The Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank in Laos (Sacombank Laos) inaugurated a branch in the Lao central province of Savannakhet on September 29.

Director General of Sacombank Laos Pham Quang Phu said the inauguration of the branch reaffirms the bank’s determination to do long-term business in the country and bring its modern products and services to Lao customers.

He said with an initial chartered capital of 12 million USD, Sacombank Laos has expanded its network to key areas in Laos such as Vientiane capital, Pakse city, and Champasak and Savannakhet provinces over the past nine years.

As of August 31, 2017, the total assets of Sacombank Laos stood at 157 million USD and its pre-tax profit in the first eight months of this year reached 1 million USD, fulfilling 68 percent of the annual target, he noted.

Vice Governor of Savannakhet province Thonkeo Phoutthakaiyalard said the launch of Sacombank Laos’ branch in the province not only generates jobs for locals but also contributes to the local social-economic development in the coming years.

He said local authorities will create the best conditions for the branch to operate efficiently.

On this occasion, Sacombank Laos donated 6,000 USD to the province’s disaster mitigation fund.

US$660 million needed to finance ring road project in HCMC

The HCMC Department of Transport says around VND15 trillion (US$660 million) is needed to cover the three remaining sections of Ring Road No. 2 in HCMC.

The first section spans from An Lac Intersection on National Highway 1 to Nguyen Van Linh Parkway in Binh Chanh District while the second stretches from Phu Huu Bridge to Binh Thai Intersection both in District 9, and the last spreads from Binh Thai Intersection to Go Dua Intersection in Thu Duc District.

The department says the first section has yet to attract any investors. Meanwhile, an investor has expressed interest in developing the second section of 3.82 kilometers in length which requires more than VND5.7 trillion, with around VND4.1 trillion for site clearance. The investor is about to complete a feasibility study for the project.

Part of the third section from Pham Van Dong Street to Go Dua Intersection which stretches 2.7 kilometers long got off the ground in end-2015.

Besides, its remaining section from Pham Van Dong Street to Binh Thai Intersection had its investment plan approved in end-2016. This road, 1.9 kilometers long and 67 meters wide, needs about VND1.05 trillion, with VND842 billion of it going to site clearance. Its investor has sent an investment report to the department for approval.

According to the department, the remaining sections of the ring road are estimated to require VND15 trillion in total. They are among the projects designed to help reduce traffic congestion in the 2016-2020 period.

Therefore, HCMC has petitioned the central Government to give it the green light to offer no-bid contracts to investors to develop the three sections on schedule.

The department says in phase one, the ring road is just 10 meters wide instead of 67 meters in order to meet the demand for travel (in the short run).

The entire ring road is about 70 kilometers long from Nguyen Van Linh Parkway to Phu My Bridge, Binh Thai Intersection on Hanoi Highway, Go Dua Intersection, Tan Tao Intersection, Ho Hoc Lam and Ba To streets, and Nguyen Van Linh Parkway. But some sections of the road have not been built.

Once in place, the road will help ease chronic traffic congestion in the city center as trucks will no longer cut through the inner-city areas when transporting cargo to and from ports in HCMC and between the southeast and the Mekong Delta.

Ministry relaxes requirements for strategic investors in equitized SOEs

The Ministry of Finance is about to finish an amended Government decree replacing Decree 59/2011/ND-CP on equitization of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in which the ministry seeks to relax a slew of requirements for strategic investors.

According to the draft decree, strategic investors must meet requirements on financial capacity, and their businesses must be profitable for the last two years.

Besides, strategic investors must have written pledges to be active in the same sectors of equitized SOEs, and maintain their brands for at least three years.

Notably, strategic investors must not transfer the State stakes they purchase in three years instead of the current five years, and must have plans to support equitized SOEs such as technology transfer and personnel training.

As such, they will be obliged to pay compensation if they breach their written commitments.

The draft stipulates the sale of State stakes shall be executed upon a certain auction in which the selling price is not lower than the average bid price in the initial public offering.

In comparison with the current regulations prescribed in Decree 59, the ministry has relaxed regulations for strategic investors in equitized SOEs in the draft decree whose aim is to attract potential investors.

For example, the draft decree requires strategic investor to be profitable for two consecutive years instead of the current three years.

In addition, the current decree requires them to maintain the business sector of equitized SOEs without stating a particular length of time, while the draft rule puts it at three years, after which the investors can change the business fields of equitized SOEs.

Consumer finance market underdeveloped

The local consumer credit market remains underdeveloped despite high consumer demand while the black market still attracts a large number of people in need.

At a seminar on consumer lending held by the Institute of Business Administration under the University of Economics and Business in Hanoi City on Wednesday, Hoang Van Hai, head of institute, said consumer loans account for a mere 5-10% of total outstanding loans, compared to 40-50% in developed nations. In addition, the number of credit institutions catering to consumers is small.

According to a survey of the institute with 2,000 respondents in 12 provinces and cities, 62% of them have never taken out consumer loans as they worry about indebtedness and stringent lending requirements. Some 53% of them will ask for consumer loans in case of absolute necessity.

However, 48% of respondents, mainly young people who have never taken out consumer loans before, are willing to borrow if necessary.

The survey shows that there are currently more than ten consumer loan lenders with minimum chartered capital of VND500 billion (US$21.81 million) each, in which, FE Credit is the leader with the largest capital of VND2.79 trillion.

At present, FE Credit holds a market share of more than 48%, followed by Home Credit with nearly 16%, HD Saison with 12%, JACCS with 2% and Mirae Asset Finance with 1%.

Most clients are satisfied with lending services and procedures but they are displeased with the high lending rates.

A representative of the State Bank of Vietnam admitted that the consumer lending market still faces numerous obstacles despite huge demand.

The central bank wants the market to develop safely and moderately so that local people will be not affected by potential risks.

Truong Thanh Duc, chairman of Basico law firm, said the legal system has not facilitated the development of the service.

Finance firms may face higher risks than commercial banks in recovering debts as this kind of loan does not require collateral. Besides, the legal system is insufficient to deal with violations.

However, the sector holds high growth potential as consumer loans are suitable to modern life and help ease concerns of consumers.

The survey also shows that consumers ask for loans for a vast range of purposes. Household businesses tend to get consumer loans to increase investments, farmers to pay for healthcare services and household appliances, students to buy personal appliances or to travel, and officials to pay for healthcare, entertainment, tourism, beauty care and education.

Le Xuan Sang, deputy director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, said Vietnam has huge demand for consumer credit thanks to the young population whose consumer spending makes up 75% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Saigontourist launches new river tours

Saigontourist Holding Company, the country’s leading tourism services provider, on September 28 put into operation five new tourist boats and launched seven new river tours at Tan Cang tourist site in Binh Thanh District, HCMC, offering a new option for visitors to discover popular destinations in the city and neighboring areas.

With a luxurious design the five new modern motor boats can accommodate 25 passengers each and travel at a maximum speed of 50 km per hour. 

Tran Hung Viet, general director of Saigontourist, said in a statement that river tourism has been an integral part of Saigontourist’s development strategy in recent years and that the city government has assigned Saigontourist to find ways to boost river tourism services in the city.

Three member companies under Saigontourist – Saigontourist Travel Service Co., Binh Quoi Tourist Village and Vam Sat Tourist Site – have joined forces to develop these river tours, Viet noted.

Apart from the new boats and tours, Saigontourist is investing in modern wharfs at Tan Cang and Binh Quoi 2 tourist sites, and Saigon South tourism wharf in District 7 will also go up later.

Saigontourist will focus on promoting these new river tourism services by distributing multilingual brochures to tourists and travel agencies in the city. Tourist information booths can also be found at travel firms, hotels and restaurants under Saigontourist, Viet noted. 

Especially, the company will present its river tours at international travel fairs including Top Resa in France in September, ITB in Singapore in October and WTM in the UK in November, he added.

Following are the seven newly-launched river tours.

Tan Cang-Binh Duong-Ben Dinh tour

The tour departs at Tan Cang tourist site at 7 a.m. and ends at 3:20 p.m. every weekday, taking in some popular destinations such as Ba Son, Thanh Da Canal Bridge, Binh Loi Bridge, Lai Thieu Bridge, Tran Van Ho’s ancient house in the southern province of Binh Duong, Thien Hau Lady Pagoda, Thu Dau Mot Market, Phu Cuong Church, Ben Cat Intersection, Ben Dinh Tunnel and Hai Thanh Koi Garden ecotourism site.

Tickets are priced at VND2.1 million per adult and VND1.58 million per child, including tax and service fee. These prices are applicable to tours for at least six passengers.

Tan Cang-Binh Duong-Hai Thanh Koi Garden ecotourism site tour

Departing at 7 a.m. at Tan Cang tourist site, the tour will allow tourists to explore Thanh Da Bridge, Binh Loi Bridge, Lai Thieu Bridge, Tran Van Ho’s ancient house in the southern province of Binh Duong, Thien Hau Lady Pagoda, Thu Dau Mot Market and Phu Cuong Church. Upon arrival at Hai Thanh Koi Garden ecotourism site, visitors will have the opportunity to visit Koi fish stream, crocodile farm and seasonal fruit farm, and enjoy other services.

The ticket costs VND1.66 million per adult and VND1.245 million per child, including tax and service fee. The prices are applicable to tours with six passengers or above.

The tour ends at 3.30 p.m.

Mangrove Forest-Tan Cang-Can Thanh tour

The boat will pick up tourists at 7 a.m. at Tan Cang tourist site. The tour is available on weekdays and scheduled to finish at 4.40 p.m., giving visitors enough time to see Phu My Bridge, Den Do (Red Light) Intersection, Nha Be Intersection, Yen Quan House, Tam Thon Hiep Village, Nga Bay River, Thieng Lieng Islet and Ha Thanh River.
The boat will stop at Hoa Hiep Port in Can Thanh Town, Can Gio District. From there, tourists can take a bus tour around Can Thanh Town to inspect local residents’ daily activities.

Then, the boat will sail to Monkey Island, Dan Xay Bridge, Binh Khanh Ferry, Phu Xuan, Rach Dia, Rach Ong, Te Canal, Tan Thuan, and Khanh Hoi.  

The ticket price is VND2.04 million per adult and VND1.53 million per child, including tax and service fee. The price is only for tours with at least six passengers taking part.

Tan Cang- Thanh Da Binh Quoi Peninsula tour

The tour is available on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays with the departure time at 4 p.m. Tourists can admire the landscapes along the Saigon River and Thanh Da Binh Quoi Peninsula.

The boat will depart from Tan Cang tourist site, taking in some tourist spots including Binh Quoi 1 and Binh Quoi 2 tourist sites and Rach Chiec Intersection.

Tickets are priced at VND750,000 per adult and VND560,000 per child, inclusive of tax and service fee. The prices are for tours with at least six passengers attending.

Tan Cang-Ben Dinh Tunnel tour

The tour departing at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m. is available every weekday. Tourists will be brought to Thanh Da Binh Quoi Peninsula, Binh Loi Bridge, Lai Thieu pottery craft village in Binh Duong and Ben Dinh Tunnel in Cu Chi. The tour price is VND1.899 million per adult and VND1.424 million per child, including tax and service fee, and applicable to tours with at least six passengers joining.

Tan Cang-Long Phuoc tour

The departure time is 8 a.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. The itinerary includes the upstream of the Dong Nai River, the Saigon River, Den Do (Red Light) intersection, Cat Lai Port, Coconut Garden, Long Thanh Bridge, Buu Long Pagoda, Long Phuoc garden and Sy Hoang’s ao dai museum. Tickets cost VND1.52 million per adult and VND1.14 million per child, with tax and service fee included. The prices are for tours with six passengers or more participating.

Tan Cang-Vam Sat tour

The tour departs at 7 a.m. and finishes at 3:30 p.m. on weekdays. Guests can get a glimpse of sites such as the Saigon River, Te Canal, the Rach Dia River, Phu My Hung urban town, Phu Xuan Market, An Thoi Dong, Ly Nhon and Vam Sat ecotourism site. Tickets are priced at VND2.145 million per adult and VND1.61 million per child, including tax and service fee. The prices are applicable to tours with six passengers or more attending.

Tour prices also include boat ticket, snack, lunch, fruit, beverage, admission fee and shuttle bus transfer.  

For booking, contact the River Tourism Center at A100 Ung Van Khiem Street, Binh Thanh District, HCMC. Tel: 028 35125139. Hotline: 0908611138 or 0909284554. Email: binhquoirivertour@gmail.com.

Saigontourist to build more boat stops for waterway tourism

Saigontourist Holding Company, Vietnam’s leading tour operator, on September 28 introduced seven new waterway routes and five motor boats taking tourists to destinations in HCMC and neighboring areas and announced to build more boat stops to develop waterway tourism in the city.

Seven tours are from Tan Cang to Binh Duong-Ben Dinh, Binh Duong-Hai Thanh Koi farm, mangrove forests and Can Thanh in Can Gio District, Thanh Da Island, Ben Dinh, Long Phuoc in District 9 and Vam Sat.

Saigontourist general director Tran Hung Viet said many members of the company, including Binh Quoi Tourist Village, Saigontourist Travel Service and Vam Sat Tourist Site, have operated waterway routes. In addition to boats and tourist attractions, the company has invested in wharfs, piers and stations for boats at Tan Cang and Binh Quoi 2 tourist sites and will develop a wharf at Saigon South tourist site in District 7.

The company has added more tourist attractions and services to make these tours more attractive, Viet noted.
Vo Anh Tai, deputy general director of Saigontourist, said the firm will focus on both international and domestic visitors, especially urban people and students.

Tours to Can Gio District are suitable for students and the company will set attractive prices to lure such customers.

Saigontourist sells waterway tours at its travel agents, hotels and restaurants, and promotes them on social and mass media. The products have been also introduced at overseas fairs such as Top Resa exhibition in France this month, ITB travel trade show in Singapore and World Travel Market (WTM) in the UK at the end of this year.

In June, the HCMC government approved a waterway tourism development plan in the 2017-2020 which focuses on waterway tourism. At least seven waterway tourism routes were expected to be developed on the Saigon, Dong Nai, Nha Be, Soai Rap and Long Tau rivers by 2020.

The city targets to attract 450,000 tourists using waterway services next year and the number will increase 15% annually.

Vietnam enjoys US$400 million trade surplus in September

The country enjoys a trade surplus at US$400 million in September, but the trade deficit was estimated at US$442 million during the first nine months in 2017, the General Statistics Office announced on September 29.

Accordingly, the export turnover in September was estimated at US$19 billion, down 3.9% over the previous month yet nonetheless has continued to increase strongly at 23.6% over the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, import turnover for September was estimated at US$18.6 billion, up 2.3% over the previous month and up 27.3% over the same period last year.

Previously in August, the trade surplus reached US$400 million and the figure for July was at US$266 million.

For the nine month period of this year, exports were estimated at US$154 billion, up 19.8% over the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector gained US$43.2 billion, up 16.8% and the FDI sector (including crude oil) reached US$110.8 billion, an increase of 21%.

Remarkably, several key export items still maintained their upward trend in the first nine months of 2017, including telephone & components valued at US$30.99 billion, up 21.4%; textiles and garments at US$19.26 billion, up 8.6%; and computers, electronic products and components valued at US$18.46 billion, up 40.8% over the same period of 2016.

In the other sense, the import turnover in nine months reached US$154.5 billion, up over 23% over the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector contributed US$61.3 billion, up 18, 7%; while FDI sector reached US$93.2 billion, an increase of more than 26%.

In overall, in the first nine months of this year, the trade deficit was at US$442 million, of which the domestic economic sector made up a trade deficit of over US$18 billion, while FDI enjoyed trade surplus of US$17.64 billion.

It is noteworthy that the trade deficit from the Republic of Korea in nine months amounted to US$23.3 billion, an increase of 57.7% over the same period of 2016, the largest trade deficit market of Vietnam; followed by trade deficit from China at US$19.7 billion, down 5.6% and trade deficit from ASEAN bloc at US$4.6 billion.

Service exports in this period were estimated at US$9.74 billion, which was up 7.3% over the same period last year, of which tourism services exports reached US$6.58 billion, accounting for 67.6% of the total export turnover and increase by 7.3%.

Imports of nine-month services were estimated at US$12.55 billion, up 2.9%, of which imports of transport services reached US$5.97 billion, accounting for 47.5% of total imports and increased 0.9%. Trade deficit in services of nine months was at US$2.81 billion, equivalent to 28.9% of service export turnover.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in September 2017, estimated budget collection was at VND22 trillion (US$968 million).

Lotte eyes Vietnamese credit card firm

South Korean conglomerate the Lotte Group is seeking to expand its presence in Vietnam with the acquisition of a Vietnamese finance company, in the hope of offsetting its snowballing losses in China amid an ongoing diplomatic spat between China and South Korea over Seoul’s installation of a US anti-missile shield.

It was reported on September 27 that the Lotte Card Co., the credit card unit of the Lotte Group, is in the final stages of talks to buy out TechcomFinance, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s fifth-largest bank, Techcombank.

“Lotte Card is expected to buy 100 per cent of TechcomFinance from Techcombank,” a source close to the acquisition deal, who declined to be named because the talks are still ongoing, was quoted as telling Pulse News. 

Techcombank hadn’t responded to a request for comment at the time of publishing.
Once the deal is clinched, Lotte Card will be the first South Korean credit card company to hold a credit card license in Vietnam. Via TechcomFinance, it will be able to offer card issuing, installment finance, and consumer loans in the country. 

This is the first acquisition the Lotte Group has made this year. Its decision to venture into Vietnam’s credit card market comes after its retail unit, Lotte Mart, closed its outlets in China after receiving business suspension orders from Chinese authorities.

To offset the growing business risk in China, the Lotte Group is believed to have shifted its focus away from China to Vietnam, which has been on a solid growth path, with many South Korean companies eager to expand their presence. 

The credit card market in Vietnam is still in the early stages of development, with only 3.3 per cent of the population owning credit cards, but the South Korean giant seems to be optimistic about the growth potential, as the Vietnamese Government has been actively encouraging its people to use plastic. 

The Lotte Group, which first entered Vietnam with its fast-food chain Lotteria in 1998, is currently operating several businesses under its ten units, including department stores, large retail stores, hotels, cinemas and home shopping. In July, Chairman Mr. Shin Dong-bin made a visit to Vietnam to look at its businesses in the country.

ADB applauds Vietnam on reducing deficit

The Vietnamese government’s efforts to reduce the state budget deficit accumulated by fiscal imbalances have been applauded by the Asian Development Bank.

In its update on the Vietnamese economy released a few days ago, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated that the government has achieved “good results in reducing state budget deficit,” and that “the state budget revenue has been strongly increasing.”

“Like in 2016, total budget revenue rose 18.2 per cent in this year’s first half, thanks to a hike in revenue from value-added tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, and non-tax sources,” said the report.

ADB also stated that amidst rising budget revenue, the government has done a very good job in tightening spending, which increased by less then 10 per cent in this year’s first half.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that between January and September 15, 2017, state revenue hit $33.5 billion—higher than the $30.2 billion last year—while expenditure stood at $38.7 billion, slightly higher than the $37.2 billion in the same period last year.

Thus between January-September 15, 2017, Vietnam’s budget deficit totalled at $5.2 billion, lower than the $7 billion in the corresponding period last year.

“As revenue growth exceeds expectations, the government’s target of trimming the budget deficit to the equivalent of 3.5 per cent of the GDP in 2017 and 4 per cent in 2018 looks broadly attainable,” said Eric Sidgwick, ADB country director for Vietnam.

However, he also stressed, “This will depend on further efforts to enhance revenue collection and stricter control of spending on wages and salaries and other recurrent expenditures. After three years of lower infrastructure spending, redirecting the 2017 budget toward capital outlays should help achieve this badly needed adjustment to public expenditure.”

Statistics from the Ministry of Finance showed that nominal capital spending has been flat for the last five years. As a result, the share of capital spending in the total budget has fallen to 16 per cent in this year’s first half from the nearly 30 per cent in 2011.

However, since 2010, Vietnam’s nominal recurrent spending has more than doubled, driven by rising wage and salary costs, along with health and education spending.

Currently, Vietnam has about 11 million people on the state’s payroll.

Recently, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund also commended Vietnam for its efforts to control rising public debt. The World Bank said in its update on Vietnam’s economic situation that Vietnam has been showing “early signs of fiscal consolidation.”

“The government has reinforced its commitment to rein in the fiscal deficit over the medium term in order to contain further increases in the public debt-to-GDP ratio. Fiscal consolidation is crucial to contain the fiscal deficit and stabilise public debt over the medium term,” said Sebastian Eckardt, lead economist and acting country director for the World Bank in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s medium-term financing plan for 2016-2020, adopted by the National Assembly in November 2016, envisages a gradual fiscal adjustment over the next four years. The plan aims to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of the GDP by 2020.

According to a document produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Vietnam’s economic situation released two months ago, the IMF executive board “considered the tightening of the fiscal stance as appropriate and welcomed the authorities’ intentions to ensure that consolidation is growth-friendly. They also concurred with the intention to reduce the deficit to 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2020 and to maintain public debt below the legal limit of 65 per cent of GDP.”

According to the National Assembly Economic Committee, by late March 2017, Vietnam’s public debts hit 61.5 per cent of the GDP. It is expected that by late 2017, the rate may reach about 64.6 per cent ($141 billion) of the GDP, almost hitting the 65 per cent limit set by the National Assembly.

Details of Toyota recall programme announced

Viet Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced a recall programme to check and replace airbag inflator modules in the front passenger airbag of Toyota Vios models produced and assembled by Toyota Viet Nam (TMV) and Toyota Yaris models imported and distributed by TMV.

Earlier, TMV said it would recall more than 20,000 Vios and Yaris sedans to check and replace the airbag inflator module of the front passenger airbag.

The recall programme covers 18,138 locally-assembled Vios cars produced between January 5, 2009 and December 29, 2012, and 1,877 imported Yaris cars produced from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2012.

The Toyota Viet Nam dealership network nationwide will offer free checks and replacements for all relevant airbag inflator modules on Toyota Vios cars produced and assembled domestically and those imported.

The programme will last from now until August 21 next year. Total time for checking and replacement is estimated at around 2 hours per vehicle.

For Yaris models which were not imported and officially distributed by TMV, if the request is received from customers, TMV will contact the global Recall Programme of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) to confirm information.

Once getting official approval from TMC, Toyota Viet Nam will check and replace the airbag inflator module of the front passenger airbag of affected vehicles at no cost.

Customers should contact TMV dealership, hotline 18001524 and 0916001524 or visit website toyotavn.com.vn and toyota.com.vn.
     
September CPI rises due to impact of floods

September’s consumer price index (CPI) has increased by 0.59% against last month, which is attributed to the impacts of floods and higher prices of petroleum products.

According to the General Statistics Office, price increases were seen in up to nine out of the 11 goods and service groups in the price basket, with the highest levels reported in educational equipment and transport group at 5% and 1.51% respectively. 

They were followed by housing and construction materials with 0.69%; medicines and health services with 0.25%; food and catering services with 0.08%; household appliances with 0.06%; footwear and garment products with 0.05%; drink and tobacco with 0.02% and other services.

Meanwhile, culture, entertainment and tourism services saw the price fall of 0.08% and the rate is 0.04% for telecommunications group.

The office attributed to higher CPI mainly heavy rains, storms and floods which happened in many localities in the month, causing the price hike of fresh flood in these localities. Floods and storms also damaged many houses, schools and infrastructure in many localities, particularly in the central region.

The price increase of housing and construction materials is due to the steel prices which have been raised by 5-10% following more expensive input materials.

Increased petrol prices on September 5 and September 20 were also blamed.

The office also mentioned the increase of 0.31% of health service prices for people who do not own health insurance.

September’s CPI increased 3.4% on-year and 1.83% against December 2016. CPI in the first ninth months of this year increased 3.79% against the same period of last year.
     
US approves star apple fruit imports from Vietnam

Vietnam will be the first country globally allowed to export star apple fruits to the US.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the US Department of Agriculture on September 27 sent a document to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) officially approving the import of the Vietnamese fruits, after a notice to the same effect was published by the US Federal Registrar in April. 

Star apple joins litchi, longan, rambutan and dragon fruits to enter the US from Vietnam, thanks to the country’s efforts over the last 10 years to meet plant quarantine standards. 

Hoang Trung, head of the MARD’s Plant Protection Department, said similar to other fruits which have been approved for export to the US, star apple must be planted in coded areas and treated with irradiation and checked for eight kinds of insects.

After receiving the US notice, several Vietnamese businesses in the southern region registered for star apple export, he said, noting that shipments may be conducted in 2017. 

Vietnam has about 5,000 ha of star apple fruits, mostly in the Mekong Delta, especially Tien Giang and Can Tho, which yield about 60,000 tonnes annually. 

Vietnamese star apple has been exported to China and other ASEAN nations. Vietnam is also waiting for authorisation from the Republic of Korea to ship the fruit to the market.    

Hanoi retail sector rising with real estate

The upward trend of investment into the Vietnamese retail sector is raising the number of retail stores in the country’s big cities, which results in higher demand for prime locations in attractive real estate projects.

In the first eight months of 2017, it is estimated that the Vietnamese retail sector generated nearly VND2.6 trillion ($114.4 million) in revenue, an increase of 8.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, after inflation-adjustment.

Along with the rising investment into the retail sector and the continuous expansion of convenience stores and new retail models, the number of retail stores in Vietnam has been rapidly increasing, which leads to the growth of demand for prime locations.

CBRE Vietnam, one of the leading commercial real estate services providers in the country, estimated that during the first three quarters of 2017, there were 36,000 square metres of gross floor area to open new retail stores in Hanoi. It is forecasted that the number of retail units in Hanoi will witness a growth of 8 per cent in the last three months of 2017, adding 44,000sq.m of gross floor area.

In 2017, the supply of retail store locations in Hanoi remains pretty much stagnant. 35 per cent of retail projects are located in south-western Hanoi. 21.5 per cent of retail stores, including big shopping malls like AEON Mall Long Bien, Vincom Center Long Bien, and Savico Mall, are located in eastern Hanoi. 13 per cent of retail stores are located in the west, mainly in Cau Giay and Tu Liem districts.

In the next few years, the retail sector in Hanoi is expected to develop along with the expansion of real estate and traffic infrastructure projects. Along with constructions stretching down Ring Road No.3 and the two urban railway metro lines, the projects on AEON Mall Hadong, as well as the shopping mall projects of Vincom and FLC Group, are forecasted to make the western, south-western, and southern regions of Hanoi more attractive in real estate investors’ eyes.

Also, the city’s northern areas are expecting revival with Lotte Group’s Ciputra Mall, which Lotte confirmed in early 2017 would be started soon.

According to a survey of Nielsen, Vietnam’s consumer confidence index reached a record peak during the past five years, which helped the country become the fifth most optimistic country on the globe. This demonstrates the prospects of the retail sector as well as optimism for personal finance and immediate spending of Vietnamese consumers.

Nguyen Hoai An, head of Market Research and Consultancy at CBRE Vietnam, said that 2017 has witnessed the boom of fast fashion, which is a favourable condition for the growth of the Vietnamese real estate market, especially in big cities like Hanoi.

“Everyone is has seen pictures of long queues in front of newly opened international fashion stores, such as Zara or H&M. They have debuted in Ho Chi Minh City, the most populous and active city of Vietnam. After getting acquainted with the Vietnamese market, they will expand their store systems to Hanoi,” An said. 
 
Startup businesses still thirsty for capital

Access to sufficient capital resources is crucial to the successful operations of businesses in addition to good ideas, proper business models and strategies, and qualified personnel.

The favourable business environment of Vietnam along with numerous incentive polices have offered optimal conditions for more and more enterprises to launch startups with their feasible ideals for new products.

However, the fact shows that many are still managing themselves to look for capital inflow, which is seen as a key factor behind their smooth operations.

Nguyen Sac Phong, Project Director of the Green Farm Import Export Joint Stock Company in HCM City, says his company began operations in the field of organic agriculture in 2016 and since then its key products and services have been sold well in the domestic market.

Phong says initially he plans to expand this business model but failed on the back of capital shortage despite his best efforts to seek funding from multiple sources.

Vu Thien Hoang also faced the same situation when he came up with a business ideal for cosmetics and imported food. Hoang had to get along with capital mobilization from his friends and relatives and seek reputable suppliers during the startup process.

“If you do not have money in your hands, all ideas will get stuck,” he shares.
Actually, startup businesses usually only have in-depth knowledge about projects, products, areas of production and business but lack the skills to call for investment and basic knowledge about various related fields such as finance and administration.

In addition, many businesses are often impatient in persuading investment funds to lend them money and most banks set a series of rigid loan conditions that startups find difficult to meet.

Phan Dinh Tue, Deputy General Director of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) says his bank is still in the process of building exclusive regulations for startup businesses.

According to some economic experts, the capital for startup businesses can still be found from banks and investment funds. The question is to have the knowledge and skills to call capital inflows from commercial banks and investment support funds.

There are many investors and private equity funds that startups can ask for help if their projects are proved to have great potential for development.

Ho Trong Lai from US financial advisory firm Waterstone Capital Partners LLC in Asia says if a start-up business wants to call for investment capital it is required to outline a specific project on personnel and capital using plans.

Many policies on streaming administrative procedures have been adopted, making it easier for businesses to embark on startups. The crux of the matter is how to ensure sufficient capital. It is now time for commercial banks to give a helping hand to startup businesses by setting appropriate lending criteria.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has set up the Startup Assistance Fund with a chartered capital of VND2,000 billion with a view to supporting startups but it is essential to define the right target and how much stakeholders will be involved in and how much will be provided by the fund.

Additionally, startups should stay more active in looking for investment funds or adventurous investors as the better way to help them get rid of capital shortage.

New roads, bridges help southern real estate

Improved transport infrastructure has helped to increase real estate activity in HCM City and neighbouring southern provinces, including Long An, Đồng Nai and Bình Dương.

Transport development has been one of the strong points of the property market this year, according to CBRE Việt Nam.  

In the past few years, several road projects have opened, including the Phạm Văn Đồng Highway linking Tân Sơn Nhất Airport with National Highway No 1A, running through Bình Dương Province’s Dĩ An District to Biên Hoà City in Đồng Nai Province.

From 2000 to 2010, when the eight-lane Phạm Văn Đồng Highway had yet to open, no real estate projects existed along the route.

But after 2010, a number of big projects, such as Đất Xanh, Him Lam Land and Thủ Đức House, were built along the new highway in HCM City and Bình Dương Province.

Previously, real estate projects were built before infrastructure development occurred, but now transport infrastructure is a pre-condition for new property projects.

Before 2007, few property projects were seen along Nguyễn Văn Linh Highway, which connects districts 2, 7, 8 and Bình Chánh with Long An Province.

However, the new 10km highway has triggered a construction boom of apartment buildings along the road.

The 10-km Võ Văn Kiệt Avenue which links the city’s District 1 with National Highway No 1A to Long An Province and the Mekong Delta has paved the way for a number of property projects, including Novaland, 577, Nam Long and Vietcomreal.

The new Võ Văn Kiệt Avenue has also spurred development of apartment buildings near the road after a couple of years of stagnancy.

The newly upgraded and enlarged Mai Chí Thọ Street and Hà Nội Highway, which connect HCM City with Đồng Nai Province, have also jump-started a construction boom of apartment building projects in the area.

Figures from the HCM City Department of Transport show that over 50 property projects, with more than a total of 30,000 apartments, have been built along these two roads.

In addition, construction of the Metro Line No 1 in HCM City has helped promote the property market, despite financial challenges faced by the metro project.

Since 2007, when construction of the Metro Line No 1 began, at least 20 real estate projects with a total of 20,000 apartments have been built along the route.

Bùi Xuân Cường, director of the city’s Department of Transport, said the city would develop more roads and bridges in suburban areas as more residents move from the inner city to suburbs.

“It’s easy to see the rapid growth of property in areas where transport infrastructure has developed. This is a sign of equal growth of the city’s main property areas,” Cường said.

Nguyễn Thành Phong, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the city had given priority to investment in transport projects, and had given red-carpet invitations to potential investors.

The city has called for investments in 100 projects under the PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) form, mainly investment in transport infrastructure, which also benefits neighboring southern provinces.

Sử Ngọc Khương from Savills Việt Nam said HCM City’s policy on transport projects has been on the right track, with shifts from inner to suburban districts.

More property projects when the Cát Lái Bridge opened, linking the city with Đồng Nai Province’s Nhơn Trạch District, and after the HCM City–Long Thành–Dầu Giây–Phan Thiết Expressway was built in 2009.

When the property market in Bình Dương Province faced stagnant growth, the property market in Dĩ An, a district bordering HCM City, showed signs of revival, with apartments in 10 property projects on sale since 2013.

Similarly, with the extension of Lê Trọng Tấn and Trường Chinh streets, and National Highway No 22 linking western areas of HCM City with Đức Hoà District in Long An Province, the property market of Đức Hoà District expanded, with  nearly 20 apartment building projects on sale since 2010.

The developers of these property projects told customers that it would take only a half hour to travel by motorbike from HCM City’s inner district to the apartments in Đức Hoà District, according to Khương.

“The region’s transport infrastructure development has paved the way for the sustainable development of the real estate market in HCM City and neighbouring provinces,” Khương said.

Water, energy exhibitions to be held in HCM City
     
Two leading exhibitions, by the water and energy industries, will take place in HCM City next November with hundreds of companies from 38 countries and territories taking part.

Organised by UBM Asia, Viet Nam’s leading international water supply, sanitation, water resources and purification event, Vietwater 2017, and most important renewable energy and energy efficiency exhibition, RE & EE Viet Nam 2017, will take place at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7.

The latest innovations and products like pumps, wastewater treatment technologies, water filters and solar and other renewable energy technologies and equipment will be showcased at the exhibitions.

There will be 14 pavilions put up by the UK, EU, France, Germany, Australia, Finland, Belgium, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Hungary, Thailand, and Taiwan.

“This is the third year that the two exhibitions have been organised at the same time,” Eliane Van Doorn, marketing development director, Southeast Asia, UBM Asia, said.

“The exhibition hopes to bring more co-operation opportunities to Vietnamese and foreign companies in the water and energy sectors.

“We hope that technology transfer between Viet Nam and foreign countries will also get a boost.”

There will be several conferences on the sidelines with experts from Viet Nam and other countries taking part.

The organisers told a press conference that Viet Nam has a total of 800 urban areas that provide 8 million cubic metres of water daily to their inhabitants, a 1.6-fold increase in the last 10 years.

The rate of urban water loss is also high at 24 per cent, they said.

The country only has 37 urban sewage treatment plants with a capacity of 890,000cu.m per day, and this means only 12-13 per cent of waste-water is collected and processed, they said.

Viet Nam’s renewable energy market has great potential, they said.

The Government’s renewable energy development strategy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 and provide most households access to modern, sustainable and reliable energy at reasonable tariffs.

The exhibitions are important events in encouraging the transfer of innovation and technologies, strengthening business co-operation and attracting investment in the water and energy industries.

VN Index falls after late selling
     
Shares fell slightly on the HCM Stock Exchange on Friday as large-cap stocks lost steam and declined on investors’ late selling.

Viet Nam’s benchmark VN Index on the southern market closed down 0.05 per cent at 804.42 points after having risen as much as 0.5 per cent during the morning session.

It also reversed from a 0.13 per cent drop on Thursday. Friday’s fall also marked a weekly loss of 0.3 per cent for the VN Index.

More than 139.4 million shares were traded on the HCM City market, worth VND3.1 trillion (US$137.6 million).

Friday’s trading figures dropped 27.6 per cent in volume and 20 per cent in value from the previous session’s numbers.

Large-cap stocks were unable to maintain their prolonged growth rates as investors increased selling to earn profits when the market was coming to a close.

Half of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation and trading liquidity in the VN30 Index declined while 12 others advanced and three stayed unchanged.

BIDV Securities Company (BSC) said in its daily report that low investor confidence must be blamed for the decline of the stock market as it pulled down market trading liquidity and created strong selling pressure on local shares.

According to Vietnam Investment Securities Company (IVS), after tapping the intraday high of 808.77 points, the benchmark VN Index weakened and finished lower than Thursday’s ending level as investors increased their selling in two stocks – brewer Sabeco (SAB) and PetroVietnam Gas (GAS).

SAB fell 2.3 per cent after having reached its intraday highest growth rate of 2.4 per cent. Shares of the largest brewer jumped 4.3 per cent on Thursday.

GAS dropped more than 2.2 per cent after it had gained total 4.3 per cent in the previous six sessions.

Other large-cap stocks that also weighed down the southern market index included gas station operator Petrolimex (PLX), consumer goods producer Masan (MSN) and Sacombank (STB).

Among the three stocks, MSN was down 1.1 per cent after having risen as much as 2 per cent during the session. MSN gained 1.5 per cent on Thursday.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX Index inched up 0.21 per cent to end at 107.66 points. The northern market index had dropped total 0.4 per cent in the previous two sessions.

Nearly 62.5 million shares were traded on the northern bourse, worth VND528.8 billion. 

Ethnic women to access formal banking services
     
LienVietPostBank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CARE International in Viet Nam to launch a pilot programme aimed at helping ethnic minority women access formal banking services.

The women will be able to access these services via a mobile application called Vi-Viet e-wallet.

Under the MoU signed on September 28, the two sides will select six self-managed financial groups in Thanh Nua and Hua Thanh communes of the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien and train them to use Vi-Viet e-wallet for the following purposes -- selling group shares, transferring money, lending and other services.

There are more than 30 self-managed financial groups comprising 900 members in the two communes, who are Thai ethnic minority people with low and unstable income ranging from VND1-3 million (US$44-133) per month.

The self-regulatory finance group is a collection of 15 to 30 members (mostly women) who make regular savings through the purchase of shares at regular meetings. These savings are used to lend with interest to members, who agree to develop their livelihood, promote business investment and spend on other purposes.

In Viet Nam, there are 1,500 self-managed financial groups of some 28,000 members, of which 111 groups are in Dien Bien Province, with about 3,000 members. This is a micro-finance model that CARE International has successfully researched and tested in many countries around the world, bringing significant benefits to its members through savings products, by profiting from the savings and gaining access to larger and longer term loans and facing low risk due to discipline of the self-governing group.

With LienVietPostBank, this programme will help increase the number of customers using the e-wallet in remote areas and support the development of this type of banking service.

The partnership programme between LienVietPostBank and CARE International in Viet Nam is expected to be piloted from September to December 2017 in the province, and will then be expanded if it really brings social benefits, such as increase in access to formal financial services, capacity of savings and ability of ethnic minority women to do business.

This pilot programme is part of the project Comprehensive Financing for Ethnic Minority Women (FinLINK) currently funded by CARE in Viet Nam with support from Visa Inc. The main objective of the project is to help ethnic minority women access formal banking services through mobile platforms.