VN business ‘must chase customers'

Businesses should make efforts to engage with both previous customers and fresh markets amidst a slow global recovery in consumption demand, industry insiders said.

Bui Quang Hai, chairman of the Mechanical and Industrial Construction JSC board of directors, said that the number of customers coming to negotiate new import contracts with his company had surged significantly over the past several months.

"We have signed many export contracts with European customers to ensure production until the end of second quarter next year," he confirmed.

Thanks to the rebound, the chairman estimated that turnover this year would grow more than 16 per cent to VND153 billion (US$7.28 million), of which export surged 73 per cent.

Le Dang Quang, general director of the Liksin Industry-Printing-Packaging Co, said that demand would increase with the recovery of the industry, especially in terms of paper used in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.

"Paper orders from domestic exporters and foreign customers have increased significantly over the past several months," Quang confirmed.

With the increase in its contracts, Liksin's industrial production value has been estimated to surge 9 per cent to VND253.5 billion ($12 million) this year while turnover rises 22 per cent to VND848.5 billion ($40.4 million).

However, businesses suggested the Government rapidly develop flexible policies in terms of managing interest rates and accessing credit.

Fuel wholesalers would all be profitable if they had followed regulations and stuck to offering a commission of only VND600 per litre to dealers, said Deputy Minister of Finance (MoF) Vu Thi Mai.

Mai made the statement at a press briefing held yesterday to report the results of investigations at four wholesale fuel companies including the Viet Nam National Petroleum Corporation (Petrolimex), PetroVietnam Oil Corporation, Sai Gon Petro Co Ltd and Dong Thap Petroleum Trading Co Ltd (Petimex).

Audit reports revealed that petrol and gas wholesale companies had given their fuel dealers excessively high commissions.

Petrolimex reported a loss of VND1.84 trillion (US$87.6 million) between March and September but the audit revealed that VND522 billion ($24.8 million) of the loss could be accounted for in commissions for fuel dealers, so the real loss was only VND1.3 trillion ($62 million).

PVOil paid the highest commission level of VND900 per litre among the companies and the rate reached VND860 per litre at Petimex.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) had removed limits on the commission level, leaving petrol companies the opportunity to negotiate the rates themselves which resulted in unhealthy competition among wholesalers and dealers, said Mai.

She raised concerns about the high commission level while consumers were dealing with rising prices.

"The companies should have minimised their costs but instead they offered higher commissions to fuel dealers to gain market share, so they did not share in the difficulties of the Government and people," she said.

She referenced Circular No 234 which stipulates that business costs were the basis for prime prices which included a commission of VND600 per litre for fuel dealers.

"We should have clearer regulations on commissions for dealers because the commissions have created complexity in the petroleum retail market. In addition, no standard has been set for Government management," she said.

Nguyen Hong Hai, deputy head of the MoF's Finance Business Department said the investigations showed that the ministry's decision to reduce petrol and gasoline retail prices in August was reasonable.

The audit revealed that except for Petimex, which imported petroleum at a high price early in the year, all the companies had enjoyed profits despite reporting losses.

Specifically, Petrolimex enjoyed VND130 billion ($6.2 million) in profits while Sai Gon Petro gained VND48 billion in profits though it reported VND44.6 billion ($2.1 million) in losses during the period.

Hai also said that use of the petroleum price stabilisation fund at petrol companies had helped save costs and helped stabilise retail prices. A balance of VND115 billion ($5.5 million) still remains in the fund.

However, he said shortcomings remained in the utilisation and management of the fund.

He suggested that management agencies should research methods to renew the fund management mechanism and that the ministry should manage the fund.

"We should also consider adjusting the allowable time for increasing or reducing retail prices to coincide with petrol company imports," he said.

He also asked the companies to develop plans for withdrawing investments out of non-core businesses such as the real estate, finance and banking sectors.

The MoIT asked petrol wholesalers to work with relevant agencies to ensure the balance of foreign exchange according to the State Bank of Viet Nam's exchange rate to avoid losses due to forex fluctuations. About 69 per cent of the country's petroleum is imported.

In September, the MoF established teams to audit prices set by these distributors between January 1 and September 15, 2011, relative to their expenses and trading volumes after the petrol dealers complained of huge losses.

Steel exports likely to hit 2m tonnes this year
 
Steel exports are likely to hit a record two million tonnes this year to earn the country a turnover of US$1.8 billion, announced Viet Nam Steel Association chairman Pham Chi Cuong.

Cuong attributed the results to the growing efforts by steel companies to seek new export opportunities at a time when supply is exceeding domestic demand.

The massive licensing of steel production projects in recent years has led to a supply which currently triples demand. The gloomy real estate market has also resulted in an excess of 365,000 tonnes of steel in the country's inventory.

Meanwhile, the steel industry typically had a surplus of imports so if it failed to find export opportunities it would not have enough foreign currency to import raw materials for production, Cuong explained.

"Fostering exports is an urgent task in the current context," Cuong said.

Trade promotion schemes from the Government and relevant sectors had also shown a positive effect.

"These programmes have helped companies find partners in foreign countries," he said, adding that besides traditional markets such as ASEAN countries, the businesses also boosted their exports to the US, the Middle East and the EU.

The higher quality also helped Vietnamese steel products gain a competitive edge in international markets, he said.

In order to further expand export markets, the association emphasised the importance of regular exchanges of market information between enterprises and Vietnamese trade offices abroad.

Airlines scramble to raise fares as ceiling prices lifted

Domestic airlines are revising their airfares following the Ministry of Finance and Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam (CAAV) adjustment of ceiling prices last week.

Budget carrier Jetstar has upped fares from HCM City to Vinh and Hai Phong from between VND950,000 and VND2.5 million (US$38-120) (excluding taxes); while flights from HCM City to Da Nang will cost VND490,000-VND1.64 million ($23.52-78.72).

Meanwhile, Vietjet Air said flights on its only route between HCM City and Ha Noi would remain at VND900,000 ($43.2) (excluding taxes).

Vietnam Airlines said it would raise fares by 20 per cent for economy and not more than 5 per cent for business class.

Vung Ro refinery site cleared for construction

The Vung Ro oil refinery project is now ready for construction after the south central province of Phu Yen's Department of Planning and Investment announced the project's construction site had been cleared.

The US$1.7 billion oil refinery plant, invested by the UK's Technostar Management Ltd and Russia's Telloil, has been delayed many times since a investment licence was granted in 2007.

Construction is due to begin in the second quarter next year, department director Nguyen Chi Hien said.

More domestic flights during Tet holiday

Mekong Aviation JSC (Air Mekong) will increase the number of its domestic flights from December 23 to February 5 by 25 per cent, with up to 25,000 additional seats.

Following this, Air Mekong will run two more flights per day from Ha Noi and HCM City to the central Highlands city of Da Lat for the Da Lat Flower Festival and double the number of flights on the Ha Noi/ HCM City-Phu Quoc/ Con Dao air routes.

Air Mekong has been selling tickets for travel during the Tet holiday and offered a discounted fare of VND985,000 (US$47) for the Ha Noi-HCM City route before Tet, and vice versa after Tet, while other air fares cost as little as VND450,000 ($21), not including duties and other charges.

Ocean Bank ranks among safest institutions

Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank) announced late last week that it has been ranked in the Top 500 Asia Pacific Largest Banks and Top 100 banks with Asia Pacific's Strongest Balance Sheet by financial journal The Asian Banker.

The Asian Banker journal used several criteria to rank the banks, such as assets, scale, balance sheet growth, risk, quality and liquidity.

The ranking aims to recognise the achievements of leading banks in Asia Pacific and to be used as a guidance on the strength of banks.

PV Gas to sell 200m cu.m to Can Tho industry zones

The PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV Gas) has said that it would supply 200 million cubic metres of gas per year to industrial zones in the southern city of Can Tho in the period 2015-20, via the Block B-O Mon gas pipeline.

The gas pipeline system is 400km long with capacity of 6.4 billion cubic metres of gas per year. It was set to supply gas to O Mon Power Electric Centre in Can Tho City and industrial zones it passes through, including in the southern provinces of Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Hau Giang.

Dong Duong Securities not to merge with Kim Eng

Dong Duong Securities Inc will not merge with Kim Eng Securities Co, the latter confirmed following reports that Dong Duong had transferred all its customers to it last Wednesday.

Kim Eng said that due to difficulties arising from the prolonged downturn, Dong Duong Securities Inc would not have sufficient capital to offer adequate services, calling on Kim Eng for support.

"This is not a M&A (merger and acquisition) deal. Dong Duong Securities Inc is not merging with Kim Eng Securities Co, and Kim Eng will not take over any property as well as any other form of capital contribution," Kim Eng Co wrote in a note.

Four companies fined for late financial reports

The State Securities Commission fined four companies VND70 million (US$3,300) each for information disclosure requirement violations.

The firms included Tu Liem Urban Development Co (NTL), food and beverage firms Thai Hoa Viet Nam Group Co (THV) and Thang Long Co (VTL) and construction material company Thanh Thanh Co (TTC). All failed to submit their financial reports on schedule.

Sugar firm registers to sell 5m Sacombank shares

Ninh Hoa Sugar Co (NHS) registered to sell 5 million holding shares in Sacombank (STB) from December 20, 2011 to February 19, 2012.

Transactions, aimed at supplying more cash for the company's operations, will be carried out by both order matching and negotiation methods. After the deal, NHS's holdings in Sacombank will be reduced to only 168,444.

Hai Phong shipping company to auction 8.7m shares

Hai Phong Equipment Manufacture and Shipbuilding (LISEMCO) will auction 8.7 million shares with the starting price of VND10,800 (US$0.51) a share on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on January 17, 2012.

LISEMCO is a member of LILAMA Corporation with core business focusing on shipbuilding and manufacturing equipment and steel structures for industrial plants. It currently has a charter capital of VND250 billion ($11.9 million).

ADB helps improve traffic safety in Highway N01A

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has decided to grant a non-refundable aid worth US$1.5 million for Vietnam through the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to help improve traffic safety in Highway 1A.

An agreement on the aid package was signed in Hanoi on December 20 by leaders of the State Bank of Vietnam, ADB and the Ministry of Transport.

The grant will help implement a pilot road rehabilitation project that improves traffic safety and climate resilience of the most dangerous and vulnerable segments of the national highway section in the south-central coastal provinces of Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

At the signing ceremony, ADB country director in Vietnam Tomoyuki Kimura said with the dramatic increase in the number of motorcycles and vehicles, traffic safety is one of the most critical challenges of Vietnam where the national fatality rate of about 1.5 per 10,000 persons is among the highest in the world".

He added that as frequent flooding and landslides are also posing traffic safety risks, sufficient safety measures should be in place for improving road infrastructure and driving conditions to reduce human and economic losses of road users and residents along the national highway.

Because the road is a coastal highway, it is extremely vulnerable to the impact of climate change especially flooding resulting from a combination of heavy rains and high tides in the sea. The project will address capacity development of national and local transport authorities and engineering solutions to improve climate resilience of the project road, such as raising vertical alignments, increasing cross-drainage capacities, and stabilizing slopes.

In order to reduce the vulnerability of local populations along the road corridor to the negative impact of increased traffic safety and climate change risks, the project will conduct road safety awareness campaigns in cooperation with Provincial Traffic Safety Committees and local community organizations.

Vietnam to lead Asia in transport infrastructure growth

Vietnam, China and India will lead other Asian countries in transport infrastructure in growth by 2021, according to a report by the International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC).  

IQPC, a popular consultative group, has supported international leading construction companies in providing businesses with practical solutions to overcome their challenges over the past 30 years.

The group’s report was based on economic growth rates and modernization and urbanization trends as well as domestic and foreign investment attraction.

In the coming year, a number of key transport projects will be launched including the US$9.7 billion underground road network in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, and the US$11.3 billion bridge linking Macao and Zhouhai in Hong Kong, China.

However, it said, the bureaucracy and interference caused by the administrative agencies have driven up the construction costs and hindered the progress of the projects.

Despite this fact, the overall situation remains promising thanks to the growing bilateral cooperation between trade partners in the development of transport infrastructure, especially roads to connect remote and poor areas to prosperous ones.

Most impressive in China, Vietnam and India are their long-term projects to help expand the Asian highway network from ASEAN countries to China and some key economies in Central Asia.

Trade promotion continues to focus on exports

December 20, 2011 02:20 PM..The National Trade Promotion Programme 2012 will continue focusing on export to eight key markets, head of the Trade and Industry Ministry’s Trade Promotion Department Do Hai Thang said.

Thang announced the plan at a discussion within the framework of the meeting of Vietnamese overseas trade counsellors, in Hanoi on December 19.

He said trade promotion activities in 2012 will focus on the US, Europe, China, Japan, ASEAN, India, Africa, the Middle East and Southern Asia, adding that those markets are expected to help the country to fulfil the target of earning USD108 billion from exports next year.

Thang also affirmed that the success of trade promotion programmes were attributed to contributions from Vietnamese overseas trade offices, which provided pertinent information about foreign markets and business consultancy to Vietnamese enterprises.

In 2011, the national trade promotion programme registered many achievements, with a total contract value of more than USD800 million signed between Vietnamese enterprises and foreign partners.

Noteworthy were the Vietnam-China International Trade Fair 2011, which saw 19 contracts signed with a value of USD201 million, and the China-ASEAN Trade Fair, with USD300 million worth of signed contracts.

Salt prices rise due to decline in production  

An Van Khanh, deputy director of the Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production said that a decline in the country’s salt production has raised salt prices by 50-60 percent.  
 
Vietnam produced around 800,000 tons of salt in the first 11 months of the year, a significant decline of 32 percent as compared to the same period last year, Khanh said.

Currently, salt traders are purchasing salt at VND2,400 per kilogram in the south central regions and southern Vietnam. While two months ago, salt was being purchased for VND900-1,300 per kilogram in the North, VND500-700 per kilogram in the central and southeast regions and VND900-1,700 per kilogram in the Mekong Delta.

Traders are stepping up salt purchase towards the end of the year. Salt traders in the north agreed to purchase black salt from salt granaries in the south because of a severe shortage of white salt.

Foreign investors confident in local property market

Whilst local realty firms are struggling to sell their products, foreign investors find themselves confident in Vietnam’s property market regardless of the tough times that will likely extend into the whole next year.

Peter Ryder, CEO of Indochina Capital, stated the challenges for local property enterprises are the opportunities for foreign investors to develop further.

At a recent press conference, Ryder said supply has exceeded demand in all segments of the local property market. Still, the purchasing power remained strong.

The key problem is the competitiveness of the project. Those with good locations, designs and prices can attract buyers even in tough, he said.

Citing Indochina Land as an example, the subsidiary company of Indochina Capital operating in property investment and business recorded the total sales revenue of US$250 million in the past five years. In 2011 alone, the revenue is over US$40 million.

Therefore, despite the local property market slowdown with strong decline in revenue, Indochina Land maintained its selling power on the market, especially in Hanoi. In particular, 280 of the total 386 apartments in the project Indochina Plaza Hanoi have been sold.

Other projects of Indochina Land in the central and southern regions also recorded satisfactory sales volume. These include the Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa along with the villa section Estates of the golf course Montgomerie Links in Danang City and Six Senses Con Dao Resort in Con Dao Island.

Sharing the view, Chairman Park Chun Seon of Inpyung Vietnam confidently said that after the slowdown would definitely come the development period. The member company of South Korea’s Inpyung Group is the developer of the apartment complex project Daewoo Cleve in Van Phu Urban Area in Hanoi.

At present, apartment building is the best solution to provide accommodation for the rising population in Hanoi. This is the evidence that the market would soon warm up, said Park.

Owner of Daewoo Cleve project has recently decided on the specific time to finalize sample apartments and start offering. “Whereas many property projects in Hanoi are suspended for the lack of capital, we commit to complete our project on schedule with advanced technology,” said the project owner.

Indochina Capital said despite the gloomy market in Vietnam, HCMC and Hanoi would remain the most vigorous areas in the next 15-20 years.
 
HCM City has one more five-star hotel

The five-star hotel Nikko Saigon on Sunday officially opened in HCMC after two years of construction, taking the total number of five-star hotels in the city to 14.

Nikko Saigon, invested by Fei Yueh Vietnam Co., is managed by the Japan-based JAL Hotels Company Limited. The hotel at 235 Nguyen Van Cu in District 1 is part of a project to develop a large-scale commercial complex named Royal Center.

The five-star hotel consists of 23 stories and three basements with 334 rooms, covering over 58,400 meters. The hotel also features Chinese and Japanese restaurants, banquet and conference halls and reception rooms with the capacity of 450 guests for buffet parties or 600 guests for cocktail parties.

In addition, Nikko Saigon comprises 14 offices for lease, meeting rooms and healthcare services.

On the occasion of opening, the hotel is applying a special promotion program, discounting 20% of room tariffs from now to January 31, 2012.

* InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel groups in terms of numbers of rooms, last week cut a deal with Halong Investment and Development Ltd., or BIM group, to manage a resort hotel project in Phu Quoc.

The scheme is set for completion in 2015. The resort hotel Crowne Plaza Phu Quoc will be the fourth project under the management of IHG at home after the same brands in Hanoi, Danang and Nha Trang.

IHG has chosen Phu Quoc because it has found out many attractive business opportunities there. Phu Quoc is recognized as one of the top ten beaches in Asia last year by travel website TripAdvisor and the island is also among the top five tourist attractions of the future according to CNN.

Located in the south-west of Phu Quoc, 50 kilometers from the inland or a 50-minute flight from HCMC, the hotel is part of a 155-hectare resort complex in Duong Dong Town along Long Beach.

With a total of 400 rooms comprising of 95 homes and five villas, the scheme expands on an area of over 10 hectares lining the seafront, and is set to be put into service after Phu Quoc International Airport opens in 2013 as scheduled.

Crowne Plaza is the world’s fourth biggest high-ranking hotel brand with 108 hotels worldwide.
 
HSBC: 2012 remains challenging for local firms

Head of global markets at HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd. has projected next year would be still challenging for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Vietnam due to both internal and external impacts.

Major challenges for SMEs remained when the world’s woes and credit growth control in Vietnam were taken into account, Pham Hong Hai told the Daily after a business luncheon entitled “Vietnam Macro Outlook & Visibility Creates Opportunities” last week.

“There will be businesses unable to deal with difficulties,” Hai said. He pinpointed cash flow and the access to credit sources as among the major challenges for SMEs next year because banks still scrutinized corporate borrowers when the mobilizing interest rate was still capped as currently.

It is too early to say that 2012 would be bright for businesses when considering global uncertainties, although inflation, borrowing and lending interest rates were poised to go down, Hai said at the event organized by the Malaysian Business Chamber in Vietnam (MBC).

He said the monetary and fiscal policies that the Government was following would support sustainable growth for the future. However, HSBC predicted the world’s business environment would be tougher next year than this year and this would affect Vietnam.   

“So, challenges still stay for enterprises in Vietnam, especially SMEs, in the face of the world’s arising woes and the fact that Vietnam cannot loosen monetary policies,” Hai said.

But the good thing, according to Hai, is that the Government has recognized continuing credit restraints will hit the sectors that still achieve healthy and strong growth and is therefore adjusting policies to make life easier for them.

Hai suggested tailor-made policies for different sectors as he emphasized that one policy could not be efficiently applied to all players. So, appropriate policies were of paramount importance for industries depending on their performance and financial issues.

“One policy could not satisfy and be proper for all enterprises, otherwise it will affect certain enterprises but we have to accept this,” Hai said.

To support SMEs, Hai proposed a fund be in place to guarantee that those SMEs that operate well and provide necessary products and services for local consumers could access banking loans in order to help SMEs ride out tough times.

Hai said HSBC painted a stabilized macroeconomic picture for Vietnam next year and projected no major changes to policies as the Government continued the fight against inflation and address structural issues. The bank forecast the Vietnam dong/U.S. dollar exchange rate would average around VND21,500 for 2012 and 2013.

HSBC projected Vietnam’s gross domestic product would grow 5.8% this year, 7% next year and 7.2% in 2013; consumer price index would be around 18.4% this year, 11.2% next year and 9.5% in 2013.
 
SOEs restructuring is costly: experts

Policy makers and economic experts are concerned that the Government’s program for restructuring State-owned enterprises will be more difficult, costly and time-consuming than expected.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Restructuring the economy” in Hanoi last Friday, Minister of Finance Vuong Dinh Hue said the SOEs restructuring program is very difficult and complicated given its large scale.

The ministry is considering setting aside over VND50 trillion to restructure debts and inject capital to SOEs under the program. “Money is needed for the project. As reported to the Government, enterprises are like patients with high fever. They need rest before taking antibiotics to cure the disease,” Hue said.

Song Da Corporation will pioneer the program but their expenditure is expected at up to US$10 million, which will be borrowed from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Hue said he would weigh raising the role of the SOEs restructuring support fund to help facilitate the program. The return-on-asset ratio of SOEs has never surpassed 6% during the last ten years, Hue added.

The Government also has plans to establish the General Department of State Capital Management and the ministry is making a draft. Accordingly, other ministries have to set up State capital managing boards in SOEs.

Pham Viet Muon, deputy head of the Government Office and deputy chief of the Steering Committee for State-owned Enterprise Reform and Development, meanwhile, said that the biggest challenge is unanimity in thinking.

The nation now has 102 SOEs with capital of under VND2 billion each while only 30 SOEs went public last year, proving that the equitization progress is facing more difficulties, Muon added.

Vu Tien Loc, chairman of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said citizens are expecting the State to speed up the SOEs renovation program.

A survey of VCCI showed that 87% of suggestions urged a strong SOEs restructuring program, 87% said it was necessary to make operation of the State-run sector transparent and 83% said strict regulations were needed for the management of SOEs.

The first thing is to create a fair business environment for SOEs to compete with each other and with private enterprises, Loc said.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is also a tendency in restructuring as the market obtained up to US$2.7 billion in the January-September period. However, more and more Chinese enterprises are plotting to swallow local firms with financial problems, Loc said.

“The Government needs to release policies to help local firms actively join M&A deals to maintain their companies. Otherwise, they will fall into foreign enterprises’ hands, especially Chinese firms,” Loc added.
 
AirAsia spreads wings to Danang

AirAsia has just flown to the central coastal city of Danang as the third international airport in Vietnam that the leading low-cost carrier in Asia services.

AirAsia told the Daily last week that its Airbus A320 aircraft with some 168 passengers on board from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur landed in Danang Airport last Friday, commencing four weekly flights to Vietnam’s third largest international airport after Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai.

The air carrier flew to Danang one day after a new passenger terminal there was opened to both domestic and international services.

In this winter schedule, AirAsia performs flights between Kuala Lumpur and Danang on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Its plane departs the Malaysian city at 7:35 a.m. and arrives at Danang Airport at 9:15 a.m., and then leaves Danang at 9:45 a.m. on those days.

At present, AirAsia and its member airlines conduct daily services from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to HCMC and Hanoi and vice versa. Indonesia AirAsia currently has four weekly services between Jakarta and HCMC on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

AirAsia is the newest air carrier to launch services to Danang. Also last week, Asiana Airlines started to fly between Korea and this airport, with planned weekly frequency on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Singapore-based airline SilkAir has weekly flights to Danang. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines operates two weekly chartered services between Danang and China’s Guangzhou in addition to its 26 domestic daily flights.
 
FOSCO says developing properties serving foreign agencies

The Service Company to Foreign Missions (FOSCO) said it is developing several office buildings, apartments and schools to cater to diplomatic agencies, international organizations as well as local and foreign enterprises.

Nguyen Thanh Liem, general director of FOSCO, told the Daily at the company’s year-end meeting with foreign agencies last Friday that it is developing the FOSCO International Business Center at 64 Pho Duc Chinh Street in HCMC’s District 1

The business center project with 17 floors and two basements will offer offices for lease to diplomatic agencies, international organizations and domestic businesses.

Also, FOSCO is developing the Diplomats Building at 40 Phung Khac Khoan Street, District 1 with 17 stories and three basements together with the office buildings at 39 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street and 2-6 Phung Khac Khoan Street.

According to Liem, the development of these property projects was aimed to expand the infrastructure facilities to meet the rising demand of customers for services. In addition, FOSCO is developing the project FOSCO International School at 23-25 Phung Khac Khoan Street for children of officials working for diplomatic agencies, international organizations and foreign companies in HCMC.

At present, FOSCO is managing some 10,000 Vietnamese employees working at 100 diplomatic agencies and 1,250 offices of foreign businesses in HCMC as well as the offices of non-governmental organizations in 17 southern provinces.

Liem said his company was still efficiently running its business services in 2011, earning VND138 billion in revenue and VND53.67 billion in profit, or exceeding the target by 2.4%.