PAN Food to become biggest shareholder of Bibica

The board of Bibica Corporation (BBC) approved a proposal by PAN Food Company (PAN Food) to buy over 4.6 million BBC shares to become the biggest shareholder at the confectionery producer.

In a document sent to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) and the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HOSE), Bibica said three of the five members of the board voted for the proposal and the others abstained.

According to Bibica, PAN Food bid for over 4.6 million BBC shares, equivalent to 29.97% of the total, at the price of VND56,800 each to increase its ownership and become a major shareholder.

If the two sides ink an agreement, PAN Food will see its holding at Bibica rising to 51% and become the biggest shareholder. The value of the deal is over VND260 billion.

At the end of January this year, PAN Food bought nearly 20% of Bibica from SSI Asset Management Company (SSIAM), a subsidiary of Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI). SSI is an affiliate of Pan Pacific Corporation (PAN Pacific) and the two firms have the same chairman, Nguyen Duy Hung.

At present, Korean firm Lotte Confectionery is the biggest shareholder of Bibica, with a 44.03% stake, followed by PAN Food with 21.13% and Duong Mat Troi Investment Company with 12.31%.

Of note is Duong Mat Troi also received funding from SSI and the chairman of the former is a brother of chairman Nguyen Duy Hung.

Meanwhile, Ben Tre Aquaproduct Import and Export Company, a subsidiary of PAN Pacific, is holding a 3.39% stake at Bibica.  The remaining stake is owned by other individuals and investment funds.

Speaking to the Daily previously, a representative of PAN Pacific said the firm bought BBC shares to aid Bibica to become a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company with an A-to-Z value chain from varieties, purchasing, processing and production.

Pan Pacific has two subsidiaries including ABT and National Seed Company and one affiliate - Long An Food Processing Export Company.

Experts oppose Long Thanh airport project

The big-ticket Long Thanh international airport project faces yet another setback as the HCMC Association of Consultants in Science Technology and Management (Hascon) has dismissed it as a poorly prepared project.

Hascon said at a seminar in HCMC last Saturday that Tan Son Nhat and Bien Hoa airports should be upgraded to meet rising demand for air travel, instead of spending a dozen billion U.S. dollars to construct a new airport in Long Thanh, Dong Nai Province.

The seminar took place after the Government had revised down the cost of the project from US$18.7 billion to US$15.8 billion and had approved the content of a report on the project which would go before the Politburo for consideration.

Aviation scientists and experts at the seminar at the southern office of the National Assembly called for the Politburo to thoroughly weigh the project.

Dr. Nguyen Thien Tong said the Long Thanh airport project had not been carefully considered as its quality was not as good as that of a final project done by a university student. “The area, passenger capacity and location of the planned airport have been decided based on illustration analyses, not a pre-feasibility study,” he said.

According to Tong, statistics used to draw up the project are unclear and unreliable. He said the number of passengers at Tan Son Nhat airport reported by the Ministry of Transport is much higher that the figure given by the HCMC Statistics Office.

He dismissed as groundless the ministry’s reason that Tan Son Nhat airport would face an overload after it reaches its 25 million passengers/year capacity in 2020.

Tan Son Nhat has two runways, with one being 3,050 meters long and the other being 3,800 meters long, and they are 365 meters apart, allowing jumbo jets like Boeing B747-400 and Airbus A340-600 to safely land and take off, he noted.

He added the capacity of Tan Son Nhat is underused and to illustrate his point he made a comparison that while the international airport in Mumbai, India has two shorter runways than those of Tan Son Nhat, at 2,990 meters and 3,660 meters, its aircraft movements amounted to 260,000 and its passenger movements reached 32 million in 2013, but the jetliner movements at Tan Son Nhat totaled a mere 140,000 that year.

Regarding the investment cost, Tong said explainations of Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) as the investor of the project are contradictory. According to ACV, it would re-borrow official development assistance (ODA) loans from the Government and pay them itself. However, Tong questioned how ACV could repay the loans while it would be impossible to recover huge capital from infrastructure developments overnight.

The anticipation that Long Thanh airport would become a hub in the region is unrealistic and illusional, said Tong. In terms of quality alone, Long Thanh could hardly compete with Changi Airport of Singaore, Suvarnabhumi Airport of Thailand, Chek Lap Kok Airport of Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur Airport of Malaysia.

Dr. Nguyen Bach Phuc, chairman of Hascon, said that in the current economic conditions, it is safer and more feasible to upgrade Tan Son Nhat and Bien Hoa airports than to build Long Thanh. Moreover, he noted, the cost of revamping the two airports is not as high as the Ministry of Transport’s projections.

Uber Vietnam yet to file for tax

The growing car sharing service Uber in Vietnam has yet to file for tax though it has been operational for quite some time, according to the HCMC Department of Tax.

According to Uber Technologies Inc., it offers the taxi-hailing service in Vietnam via the popular smartphone app of Uber International Holding B.V., the parent company in the Netherlands, so Uber International Holding B.V. pays taxes in Holland and Uber Vietnam is responsible for tax obligations here in the country.

However, the HCMC Department of Tax said Uber Vietnam has yet to file and pay tax.

At the meeting with the HCMC Department of Transport last week, a representative of Uber said Uber was just a technological solution. The app is run by Uber B.V. while Uber Vietnam is active in two business sectors: management consulting and market research.

Le Hoang Minh, deputy director of the transport department, asked why Uber had signed contracts with commercial transport businesses in Vietnam but it had not registered this business field.

In response, Uber said Uber B.V. had inked deals on cross-border transport services with licensed Vietnamese firms in line with regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Therefore, the parent firm just observes tax regulations of the Netherlands and Uber Vietnam pays tax for its operations here in the country.

Meanwhile, the city’s tax department said Uber has yet to file for tax since its establishment although it has posted revenue from market research service.

Therefore, the tax department requests Uber to disclose the names of its Vietnamese partners no later than April 15 to make tax declarations.

Minh of the transport department said the Vietnamese Government and HCMC supported foreign enterprises to do business in the country but they have to comply with regulations of Vietnam.

However, as public transport service is a conditional business sector as per Decree 86 and Circular 63, firms active in this field must put their logos on vehicles.

In addition, partners of Uber must sign contracts in line with the current regulations as proof of responsibility between the driver and the passenger.

Regarding to conditions for the transport service, Uber said Vietnam’s regulations on the service are not suitable to this new type of service. Minh said the transport department would report to the city government to find out solutions.

French firm supplies equipment for Can Tho hospital

French firm IMPE on Tuesday inked a contract to supply medical equipment worth over 22 million euros for Can Tho General Hospital in the Mekong Delta.

Vo Hong So, deputy director of the hospital, told the Daily on the sidelines of the signing ceremony that the hospital would be equipped with over 3,000 medical devices, especially modern machines for diagnosis and treatment of cardiac, blood vessel, lung and kidney diseases.

IMPE will help train and instruct the hospital’s staff how to use the machines and will be responsible for installation and maintenance for two years, said Le Quang Vo, director of the hospital.

Vo said the equipment would help the hospital improve healthcare services for patients in Can Tho City and neighboring provinces in the region.

Speaking at the event, Thomas Fernander from IMPE said the medical equipment contract was the first of its kind to be awarded to the firm in Vietnam. The equipment will meet the demand of local for medical check-ups and treatments.

Vo said of the 22 million euros needed for the project, 19.5 million euros in soft loan comes from the French government and the remainder from Vietnam.

Can Tho General Hospital, which was inaugurated six months ago, has 500 beds and 31 wards and functional rooms.

Lazada best performer among e-commerce sites

After three years of operation, Lazada Vietnam has emerged as the best performer among the e-commerce websites in Vietnam, with its 2014 revenue jumping five times over a year earlier and exceeding the average level on the market.

Alexandre Dardy, CEO of Lazada Vietnam, said lazada.vn had a million customers and over 200 million pageviews, the highest number in the online shopping market in the country.

As many as 300,000 items of 1,500 sellers were sold via the website last year.

According to the Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the website ranked first among 216 e-commerce sites by revenue last year, and held 36% market share, followed by sendo.vn with 14.4%, zalora.vn with 7.2%, tiki.vn with 5.4% and ebay.vn with 3.6%.

The online shopping sites in Vietnam posted total revenues of over VND1.66 trillion last year, doubled that of the previous year.

At the end of last year, Lazada Group announced it had attracted 200 million euros in investment capital from major corporations in the world, including Singapore’s Temasek, to boost operations in six ASEAN markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

However, Dardy said delivery would become a challenge for online shopping sites in the coming time. Therefore, apart from one warehouse in Hanoi and another in HCMC, Lazada is in cooperation with express delivery companies to ship goods to customers nationwide.

“Lazada will launch a program to ship products to buyers in Hanoi and HCMC within two days instead of four to five days,” Dardy said. In addition, the firm will boost advertising on social media, in print and on television to make it known to more people.

Cash bonuses pledged for early land handovers

Organizations, households and individuals handing over land to HCMC before or on deadline will be entitled to cash bonuses ranging from VND15 million to VND200 million (US$699-9,300), according to a draft decision on site clearance compensation and resettlement support.

Prepared by the city government and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the draft specifies a one-off bonus of VND15 million would be offered to households and individuals returning residential land and VND7.5 million to those returning agricultural land.

If the State just takes back part of their land, they would receive half the prescribed cash bonus.

The city government and the natural resources department said this regulation was in line with Decision 35/2010/QD-UBNN issued by HCMC but they proposed to hike cash bonuses to encourage local residents to return land.

However, an official at the site clearance and compensation committee in HCMC told the Daily that the biggest hindrances in the site clearance process are compensation rates and prices of homes or land for resettlement. If these two knotty issues are not solved, such cash bonuses would not work wonders.

Under the draft decision, individuals and households would get over 40 square meters of land for resettlement, instead of just 30 square meters, if they return 45 square meters of residential land to the State.

Unbaked building materials still unpopular

Although the production and consumption of unbaked building materials in the past five years have met or even beat their annual targets, few people are aware of the new materials.

The Ministry of Construction’s report said that after five years of implementing the Government’s Decision 567/QD-TTg issued on April 20, 2010 and the Prime Minister’s Instruction 10/CT-TTg issued on November 22, 2012 on developing unbaked building materials, around 6.5 billion unbaked bricks had been produced annually, accounting for 29% of the total output of building materials last year.

Tran Van Huynh, former chairman of the Vietnam Association for Building Materials, told the Daily that the country’s unbaked material production capacity is around 6 billion bricks per year, meeting 23-24% of the demand for construction materials nationwide.

However, Huynh said the unbaked bricks factories are operating at around half capacity because the product has not sold well on the market and the inventory has reached billions of bricks to date.

Tran Tuan Long, director of Thiet Thach Construction, Architecture and Investment Joint Stock Co. based in HCMC, said individual customers are not interested in unbaked bricks.

Customers still prefer baked bricks, which cost less and make them feel safer.

Circular 09/2012/TT-BXD issued by the Ministry of Construction in 2012 to regulate the usage of unbaked bricks for construction projects requires State-financed projects at third-grade cities to use unbaked building materials from 2013.

The circular also regulates that unbaked bricks must make up at least 30% of the total material volume used at all the buildings with more than nine floors from 2012, and the rate is at least 50% from this year.

But Huynh of the Vietnam Association for Building Materials said many investors have not abided by the regulation and have used unbaked bricks for auxiliary components rather than major ones or the whole project.

Meanwhile, the management and inspection activities are lax.

A recent report on the Government’s portal chinhphu.vn said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has assigned the Construction Ministry to send out inspection teams to detect violations.

Hai also told local authorities to do away with manual brickyards and map out plans to support the use of unbaked bricks.

Work to resume on long-delayed port project

The Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA) is considering resuming construction on the long-stalled Van Phong Port project in the central coast province of Khanh Hoa.

Van Phong, when in place, will replace Nha Trang Port as an all-purpose facility after Nha Trang is converted into a tourism-only port.

According to VMA, Transport Engineering Design Incorporation (TEDI) is mapping out the plan. Meanwhile, meetings between VMA, consulting firms and Nha Trang Port Joint Stock Company have been held to discuss the plan.

In the first phase, TEDI proposes, Van Phong Port would be used as a transshipment point responsible for import and export goods from Van Phong Economic Zone, Khanh Hoa Province and other provinces in the Central Highlands to fuel economic growth in the region as cargo in the region is now transshipped via Nha Trang.

VMA said the operator of Nha Trang Port had shown interest in the Van Phong Port project and that it was willing to build a wharf there if it got approval from the Ministry of Transport and VMA.

After research and assessment, VNM will send this proposal to the Transport Ministry and the government of Khanh Hoa Province for consideration.

In September 2012, the Government decided to suspend the Van Phong international transshipment port project in Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa due to design changes and cost overruns.

Work started on the project in October 2009, but was put on hold in August the following year as the design was adjusted to allow the port to receive large vessels of up to 12,000-15,000 TEUs, instead of 9,000 TEUs as originally planned. This means an additional VND3 trillion was needed, according to Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines).

The original capital needed for the project was around VND3.12 trillion in 2007, but doubled to VND6.17 trillion in October 2009 after construction work started and then surged to VND9 trillion after design change was made.

Vinalines was the investor of the Van Phong international transshipment port project. When construction work was suspended, the Government assigned VMA to draw up a plan to raise funds for the project to resume.   

State capital at Vinamotor to be sold to single investor

The Ministry of Transport has proposed the Government sell a 97% State stake at Vietnam Motors Industry Corporation (Vinamotor) to a single investor, instead of several.

The stake owned by the State at the firm is worth some VND855 billion (US$40 million). The Government could earn profit from the sale of its stake but this depends on methods of sale and the interest of investors.

However, the conditions have not been submitted to the Government. The Transport Ministry has just suggested selling to one investor only.

One firm which wants to take over the stake must have equity of over VND855 billion and hold the stake for at least five years. In addition, this investor promises to buy shares of other shareholders at Vinamotor.

A source from the ministry told the Daily that those suggestions had been made by consulting companies but the ministry has yet to come to a final decision. But it seems that the new investor is not forced to keep Vinamotor in the auto industry after the stake acquisition.

There is no regulation guiding the sale of State capital to one investor. Therefore, at a meeting with the Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development in December last year, the Government told the Ministry of Finance to consider adding regulations and sending them to the Government for approval.

Apart from Vinamotor, Cienco 1 and Cienco 4 sold State capital to a small number of investors.

TMT Automobile Company, Sacom Investment and Development Corporation, Hyundai Thanh Cong Ninh Binh Joint Stock Company and N.A Motor Vietnam Limited Company have shown interest in buying the State stake at Vinamotor.

Sea transport charges face inspection

The Government has ordered three ministries to jointly inspect sea transport charges and surcharges collected in Vietnam by foreign shipping lines.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has told the ministries of Finance, Transport and Industry-Trade to make clear charge and surcharge collections by foreign shipping lines and impose fines on those violating regulations in the Competition Law.

In addition, the three ministries are assigned to review international practices regarding the imposition of sea transport charges and report to the Government before a list of charges and surcharges are issued for collection in Vietnam.

In August last year, many export firms and industry associations complained about the steady increases of charges.

They said they were shouldering 10 different charges and surcharges with some of them described as unacceptable such as the container cleanup fee. Notably, the port congestion charge has caused the strongest objections as foreign shipping lines have kept collecting the fee although no port congestion is reported.

According to data of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, its member enterprises pay charges and surcharges totaling US$110 million a year.

Bui Thien Thu, deputy head of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, said domestic shipping lines were not strong enough to transport import and export goods for Vietnamese firms. Therefore, they have to hire foreign vessels to ship goods abroad. Charges are included in transport fees but firms lower them to get transport contracts and raise surcharges to offset.

Trading of diesel 0.25%S to be stopped from early 2016

The Government has decided to stop the trading of diesel 0.25%S (DO 0.25%S) in the domestic market as of January 1, 2016 following the proposal from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The decision aims to protect the rights of domestic consumers, protect the environment, prevent trade fraud and improve the management over fuel products.

Two types of diesel are being sold in the domestic market: DO 0.05%S (with sulphur (S) content not exceeding 500mg/kg) and DO 0.25S (with sulphur content not exceeding 2.500mg/kg).

The high content of sulphur in DO 0.25%S damages lubrication, reduces the life of engine and cause environmental pollution.

In addition, the higher price of DO 0.05%S compared to DO 0.25%S results in trade fraud and illicit profits. The simultaneous circulation of these two types of diesel also causes difficulties for quality management agencies as well as fuel dealers.

The deadline set for the stop in circulation of DO 0.25%S in early 2016 is believed to fit the national reserve and the plans of production, import and sales of DO 0.25%S of domestic enterprises.

Conger Eel processing factory construction begins in Bac Lieu province

The construction of a Conger eel processing plant began in Hong Dan commune in the southern province of Bac Lieu on March 23.

The plant is a joint project between the Hong Dan Seafood JSC and the Republic of Korea ’s Seil Yangman Company, approved by the provincial People’s Committee in February 2015.

Built on 8,000 square meters with a total cost of over VND 60 billion (US$ 2.86 million), the plant is designed to process 7 million tonnes of raw fish daily.

It is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2016, including workshops, worker accommodations, water supply and drainage and environmental treatment systems.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, RoK representatives pledged to work closely with Vietnamese partners to ensure the plant commences operation on schedule.

The two sides have exchanged experiences in breeding Conger in Hong Dan commune since September 2012.

The plant is expected to make Conger processed products a local staple for exports and increase farmer incomes in the commune and the vicinity.

Japan suggests building agro-industrial park in Vietnam’s veggie hub

A Japanese agency has suggested developing a hi-tech agricultural-industrial park in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat, known as Vietnam’s veggie hub, to make the locality a leading source of green produce for Japan.

Mori Mutsuya, chief representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, put forward the idea at a seminar his agency organized jointly with the administration of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on Monday.

Da Lat is the capital city of Lam Dong, which is seen as a potential source of fruits and vegetables for Japan, according to the attendees.

The proposed agro-industrial park is expected to cover 300 hectares and be capable of producing 20,000 metric tons of green produce a year, all of which will be exported to Japan, according to the JICA representative.

Mutsuya hinted that around 50 Japanese agricultural businesses will lease spaces at the park, adding the JICA has already found a suitable land plot for the construction.

If site clearance could be completed in 12 months, it will take another two years for the park to reach completion, he added.

The Japan-Lam Dong seminar was joined by 30 businesses from the East Asian country and 60 Vietnamese companies.

Lam Dong chairman Doan Van Viet took advantage of the event to call for Japanese investment in the hi-tech agricultural production in his province.

“Lam Dong welcomes Japanese businesses to invest in the fields of post-harvest technology, flower wholesaling, and agricultural produce processing industries,” he said.

A representative from Japanese advisory company Dream Incubator Inc. (DI) told the seminar that Lam Dong has a golden chance to become the leading production cluster for Japan.

Japan is the largest importer of processed fruit and vegetable products and fresh flowers in Asia, accounting for up to 70 percent and 60 percent of the total imports in the region, according to DI.

The domestic production of these products in Japan is shrinking, whereas shipments from such countries as China, Malaysia, and Columbia have also dropped, which the Japanese firm said creates an opportunity for Lam Dong.

DI also pinpoints three shortcomings Lam Dong must improve to grab the chance to become a stable supplier of green produce for Japan: high production costs, unstable supply, and small production scales.

MoF okays more tax and customs red tape cuts

The Ministry of Finance has issued decisions approving the removal or simplification of various administrative procedures in taxation and customs.

Accordingly, six of the 46 procedures will be removed – one in tax and five in customs – while the remaining 40 administrative formalities will be simplified, with seven in tax and 33 in customs. Photo vietq

Accordingly, six of the 46 procedures will be removed – one in tax and five in customs – while the remaining 40 administrative formalities will be simplified, with seven in tax and 33 in customs.

The decision comes in response to the government's Decision No.19/NQ-CP, dated March 12, 2015, on major tasks and solutions for improving the business environment and national competitiveness.

Under the decision, the tax payment time will be shortened to less than 121.5 hours per year, while the time to complete premium payments for social insurance will be less than 49.5 hours per year.

The percentage of local enterprises conducting electronic tax declarations will be over 95 per cent, and the rate of electronic filings for corporate tax payment will be at least 90 per cent.

The additional reductions and simplification are expected to create more favourable conditions for people and enterprises completing tax and customs administrative procedures.

They will also contribute to facilitating the effective implementation of the ministry's envisaged solutions to reduce the processing time for tax and customs procedures to the average level of the ASEAN-6 countries by the end of 2015.

Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung said that fulfilling the government's instruction would require preparation from all sectors.

He said the finance sector was implementing solutions related to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) integration and pledged to meet integration requirements when Viet Nam takes part in the AEC in late 2015.

According to the business community, tax and customs were among the first sectors to achieve significant reforms of administrative procedures last year. Under the ministry's reforms, the tax payment time last year was shortened from 537 hours per year to 247 hours (exclusive premium payment time). The tax payment time is currently 167 hours, as per the amended Law on Taxes, which came into effect on January 1, 2015.

The percentage of local enterprises conducting electronic tax declarations last year also increased from 65 per cent to 95 per cent.

Japanese firms eye VN property sector

Japanese companies Hankyu Realty and Nishi-Nippon Railroad on March 24 signed agreements with the HCM City Stock Exchange-listed Nam Long Investment Company to invest in an apartment project.

Representatives of Japanese companies Hankyu Realty and Nishi-Nippon Railroad and Nam Long Investment Company at the signing ceremony in HCM City. VNS Photo

The two will invest VND125 billion (US$5.8 million) each in the VND500 billion Flora Anh Dao Apartments, which will be completed in 15 months' time, according to Nam Long chairman Nguyen Xuan Quang.

The 16-floor apartment block in District 9 will offer 500 units, a Japanese-style garden, community club, children's playground and other amenities.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Toshihiro Matsuo, executive officer of Nishi-Nippon's housing division, said the Japanese firms chose to invest because of the project's location in HCM City, which was near Singapore and other ASEAN countries.

He also cited HCM City's high economic growth rate compared with the national average, its growing population, especially of young people, and improving infrastructure.

Nam Long is a leading housing developer in Viet Nam, having sold more than 3,000 affordable units at its Ehome project, he said.

Flora Anh Dao marked the two firms' entry into Viet Nam, he said, adding he expected them to invest more in the housing sector.

Property developer FLC targets $54m profit in 2015

Property developer FLC Group has forecast a revenue of VND5.5 trillion ($255.8 million) and profit of VND1.16 trillion ($54 million) for this year.

It reflects a 2.5-fold growth, compared with the same period last year. This year is being considered a breakthrough year for the group as several of its real-estate projects would go on sale.

The firm has executed various real-estate projects with a total investment capital of $1 billion.

In addition, the FLC Group is also planning to list its shares on the Singaporean stock market.

Speaking at the shareholder meeting held in Ha Noi last weekend, Doan Van Phuong, FLC's general director, said its shareholders had approved to raise charter capital to VND8.4 trillion ($392.5 million). The additional charter capital would be supplemented from its property projects.

Phuong said the charter capital had been raised because it expected to see strong business in the real-estate market this year. This was also the reason why the company wants to concentrate all of its resources to quickly introduce its property projects in the market.

Trinh Van Quyet, chairman of the management board, added that the projects would certainly bring benefit to the group this year.

"There have been a number of organisations available for financing – Vietinbank for example has offered VND25 trillion funding for the 2014 to 2020 period," Quyet said, adding that the company would not have to use preferential bank loans to implement its projects.

This year, it would continue to negotiate to acquire some housing projects, especially those that have completed legal procedures and land clearance to shorten execution work, thus capturing opportunities from the strongly recovered property market.

He said that according to Savills' valuation, the total capital used for real-estate projects was up to VND10 trillion ($467 million), much higher than that of VND5.7 trillion ($266.3 million) in its financial report last year.

"Savills appraises its net asset value at up to VND28 trillion ($1.3 billion)."

Last year, the company had acquired two real-estate projects in the capital city of Ha Noi, for a combined capital of VND2.3 trillion ($107 million), adding to its M&A portfolio, which had also seen the purchase of the FLC Garden City in 2013 for VND3.5 trillion ($162.8 million).

By January 2015, FLC Group had boost its charter capital from VND771 billion ($35.9 million) to nearly VND3.75 trillion ($174.4 million). It also succeeded to issue VND800 billion ($37.2 million) worth of convertible bonds to facilitate its projects.

Market Vectors Viet Nam Exchange-traded Fund is FLC Group's major foreign shareholders, owning a 5.11 per cent stake. In addition, Deutsche Bank also participated in the meeting.

HCM City to educate new business leaders

Ho Chi Minh City will open 363 training courses on business start-ups and administration at a total cost of 25 billion VND (1.2 million USD) in 2015.

As part of the business training programme approved by the municipal People’s Committee, the courses are designed for managers of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), individuals who intend to start a business, and company leaders with less than three-year experience in the field.

The trainees will receive necessary information on the policies and legal documents of the Party and State regarding business start-ups, strategies and operations. Skills such as personnel management, marketing and accounting will also be covered.

Solutions to saving energy, applying international management systems and measuring the quality of the products and services will also be introduced during the courses.

The classes are also expected to update participants on the latest information about Vietnam’s trade activities and its new export markets.

The city’s administrators have pledged to further improve the investment climate and work alongside local enterprises to overcome hurdles so as the city will continue playing its role as an engine of Vietnam’s growth.

Vietnam included in Asia Property Awards

The Asia Property Awards will include Vietnam from this year, helping showcase the country's best properties on the regional stage.

Started in Thailand in 2006 by Ensign Media, the publisher of Property Report magazine, the awards honoured consultants, architects and designers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and China until last year, and has been expanded this year to include Myanmar and Indonesia besides Vietnam.

The 2015 Vietnam Property Awards were open to nominations from the real estate industry and general public, Terry Blackburn, CEO of Ensign Media, said.

Entries will close on March 27 and the final winners will be honoured at a gala dinner in Ho Chi Minh City on June 25, he said.

In all 32 awards will be given away to the most exceptional projects, designers and developers covering residential, commercial, office, hospitality, villa, and green development.

Special recognition will also be given to the company exhibiting excellence in corporate social responsibility.

Winners will go on to compete in the grand finale in Singapore in October.

All award categories will be assessed and judged under the supervision of BDO International, one of the world's largest accountancy networks, Blackburn said.

After remaining frozen for a few years, Vietnam's real estate market has bounced back strongly this year, he added.-

Dong Nai enjoys SOE equitisation success

The southern province of Dong Nai has obtained positive results in equitising its State-owned enterprises (SOEs) after the 3-year implementation of its restructuring plan (2012-2014), resulting in the complete equitisation of six SOEs.

Equitisation is a process in which private investors can buy stocks in formerly State-owned businesses.

In Dong Nai, restructuring of SOEs and their divestment from non-core investment projects have been carried out drastically, making the equitised enterprises more effective, profitable and stable for employees.

In 2014, the equitised enterprises enjoyed stable production and business, earning total revenue of 28.1 trillion VND (nearly 1.3 billion USD), up nearly 1.7 percent against 2013.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Minh Phuc, local SOEs have worked hard to accelerate the structuring of their business lines and to better define targeted investment fields.

Ineffective businesses have been dissolved and resources are being concentrated on ones which show more promise.

Dong Nai attracts 157 million USD in FDI

The southern province of Dong Nai has attracted 157 million USD in foreign-direct-investment (FDI) capital since the outset of March, according to the province’s Department of Planning and Investment.

Nearly 85 million USD of which is registered to 19 new projects and the remaining 72 million USD will be funneled into 14 existing projects.

In total, the southern province has drawn 50 projects with a total capital of 252 million USD thus far this year.

Dong Nai looks to attract 900 million USD in FDI capital in 2015, 400 million of which from new projects.

The province currently houses 1,161 valid FDI projects worth nearly 22 billion USD in total.

Stricter regulations imposed on US catfish industry

The US Government is preparing to finalise inspection regulations that require all producers and processors of catfish to abide by the same food safety standards.

These regulations will cause difficulties not only to foreign producers, including Vietnam, but also to domestic farmers, according to specialists from the sector.

When passed, US Agriculture Department inspections will be conducted on a daily basis and will be more rigorous than the current random checks conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It could cost the US catfish industry millions of dollars to comply with these new standards, said John Sackton, a seafood industry analyst.

The American catfish industry, which is concentrated in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas, has been steadily losing market share in recent years.

The number of hectares devoted to catfish production dropped to 23,000 this year from 65,000 in 2008, according to the Agriculture Department.

The industry says some of the decline can be attributed to higher prices for corn, which is the primary source of catfish feed.

Several lawmakers, including senators John McCain and Jeanne Shaheen, described the Agriculture Department’s catfish inspection plan as wasteful and intended to protect only domestic catfish producers.

VN, Korea to bolster electrical synergy

A seminar to strengthen co-operation between the electrical industries of Korea and Viet Nam was held in HCM City yesterday with around 45 firms from the two countries taking part.

The attending Korean firms specialise in manufacturing and distribution of electrical equipment like alternators, diesel generators, gas turbines, power capacitors, capacitor banks and harmonic filter banks, polymer insulators, and transformers.

Speaking at the seminar, Sang Hyup Park, general director of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in HCM City, said in 1961, at the start of South Korea's economic development, its electricity generation capacity had been less than 240th of the current figure and transmission and distribution capacities, less than a sixth and 49th of current-day figures.

Transmission and distribution loss was around 23 per cent in 1961, and the country had worked to pull that down to just 3.73 per cent in 2013, the lowest rate in the world, he said.

"The Vietnamese Government has paid great attention to and invested in the development of the electrical industry, which plays the most important role in economic development.

"At the same time, Viet Nam has carried out diversified projects to raise electricity generating capacity to 60,000MW by 2020."

The seminar provided a good platform for businesses from the two sides to exchange information and seek closer co-operation in the field, he said.

Park Sang-Suh of the Korea Electric Power Corporation said with its technological advantages, Korea could contribute to the development of Viet Nam's electricity industry and help improve its electricity network.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, director of international relations and cooperation at EVN Power Generation Corporation 3, said the company was seeking co-operation in existing as well as future projects.

It also planned to transform from a State-owned enterprise to a highly competitive joint stock company in 2016, he said.

It was involved in attracting strategic investors for future projects, revamping its administration and improving its capacity, he said.

Vu Hoai Nam, deputy director of EVN's planning department in HCM City, which is in charge of management, distribution and sales of electricity in the city, spoke about its procurement methods and steps involved in the signing of international contracts.

It was preparing to organise bidding for nine projects this year starting in the second quarter, including the 220kV District 8 substation and 110kV Tham Luong substation.

"EVN HCM City hopes to have opportunities to co-operate with Korean bidders in our planned projects."

Tran Tien Duc, chairman of Binh Son Electric Corporation, which distributes electrical equipment from the EU, said he came to the seminar to learn more about new partners and products from Korea, adding, "I'll study carefully to diversify our supply sources."

Construction technology new to Viet Nam piles on the advantages

An urban-friendly technology from Japan that is also friendlier to the environment is expected to make installation of steel piles for bridges and flyovers a much quieter, stronger and cheaper process.

The NS Eco-Pile, a screwed steel pile developed by Japanese firm Nippon Steel and Sumikin Engineering, was transferred to a Vietnamese partner yesterday.

It has helical blade welded of the edge which performs the digging as it is rotated, driving the pile into the ground like a wood-screw.

Takashi Takeuchi, Director of the Japanese firm's Building Construction and Steel Structures Division, said the technology has many advantages that matches urban conditions in Viet Nam.

First of all, it can be used in narrow areas and does not require a big construction site and also produces lower noise and vibrations compared to technologies currently in use, he said.

He cited the production of lower dust and total avoidance of waste soil as other significant advantages.

Do Le Khang, Deputy General Director of the Ha Noi-based Thang Long Construction Joint Stock Corporation, which received the technology, said the NS Eco-Pile was an advanced technology highly suitable for constructions in Viet Nam's urban areas like Ha Noi and HCM City.

"Once constructed, the area occupied is half that of other existing technologies. It also shortens the construction period, which means the total construction cost can be lower," Khang said.

He said in other technologies, including the currently popular bored pile, the construction of one pile may take 2.5 to three days while with the new technology, the construction of five piles will take just 1.5 to two days.

He also emphasised the new technology's recycling capacity, saying it could be removed and recycled as temporary piles, which means it was very convenient for building temporary bridges for major urban constructions in the country.

Speaking at the handover ceremony yesterday, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said that the ministry welcomed all new technologies that were eco-friendly and suited Vietnamese conditions.

Forex market calms down after SBV pledges to stabilise rate

The foreign exchange (forex) market cooled down on March 26 after the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) committed to keeping the exchange rate stable.

All commercial banks had cut their rates by 30 to 40 dong per US dollar on March 26, compared with the rates fixed earlier this week.

Vietcombank listed the rate at VND21,465/21,525, down 40 dong.

BIDV and Vietinbank also cut the rate by 35 dong to VND21,465/21,525 and VND21,475/21,535.

Eximbank and ACB also adjusted their rates down by 30 dong to VND921,450/21,530.

The inter-bank exchange rate yesterday remained at VND21,458, while the rate quoted at the central bank's transaction offices was also kept stable at VND21,350/21,600.

SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said the central bank had no plans to adjust the exchange rate for now, adding that there was no need to worry about recent developments in the forex market.

Hong reiterated that forex rates would be adjusted by no more than 2 per cent this year as part of a pledge made by Governor Nguyen Van Binh in December last year.

In January, the SBV had devalued the dong by 1 per cent from VND21,246 to VND21,458 per US dollar, the first exchange rate adjustment since June 2013.

Though the US dollar recently rose against the dong, it was still far below the cap of VND21,673 per dollar set by the central bank and the currency market was still seeing normal operations, Hong said, adding that the central bank had not felt the need so far to sell the greenback and intervene in the market.

Hong attributed the recent increase in the forex rates in the domestic market mainly to psychological factors, following the appreciation of the greenback in the world market.

For the past week, as the forex rate increased roughly VND120 against the previous weeks, some suggested that the central bank should further depreciate the dong to back domestic goods and support exports.

They said that the rise in value of the greenback in the global market had driven a series of central banks around the world to devalue their currency.

However, Hong said, the greenback had only risen strongly against key currencies, such as the euro, British pound and Canadian dollar, with whom Viet Nam's trading was not extensive.

She said keeping the exchange rate unchanged at the moment was more beneficial than devaluing the dong, because 90 per cent of the material for Viet Nam's exports was purchased from abroad.

Therefore an increase in the value of the US dollar would hurt exporters since input costs would escalate, especially as demand for imported materials was rising, Hong explained.

She said despite posting a trade deficit of US$1.75 billion during the first three months of 2015, the Vietnamese economy still enjoyed a balance of payments surplus of $2.8 billion, owing to funds from remittances and foreign investment capital.

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