fire prevention.
For instance, the M3-M4 apartment building (Hanoi’s Dong Da district) got many fire prevention violations, including failed self-closing fire doors, unworked fire extinguishers, and failed fire water pump pipelines.
Vietcombank posts record-high profit in first quarter
The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) reported a record high pre-tax profit of more than VND4.3 trillion (US$189 million) in the first quarter.
It is the record pre-tax profit to be achieved by the bank, representing a rise of 59.3% from the same period in the previous year.
The figure is equivalent to one third of the year plan, in which Vietcombank's core business line of credit-investment has brought in VND6.19 trillion (US$272.5 million) in revenue for the first quarter, up 17.5% compared to the same period of last year.
Additionally, the net profit gained from its credit activities reached VND881 billion (US$38.7 million), increasing 35.5% annually, while its net profit from brokerage services posted at VND277 billion (US$12.1 million), 2.7 times higher than the first quarter of 2017.
Vietcombank's equity was at VND56 trillion (US$2.46 billion) as of March 31, up 6.7% compared to the start of the year, whilst deposits were at VND731 trillion (US$32.1 billion), up 3.2%, including demand deposits of 29.2%.
In particular, other services accounted for VND1.6 trillion (US$70.3 million) from January to March, 2.8 times higher than the first quarter of 2017, while capital contribution and shares acquisition were estimated at VND351 billion (US$15.3 million), 3.5 times higher than that of the first quarter.
Vietcombank expects its total assets to grow 14%, capital mobilisation and credit growth at 15%, while bad debt is to be kept at less than 1.5%.
VFA: Vietnam invited to attend Philippines rice tender
The National Food Authority (NFA) of the Philippines has invited Vietnam to participate in a tender to supply 250,000 tons of rice, thus making the local rice market more active, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).
Nguyen Ngoc Nam, VFA chairman and general director of Vietnam Southern Food Corporation (Vinafood 2), told the Daily that Thailand was also invited to the bidding for government-to-government (G2G) rice contracts.
The volume will include 200,000 tons of 25% broken rice and 50,000 tons of 15% broken rice. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is choosing rice exporters to join the tender which is set to take place on April 27, Nam said.
The director of a VFA member said Vietnam and Thailand may not attend the tender as the Philippines has set out stricter requirements than those in previous tenders. For instance, rice grains must be longer than seven millimeters each and must not be infected with insect carcasses.
Vietnam’s IR 50404 rice does not meet the requirement for the length of grain.
The Philippine Government has set aside 6.12 billion pesos, or over US$115 million, to import rice this time.
Vietnam and Thailand were invited to the tender as the two countries had singed memoranda of understanding with the Philippines. Winning bidders will have to deliver 200,000 tons of rice to the Philippines prior to May 31 and the remaining 50,000 tons before June 30.
NFA is required to have at least 15 days of buffer stock at any time and the rice import this time is aimed at increase the national rice reserves. The Philippines will import 500,000 tons of rice including 250,000 tons under G2G contracts and 250,000 tons under government-to-private contracts.
Vietnam earlier won a contract to sell rice to Indonesia at a competitive price. If Vietnam wins the Philippines tender this time, it would give a big boost to the local rice market, especially prices, in the upcoming summer-autumn rice crop.
Rice contracts with Indonesia and the Philippines have driven up domestic rice prices. Particularly, fresh IR 50404 rice is now sold at VND5,500-5,700 per kilogram while Dai Thom rice is priced at VND6,000-6,200 a kilogram, up VND500 and VND400-500 respectively.
Meanwhile, IR 50404 material rice price is up by VND300 to VND8,000-8,100 per kilogram and a kilogram of fragrant rice is currently quoted at VND9,300-9,500.
Vietnam awaits EU decision on IUU yellow card
A European Union (EU) delegation will come to Vietnam this month to look into Vietnam’s effort to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing after the country got a yellow card warning in October last year.
Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), told the Daily that the delegation was scheduled to arrive on May 15 to work with competent authorities. After the trip, the EU side will decide whether or not to lift the yellow card, he added.
According to Hoe, when Vietnam was booked the yellow card, the EU gave Vietnam six months to rectify the IUU fishing situation.
Following the recommendations of the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has taken measures to fight IUU fishing, Hoe said. However, whether or not and when the EU reverses its decision depends on its assessment of Vietnam’s effort to deal with the issue.
When Vietnam got the yellow card last year, Nguyen Ngoc Oai, head of the agriculture ministry’s Directorate of Fisheries, said that if Vietnam fails to fix the situation as requested by the EU, the local seafood industry would get a red card, which means imports of seafood from Vietnam could be banned.
According to VASEP, 62 enterprises have pledged to fight IUU fishing. In particular, they said they would purchase seafood material of clear origin from legal fishing boats and import legally caught fish.
Taxi business conditions eased
Traditional taxi firms will no longer have to paint their logos and phone numbers on their cabs and even install taxi meters, according to a new decision of the Ministry of Transport.
According to Decision 767/QD-BGTVT, which was signed on April 17 to announce a plan to remove 384 of 570 business conditions in the transport sector, business conditions for taxi service providers will be simplified, with 10 of 13 conditions removed to facilitate taxi business.
The decision says taxi firms will not be forced to install meters on taxi cabs. How to calculate fares will be detailed in a decree that will amend Government Decree 86/2014/ND-CP on business conditions for road transportation businesses.
Taxi operators have long been compelled to paint their hotline numbers on their cabs. Having consulted the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Ministry of Transport has decided to cut this condition as this matter is regulated by the Commercial Law.
The ministry has also cut business conditions related to the business scale of taxi firms, including the condition that taxis will be banned from circulation after more than eight years in service in large cities such as Hanoi and HCMC and after more than 12 years in other localities. In addition, taxi firms are no longer required to have at least 10 to 50 cabs each.
Other business conditions such as having operation centers and contacting drivers through such centers are also removed.
VIISA to fund four startups for accelerator program in Q3
Accelerator and seed-stage fund Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA), co-founded by the FPT Ventures, Dragon Capital, and Hanwha Investment and Securities, has chosen four startups for its accelerator training program.
The fund will provide finances for these startups in the third quarter of this year. VIISA received requests for funding from over 100 startups in multiple fields after five months of selection.
Each startup will receive up to US$15,000 in cash from VIISA. In addition, it will provide potential startups with a maximum amount of US$200,000 each.
Dr. Le Hoang Anh, VIISA chairman, said this year the fund has two distinct programs, namely seeding and acceleration. The seed-stage program will be for newly founded startups, and the other for older ones to achieve robust growth.
Besides funding and facilities, FPT, Dragon Capital Group and Microsoft Vietnam, among others will provide the chosen startups with skills such as searching for potential customers, raising capital and selling.
Since its debut early last year, VIISA has received requests for funding from more than 400 startups.
Big-ticket urban railway project in Hanoi to go before legislature
The Government will present an urban railway project in Hanoi City to the National Assembly in May for approval as the investment cost is estimated to amount to nearly VND36.6 trillion (US$1.6 billion).
The city’s second rail line connecting Nam Thang Long and Tran Hung Dao is 11.5 km long, 8.5 km of it to go underground and the remaining 3.0 km overhead.
The Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are jointly preparing documents to invite tenders in an effort to speed up the project.
A report which Hanoi City sent to the central Government a couple of months ago puts the total adjusted capital of the project at nearly VND36.6 trillion. Site clearance is 75% complete in the depot area and 71% done in elevated track construction areas.
Work should have been started on the project this year so that the railway could be operational in 2024. However, the investment cost revision must be approved by the National Assembly under Resolution 49/2010 which specifies that projects worth VND35,000 billion or above must get the legislature’s prior clearance.
Nam Thang Long-Tran Hung Dao urban railway is part of the Noi Bai-Thuong Dinh-Buoi route, one of 10 routes which Hanoi City will develop from now to 2030.
The Cat Linh-Nga Tu So-Ha Dong urban railway, funded by the Ministry of Transport, was basically completed last year but has yet to be put into service since.
RoK investors get investment licenses in Vinh Phuc province
The northern province of Vinh Phuc has granted investment licenses to two projects from the Republic of Korea (RoK), raising the total capital from RoK firms to over 1.36 billion USD.
The first project is a plant of ACT VINA manufacturing electronic printed circuit boards for mobile phones and other electronic devices. It aims to produce 10 million products per year with a total investment of 7 million USD.
The second project worth 5 million USD will be carried out by the Hanbo ENC Ltd., Co. to produce leather cases and covers for electronic goods and accessories.
Located at Ba Thien II industrial park in Thien Ke commune, Binh Xuyen district, the two plants are expected to be put into operation from October 2018.
Investors of the projects pledged to generate jobs for 1,000 workers with monthly income of about 250 USD each.
Vinh Phuc is requesting relevant agencies to create the most favourable conditions for investors to implement projects as scheduled and in accordance with legal regulations in Vietnam.
As of February 2018, the province counted 278 FDI projects worth over 4 billion USD from 15 countries and territories. Japan ranked second with 31 projects with registered capital of 816 million USD and led in business-production efficiency.
VTC launches OTT service
Viet Nam Television Corporation (VTC) on Tuesday officially launched the multi-media content delivery system – VTC Now.
The over-the-top system will be published based on popular digital foundations such as Android, iOS, AndroidTV, Tizen, WebOS and Web.
VTC Now provides a content store combining VTC’s modern contents and traditional programmes of the broadcaster Voice of Viet Nam (VOV). The application aims to satisfy watching, listening, reading and interacting demands of modern users.
In addition to providing dozens of TV and radio channels, VTC Now could update breaking news daily in all areas as well as updates of transport, weather, health which are individualised.
VTC Now was developed by VTC based on Accedo technological foundation, using computing of Brightcove and content delivery network (CDN) of Akamai and solutions of other prestigious firms such as Ateme, Cleeng and Avenia.
Nguyen Kim Trung, VTC’s director said VTC Now would be a start in accessing to multi-media trend based on smart phones and TV to quickly spread TV and radio contents to people both inside and outside the country.
Armay Guo, marketing director of Brightcove Company said it was easy to develop OTT application. However, television would face with big challenges in implementing OTT to provide contents to customers who are changing TV watching habit quickly.
"We are excited about future of Viet Nam’s television as well as TV digitalisation process. We are proud to be a part of a successful story of VTC’s OTT service,” she said.
LINA Network signs MoU with three Thailand groups
Three big Thailand-based agriculture groups on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vietnamese LINA Network to apply blockchain to make the source and quality of products transparent.
The three are ChokChai, SAP Siam Food International and AIM Thai.
Under the MoU, ChokChai Group — the largest dairy cow breeding group in Southeast Asia — will apply LINA Network into its dairy production and supply lines. SAP Siam Food International Co Ltd and AIM THAI Group will use the application to follow products processed from fruits.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vũ Trường Ca, chairman of the management board of LINA Network, said Lina Supply Chain has been part of the blockchain ecosystem along with suppliers and customers.
The ecosystem was built based on Ethereum Blockchain, which has been the most popular and easy-to-use blockchain, to allow users to follow the source of a certain product in a real time.
Ca said the application allows organisations in the supply chain to forecast the time of arrival of a product.
For example, Toyota uses blockchain to follow thousands of its spare parts that are transported through many countries to maximise its automobile assembly process.
Customers could be easy to trace the products’ source anytime and anywhere as data in blockchain is completely transparent and updated immediately.
Blockchain has been applied in 26 sectors including agriculture, healthcare, transport and administrative management.
Price of cashew nuts plummet as quality declines
The price of raw cashews in Bình Phước Province has fallen from VNĐ29,000 (US$1.27) per kilo to VNĐ12,000-14,000 per kilo, mostly due to poor quality, according to Trần Thị Yến, director of Bù Gia Mập agricultural cooperative.
Because of bad weather and pests, the average yield this year fell to 600-700kg per ha, compared to average yields of cashew of 1.5 to 2 tonnes per ha several years ago.
To stop the drop in productivity, farmers had to apply more fertiliser, but the results were ineffective.
The cashew season usually lasts until the end of the fourth lunar month, but this year it ended earlier, in the third month, affecting quality, according to Yến.
The province has a total of 135,000ha of cashew, with most fields nearing the end of the season.
Lê Nhật Khoa, deputy director of Phúc An company, said the quality of Vietnamese cashew nuts had declined and many businesses had to import a large amount of raw cashews to process for exports.
The imports of cashews, mostly from India and China, pushed the price up to $2,200 per tonne, an increase of $200 compared to last year.
The price of domestic cashew nuts fell, but the price increase of imported cashew put pressure on businesses.
Ha Tinh steel mill’s bad debts continue to haunt
The Van Loi Steel Mill project in Ha Tinh Province has been closed for years but the VND750bn (USD32.88m) bad debt still hasn't been dealt with.
Van Loi Steel Mill project which cost over VND1.7trn (USD68m) was built in 2007 in Vung Ang Economic Zone. It was expected to be completed and go into operation in December 2008. However, work on the project was stagnant for six years and the equipment was abandoned.
In 2015, the management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone issued the announcement to shut down the project and withdraw the investment certificate.
By that time, many banks including Vietnam Development Bank, BIDV, and Vietcombank had given VND750bn in loans. The Vietnam Development Bank in Ha Tinh lent out nearly VND580bn alone.
Dang Van Thanh, deputy head of the management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone, said they asked the investors to remove the construction and return the land but the site hasn't been completely cleared.
Recovering the debts has been difficult . A representative of Vietnam Development Bank said they had submitted the document to the court for over a year but it was still being considered. Since they are in the debt-recovery process, no one has to take the responsibility for the project's failure and debts yet.
Ha Tinh People's Committee said the VND750bn debt were the left overs of civil law contracts so the banks must recover the money back for the state. Meanwhile, the management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone only issued and revoked the investment certificate.
Rambutans going south to satisfy Kiwi appetites
Vietnam has obtained a licence to export its fresh rambutans to the fastidious market of New Zealand, while for more export success, local fresh fruit producers and farmers are urged to leverage international know-how to enhance their produce quality in order to meet global standards.
Some 10 years ago, a New Zealanger (or Kiwi) living in a provincial town would hardly have known what a dragon fruit tasted like, let alone other exotic fruits like rambutan. Yet now, the dragon fruit imported from Vietnam has become exceedingly popular at provincial supermarkets in New Zealand, according to Emmet McElhatton, commercial manager of the New Zealand Government-to-Government Partnerships Office (G2G Know-How).
McElhatton said that the tropical fruit market in New Zealand is rapidly growing, thanks to the exposure to new flavours that Kiwi travellers have gained after their visits to tropical destinations. “Our supermarkets are more willing now to stock different products, and consumers are really demanding variety,” McElhatton said.
For Vietnamese fruit exporters, the commercial manager stressed that it is important to “get the flavour profile right for all consumers” when looking to export their fresh produce to New Zealand.
“It’s important to have a product that they can easily consume without too much fuss. Think about a banana. A banana is the ultimate consumer product that comes in its own packaging, with beautiful flavour, in different sizes, and is very easy to consume,” McElhatton told VIR on the sidelines of a New Zealand-Vietnam rambutan trade and opportunities event for bilateral horticulture cooperation, recently held in Hanoi.
“I think the diverse Asian population in New Zealand, up to 15% of the population as a whole-with the populations in some parts of Auckland 20-30% Asian, for example-is driving a lot of demand for these products,” he added.
To date, three local tropical fruit types have been granted market access to New Zealand mangos in 2011, dragon fruit in 2014, and rambuttans in mid-April 2018. In fact, Vietnam is the first nation to export fresh rambutans to New Zealand, according to New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries.
Being able to export its fruit to New Zealand means a lot to Vietnam. If it can make it into one of pickiest markets in the world, it can make it to anywhere else, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh.
Doanh noted that in 2017, Vietnam exported a record US$3.5 billion worth of fresh fruits. In the first quarter of this year, the country reported US$934 million in exported fresh fruits, an increase of 33% compared to the same quarter in 2017.
The first shipments of local rambutans are expected to reach New Zealand’s shores in the next few months, upon completion of price negotiations and shipment arrangements between local exporters and their New Zealand partners, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The fruit will then join its compatriots, dragon fruit and mangos, on the shelves of Kiwi supermarkets, where demand for tropical produce is on the rise.
Apart from this trio, more Vietnamese fruits have high hopes to make their move to satisfy the taste buds of not only New Zealand, but many other nations. This hinges on whether local fruit producers and farmers pay due attention to the flavour profile and, above all, the investment that is needed to help them move on from traditional farming to more advanced varieties, in a bid to meet international standards and demand for fresh produce.
While more investment is definitely needed in the agriculture sector to help switch from traditional farming to more modern approaches, it is essential to note that local agricultural firms and organisations should be prepared to pay a premium for global expertise or consultancy services, which can bring benefits for themselves and the sector as a whole.
For years, Vietnamese fresh produce has struggles to meet international standards for exports in terms of quality and quarantine treatments. Given the aid of international know-how, high tech, and innovations, this could change.
“What we’ve noticed is that a lot of Vietnamese investors are quite comfortable buying equipment and technology, but [when it comes to] the human input (knowledge, intellectual property, and expertise), they are less willing to pay a premium. I think this really is the key thing that needs to change,” said McElhatton of New Zealand G2G Know-How.
“Because once you’ve partnered up with them and access high-quality international expertise at a proper rate, you benefit from that, everybody benefits from that,” he added. “New Zealand is one of the most efficient agricultural economies in the world, with a reputation for producing cutting-edge research and technology, robust and safe agricultural practices, and delicious and high-quality products.”
New Zealand’s world-class agriculture expertise is already making a practical difference in Vietnam by improving farmer income and food safety. Agriculture is one of four priorities for the New Zealand Aid Programme in Vietnam, along with education, disaster risk management, and renewable energy.
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