Vietnamnet global

02/05/2017 08:30 (GMT+07:00)

BUSINESS IN BRIEF 2/5

Bashkortostan seeks more investment from Vietnam, Food safety key for Vietnamese firms to succeed in foreign markets, Vinalines seeks strategic investors in Singapore, Businesses advised to increase transparency to prevent corruption

Japanese firms plan to invest in agriculture in Ha Nam

Many Japanese companies are planning to invest in the Red River Delta province of Ha Nam, especially in agriculture, and they hope to receive support from the local authorities, a Japanese official has said.

Kosaburo Shmose, First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, unveiled this information during a working session between representatives of the embassy, the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with local officials on April 26.

He hailed Ha Nam province’s efforts to improve its investment climate as well as its strong support for Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in the locality.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Minh Hien said developing agriculture is defined as one of the province’s three key tasks of economic development in a bid to increase farmers’ income.

Along with stepping up the application of scientific and technological adavances in agricultural production, Ha Nam has been calling on enterprises, especially those from Japan, to invest in and help with high-tech agriculture.

The local authorities approved plans for four high-tech agriculture areas spanning 500ha in Ly Nhan and Binh Luc districts, and Phu Ly city. Of which, almost 300ha were handed over to businesses, whose products have been sold on the market

Those plan to invest in agriculture are enabled to lease land for at least 20 years and receive assistance in building transport, electricity and irrigation infrastructure, Hien said.

A number of Japanese firms have piloted agricultural production models in the province and reaped good results, he added.

Bashkortostan seeks more investment from Vietnam

The Republic of Bashkortostan of the Russian Federation is willing to create the most favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to invest in the country, said Bashkortostan’s President Rustem Khamitov told Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Nguyen Thanh Son.

During a meeting with the Vietnamese diplomat, who led a Vietnamese working delegation to visit Bashkortostan from April 22-24, Khamitov said his country hopes to attract more investors using high technologies in cattle-breeding and dairy production as Russia now lacks about 10 million tonnes of milk.

The two sides discussed the possibilities for implementing projects in the industrial-agricultural complex.

Introducing his country’s potential to the guest, Khamitov said Bashkortostan boasts abundant natural resources and developed industrial and agricultural sectors and breeding.

The local authorities are encouraging investment in planting vegetables in glass houses, he said, expressing his joy at Vietnamese dairy firm TH True Milk’s decision to invest in the country’s agricultural sector.

For his part, Ambassador Son said he believes the relations between Vietnam with Russia in general and Bashkortostan in particular will be reinforced and strengthened in the coming time.

He committed to making every effort to accelerate the implementation of cooperation projects.

While briefing the host on the market research tour of Bashkortostan, TH True Milk Chairwoman Thai Huong said her firm has decided to pour 220 million USD into breeding dairy cows and processing products from cow milk in the republic.

She suggested the local authorities make it easy for the group to carry out the project.

Agreeing with Huong, President Khamitov approved the establishment of a working group led by Deputy Prime Minister Irek Mukhametdinov to work with the Vietnamese company to perform the project.

Earlier the same day, the Vietnamese delegation had a working session with Prime Minister Mardanov, during which the two sides discussed cooperation orientations and investment attraction from Vietnam to Bashkortostan.

Ambassador Son called for stronger efforts from both sides to further their trade links, especially when the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasia Economic Union has officially taken effect.

Bilateral trade between Bashkortostan and Vietnam stands at about 15 million USD – a modest figure compared to the two countries’ potential.

Vietjet Air adds 300 flights during upcoming holidays

The low-cost Vietjet Air will increase the frequency of its flights to meet soaring travelling demand during the upcoming holiday.

Accordingly, the airline will add nearly 300 flights from April 28 – May 4, up nearly 20 percent annually.

Flights to and from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot, Phu Yen, among others will be increased.

Vietjet also launched and increased the frequency of international routes linking Hanoi and Seoul, Busan, Taipei and Siem Riep, Hai Phong and Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Further information about flight schedules and promotional programmes could be found on www.vietjetair.com.

Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company recorded positive results for the first quarter of 2017 with its aviation transport revenue standing at 5,095 billion VND (224.2 million USD), up 44.2 percent year on year.

The low-cost airline said on April 22 that the revenue exceeded target by 10.6 percent, while revenue proportion for international routes rose sharply.

Meanwhile, profit rose 6.8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

Profit before tax stood at 432.64 billion VND and profit after tax at 381.65 billion VND.

The airline carried 3.7 million passengers, an increase of 29.4 percent compared to the same period of 2016.

In the first quarter of 2017, Vietjet launched three more international routes, increasing its air routes to 63, with high load factor of 88 percent, OTP of 87.7 percent, an increase of 4.1 percent compared to 2016.

It targets revenue of 42 trillion VND (about 1.8 billion USD) in 2017, with pre-tax profit of over 3.6 trillion VND (158.4 million USD) with 50 percent of dividend.

Deputy PM chairs meeting on ODA, preferential loans use

World Bank (WB) preferential loans during the 2017 fiscal year will be used for sustainable development, infrastructure, improvement of tertiary education, and disaster recovery in the central region, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Minh, also head of the National Steering Committee for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Preferential Loans, made the statement while chairing a meeting in Hanoi on April 26 to review projects funded by ODA and preferential loans.

In the first four months of this year, Vietnam signed agreements for a total 700 million USD of ODA and preferential loans. As of April 24, an estimated 410 million USD was disbursed.

This is the last year that Vietnam will receive preferential loans from the WB’s International Development Association. The global lender committed loans to 14 projects and programmes in Vietnam worth 2.1 billion USD. After July 1, loans to Vietnam will be less preferential.

However, disbursement speed has been inconsistent, with delay seen in some projects, making it difficult for those projects to complete their goals if the disbursement deadlines are not extended.

Speaking at the meeting, Minh said the government will utilise preferential loans by transferring them from slowly-disbursed projects to fast-progressing ones.

He asked agencies to work with the State Bank to complete preparations for projects for submission to authorities for approval, ensuring that negotiations with the WB are on schedule.

Chevron Vietnam’s factory gets expansion

Petrolimex Engineering JSC (PEC) and Petrolimex Construction JSC 1 (PCC-1) started a project to expand the Chevron Vietnam lubricant oil factory in Dinh Vu Industrial Park, the northern port city of Hai Phong, on April 26.

At the launch ceremony, Director of the factory Nguyen Dat Phu praised the two Petrolimex contractors, which he said are leading companies in designing, monitoring and constructing petrochemical facilities in Vietnam.

Vuong Thai Dung, Deputy General Director of Petrolimex – Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) and Chairman of PEC’s board of directors, asked PEC and PCC-1 to ensure the progress, quality and safety of the project to prove Petrolimex’s prestige in petrochemistry.

The Chevron Vietnam lubricant oil factory became operational in 1999 and had initial production capacity of 15 million litres a year.

PEC said the contractors face considerable pressure as Chevron Lubricants Vietnam Co. Ltd wants the expansion project carried out in tandem with the factory’s operations and disruption to the plant’s operation must be minimal.

Vietjet opens new domestic route from Hanoi to Quang Binh

Vietjet will launch its new domestic route from Hanoi to Dong Hoi in the central province of Quang Binh on June 1, with tickets priced from only 99,000 VND (4.35 USD), looking to meet increasing demand for travel between the two destinations.

The Hanoi-Dong Hoi flight is operated daily with flight time per leg being one hour. The flight from Hanoi takes off at 06h40 and arrives in Dong Hoi at 07h35. The return flight departs at 08h05 and lands at 09h00 in Hanoi.

The new route’s tickets can be booked during the golden hours from 12h to 14h at www.vietjetair.com everyday (also compatible with smartphones at https://m.vietjetair.com) or at www.facebook.com/vietjetvietnam, call center at 19001886 and all ticketing offices nationwide.

Quang Binh is home to a series of tourist attractions, including the Phong Nha – Ke Bang national park, which attracts more and more visitors and is also one of the main filming destinations for Hollywood blockbuster Kong: Skull Islands”. Many tourists have been mesmerized by its magnificent sceneries and well-known sites such as Hang Tien, Cha Noi valley, Hang Chuot, Tu Lan caves, and Son Doong cave. Hanoi is also a must-see destination for tourists thanks to its thousand-year-old culture and history.

Vietjet is the first airline in Vietnam to operate as a new-age airline with low-cost and diversified services to meet customers’ demands. A member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate, the airline was also named as one of the Top 500 Brands in Asia 2016 by global marketing research company Nielsen and “Best Asian Low Cost Carrier” at the TTG Travel Awards 2015, which compiles votes from travelers, travel agencies and tour operators in throughout Asia. The airline was also rated as one of the top three fastest growing airline brands on Facebook in the world by Socialbakers.

Currently, the airline boasts a fleet of 45 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, and operates 350 flights each day. It has already opened 63 routes in Vietnam and across the region to international destinations such as Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China and Myanmar. It has carried nearly 35 million passengers to date.

Looking ahead, the airline plans to expand its network across the Asia Pacific region. To prepare for this plan, Vietjet has signed agreements with the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers to purchase more brand-new and modern aircraft.

Food safety key for Vietnamese firms to succeed in foreign markets

Failing to meet food safety regulations remains the biggest issue that Vietnamese firms must overcome in entering foreign markets, said Rick Gilmore, Chairman of the Global Food Safety Forum at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on April 26.

He noted that currently, few food products of Vietnam gets food safety certificates, while the abuse of antibiotics and chemicals still remains.

He pointed that in the 2014-2016 period, Vietnam’s shrimp export volume to the US fell 32 percent with over 1,000 batches refused due to food safety barriers. Vietnam’s catfish also faced the same problem, he said.

From September this year, the US will start applying an inspection programme on catfish. Accordingly, catfish imported to the country will be re-tested every three months, said Gilmore.

He recommended that Vietnamese firms should take food safety as a serious matter, thus ensuring the observation of all relevant regulations during the farming process.

He suggested the businesses to enhance added value for their products, such as organic and environmental friendly factors while entering choosy markets such as the US and EU.

Meanwhile, Vu Kim Hanh, President of the Quality Vietnamese Products Business Association, highlighted efforts of some pioneering enterprises in applying international standards in producing safe and organic agricultural products in Vietnam, such as VinEco and Vinamit.

This is a good signal in the process of building Vietnamese agricultural products’ trademarks at global scale, she held.

The workshop, themed “Global food safety trends: Solutions to boost export for Vietnamese firms,” was organised by the Business Studies and Assistance Centre.

Vinalines seeks strategic investors in Singapore

The Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) held a workshop in Singapore on April 26 to introduce its development orientations to seek strategic investors.

The event drew businesses and companies operating in the fields of marine transport, navigation services, and banking in Singapore.

Le Quang Trung, head of Vinalines’ market development department, said the company is implementing equitisation and set to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in December 2017 with the chartered capital of 550 million USD.

The State will hold 65 percent of the chartered capital at the parent company while strategic investors will have an opportunity to hold up to 17.25 percent of the chartered capital, he added.

Singapore is a potential partner of Vinalines with many Singaporean businesses being interested in the fields of seaport and navigation services, he said.

The synchronous development of the company’s seaport system along with shipping fleets and logistics infrastructure is to create a chain of full-package services for businesses.

It also aims to realise the company’s strategic development plan of increasing competitiveness, a representative said.

Foreign investors will have chance to join key seaport projects that Vinalines will carry out in 2017-2020, with a vision towards 2030.

The company is also participating in the Sea Asia 2017, a premier maritime conference and exhibition, in Singapore from April 25-27.-

Businesses advised to increase transparency to prevent corruption

Compliance with international standards, including those on transparency, has become more urgent for Vietnamese enterprises when they are expanding operation at the global scale, according to Executive Director of Towards Transparency (TI) Nguyen Thi Kieu Vien.

Speaking at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 26 to announce the report Transparency in Corporate Reporting: Assessing the 30 largest companies in Vietnam (TRAC Vietnam 2017), she said when companies are committed to transparency, their accountability will improved, thus creating positive impacts on their staff.

The internal anti-corruption programme is one of the best protection measures for businesses when facing corruptive and legal risks, she said.

According to the TI report, only seven out of the 30 companies make public commitments to abiding by legal regulations, including the Law on Corruption Prevention and Combat.

Just four among the 30 businesses announced their leaders’ commitments to support anti-corruption efforts.

Vietnam was ranked 113th out of the 176 countries in the TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) in 2016.

At the same time, the TI said a number of Vietnamese businesses gained good points in the transparency of business structure and ownership ratio, with two getting the maximum scores.

This shows Vietnamese businesses are capable of meeting international standards on transparency, Vien said.

Tra Vinh set to work harder to lure investors

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh will apply comprehensive measures to attract more investors, including increasing the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) and creating a smooth and favourable business environment.

This is among major tasks that the provincial People’s Committee set during a conference on April 26 to review the local socio-economic performance in April.

Chairman of the committee Dong Van Lam asked sectors and departments with low and fallen component indexes in PCI to find out the reasons for timely improvement.

Meanwhile, the province will also continue speeding up administrative reform and strengthening support to businesses and removing difficulties and obstacles facing them, he requested.

The provincial leader also asked for a close coordination among local agencies in applying the “one-stop-shop” mechanism, while focusing on building the public administrative centre to enhance the effectiveness of the government system in renovating and simplifying administrative procedures, thus saving time for locals and enterprises.

According to Lam, leaders of the province have assisted investors and businesses, and listened to their opinions in order to improve the investment environment and create motivation to attract investment.

Currently, the province host 181 projects, including 31 foreign-invested ones totaling nearly 3 billion USD, along with 146 domestic-invested ones worth over 98 trillion VND (4.3 million USD).

So far, Tra Vinh has had 1,900 enterprises with total capital of nearly 25 trillion VND (1.09 million USD), employing more than 85,000 labourers.

Vietnam Manufacturing Expo 2017 opens

The Vietnam Manufacturing Expo (VME) 2017 kicked off in Hanoi on April 26, displaying latest technologies of 200 leading brands from 20 countries, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China) and Thailand.

A wide range of solutions and technologies serving production towards Industry 4.0 are showcased at the event, which aims to promote business development and information exchanges in the manufacturing industry.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Isara Burintramart, managing director of Thailand’s Reed Tradex Company, said Industry 4.0 will be a new breakthrough for the industrial sector.

Industry 4.0 requires Vietnamese human resources to have more skills to undertake complicated production roles, he said.

The expo will run along with other two exhibitions “Industrial Components and Subcontracting Vietnam” and “Vietnam Sheet Metal”.

Various programmes to enhance knowledge and partner networks will be held during the event, including a technical skill contest for welders and a forum on new technology application in mechanical manufacturing.

Thailand Ambassador to Vietnam Manopchai Vongphakdi spoke highly of the Vietnamese Government’s favourable policies to encourage investment through improved infrastructure and better human resources.

He said that the VME 2017 will be a golden opportunity for manufacturers, engineers and industries to enhance capacity through new technologies, ideals, sources of inspiration and international business networks.

Japanese firms plan to invest in agriculture in Ha Nam

He hailed Ha Nam province’s efforts to improve its investment climate as well as its strong support for Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in the locality.

Those plan to invest in agriculture are enabled to lease land for at least 20 years and receive assistance in building transport, electricity and irrigation infrastructure, Hien said.

A number of Japanese firms have piloted agricultural production models in the province and reaped good results, he added.

Intellectual property key for firms

Businesses may be able to improve earnings and market values if they are able to develop and use intellectual property in efficient ways, officials said at a seminar on Tuesday.

According to Mai Ha, chairman of the Viet Nam Intellectual Property Association, Vietnamese businesses need to consider measures to protect, manage and implement their intellectual property rights.

He said that those actions would help companies perform at the best possible level and avoid costly conflicts and lawsuits regarding intellectual property rights.

When a business has a good policy to protect its intellectual property, it would have comparative advantages over other players in the market, he added.

In addition, the company would be able to strengthen its position in the market place, minimise the chance of competitors copying its intellectual assets and have the right to ask for compensation if competitors violate the firm’s intellectual property rights, he said.

Valuable intellectual properties would also help improve the business value for the company in the eye of investors and financial institutions, Ha said, adding that the company may increase its earnings by selling, merchandising and commercialising its intellectual assets.

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s general secretary Pham Thi Thu Hang said that society and the business community have misjudged the role of intellectual property rights in terms of economic growth.

Local companies must be aware that intellectual property is a non-physical asset, which can generate much higher value than all combined physical assets, in current socio-economic development, she said.

Especially, when Viet Nam integrates more deeply in the international community, the role of intellectual property has become more important in all business activities from production to distribution, Hang added.

Sharing a similar view, Dinh Huu Phi, general director of the National Office of Intellectual Property, said that intellectual rights are a tool to raise the competitiveness of local companies and the national economy as it is one of the most important internal qualities to determine sustainable economic growth.

Therefore, Vietnamese companies needs to use their intellectual rights in the most effective way to improve their value and position in the market, he said.

They should be prepared to face and resolve challenges and use solutions to maximise and protect the use of intellectual rights, Phi said, adding that they should acknowledge intelligence as a highly valuable asset for development.

The seminar was organised by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, drawing significant attention from the business community, associations, economists and the media.

TH True Milk to invest in Bashkortostan

TH True Milk, Viet Nam’s largest dairy group, will invest US$220 million in dairy cow farming and dairy product processing in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Thai Huong, chairwoman of the group, announced the investment with Rustem Khamitov, head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, during a working visit of a Vietnamese delegation to the Republic of Bashkortostan from April 22 to 24.

Referring to the investment potential of Bashkortostan, Khamitov said the country is located in the centre of Asia and Europe, with a population of over four million.

The country also has abundant resources and a developed industrial and agricultural sector, being the leader in terms of cattle and dairy cow farming in Russia.

However, Russia is currently lacking some 10 million tonnes of milk, therefore, Bashkortostan wished to attract hi-tech investors to participate in this potential sector.

Following the meeting with the chairwoman of the group, Khamitov immediately set up a working group headed by Deputy Prime Minister Irek Mukhametdinov to coordinate with TH True Milk to launch the project.

Prime Minister of Bashkortostan R.Kh. Mardanov said Viet Nam is a dynamic economy with high economic growth rate. However, trade volume between Viet Nam and the Republic of Bashkortostan had only reached a modest $15 million, so far, although the potential of Bashkortostan was immense.Therefore, Bashkortostan was willing to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest, he said.

Viet Nam’s Ambassador to Russia Nguyen Thanh Son also emphasised that the two sides needed to drastically promote trade cooperation, especially once the free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) officially came into effect.

The ambassador also noted that Viet Nam has a number of key export items, including agricultural products, seafood, leather shoes and textiles.

Retailers support pig farmers as prices plummet

Retailers in HCM City, including Saigon Co.op and Big C, are offering discounts on pork in an effort to boost consumption.

The price of live pigs has dropped to a record VND20,000-23,000 (US$0.87-$1.32) per kilo in recent days mostly because of oversupply, causing big losses for farmers.

According to a Saigon Co.op spokesperson, from April 25 to May 2, Co.opmart supermarkets and the Co.op Food chain will cut pork prices by 10-20 per cent to promote sales.

It has reduced sale prices, but has kept purchase prices unchanged to support farmers.

After the discounts, a kilo of pork thigh or pork shoulder is now sold at around VND60,000 at Co.opmart and Co.op Food.

The price is VND52,800 a kilo for pig’s trotters; VNĐ66,000 a kilo for pigtails and VND70,000 a kilo for minced pork; and VND48,000 a kilo for pork shank.

Co.opmart and Co.op Food have also cut prices of pork-based prepared and ready-to-eat food.

All the pork products have met food hygiene and safety regulations in addition to VietGap standards, and have clear label of origin.

Nguyen Anh Duc, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, said Co.opmart and Co.op Food had reduced pork prices to encourage consumption, while keeping buying prices unchanged to support farmers.

Depending on the market in coming days, Saigon Co.op will continue to adjust prices in the spirit of support for farmers, he said.

Big C Vietnam also cut prices by 8 per cent on all pork products since April 25. This is its third adjustment since March, raising the total discount rate by 20 per cent.

Ho Quoc Nguyen, PR director for Central Group Vietnam, said pork sold at Big C was supplied by businesses under the city’s price stabilisation programme.

Input pork prices have not seen major fluctuations, but the retailer has updated market prices to adjust sales prices to ensure the best deal for consumers.

At a meeting between Long An Province and Vissan Joint Stock Company on April 25, Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said farmers in her province had been suffering from a continuous decline in pig prices since before Tet (Lunar New Year).

The price has fallen from VNĐ31,000-33,000 a kilo before Tet to VND 23,000-25,000 a kilo, while the production cost is VND37,000 for each kilo, resulting a total loss of about VND40-45 billion ($1.75 million – 1.97 billion).

The province has a total of 299,000 pigs, with 30,000-40,000 pigs needed to be sold each month, with 21,578 pigs bred following VietGap standards, she said.

Nguyen Dang Phu, deputy general director of Vissan Co, Ltd, said that Vissan understood the difficulties faced by pig farmers due to the relentless fall in pig prices.

But, because of regulations ensuring product quality, Vissan will only buy pigs that meet VietGap standards and that are bred under the Livestock Competitiveness and Food Safety Project, as well as pigs that are bred at farms participating in a city programme to trace their origin.

Vissan currently sells 1,500 pigs every day from Vissan's own farm as well as from its associated farms.

To help the livestock industry of Long An province, Vissan will buy an additional 200 pigs from this province each day. But the pigs must meet VietGap standards, he said.

At a meeting in Ha Noi on April 24, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong called on large animal husbandry businesses to increase their purchase of pigs and keep them in frozen storage in order to help farmers reduce inventories and stop the downward price spiral.

As scheduled, the ministry will meet with authorities, businesses and farmers in Dong Nai Province on April 27 and in HCM City on April 28 to discuss measures to boost consumption of the meat.

Vietcombank to lend VND60 billion to egg processing plant

Vietcombank lent Viet Nam’s leading egg supplier Ba Huan Company Ltd VND60 billion (US$2.6 million) to build a high-tech egg processing plant in Ha Noi.

Total investment in the first phase of the plant, inaugurated in the middle of April, reached VND105 billion.

The two-hectare plant is designed to process 65,000 eggs per hour and is located in Ha Noi’s outlying district of Phuc Tho.

The factory will use automated egg packaging equipment supplied by the Netherlands’ Moba Group, which specialises in egg grading, packaging and processing machinery.

The inauguration of this high-tech poultry production line will supply the demand of Ha Noi residents for clean eggs. It is expected to be one of the best suppliers of clean and safe food in the northern market, boosting local socio-economic development, said Vice Chairman of the Ha Noi People’s Committee, Nguyen Doan Toan, at the inauguration ceremony.

Currently, the Ba Huan company has completed the food safety hygiene chain from farm to fork, including an 18ha high-tech poultry farm with a total of 1 million fowl, a feed processing factory with a capacity of 20 tonnes per hour, a two-hectare poultry egg packaging plant with a capacity of 185,000 eggs per hour in HCM City, and a five-hectare food processing plant with a daily capacity of 50 tonnes.

In March, Vietcombank provided VND600 billion (out of a total investment capital of VND800 billion) for DTK Corporation’s clean egg factory in the northern province of Phu Tho - the largest project in high-tech clean egg production in Viet Nam until now. The project comprises two phases, and will produce 175 million eggs annually, equaling nearly 500,000 eggs per day, once it is fully operational in 2018. In the first phase, the factory is expected to produce 300,000 eggs per day.

Vietcombank plans to spend at least VND10 trillion in high-tech agricultural loans, supporting the Government’s VND100 trillion credit package for high-tech agriculture.

Nominees for 2017 PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards announced

The list of nominees for this year’s PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards were announced on April 26 in HCM City.

The PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards, presented by Kohler, will reward developers, real estate projects and designs in top-tier markets and emerging resort destinations like HCM City, Ha Noi, Da Nang, Ha Long Bay and Nha Trang.

Leading the race is CapitaLand Vietnam with 10 appearances in the shortlist, including condominium and retail projects. The developer of D1MENSION, the nominated branded condo development in HCM City's District 1, comes to this year's awards following a single win and two highly commended accolades in 2016 for its high-end properties in HCM City and Ha Noi.

In Da Nang, MIVI Joint Stock Company's mixed-used development X2 Hoi An collects a total of seven nominations, including five for architectural, interior and landscape design.

Comprising hotel and residential villa units, the Co Co River front project is set to become one of the acclaimed destinations on Việt Nam's central coast.

Phat Dat Real Estate Development Corporation has six entries in the shortlist, including two in the hotly contested Best High End Condo Development (HCM City) category, where it is competing against the high-profile Diamond Island by Kusto Home and The Sun Avenue by Novaland Group, a four-time nominee and the Best Developer winner of the inaugural awards in 2015.

Another Best Developer (Viet Nam) title holder returns to the competition, this time with a single nomination: Nam Long Investment Corporation with its Valora Fuji housing project.

In Ha Noi, Vietnam International Township Development, developer of the integrated community project ParkCity Hanoi, work on which began in 2008, has four nominations in the Development and Design categories.

Nearly 130 entries were submitted for the extremely competitive 2017 Awards, with a total of 23 companies making the final cut following a rigorous nomination and judging process in the last six months.

Thien Duong, managing director of Transform Architecture, once against heads the 10-member central panel that comprises experts in the real estate and related fields.

He said: "PropertyGuru Vietnam Property Awards offer quality projects in Viet Nam a great amount of exposure to the total market as well as to foreign investors.

“Well-designed and developed projects help to set higher levels of standards for properties in Viet Nam.

“Developers can be proud that they have made benchmark contributions to the built environment while providing value for money to their customers and investors.

“There is an opportunity for businesses in Viet Nam which strive not just for profit but to create brands that have long-term credibility in the market.”

The winners and highly commended awardees in 33 categories will be revealed at a black-tie gala dinner on June 2 at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon.

Hari V. Krishnan, CEO of PropertyGuru Group, said: “Viet Nam is a vital market for PropertyGuru Group. In the past year Viet Nam became our fifth core market and I am excited to see more positive developments in the country’s real estate industry.”

Terry Blackburn, founder and managing director of the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards, said BDO, the world’s fifth largest auditing and accountancy firms, continues to be the award’s official judging supervisor to ensure that the entire nomination and judging process is fair and transparent.

Novaland acquires company for $83m

Housing giant Novaland Group is all set to acquire 99.99 per cent of Gia Duc Real Estate Company Ltd for over VND1.9 trillion (US$83 million).

NVL said the acquisition is meant to advance its plan to enlarge its land holding, which would help it achieve its targets for next year.

By acquiring Gia Duc, Novaland will also get a stake in the Sunrise Bay project, a 181ha-complex of urban area, amusement and commercial centres in Hai Chau District of Da Nang City. Its developer is the Sunrise Bay Company Ltd.

Gia Duc owns a 19 per cent stake in the complex.

Gia Duc was established in February 2016 with a registered capital of VND20 billion and two shareholders.

Novaland is one of the contractors for the project, responsible for construction, quality management and supervision and completing legal procedures for the construction.

Novaland this year targets net profit of VND3.1 trillion ($136 million) on sales of VND17.5 trillion (US$767 million).

Last year they had respectively been VND1.7 trillion ($74.5 million), a 276 per cent rise, and VND7.4 trillion ($324 million), up 10.3 per cent.

Novaland has 40 projects on hand in many segments like villas, houses, apartments, office-tel, and land plots.

HSC announces goals for 2017

The HCM Securities Corporation (HSC) aims to achieve total revenue of VND1.01 trillion (US$44.3 million) this year, up 23 per cent year-on-year, with the goal for after-tax profit set at VND391 billion, up 19 per cent.

HSC made the announcement at its annual shareholders meeting for the fiscal year 2016 held in HCM City on Monday.

HSC reported that average daily trading in the first quarter of this year was VND2.76 trillion, up 23 per cent from 2016 and 4 per cent higher than the plan for the year.

The company earned VND219 billion revenue in the quarter, while after-tax profit hit VND95 billion.

In the past year, HSC’s brokerage market share was 11.2 per cent, surpassing the 10.4 per cent market share in 2015. HSC ranks second in market share for brokerage and fund certificates in the market.

For all of 2016, HSC’s individual customer sector achieved average market share of 9.6 per cent in domestic customer transactions, higher than the 8.9 per cent in 2015 but lower than the target of 10.8 per cent for last year.

Online news website ndh.vn quoted Johan Nyvene, CEO of HSC as saying that the reason for not hitting the target was partly because the management board wanted to limit the risk of granting loans to some stocks.

A number of stocks traded in the market negligently through HSC or ineligible for HSC to issue margins was another reason, he said.

Foreign investor trading activities at HSC accounts for 28.5 per cent of total foreign trading on the domestic stock market.

Net sales of the company reached VND824 billion last year, while net profit reached VND305 billion, up 39 per cent and 43 per cent respectively from 2015, reported HSC’s board of directors.

With this result, HSC surpassed 12 per cent of revenue target and 1 per cent of profit plan approved by last year’s annual shareholder meeting.

According to initial plans, HSC set a dividend of 12 per cent for last year and paid a cash dividend for the first phase at a rate of 5 per cent, which was paid in January this year.

The board of directors also submitted a plan to shareholders to increase the dividend in 2016 from 12 per cent to 17 per cent.

HSC also asked shareholders to increase the foreign ownership cap from 49 per cent to 100 per cent.

Local business imports nearly 1,800 Australian cows

A business in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho has imported 1,768 cows from Australia to supply beef at competitive prices to HCM City and the western region markets.

Nguyen Minh Diep Thanh, the company’s deputy managing director, said his company invested US$10.86 million (VND250 billion) in building an Australia-standard farm and a slaughterhouse, and developing a distribution network.

Imported cows are farmed and slaughtered based on strict standards for food safety and hygiene aiming to supply safe meat products at prices as the same as those of domestic beef ranging between VND150,000-350,000 per kilo , Ms Thanh noted.

local business imports nearly 1,800 australian cows hinh 1 At present, the company has three distribution sites and a chain of restaurants serving dishes made from Australian beef in Can Tho. It is destined to open a shop at No 90 An Duong Vuong St in District 1, HCM City and then expand its operations across the country.

Notorious pyramid firm Thien Ngoc Minh Uy shutdown raises doubts

Thien Ngoc Minh Uy, infamous for duping Vietnamese consumers into joining its multi-level marketing network, has requested to stop operating as a pyramid firm, raising doubt whether they really want to withdraw from the lucrative business.

Thien Ngoc Minh Uy was fined a total of VND1.5 billion (US$66,964) by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade in 2016 for 80 separate offences, before being hit with an additional fine of VND215 million (US$9,598) earlier this year.

The offences include breach of the contracts it signed with network members, failing to meet the level of required training for new members, operating without notifying the local authorities and violating label regulations on its goods.

The trade ministry has said it would handle all violations concerned with the pyramid company strictly; however, Thien Ngoc Minh Uy has recently filed a petition to withdraw from the multi-level marketing scheme, meaning the ministry is also completing procedures to approve their request.

According to the law, once officially able to cease operating its ‘pyramid’ scheme, Thien Ngoc Minh Uy is still required to fulfill all of their obligations to the members of its network.

Given the said violations by Thien Ngoc Minh Uy, the trade ministry has transferred the case file to the investigative police unit under the Ministry of Public Security, which will take a final decision on whether to criminally punish the company.

While multilevel marketing is legal in Vietnam, fraudulent variants of the scheme have fooled people with promises of easy money, before eventually scamming large sums of cash from them.

In 2015, Vietnam’s multilevel marketing sector reported more than VND7 trillion (US$312.5 million) in revenue, with 1.4 million distributors receiving a total of VND2.1 trillion (US$93.75 million) in commissions, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In most network marketing firms, salespeople not only sell their products, but also encourage others to join the company as distributors. Participants will from then on not only receive commissions for the sales they generate, but also for the sales of the other distributors they recruit.

While people hope that the withdrawal from the multi-level marketing industry by Thien Ngoc Minh Uy will save many from falling victim to the same ‘easy money’ trap, some remain skeptical about the unusual move by the pyramid marketing firm.

It has been speculated that the withdrawal is just another strategy by which Thien Ngoc Minh Uy can continue to attract members to its network, a tactic known as ‘old wine in a new bottle.’

On April 25, Thien Ngoc Minh Uy announced on its Facebook page that the trade ministry was handling its request to stop its multi-level marketing operations, accompanied by an outline of its new business model.

The company said it would become a holding company with multiple subsidiaries operating in various business sectors, including multi-level marketing.

This means that while Thien Ngoc Minh Uy will not officially be involved in the multi-level marketing sector, one of its subsidiaries will be a pyramid firm, recruiting new members on behalf of the parent company.

Long An takes lead in attracting FDI in Mekong Delta

The southern province of Long An has launched a number of measures to improve the investment environment and raise the provincial competitiveness index (PCI). By 2020, the province strives to become a modern and sustainable industrial province.

Currently, Long An Province took the lead in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) among localities in the Mekong Delta with nearly US$6 billion in 800 projects. The total FDI realization accounted for more than 50%, reaching around US$3 billion.

Six nations and territories were the largest investors of the province including the United Kingdom, Taiwan (China), Japan, Singapore, the Republic of Korea and the U.S.

These FDI projects have made breakthroughs in the province’s industrialization and modernization, promote economic restructuring, form an economic center, create more jobs and protect the environment.

From now till 2020, the province is calling for investment in 16 projects with a total investment of more than US$7 billion.

The province has strived to improve its PCI so to be listed in top 10 among 63 provinces and cities nationwide.