No fancy cars for executives at state firms

The Ministry of Finance has issued a circular capping the value of automobiles that can be bought for official use by executives at state-owned companies.

Chairpersons of state-owned limited liability companies and CEOs of state-owned corporations are only allowed to buy vehicles costing up to VND840 million (US$43,100).

For other executives it is capped at VND720 million.

However, they are not permitted to use the cars for travel between their home and workplace.

The cars can only be replaced after traveling at least 250,000 kilometers, though in mountainous, rural, and poor areas, and on islands it is slightly lower at 200,000 km.

SAM invests $5 million in property firm

Sai Gon Asset Management yesterday became a strategic partner of the joint-stock firm The Ky 21 (C21) after its fund Viet Nam Property Holding (VPH) made a US$5 million investment.

The investment was implemented through a private placement of C21's share issue last December.

The fund, which represents a 19-per-cent stake, has become the first foreign shareholder of the company, which had a total charter capital of VND193 billion ($9.6 million).

SAM chairman Louis Nguyen said VPH would have a representative in C21's executive board to support financial management and would co-operate in mobilising capital for C21's projects.

C21 chairman Tran Minh Duc said VPH's investment would help develop his residential projects, which target average-income earners in HCM City and upgrade resorts in the central coastal areas.

C21 plans to list at the HCM Stock Exchange for this year's second quarter.

Apart from several apartment projects in HCM City and resorts in the centre, and the office building Yoco, C21 is developing four residential projects in the city.

SAM is running two investment funds, the $75 million Viet Nam Equity Holding (VEH) and $50 million VPH, which are listed on the boards of Frankfurt and Xetra of Germany.

The VPH focuses on apartment projects for average-income earners and retail facilities.

SAM's chairman Nguyen said he was preparing for the third fund later this quarter.

Retail sector developing well

Modern retail outlets would continue to grow in Viet Nam, Viet Nam Retailers Association general secretary cum vice chairman Dinh Thi My Loan says.

Modern retail chains currently account for only 20 per cent of distribution in the country. This is low, compared to the 90 per cent in Singapore, 60 per cent in Malaysia, 51 per cent in China, and 34 per cent in Thailand.

Speaking at a conference last Saturday, Loan predicted that large supermarkets would peak at their highest development next year and then would slow in major big cities while smaller branches, convenient stores and shopping centres would become more popular.

The traditional retail sector, however, would continue to account for the lion's share of the retail market from now until 2015 because of its unique market niche.

Meanwhile, the success of the campaign to get rural dwellers to buy Vietnamese-made goods would spur the rural retail market to further develop, Loan said.

Despite economic difficulties, the country's total retail sales revenue for commodities and services last year jumped 24.5 per cent against the previous year to VND1,561 trillion (US$80 billion), according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The retail industry annually contributes more than 15 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employs more than 5.4 million workers, representing over 10 per cent of the total workforce.

With a population of more than 80 million, Viet Nam's retail market remains very attractive to investors, especially those abroad.

A survey conducted in the fourth quarter of last year by auditing firm Grant Thornton Viet Nam revealed that the Vietnamese retail market had lured more foreign investors than any other market, with 70 per cent of correspondents agreeing that retail was a more promising investment field than education, real estate and healthcare.

However, the market still faced several challenges such as poor distribution systems, lack of overall development strategies and a lack of professionalism among local retailers, especially in corporate management and human resources, the association said.

Businesses optimistic about 2011 capital sources

Local businesses believe foreign investment will soon pour back into the Vietnamese market, both directly and indirectly, after a year of macroeconomic instability.

The real estate market is always promising to investors despite its current drawbacks like capital shortage, high interest rates, and tightened financial policies, Louis Nguyen, CEO of the Saigon Asset Management Corporation, said.

He believes investors will channel their sources into the realty sector again because the aforementioned problems are just short-term.

The property market is going to make a comeback late this year, he asserted.

Many Japanese businesses are now seeking opportunities to invest in Vietnamese enterprises that specialize in retail, distribution, and manufacture of agricultural products, according to Ho Van Tuyen, deputy director of Saigon Mekong Joint Stock Company.

Japan is now intensifying their overseas investments and Vietnam will be its preferable destination, he added.

As an example, Ministop – a convenience store chain under Japan-based retailer Æon Group – has just entered into a deal with Vietnamese coffee maker Trung Nguyen Corporation to operate the G7 Mart-Ministop chain store expected to be opened in May in Vietnam.

Two branches of Japan’s Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have also been allowed to raise their registered capital to US$133.5 million from a mere $15 million, which is seen by investors as a good sign.

“This indicates an upcoming wave of Japanese investors,” an investor remarked.

Accelerating investment in Vietnam is part of the bank’s strategy to invest $1.2 billion in companies around Asia.

Meanwhile, the global SEAF Blue Waters Growth Fund (BWGF) is pretty optimistic about financing Vietnamese businesses this year, Nguyen Viet Quyen, BWGF business development director, confirmed.

“Small businesses without collateral can absolutely get access to our funding if they have a good business plan.”

M&A activity likely to increase in 2011

Major companies are planning merger and acquisation deals in 2011, rather than setting up new business operations.

In November, software giant FPT announced it would buy a 50-per-cent stake in EVN Telecom, a wholly-owned unit of State-owned Electricity of Viet Nam. This was expected to set off a wave of M&A activity among the nation's mobile phone service providers.

FPT chairman Nguyen Thanh Nam said the corporation considered the option of setting up its own mobile phone operations but opted to buy a stake in EVN Telecom as a more efficient way to expand into the telecommunications market.

Meanwhile, with the withdrawal a of South Korea's SK Telecom from the S-Fone network, Sai Gon Postel Co was also searching for a new partner to help it keep S-Fone alive.

In the real estate market, decreasing demand and difficulties in raising capital had forced many developers to transfer projects to other companies, said Kinh Bac Urban Development Co (KBC) chairman Dang Thanh Tam.

KBC had acquired a number of real estate projects in Ha Noi through such acquisitions, and M&A had become the preferred method to establishing a new project from scratch under current conditions.

Prudential Viet Nam Fund Management, for instance, had acquired the interest of South Korea's Vina Development Inc in the Blooming Park apartment project in HCM City. Following the acquisation, Prudential held a 60-per-cent stake in the project, which it renamed Imperia An Phu – while the original primary investor, Kien A Services and Investment Co Ltd, retained just a 30-per-cent interest.

"While it can take a company 3-5 years to turn a profit from a real estate development project, an acquisition of a project already in development can allow investors to turn over capital more quickly with less risk," said Dang Hoang Huy, chairman of Vinaconex Xuan Mai Co.

Tran Nhu Trung, director of consultancy and market research for Savills Viet Nam, said the property market had grown significantly and required greater professionalism and companies with a higher financial capacity.

"M&A deals are something inevitable in this market," Trung said.

Textile industry eyes $12.5 billion in exports

Textile exports this year are targeted to reach US$12.5 billion, up 13% over 2010, according to objectives set by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Le Quoc Anh, senior consultant of the Vietnam Textile Trading Association, admitted it is a little hard to achieve the figure but said it is within reach.

Vietnam is among the world’s top 5 textile exporters in 2010, with total turnover hitting US$11.2 billion.

Currently, many Vietnamese textile businesses have rejected overseas orders as they have been fully booked.

Italian companies ready to do business

The Italian government and authorities of the nation's Lombardy region are seeking business opportunities with Vietnamese partners.

To further promote opportunities, a seminar on a cross-industry business mission to internationalise the Lombard, system in Viet Nam was kicked off in Ha Noi yesterday for officials from the region and Vietnamese partners to discuss the business opportunities.

All will be looking for meaningful business opportunities in a variety of sectors, ranging from automobile and motorcycle parts, to textile machinery and furniture, from paper to construction and pneumatic equipment and to plumbing and heating equipment.

Speaking at the seminar, Italian Ambassador to Viet Nam Lorenzo Angeloni drew a picture of bilateral relations with a particular emphasis on the links with the prosperous and industrious Lombardy Region. One-to-one business meetings between Italian and Vietnamese companies and visits to local counterparts, industrial parks and associations will follow on today and tomorrow.

The mission comes on the heels of a significant strengthening in bilateral trade relations. According to Italian official statistics, Italy's exports to Viet Nam grew 25 per cent in the first nine months of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009, while the reverse flow gained 17 per cent.

Trade between Viet Nam and Lombardy region has also steadily increased with an average annual growth rate of 9 per cent per during the 2001-09 period.

Notwithstanding this positive overall trend, exports from Lombardy to Viet Nam in the first nine month of last year amounted to about 75 million euro (US$99.4 million) or 87 per cent of the level achieved in the same period in 2009.

On the other hand, imports from Viet Nam into Lombardy grew rapidly, to an amount of 179 million euro ($237 million), 34 per cent more than in 2009. Trade data is provisional and a clearer picture will be drawn when all of the year is accounted for.

"These links have recently been consolidated through an inter-institutional co-operation agreement that commits Lombardy and Viet Nam to a closer partnership during the visit to Italy of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung," said Marco Saladini, the Italian Trade Commissioner in Viet Nam.

"The agreement facilitates, promotes and encourages co-operation in a number of fields, including the development of small and medium enterprises, through commercial relations that enhance the competitiveness and export capacity of the companies involved."

"I firmly believe this mission is an important pillar of this mutual support approach. Spearheaded by the 10 participating companies, it offers a chance to bring the excellence of Made in Lombardy goods to the large and promising Vietnamese market," Saladim said.

Floating storage unit makes first oil shipment

The Floating Storage and Offloading Unit (FSO) of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp (PTSC Bach Ho [FSO-5]) late last week exported its first oil shipment in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

This first offloading was witnessed by representatives from Vietsovpetro (VSP), PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC), independent inspectors EIC and other sub-contractors.

The sale was finished after 20 hours with a shipment volume of more than 31,855 tonnes with zero impurity basic sediments and water (BS&W) content and 0.02 per cent volume deviation which is within the acceptable range of Vietsovpetro.

"The offtake which took place in bad weather conditions has proved the leaders' strong-determination, employees' great efforts and high devotion of the PTSC in delivering the project on schedule," said PTSC's general director Nguyen Hung Dung.

With modern technologies and advanced functions PTSC Bach Ho (FSO-5) is the biggest floating storage and offloading unit built in Viet Nam. It was built to serve the drilling of VSP. It is executed by the Nam Trieu Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.

PTSC Bach Ho received its first oil two months ago and spent 60 continuous working days preparing for the first offtake.

Firms to pay $318m in dividends in Q1

Many listed companies have announced they will pay cash dividends in the first quarter of this year, with the total amount estimated at around VND6.2 trillion (US$317.9 million).

Among enterprises that have already finalised lists of shareholders to participate in dividend payouts, the total has already exceeded VND5.2 trillion ($266.7 million).

Vietinbank (CTG) and Eximbank (EIB) are the top dividend payers, with CTG to pay out a cash dividend totalling VND2 trillion ($102.6 million) and EIB a dividend worth over VND1.26 trillion ($65 million). Financial conglomerate Ocean Group (OGC), meanwhile, is readying a dividend of VND250 billion ($12.8 million).

Besides banks, real estate companies are also ponying up a lot to pay dividends to shareholders in the first quarter, although no single company will pay more than VND100 billion ($5.1 million). Among the firms in the sector paying a dividend are Development Investment Construction Corp (DIG), Tu Liem Urban Development Co (NTL) and HCM City Infrastructure Investment Co (CII).

Banks and real estate developers tended to pay high cash dividends because their return-on-equity (ROE) ratios were higher than in other sectors, said Au Viet Securities Co deputy director Le Anh Thi.

"Meanwhile, the business results of many enterprises were negatively affected by high interest rates last year, and these firms will likely retain earnings to invest in business operations this year, rather than paying cash dividends," Thi said.

This month, many companies will review their 2010 business results, and more are likely to announce dividend plans.

Some other companies have already decided to pay a cash dividend during this quarter but have not yet concluded their shareholder lists, including PetroVietnam Drilling (PVD), Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corp (REE), and Becamex Infrastructure Development Co (IJC).

Commenting on whether dividend capital was likely to be reinvested in the stock market, Thi said there were no clear signs that would happen, but he expressed hopes that foreign investment flows would increase after the conclusion of the Party Congress, when economic conditions would become more stable.

PV