APEC breaks down barriers hindering women exporters     

Small business promotion authorities from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies are deepening cooperation to break down barriers hindering the development and competitiveness of women-led businesses.

This was stated by Nguyen Hoa Cuong, chair of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Working Group, which administers regional collaboration within the sector.

Cuong addressed a meeting in which officials detailed plans for the expansion of efforts to tackle gender bias in trade, during a week of small business development policy meetings in Sydney.

The officials also discussed greater cross-border training and technical exchange to enable reform in APEC economies that levelled the playing field for women-owned and managed firms, and improved their access to international markets.

The move could increase trade-driven growth and job creation across a range of businesses —from a successful handloom fabric producer run and operated by women in Philippine's villages, to an emerging technology company started by a Peruvian woman that helps disabled people to communicate via instant messaging, to women-managed suppliers of materials and parts in Viet Nam that support manufacturers in Australia, Japan and the United States.

“Our work to address inequalities facing women entrepreneurs and managers will boost trade and growth, particularly among small businesses that account for the majority of employment across the region,” Cuong, who is also deputy director general of the Agency for Enterprises Development under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said.

Focus in APEC is on lowering institutional and policy barriers to facilitate participation in trade by women-led businesses. Examples include outdated labour laws that fail to sufficiently protect women, lack of childcare services, limited availability of credit and inadequate or out of reach higher education and skills development opportunities.

To mitigate challenges like these, APEC is increasing public sector capacity to introduce gender-responsive trade promotion policies and programmes in coordination with the business community and civil society.

Training and information-sharing sessions for trade promotion officials to be held next month in Ha Noi will take this multi-year, region-wide initiative forward.

Cynthia Balogh, director of Women Going Global, chief trainer leading the team overseeing the project, said women-led small and medium enterprises could better tap into international business and global supply chains when they are supported by government policy and practices that tackle gender specific constraints faced by female entrepreneurs.

“Incentives for job creation and growth in the region are potentially huge,” Cynthia said.

This work is complemented by measures taking shape in APEC to widen access and use of e-commerce by women-led micro, small and medium enterprises, helping them reach customers and business partners abroad. Opening up financing avenues, branding, intellectual property protection and management support are further areas of emphasis.

Hoang Thi Thu Huyen, chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy, said women in the Asia-Pacific were major drivers of small businesses with great export potential but were constrained at times by unsupportive economic and social policies.

“Reform is key to realising more gender balanced trade that benefits everyone. It is also critical to transforming attitudes that remain the larger obstacle to women’s economic empowerment,” Huyen, who is also deputy director general of Gender Equality at Viet Nam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said.

Huyen also concluded that APEC’s policy efforts in the small business space will enrich the theme and priorities of the 2017 APEC Women and the Economy Forum in Hue, Viet Nam, in September.

Currently, in the 21 APEC economies, approximately 600 million women are in the labor force, with over 60 per cent engaged in the formal sector.

A recent United Nations report states that limits on women’s participation in the workforce across the Asia-Pacific region cost the economy an estimated US$89 billion every year.

Viet Nam’s coffee price highest in six years

Coffee prices in Viet Nam have reached the highest level in six years owing to the shortage of export-qualified beans after the harvest was hit by rains.

The price is in the range of VNÐ46,500 (US$2.04) per kilo of robusta beans in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Ð?ng, and VNÐ47,300 ($2.08) per kilo in Ð?k L?k Province.

This is the highest level that coffee prices have risen since September 16, 2011, when prices climbed to VNÐ47,400 per kilo.

First water shortage in dry season and then unseasonal rain in the Central Highlands from October to December last year has badly affected the 2016-17 crop harvest, both in terms of productivity and quality.

Vi?t Nam’s coffee output from the current crop has fallen by 11 per cent against the previous season, the International Coffee Organization has reported. In 2016, 134,600 hectares of coffee trees in the region saw reduced output, while nearly 7,900 hectares of trees died or did not produce any coffee beans.

The Central Highlands region has 576,800 hectares of coffee trees, accounting for 89 per cent of the country’s total coffee cultivation. Vi?t Nam’s coffee accounts for one-fifth of the world coffee beans output.

It is currently dry season in the Central Highlands, and water shortage is a big problem. The Steering Committee for Central Highlands recently confirmed that water resources in the region will be able to supply sufficient water through irrigation projects, rivers, streams and wells to irrigate coffee cultivations until the end of the dry season.

PVTrans inks coal shipment deal with Tata International

PetroVietnam Transportation Corporation (PVTrans) signed a contract this month with Tata International Singapore to ship 1 million tonnes of coal to Duyên H?i 3 Thermoelectric Plant in Trà Vinh.

This information was released on Tuesday by the Vi?t Nam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) – PVTrans’ parent group.

The contract is in line with PetroVietnam’s plan to transport coal domestically to thermoelectric plants in the C?u Long (Mekong) Delta region, including the supply for coastal thermoelectric plants, as well as Long Phú 1 and Sông H?u 1 thermoelectric plants.

The large volume of coal will be transported in a short period from April to August 2017.

With experiences in transport for many years, PVTrans has built a supply chain of coal to deal with difficulties in geographic locations during the transport of coal to thermoelectric plants in the south and the C?u Long Delta regions.

Therefore, Tata International Singapore has highly appreciated and chosen PVTrans to ship coal to the Duyên H?i 3 thermoelectric plant.

PVTrans has diversified its transport services, besides the logistics services for oil and gas products, to meet the increasing demand to transport bulk cargo for the oil and gas industry, as well as other industries.

Regional conference discuss food security

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs jointly held a regional conference on food security in Hanoi on March 22.

Addressing the opening of the two-day event, MARD Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh urged participants to seek cooperation initiatives and measures to promote smart agricultural practices in Vietnam.

He noted that Vietnam is an agriculture-based country with nearly 70 percent of the population living in rural areas. Thanks to the government’s policies to develop agriculture, from a country suffering food shortage, Vietnam has ensured its domestic food supply and provided a large amount of food to the world.

Along with rice, seafood, coffee, cashew, vegetable and fruits have also considerable hard currency earners for Vietnam. However, the country has been among five most vulnerable countries to climate change which has ravaged many localities across Vietnam, he said.

He stated that the agricultural sector has reformed to increase farm produces’ productivity, quality, respond to climate change and minimise climate change impacts by choosing cultivation methods as well as plant and livestock and aquaculture varieties to suit climate situation in each locality.

At the same time, the sector has enhanced research and application capacity to deal with newly emerged challenges due to climate change, including sea level rise, said Doanh.

He stressed the need for a smart agriculture sector as well as the setting up of institutions to support farmers, especially in information, service and capital access.

He also highlighted the significance of close coordination among countries in ensuring food security to the humankind amidst climate change.

The same day, delegates joined a technical conference on food safety, innovative fishery farming and smart agriculture adapting to climate change, as well as food wastefulness and loss.

Singaporean developer opens 1st office tower in Vietnam

Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, a Singapore-owned real estate developer, on March 22 saw its first office tower in Vietnam inaugurated by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.

Mapletree Business Centre is a 17-storey tower with 28,384sq.m of floor area and designed to international grade A specifications.

It has attracted plenty of leasing interest and its tenants include Standard Chartered Bank, Uniben, Far Eastern Polytex and SCC UK.

The completion of the office tower marks the second phase of precinct transformation at the 4.4ha Saigon South Place Complex in District 7.

Saigon South Place Complex, a mixed-use project, is being developed in phases by Mapletree, with the first phase being a joint venture with Saigon Co.op to develop SC VivoCity shopping mall in 2015.

An Oakwood-branded serviced apartment and a high-rise residential block RichLane Residences are on track for completion by the end of this year.

There are also plans for two more office towers.

Edmund Cheng, Chairman of Mapletree, said, “Tapping on our rich experience in rejuvenating the HarbourFront and Alexandra precincts in Singapore, we aim to create a work-live-play environment by combining lifestyle, office and residential at Saigon South Place Complex.”

The company entered Vietnam more than 12 years ago and has grown from one logistics project into one of the largest Singaporean real estate companies in the country by investment.

After unveiling the plaque of Mapletree Business Centre, Lee and Dung toured Co.opXtra, a hypermarket set up by Saigon Co.op and Singapore’s NTUC FairPrice at SC VivoCity.

Ca Mau develops ecological crab farming

The southernmost province of Ca Mau plans to develop extensive crab farming, especially in ecological environment, to improve its economic value and serve exports, said Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chau Cong Bang. 

The locality strives to have more than 90,000ha of farming crab and other aquatic species by 2020, at least 70,000ha of which is used for crab breeding that meets food safety and hygiene requirements and over 80 percent of Nam Can crab and Ca Mau ecological crab are provided for restaurants, supermarkets and hotels at home and abroad. 

In recent years, sea crab-shrimp or forest-shade crab farming have grown in Ca Mau with an average output of more than 19,000 tonnes per year and a productivity of 30-50kg per ha each crop. 

Ca Mau’s sea crab is well-known in and outside the country thanks to its tasty and firm meat. 

According to local farmers, they only release fries and do not need to buy feed because crab is bred in natural habitat in mangrove forests and coastal areas.  

In late 2016, Nam Can sea crab was recognised as a collective brand.

Toyota Vietnam recalls 360 Lexus cars

Toyota Vietnam, Japan’s automobile manufacturer in Vietnam, is calling 360 cars in Lexus RX200t and Lexus RX350 models to repair and replace the Electrical Control Unit (ECU) electrically controlling back door opening/closing, according to the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to the VCA, the programme is applied to models sold in Vietnam and manufactured in the period from 2015 to 2016.

For Lexus RX200t and Lexus RX350 not imported by Toyota Vietnam, if consumers request, Toyota Vietnam will consult with Toyota in Japan to check and verify information based on the VIN.

If the VIN belongs to the recalling programme, Toyota will examine and replace free of charge.

Updating the ECU for each vehicle takes about 1.4 hours and related costs are paid by Toyota. The programme will last until the end of December 5, 2017, at Toyota Lexus outlets throughout the country.

The VCA has been supervising the recalling programme and will update information for consumers and media agencies in upcoming time.

Binh Duong takes lead in foreign investment attraction

The People’s Committee of southern Binh Duong province lured 1.344 billion USD in foreign-invested projects in the period from the beginning of this year to March 15, leading the country in foreign investment attraction.

Of the investments, 793 million USD comes from 43 new projects and the remaining is from the capital adjustment of 14 existing projects.

A ceremony to grant investment licences was held at the province’s administrative centre building on March 22.

At the ceremony, 21 projects with a combined capital of 1.308 billion USD were granted with investment licences, including 10 newly-registered foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with a total registered capital of 740.7 million USD.

The province also granted licences to eight existing FDI projects with additional 536.1 million USD and three new domestic others worth 740 billion VND (32.8 million USD).

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Binh Duong People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem affirmed the projects granted with investment licences this time are specific manifestation for investors’ confidence and long-term commitment to the province.

Binh Duong continues improving its investment environment, boosting administrative procedure reform and raising its provincial competitiveness capacity while implementing flexible solutions to support and facilitate businesses’ operations, he pledged.

The province has to date had 2,892 foreign invested projects with a total investment of over 27 billion USD. It ranks second in the country’s foreign investment attraction after Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2016, Binh Duong ranked fourth out of 63 provinces and cities in terms of the Provincial Competitiveness Index launched by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Draft decree on gas trading causes argument

The draft decree to replace Decree No 19/2016/NĐ-CP on gas trading has stirred controversy among gas traders, heard attendants at a conference held in Hanoi on March 22.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) built the draft decree to fix shortcomings of the current decree which has been said to cause difficulties for businesses.

Recently, several gas traders have complained that the decree’s regulations stipulating that gas companies have storage tanks and total LPG bottle capacities of at least 2.62 million litres were hard to fulfill, especially for those in remote and mountainous areas with low population density.

Therefore, they asked for a review and amendment of the rules to facilitate trading, as each gas company would have to invest VND25-30 billion (US$1.1-1.3 million) in the gas tank system when applying for a business licence.

Ha Thanh Tung, director of the Dong Tung Gas Company in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang said that the number of companies operating in the province’s gas sector was reduced from 45 in 2016 to 30 in 2017.

“If the ministry does not make a timely amendment to and revision of the decree’s shortcomings, the number of gas traders will continue to reduce,” Tùng added.

Tran Trong Huu, general secretary of the Vietnam Gas Association, agreed that the current regulations on gas trading have seen an overlapping with those relating to business conditions and fire safety. These have caused difficulties for both traders and market watch departments.

“However, the ministry should carefully consider policy changes, as the decree has been promulgated for less than a year,” he said, adding that firms need stable policies.

The ministry’s draft aims to remove some conditions and has received supports from small-and-medium sized enterprises.

However, big scale traders who built facilities for gas tank and stations disagreed with the revisions.

Nguyen Minh Chau, general director of EPIC Petroleum Company in the central Nghe An Province, said the removal of the conditions such as warehouses and gas stations cannot prevent the disorder in the market. The illegal gas extraction and filling have been seen in different areas, thus affecting consumer safety due to risks of fire and explosion.

MoIT’s representative said the ministry would collect the opinions and will consider adjusting the draft to ensure benefits to businesses.

The decree was promulgated on March 22, 2016, replacing Decree No 107/2009/NĐ-CP on November 26, 2009, on gas trading to facilitate gas companies.

Fruit processors resort to imports in Vietnam’s ‘coconut kingdom’

Coconut processing companies in the southern province of Ben Tre, known as Vietnam’s ‘coconut kingdom,’ have had to resort to imported products to alleviate short domestic supply.

While the Mekong Delta province used to be home to vast coconut plantations, local farmers are considering switching to other crops as coconut prices have fallen and the fruit’s yield has also become increasingly poor.

Local coconut processors have had to import the fruit in order to have enough raw material for production.

Nguyen Van Bay, one farmer in Chau Thanh District, said he could only harvest 300 coconuts from his one-hectare plantation, compared to approximately 1,000 in previous years. The crop of Huynh Phuc Hau, from nearby Giong Trom District, also saw its yield drop 50 percent from last year.

Besides the poor yield, coconut crops in Ben Tre have also been affected by salinization, resulting in smaller fruits.

Traders have therefore only been prepared to buy the coconuts for VND75,000 (US$3.35) a dozen, compared to the usual market rate of VND85,000 ($3.8).

With coconuts proving to be less lucrative, local farmers are switching into other plants including mango, longan fruit and grapefruit, Tran Anh Tuan, chairman of the Ben Tre Coconut Association, said.

“This is the primary reason behind the raw material shortage for local coconut processing companies,” Tuan said.

“Some businesses have had to source their fruit from other provinces, and even import from other countries.”

Another factor is Chinese traders that bought huge quantities from Ben Tre earlier this year, he added.

Cu Van Thanh, director of Luong Quoi, one of the province’s largest dry coconut processors, said the company needs around 600,000 fruits per day, but domestic supply is currently failing to meet this.

“We have to import to have enough material,” he said.

“Last year we imported as many as 20 containers of dry coconuts from Indonesia.”

Tuan then suggested that fruit processing companies join hands to encourage farmers to stay with coconuts and ensure a stable domestic supply.

“If all farmers turn their back on coconuts, businesses will have to fully import the fruit in order to maintain their production,” he warned.

EVN and VCCI promote electricity-access index

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on March 22 signed an agreement on evaluating the electricity-access index and customers’ satisfaction with EVN’s services.

Under the agreement signed in Hanoi, VCCI will provide consultancy and information related to responses of the business community in Vietnam about power supply to improve the index.

EVN will also provide information on the power supply situation in localities and the difficulties it faced in improving the electricity-access index in the country. 

The two sides will research and prepare proposals to revise regulations and policies aimed at improving the business environment.

In addition, the two sides will co-operate in education and training to improve management capacity to resolve disputes between business members.

The agreement is aimed at enhancing information exchange between the two sides to meet with the integration trend.

VCCI is a representative of the business community in Vietnam. Over the past years, VCCI has proposed solutions to facilitate business development.

The co-operation will open new opportunities to better exploit the potential of each side. This could help EVN obtain objective information from its customers in particular and the business community in general.

The agreement is considered one of the solutions for EVN and VCCI to improve the business environment and the national competitiveness capacity according to the Government’s Resolution No 19-2017/NQ.

EVN is directly selling power to 24.8 billion customers nationwide. The group has expressed its intention to improve its service, which would be a decisive factor contributing to sustainable development.

It has implemented users’ requirements for electricity access according to international standards, making the index increase from 6.9 points in 2013 to 7.27 points in 2016.

Last year, the average time for power connection was six working days, significantly improving the electricity-access index. Vietnam jumped from 156th position in 2013 to 96th position in 2016 for the index according to World Bank (WB)’s Doing Business report.

WB also recognised the reduced time for completing administrative procedures for registration to use electricity from 15 days in 2015 to 11 days in 2016.

The transparency of power supply and tariffs also reached the average level in the Asia-Pacific region.

Generali Vietnam launches the first comprehensive critical illness plan in Vietnam

On March 22 Generali Vietnam Life Insurance LLC launched the first comprehensive 2-in-1 insurance plan in the Vietnamese market.

The plan, named VITA – Bao An Toan Dien offers both savings and critical illness coverage that will protect customers against the increasing risks of critical illnesses.

VITA – Bao An Toan Dien features coverage for 99 critical illnesses up to 275 per cent of the sum assured (SA) and waiver of premium benefit when the life assured is diagnosed with critical illness. The plan covers short term financial needs with cash benefit of 5 per cent of SA payable every 5 years.

Customers get a comfortable life in old age with special cash benefit at the age of 75, up to 200 per cent of SA and loyalty additions. They get protection for their children with financial support benefit for parents. In addition, there is death benefit of when the life assured passes away from the age of 75 with 100 per cent of SA.

With VITA – Bao An Toan Dien, while the maximum premium term is only 20 years, customers shall be covered until the age of 99, with total benefits that can top out at 375 per cent of SA. When diagnosed with a critical illness in Generali’s list of 99 common critical illnesses, the life assured will receive up to two payments for early-stage critical illnesses, and up to two payments for late-stage critical illnesses. Particularly, for diabetic complications which are quite common in Vietnam, Generali Vietnam shall make an additional payment of 25 per cent of SA to provide support for continuous treatment.

“Despite our short history, we have established a successful track record in providing suitable, practical and affordable financial solutions for customers. VITA – Bao An Toan Dien plays up our motto of being “simpler, smarter, truly customer centric,” said Tina Nguyen, CEO of Generali Vietnam.

“For the first time in Vietnam, customers can now access a plan that offers peace of mind from rising medical costs and protects their quality of life at the same time. Positive feedback of the plan makes us confident that this will benefit many people looking for protection before, during and even after a critical illness occurs,” she added.

VITA – Bao An Toan Dien follows the launch of another health rider plan, VITA– Golden Health, launched in December 2016. VITA – Golden Health provides coverage across Asia and pays for all cancer treatment expenses up to VND1 billion ($440,000). Together, these health plans will allow customers to have more financial flexibility and comprehensive protection for themselves and their families.

Bình Thuận approves seafood cluster     

The Binh Thuan Province People’s Committee has approved a proposal by local company Truong An Construction to build an industrial cluster in Mui Ne.

The 23.86ha cluster in the beach city of Phan Thiet will serve as a seafood processing hub for the south-central province and also encourage traditional local vocations like anchovy processing and fish sauce production.

When it opens, small-scale and household processors scattered around beaches and resorts will be moved into it.

Setting up a cluster is part of authorities’ efforts to monitor the quality of seafood products and protect the coastal environment to boost tourism.

Binh Thuan is one of the country’s biggest seafood producers with around 52-thousand square kilometres of traditional fishing grounds.

The province also has a rapidly growing beach tourism industry.

The number of international visitors to the province increased by 20 per cent year-on-year in the first two months. 

Viet Nam, Israel promote economic cooperation     

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue welcomed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at a joint business forum yesterday to advocate mutual economic, trade and investment relations between the two nations as part of Rivlin’s state visit to Viet Nam.

The Deputy PM praised Israel’s interest in Viet Nam’s business and economic environment, especially in areas where Israel has an advantage such as high-tech agriculture, animal husbandry, renewable energy and smart grid development.

“There are many things Viet Nam can learn from Israel, and I hope Vietnamese businessmen can use this opportunity to its fullest. Israel as the world best startup nation can offer many lessons on this matter, and your entrepreneurs are welcomed here. Bilateral trade has increased six-fold in six years, but we have only begun to tap its potential together. Viet Nam can offer Israel a gateway to the ASEAN market in areas such as high-tech agriculture, water system management and even online security,” said Hue.

Hue also promised to create favourable conditions for Israeli businesses with a more suitable legal framework to aid the two sides in signing a free trade agreement and create more partnerships.

President Rivlin emphasised the importance of cooperation with Viet Nam and said he expected businesses from Israel to work closely with their Vietnamese counterparts in many areas from education and technology to fertiliser production.

“Viet Nam is a regional power in Asia that can bring added value into partnerships with other countries, and the Vietnamese market economy is growing at a steady pace. Our commercial partnership includes a large variety of goods and services, and there is so much more to do. Our cooporation will let us face global challenges and benefit humanity, but we also need your help on matters such as intellectual property protection and for our free trade agreement to move forward,” said Rivlin.

Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce (VCCI) Chairman, Vu Tien Loc, said he was pleased that the two countries’ leaders and entrepreneurs were coming together for a better future.

“The need for a startup ecosystem in Viet Nam is vital and urgent, as well as investment in the agricultural sector in order to create momentum for development. That is why we need Israel’s help through technological transfer and shared experience,” said Loc.

According to VCCI’s data, as of 2016, total trade turnover between Viet Nam and Israel reached more than US$1.2 billion, with Viet Nam exporting $554 million and importing $683 million.

Israel is ranked 54 out of 116 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam with nine foreign direct capital projects, as well as high-tech agricultural and diary farms.

President Rivlin will visit several key projects of collaboration between Israel and Viet Nam on Thursday and Friday.

One such investment is the VinEco project run by the VinEco company as part of Vingroup Corp. and Israeli firms Netafim and Teshuva Agricultural Projects with an investment of more than $38 million in Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc Province.

The President will also visit a model dairy farm in HCM City in its fifth year of operation, founded by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the HCM City People’s Committee. 

Vietnam ready to open doors for Israeli businesses

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on March 21 reiterated Vietnam's readiness to open doors for Israeli businesses and help them access its market at a Vietnam-Israel business forum in Hanoi.

In his speech, the Deputy PM highly appreciated the special attention that the Israeli Government has paid to the promotion of economic, trade and investment partnership with Vietnam.

Despite two-way trade increasing from US$200 million in 2010 to more than US$1.2 billion in 2016, the figure is still far from meeting expectations, he noted.

He underlined for both sides to step up cooperation in fields of Vietnam’s needs, including farming, breeding, renewable energy, smart power grid, water resource management, e-commerce, cyber security and human resource training.

He also expressed hope that Vietnamese businesses will learn from their Israeli peers’ experience, especially in how to develop the world’s leading startup country with modest natural resources.

"The Vietnamese Government pledged to work hand in hand with the Israel Government in building optimal legal frameworks serving partnerships between the two sides’ business communities," he said.

Hue said he hopes that negotiations for a Vietnam-Israel free trade agreement will be completed in 2018 when the countries celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin highlighted the significance of bilateral ties with Vietnam in his country’s international integration. 

He stated that Israel is interested in affiliating with Vietnam in multiple fields, including trade, knowledge-based development, water treatment, irrigation, dairy industry, medical equipment, education, agriculture, fertilizer production, and cyber security.

According to Jonathan Hadar from Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry, Israel is becoming a large research and development centre hosting more than 250 multinational groups and firms.

Shraga Brosh, President of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel, predicted that the two countries will enjoy closer collaboration in hi-tech agriculture, technology transfer, water treatment, mobile network and medical equipment based on the win-win basis.

A conference themed “Israel – Supplier of high technology for Vietnam’s agriculture development,” held the same day with Israeli businesses introducing their advanced technology in watering and green house installation.

The events were co-hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Israeli Embassy in Vietnam during President Reuven Rivlin’s State visit to Vietnam from March 19-25

Sowatco withdraws from Saigon Centre project

Southern Waterborne Transport Corporation (Sowatco) is no longer the local partner of the Saigon Centre property project in downtown HCMC.

Keppel Land Limited through its subsidiary Krystal Investments Pte Ltd has clinched a deal with Sowatco to acquire an additional 16% stake worth VND845.9 billion in joint ventures Keppel Land Watco I, II, III, IV and V which are developing the Saigon Centre property in the heart of the city.

Following the acquisition, Keppel Land has increased its total interest in the joint ventures developing the first and second phases of the Saigon Centre, namely Keppel Land Watco I, II and III, from around 45.3% to 53.5%, and the last two phases in Keppel Land Watco IV and V from 68% to 76.2%, according to a statement issued on March 20 by Keppel Land.

Ang Wee Gee, CEO of Keppel Land, said in the statement, “Keppel Land is committed to grow its commercial portfolio in key Asian cities. Vietnam, one of our key growth markets, continues to attract foreign direct investments which will drive positive demand in the property market from homes to offices and mixed-use developments. Our increased stake in Saigon Centre reflects Keppel Land’s confidence and long-term commitment to contribute to sustainable urbanization in Vietnam with our quality portfolio of properties.”

Sowatco, one of two Vietnamese partners in the project, sought approval from its shareholders to sell its entire stake last April. The stake sale plan was unveiled in a report posted on its website and meant to be presented at the firm’s 2016 annual shareholder meeting that month.

At the time, market watchers predicted Keppel Land would be most likely to purchase the stake as it was one of the dominant foreign real estate developers in Vietnam.

The Saigon Centre is situated on two hectares of land in a prime location surrounded by Le Loi, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Pasteur streets in District 1, with Keppel Land Watco being the owner. Sowatco owned around 16% of the joint venture and the remainder was held by Saigon Real Estate Corporation and Singapore’s Keppel Land.

The Saigon Centre is within walking distances from two underground metro stations under construction near two of the city’s landmarks – the Ben Thanh Market and the Opera House.

The first phase of the Saigon Centre was put into use in 1996. The second phase, designed by New York-based NBBJ, comprises 55,000 square meters of prime retail space, 44,000 square meters of premium Grade-A office space, and 195 luxury serviced apartments when fully completed at the end of this year.

A shopping mall in the Saigon Centre was launched last August, stocking over 400 international and local brands. Leading Japanese department store chain operator Takashimaya is among its tenants.

In Vietnam, Keppel Land is one of the largest foreign real estate investors with a diverse portfolio of properties in Hanoi, HCMC, Dong Nai and Vung Tau, such as Grade A offices, high-end residential properties, mixed-use urban areas, and serviced apartments.

The company has 19 licensed projects with more than 25,000 homes in the pipeline across the country. 

SBV forms FinTech steering committee

Le Minh Hung, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), has decided to establish a financial technology (FinTech) steering committee in charge of proposing solutions, strategies, plans and policies for FinTech development in the country, VnExpress reported.

Nguyen Kim Anh, deputy governor of SBV, is director of the steering committee and Nghiem Thanh Son, deputy head of the Payment Department, is his deputy.

The growing integration of technology and finance in Vietnam requires a legal corridor and policy for banks and businesses to develop.

The FinTech steering committee will be responsible for helping the SBV governor to devise measures and policies for developing FinTech companies in Vietnam.

Financial technology (FinTech) is an industry comprising companies that use new technology and innovation to improve competition in the marketplace of traditional financial institutions.

Customs asked to strengthen checks on steel imports

The General Department of Customs has requested customs agencies in provinces and cities to strengthen management of and checks on steel imports to prevent trade fraud, according to the Government’s portal chinhphu.vn.

The department made the request after the Vietnam Steel Association said there were signs that importing firms had evaded the current safeguard tariffs imposed on steel imports by declaring wrong HS codes for imported products. 

That was why local customs agencies were urged to act to ward off trade fraud by taking samples of imported steel suspected of trade fraud for analysis. They should report the suspected cases to the department and propose solutions for coping with violators.  

In July last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued 2968/QD-BCT imposing the safeguard duty of 23.3% on imported steel ingots and 15.4% on long steel imports until March 21 this year. The respective rates are 21.3% and 13.9% applicable from March 21 this year to March 21, 2018.    

VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR