Leather, footwear sector targets 20 bln USD in export earnings

Vietnam sets a target of earning between 19.5 - 20 billion USD from leather and footwear exports in 2018, up 10 percent from 2017, heard a conference in January 12.

According to the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO), the leather and footwear industry is expected to grow 5 percent from last year, with the localisation rate reaching 55 percent. Footwear and handbags will remain Vietnam’s top four and 10 exports, respectively.

Addressing the event, LEFASO Vice President Phan Thi Thanh Xuan highlighted positive signs in the world’s economy and increasing consumption demand, saying that these create both favourable conditions and challenges to Vietnam in exports and investment.

In order to help Vietnamese exporters realise the target, the association will actively participate in relevant policy making while luring foreign and domestic investment in support industry, thus increasing the localisation rate and ensuring sustainable development.

It will host trade promotion events, workshops, and training classes to improve the management capability of enterprises, and attend international trade fairs.

In 2017, the sector earned 18 billion USD from exports, up 10.7 percent from 2016.

VN businessman to join Australia-ASEAN leaders programme

Doan Thanh Tung, a young businessman, will represent Vietnam at the Australia-ASEAN Emerging Leaders Programme 2018 (A2ELP) that will take place in Australia for three months from early March. 

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop on January 12 announced the list of 15 young leaders from Australia and ten ASEAN countries for A2ELP and their participation in the historic ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney, an important event to reinforce the strategic partnership between Australia and ASEAN.

Doan Thanh Tung is Director of the Lighthouse Social Enterprise, a Hanoi-based business offering health care and counseling services for men who have sex with men and transgender (MSM-TG) community in Vietnam. 

A2ELP is an initiative of the Australia-ASEAN Council (AAC), which was launched in 2015 and is designed to enhance engagement between Australia and Southeast Asia. It brings together social innovators who have founded enterprises to address critical challenges facing the region including the environment, agricultural production, education, health and ageing populations.

Participants will travel to Melbourne and Sydney for a ten-day programme, where they will take part in a range of workshops, site visits, master classes, peer learning sessions and networking events. 

Through these events, they will explore the role of businesses in driving social change, enhance their understanding of the risks and potential of social ventures, and learn techniques to develop their enterprises and maximise their impact.

Vinh Long eyes 420 million USD in export revenue

Promoting shipments of key products such as leather shoes and frozen fruits and vegetable will be part of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long’s efforts to realise its export revenue target of 420 million USD in 2018.

The province will work to support the development of trademarks of outstanding rural industrial products and local specialties while encourage businesses to join e-transactions and improve the efficiency of e-commerce platforms.

Trade promotion activities and networking events for local enterprises and distributors in Can Tho city, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang city and Hanoi will be given priority. The province will also support its businesses to seek and expand export markets.

Vinh Long will pay attention to updates on changes in foreign countries' import policies, technical barriers, safeguard measures and international payment risks to give prompt support to local firms.

Last year, the province raked in the highest-ever export earnings of 420 million USD, up 17.3 percent from 2016 and exceeding 16.6 percent of yearly plan. 

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Truong Thanh Su said most of the key exports experienced strong growth in 2017, including handicrafts (56.2 percent), garments and textiles (16 percent) and leather shoes (16.6 percent).

However, shipments of major farm produce continued declining due to fierce competition. Rice exports fell 50 percent and processed agricultural products decreased 17 percent as compared to 2016.

Manulife set to become largest life insurer

Life insurer Manulife Vietnam has said that it has received approval from the Ministry of Finance to increase its chartered capital.

With its capital set to rise to 5.72 trillion VND (251 million USD), the company is on course to becoming the largest life insurer in Vietnam.

The company said the capital hike is a part of its long-term commitment to the country.

"The increase in chartered capital is the foundation for Manulife to invest more strongly, bringing customers more effective solutions for financial management, health ... as well as improving our service and developing advanced technology applications,” Paul Nguyen, the company’s CEO, said.

Manulife said it is already the top life insurer in terms of bancassurance.

It is also considered one of the leading insurance companies in terms of digital technology use.

Agriculture sector targets 40 billion USD in export turnover

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will strive to achieve agricultural growth of at least 3 percent and earn roughly 40 billion USD from exports this year. 

Of the figure, over 21 billion USD will be from cultivated products, around 9 billion USD from aquatic products, more than 8.5 billion USD from forestry products, and 1.5 billion USD from others. 

The rate of new-style rural communes is set at 37 percent and 52 districts will achieve the status. 

These are targets set in a resolution issued by the ministry’s Civil Affairs Committee in order to implement the Government’s Resolution No.01/NQ-CP dated January 1, 2018. 

In order to achieve the above targets, the ministry will continue refining mechanisms to develop socialism-oriented market economy in agriculture, submit a draft Law on Cultivation, a draft Law on Animal Husbandry, amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, raising public awareness of Law on Irrigation, Law on Forestry, and revised Law on Fisheries and relevant laws, ordinances and resolutions. 

It will also continue improving the business climate by cutting administrative procedures, building e-government with a focus on online public services, one-stop shop mechanism for customs clearance. 

At the same time, the sector will encourage the development of high-tech and organic agriculture while restructuring State-owned enterprises, reshuffling agro-forestry companies and submitting a project on developing 15,000 cooperatives, agricultural cooperative alliances for 2017-2020. 

Further attention will also be paid to developing agricultural and rural infrastructure, strengthening capacity of disaster prevention and mitigation in response to climate change, transnational cooperation in effective and sustainable use of water resources, ecological environment protection, and improving management in the quality of agricultural materials and food safety.

Can Tho to hold big investment conference in Q2

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho will revise policies and make a list of projects in need of investment as input for a large-scale investment promotion conference in the second quarter of this year.

At a meeting between the city government and relevant agencies on January 11, Nguyen Khanh Tung, director of the Can Tho Investment-Trade Promotion and Fair Center, said the city last year announced a list of 27 projects to call for investors, including 14 projects to be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) format.

However, the city now finds it necessary to adjust specific policies for some projects to meet investors’ requirements. Therefore, the city has released a new list of projects in line with current conditions including 15 projects worth US$1 billion and 16 others which will be carried out under the PPP model.

Four of such projects will be prioritized this year regarding the development of infrastructure for industrial parks, a hi-tech agriculture center, a centralized information technology center and a logistics center. The city will attract large domestic corporations and investors from Japan and South Korea, Tung added.

Can Tho authorities had earlier met with relevant departments and agencies to review current industrial parks to prepare land for such projects.

Can Tho vice chairman Truong Quang Hoai Nam said the city had asked relevant departments and agencies to review projects one more time and map out specific plans for PPP and build-transfer (BT) projects.

Can Tho takes third position in retail sales

Can Tho City’s total retail sales of goods and services last year amounted to over VND106 trillion (US$4.7 billion), ranking third in the country behind HCMC and Hanoi, the city’s Department of Industry and Trade said at a conference on January 11.

At a conference on the sector’s performance last year and plans for this year, the department informed that the city’s retail sales in 2017 exceeded VND100 trillion for the first time and increased by VND10.4 trillion over 2016.

In the Mekong Delta region, An Giang Province took the second position with total retail revenue amounting to nearly VND95 trillion, or VND11.1 trillion lower than Can Tho’s. Meanwhile, retail sales in Tra Vinh Province stood at VND23.2 trillion, the lowest in the delta.

Among cities under the central Government’s direct administration, HCMC took the lead with its retail revenue climbing to VND923.8 trillion while Hanoi ranked second with VND561 trillion, increasing VND241.1 trillion and VND56 trillion versus the previous year, respectively.

In addition, the northern city of Haiphong and the central coast city of Danang reported total retail sales of around VND104.2 trillion and VND79.1 trillion respectively.

Notably, Danang’s retail revenue was even lower than that in some Mekong Delta provinces such as An Giang and Kien Giang (VND84 trillion).

According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City, goods and services prices in the city were quite stable while the distribution network was expanded citywide last year. In addition, commercial centers and supermarkets regularly held promotion programs, attracting consumers and contributing to increasing the city’s retail sales.

Nguyen Minh Toai, director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, had earlier forecast that the city’s retail sales would continue growing in 2017 thanks to the presence of commercial centers and outlets of Saigon Trading Corporation (Satra) and Vingroup in the city.

Moreover, Can Tho City earned nearly US$1.77 billion from exports and services last year, up 13.9% over 2016, including some US$1.4 billion from exports and US$370 million from foreign currency services, rising 16.3% and 5.7% against the previous year.

Meanwhile, the city’s total import spending reached nearly US$428 million, surging 32.7% versus 2016.

Toyota Vietnam reports US$64 million in auto parts exports

Toyota Vietnam reported US$64 million in auto parts exports last year, up 5% compared to 2016. This is the highest level since the company put its first auto parts export center in Vietnam into operation in 2004.

2017 was the second consecutive year Toyota Vietnam had seen a surge in auto parts exports which far exceeded the average of US$40 million in previous years. With this result, the company’s total auto parts exports up to now have amounted to US$465 million.

Toyota Vietnam mainly exports antennas, exhaust gas recycle valves and acceleration pedals to 13 countries and territories such as Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Africa and Egypt.

Last year, the company began to manufacture floor plugs for export to the Philippines.

Toyota Vietnam has plans to stop assembling some models and import completely built-up (CBU) autos instead. The company invested US$15 million in Vietnam last year, taking the total investment to US$195 million.

The company’s auto sales, excluding Lexus, increased 4% year-on-year to a record high of more than 59,300 units last year, taking its total accumulative sales to more than 472,000 units. 

Toyota Vietnam last year paid more than US$1 billion in taxes, including value-added tax, special consumption tax, income tax and import tax. Since Toyota Vietnam was established in September 1995, the company has paid nearly US$7 billion in taxes.

Fuel base price to be calculated in line with current regulations

The upcoming base prices of fuel prices will be calculated in line with the Government’s Decree 83/2014/ND-CP on oil and gas trade, and relevant documents, said Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue at a meeting with the Ministries of Trade-Industry and Finance on January 11.

The deputy PM asked the ministries and relevant agencies to keep a close eye on sales of the gasoline RON 95, a higher-grade type of fossil gasoline, and the bio-fuel E5 RON 92 – a mixture of 95% RON 92 gasoline and 5% ethanol, which meet the Euro 3 and 4 emissions standards in the first quarter of this year.Then, they will work together to calculate the base prices of fuel prices in accordance with market conditions, and prevailing regulations.

He also demanded the ministries adjust the prices of RON 95 gasoline, E5 RON 92 bio-fuel, and other fuel products by harmoniously tapping the fuel price stabilization fund.

The ministries and agencies involved were told to raise public awareness of the bio-fuel’s benefits so that the product would win customer trust,strengthen fuel quality inspections and prevent trade fraud, as well as guarantee sufficient materials for producing the bio-fuel.

Switchboard system for infrastructure incidents in HCMC expanded

The switchboard 1022 for receiving reports on infrastructure incidents in HCMC have been expanded to five channels of communication since early this year, the municipal Department of Information and Communications said on January 11.

Local residents are requested to use their smartphones to download a mobile app for the systemon App Store and Google Play so that they can send their complaints about infrastructure incidents to the switchboard, said Le Quoc Cuong, deputy director of the department, at a news briefing.

They can even send images of incidents like cave-ins and fallen trees, and the app can automatically trace the locations of such incidents.

Other methods include calling the hotline 1022, sending text messages to this number, giving feedback on the website 1022.tphcm.gov.vn, and emailing to 1022@.tphcm.gov.vn.

Le Quoc Cuongsaid the system is active round the clock, so local residents can voice their complaints over infrastructure incidents regarding public transport, water supply and drainage, lighting, electricity, and telecommunications among others at any time.

The system got around 84,000 pieces of information on infrastructure incidents, and more than 567,000 bus service queries between April 2013 and late 2017, said Bui Viet Duong, head of the Posts and Telecommunications Division under the department.

Notably, the city’s public service, social network, and hotline question-and-answer systems will be integrated into the 1022 system later this year.

Deputy PM: Competitive bidding a must for North-South Expressway

Open and transparenttenders must be invited for the North-South Expressway project, so awarding no-bid contracts is prohibited, said Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung at a meeting on January 11, the Government news website reports.

Some expressway sections totaling around 654 kilometers will be built from now until2020, according to a National Assembly resolution issued last November.

The project will require more than VND118.7 trillion (US$5.2 billion), including VND55 trillion in State capital from the mid-term investment fund for big-ticket projects of national importance, and VND63.7 trillion from the private sector.

Investors would be required to apply advanced technologies to the project in order to ensure its safety, good quality and effectiveness.

At the meeting on January 11, the Transport Ministry delivered a report on implementing the resolution, and sought the Government’s permission to some proposals before developing some expressway sections.

The ministry suggested that there are solutions to help remove obstacles in the process of executing the project, and to smoothen out the build-operate-transfer (BOT) investment format.There have emergedsome complex issues regarding public-private partnership (PPP) investment in terms of mechanisms and policies for selecting investors, managing and implementing projects; and capital mobilization from credit institutions at home and abroad.

For example, foreign capital mobilization requires the Government’s guarantees, but a legal framework for the matter has yet to exist.

Deputy PM Dung said the National Assembly has asked the Government to map out a mechanism for mobilizing resources to develop the project, so relevant ministries and agencies should give feedback on the resolution.

TheGovernment Office and the Transport Ministry will work together to draw up a draft for implementing the NA resolution. The document will be submitted to the Government for consideration during its upcoming session.

Instead of appointing contractors, the Government leader stressed that open and transparent tenders must be held to choose capable investors for the large-scale project to ensure economic effectiveness, and avoid wastefulness.

New regulation on revocation of credit institutions’ license

The State Bank of Viet Nam has issued Circular No. 24/2017/TT-NHNN guiding the order and procedures for revocation of license and liquidation of assets of credit institutions and foreign bank’s branches.

The Circular also stipulates the order and procedures for revocation of license of representative office of foreign credit institutions and other foreign institutions having banking activities in Viet Nam.

Foreign credit organizations and foreign banks’ branches shall have to identify their ability to pay debts and other property obligations before and during the process of liquidation of assets, dissolution and revocation of license.

The State Bank of Viet Nam only accepts the dissolution when the credit organizations and branches of foreign banks are capable of paying off all debts and other property obligations.

In case the State Bank of Viet Nam detects that the foreign credit organizations and foreign banks’ branches fail to pay all their debts and other property obligations, it shall issue decision to end the liquidation process and then the Point 1e, Chapter VIII of the Law on Credit Institutions shall be applied.

The Circular will take effect since February 26, 2018.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau resolved to develop high-quality tourism

With a view to turning tourism into a spearhead sector, the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has helped travel agencies renew their tours while diversifying and improving tourism product quality.

In late December 2017, a group of nearly 20 cruise tourists toured markets in Ba Ria-Vung Tau after landing at Cai Mep Port. They showed their interest in the southern identities of Long Dien Market while expressing excitement when making and trying Vietnam’s traditional “banh trang” (rice paper) during a trip to a village in Long Phuoc commune of Ba Ria city.

Tran Ngoc Cuong, Director of the Phuoc Lap Cooperative – an investor of the Bung Bac eco-tourism site in Phuoc Huu hamlet of Long Phuoc commune, Ba Ria city, said the tourism site, covering more than 1.7ha of land, was used for fish, fruit and vegetable farming in the past. Realising the area’s eco-tourism potential, his cooperative built and upgraded facilities to serve visitors. The site’s pristine and tranquil landscape is now a magnet for domestic and foreign tourists.

Director of Alpha Travel Company Nguyen Ngoc Hung said most of foreign cruise tourists come from developed countries. They have high spending level and strict requirements of service quality. Travel agencies have actively renewed tours and improved service quality, resulting in a considerable increase in the number of cruise visitors to Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The province has also enhanced attracting investment into major and high-end tourism projects while encouraging businesses to tap potential markets. Many tourism complexes were born and gained prestige such as Ho Tram Strip and Six Senses Con Dao. The province also has high hope on Paradise Vung Tau, another complex that is taking shape.

Considering tourism as a driver of local development, Ba Ria-Vung Tau re-established the provincial Department of Tourism in early 2017. Later the same year, the provincial Party Committee issued a resolution on developing high-quality tourism with a view to upgrading tourism infrastructure, improving product and service quality, and ensuring a safe, civilised and friendly tourism environment.

Nguyen Thu Trang, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said after Vung Tau launched a clean-up campaign, her family chose the city as their holiday destination. They are impressed with the determination of the municipal administration.

Aside from Vung Tau, a number of localities boasting tourism strength like Dat Do, Long Dien, Xuyen Moc and Con Dao have carried out drastic solutions to better local tourism.

Trinh Hang, Director of the Tourism Department of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, said the province will ask the Government to soon upgrade Con Son Airport in Con Dao Island so that this airport can handle Airbus A320s and similar airplanes. 

It will also work to speed up projects providing speedboat services linking Con Dao with the mainland. Boat routes will also be opened to connect islets of Con Dao district. Meanwhile, 13 freshwater lakes and wastewater and waste treatment systems will be built in the district, he added.

Secretary of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Party Committee Nguyen Hong Linh said the province welcomed nearly 3 million tourist arrivals in 2017, up 11.3 percent from the previous year, which is a joyful sign. However, it still needs to remove barriers to local tourism development.

He noted Ba Ria-Vung Tau will work to attract more visitors and hopes for an inflow of foreign tourists from tough markets.

VN’s seafood export expected to hit $500 million in first month of 2018

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong yesterday said that Vietnam’s seafood export value might reach US$500 million in the first month of 2018 at a ceremony of exporting the first seafood consignments this year.

The ceremony was hosted by Vietnam Seafood Exporters and Producers Association (VASEP) at Cat Lai seaport in HCMC.

The consignments comprise 20 tons of frozen shrimps worth $290,020 to Canada, 20 tons of dolphinfish worth $216,700 to the US and 22 tons of frozen pangasius fish worth $84,040 to the EU.

Looking back 20 years of the seafood industry development, Mr. Cuong said that the industry’s export turnover was only $780 million in 1997. With enduring efforts by the entire industry, the number reached $8.37 billion in 2017, topping the target set by the Government of $7 billion.

That was a meaningful number as the country experienced a difficult year with 16 storms and four tropical depressions, largely affecting agricultural field with the worst hit being the seafood industry. It also faced market and environment challenges.

According to the ministry, seafood export will meet with lot of challenges this year. Besides natural disasters, there will be difficulties from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

However, seafood export activities will also see advantages so relevant sides should solve problems and utmost promote the existing advantages to best fulfill the industry’s plans instead of only obtaining the Government’s assigned target of $8.5 billion this year.

On the occasion of the ceremony, VASEP honored 30 businesses leading in shrimp, seafood and pangasius fish export.

Hà Nội announces names of 144 tax debtors

Hà Nội’s Taxation Department has published a list of 144 companies that have not paid tax, fee or land rent worth more than VNĐ65 billion (US$ 2.9 million).

According to the list, Hà Nội Electrical Technique Commercial and Construction based in Đồng Tâm Ward, Hai Bà Trưng District has the biggest tax debt --- more than VNĐ10 billion ($440,000). It is followed by Kevin Joint Stock Company based in Vĩnh Tuy Ward, Hai Bà Trưng District, with a debt of over VNĐ3 billion.

Electrical Material and Mechanic Joint Stock Company in Hàng Bột Ward, Đống Đa District, and Việt Nam Linh Gas Joint Stock Company in Phú Xuyên District are reported to owe land rent of VNĐ6.3 billion and VNĐ2.6 billion, respectively.

Last year, the Hà Nội Taxation Department published information of nearly 1,600 tax debtors, with a total debt of more than VNĐ3.6 trillion ($158.5 million). Soon after, 563 companies paid tax amounting to VNĐ297 billion.

The department and other relevant agencies met tax debtors and instructed them to fulfil their tax obligations. Those who delay paying tax, fee or land rent will be reported to the city People’s Committee for stricter punishment.

Vietnam gains $200 billion from export for first time

2017 is an especially successful year of Vietnam’s export with value exceeding US$200 billion for the first time, equivalent to the growth rate of 21 percent.

That was reported at a conference, attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, to review 2017 operations and implement 2018 missions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi this morning.

The growth rate was said impressive as global trade growth was low, many markets returned to the trend of domestic protection and import limitation.

Good import control created a trade surplus of $2.7 billion. This is one of important factors to ensure macroeconomic balances of the economy. Opportunity exploitation from integration commitments were conducted more efficiently than in previous years. Vietnam recorded outstanding export growth rates from markets which the country has signed free trade agreements with.

2017 saw challenges and difficulties but marked basic moves during the industry’s renovation and restructuring.

Minister Tran Tuan Anh said that industrial production posted a strong growth rate with 9.4 percent, much higher than 7.4 percent in 2016 and beyond the target of 7.1-8 percent.

Of these, manufacturing and processing posted high growth rate hitting 14.5 percent. It was 11.2 percent in 2016 and 10.5 percent in 2015. This field created the main motive power for the growth of the entire industry and trade industry in 2017.

Domestic trade continued maintaining growth momentum, together with export and investment to be important supports to the country’s growth target.

Goods and service supply and demand were stable without scarcity in holidays and after floods. Consumer price index was curbed below 4 percent.

Agricultural ministry to further abolish, simplify procedures in 2018

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said that it will abolish, simplify and adjust lot of business investment conditions and administrative procedures in 2018.

Specifically, the ministry will review 345 business investment conditions to abolish and amend 118 conditions accounting for 34 percent. Of the current number of 508 administrative procedures, 287 ones will be eradicated and simplified accounting for 56.5 percent.

In addition, the ministry will cut 18 out of 40 procedures in specialized inspection.

The time of solving administrative formalities will reduce from 24 hours according to the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine to four hours to road and airway and 10 hours to seaway.

In the upcoming time, the ministry will gather legal documents related to administrative procedures to remove unsuitable and issue new ones to meet management requirements and create transparency for businesses.

For the last past, the ministry has slashed administrative procedures from over 1,000 to 508 as present.

Vietjet co-founder in race for PV Oil strategic stake

Eight investors, including a founding shareholder of Vietnam’s private low-cost airline Vietjet Air, have registered to become strategic shareholders of the Vietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), PV Oil CEO Cao Hoai Duong confirmed on the sidelines of its roadshow on January 12.

The six foreign bidders are Shell, Idemitsu, Puma, Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI), PTT, and SK, while the two Vietnamese contenders are the Sacom Investment Fund and Savico Holding, Mr. Duong said.

“We have received an application from a foreign investor who expressed a wish to buy 49 per cent of the PV Oil shares, the cap set for foreign investors,” he added.

As other foreign investors want to buy a stake between 25 and 35 per cent, the total shares investors have registered to buy exceed the number to be sold, the CEO added.

PV Oil, a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the country’s sole crude oil exporter, plans to offer 20 per cent of its shares at an initial public offering (IPO) on January 25 on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange at an initial price of VND13,400 ($0.6) per share.

With nearly 207 million shares on offer, the company hopes to raise at least $122 million.

PV Oil would also offer up to an additional 44.72 per cent, or 462 million shares, to strategic investors and another 0.18 per cent to employees. The government’s ownership is expected to be reduced to 35.1 per cent after the equitization is completed.

Foreign ownership of PV Oil is capped at 49 per cent of charter capital, while foreign investors are also required to deposit an amount of money equivalent to 20 per cent of the stake they register before entering the auction.

Investors seeking to become strategic investors at PV Oil must commit to long-term investment by retaining their holding for at least ten years.

Strategic investors must commit to prioritizing buying petroleum products from Dung Quat Oil Refinery and realize commitments in terms of market, technology, and management development.

Every potential strategic investor must submit to PV Oil a proposal to develop the company if it becomes a strategic investor, Mr. Duong said.

PV Oil expects that foreign oil and gas corporations will help develop businesses in the non-petroleum sector, such as convenience stores, fast food outlets, car wash services, and garages, along with the network of 540 PV Oil petrol stations.

The company plans to float shares on a local stock exchange one year after its equitization. In Vietnam, the initial public offering (IPO) and the listing are two separate processes.

With some 52 per cent held by Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, the CEO of Vietjet Air, Sovico Holding, which is known for investing in a wide range of businesses, including real estate and aviation, increased its registered capital by 50 per cent late last year to VND3 trillion ($132.16 million).

Sovico’s keenness to join the fuel distribution industry comes as no surprise, as Vietjet Air has been growing rapidly and is poised to surpass national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines in leading in the domestic aviation market.

According to the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), Vietnam’s domestic market was one of the fastest-growing in the world from 2012 to 2016. Growth slowed in 2017 but is expected to continue at a double-digit rate per annum over the next few years.

IFC plans to ramp up banking loans

The financial sector is ranked first in priority of investment in Vietnam for the World Bank Group’s private investment arm IFC in 2018, according to Kyle Kelhofer, IFC country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

“At IFC, we’re keen to do more here. This is a priority country for us and it’s a priority because we think the outlook is good. So we’d like to achieve $800-900 million this fiscal year, [and it] could be a record year for investment in Vietnam for IFC,” said Kelhofer in an interview in Hanoi last week.

As far as the international financial institution is concerned, a well-functioning financial sector is crucial to a growing market. After repeated analysis of the capital needed, including the equity capital needed in the banking sector, IFC believes that it has room to fit in as one of the largest, if not the largest, emerging market investors around the world.

“We’re keen on doing more in the financial sector. This includes targeting specific aspects such as gender finance – promoting access to finance for woman entrepreneurs, which we believe is a priority market around the world and has been well received in Vietnam – financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and green finance,” he added.

In the past years, IFC has provided local banks such as An Binh Bank (ABBank), Vietnam International Bank (VIB), VPBank, and TPBank with various financing packages. This is part of an attempt to address the key development challenges in the country, including the financing gap faced by micro-enterprises and SMEs and the lack of affordable housing in big cities.

Late last year, IFC joined Goldman Sachs’ ‘10,000 Women’ project to provide ABBank with a syndicated senior loan worth $110 million, ultimately aimed at helping the lender triple its SME portfolio and increase the extent of its lending to women-owned SMEs over the course of five years. The amount is said to be the first phase of a total $150 million financing package that IFC is arranging for the lender, $40 million of which comes out of IFC’s own budget, while the remainder is committed by other international lenders.

VIB also received $185 million in a syndicated loan from IFC last year, while VPBank was provided with a $57 million convertible loan, both targeted at helping the lenders further expand their lending to SMEs. In late 2016, IFC also invested $18.35 million in TPBank in exchange for almost 5 per cent of the bank’s stakes.

According to the IFC country head, Vietnam ended 2017 on a high note, with economic growth reaching over 6.8 per cent and foreign exchange strengthened and stabilised with FX reserves reaching some $53 billion. Additionally, rates are coming down, evidenced by the T-Bond rates, the dollar- and local currency-denominated rates, and the 108-point dip in credit default swaps.

“Vietnam is de-risked, which is great, because that means the ability for an investor to mobilise capital comes at a lower cost, which means entrepreneurs can now go further in Vietnam with the same amount of money,” noted Kelhofer.

 IFC’s investment decision is also backed by the country’s decision makers focusing on stability for growth and the fact that Vietnam is a well-diversified economy, which does not rely on one commodity or one export market, according to Kelhofer.

“When [you see] record-high foreign direct investment (FDI) in one year, you would think that job creation will probably go up in the next year. If it’s coming down, you would think it should be easier to invest in things going forward. Overall, the trade market is largely okay. I don’t see any large dark clouds on the horizon, and this is why you see the record number of FDI and rates coming down in Vietnam. It’s not just the IFC thinking this, it’s the opinion of investors around the world,” he added.

First Solar to put new factory into operation before 2018

First Solar, a global manufacturer of thin-film module technology, is stepping up its recruitment to kick-off its operations in Ho Chi Minh City in the fourth quarter of 2018.

First Solar Vietnam has recently held a career day at Binh Duong’s Mira Hotel to support the recruitment of associates across the company’s operations. The company will be developing local talent in roles that include manufacturing operators, quality engineers, supplier quality engineers, EHS engineers, shift managers, IT staff, and all manner of administrative and support roles—bringing First Solar’s total number of associates to over 950 in the nation. 

First Solar has re-affirmed its commitment to Vietnam by injecting an additional $360 million into the construction of a second 1.2GW high-tech factory at South East Industrial Zone in Ho Chi Minh City, bringing the total investment to $830 million.

Combined, the two factories will produce 2.4GW of First Solar’s Series 6 modules annually when fully operational. With preliminary module production expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2018, First Solar’s new Series 6 product, founded on First Solar’s advanced thin film photovoltaic (PV) core technology, will debut with an anticipated 445W generation capacity and 18 per cent conversion efficiency.

“First Solar Vietnam is looking forward to gearing up and teaming up for 2018,” said Chan See Chong, First Solar Vietnam’s managing director. “With the production of our new Series 6 product set to kick-off later in the year, we are looking for new associates to join our skilled workforce, to undertake a full and rigorous induction programme, and to understand our company culture as we ramp up our Dong Nam manufacturing facility.”

“We are committed to investing in the local economy in Vietnam and I want to thank the community and industry for their continuous support to ensure the success of our manufacturing facility. As part of this commitment, we look forward to offering people in Vietnam the chance to kick-start or continue their careers with us,” he added.