At the opening ceremony

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) inaugurated an innovative start-up centre in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 17. 

On this occasion, the VCCI also joined hands with Japan’s Brain Works Group to open an ICT renovation centre in the city. 

Nguyen Phuong Lam, Deputy Director of the VCCI’s branch in Can Tho, underlined the urgent demand for technological application in industrial and agricultural development, and other spheres in the Mekong Delta amidst the fourth industrial revolution. 

He also mentioned close links between such sectors as industry, agriculture, infrastructure, education and health care, and information and communications technology (ICT), which, the official described as an important foundation to improve competitiveness of businesses and the nation, and to improve living standards. 

The ICT renovation centre, which is established on the basis of cooperation between the VCCI Can Tho and Brain Works Group, aims to turn Can Tho into a hub of economy, education and science-technology in the Mekong Delta region and the country as well, Lam said. 

The centre is expected to step up development cooperation in ICT renovation and application in Can Tho and other Mekong Delta localities, while connecting State agencies, non-governmental organisations, businesses and academies of Vietnam and Japan in this field. 

Initially, the centre will gather leading Japanese technological experts, with cooperation of nearly 15 Japanese businesses specialising in recycling, environment, bio fuels, education, Internet of Things, ICT, health care, building design, new materials and food processing. 

Professor Yoshiyuki Kawazoe from Tohoku University, who is the centre’s director, said the centre will partner with big scientific centres in Hanoi and HCM City, and others in emerging nations, ASEAN member countries, Japan and the US’s Silicon Valley. 

The centre will also promote innovative start-ups in order to create new firms in innovative technoloies in Can Tho and the Mekong Delta at large. 

Meanwhile, as part of the Mekong Start-up Networking established in 2016, the innovative start-up centre operates under the management of the VCCI Can Tho and consultations of organisations and individuals at home and abroad. 

During its first phase, the centre will carry out the exchange of experts, provide consultations regarding start-up policies for localities, and organise start-up training courses. ICT incubation models will be formed from 2019 onwards. 

The two centres are expected to create a momentum for development cooperation in technology and the birth of new businesses, contributing to economic development in the region and the nation.

Vietnamese businesses to explore opportunities in Malaysia

Many Vietnamese firms are set to participate in the 2018 Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) in Malaysia to exchange information and seek business opportunities, a meeting heard in Ho Chi Minh City on April 16.

To be held from September 6 to 16 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur, it will feature three main events – the 2018 Selangor International Expo, the 2018 Selangor-ASEAN Business Conference, and the 2018 Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention.

Dato’ Hasan Azhari Haji Idris, CEO of Invest Selangor Berhad, the event’s organiser, said amid the current global economic situation it was imperative for ASEAN members to operate as a united community and support each other.

As the gateway to ASEAN, Selangor would act as a centre point that hosts and connects a rich network of trade industry players globally by leveraging a solid platform like SIBS, he said.

Sofian Akmal Abd. Karim, the Malaysian consul general in HCM City, said: “Through its rich network, the summit presents opportunities for local and foreign multi-national corporations to showcase their products and services. Subsequently, it also acts as a strategic avenue for marketing, collaborations and partnerships, and provides exposure as well as information on the latest technological developments.”

Faizal Izany, trade counsellor at the Malaysian consulate, said one of the summit’s main events, the food and beverage-focused 2018 Selangor International Expo, would be a good platform for Vietnamese food producers to promote their products in Malaysia as well as ASEAN and global markets.

Vietnamese enterprises would also have a chance to learn about halal food and how to get the certification to penetrate the huge global halal market, he said.

Idris said the 2018 SIBS is expected to have a total of 1,000 booths and 25,000 visitors, up from 691 and 22,071 last year.

At the meeting, the Vietnam Exporters Association and other business groups based in HCM City said they would send business delegations to the summit.

Trade between Vietnam and Malaysia was worth 10.06 billion USD last year after rising by 19 percent. 

The two countries are striving to lift their trade to 15 billion USD by 2020 under their Strategic Partnership framework.

Karim said Selangor was the largest of Malaysia’s 13 states in terms of GDP, making up about 22.7 percent of the country’s economy in 2016. It was also one of the most developed states and most populated, he added.

Invest Selangor provides information, facilitation services and start-up and expansion assistance for businesses planning to invest in the state.

Logistics firms asked to strengthen connectivity

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has stressed the need for logistics firms to intensify connectivity and expand financial scales in order to further develop the sector.

Currently, most of logistics firms are micro-, small- and medium-sized ones, which hampers the effectiveness of logistics activities, Anh told reporters on the sidelines of a national conference in Hanoi on April 16 to seek ways to reduce logistic expenses and improve transport connectivity.

He suggested the firms apply information technology in administration as e-commerce continues developing and is becoming a driving force for the development of trade in general and logistics activities in particular.

Businesses operating in this sector were advised to gain access to the Government’s development programmes.

The minister also emphasised the importance of maintaining a dialogue mechanism for enterprises and the Government.

Regarding the sector’s shortcomings, Minister Anh pointed to the limited capacity of the economy and businesses themselves, especially in technology and human resources.

The State management on trade, particularly in specialised inspections and import-export activities, remains weak, which results in losses in both time and money for businesses.

In addition, asynchronous transportation infrastructure leads to high costs of logistics services, Anh added.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam ranked 64th amongst 160 countries in the Logistics Performance Index in 2016. The Southeast Asian country’s logistic sector records an annual average growth rate of 14-16 percent. 

However, the expenses for logistic services accounted for 20.9 percent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), of which transportation costs amount to 59 percent.

The shipping costs of a 40 feet container from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (excluding loading and unloading costs) is estimated at 40 million VND (1,762 USD), 9.7 times higher than that of sea routes and 2.5 times higher than that of railways, according to Ministry of Transport.

Businesses run by disabled people seek ways to grow

A conference on the development of production facilities run by people with disabilities took place in Hanoi on April 17, gathering suggestions from participating public agencies and disabled businessmen.

Organised by the Association in Support of Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans (ASVHO), the event discussed measures to help these establishments overcome difficulties and create more jobs for the disabled.

Addressing the conference, Vice Chairman of the ASVHO’s Central Committee Nguyen Trong Dam stressed the Party and State have always paid attention to generating employment for people with disabilities, including invalids. 

In line with the nation’s economic growth, these people have turned their production facilities into cooperatives and companies with sound performance.

To date, disabled people have operated close to 700 production establishments in Vietnam, creating more than 40,000 jobs with an average monthly income of between 5 and 7 million VND (220 – 308 USD). Those which are members of the ASVHO make an annual contribution of over 500 billion VND (22 million USD) to the State budget. 

Dam, however, pointed to the modest number of these businesses, adding that they often have small scale of between 10 and 15 labourers and face difficulties in terms of capital, technology and production area. Most of their products are handmade, hence lacking competitiveness and just being distributed domestically, he said.

Nong Van Chuan, a handicraft business owner in Binh An village of Na Ry district in Bac Kan province, proposed authorities of different levels direct the organisation of more vocational training classes for disabled people, and help their production facilities obtain loans at low interest rates and distribute their goods.

Agreeing with Chuan, Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, head of the Thuong Thuong Handmade company in Hanoi, recommended that ASVHO create opportunities for the formation of business links in support to the distribution of the group’s products.

Samsung helps Vietnam train experts in support industry

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Samsung Vietnam on April 17 jointly launched a programme to train 200 Vietnamese experts serving training and re-coaching demand of supply firms in support industry of Vietnam.

Addressing the launching ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung affirmed that the RoK is one of the top economic partners of Vietnam, while Vietnam is also one of the major partners of RoK firms.

More and more Korean businesses are operating in Vietnam, making important contributions to the country’s economic development, he said.

He added that currently, about 150,000 Vietnamese people are living in the RoK, a strong force that helps foster the Vietnam-RoK partnership.

Vietnam is on the way to industrialisation and modernisation, he said, stressing that the country is focusing on three strategic breakthroughs of completing the socialist-oriented market economy institution, developing synchronous infrastructure system and transforming growth model to improve the economy’s competitiveness.

He underscored the need to boost the growth of support industry, especially in electronics, mechanical manufacturing, automobile, footwear and garment. Therefore, the country has always created optimal conditions in policy as well as a favourable legal corridor for this industry’s expansion.

However, the Deputy PM also pointed to the poor capacity of Vietnamese supply firms and their weak connectivity while stressing the vitality of investing more on human resources.

He expressed his belief that the programme will make great contributions to the expansion of Vietnam’s support industry.

The Deputy PM also asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to support Samsung in dealing with arising problems for the highest efficiency of the programme.

Meanwhile, Shim Won Hwan, Director-General of Samsung Vietnam, said that human resources training for enterprises is the shortest path for Vietnam to improve competitiveness in the future.

This year, Samsung plans to give consultations to 12 Vietnamese firms within the programme, he said, adding that sending Samsung experts to Vietnamese firms will be a good way to boost the support industry’s growth.

He held that the launching of the programme marks a new development milestone between the Vietnamese Government and the company.

After graduating, 200 experts of the programme will be sent to Vietnamese firms across the country.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh hailed the significance of the programme, holding that its success will help enhance capacity of Vietnamese firms, strengthening their competitiveness and opening up new opportunities for them in engaging in supply chains of multinational groups, including Samsung.

HDBank to pay 35 per cent dividend
     
Housing Development Bank (HD Bank) has announced it will pay a dividend of 35 per cent for last year, 15 per cent in cash and 20 per cent in the form of bonus stocks.

It had paid 30 per cent for 2016.

The lender reported a pre-tax profit of VND2.42 trillion (US$106 million) for 2017, representing a year-on-year increase of 110.6 per cent.

The HCM City Securities Corporation has forecast pre-tax profit of nearly VND4 trillion ($175 million) for this year.

It expects HDBank to have outstanding loans of VND189 trillion ($8.3 billion) at the end of this year and increase deposits by 20 per cent.

The bank has said it will use Big Data and provide financial services to supply chains.

Sacombank ATMs offer free overseas remittance to customers
     
For the first time, Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) is offering customers free remittance receipt services at its ATMs.

To avail this service, customers do not need to have a Sacombank account number or card.

As soon as the sender completes the remittance procedures, Sacombank will send a receipt code via SMS to the recipient’s mobile number.

Within 10 days of receiving the code, a customer can go to any Sacombank ATM any time to get the money by following a few simple steps. The customer has to press 9 at the ATM and choose the transaction language and receiving remittance service. He/she will then need to enter the receipt code and the citizen identification number or passport number.

After that, the customer needs to enter the withdrawal amount, which is a maximum of VND10 million per transaction, followed by the OTP (one-time password), which is sent to the customer’s mobile number as soon as he/she enters the withdrawal amount. After entering the OTP, the customer can receive the remittance money and invoice from the ATM.

In addition to receiving the receipt code sent by Sacombank and withdrawing money via ATMs, customers can also receive money directly at Sacombank transaction points within 30 days.

Customers receiving remittances at transaction points are entitled to many benefits, such as exchange rate preference when converting foreign exchange to Vietnamese dong, preferential remittance transaction fee, preferential international payment, additional interest rate when depositing savings and free payment account opening service.

SAM Holdings to focus on financial investment
     
SACOM Investment and Development Joint Stock Company has said it will continue to focus on financial investment this year.

At its annual general meeting in HCM City on Tuesday, SAM Holdings, as the company is commonly known, reported that financial investment in the first quarter of this year had helped it achieve 40 per cent of the full-year profit target.

CEO Tran Anh Vuong said based on the forecast for the stock market this year financial investment would continue to contribute greatly to the company’s business.

SAM would withdraw from inefficient areas, he said.

“The company will focus its investment in key sectors of the Vietnamese economy, IPO companies and start-ups with high potential.”

Besides financial investment, real estate is also expected to be profitable for the company this year.

Last year its member company, SAMLAND, had got approval to develop Samsora Riverside with 1,000 apartments.

The project would bring revenues in 2018 and 2019, the company reported.

This year it targets revenues to grow by 20 per cent to VND2.95 trillion (US$129 million) and profit before tax by 26 per cent to VND180 billion ($7.9 million).

Shareholders approved an increase in registered capital to VND3.5 trillion ($153.5 million).

Last year SAM’s revenues grew by 30 per cent to VND2.4 trillion, or marginally short of the target.

Profits grew four-fold to VND143 billion.

In 2017 the company’s main business of wire and cable trading saw revenues double.

Income from financial investment was VND238 billion, or 190 per cent of the target.

SAM Holdings, which began life as a telecom manufacturer and distributor, has now grown into a conglomerate with interests in fanancial investment, housing development, amusement-related property development and agricultural technology.

Motorcycle sales in first quarter grow slightly

The Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM) has reported that in the first quarter of 2018, its five members - Honda Vietnam, Suzuki Vietnam, SYM Vietnam, Piaggio Vietnam and Yamaha Motor Vietnam - sold 803,204 motorbikes of all kinds, up 1.9 percent from the same time last year.

On average, each month the five firms sold nearly 270,000 motorbikes which means each day, Vietnamese people nationwide bought nearly 9,000 motorbikes. 

Diverse designs of about 15 kinds of products with various prices ranging from 20 million VND (880 USD) to 250 million VND (11,000 USD) satisfied the demand of all customers, according to the association.

However, the VAMM did not release reports on sales for the whole market or export volume.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as more people in Vietnam are choosing other travel methods than motorbikes, the market has suffered low growth in recent years.

Earlier, the association forecast the market is entering a saturation period. Meanwhile, automatic motorbikes now account for 45 percent of the market share. Sales of the products are expected to increase in the future as people’s income increases, added the association.

Ecopark shines at national property awards 2018

The Ecopark urban area in the northern province of Hung Yen was honoured with “best urban area project” award at the Vietnam National Property Awards 2018 held on April 14.

The awarding ceremony was held by the Vietnam Real Estate Association and the Management Agency for Housing and Real Estate Market under the Ministry of Construction.

The green city was built by the Viet Hung Urban Development and Investment JSC (Vihajico) in 2009. Situated along the Bac Hung Hai river and straddled by the Red River and Duong River, it has excellent landscape and architecture, which focuses on clean and fresh living conditions while bringing modern amenities to residents.

The urban area stretches nearly 500 hectares while the lake and tree areas account for 110 hectares.

Ecopark is planned to become a multi-functional city with total investment of nearly 10 billion USD, providing a wide range of housing like middle-range and high-end apartments, top-notch villas, townhouses and shop houses. 

Its developer Vihajico was also honoured with “most prestigious real estate developer” award for building a functional urban area which represents the trend of sustainable and green architecture.

A total of 54 businesses and projects were honoured with the Vietnam Property Awards 2018 in eight categories. The awards cover prestigious real estate developer (11 awards), best urban area (6 awards), best resort development (5 awards), best office building for rent and shopping mall (3 awards), best residential area (10 awards), best green building (6 awards), best real estate transaction floor (7 awards) and best social housing project (6 awards).