Electronic tax collections ‘the best'

 

Applying information technology (IT) management in processing personal income tax is integral to the successful implementation of a Law on Corporate Income Tax, according to the General Director of the FPT IS, Duong Dung Trieu.

 

Trieu said that applying IT for personal income tax (PIT) purposes could not only solve technological problems related to tax modernisation, but also help increase the State budget given decreasing import-export tax in line with international economic integration, especially with Viet Nam being a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

 

As of 1996, the General Department of Taxation has only been able to manage around 3 million tax codes. Four months after applying IT management, five million new tax codes have been issued, over 14 million PIT codes spread across the country.

 

The Prime Minister recently approved a tax system reform strategy for 2011-20, in part aimed at assisting 60 per cent of enterprises in using e-tax services and 50 per cent businesses in making tax registrations through the Internet by 2015 when 95 per cent of tax declarations are set to be checked automatically.

 

According to Le Hong Hai, deputy general director of the General Taxation Department, following two years of implementation, the department will have completed its task of managing personal income tax in accordance with Ministry of Finance requirements.

 

The project had helped develop basic measures for managing PIT in terms of tax registration, the information processing of tax declarations and the function module on tax payments which had as yet not been standardised with regards to tax administration, Hai said.

 

The PIT application, now available for large scale deployment (apart from that in Ha Noi, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces), has helped Viet Nam, ranked 13th in the world in terms of population, manage its tax system for the benefit of the whole country.

 

Second phase management of personal income tax was set to continue to develop in terms of reporting systems, tax registration and the provision of online tax information, Hai said.

 

While Viet Nam's PIT remains modest compared to the entire tax sector, the country plans to further reduce import and export revenues under WTO commitments.

 

In order to meet development needs, Viet Nam has had to increase its national budget revenues, a problem that PIT could help solve.

 

It is expected that, within 10 to 15 years, PIT would account for a special ratio in terms of budget revenues. The IT application had laid a foundation for supporting the Viet Nam's future budget collection, Hai said.

 

IT offers way out of ‘trap'

 

To avoid the middle income trap - the widening gap between middle income and high-tech, advanced economies - Viet Nam has been urged to develop its information communications technology sector.

 

ICT training was the key topic of discussion at the Viet Nam ICT Summit 2011, organised by the Business Software Association of Viet Nam (VINASA) yesterday in Ha Noi.

 

The average per capita income in Viet Nam is now US$1,100 per year. That said, economists have warned that as countries develop and prosper they risk falling into what they call the "middle income trap".

 

Dr Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Viet Nam Economics Institute, said the country must develop its ICT sector and not rely solely on production.

 

However, he said the country had to develop its ICT infrastructure and human resources.

 

Dr Mai Liem Truc, former deputy minister of Post and Telecommunications (now the Ministry of Information and Communications), said policymakers were well aware that the ICT sector needed to be developed.

 

On this occasion, Sao Khue awards were presented to 56 IT products, services on Thursday in Ha Noi.

 

Chairman of the Viet Nam Software Association (VINASA) Truong Gia Binh said the success of the AV Music Morpher Gold 5.0 would encourage local software businesses to send their products abroad.

 

Meanwhile, VINASA awarded a "Golden Partner" certificate to Kamlesh Kothari.

 

Initiated by the Viet Nam Software Association (VINASA) in 2003, the Sao Khue Awards are designed to honour organisations and individuals that make a significant contribution to the development of the IT and software industries in Viet Nam.

 

VN must focus on brand value of rice 

 

Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank country director, stated in a conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on June 13 that Vietnam must make changes in its rice production and export, focusing more on increasing the value of rice.

 

At the conference organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the WB claimed that though Vietnam exports a rather high volume of rice, exports have slumped as the quality is poor and it has no brand name.

 

Besides, there is no coordinating body between production and export.

 

Farmers specialized in rice cultivation are living in tough conditions in very underdeveloped areas. Although the Mekong Delta is known as the country's rice bowl, many children here suffer from malnutrition.

 

Dr. Dao The Anh, director of the Center for Agricultural Research and Development, said that malnutrition in the Delta was much lower than in other parts of the country and was linked to dietary deficiencies or maternal health.

 

According to the WB report, the ongoing challenge facing rice production in the Mekong Delta is the production and export income not reaching the rice farmers and their families.

 

Steven Jaffee, World Bank Rural Coordinator responsible for the WB study of the country's rice production said there were too many growers here and most of them were on a very small scale.

 

Even though rice farming can generate a 30 percent profit margin, most farmers still survive on less than US$1 a day, he added.

 

He noted that big farms (more than two hectares) also generate good income, while small farmers struggle to make ends meet.

 

Bui Ba Bong, MARD deputy minister, admitted that if rice production and export were coordinated and production, consumption and exports were equally controlled, rice exporters and farmers would both benefit.

 

Ms. Kwakwa told Vietnam News, "We're ready to help the Vietnamese Government put in place the right policies to improve quality and productivity and transform the way the markets work towards sustainable growth for farmers."

 

Dr. Pham Van Du, deputy head of the Cultivation Department, said the country has developed a model of effective large-scale paddy farms, with the aim to increase the value of rice.

 

Farmers participating in the project have been provided with high-quality rice seeds, good production techniques and other good-quality agricultural equipment and services, adding that exporters will continue to receive a steady supply of rice.

 

The model of large-scale paddy fields has helped to reduce production costs while increasing the quality and value of rice as well as profit margins for farmers.

 

According to MARD, the total area of large-scale rice farms will be expanded to 20,000-40,000 hectares by 2012 and 50,000-80,000 hectares by 2013.

 

Addressing the conference, Mr. Bong said that paddy is Vietnam’s most important crop as paddy farms accounts for 44 percent of the country’s agricultural land. 80 percent of farmers in the country are rice growers and all Vietnamese people eat rice daily.

 

Thus the Government lays great emphasis on the importance of developing rural rice agriculture.

 

Deputy Minister Bong said the rice sector has made great achievements during the past 20 years. Vietnam exported one million tons of rice for the first time in 1989.

 

Though rice cultivation area has decreased by 380,000 hectares in 2010 compared to 2000, the output soared sharply to 5.3 tons per hectare in 2010 from 3.18 tons in 2000.

 

Vietnam increased its yield per hectare by 28 percent, compared to Thailand's four percent between 1999 and 2010, according to Dr Nguyen Cong Thanh of the Cuu Long Rice Research Institute.

 

Mr. Jaffee said Vietnam has addressed food security issues very well in the past and has become one of the world’s biggest rice exporters.

 

Tight regulations on withdrawing listing required, experts ask 

 

Two listed firms’ requests of withdrawing from the stock market – the first ever in Vietnam - have triggered fears of financial experts that without tight regulations by the market watchdog, the request would cause heavy losses to shareholders. 

 

Two subsidiaries of the Saigon Invest Group, including telecommunication firm Saigontel and Saigon-Quy Nhon Mining Corp, announced at the annual general meeting this year that it would withdraw from the stock exchange due to “recent difficulties on the market”.

 

“The economy of Vietnam and the world have been volatile unexpectedly. Local banks are forbidden from provide loans on stock and property investments, while many share and business bonds issues via the stock market had no buyers. Those facts showed the stock market was not good place for businesses any more,” said Dang Thanh Tam, chairman of the Saigon Invest Group.

 

“The market value of the Saigontel is cheaper even than a tiny land of the firm. Both the board of directors and shareholders of the company cannot find any positive in the market. Therefore staying listed will affect the firm’s status and make our partners make bad assessment of us.”

 

Tam also added that Saigontel’s withdrawal was temporary and would enable the firm to restructure its operation.

 

Nguyen Hoang Hai, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI), said listed firms’ withdrawal from the market was normal if they could do what they planned, such as buying back shares, restructuring operation and avoiding being acquired.

 

“However, detail regulations on withdrawals that are submitted by listed firms themselves are required. I also propose to set up regulations allowing small shareholders to vote for the withdrawal at the annual general meeting,” Hai told Dau Tu Tai Chinh Newspaper.

 

Nguyen Dinh Tho, vice principle of Foreign Trade University, noticed that foreign businesses often focus strongly on company reputation building. Many Vietnamese companies, in contrast, are willing to achieve their targets at any cost, Tho said.

 

“Most small shareholders of listed firms remain unprofessional and do not unite to improve their status,” Tho added.

 

Financial experts admitted the bearish market eased advantages of listed firms, which still have to pay listing expenses. However, they said it was the time to screen the listed companies and to upgrade the required conditions for listing on the stock exchange.

 

Nguyen Bang Tam, vice chairman of the Club of Listed Firms, suggested the State Securities Commission should release more explicit and tighter regulations on listing and withdrawing from the stock exchange.

 

For example, firms withdrawing from the bourse have to wait for a required number of years before being allowed to rejoin the market, Tam said.

 

An official from the State Securities Commission, who wants to be unnamed, said the market watchdog will rely on local laws and international legal practices to make decision on the withdrawing requests.

 

Bumper crop cheers litchi farmers 

 

The Department of Industry and Trade in Bac Giang Province is forecasting a bumper litchi crop this year, estimating a harvest of 189,500 tons of litchis, an increase of 84 percent from last year.  

 

Sai Gon Giai Phong reporters saw many traders in Luc Ngan District of Bac Giang Province buying litchis for VND10, 000 to 19,000 per kilogram.

 

According to Vu Cong Thac of Tan Moc Commune in Luc Ngan District, there are 220 households cultivating litchis on more than 700 hectares, of which 100 hectares have ripened early.

 

Local authorities have organized a meeting to discuss measures to find consumer markets for litchi growers.

 

Bui Van Hanh, deputy chairman of the Bac Giang Province People’s Committee said that local authorities have asked commercial banks to create conditions to help farmers borrow money for short term loans.

 

Local authorities will also coordinate with farmers to help them harvest the product.

 

This year, the province authorities have asked the Trade Promotion Centre in the Department of Industry and Trade to help farmers’ market litchis.

 

The centre is focusing on the Ho Chi Minh City wholesale markets. It will also connect with traders in Laos and Cambodia in order to expand the litchi market.

 

Tra fish breeders discouraged from distress sale 

 

Le Chi Binh, deputy chairman of the An Giang Fisheries Association has advised all tra fish breeders not to make any distress sales of their fish as the recent price drop is only temporary. 

 

Since the beginning of the year, tra fish prices have continued to rise. However, the situation has suddenly reversed, putting several breeders in the Mekong Delta in an insolvency state.

 

According to Binh, tra fish export prices since the beginning of the year have remained higher than during the same period last year.

 

He added that the demand for tra fillet in the world was stable and the present drop in price was temporary. He advised local authorities to inform breeders to feel secure and not hurry to offload fish in the market at low rates.

 

Tra fish breeders have been depressed with the price drop. Vo Van Em from Thot Not District of Can Tho City said that several breeders made good profits of late and he had even taken a loan of VND2.5 billion (US$119,000) for breeding 100 tons of tra fish. Now with the harvest nearing and prices dropping he worries how he will pay back.

 

According to the agriculture industry in the delta, the feed price has increased to nearly VND12, 000 and other input costs have also gone up. This has pushed the production cost of a kilogram of tra fish to VND25, 000 a kilogram.

 

At VND24, 000-25,000 a kilogram, the breeders will only break even.

 

Seafood processing plants believe that tra fish prices have been affected by the ‘psychological factor’. At the end of April, when the prices soared, several breeders refused to sell their fish thinking the prices would hike further. However, one month later the prices began falling which caused a rush to sell. The more fish they sell, the lower the price falls.

 

New air link between HCMC and Phan Thiet

 

Vietnam Air Service Company (VASCO), a helicopter service provider, has coordinated with Sea Links City, to offer a new air service link from Ho Chi Minh City to the Phan Thiet resort town on June 11.

 

The helicopter service was launched in June.

 

The helicopter service will provide a 40 minute service from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City to Sea Links City.

 

VASCO uses the AS350 B2 lightweight single engine 6-seater helicopters meant for sight seeing.

 

Visitors can contact their office at 19 Truong Dinh Street in District 3, HCM City for booking and further information.

 

VNA increases flights to Australia, France 

 

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) has increased flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to Melbourne and Sydney in Australia from June 13. 

 

The number of flights on the Hanoi-HCM City-Melbourne and Hanoi-HCM City-Sydney route will increase from five to seven and from six to seven per week respectively.

 

The national carrier will now operate 14 flights a week to Australia.

 

In addition, Air France has announced that it will increase the number of direct flights on the HCM City – Paris route to five a week.

 

The airline has also cooperated with Vietnam Airlines to offer six weekly flights from Hanoi to Paris on a code sharing basis.

 

Both airlines are offering discount fares.

 

Ha Noi hosts workshop on sustainable development

 

Methods to best promote rapid and sustainable economic development in Viet Nam over the next decade were discussed at a national workshop conducted in Ha Noi yesterday.

 

During the workshop, entitled "Trade policies for Sustainable Development in Viet Nam during the 2011-20 period", attendees debated on how to boost exports, control imports, reduce the trade deficit, promote environmental protection and tackle social issues.

 

Regarding exports, experts and scientists agreed that the country should continue developing the quality of its key products including rice, rubber, coffee and textiles.

 

Viet Nam needed to become more competitive, experts said. They called on companies to effectively exploit export markets while continuing to look for new ones.

 

"Viet Nam should increase its coffee bean exports to high-quality markets," said Le Huy Khoi, an official from the Viet Nam Institute for Trade

 

"It had been targeted that the country will trade 50-70 per cent of its coffee on high-quality transaction floors up to 2015."

 

Workshop participants called on Vietnamese textile companies to increase exports to different markets.

 

"Vietnamese textile companies need to diversify their markets," said Do Kim Chi, an official from the institute.

 

Chi called on textile companies to develop their knowledge regarding international laws based on trade barriers within international markets.

 

Workshop attendees suggested Viet Nam increase its import of high technical products from 2011-20 while limiting the import of products that could be locally produced.

 

All experts agreed that both export and import activities should be developed in line with limiting natural resource exploitation and environment pollution for the purposes of sustainable development.

 

During the one-day workshop, participants analysed various challenges, including economic recession, climate change, natural disasters and energy safety.

 

SBV to tighten monitoring of banks’ financial investments

 

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will strengthen the monitoring of banks’ financial investments, including corporate bonds, as well as lending and financial investment operations on consignment.

 

A source told the Daily this is the outcome of a meeting between the central bank and commercial banks last week.

 

The central bank found a lot of discrepancies in banking operations which saw 19 small and medium banks involved in high risk operations.

 

According to the central bank, in terms of financial investment operations, many banks have invested in securities, especially corporate bonds, with high outstanding loans and a big proportion does not have collateral or risk provisions.

 

By late May, the total financial investment value of the 19 small and medium banks, which have less than VND75 trillion in total assets each, was over VND88.6 trillion, accounting for 15.2% of their total assets and increasing by 2.1%, or VND1.8 trillion, from late last year. However, compared to the same period last year, the figure has risen by almost 94%.

 

Investing in securities of corporations was nearly VND42.7 trillion, making up 48% of the total financial investment value and 17.9% of the banks’ total outstanding loans. Some banks have invested in securities issued by corporations at a high value and proportion, even at 80% of its outstanding loans. They include GP Bank, TienPhong Bank, Nam A Bank and Kien Long Bank.

 

Banks have also carried out an investment consignment and received an investment consignment at high rates which, according to the central bank, is like capital trading to avoid the credit growth cap of 20%.

 

Among the 19 banks working with the central bank, there are seven lenders with a consignment balance of over VND500 billion each. Operations on consignment are diversified from lending, investment and capital management. Investments on consignment account for a big ratio and are of high risk, said the central bank.

 

SBV has also found banks confiding capital to other institutions or individuals to deposit at other banks to earn high interest rates. This is also another method to help banks avoid the credit growth cap.

 

By late May, total investment and lending consignments at 19 banks had amounted to VND19.74 trillion, 8.3% of their total outstanding loans. The figure fell by 7.5% from late 2010 but rose by 460% from the same period last year.

 

In the meeting last week, the central bank asked banks to reconsider an internal process on corporate bonds investment to ensure safety, re-assess risks of corporate bond investments, as well as to adopt a mechanism for provisions for corporate bonds investments.

 

The central bank will also work with big banks to gleam information on their financial investments and their operations on consignment.

 

VN has lucrative retail market: Research and Markets

 

Viet Nam is one of the five most lucrative retail markets in the world, according to a study conducted by Research and Markets, a global market research source.

 

In its "Viet Nam Retail Market Forecast to 2014", Research and Markets predicted that retail sales would surge at a compound annual growth rate of around 23 per cent from 2011-14.

 

This growth was attributed by economic growth of around 6.8 per cent in 2010, changes in the country's regulatory structure favouring foreign investors and increasing consumer attention towards modern retail concepts.

 

In the study, Research and Markets said because the sector was dominated by traditional players, the penetration of modern retailing in the country was quite low.

 

The researcher believed that most consumers preferred buying from corner grocery shops than modern outlets.

 

"This is opposite to international consumers, who tend to shop weekly or sometimes monthly," it said.

 

However, the researchers still believed that modern retail channels would play a crucial role in future growth, improving their position in the market. "Increasing purchasing power, changing lifestyles, and the influence of western culture are some of the key growth drivers in the country's modern retail market," the research said.

 

It was also expected that, during the next few years, a short wave of consolidation would emerge as foreign retailers tried to consolidate their position and deepen their market penetration.

 

In urban areas, they forecast that demand for consumer goods would be strong.

 

"White goods and consumer electronics sectors have witnessed numerous foreign-invested joint ventures that manufacture their brands locally. Most of the output is exported. Although the clothing sector is well-developed and export-oriented, the cosmetics and toiletries sector does not possess well-developed local manufacturing facilities," it said.

 

While making the report, researchers analysed factors critical to the success of the retail industry in Viet Nam. It also identified key players in the market and included their recent activities.

 

Beverages still sell well despite food scare over DEHP

 

Beverages at several supermarkets in HCMC are still selling well despite the latest move by health officials to force distributors to recall 19 types of syrup and juice suspected of containing DEHP imported from Taiwan.

 

Big stores like Co.opMart, BigC and Maximark told the Daily on Monday that the food scare did not drive consumers away from beverage products, as all those black-listed items were not put on their shelves.

 

On Sunday, the HCMC Food Hygiene Agency said it had forced the companies of Gia Thinh Phat, Nhat Phu Quy and Ha Thanh to withdraw 19 types of syrup and juice following warnings from the International Food Safety Authorities Network (Infosan) that such products imported from Taiwan might be tainted with DEHP. These products have been confirmed by two Taiwanese suppliers Possmei International Co. and Tong Jing Network Inc. as having been laced with the carcinogenic chemical di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) that is hazardous to human health.

 

DEHP used for the production of clouding agents is added as a substitute for the more expensive palm oil in food and drink products in order to cut production costs. This is a plastic polymer which has been banned as a food additive since 1999.

 

The above supermarkets said consumers had been better informed this time about the tainted products, so they made the right choice when buying beverages at the stores, unlike the previous scandal related to the tainted jelly TARO when sales of similar products tumbled soon after.

 

“Right after a decision to recall jelly products of New Choice Foods Ltd. (in Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park II in Binh Duong Province), sales of similar products have plunged. Meanwhile, we have not seen any impacts to beverages,” said a representative of Saigon Co.op, the operator of the Co.opMart store chain.

 

As observed by the Daily, the black-listed beverages this time have mainly been distributed to marketplaces or directly to small beverage shops. The 19 products included syrups with flavors of strawberry, mango, litchi, kiwi, apple, grapefruit, orange, pearl and pineapple.

 

Health and food safety authorities have ordered the three above-mentioned companies, all in HCMC, to take all measures to remove the tainted products from the shelves. They have also found three types of candy imported from the Philippines by Ha Mi Co. in Binh Thanh District as having been tainted with hazardous additives, and sealed off all the goods.

 

Regulating temporary import of frozen foods

 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No21/2011/TT-BTC on May 20, regulating the temporary import and re-export of foodstuffs through border provinces. Traders seeking a licence to conduct such activities shall pay a deposit of VND2 billion (US$95,238) to the province in which their warehouse or freight yard is located to ensure compliance with food hygiene and environmental regulations.

The regulation also sets conditions for warehouses or freight yards to include a minimum capacity for 100 40-foot containers and a minimum area of 1,500sq.m, fenced off by a solid palisade, with sufficient electrical supplies and specialised food storage equipment.

 

Circular No 21 provides that the traders shall reduce or halt temporary imports upon order of authorised agencies. A failure to complete customs requirements would require traders to re-export cargo back to the exporting country. Traders who failed to execute cargo clearance at harbors or border-gates would also be forced to halt temporary import and re-export of frozen foodstuffs for six months, with repeated breach to result in a withdrawal of the licence.

 

Circular No 21 takes effect on July 3.

 

Strict requirements for hospital pharmacies

 

Beginning June 10, a retail pharmacy in a hospital must possess a certificate of eligibility for medicine trading. Under Ministry of Health Circular No 15/2011/TT-BYT of April 19, such a pharmacy may take the form of drugstore, medicine counter or retail store for traditional and herbal medicaments located within a hospital's premises.

 

They must post drug prices pursuant to regulations and may not sell drugs at prices higher than those posted. The retail price, including invoiced purchase price and retail markup, must not be higher than those of drugs in the same category on the market. The regulation details allowed markups for different types of pharmacies operating in hospitals.

 

Those retailing traditional herbal medicaments must have technical and physical foundations and personnel satisfying "good pharmacy practice" principles and standards set forth in the relevant roadmap. Foreign-invested hospitals may not open or enter into joint ventures to open their own retail pharmacies without Government permission for pilot operations. The circular supersedes Ministry of Health Decision No 24/2008/QD-BYT of July 2008 on hospital pharmacies.

 

Loss-making SMEs enjoy longer tax break

 

Ministry of Finance Circular No 52/2011/TT-BTC of April 22 extends the corporate income tax (CIT) payment deadline for small- and medium-sized enterprises but does not cover income or gains from real estate investments; finance, banking, insurance, or securities; construction; or lottery services, nor does it apply to excise tax liabilities and profits from trading of commodities restricted from import.

 

Real estate sector grows ripe for mergers, acquisitions

 

A resource crunch has been creating a favourable opportunity for mergers and acquisitions in the property sector, an industry insider has said.

 

"Viet Nam's real estate market is observing an unprecedented period of M&A activity, with both foreign and Vietnamese buyers and sellers active at this time," Neil MacGregor, deputy managing director of real estate services provider Savills Vietnam, said.

"While deals have been scarce in recent years, there is now a growing range of opportunities available to investors."

 

The Vietnamese real estate market was critically short of capital and developers were therefore seeking new sources of finance.

 

"Despite the recent clampdown on new lending to real estate, credit growth over the period from 2008 to 2010 has left many developers facing the pressure resulting from high interest rates, slow rates of residential sales and rising construction costs."

 

There were a number of options open to developers requiring capital to move their projects forward, none of which necessarily required financing from banks if the right partner could be found.

 

These included outright sale of a project, seeking a joint venture partner, en bloc sales of residential units, and strata sales of retail and office space.

 

Many Vietnamese developers continued to hold large land banks and were able to sell land to third parties to raise capital to finance the construction of other projects.

 

"Meanwhile, foreign investors remain frustrated by the lack of feasible projects available to them."

 

More active dialogue between local and foreign investors would ultimately lead to common ground and a realisation that both parties could benefit from partnerships, particularly in tough economic times.

 

A number of deals were done between local landowners and recognised foreign developers this year and this trend was expected to continue.

 

Singapore property group CapitaLand, for instance, announced last month two deals through an affiliate. One was with the Khang Dien Sai Gon Real Estate JSC to contribute 70 per cent to a project worth US$70 million to build almost 1,000 flats in HCM City's District 2.

 

The other was the acquisition of a 65 per cent stake in Quoc Cuong Sai Gon for around $6 million. QCSG owns around 9,000sq.m of land in HCM City's Binh Chanh District and plans to build around 800 flats.

 

Neil said another area where deals were highly anticipated was the retail sector since a growing number of international retail developers and operators sought to enter the Vietnamese market.

 

The number of deals in this sector would rise as local players recognised the benefits of partnering foreign players with many years of experience. A successful, branded retail development could also add significant value to larger mixed-use projects and accelerate residential sales.

 

"It is not just local land-owners and developers that are seeking exits from their real estate investments, but there is also a growing number of foreign-managed real estate funds seeking buyers for theirs."

 

These potential deals could be seen across the real-estate sector, but include hotels, resorts, office buildings, as well as development land within larger projects.

 

He expected to see many more mergers and acquisitions in the real estate sector in the next 12 months.

However, there may be hurdles to these activities.

 

Ho Dang Quang of the law firm Bar Association said regulations on real estate M&A were vague.

 

Do Thi Loan, deputy chairwoman and general secretary of the HCM City Real Estate Association, said project valuation was one of the biggest problems for M&A activities.