Business matching event opens in Hanoi

A business matching event for Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese manufacturers and related businesses has opened at the National Exhibition Construction Centre in the Nam Tu Liem District of Hanoi.

The 2-day Factory Network Business Expo running February 23-24 is sponsored by the Japan External Trade Organization.

It is designed to assist buyers and sellers in finding potential business partners and facilitate one-on-one meetings, giving them an opportunity to maximize networking opportunities.

At the event, some 15 large banks and other institutions from Japan including the 77 Bank, Aichi Bank, Bank of Kyotoa, Bank of Nagoya, Toyota, Canon, Honda, Yamaha and Tamron to name only a few are participating and interested in business opportunities.

Hanoi fair promotes links in manufacturing industry with Japan

A fair of manufacturing technologies kicked off in Hanoi on February 23, opening an opportunity for Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises working in the mechanical engineering industry to expand cooperation. 

As the first event of this kind in Vietnam, the fair attracted the participation of 138 enterprises, including Japan’s leading groups such Toyota, Canon, Honda, Yamaha, Tamron, and NEC. Hanoi sent 28 firms to the event.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan said Hanoi is home to 470 enterprises operating in the support industry, including over 250 mechanical firms, 132 electronic companies and 85 textile firms. 

The city always attaches importance to developing cooperation with Japan in all fields, especially in the mechanical engineering industry, he said. 

The two-day fair aims to help Vietnamese enterprises access high technologies, thus deeply joining global production networks, he noted. 

It lays a vital foundation for the two countries’ businesses to foster trade links in the future, he stressed.

Instant food among most voted high-quality Vietnamese goods

Manufacturers of sauce, seasoning, dry and instant food, confectionary, non-alcoholic beverage and construction materials (bathroom accessories, tiles) are among those with products voted as high-quality Vietnamese goods.

The information is part of a 2016 survey of Vietnamese consumers released by the Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods in Hanoi on February 23.

The survey was conducted in the cities of Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, and Ho Chi Minh City, and the provinces of Nghe An, Binh Dinh, Dak  Lak, Dong Nai, An Giang, Ben Tre and Dong Thap.

Consumers mentioned more than 3,800 businesses, 805 of which gained enough votes for their products to be recognised as high quality.

The survey results show that 42 companies have won the high-quality Vietnamese goods title for 21 straight years since the voting programme was launched. Meanwhile, 144 others obtained the recognition for the first time.

Market expert Truong Cung Nghia said traditional markets are being dwarfed by supermarkets. Other distribution channels such as specialised stores or groceries still post stable growth as they are convenient for consumers.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese consumers are still acquainted with physical store shopping. Although the online distribution network is expanding, it is yet to achieve dominance. Consumers shop mostly fashion items, cosmetics and electronic devices online.

Consumption behaviours are still affected by advertisement, but social networks have yet to be a major information channel for consumers, especially middle-income earners and those in rural areas, Nghia said. 

APEC finance, central bank deputies concludes first working day

The APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (FCBDM) finished the first working day in Nha Trang city, in the central province of Khanh Hoa on February 23. 

Opening the APEC Finance Ministers’ Process (FMP) this year, the two-day event is co-chaired by Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha and Deputy Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Thi Hong. 

The agenda on the first working day consisted of global and regional economic-financial outlook; the implementation of the Cebu Action Plan; long-term infrastructure investment; base erosion and profit shifting; and disaster-risk financing and insurance.

Concerning the economic-financial outlook, participants agreed that the global and regional economic growth is positive but still faced with difficulties and challenges, such as sluggish external demand, environmental issues, and inequality.

They took note of diverse policy responses by member economies, saying there was high demand for cooperation and coordination on macro-policy responses in the region to promote growth and macro-economic rebalancing in member economies, in a bid to boost trade, regional connectivity, and the participation in global value chain. 

Discussing the Cebu Action Plan (CAP) and proposed reform plan for the APEC FMP, the deputies heard a report on the CAP implementation and endorsed a list of initiatives/deliverables implemented by member economies and technical support from international organisations. 

The meeting encouraged APEC members to continue registering their initiatives/deliverables with the APEC Secretariat for further implementation and requested international organisation to reserve additional resources for technical assistance to support APEC member economies in their activities for the successful realisation of the CAP.

On the subject of long-term infrastructure investment, participating delegates shared their respective experiences on challenges to public-private-partnership (PPP) projects.

They focused on risk allocation issues between State and private investors, tools to mitigate and share risks, as well as the role of private investors in PPP projects.

The deputies also discussed ways to promote cooperation on the issue among APEC members and to implement related activities in 2017.

Regarding base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), participants discussed and shared experience on implementing BEPS packages, including BEPS minimum standards. 

Member economies including Australia, Japan and Indonesia presented their respective cases on implementing BEPS packages and projects. 

The meeting ended its first day with a session on disaster risk financing and insurance, where participants discussed national strategies on the matter as well as methodologies on building disaster risk databases. 

Member economies such as Japan, Australia shared experiences on the formulation of their respective national strategies on the subject as well as the management of pubic assets against the consequences of natural calamities. 

The second working day will focus on financial inclusion and other business issues.

Vietnam welcomes investors from Asia Business Council

Vietnam welcomes and aims to create optimal conditions for investors, especially those with high technology and good management skills.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue made the remark at a function welcoming the 2017 Spring Forum held by the Asia Business Council in Ho Chi Minh City on February 23.

He said Vietnam prioritises businesses ready to connect with Vietnamese partners and operate in fields suitable with the country’s economic restructuring.

Vietnam recorded positive economic growth last year, with exports increasing by nine percent, high foreign direct investment, and more than 110,000 newly-established businesses, he noted.

The forum is expected to boost innovation and sustainable development in the region, he said.

He confirmed the Vietnamese Party and State’s consistent policies of actively engaging in the global economy and being a reliable partner of all nations and investors.

The Vietnamese Government is working to increase the competitiveness of the economy and develop more effective, productive, and innovative economic models.

Chairperson of the Asia Business Council Lubna Olayan said the council is impressed with Vietnam’s growth over the past five years amid global economic struggles.

She also highly lauded the country’s determination to promote sustainable economic growth to become a young, dynamic economy with abundant and high-skilled human resources.

The 2017 Spring Forum will be held on February 24-25, focusing on sustainability and creation as investments for the next 50 years.

High liquidity, but no drop in interest rates

Despite good liquidity in the banking system, the peculiarities in Vietnam’s monetary policy management has prevented the decline of interest rates on deposits, a central economic report said.

The Party Central Committee’s Commission for Economic Affairs in its Vietnam annual report in February 2017, entitled: ’2017 – Overcoming difficulties and continuing to develop’, said that it would be difficult to use inter-bank rate to impact the market interest rate due to the peculiarities in Vietnam’s money and banking policy management.

According to the commission, there is a major difference in the monetary policy management of Vietnam compared with other countries. The committee explained that in Thailand, Indonesia and many other countries, the monetary policy management is implemented in accordance with the inflation target. However, the monetary policy management in Vietnam is for multi-purposes, including inflation control, foreign exchange stability and capital control.

It defeats these purposes, when there is pressure on foreign exchange rates, the commission said.

It has cited last year’s experience in the report. When the exchange rate increased sharply in the wake of US’s Fed interest rate rise, the central bank had to sell the US dollar and increase the interest rate of treasury bills to reduce the pressure on the foreign exchange rates. It caused a sharp rise in inter-bank rate.

Therefore, according to the commission, maintaining low interest rates in the inter-bank market triggers instability, and it will be a barrier to the commercial banks unwilling to lower interest rates (mainly long-term rates).

Besides this, excess liquidity in some banks does not easily flow into other banks that are short on liquidity and do not have good asset quality. According to the committee, it is difficult for the latter to borrow from the first, unless they have secured assets such as G-bonds.

Therefore, the latter must increase interest rates to higher levels than the average rates to be able to attract depositors.

This year, the central bank has targeted keeping the interest rate stable, but some commercial banks inched up deposit interest rates in the first month of the year.

However, the central bank said the rise was only in some small-sized banks and did not reflect the common trend of the entire banking system. It affirmed that interest rates were stable in the first month of 2017 and would remain steady for the entire year.

Currently, deposit interest rates average at 0.8 percent to 1 percent per year for below one-month terms, 4.5 percent to 5.4 percent per year for one-month term to six-month terms, 5.4 percent to 6.5 percent per year for six-month terms to 12-month terms and 6.4 percent to 7.2 percent per year for terms exceeding 12 months.

APEC members should join global value chains deeply: MOIT official

Amidst current globalization trend and regional economic connectivity, each APEC member should be aware of the significance of becoming part of the global supply, production and value chains, said a Ministry of Industry of Trade official.

The statement was made by Luong Hoang Thai, head of the ministry’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department at a conference on APEC policies on the support industry in Nha Trang city, the southern province of Khanh Hoa on February 23 as part of the ongoing first APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM).

With different economic growth levels and scales, they should define their own support industry to suit their specific development situation, he said, stressing that the support industry’s sustainable growth creates jobs, strengthens technology transfer and reinforces internal strength of each economy, especially developing ones with increased demand for production, he held.

APEC has succeeded in forming a channel for member economies to join hands in improving their capacity and making full use of opportunities and benefit of the globalization to serve the growth of each member and the stability and prosperity of the region, said Thai.

Thai noted that over the past years, APEC has focused on boosting extensive regional economic connectivity and integration, thus motivating member economies to join deeply in the global chains of production, supply and value.

This has also helped strengthen the connection among regional economic institutions as well as the growth of industries and services supporting economic development of each member, said Thai.

He noted that APEC has set up a reliable supply chain and improved the effectiveness of the chain by 10 percent in 2015, while backing businesses, including micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to actively participate in the chain, and enhancing the competitiveness of member economies.

Participants at the event sought ways to enhance capacity of each APEC member in boosting the support industry, thus creating favourable conditions for regional trade and investment as well as the engagement of MSMEs in the global value chains.

They also discussed a wide range of issues related to the linking of policymakers and management officials in building a competitive and modern support industry, the building of policy guidelines and good practices in the field.

Last year, APEC approved an initiative to develop APEC support industry co-chaired by Vietnam and Japan, during which, a model research was launched in Australia, Mexico and Vietnam and policy guidance and good regulatory practice in support industries will be built for submission to the AMM 29 in Da Nang city in November.

Thanh Hoa develops fishery logistics fleet

The People’s Committee of the north central province of Thanh Hoa has decided to provide support worth over 7.5 billion VND (328,500 USD) for owners of local fishery logistic-service vessels.

This is the fourth aid package the locality has offered to encourage logistics vessels to go offshore and buy seafood in a bid to help offshore fishing vessels save travel time and costs.

The eligible ships, with capacity of over 400 CV, will receive an aid of 40 million VND (1,752 USD) for each trip.

Some 50 ships from Tinh Gia district, one from Quang Xuong district, and 19 from Sam Son town are qualified for the aid. They have made 183 offshore tours to buy caught fish.

Currently, the locality has over 140 logistics vessels, which still fall short of the demand of the local offshore fishing fleet.

Japan, Vietnam promote links in mechanical engineering industry

A first-ever fair highlighting manufacturing technologies opened in Hanoi on February 23, providing a good opportunity for broader cooperation between Vietnamese and Japanese enterprises involved in the mechanical engineering industry.

The fair attracted 138 enterprises, including Japan’s leading groups such Toyota, Canon, Honda, Yamaha, Tamron, and NEC.

As many as 28 enterprises from Hanoi joined the event.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan said Hanoi is home to 470 enterprises operating in the support industry, including over 250 mechanical firms, 132 electronic companies and 85 textile businesses.

Toan also noted that the capital city always pays heed to developing cooperation with Japan in all fields, especially in the mechanical engineering industry.

The two-day fair aims to help Vietnamese enterprises access high technologies, thus deeply joining global production networks, he said, adding that it lays a foundation for businesses to promote trade links in the time to come.

Enhancing the logistics sector’s competitiveness

Logistics is considered as one of the arteries of an economy and the bridge for trade between domestic and global markets, but in Vietnam the sector’s growth is still not on par with its significant role.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently approved a plan to enhance the sector’s competitiveness towards 2025, which is expected to create a strong boost to make logistics a sector with a high added value, acting to support and stimulate socio-economic development, thereby contributing to improving national competitiveness.

The logistics sector in Vietnam has experienced a long period of development. In recent years, as the country deepened its reforms and opened up further to the world while foreign trade became more robust, logistics has also seen positive developments. 

However, the sector’s development level is still rather low, with only 1,500 enterprises compared with a total of 700,000 enterprises throughout the country. 

The sector’s contribution to the economy is also not commensurate with its potential, at only 3% of GDP, while costs account for 20-25% of GDP compared with only 10-13% in developed countries and 15-25% in developing countries. 

Minimising the costs of logistics is crucial to enhancing national competitiveness, especially as Vietnam’s trade is growing, reaching nearly US$400 billion 2016.

Logistics expert Nguyen Tuong says unstable supply chains are the main factor driving up Vietnam’s logistics costs. 

Statistics show that the average speed of lorries on Vietnam’s highways is only 35 kilometres per hour, significantly lower than other countries while one third of lorries are left vacant on their route home after goods have been delivered. 

In addition, Vietnam’s customs procedures are also three days longer than the top performing country in Southeast Asia. Another research suggests that if supply chains are better organised, an enterprise can cut warehouse costs by up to VND100 million (US$4,400) each year.

In addition, the ratio of logistics outsourcing, a key performance indicator, is also low. The majority of manufacturers, exporters and importers usually conduct logistic services on their own with high costs and low efficiency, thereby reducing competitiveness. 

Moreover, during the process of opening-up, foreign enterprises have been increasingly penetrating Vietnam’s logistics market. Most of them are large multinationals with strong financial capacity and experience so they have quickly dominated the domestic market. 

Meanwhile domestic logistics service providers, with the relatively small remaining share being forced to become subcontractors for foreign enterprises, are employed in the simplest stages of the logistics supply chain.

The monopoly of foreign providers is also one of the reasons for increased export costs as Vietnamese enterprises must pay high costs, sometimes unreasonably high, to foreign shipping companies. 

There is no way to prevent foreign logistics companies from imposing high fees, something which is expected to continue happening in the time ahead. Experts say this situation will continue because Vietnamese enterprises are reluctant to use domestic services.

Some domestic logistics services companies have succeeded in securing the trust of export and import companies but that number is very small. 

It is a result of Vietnamese enterprises favouring foreign providers, the practice of granting the right to choose logistics services to foreign partners, and lack of attention to supply chains, making them unwilling to use outsourced services or only use separate services.

Domestic logistics companies have yet to take a proactive approach to collaborating with export-import companies and are weak in providing multimodal transport services or overall logistics solutions. 

Nha Be Garment Company CEO Dinh Van Thap says if logistics are considered as a service to help manufacturers manage the task from factories to places of consumption or materials from suppliers to factories, then Vietnam’s logistics sector merely acts as representatives of transporters, notifying the delivery status of goods from ports to ports, ordering the delivery of goods after being unloaded on behalf of transporters and collecting fees on behalf of shipping companies.

Deputy Director of the Export-Import Department Tran Thanh Hai says it is highly necessary to help Vietnamese logistics companies grow and catch up with the integration process and export-import activities. 

Now it is time that logistics companies must endeavour to grow faster and stronger by increasing management capacity, train professional and highly-qualified staff and seize market opportunities to catch up with foreign enterprises, otherwise they risk losing on home territory.

Furthermore, the community of export-import and production enterprises must be firm supporters of logistics companies. In other words, these enterprises also need to collaborate with logistics providers for a clear division of labour and utmost efficiency. 

Export-import and production companies need to focus only on building brands, developing markets and enhancing product quality.

Meanwhile stages of materials supply and product distributions should be taken over by logistics service providers, which act as professional agents in the area. 

Export-import companies should place more confidence in the capacity of Vietnamese service providers, promote the “buy local” spirit in which Vietnamese prioritise using Vietnamese services, to help logistics firms have the opportunity to improve themselves, which in turn can help domestic export-import companies reduce goods transportation time, enhance reliability and cut costs. 

This is also an important goal in Vietnam’s plan to enhance the logistics sector’s competitiveness towards 2025.

According to Deputy Director Tran Thanh Hai, the plan recently approved by the prime minister is an important framework to direct policies for the logistics sector. 

As its name suggests this is an action plan, consisting of many short-term and medium-term solutions to help the logistics sector improve over the next ten years. 

First, the focus will be placed on fine-tuning the legal framework, institutions, state management mechanisms and support policies for the sector. 

In addition, Vietnam will concentrate on essential infrastructure for the sector’s development such as roads, bridges, stations, ports, customs warehouses as well as large logistics centres.

Vietnam is located at a favourable location, at the centre of Southeast Asia and is part of one of the world’s largest manufacturing hubs. The East Sea is also the busiest sea route in the world. 

As such, Vietnam possesses the opportunity to become a goods transit centre, from which goods can be distributed to different regions such as Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas and Oceania. Building strong logistics firms as the engines to pull the entire sector forward is one of the key tasks of this action plan.

The reality shows that any sector that wants to grow requires it to have pioneering enterprises, but such enterprises are missing in the logistics sector. 

At the same time, management agencies seem to lack fundamental, long-term and strategic investment to attract strong investment in this sector. It is clear that although logistics is a sector that generates huge profits, those aware of its value are not capable to tap into the potential while financially capable ones are rather indifferent. 

That is why it is necessary to introduce policies to encourage large enterprises to invest in logistics, thereby creating a wave to raise the greater interests of the business community in this sector.

Deputy PM slams foot-dragging on losing firms     

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on Wednesday slammed the delay in closing down or restructuring losing industry and trade projects, stressing that the Government would not pump money to save them.

“This can not be delayed any longer,” Hue said at a conference of the Government’s steering committee for handling inefficiencies of firms under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. “The prolonged stagnation or poor performance is causing significant losses.”

Hue toured delayed and badly-performing projects from mid-December 2016 to late January 2017 to survey their problems and seek out solutions.

Those included the Ninh Binh Fertiliser Plant, Ha Bac Fertiliser Plant, DAP Fertiliser Dinh Vu and DAP Fertiliser Lao Cai, Dinh Vu Polyester Fibre Plant, Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel’s phase 2, Dung Quat Shipyard, Dung Quat Bio-Ethanol Plant, Quy Sa Mine and Lao Cai Cast Iron and Steel Plant.

Hue said the Ministry of Ministry and Trade must come up with solutions and report them to the Government by March.

“The Government will not pour money into these loss-making and poorly-performing projects any more,” Hue added.

Among the under-performing projects, Ninh Binh Fertiliser Plant resumed operation since early 2017 and was running at 80 per cent of its capacity after 30-per-cent budget cuts.

Hue citied Ninh Binh Fertiliser Plant as an example, urging other projects, such as Dinh Vu Polyester Fibre Plant and Dung Quat Bio-Ethanol Plant to calculate their costs and resume operation.

Hastening the restructuring of State-owned enterprises was addressed in a Government resolution issued Tuesday on renovating growth models and economic restructuring.

Accordingly, the Government asked the handling of prolonged loss-making and under-performing projects be completed by June 2018, even allowing these projects to go bust.

The Ministry of Finance must complete and submit to the Government the project on SOEs restructuring, while the Ministry of Planning and Investment must complete the project of establishing a committee to act as a State ownership representative within the first quarter of this year.

The divestment of State capital must also be completed by 2019. The transfer of State ownership to the State Capital Investment Corporation must be completed by December. 

Brazil reverses decision of robusta coffee import     

Brazil provisionally suspended its decision allowing the country’s import of robusta coffee for the first time in history, including from Việt Nam.

The reversal was issued on Wednesday after a meeting held the day before with the participation of several congressmen, leaders of coffee industry and Government Secretary Antonio Imbassahy to assess the domestic coffee production situation.

On Monday, the Brazil government approved the import of Robusta coffee to meet the demand for instant coffee production, following the proposal from instant coffee processors who said the country lacked Robusta for instant coffee production.

The processors said the price of domestic robusta bean was very expensive. Till date, many processors did not dare to receive export orders due to the lack of beans, which could lead to a loss in market share.

Brazil is currently the world's largest exporter of coffee, including instant coffee.

In 2016, the country recorded nearly 50 million 60kg bags, a year-on-year increase of 15 per cent. However, due to prolonged drought, the productivity of Robusta coffee was only 8.3 million bags, reducing by 25 per cent compared with 2015 – the lowest ever volume in the last 12 years.

Can Tho to host VN aquaculture exhibit     

The Viet Nam Aquaculture Exhibition 2017 will be held from October 25-27 at the Can Tho International Exhibition Fair Company (EFC) in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho.

The exhibition will be held by the Viet Nam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS), UBM Asia Company, and the International Collaborating Centre for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS).

The event is expected to draw 120 businesses from 20 countries and territories, the organising board said on Wednesday.

It will include a seminar and trade promotion programme to honour the high value of Vietnamese aquatic products.

On display will be machinery, technology products and advanced solutions from Viet Nam and other countries.

Several international conferences on aquaculture will be held, focusing on the status of aquatic farming, solutions for the aquaculture sector, and the sharing of technology and knowledge, with the participation of aquatic scientists and business representatives. 

Germany to boost investment in Đà Nẵng

Germany plans to open a representative office in Đàn Nẵng to boost co-operation and investment in the central coastal city and central region, newly appointed German ambassador to Việt Nam, Christian Berger, said on a working visit to Đà Nẵng on Wednesday.

He said that until now, most German investment projects had focused on Hà Nội and HCM City.

Berger, who was accompanied by cultural, educational and economic representatives, said he is scouting investment opportunities in the city for German investors.

Germany’s infrastructure development companies are already operating in major Hà Nội and HCM City projects, the envoy said, adding that he hoped Đà Nẵng would lure additional investors from his country to garbage treatment and environmental protection projects, as well as for green industry.

Currently, only two German businesses operate in Đà Nẵng – sports shoes and sewing machine batteries – in Đà Nẵng.

The Alternative Investment Handelsgesellschaft Holding GmbH (AIH) Group plans to build a solid garbage treatment project with an investment of VNĐ2.7 trillion ($119.4 million).  

The Schaeffler Group also plans to expand its investment in central Việt Nam and Đà Nẵng city. The German ASEAN Power Company plans to build a 40 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in the city with an investment of $400 million.

The Cen­tral Agen­cy for Ger­man Schools Abroad (ZfA) helped Đà Nẵng pilot a German-language teaching project at two junior secondary schools in Cẩm Lệ district.

The chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, Huỳnh Đức Thơ, also urged businesses from Germany to invest in Đà Nẵng and the central region, pledging to create favored conditions and streamlined procedures for them.

He said the city has the advantage of cheap labour and living costs.

In 2015, the city hosted an investment promotion event in Berlin to interest investors from Europe in the tourism, high-tech and information technology (IT) and software sectors.

The city, in co-operation with the Vietnamese Businesses Union in Europe, will host a Europe Business Forum this August.

Nhơn Trạch 2 plans 16 per cent dividend rate lift

PetroVietnam Power Nhơn Trạch 2 has proposed that the firm’s management board raise the dividend payment rate on last year’s business performance from 20 per cent to 36 per cent.

The former dividend rate of 20 per cent was approved at the company’s shareholder meeting in March 2016.

The additional dividend will include a 13 per cent payment in cash and 3 per cent payment in shares – equal to more than 8.6 million shares.

The company already completed dividend payments to shareholders in 2016.

The 20 per cent dividend was paid three times, with the first payment in August 2016 and the last one in January 2017.

In 2016, the company earned a total revenue of nearly VNĐ8 trillion, an increase of 19 per cent from 2015’s number, and a post-tax profit of VNĐ1.08 trillion, exceeding last year’s target by 49 per cent.

This year, Nhơn Trạch 2 targets a post-tax profit of VNĐ672 billion - 38 per-cent lower than last year’s result - and a 25 per cent dividend.

Lotte to build 2nd mall in Hà Nội

The South Korean Lotte conglomerate will be building a new shopping mall near Hà Nội’s West Lake, according to The Korea Herald.

The mall will span 7.3 hectares within the approximately 200,000-sq.m complex, together with another department store, a supermarket and a cinema, all to be directly operated by Lotte affiliates.

The South Korean English-language daily said construction is set to begin in the first half of 2017, for completion in 2020.

The company declined to provide Việt Nam News with additional details about the project, saying details would be sent to local media later in the process.

Last month, the Đầu Tư (Investment) online newspaper reported that the project, previously known as Ciputra Hà Nội Mall and owned by the Citra West Lake City Development Company Limited, was acquired by Lotte early this year. It was started in 2007 with an estimated investment of US$2 billion but has been stalled for various reasons.

The total investment capital of the new Lotte project is expected to reach nearly $300 million.

The Lotte Group has invested $400 million in the 65-storey Lotte Center Hà Nội mall, which is currently the second tallest building in the capital.

The giant corporation plans to expand its retail operations in Việt Nam through mergers and acquisitions and plans 60 shopping malls in the country by 2020, a five-fold increase, according to Nikkei.

The company has 285 Lotte shopping centres in Asian countries including China, Indonesia and South Korea, and it views Việt Nam as one of the fastest-growing retail markets in the region.

In October 2016, Lotte Mart launched its e-commerce channel in Việt Nam, following the introduction of Lotte Shopping TV in 2012.

Besides providing South Korean products to Vietnamese consumers, Lotte plans to export Vietnamese products like coffee, dried fruit, wooden artifacts and ceramics back to its home market.

Vietnam, South Africa promote trade, tourism

Information on trade and tourism cooperation between Vietnam and South Africa was highlighted at a conference held in Thu Dau Mot city, the southern province of Binh Duong on February 23.

The event, held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the provincial People’s Committee and South African Embassy in Vietnam, also detailed business opportunities in Africa.

To elevate cooperation between two countries, managers, experts and enterprises discussed measures to enhance international relations, trade and investment and introduced potential projects and favourable policies to attract investment.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem said that the two sides should promote the trading of wood, garments, leather shoes and handicraft products while exploiting South Africa’s potential in wood materials, cotton fibre and steel.

Vietnam is currently a leading strategic partner of South Africa in Southeast Asia. In the past decade, bilateral trade rose from 192 million USD in 2007 to 920 million USD in 2013.

Last year, two-way trade stood at 1.1 billion USD, with Vietnam’s exports accounting for 1 billion USD.

Japan’s Sakai enterprises study investment opportunities in Dong Nai

Representatives from 22 enterprises in Japan’s Sakai city on February 23 met with leaders of the southern province of Dong Nai to study investment opportunities in the locality.

A line-up of Japanese businesses have successfully invested in the province, said Vice Chairwoman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Hoa Hiep at the meeting.

She noted that most of the capital is poured into the support industry, electricity, mechanics and machines.

For her part, Sakai city’s deputy mayor Emiko Hazama, who led the Japanese delegation, stressed that Sakai has a well developed mechanic industry, adding that a several Sakai firms have operated in Dong Nai province and recorded strong results.

After the meeting, the Japanese companies made a fact-finding tour of local industrial zones like Loteco and Long Duc.

Dong Nai province is home to 32 industrial parks. To date, 44 countries and territories have invested in the province with 1,253 foreign investment projects worth 25.67 billion USD. 

Japan is the third largest investor in the province with total registered capital of nearly 4 billion USD.

With more than 840,000 people, Sakai is the second largest city in Osaka prefecture and has collaborated with Vietnamese partners in economic, trade and investment cooperation programmes in past years.

HCM City enhances mechanisation of agriculture

A programme to boost the mechanisation of agriculture is being carried out in Ho Chi Minh City to foster local agricultural development in a modern, effective and sustainable manner.

The programme needs total capital of more than 538 billion VND (23.56 million USD), about 321.7 billion VND (or 60 percent) of which will be financed by the budget while the remaining 216.3 billion VND (40 percent) is set to be funded by local farmers and businesses, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

The city will need some 263 billion VND (11.5 million USD) by 2020 for conducting mechanisation studies and enhancing the use of machines in various types of farming.

From 2021 to 2025, 275 billion VND (12 million USD) is expected be spent on creating agricultural mechanisation models, supporting the construction of agricultural product processing and preserving facilities, and transferring technology and equipment imported from other countries.

Vice Permanent Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem said aside from applying high technologies, the increase of agricultural mechanisation will create products with consistent quality and appearance to meet export standards.

The southern economic hub hopes its agricultural production value will reach 800 million VND (35,000 USD) per hectare each year by 2020, roughly three times higher than the figure between 2011 and 2015. The production value is expected to grow by more than 8 percent annually in 2016-2020 compared to 2011-2015.

Liem said that mechanisation will also address a labour shortage in agriculture, improve farmers’ income, and help protect the environment and people’s health.

The municipal People’s Committee said a large number of technical advances were applied in crop and livestock farming and aquaculture from 2011 to 2016.

HCM City had 91 communes and wards that farmed vegetables last year with 14,670 hectares of vegetables cultivated. About 51 percent of the vegetable area was equipped with automatic or semi-automatic irrigation systems, up 24 percent from 2010, and 40.6 percent of the ornamental plant area was watered by machine.

In animal husbandry, mechanisation is being strengthened in all steps, the municipal administration reported, including automatic feeding machines, farm temperature controllers, milking machines, and biogas technology in waste treatment.

From 2011 through 2016, 3,329 plans asking for loans to invest in machinery and equipment for agricultural production were approved, authorities added.  

HCM City pledges favourable conditions for Kuwaiti investors

Ho Chi Minh City will create optimal conditions for Kuwaiti businesses to invest and develop in the city, stated Tran Vinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee. 

Addressing a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on February 23 to mark Kuwait’s 56th National Day anniversary and its 26th Liberation Day, Tuyen expressed hope that Kuwait will become a gateway for HCM City firms to forge stronger cooperation with Persian Gulf countries.

He congratulated Kuwaiti people on achievements they have made so far, noting that Vietnam-Kuwait partnership has been growing in all fields, especially politics, economy and trade.

For his part, Khaled Al-Mutairi, Kuwaiti Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City said that the relations between Vietnam and Kuwait has progressed strongly, especially in trade and investment since the two sides set up their diplomatic ties in 1976.

He held that Kuwait’s investment in Vietnam will continue to surge in the coming time, calling on Vietnamese businesses to invest more in development projects in Kuwait, thus contributing to boosting the bilateral trade.

So far, Kuwait has invested 172 million USD in projects on infrastructure and rural development in remote and mountainous areas of Vietnam.

Kuwait has been one of the largest trade partners of Vietnam in the Middle East with two-way trade of about 184 million USD in 2016. The figure is expected to reach 2 billion USD in 2020 after Nghi Son oil refinery and the first Vietnam-Kuwait petrochemical project become operational. 

Fly direct Hanoi to Dubai with Emirates Airline

The first direct flight between Hanoi and Dubai will take off on July 2, Emirates Airlines has announced.

Passengers won’t have to transit in Yangon, Myanmar when flying from Hanoi to Dubai as now.

A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will be used on the route, Emirates said.

EK395 flights will depart from Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at 1.30am and arrive in Dubai on 5.05am vice versa EK394 flights will leave Dubai at 3.30am for Hanoi at 1.05 pm.

Economy-class passengers can bring 35kg luggage while business-class passengers can bring 40kg.

The direct flight will help enhance connection between Hanoi and neighboring regions.

Currently, Emirates is the sole airline to conduct flights between Hanoi and Dubai.

ARECO Japan, Dong Thap cooperate in agriculture, healthcare and education

ARECO Japan has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dong Thap provincial People’s Committee on cooperation in clean agriculture, health care and education and training.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development was authorized to work with ARECO on agricultural cooperation. They will together develop a specific project on the production of mandarin wine and lotus products, and growing and exporting of mango. ARECO will recommend the province to cooperation programs, investors, technical experts and clean agricultural production technologies.

The provincial Department of Health will discuss with ARECO cooperation projects on screenings and tests for early cancer detection and clinical tests for early diagnosis of liver, biliary, and pancreatic diseases. ARECO will introduce the province with relevant cooperation programs and develop a project on establishment of an eco-resort centre in Dong Thap.

In education, the provincial Department of Education and Training will work with ARECO to help set up a sub-institute of KOBE Japanese Language Academy in Dong Thap to promote the teaching of Japanese in schools.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Doan Tan Buu, vice chair of Dong Thap People’s Committee committed to create the best possible conditions for ARECO to successfully carry out cooperation programs in the province. 

ARA showing big changes for 10th edition

Vietnam’s 2017 Annual Report Awards (ARA) programme will bring several changes to celebrate its 10th milestone.

For the first time, the annual reports will be evaluated by four leading audit firms, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This is the weightiest change in the contest aiming to ensure a more accurate and objective qualifying process.

Furthermore, contestants will get bonus points for preparing their financial reports under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) with English versions. This move aims to encourage more companies to make international-standard reports and provide better access for foreign investors. Each report can earn a maximum of five points before entering the final round.

Along with the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) and VIR, the 10th ARA will be co-organised by the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), urging listed companies on the HNX platform to participate in the competition.

The number of judges for this year’s event will increase to nine people with the addition of two new members from Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). As usual, norms, transparency, professionalism, creativity, and sustainability continue to be the major focus.

There are three award categories: the Top 10 (the 10 reports with the highest scores), the Top 30 (the next 20 reports), and the Top 50 (the remaining 20 reports from the 50 highest scores). It is notable that there will be a number of additional categories to honour firms with the best reports as well as individuals who made special contributions to the programme over the past 10 years.

The award is expected to attract a total of 700 reports from listed Vietnamese companies on the HNX and HOSE platforms. The deadline for companies to submit reports is April 20. The marks earned throughout the preliminary round will have a greater impact on the final results, with the new proportions being 20 and 80 per cent, respectively. Annual reports can only enter the final round after fulfilling the main criteria set by the judges. The finalists will be assessed by content (75 per cent) and presentation (25 per cent).

There will be three awards in the best corporate governance category. Similarly, the Sustainability Reporting Awards (SRA) will hand out three main prizes and three consolation prizes for content, reliability, and presentation.

Le Hai Tra, deputy managing director of the HOSE and head of the Organising Committee and Selection Board, highlighted that this year the event will mark its 10th edition, a special milestone for a significant event that has affected listed firms, investors, and the stock market in Vietnam.

 “The participation of the Big 4 in particular is expected to enhance sustainability and transparency. They will assist the Selection Board with new ideas on evaluation criteria as well as reviewing the annual reports in the final round to detect anything amiss in both the financial and non-financial information,” he added.

In his remarks, Le Trong Minh, VIR’s editor-in-chief and co-head of the Organising Committee, commented that more Vietnamese firms, including listed companies, have taken a proactive approach in reaching out to the community and promoting sustainable development in lieu of perfunctory plans to comply with the law and shareholders.

“Sustainability is now at the heart of business strategies. This trend is becoming more prevalent among companies to keep up with the development of society. Therefore, sustainable annual reports are projected to become indispensible in the relationship between listed firms and their shareholders,” he said.

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