Japanese businesses introduce food items in HCM City    

 

Thirty-five Japanese businesses introduced various food items at a programme to connect businesses in the field of food, agricultural and forestry products and seafood in HCM City on Wednesday.

Under the programme, the Japanese businesses showcased many products, including rice, wheat flour, beef and seafood, as well as fresh fruit, canned juice, wine and powder milk.

Cool Hokkaido introduced Nanatsuboshi rice, ranked the top in a contest to evaluate Japanese rice flavour for six consecutive years. The rice is special for its taste and suitable for making sushi and com nam -- a Vietnamese rice dish of the northern region that is shaped into a roll.

Meanwhile, JA Fukushima Company showcased Megumi juice, which is condensed from fresh peach and has no sugar and preservative substances.

Several Vietnamese businesses that participated in the programme said the Japanese food products were higher priced in comparison with other Asian countries such as South Korea and Thailand. However, known for their safety and special flavour, many kinds of Japanese food products had evinced interest in Viet Nam and witnessed high growth in consumption.

Takimoto Koji, chief representative of the Japan External Trade Organisation in HCM City, said Viet Nam was a potential market for food products originating from Japan.

According to a statistics from 2016, Viet Nam ranked seventh on the list of countries importing food and agricultural products from Japan.

In recent years, the number of Japanese restaurants has been rapidly increasing in Viet Nam. There are currently more than 1,000 Japanese restaurants in the country, with HCM City leading with nearly 660 restaurants, doubling the figure from three years ago.

Japan is the second-largest foreign investor in Viet Nam. By June 31, 2017, Japan had 3,443 projects with total registered capital of US$46 billion operating in the country.

The country has witnessed growth in investment in services. In 2016, the volume of projects invested in retail, hotels and services doubled the figure of 2015. A series of supermarkets, retail shops and restaurants such as Aeon Mall, Family mart, Ministop, Takashimaya and 7-Eleven have entered the Vietnamese market and are planning to expand business.

In the first five months of this year, Viet Nam imported seafood worth $28.4 million from Japan, marking a year-on-year increase of nearly 12 per cent. Meanwhile, the country spent more than $8 million importing other food products, up 29 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Viet Nam has signed two free trade agreements with Japan -- ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) and Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA).

According to VJEPA, the average tax rate on Vietnamese goods exported to Japan and vice versa will be gradually cut to 2.8 per cent and seven per cent by 2018. 

MoIT advises businesses to learn more about UAE export regulations

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has advised Vietnamese enterprises to carefully study export regulations of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when conducting business with UAE firms to avoid suffering losses.

According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in the UAE, many Vietnamese firms have recently been defrauded by some UAE businesses.

The office warned that Vietnamese enterprises should stay vigilant when selling goods to UAE firms at low prices, as this is a good reason for UAE firms to force Vietnamese firms to accept their payment methods and prices, and even devalue Vietnamese goods in the market.

Pham Quang Nghia, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Dubai said that Vietnamese businesses should contact the Trade Office in the UAE before doing business in the market, an open and transit market for 40 percent of exported goods.

To boost sustainable trade between Vietnam and the UAE, experts advised that Vietnamese firms should strictly abide by import-export regulations in the UAE to prevent their goods being sent back by local authorities.

In the future, the Vietnamese Trade Office in the UAE will strengthen trade promotion through exhibitions and showcases of Vietnamese foods, farm produce and fruits in major supermarkets in the UAE.

At the same time, the office will also help enterprises seek UAE partners and verify their information.

Minister of MoIT Tran Tuan Anh said that the ministry will continue negotiating and signing cooperation deals to support enterprises of both sides.

At the same time, the ministry will also coordinate with the UAE in encouraging investment of enterprises in agriculture, aquatic farming, culture, tourism, sports and construction.

He also suggested that the firms study reference contracts for international trade in the guidebook for international trade activities.

Exports of aquatic products estimated at 4.3 bln USD

Vietnam’s export turnover of aquatic products was estimated at 727 million USD in July, raising the total in the first seven months of this year to 4.3 billion USD, up 17.5 percent year-on-year, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The increase was attributed to growth in key export markets, including China by 47.9 percent, Japan by 32.5 percent, the Republic of Korea by 27.7 percent, the UK by 25.3 percent, the Netherlands by 19.5 percent and Canada by 18.1 percent.

Imports of aquatic products reached 112 million USD in July, raising the total in the first seven months to 761 million USD, up 30.1 percent year on year.

In the reviewed period, aquatic production was estimated at nearly 1.96 billion tonnes, up 4.4 percent year on year, including 1.85 million tonnes of sea catch, up 4.5 percent from the same period last year and 66.1 percent of the year’s target.

Tuna catch was estimated at 14,282 tonnes, up 12.7 percent year on year, mostly in Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Khoa provinces.-

Vietravel launches Thanh Hoa-Bangkok air route

The Vietravel travel company on July 28 launched direct charter flights connecting the central province of Thanh Hoa and Bangkok city, raising the total number of direct routes the firm operates from Vietnam to Thailand’s capital to six. 

The Thanh Hoa-Bangkok 180-seat flights take 1 hour and 30 minutes, with one fight per week. This is the first international route at Thanh Hoa’s Tho Xuan airport.

To mark the occasion, Vietravel offered five-day tours of Thanh Hoa-Bangkok-Pattaya for 6.95 million VND, including a return flight.

The route is expected to promote tourism, trade and investment growth in Thanh Hoa, contributing to boosting local development.

Vietravel Thanh Hoa is also offering promotional tours to destinations including Europe, the US, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China and Dubai, which will last until July 15.

VCCI: Half of private firms take loans for operation

Local private enterprises have improved their productions and operations, but half of them still must take operational and production loans, according to the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

VCCI research surveys show that Vietnamese private enterprises had developed robustly since 2000, and they had registered to operate mainly in sectors of commerce, services and construction.

Few of them had joined the production and industry sectors, and local private enterprise contribution to the domestic economy remained limited, said the VCCI.

According to the survey roughly 50 percent of local private enterprises have taken loans. Large firms commonly took big loans. They have used the loans mainly to stabilise operations, but not to invest in updating equipment and technology.

At 2 percent, the portion of enterprises using high technology is very low compared to other countries in the region. Small and medium-sized private enterprises have invested only 0.2-0.3 percent of their revenue to technology reform.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and private firms have paid attention to quality of products and strategies on products because of high market demand.

However, SME production has continued a low technology rate and has been mainly based on labour advantages.

Meanwhile, SME managers lack skills, management knowledge and reform experience, leading to a failure to implement regulations on tax, financial management, labour, product quality and intellectual property.

Dau Anh Tuan, Head of VCCI Legal Department, said according to surveys on annual production and business results of enterprises, 65 percent of SMEs and private firms have faced difficulty in seeking for customers while 44 percent of them have had obstacles in approaching capital. In addition, they mainly have customers on the domestic market.

Local private firms have not joined deeply global supply chains, while the nation has signed free trade agreements with many other countries, Tuan said.

Vietnamese SMEs and private firms have faced limitations in approaching international standards in corporate management. Strategies for distribution, communication and trade promotion have not received reasonable investment. They have put about 1 percent of their revenue to those strategies, while foreign firms have invested 10-20 percent of their revenue in that sphere.

Local firms have also not sufficiently researched potential markets, leading to losses, he said.

Experts expect that the Law on Support for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises will partly contribute to the improving business environment and encouraging development of private enterprises.

Especially, the law will have indirect supports related to credit for local SMEs and private firms.-

HCM City houses 160,560 working businesses

Ho Chi Minh City housed a total of 196,500 firms as of December 31, 2016, of which 160,560 were operating.

The figure was released at a conference to review the city’s economic performance on July 27, chaired by Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem.

As heard at the function, of the total, 20,400 were temporarily closed down and more than 1,620 were bogus. There were also nearly 14,050 firms waiting to be dissolved. 

To record the figures, the municipal statistics department carried out a 4-month poll, contacting more than 173,590 enterprises, of which nearly 141,480 returned their survey slips, accounting for 81.5 percent.

Speaking at the conference, Liem said it is the first time the proportion of companies answering the survey has surpassed 80 percent, compared to between 70 and 75 percent in previous years.

The number of household businesses in the southern hub increased to 448,330, from just above 200,000 in past periods.

Liem stressed the importance of the group to overall development, but requested close management of district-level authorities over its operation.

Long An develops high-tech dragon fruit area

The southern province of Long An aims to develop a dragon fruit area of 2,000 ha in 2017-2020, using high-technologies.

Long An’s dragon fruit export turnover hits about 40 million USD annually, helping generate jobs for tens of thousands of locals. 

The province has defined dragon fruit as one of its key crops, only after rice. 

Chau Thanh district has been selected as a core area for dragon fruit cultivation, with more than 7,500 ha, making up more than 80 percent of total dragon fruit area in the province. 

Le Van Hoang, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said Long An is focusing on changing farmers’ methods to develop high-tech agriculture in tandem with new-style rural area building. 

Nguyen Van Thinh, Chairman of the Chau Thanh district People’s Committee, said the district has instructed communes to intensify their connectivity in production, and encouraged big enterprises to invest in dragon fruit, especially exports to markets like Japan, the US and Europe. 

At the same time, the locality has built dragon fruit production chains, established preservation and processing facilities and diversified products. 

Chau Thanh district has also coordinated with the provincial Department of Industry and Trade to promote its products in several countries, he added.

Vo Thanh Hong, Vice Chairman of the Chau Thanh district People’s Committee, said the high-tech dragon fruit production model will improve competitiveness and climate change adaptation of products, helping meet requirements of industrialisation and modernisation and raise income of locals. 

He said to develop 2,000ha of dragon fruit, Chau Thanh district will double its spending on agriculture in 2017 to promote the use of science and technology in dragon fruit production. 

High-quality manpower needed for electricity market

A large number of high-quality personnel will be needed to meet the growing demand of the competitive generation market and the competitive wholesale electricity market in the time ahead, according to the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).

The Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV) held a meeting on July 27 to review the operation of the competitive generation market and the competitive wholesale electricity market, which were piloted from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017.

The ERAV, which is under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said by July 1 this year, 76 power plants had directly joined the electricity market. Their installed capacity totalled 20,728 MW.

Hydropower makes up 38 percent of the total capacity, coal-fired thermal power 35 percent, oil-fired thermal power 4 percent, and gas turbine power 17 percent. Other types of power plants account for 6 percent of the total capacity.

The ERAV said the electricity system continued to be operated safely and supplied sufficient power for social development.

However, it admitted that the installed capacity of the plants directly engaging in the power market accounts for just 49 percent of that of the whole system. At the same time, the IT infrastructure for the electricity market is just able to meet basic needs, the supervisory control and data acquisition system and the energy management system remain incomplete, hampering the forecast, planning, regulation and supervision of the power market.

The NLDC said due to El Nino impacts, the water volume at hydropower reservoirs declined in 2016, forcing more power factories to temporarily switch to indirect participation in the market.

The competitive wholesale electricity market is set to be piloted in three phases with phase I through the second quarter of 2017, phase II through the third quarter and phase III through the fourth quarter of the year.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said the power market has brought about encouraging outcomes and helped participating factories operate more stably.

As the electricity market in Vietnam is still young, it is necessary to step up personnel training and make precise forecasts for power demand, he noted, adding that factories must also ensure the safety of the reservoir operating process and the regulation of water in both rainy and dry seasons.

Mid-end apartment supply plentiful

The real estate market will see an abundant supply of mid-end apartments toward the end of the year, according to the Vietnam National Real Estate Association.

A number of renowned investors, such as Vingroup and Eurowindow, will launch a large number of mid-end apartments, which are of high demand.

Over 20,000 apartments will be completed by the end of this year, of which 50 percent are of the mid-end segment, mostly in the west and southwest of Hanoi.

Other downtown districts, including Tay Ho, Dong Da and Ba Dinh are expected to have more high-quality projects.

In the second quarter this year, the supply of serviced apartments exceeded 4,130 units, with 60 percent of them in Ba Dinh and Tay Ho districts. 

The renting prices of these apartments have fallen slightly by 2.4 percent on a quarterly basis and 2.7 percent year on year.

An additional 1,180 apartments of this type will be made available in the third quarter, creating more competition pressure in this sector.

Lam Dong to set up 11 sustainable agriculture production chains

The People’s Committee of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has approved a plan to implement sustainable agriculture production chains.

The 45-billion-VND (1.97 million USD) plan aims to ensure food safety and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The province will set up and grant licenses to 11 chains producing key local products such as vegetables, tea, coffee and dairy products. 

It will also inspect processing facilities for the food safety to increase product value. 

The programme will support 330 locals in taking samples in processing and packaging areas to analyse food safety and experiment with new technologies.

Lam Dong province expects to have 90 percent of the chains’ products consumed through contracts and will monitor food safety from processing to consuming stages to enhance product quality.

Samsung ups localisation rate to 57 percent

Samsung Vietnam has achieved a significant breakthrough in increasing the localisation rate of its products from 35 percent in 2014 to 57 percent at present.

Participants of the “Samsung Sourcing Fair 2017” also heard that the number of Vietnamese enterprises joining Samsung’s supply chain has increased dramatically.

A total of 215 enterprises, including 25 tier-1 vendors and 190 tier-2 vendors, are currently participating in the supply chain for Samsung’s factories in Vietnam, which include Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV), Samsung Electronics Vietnam Thai Nguyen (SEVT), SEHC Complex (HCM City), Samsung Display Vietnam (Bac Ninh), Samsung SDI Vietnam (Bac Ninh) and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam (Thai Nguyen).

The company expects its tier-1 vendors to increase to 29 in 2017.

The annual workshop and exhibition, which has been held in Vietnam since 2014, aims to discover and connect domestic component suppliers with Samsung. It seeks ways to enhance the competitiveness of hi-tech suppliers in particular and boost development of Vietnam’s parts manufacturing industry in general.

This year’s event, organised in the northern province of Bac Ninh on July 26, drew the participation of 26 enterprises that are expected to act as core agents for support industry development in Vietnam.

Company officials noted that there were 15 totally new firms nominated by the ministries and enterprises associations.

Speaking at the event, Shim Won Hwan, chairman of Samsung Vietnam Complex, said the exhibition on supporting industry has been considered the first official connection between Samsung and Vietnamese enterprises, in a series of activities to assist parts suppliers.

“Enthusiastic participation along with great determination of potential businesses in this 4th event gave us impetus to continue implementing practical activities to help them improve their productions and enhance their competitiveness. They will play the very important roles as the core agents to create the spreading effect for the general development of supporting industry in Vietnam.”

Pham Anh Duong, chairman of management board of the An Phat Plastic and Green Environment Joint Stock Company, which produces thin packaging items for exports to Japan, the US and EU, said his company has been considering becoming a local parts supplier for Samsung.

“I think we will surely face difficulties at first time to meet Samsung’s requirements including quality, production process and corporate social responsibility,” Duong said.

However, he added that the company is confident because it has 15 years of experience in exporting to foreign markets.

An Phat planned to invest 50 million USD in its plant and production process to be eligible to participate into the supply chain.

“We expect our revenue to increase by 15 percent over current levels after becoming Samsung’s local supplier. Last year, our company’s revenue was 2.1 trillion VND (92.3 million USD) and the expected revenue this year would be around 3 trillion VND,” he said.

It created opportunities for six enterprises to showcase their best performance after finishing the 3-months programme with Samsung experts.

The consultancy programme with the Republic of Korea’s experts helps enterprises improve their production process and meet the criteria for supplying products and components to Samsung factories with products’ error ratio decreasing by an average of 25 percent and production capacity increasing by 30 percent.

From 2015 to date, 26 Vietnamese enterprises have benefited from the programmes.

Starting this year, Samsung will expand the programme to hi-tech industries, helping local firms to produce sophisticated electronic parts and be part of Samsung’s global supply chain for hi-tech products.

C&W: Hanoi & HCMC residential markets differ greatly in Q2

Hanoi’s residential market has remained active, especially in its western and southern areas, while a downtrend has been recorded in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam (C&W)’s second quarter report on the two cities’ residential markets.

Hanoi saw 8,570 units launched, 53 per cent of which were in Grade B projects. Two-thirds of the new supply was in Tu Liem, Hoang Mai, and Thanh Xuan districts, which also held the largest shares of sales, accounting for 32 per cent, 17 per cent, and 14 per cent, respectively.

Grade B projects continued to lead the market, constituting 50 per cent of total transactions, followed by Grade C with 37 per cent, the report noted.

Over the next three years, new supply released in the western, southern and south-western districts of Hanoi are estimated to contribute 70 per cent of stock in the northern market.

Similarly, overall average selling prices across all grades as at the second quarter of this year stood at VND29.83 million ($1,312) per sq m, up 1 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 4 per cent year-on-year. All grades recorded price increases from 2 to 4 per cent compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to higher prices at newly-launched projects.

Conversely, Ho Chi Minh City’s new supply in the quarter stood at some 7,600 units, down 5 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 21 per cent year-on-year, 38 per cent of which came from Grade C projects.

The majority of additional stock was in eastern districts, with 69 per cent, followed by southern districts, with 13 per cent. Eastern districts also saw the largest number of units sold in the quarter, accounting for over half of total transactions.

In the short term, future supply will mainly be concentrated in the eastern and western districts, which will contribute 39 per cent and 26 per cent of market stock, respectively.

Overall average prices in all grades during the second quarter stood at VND32.46 million ($1,428) per sq m, up 4 per cent quarter-on-quarter but down 3 per cent year-on-year, mainly due to lower prices in large-scale Grade A projects.

Limited supply was the main reason for high prices in the CBD, which were more than triple those outside of the CBD.

“We have seen strengthening in asking rents across the city in the past 12 months and the market will welcome some much-needed supply during the remainder of the year,” said Mr. Vo Van Huu Phuoc, Director of Valuation & Research at C&W Vietnam.

“Tenants should be preparing for a competitive market place as we will see more ‘churn’ of deals with a high number of big relocations. We have pent up demand from occupiers and the second half of 2017 will be a good time to strike competitive terms as landlords start to feel some pressure on their occupancy rates.”

Vietnamese firms embrace telework trend

As Japan launched a campaign encouraging companies to allow their employees to work from home, some Vietnamese enterprises reveal that they already apply a similar policy, believing that the quality of work is more important than the workplace.

The Japanese government’s campaign will be observed annually for the next three years, starting on July 24, known as Telework Day, in a bid to reduce congestion ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

According to Japanese media, more than 900 companies participated in the first Telework Day on Monday, even though commuters gave mixed responses to the campaign.

In Vietnam, many tech or tech-based companies already allow employees to work remotely, even though it is not an official policy.

Advocates of the trend say telework will create a friendly and open business culture, and help to retain talent.

Thanh Tam, a specialist working for a media company in Ho Chi Minh City, encourages her employees to work “from anywhere they deem comfortable, even at home.”

“Work effectiveness is the top priority, no matter where the workplace is,” Tam told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

“So my employees can choose where they want to work from.”

Sharing this view, Thu Ha, an editor of a local news website, said she was able to telecommute because “my job does not require me to be in the office.”

“So long as I can get things done, I can just stay at home,” she said.

For some employers in Vietnam, telling their employees not to go to the office is like giving them an incentive or reward.

Nghia, a KPMG employee based in Ho Chi Minh City, said his company has had a semi-telework program called “Feel Good Friday” in place for several years.

The policy, which runs for one month twice a year, only requires employees to be present at the office on Friday morning, and they can choose wherever they want to work from in the afternoon.

“On some special occasions, the program can run longer than usual,” Nghia said.

The reward has paid off, winning great support from staff and greater productivity, according to Paul Huynh, KPMG head of people, performance and culture for Vietnam, Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Huynh said the number of employees participating in the program had doubled, with many realizing that they can work effectively without going to the workplace.

“The program was initiated to create an opportunity for employees to work from anywhere they want and build up a friendly, open and relaxed business culture,” Huynh told Tuoi Tre.

“The program has been a real success as many of our partners have asked to adopt the model for their own companies.”

Vo Quang Hue, CEO of Bosch Vietnam, has told Tuoi Tre the company has allowed its employees to work from home for years and the results have been more positive than expected.

“Most of the employees are satisfied and productivity significant improves,” he said.

Ministry gives more information about public investment disbursement

The Ministry of Finance on July 26 provided more information about the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s disbursement ratio of planned investment capital sourced from the State budget in 2017. 

According to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 29/2016/QH14 dated November 14, 2016 on allocating State budget in 2017, the SBV is assigned to disburse 73.38 billion VND (nearly 3.23 million USD). 

Under Decision No. 2562/QD-TTg dated December 31, 2016 by the Prime Minister on the allocation of investment capital from the State Budget in 2017, the SBV is permitted to disburse a total capital (domestic capital) of 73.38 billion VND (nearly 3.23 million USD), with 7.64 billion VND being allocated in line with regulations and the remainder, worth 65.73 billion VND, was arranged not in line with regulations.

According to a report of the State Treasury, by June 30, the SBV had disbursed 4.29 billion VND, completing only 5.8 percent of the plan. 

The bank was also requested to work with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to examine the capital amount worth 65.73 billion VND, which was not properly allocated or lack of detail information and data concerning investment purposes, and reported the result to authorised agencies.

BIDV reports 24 percent growth in H1 operating income

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) reported a year-on-year growth of 24 percent in operating income in the first half of 2017.

According to the bank’s latest financial report for the second quarter of this year, it earned approximately 16.8 trillion VND (739 million USD) in the first six months. 

Its net profit rose by 37 percent year-on-year to over 14 trillion VND (616.35 million USD), including 1.41 trillion VND (62.04 million USD) in profit from banking services and 303 billion VND (13.33 million USD) in profit from foreign currency activities.

The BIDV’s pre-tax profit reached 4.05 trillion VND (178.2 million USD), up 24.7 percent year-on-year and representing 54 percent of its yearly target. The pre-tax profit in the second quarter saw a significant increase of 49 percent to over 1.99 trillion VND (87.56 million USD).

As of June 30, the bank’s total asset amounted to more than 1,100 trillion VND (48.4 billion USD), an expansion of 9.3 percent from the beginning of this year. It has provided over 807.3 trillion VND (35.52 billion USD) in loans, up 11.56 percent and kept the bad debt at around 1.9 percent. 

The bank has mobilised over 1,026 trillion VND (54.14 billion USD) in capital, including more than 811.5 trillion VND (35.7 billion USD) in deposits, up 11.8 percent from the beginning of this year.

Waste treatment plant inaugurated in Dong Thap

A waste treatment and recycling plant was inaugurated in Cao Lanh district, the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on July 26. 

The 270 billion VND plant covers an area of 10ha and has a designed capacity of 240 tonnes of waste per day. 

A representative of the investor – the Cuu Long Environment Joint Stock Company - said the Dap Da plant uses Dano technology that could classify waste components by both automatic and manual systems. 

Waste will be then recycled into plastic seeds, organic fertiliser, smoke-free coal and bricks. 

The project will benefit Cao Lanh city, and the districts of Cao Lanh, Thap Muoi and Thanh Binh. 

Nguyen Thanh Hung, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, praised the investor for completing the project ahead of schedule and asked it to effectively run the plant. 

In the near future, the company will install several plants to raise the daily capacity to 500 tonnes and treat part of waste from Lap Vo district.-

Vietnam attends international gifts fair in Singapore

For the first time, eight Vietnamese businesses are attending the Singapore Gifts and Premiums Fair from July 26-28, with the aim of boosting exports of Vietnamese handicrafts and gifts to Singapore and other countries. 

The firms have been showcasing a range of products, including wool toys, rattan handbags, aloes wood souvenirs, canvas and statues together with silk products, attracting many international visitors. 

They also reached several deals with other foreign businesses which are interested Vietnamese products.

The event offered a good opportunity for the Vietnamese firms to introduce their products, meet with and directly negotiate with foreign partners, distributors and importers, said Nguyen Viet Chi, Vietnam’s Trade Counsellor in Singapore.

She noted that Vietnamese companies can also update with the latest trends of design and packaging at the event to increase exports and better serve customers’ demands.

The gifts fair, the biggest event held in Singapore, has gathered businesses from 25 countries and territories including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, and Singapore, among others.

RoK firm seeks investment opportunities in Hau Giang

Information related to investment attraction policies of the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang and opportunities for investors to pour capital into agriculture was introduced to a food firm from the Republic of Korea (RoK).

At a meeting on July 26 with representatives from the RoK’s Dusung Food Co., Ltd, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Truong Canh Tuyen detailed the locality’s policies on land rental and tax, incentives for enterprises when investing in agriculture. 

Lai Huynh Thu Thao from Dusung said the firm specialises in importing and exporting seafood and farm produce to the RoK and Japan, and it needs a large area of land for cultivation by machinery. 

The company plans to invest in the hi-tech agriculture zone, she said, adding that the firm pledges to fully implement procedures in line with regulations and use local labourers for its production. 

Hau Giang is now calling investment in agriculture and production in the hi-tech agriculture zone, which covers an area of 5,200 ha in Long My district. The zone serves production of high-quality rice, freshwater aquaculture products, breeding, and fruits.

Investment projects in the zone will be enjoyed preferential policies on land and tax, among others.

Exports to Laos see upturn trend

Exports to Laos reached US$264.7 million in the first half of this year, rising by 13.29% against the same period last year, according to latest statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Vietnam’s key export items to Laos are petroleum, steel, means of transport and fertilizers. Among them, coal saw a skyrocketed growth of more than 16 folds to 50,300 tons valued at US$4.2 million.

Petroleum topped exported products with US$50.9 million (up 67.93%), trailed by steel with US$38 million (down 15.2%) and transportation means and tools with US$24.6 million (up 9.02%).

In the period, 52.9% of exported products to Laos enjoyed a growth, especially fertilizers (up 94.92%), fruits and vegetables (up 78.6%) and plastic products (up 78.4%).

Leading ROK food processor breaks ground on plant in Vietnam

CJ Cheiljedang Corp., the leading processed foods maker in the ROK, has broken ground on a new 66,000 square meter plant in Ho Chi Minh City expected to cost US$63 million, according to The Korea Bizwire.

Construction on the new facility started on July 24 and is expected to open by July 2018 with a capacity to process 60,000 tons of foodstuffs annually, including both refrigerated and frozen products.

The plant will produce kimchi and a wide range of frozen food items in a more safe and sanitary manner, with its R&D facility focusing on developing innovative products tailored to consumers in Vietnam and nearby Southeast Asian nations, according to company officials.

Vietnam Azalea Fund sells 75% of Loc Troi holding

Mekong Capital announced on July 26 that its Vietnam Azalea Fund (VAF) has completed the sale of 75 per cent of its investment in the Loc Troi Group at VND68,000 ($3) per share, for a total consideration of $9.2 million. 

This partial divestment resulted in a gross return multiple of 3.50x in US dollars and a gross IRR of approximately 18.6 per cent in US dollars on the shares sold by the Fund over the eight and a half years it held the investment. 

Since the Fund invested $4.4 million in Loc Troi in December 2008, the group has transformed from a distributor of crop protection chemicals into a vertically-integrated agriculture company. It successfully listed its shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on July 24, with a value of $174.8 million at the close of the first day of trade. 

“After eight and a half years of partnering together, we appreciate the Chairman, Mr. Huynh Van Thon, for honoring his commitment to list the company’s shares and for helping us to facilitate our exit,” said Mr. Chris Freund, Partner at Mekong Capital. “I also expect that the listing will bring other benefits to the company and its shareholders.” 

VAF has also entered into an agreement to sell its remaining shares in Loc Troi for VND68,000 each, which will be completed before the end of September. After the completion of this exit, the only remaining investment by VAF will be in Traphaco. 

The Loc Troi Group, formerly known as the An Giang Plant Protection JSC, was established in 1993 with a main business line of distributing crop protection chemicals. Its initial area of operations was only in the Mekong Delta. In 1994, it opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City and then expanded its business throughout the country.

PVN to restart ethanol and bio ethanol plants

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN) will restart its Ethanol Binh Phuoc and Dung Quat Bio Ethanol plants, General Director Nguyen Vu Truong Son told a meeting with the Head of the Office of the Government Mai Tien Dung.

He added that PVN has completed the tasks assigned to it by the government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Most business results this year have exceeded targets by 12-19 per cent.

Domestic crude oil production was 577,000 tons higher than the government’s plan for the first half, while electricity generation was 11.11 billion kWh, or 55.2 per cent of the annual plan.

Fertilizer production stood at 9,000 tons, 8.8 per cent higher than the first-half plan and equal to 59.8 per cent of the annual plan. Petroleum production reached 2.99 million tons, 19 per cent higher than planned.

PVN’s financial targets for total revenue and State budget contributions also exceeded plans and were higher than in the first half of 2016, with revenue exceeding plans by 15 per cent and up 16 per cent year-on-year and State budget contributions exceeding plans by 14 per cent and up 9 per cent.

Mr. Son also said that PVN would pay attention to resolving five poor projects, including the Dinh Vu Fiber 3 Biofuel project and the Dung Quat shipbuilding project, at the direction of the government, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, and MoIT.

It will restart the Ethanol Binh Phuoc and Dung Quat Bio Ethanol plants to meet demand and will deploy the government’s Biofuels Development Scheme and Roadmap, which blends biofuels with traditional fuels.

Mr. Dung said that PVN must restart the two plants under guidance from the Politburo and a Steering Committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue. Restarting the two plants will be a major challenge for PVN, he added.

The Ethanol Binh Phuoc plant opened in December 2012 with a capacity of 300,000 liters of E5 gasoline per day. It was closed at the beginning of 2015, however, as it was operating ineffectively.

The Dung Quat Bio Ethanol plant has total investment of more than VND2 trillion ($87.98 million). Due to inefficient production, low consumption, and heavy losses, the plant was forced to cease operations in April 2015.

SSI's Q2 stockbroking revenue doubles

Saigon Securities Incorporation (stock code SSI) has released its business results for the second quarter and first half of the year, revealing that second-quarter stockbroking revenue doubled year-on-year.

Total revenue in the second quarter stood at VND762.1 billion ($33.52 million), an increase of 9.5 per cent year-on-year, while pre-tax profit was VND402.3 billion ($17.69 million), up 10.3 per cent.

Revenue in the first half was VND1.3 trillion ($57.18 million) and pre-tax profit VND731 billion ($32.15 million), an increase of 47.7 per cent year-on-year.

Consolidated pre-tax-profit for the first half is expected to come in at VND735 billion ($32.33 million), representing 69.5 per cent of the annual profit plan.

Securities services and investment activities again contributed most of the company’s revenue.

As at June 30, SSI had total assets of VND15.9 trillion ($695.06 million) and equity of VND8.43 trillion ($370.84 million).

Its market share in the second quarter was 15.35 per cent on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HSX) and 13.67 per cent on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), with the company continuing to be the No. 1 securities company in the country.

Revenue from securities brokerage in the quarter reached VND185.9 billion ($8.17 million), double y-o-y. Outstanding margin loans also grew, reaching an average of VND3.9 trillion ($171.56 million) and up VND270 billion ($11.87 million) compared with the previous quarter. Total revenue from securities services in the second quarter was VND316.1 billion ($13.9 million), up 52 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2016.

Stock investments contributed significantly to total revenue in the quarter, standing at VND328.5 billion ($14.45 million) and accounting for 43 per cent of total revenue.

Revenue from capital resources was VND108.8 billion ($4.78 million) in the second quarter, accounting for 14.27 per cent of total revenue and increasing 27 per cent year-on-year. Revenue from investment banking and other activities reached VND8.8 billion ($387,132).

Based on the positive results in the second quarter, SSI believes it will fulfill its business targets for 2017.

SSI led securities brokerage firms in the first quarter with a market share of 14.12 per cent on HSX and 9.87 per cent on HNX.

Grant Thornton: Upscale hotel segment to soar in 2017

Last year was considered a fantastic year with history-making results in Vietnam’s tourism industry, which led to a strong recovery in the high-end hotel sector, and this year is projected to be a fruitful year of strong growth with many new projects being launched, the latest Vietnam Hotel Survey 2017 from Grant Thornton Vietnam notes.

The standard industry measurement, revenue per available room (RevPAR), for hotels increased in both Star categories, with a 10 per cent rise for four-star hotels and 4.1 per cent for five-star hotels.

An analysis of upscale hotels was performed by star ranking and region. By star ranking, the average room rate at four-star hotels in 2016 began to pick up, reaching $75, for an increase of 3.8 per cent but still far behind 2014 levels. Five-star hotels, however, continued to see rates fall slightly, by 2.2 per cent from $106.8 in 2015 to $104.4 in 2016. Annual overall average room rates at upscale hotels in 2016 increased from $87 in 2015 to $88.1 in 2016.

2016 marked a period of recovery, with occupancy rates in general increasing for both Star categories. However, with expanding room inventories and a great many projects scheduled to launch in the near future, the competition in the upscale hotel market will begin to heat up, especially at five-star hotels.

The upscale hotel sector performed better in 2016, with the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin increasing by 1.7 per cent. While the proportion of Fixed Charges and FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) Reserves remained nearly the same for both years, the improvement in EBITDA was largely contributed by a positive change in both departmental expenses and undistributed operating expenses.

Regarding purpose of stay, individual tourists, tour groups, and business travelers together comprised over three quarters, with 77.6 per cent of total guests staying at high-end hotels in 2016. At four-star and five-star hotels, these three segments accounted for 83.1 per cent and 71.8 per cent, respectively.

Generally, the structure of room reservations followed the same pattern as in 2015. The largest channel to reserve accommodation at four-star and five-star properties is still travel agents and tour operators, with 37.3 per cent. This ratio, however, has seen a gradual decline over the years, and fell further, by 3.1 per cent, compared to 2015.

Four-star hotels have the higher ratio of bookings via travel agents and tour operators, at 41.3 per cent, while five-star hotels have 32.5 per cent of sales via the channel.

2016 saw an increase in the number of hotels deciding that digital technology is vital to their business to help combat growing competition and to set them apart from those older hotels or those with an older mindset.

With the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) affecting all sectors of the economy, many high-end hoteliers have prepared fully for what’s to come. A notable increase was observed in the application of digital technology from the previous year’s 49.3 per cent of hotels to 67.3 per cent in 2016. Added to that, 18.6 per cent of hotels have decided to increase the use of technology either this year or next year. Of those who responded that they have not made any decision, most were hotels from the central and southern regions and the proportion of this group dropped from 23.9 per cent in 2015 to 15.4 per cent in 2016.

Guiding hand

The Gia Lai Electricity JSC (GEC) has recently given much focus to environmental issues, gradually completing the Environment, Health, Safety and Social (EHSS) Policy at 15 hydro power plants to control and take the initiative when any incidents occur. When borrowing investment capital, the company also pays great attention to the production of documents relating to environmental regulations. Banks, meanwhile, monitor the company every three months to ensure that it complies with environmental and labor regulations. All are done as part of the concept of “green credit”.

The example of GEC shows that green credit is proving to be a key concept in the global financial industry. The concept, however, remains relatively new in Vietnam. In support of its Circular No.39 on lending activities by foreign bank branches and credit institutions, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has coordinated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to prepare a handbook on social and environmental risk assessments for ten economic sectors, to serve the credit operations of commercial banks.

The handbook is a toolkit to help banks assess social and environmental risks in credit projects and assist credit officers in appraising business plans, ensuring effective green and sustainable development and has received positive feedback from commercial banks and enterprises alike. 

Under the national action plan on green growth in the 2014-20 period, the Prime Minister assigned the SBV to review, revise, and complete financial and credit regulations so they are aligned with green growth objectives, organize training courses to strengthen the capacity of commercial banks and financial institutions in green credit activities, and develop banking and finance services to support green growth.

The SBV aims to guide credit institutions to develop business strategies in line with the State’s strategy on environmental protection and green growth. Investment projects using bank credit must therefore comply with regulations on environmental protection, social safety, and energy savings.

Last year, outstanding loans to green projects reached some VND84.781 trillion ($3.72 billion), up 19.7 per cent against 2015 and accounting for 1.5 per cent of all outstanding loans, with some 3.2 million credit contracts signed. Credit granted to projects that have undergone a social and environmental risk assessment stood at some VND187.9 trillion ($8.26 billion) in more than 129,000 contracts. 

The rise in outstanding loans expresses the increasingly important role green credit now plays for enterprises. According to VietinBank, the handbook provides the basis for and is an effective tool in assisting credit institutions and bankers in gathering more information on the assessment of social and environmental impacts in business plans or business production plans of customers. It helps to ensure investment, business, and profit goals while green and sustainable development is also given due regard. 

Similarly, VPBank assesses the social and environmental impacts of its loans based on the specificity and size of each project. For projects with high environmental risks, VPBank conducts field surveys and interviews stakeholders, including employees and surrounding communities. The bank is also gradually setting up detailed guidelines for monitoring compliance with environmental law after loans are granted.

The handbook is also useful for business operations. Mr. Nguyen Trung Anh, Director of the Research and Development Department at the PAN Group, said its issuance is appropriate given the trend towards sustainable development and it encourages enterprises to protect the environment and ensure safety in the working environment and social responsibility. “Many investors, customers, and international organizations are also very interested in environmental factors when cooperating,” he said. “It is also a means to promote environmental protection and for enterprises to carry out their social responsibility.” 

In using the handbook, the risks in granting credit to businesses is much lower than when granted to businesses based on only business plans. In addition, Mr. Anh went on, the move by the SBV also shows the practical encouragement and support from the banking sector given to enterprises, which in part prevents risks from environmental violations early on. “Using the handbook also helps the banking sector improve its credibility through responsible action,” he said.

With Vietnam integrating internationally and signing many free trade agreements, the textiles and garments sector must comply with international commitments and regulations on labor, social responsibility, the environment, and technical barriers. According to Ms. Dang Phuong Dung, former Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), each customer has their own requirements, or code of conduct. “Only garment manufacturers who are judged to be in good compliance with the code of conduct can be involved in supply chains,” she said. 

Environmental impact assessments are particularly important in the textiles industry, Ms. Phuong emphasized. Such assessments are usually evaluated by clients and independent organizations before textile and garment enterprises sign contracts and produce garments for export. The scope of the evaluation is very broad, based on an assessment of the plant’s social and environmental impact, the working environment, and waste treatment systems, and consultations made with the population surrounding the factory, to better understand the impact of the plant or project. 

According to Mr. Le An Khang, CEO of Gia Lai Electricity JSC, during an appraisal of loans or investment documents, the bank or investor visits the factory to study its impact on the environment, in order to ensure it commits to implementing social and environmental protection. “The credit and investment agreements we sign have a clause on environmental responsibility for each disbursement,” he explained. “Banks or investors continue to monitor our business every three months, focusing primarily on the implementation of environment protection and labor requirements.” 

Though aware of the importance of the handbook, banks, credit institutions, and businesses agree there are many difficulties in applying it. Ms. Dang Thi Thu Hai, Head of the Legal Department at VPBank, said that, at present, Vietnam’s social environment is paid little attention, so cooperation from customers in the implementation of social environment assessments is hard to acquire. “Customers may move to another bank that does not insist on enforcing social standards,” she said. 

Moreover, assessing the impact on the social environment is a complex matter, especially for those who work in the banking sector. The activity requires specialized skills and knowledge of fields such as agriculture, chemicals, energy, and waste treatment, according to a representative from VietinBank. “The cost of applying environmental mitigation measures is quite high,” he said. “Therefore, businesses often find ways to reduce and limit this cost in implementing their business plans. Meanwhile, the management of the social environment by specialized agencies and the sanctions on offer remain limited. Few are interested in complying with social responsibility assessments.” 

Using the handbook also presents enterprises with a host of difficulties. According to Ms. Phuong, textile and garment enterprises are often of small or medium size and the cost of applying the handbook is substantial. “Regulations in Vietnam often change and overlap, making it difficult for enterprises and reducing their regional competitiveness,” she said, while suggesting the government and ministries create clear, transparent legal corridors and a favorable business environment. 

Aside from the cost, if environmental assessments take a long time they also affect business operations. “If social and environmental assessments are not conducted rigorously and seriously, they can generate negative results,” said Mr. Anh. “Enterprises are not fully aware of their social and environmental obligations and need specific guidance.” 

Ms. Hai emphasized that the government should adopt preferential policies for banks that follow the handbook. The SBV needs to carry out performance appraisals and be aware of the handbook’s application by enterprises and banks. The handbook also should cement the requirement for environmental and social risk assessments in accordance with Vietnamese law and the standards of international financial institutions such as the IFC. 

Vietnam’s foreign reserves reach over US$42 billion

Vietnam’s foreign reserves continued to increase in the first half of 2017, reaching over US$42 billion, according to Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Le Minh Hung.

He told a conference on July 21 that the central bank purchased an additional US$1 billion in the last six months.

Compared with the end of 2016, the US$1 billion rise was low but encouraging especially as trade deficit is returning, estimated at US$2.7 billion in the first half of the year.

Governor Le Minh Hung also stated that in the first six months, the market had good forex liquidity and the USD-VND exchange rate was fairly stable despite the US Federal Reserve’s decisions to hike interest rates.

At the end of June, broad money supply rose 6.82% compared with the end of 2016 while credit growth was estimated at 9.06%, a high level compared with the same periods recorded in recent years.

The governor said credit growth was high but such growth was spread evenly over several months, so there was no pressure on interest rates, with short-term rates on loans to priority sectors falling by 0.5 percentage points.

Lending rates currently average at 6-6.5% for short-term loans, 8-10% for long-term loans and well-performing customers can even borrow at 4-5%.

In expectation of Fed’s further rate adjustments, the State Bank of Vietnam will monitor market developments closely to ensure they can promptly introduce proactive and flexible policy to help stabilise exchange rates and ensure forex liquidity, said Governor Hung.

Aussie firms seek VN investments     

Australian food, rice processing and information technology companies want to accelerate co-operation and expand operations in Viet Nam, according to Australian officials and business representatives who met yesterday in Sydney with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.

SunRice CEO Rob Gordon said a number of Vietnamese firms had exported rice to Australia for his company, which carries 30 product labels and has about 2,100 workers in 60 countries across the world.

To reinforce production capacity in Viet Nam, Gordon proposed the Vietnamese Government allow Sunrice to expand investment in the country, transferring skills and sharing scientific technology in rice production, processing and marketing.

Deputy PM Hue praised Sunrice’s co-operation with Vietnamese rice trade, which was important for both sides, contributing to food security.

He said Viet Nam could supply all types of rice in great volume. The co-operation of rice trade between the two countries grew in 2016 when Viet Nam exported 220,000 tonnes of rice to Australia, over 50 per cent more compared with 2015.

To ensure the trade of rice, Hue asked businesses on both sides to meet and discuss doing business. The Vietnamese ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Trade and Industry would co-operate with Sunrice to help it develop investment in Viet Nam, he pledged.

Speaking with Jan Craps, CEO of Carlton&United Breweries (CBU) which has a 47-per cent share of the Australian market and plans to expand its beer production to the southern province of Binh Duong, Hue said Viet Nam was interested in sustainable development, ensuring environmental safety and water resource in this area.

In addition, he said, the Vietnamese Government has been conducting divestments at its two biggest brewers - Sai Gon Beer-Alcohol-Beverages Joint Stock Corporation (Sabeco) and Ha Noi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco) - suggesting CBU may have an interest as strategic investor.

Craps said his company expected to be a strategic investor in Sabeco and Habeco when the State divests its investment capital this year.

Bruce Taper, the director of Kinessis, a technology company, said he wanted to take part in urban design projects in Viet Nam. Through the company’s technology apps, it can supply information for policymakers to help them make decisions on urban management and development. Hue said many urban areas are facing difficulties in sustainable development.

Hue also met with representatives of the Australian Seafood Importers’ Association, saying the two sides reached good growth in import and export turnover. However, Australia had not yet allowed the import of head on shell-on shrimp from Viet Nam.

Hue expected the association to support Viet Nam in the export of head on shell-on shrimp to the Australian market.

He expressed his support for ensuring quality but concern about Australia’s technical barriers, which were hurting Vietnamese exporters.

He also proposed the association help Viet Nam build labs to assess the quality of shrimp to raise its shrimp production capacity. 

Rubber plantations urged to obtain certification     

Viet Nam’s rubber plantations need to obtain sustainable management certifications in order to raise product value and enter global markets, participants said at a workshop held in HCM City on Monday.

Vo Hoang An, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Rubber Association, said the rubber industry had developed strongly into having the largest cultivation area among the country’s industrial perennial plants, with 976,400ha last year.

Viet Nam ranks third in rubber output as well as export of natural rubber products in the world, he said. Enterprises exported more than one million tonnes of natural rubber worth US$1.67 billion last year.

In addition, processed rubber exports went up 17.9 per cent a year in recent years, reaching $1.64 billion last year. Export turnover of rubber wood and rubber wood-based products reached $1.54 billion last year, up 26.2 per cent over 2015.

“In recent years, the world has become increasingly concerned about the reduction of the area and quality of natural forests, which has a great impact on the natural environment and the ability to provide forest products,” he said.

“The tendency to shift to using forest products that are legally sourced or certified for sustainable management in the world market has increased in the context of global climate change,” An added.

Although Viet Nam has started adopting international practices for sustainable forest management and forest certification, certified forests with sustainable management represent only a very small percentage of the total forest area in Viet Nam.

Le Thien Duc from the World Wildlife Fund Vietnam said about 229,700 ha of forest areas, largely plantation forests, have FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) forest management certificates. Most of them plant acacia and melaleuca, while no rubber plantations have such certificates.

The country has set a target to have 500,000ha of forest with forest certification by 2020, according to Duc.

Vu Thi Que Anh, FSC project coordinator, said many countries issued regulations to allow only wood of verified legal origin to enter their markets. Natural rubber is an important product worldwide, and a long-term and sustainable supply source is critical, she said.

FSC’s certification scheme ensure traceability of deforestation-free products from well-managed forests and generates assurance that product claims are truthful and credible.

In recent years, leaders of large rubber enterprises paid more attention to the importance of forest certification.

Truong Minh Trung, vice president of the Viet Nam Rubber Group, said: “In the long-run, we must strive to implement FSC certification. Each year, we liquidate about 10,000 to 12,000ha of rubber or one million cubic metres. If we have the FSC certificate, the wood will sell at prices 10-15 per cent higher,” he added.

Organised by the VRA and WWF Vietnam, the workshop aimed to raise awareness of sustainable rubber plantations and FSC certification for rubber enterprises in Viet Nam. 

Back to school shopping kicks off     

Gia Vy in District 2 and her daughter were choosing school supplies at a bookshop in HCM City’s Binh Thanh District.

Vy said “The new school year will start soon. So I brought my daughter here to buy necessary stationary for her.”

Demand for school supplies at bookstores and supermarkets has increased significantly in recent days, with the former selling mostly notebooks, textbooks, pens, and pencils, and the latter, backpacks, school bags and uniforms.

The comic and reference books sections also attract many children, who read there or buy.

As in previous years the city is running a price stabilisation programme for school supplies.

Fourteen companies have registered to sell 24.8 million notebooks and 13.6 million textbooks, 2.2 million uniforms, 1.75 million schoolbags and backpacks, 720,000 pairs of shoes and other school supplies at fixed prices, meeting 35-50 per cent of demand.

Huong Mi Handbags Co Ltd, for instance, said his company would sell 950,000 backpacks and schoolbags, 20 per cent more than last year.

The company has many new models this year, including backpacks that prevent back deformities, he said.

Lam Anh Dau, chairman of Vinh Tien Paper JSC, said with output up to 70-80 million notebooks this year his company, together with other well-known producers, would ensure efficient supply in the market.

Bookstores, supermarkets and others have launched promotions for stationery and school supplies.

Many bookstores in HCM City, including Thang Long, Nguyen Van Cu and Fahasa, are offering 5-10 per cent discounts on textbooks and 30 per cent on reference books.

They have also cut the prices of other stationery products like notebooks, pens and school bags and backpacks.

Co.opMart and Co.opXtra supermarkets are offering big discounts on more than 1,200 items like school uniforms, school bags, notebooks, pens and other school supplies and nearly 250 price-stabilised products.

Backpacks and school bags of brands like Mr.Vui and Miti are sold at VND126,000-463,500.

Priced-stabilised uniforms of Sanding and SGC brands are sold at VND52,900-144,000 for white shirts and VND59,900-206,100 for trousers.

Korean supermarket Lotte Mart is also offering attractive discounts of 5-49 per cent on school supplies, uniforms, back packs, and nutritional foods from July 26 to August 28. 

HSBC suffers $75,000 loss due to loose management of staff

HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd. (HSBC Vietnam) suffered a loss of VND1.7 billion ($74,800) due to its loose management of credit staff, who made fake documents for clients to borrow unsecured consumer loans through credit cards.

On July 25, 2017, the Hanoi People’s Court opened the first instance hearing of the case of Cao Thi Anh over charges of misappropriation. After the hearing, the court found Anh guilty of forging HSBC Vietnam’s stamp and documents and sentenced her to four years in prison.

In 2012, Anh was the employee of HSBC Vietnam’s credit department. At the time, HSBC Vietnam was implementing a programme of lending unsecured consumer loans for individual clients.

Regarding preferential borrowers who work for HSBC Vietnam’s corporate clients, their documents should reflect a monthly income of at least VND5 million ($220) and at least one year of employment. Clients did not have to submit their account statements, instead, they needed their companies’ confirmation about their jobs and income.

The monthly income of other clients should be at least VND8 million ($352) and they had to submit account statements reflecting their income in the last three months.

Anh was responsible for seeking borrowers and helping them finish their documents. The appraisal department will check the documents by calling the clients’ companies. In some cases, the appraisal staff checked documents by dealing with other parties besides borrowers and their companies. Based on each income level and borrowers’ requirements, HSBC Vietnam would decide on the loan amount. The maximum amount was ten times the clients’ income specified in their documents.

Cao Thi Anh admitted that due to pressure to reach the bank’s targets, she took advantage of some of her family and friends with private firms, asking them to confirm the employment status and income in the fake documents.

From January to March 2013, Anh helped complete 15 applications for credit cards for individuals who did not meet the requirements to borrow unsecured consumer loans. In particular, she asked her acquaintance in Bien Bac JSC to make six fake documents for her clients to borrow VND915 million ($40,260) in unsecured consumer loans.

Similarly, Anh colluded with a friend in Acom Investment Corporation to confirm the fake documents of 13 individuals who were not the real staff of the company, so that these individuals could borrow a total of VND980 billion ($43,120).

Up till now, these borrowers have failed to pay off debts, which resulted in a loss of VND1.7 billion ($74,800) for HSBC Vietnam.

These clients said that they were not employed at HSBC’s corporate partners and their documents to borrow money were supported by Anh. All they had to do was to sign the application forms to apply for credit cards. Cao Thi Anh told them to tell exactly what the documents mentioned when HSBC Vietnam’s appraisal staff called them to check.

HSBC Vietnam admitted that those falling short of the set targets would be penalised or dismissed. The lawyer of Anh said that her crime was forging the documents of HSBC Vietnam. The uncollected money was considered civil transactions. Regarding civil liabilities, the court allowed HSBC Vietnam to prosecute clients who failed to pay off debts.

Gov’t sets up inspection team for sand exploitation projects

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh requested the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to set up inspection teams to visit some dredging projects, especially controversial ones which newspaper articles have reflected lately. 

Deputy PM Binh ordered related agencies in localities to tighten control over the sand and gravel exploitation and trading.

At first, he asked the Ministry of Transport to liaise with the Ministry of Public Security and local administrations to enhance supervision to boats and impose fines on these ships carrying sand and stone without clear origin.

The ministries and local administration have to review river dredging projects performed by private companies. If having violations, chairpersons of provincial people’s committee will have to bear responsibility before the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Public Security will open attack to violators in sand exploitation in cities and provinces nationwide. It must ordered local police force to closely work with responsible agencies in the districts to increase supervision and handling illegal sand exploitation following the law, even transferring the document to police investigator for prosecution.

Deputy PM Binh also ordered the Ministry of Construction to step up production of alternative man-made sand for construction. The Ministry of Finance must tighten the control over tax receipt in trading of construction sand to prevent utilizing of illegal sand.

Provincial people’s committees must enhance inspection over sand exploitation. Leaders will also have to bear responsibility if there are rampant sand exploitations of which raise public concern.

One of the most noticeable instruction is that Vietnam's Prime Minister has ordered since 2018, the transport ministry to pass jurisdiction over all river dredging projects to provincial authorities amid reports some projects are causing serious erosion, a matter that has stirred public outcry.

Thousands of apartments wait for ownership certification in HCMC

Thousands of customers have bought apartments and dwelled there for a long time but do not know when they will receive ownership certificates as per investors’ commitments.

The HCMC Taxation Department has recently announced the list of 209 tax debt businesses comprising real estate companies, who are investors of apartment blocks where dwellers have long waited for ownership certificate granting.

Among them, Khang Gia Investment and Development Real Estate Company has been in tax arrears of VND2.3 billion since 2016.

In May 2014, Khang Gia handed over 338 apartments to customers at Khang Gia Tan Huong apartment block at 377 Tan Huong, Tan Phu district. For the last three years, dwellers have lived with incomplete exit ways, no ownership certificates and no management boards.

The HCMC Department of Construction’s inspectorate in August last year inspected, penalized the company VND45 million for illegal construction and asked the company to demolish all illegal works.

Specifically, the company on its own built 61 apartments in the ground floor, mezzanine and the second floor of the apartment block, where have been licensed for commerce, service, kindergarten and swimming pool. Of the illegally built apartments, two measure only 15 square meters each.

Khang Gia Go Vap apartment block in Go Vap has neither management board nor ownership certificates for 600 commercial apartments there.

The investor has built gym and yoga rooms in the area meant for a park and been strongly opposed by dwellers. Therefore, it has dismantled these works, leaving a sleazy site.

Through disputes and complains, the HCMC Department of Construction said that investors of 20 apartment blocks have slowly done procedures to get ownership certificates for apartment buyers. Many of them have opened for dwellers for tens of years.

Phuc Thinh apartment block at 341 Cao Dat, District 5 invested by Truong Thinh Investment and Construction Company has handed over apartments to customers since 2005 but it is unclear when ownership certification will complete. Under pressure by dwellers, the company has promised in writing to speed up process without any progress.

Similar conditions have occurred in many other apartment blocks such as Dinh Hoi in Ward 16, District 8 by investor Le Minh M.C Company; My Vien in Tan Phu ward, District 7 by Phu My Hung Development Company; Trung Dong at 30 Trinh Dinh Thao, Hoa Thanh ward, Tan Phu by Trung Dong Investment Consulting & Development Corporation.

Tan Phu district alone has 12 apartment blocks which ownership certificates have not been granted. So the district must work with apartment block management boards and investors to solve disputes, complaints and difficulties.

The department has asked relevant sides to review all cases which apartment buyers have not received ownership certificates and consider transferring them to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to settle.