Industry insiders are scrutinising a Ministry of Planning and Investment draft to the decree regulating investment into innovative startups that has recently been publicised to elicit comments from the public.

According to Truong Ly Hoang Phi, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Startup Support Centre, the decree has recognised the difference between innovative startup investment funds and securities investment funds, so new regulations could help inspire reform and an innovative spirit. 

As of now, regulations only exist on the operation of securities investment funds based on the Law on Securities Business, paired with stringent associated mandates such as the one requiring that each public securities investment fund has to have at least 100 investors and a total value of sold fund certificates above the VND50 billion (US$2.2 million) threshold.

Some investors have already established firms that invest in innovative startups. But the regulations covering investment into startups are still not in place.

Meanwhile, financial investments such as securities and investment into micro-financial institutions as well as non-bank financial institutions are specified as conditional business fields entitled to specific licensing procedures.

“Capital is being put into innovative startups by investors, but in different forms as the investors are keen on this kind of investment. If legalised, investment into innovative startups will become a new investment trend luring new investment sources,” Phi said.

Do Tu Anh, deputy director of the Supporting Centre for Youth Startups (part of the Vietnam Youth Union), said, “Investment into innovative startups must be taken as adventurous investment, with the possibility for failure bigger than that for success, so investors need to be secure in the legal aspects.”

Representing the draft decree’s compiling board, Bui Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Business Development Department, said “Investment into innovative startups does exist. Our principle in penning the decree is not to hinder what is doing well. Instead, we find it necessary to push up new capital sources. But to the compiling board, this is a new issue.”

In a recent workshop seeking comments to the draft decree regulating investment into innovative startups, Thuy had listed a series of issues in need of further consultation.

For instance, the compiling board is considering whether or not there should be a regulation that innovative startup funds must only carry out innovative investments, or  they can diversify their holdings to include other forms of investment.

Another question on the table is the quantity of startups that an innovative startup fund can manage. Can they invest in multiple or just one company?

Cao Dang Vinh, an expert from the Ministry of Justice, thinks the regulations should carry an ‘open spirit’.

“As this is a new investment form, we need to stimulate investor engagement. Adjustments may come later when new issues arise in practice,” Vinh said.

He also added that one should neither limit operational scope of innovative investment firms nor put a cap on the number of funds under management of innovative startup fund management companies.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of Saigon Innovation Hub, stressed the authenticity of innovative startup investment.

“In fact, innovative startup projects do not want big investment from funds to preserve their startup nature. Most negotiated investments stand below 20 per cent of firms’ chartered capital only,” Tuoc said. “It is now more essential to have in place a regulatory framework helping to open the door to innovative investment. The practice will answer how to troubleshoot the remaining issues.”

Customs clearance payments to go online
     
In the next few months, tax payments for customs clearance will be made available online, round-the-clock.

This will allow enterprises to pay tax at anytime and from anywhere, provided they have internet access, said the General Department of Customs.

The department said that it planned to expand the 24/7 online tax payment scheme to all 36 commercial banks, which signed collection agreements with the General Department of Customs, in November and December.

The 24/7 online tax payment scheme had been initially piloted at five commercial banks, namely Vietcombank, Vietinbank, BIDV, MBBank and Techcombank, from late October with around 100 successful transactions in the past week.

The department’s statistics revealed that online tax payment via banks accounted for 90 per cent of the customs’ budget collection. However, many banks currently did not allow tax payments after the cut-off time, which would cause delays in customs clearance.

Luu Manh Tuong, Director of Import-Export Tax Department, said at a press conference on Tuesday, that with the implementation of 24/7 online tax payment via banks and customs clearance projects, taxpayers can make payments at anytime, even during out-of-office hours, weekends or holidays, which will help reduce the time for completing customs clearance procedures and reduce cash payments.

For example, if a batch of goods arrived at 5p.m. on Friday and the firm could not pay tax because it was past working hours, it would have to wait until next week to pay tax for customs clearance. Now, with the 24/7 online tax payment, the firm can pay tax online immediately for customs clearance. With a registered digital signature and a letter of authorization, firms can access the website, https://epayment.customs.gov.vn/epaymentportal/login, to pay tax online.

As of March, 126 major customs procedures, or 70 per cent of the sector’s procedure counts, were conducted online and 42 others are scheduled to go online by the end of this year.

From the beginning of this year to October 25, around 8.86 million files for customs clearance of 74,600 firms were handled online.

Workers face daunting Industry 4.0 challenge
     
State-owned enterprises and local businesses should pay due attention to training workers for the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) so that they are not rendered redundant, experts say.

With Industry 4.0 likely to replace people on production lines with machines to improve productivity, reduce labour costs as well as administrative cost, workers in all countries face a daunting challenge, economist Le Dang Doanh said on the sidelines of the forum held last week on co-operation between Viet Nam and Japan for Asia-Pacific economic integration.

He said many Vietnamese companies had already started investing in automation, dismissing hundreds of workers.

About 86 per cent of Viet Nam’s apparel and footwear workers are expected to lose their jobs in the next 15 years, Doanh said.

Le Tien Truong, General Director of Vietnam Textile and Garment Group, said the textile and garment industry was using a lot of basic-skills labour, so it would be greatly affected by the Industry 4.0.

In the three main stages of the textile and garment industry, including making yarn, dyeing and garment-making, the yarn and dyeing stages are being automated and information technology used to increase productivity and reduce labour costs, he said.

The footwear industry in Viet Nam is also facing a similar situation, said Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of Viet Nam Leather and Footwear Association. Therefore, companies should invest in new policies and train workers, he said.

The problem is that Vietnamese workers have to change their mindset and learn to do new jobs and be willing to taken on other work when they lose a job, he said.

Another Industry 4.0 challenge is that millions of workers losing their jobs need opportunities to learn, but at 35-40, it is not easy to acquire new knowledge and skills within the current educational system in the country, he added.

Doanh said that the State should come up with solutions to provide training in new kills for workers and create more job opportunities for them, Doanh said.

A representative of the Nguyen Tat Thanh University said that Industry 4.0 is posing many big challenges to Viet Nam’s educational system.

Universities will have to revise their programmes to provide the skills and knowledge as also encourage innovative thinking and adaptability to changing work requirements, he said. 

Khaisilk shops raided in HCM City
     
HCM City authorities have raided three Khaisilk shops for possible trade fraud following orders from the city People’s Committee.

A Facebook post by a company last week that a Khaisilk shop at 113 Hang Gai Street, Ha Noi, had sold to it 60 Chinese silk products instead of Vietnamese ones was reported in the media, causing both central and city authorities to open investigations.

The company said further one of the scarves had two tags, one saying “Khaisilk Made in Viet Nam” and the other saying “Made in China.” But in the rest of the scarves the “Made in China” label had been removed.

On Tuesday afternoon, market watch officials from HCM City’s District 1 raided three Khaisilk shops on Dong Khoi and Ton Duc streets. They had been closed by the owner to “review their products”, the director of the city Industry and Trade Department, Pham Thanh Kien, had said earlier.

The raiding officials got them opened and after a three-hour check took away 10 boxes containing around 1,000 silk scarves, ties and t-shirts to their headquarters.

The head of HCM City’s Market Enforcement Sub-department, Phan Hoan Kiem, said the products are being checked to determine if Khaisilk is guilty of fraud.

It is licensed only to sell Vietnamese products and not to import. 

Korean corporation scouts for investment opportunities in Can Tho
     
Representatives of the YK Corporation of South Korea have shown interest in investing in National Highway No 91C in Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta.

Le Tien Dung, deputy director of Can Tho City’s Department of Transportation, said that National Highway No 91C would be more than 30km long and 31m wide, with four large bridges and 21 smaller ones.

The cost of the project is expected to be VND15 trillion (about US$ 714 million). The highway will connect all industrial parks with the Cai Cui Port.

Jang Sang Kyu, chairman of the YK Corporation in South Korea, said in a meeting on Tuesday with the city’s People’s Committee that South Korea enterprises were interested in many projects in Can Tho, including National Highway No 91C.

YK Corporation has proposed two plans. The first would be investment under the BOT (Build-Operation-Transfer) mode within a 30-year period.

In the other plan, Can Tho City would invest 20-30 per cent of the total costs and the rest would be loaned from the South Korea government.

Vo Thanh Thong, chairman of Can Tho City’s People Committee, said the city wanted to invest in National Highway No 91C 10 years ago but lacked capital. He said the city preferred to invest in the highway via the BOT mode.

Jang Sang Kyu of YK Corporation also proposed investing in an 18-hole golf course covering 100ha in Can Tho City. The city has one golf course scheduled to open in 2018.

The city will send the proposal to the Prime Minister, Thong said. 

Honey exporters eye EU market
     
The European market has high demand for honey, offering great opportunities for Vietnamese honey producers to boost exports.

But honey quality needs to improve if beekeepers who make honey want to expand markets, speakers at a seminar said on Wednesday in HCM City.

Most of the Vietnamese honey output is exported and meets the EU’s technical requirements on chemical residue in honey products, according to Le Thanh Hoa, deputy director of the Viet Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Viet Nam).

In 2013, Viet Nam was allowed to export honey to the EU market, but Viet Nam’s honey exports to the market accounted for a modest ratio compared to the country’s total honey exports.

Hoa said the seminar aimed to help local businesses understand more about EU market demand as well as quality and technical requirements.

Dinh Quyet Tam, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Beekeepers Association, said Viet Nam produced 49,560 metric tonnes of honey last year. Of that amount, 40,174 metric tonnes were exported, with exports to the US accounting for more than 38,500 metric tonnes and the EU at only 1,330 metric tonnes.

EU demand for honey is as high as that of the US, he said, adding that honey consumption is expected to remain high.

“Europe honey production is not self-sufficient and is dependent on honey imports from other countries because the European beekeeping sector has shrunk in size.”

This trend is expected to remain in the coming years, offering opportunities for Vietnamese honey exporters, Tam said.

In addition, when the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement comes into effect, it will offer more favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to export honey to the EU market.

Speaking at the seminar, Nikolaus Bieger, an international expert with the EU-Mutrap project, said: “European importers are keen to buy honey from Viet Nam, so this is good news for local exporters.”

Vietnamese honey exporters to the EU must comply with legally binding requirements, including those on food safety and traceability, hygiene and control, pesticide residue and genetically modified organisms, among others.

The Vietnamese Government has established a legal basis to export Vietnamese honey into the EU, but Vietnamese honey faces enormous problems to be accepted in the EU market, according to Bieger.

The problems include high glycerine and yeast content and acidity levels. All these parameters indicate ‘unripe’ harvested honey, and consequently non-desired fermentation or ‘stopped or stuck’ fermentation, he said.

“European consumers don’t want fermented honey because it changes the odour and taste. So if you really want to export or to raise significantly your exports to Europe, you have to change something in production,” he added.

Besides these main issues, there are problems with feed residue found in honey produced by bees raised with soybeans.

“For us honey is a health product, so it should be something pure without contamination or any other changes,” he said. “The solution is to find resources which can provide protein to bees, which is now being replaced with soya. But this is difficult.”

The other solution would be to have more space for bees to have better separation from feed, pollen and honey by adding another section to the bee-breeding box, he said.

Currently, bees are bred in a single box, so when honey is harvested, bee feed can easily mix with honey, he said. This means that producers must improve their methods of operating.

Nguyen Viet Cuong, CEO of Dak Nguyen Hong Company, one of the largest honey exporters in the country, said besides the US market, Vietnamese honey exporters should promote exports to EU and other markets to diversify their markets and avoid risks.

Local exporters should also focus more on improving product quality and building brands for their products.

The seminar, which discussed expansion of Vietnamese honey exports to the EU market, was organised by SPS Viet Nam with the support of the EU-Mutrap project. 

Quang Ninh eyes sustainable tourism development

Bestowed with beautiful landscapes and abundant historic and cultural relic sites, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh is working to promote sustainable tourism development.

In a bid to make tourism a spearhead economic sector with large contribution to local gross domestic products (GDP), the province is working to improve business climate, develop tourism infrastructure, build new tourism products and better service quality.

Besides cultural tours of heritages, festivals and eco-tourism areas, the province is calling for investment in large-scale and high-quality tourism projects.

Since the end of 2013, Quang Ninh has attracted more than 100 projects with total investment capital of more than 5.5 billion USD, nearly half of which was poured into Ha Long city, mainly the tourism sector.

Besides Vietnamese investors like Tuan Chau, Vingroup, Sun Group and FLC, Quang Ninh also saw the presence of billion-dollar projects of giants from the US, China, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

The province has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and some 2,000 islets which account for two-thirds of the total in Vietnam. 

The spectacular stretch of coast connects the UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay with majestic natural scenery, Bai Tu Long Bay, Van Don and Co To islands and Tra Co beach with Cat Ba National Park in the northern port city of Hai Phong. 

Along with the renowned Ha Long Bay, Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung, Dai beaches in Van Don island district and Tra Co and Vinh Thuc in Mong Cai city have been increasingly attractive to tourists thanks to their breathtaking seas and coral reefs.

The locality also boasts huge potential for developing spiritual-cultural tourism as it houses over 600 historic and cultural relic sites.

Four tourism hubs have been formed, including Ha Long (landscapes, culture and entertainment), Mong Cai-Tra Co (marine tourism integrated with trade activities), Van Don- Co To (spiritual, coastal and entertainment tourism) and Uong Bi-Dong Trieu –Quang Yen (spiritual-cultural tourism).

Meanwhile, Binh Lieu, Hai Ha and Cam Pha are also alluring both domestic and foreign tourists.

Quang Ninh has directed departments and investors to open air routes from/to Van Don international airport, which is expected to be put into operation in April 2018.

The construction of the airport began in 2015 under the build-operate-transfer form with total investment of nearly 7.5 trillion VND (330 million USD) by Sun Group. The province also invested 700 billion VND (30.8 million USD) in land clearance.

Quang Ninh set a target of welcoming 15 million tourists, comprising 7 million foreigners, and earning 30 trillion -40 trillion VND (1.3 billion -1.76 billion USD) in tourism revenue by 2020 while tourism activities are expected to contribute 10-15 percent of local budget income. The sector will provide jobs for some 130,000 local labourers.

In 2016, the province received 8.3 million tourist arrivals, a year-on-year increase of seven percent, raking in over 13 trillion VND (571 million USD) in revenue, up 23 percent, according to the provincial Department of Tourism. 

Vincom Retail to debut on HOSE in early November

Vincom Retail, the retail arm of the real estate conglomerate Vingroup, will debut on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange on November 6.

Vincom Retail will trade more than 1.9 billion shares on the southern bourse coded VRE at a debut price of 33,800 VND (1.5 USD) per share. Share prices have a range of movement of 20 percent on the first day of trading.

At that price, the company’s market capitalisation will reach 64.25 trillion VND, equal to 2.8 billion USD, making it among the top 20 largest companies by market capitalisation in Vietnam.

The firm has charter capital of 19 trillion VND (around 837 million USD) and is the operator of Vingroup’s 41 commercial centres with popular brands like Vincom Center, Vincom Mega Mall and Vincom Plaza.

The operation of commercial centres is among the most profitable segments of Vingroup. According to the corporation’s first-half financial report, the retail segment contributed some 2.88 trillion VND (128.6 million USD) in revenue and 1.45 trillion (63.8 million USD) in pre-tax profit for Vingroup.

Bloomberg reported in August that Vincom Retail held about 60 percent of total market share in the Vietnamese retail sector.

Vincom Retail has two foreign shareholders – Warburg Pincus and Credit Suisse AG – which own 15.17 percent and 5.06 percent of the mall operator, respectively.

In August, Bloomberg reported that Vincom Retail was planning a domestic initial public offering worth some 600 million USD, which could become Vietnam’s largest-ever share sale in the private sector.

The last debut offering that topped 100 million USD was from local budget airline VietJet Aviation JSC at the end of 2016.

Reuters on October 15 reported that Vincom Retail “launched its IPO in a deal worth up to 713 million USD,” which consisted of  “380.2 million shares in the institutional tranche and another 19 million for the retail tranche, offered in an indicative range of 37,000-40,600 VND per share.”

Japan’s Miniso brand to expand outlets in Vietnam

Miniso, a Japanese lifestyle brand, has announced it is increasing the number of shops in Vietnam by 10 times through franchising, according to vtv.vn.

Entering the Vietnamese market in September, Miniso currently has 28 shops in the country, mainly in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and central Nghe An province.

The brand planned to open 100 shops in Vietnam in 2017 and will launch its initial public offering (IPO) in 2018.

It also announced that singer Son Tung M-TP has chosen as the brand ambassador in Vietnam.

Miniso was founded in Japan in September 2013 by Miyake Jyunya and his Chinese partner and president of the company Guo Fu. The following month, they opened an office in China’s Guangzhou province.

Miniso sells households tools, electronic accessories, beauty products, gifts and toys. Miniso’s products are familiar, but with new shapes and functions.

Ways sought to boost honey exports to EU

Vietnam has been allowed to export honey to the European Union (EU) since March 2013, but its shipments to the market account for a small proportion of the country’s total honey exports.

The information was heard at a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on November 1 where participants discussed ways to maintain and expand markets for Vietnamese honey in the EU. 

The seminar was hosted by the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) with the assistance of the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP).

By September 15, Vietnam exported around 29,000 tonnes of honey, of which only 1,469 tonnes was shipped to the EU.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has carried out numerous restructuring programmes in order to improve the quality and value of agricultural products.

However, to help honey gain a firm foothold in the EU market, it is necessary to improve breeding, preservation and packing processes, participants said.

They asked enterprises to raise awareness about promoting their products and improving Vietnamese honey brands.

Dinh Quyet Tam, Vice President of the Vietnam Beekeepers’ Association, proposed Vietnam solve quality challenges in honey production and processing, including moisture, yeast, feed residue and honey colour.

He advised enterprises and exporters to grasp market trends to meet European consumers’ taste.

Quang Ninh puts forth solutions to deal with tax arrears

The Taxation Department of the northeastern coastal province of Quang Ninh has taken measures to deal with tax arrears of businesses in order to fulfil the state budget collection target this year.

The department has assisted businesses, specially the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited – a big contributor to the provincial budget – and enterprises located in economic and industrial zones and put forth specific solutions to solve corporate tax arrears.

Meanwhile, the Customs Department has tightened post-customs clearance inspections and boosted the implementation of automated customs clearance.

Quang Ninh’s total budget revenues reached almost 29.4 trillion VND (1.29 billion USD) in the first 10 months of this year, equal to 92 percent of the annual estimates or 94 percent of the figure in the same period last year.

Of the total, domestic revenues were valued at 21.1 trillion VND (931 million USD), equivalent to only 80 percent of the annual estimates.

Earlier, the province set a target of 39 trillion VND (1.71 billion USD) in total state budget collection in 2017, of which 29 trillion USD (1.27 billion USD) comes from domestic resources.

Therefore, the province’s total state budget revenues, especially domestic revenues, have yet to achieve growth as the set targets.

Revenues failing to achieve average growth rates include revenues from mining licence granting (1.6 trillion VND or 54 percent of the annual estimates), import-export tax collection (8.1 trillion VND or 51 percent of the annual estimates) and from foreign-invested enterprises (1.47 trillion VND or 68 percent of the annual estimates).

During the January-October period, Quang Ninh province’s budget spending reached 12.7 trillion VND (558.8 million USD), equivalent to 67 percent of the annual estimates. Of the total, 6.27 trillion VND was worth of development investment and 6.42 trillion VND was regular expenses.

Quang Ninh’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 is expected to reach 11.7 percent and 10.2 percent for the whole year.

To achieve a growth rate of over 10 percent, Quang Ninh has devised numerous measures, focusing on collecting local budget funds, controlling budget spending, and reforming administrative procedures.

The locality will also work to remove difficulties for businesses and hasten the construction of infrastructure projects at industrial and economic zones and transport infrastructure facilities as well as create trust among investors and people.

In the first nine months of this year, the province gained important outcomes in various fields, with growth rising by 9.7 percent with the economic structure shifting to services. 

The business investment environment and competitiveness were improved, and total social investment capital increased 9.5 percent.

The province launched the Business Café programme, built a survey tool for social networking, and establishing hotlines at all departments and sectors as well as organising quarterly and monthly meetings with enterprises.

In 2017, Quang Ninh had an initiative of implementing a social networking survey tool and building a fanpage to update businesses’ reports on administrative procedures relating to economic organisations.

The collection of opinions from businesses through the social network has helped authorities have more information to analyse and evaluate the business situation and build policies suitable with the local conditions.

Furthermore, direct dialogues between local leaders and entrepreneurs in the Business Café programme have been conducted since 2016 to weather difficulties for businesses.

EVNNPC produces over 5 billion kWh of electricity in October

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN)’s Northern Power Corporation (EVNNPC) has reported that total commercial power it produced in October reached more than 5 billion kWh, up 11.45 percent over the same period last year.

In the first 10 months of 2017, the firm’s total production hit 47.56 billion kWh, up 12.36 percent year on year and equivalent to 82.44 percent of the yearly plan. Of which, 63.43 percent was supplied to construction and industry, a rise of 15.54 percent, while 30.23 percent was for daily use.

In October, the corporation put into operation 14 new power supply works and transmission lines, raising the capacity and reliability of the power grid.

Alongside, EVNNPC also completed all 14 customer service criteria, with service request response taking only 5.15 days, down 1.85 days compared to the regulation. It informed power charges through SMS to 14.74 million customers in October and 157.13 million in the January-October period, an increase of nearly 34 million compared to the same period last year.  

The firm also took prompt measures to resume power supply to northern mountainous and central localities affected by abnormal floods in October.

In November, the EVNNPC aims to continue solutions to ensure safe and stable power supply to customers, while reducing power loss and speeding up underway works.

Can Tho’s export value hits 1.43 billion USD in ten months

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho’s goods and service export revenue reached nearly 1.43 billion USD in the first nine months of 2017, up 15.38 percent year on year.
Of that sum, earnings from goods exports were estimated at over 1.12 billion USD, accounting for 85.1 percent of the annual target.

The growth was buoyed by sharp rises in shipments of rice and aquatic products in the first ten months, said Nguyen Minh Toai, Director of the city’s Department of Industry and Trade.

Local exporters have boosted the export of aquatic products to demanding markets such as the US, Europe, Japan and China, which accounted for 45 percent of the city’s export value.

Rice export, accounting for 26 percent of the city’s export revenue, also recorded a strong growth in the reviewed period, amid the world’s falling output and rising price.

Can Tho has provided support for local rice and aquatic product exporters, particularly in ensuring supplies.

More than 330 mln USD of G-bond mobilised in October

The Hanoi Stock Exchange successfully held 15 auctions in October, mobilising over 7.51 trillion VND (330.6 million USD) of bonds issued by the State Treasury, up 45.5 percent over September.

The ratio of winning bids reached 60.5 percent of the offerings.

The coupon annual rates were 4.50-4.65 percent for five-year bonds, 4.83 percent for seven-year, 5.42-5.90 percent for ten-year and 6.20 percent for 15-year ones.

Compared to September, the coupon rates of five-year and seven-year State Treasury bonds decreased, while those for 10-year term increased.

Meanwhile, outright transaction on more than 952 million bonds worth over 104.6 trillion VND was made in the secondary market in October, down 10.9 percent over the previous month. Repo (repurchase agreement) transaction was also made on over 1.047 billion Government bonds, valued at more than 106.1 trillion VND, up 17.7 percent over September.

Foreign investors spent over 4.5 trillion VND on outright purchases and sold over 1.8 trillion VND, while making repo sale of over 345 billion VND and no repo purchase.

ADB offers US$170 million to support green, resilient urban infrastructure in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved US$170 million in loans to help upgrade urban infrastructure and address climate change in the three secondary cities of Ha Giang, Vinh Yen and Hue.

According to ADB, there are over 30 million people living in urban areas in Vietnam, but the impact of urbanisation remains uneven across the country. Unlike the capital city of Hanoi and other highly developed urban centres, secondary cities - with populations between 50,000-300,000, such as Hue in the central region and Vinh Yen and Ha Giang in the northern part of the country, are lagging behind. Less than 60% of households in secondary cities have access to clean water and only 10% of wastewater is treated properly.

Satoshi Ishii, a senior urban development specialist at ADB, said that urbanisation has had a positive impact on Vietnam’s growth but a range of cities still lack key urban infrastructure services and remain vulnerable to climate change, particularly flooding.

ADB is looking forward to working with the Provincial People’s Committees of Thua Thien-Hue, Vinh Phuc, and Ha Giang, as well as the administrative authorities of their provincial capital cities of Hue, Vinh Yen, and Ha Giang, to ensure that they are green and climate-resilient, while enhancing their economic competitiveness, Satoshi Ishii added.

The Secondary Green Cities Development Project is expected to help make these urban centres become more livable, environmentally friendly and climate-resilient, thereby, benefiting approximately 116,000 households.

For Vinh Yen, the project will construct a new wastewater treatment system, upgrade 66.1 km of drainage control, dredge the Dam Vac Lake, and develop 44.5 ha of new public green spaces.

In Hue city, the project will upgrade 21.9 km of drainage pipelines, reconstruct 15.9 km of road surfaces and drainage, and develop 17.2 ha of green spaces, among others.

In Ha Giang, about 7 km of urban drainage will be upgraded, along with 5.6 km of river embankments, a 6.2 km road and a 150 m bridge will be improved to facilitate the urban road network.

Apart from the loans, ADB will also administer a total of US$14.1 million in technical assistance with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, while offering US$6 million in non-refundable aid from the Global Environment Facility and the Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund.

The technical assistance will ensure a green and resilient city development approach across government agencies through policy advice and capacity building, before replicating the approach in other cities in Vietnam.

South Korea’s Yakin Group to develop $700-million highway in Can Tho

Yakin Group from South Korea plans to develop a series of projects in the southern city of Can Tho, especially the 91C Highway project with a total investment capital of VND15.1 trillion ($666.2 million), according to newswire Saigontimes.

Accordingly, the highway will have a total length of 30.12 kilometres and a surface width of 31 metres, with nine intersections and 25 overpasses. The construction will be divided into two phases.

At a working session with leaders of the Can Tho People’s Committee, both the investor and the  leaders reached a compromise to develop the project under the build-offer-transfer (BOT) form.

Jang Sang Kyu, chairman of Yakin, expected that the company will be permitted to charge fees for 30 years to recover the investment capital. However, the representative of the Can Tho People’s Committee said that the duration for recovering the investment capital will be considered based on the investment capital and the fee rate, thus the duration for recovering the investment capital may be either longer or shorter than the duration offered by the investor.

Along with the BOT highway project, Yakin intends to develop a 100-hectare golf course, including a five-star hotel.

According to the leader of the Can Tho People’s Committee, the city has will have to seeking prime ministerial approval for the investor’s proposal.

Yakin Group assists real estate owners, investors, and builders with the planning, coordination, and control of construction projects including the construction of new buildings, the expansion of existing ones, and changing the use of projects.

HCMC’s export turnover posts year on year increase

HCMC’s total export turnover was estimated to reach $29.15 billion during the first ten months of 2017, a year on year increase of 13.3 percent, reported the city People’s Committee.
 
Excluding crude oil, the turnover hit $26.6 billion, up 23.7 percent over the same period last year.
Export growth rate was 86.3 percent to Singapore, 65.6 percent to Myanmar, 35.5 percent to India, 34.9 percent to Malaysia, 34 percent to Thailand and 22.6 percent to China.
Items maintaining high export growth rate comprise rubber; computer, electronic products and components; transport means and accessories.
Import turnover was estimated to hit $35.17 billion, increasing 15.4 percent over the same period last year.

Few local SMEs join global trade

The number of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have joined global trade networks and have trade relationship with international partners makes up a small proportion, lower than in regional countries, heard a seminar in Hanoi City on October 31.

Held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Standard Chartered Bank, the event was aimed at supporting SMEs to access international trade.

VCCI general secretary Pham Thi Thu Hang said Vietnam has clinched a slew of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. These are channels for Vietnam to join the global value chain.

Such trade agreements have brought about huge economic benefits such as eliminating tariffs, removing non-tariff barriers, and attracting foreign

direct investments, she said. However, only large enterprises are able to engage in international trade.
Research by the Institute of Asian Studies shows the percentage of Vietnamese SMEs joining international trade is lower than in regional countries.

In particular, though local SMEs account for a staggering 96% of operational enterprises, they make up a mere 20% of the country’s total export revenue. The figures for the Philippines and Thailand are 33% and 34% respectively.

The proportion of local SMEs participating in global networks represents 21% while the figure for Malaysia is up to 46%.

Pham Hoang Tien, director of VCCI’s SMEs Promotion Center, cited a survey of the chamber as saying that a whopping 65% of local SMEs are having trouble penetrating foreign markets. Local SMEs also have difficulty gaining access to capital sources, and building business links with other enterprises at home and abroad.

According to the research, around 14% of SMEs said they have customers from the FDI sector but FDI enterprises said their domestic purchases – at about 26% of their demand – are mainly from foreign partners operating in the country.

At the seminar on October 31, Tien also briefed representatives of SMEs on incentives, including the Law on Support for SMEs, the Fund for SME Development, and other preferential policies provided for in Government Resolutions 19 and 35.

Meanwhile, bank representatives introduced their preferential credit packages for SMEs to help them take part in global trade networks.

Software chain gets nod to admit associate members

The Quang Trung Software City (QTSC) chain can officially admit other software parks and centers into its chain, according to a decision of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Decision No. 1766/QD-BTTTT on organization and operation of the QTSC chain shows that the chain can attract other concentrated information technology (IT) and software parks and IT centers under its umbrella to carry out IT business activities in line with the functions and duties of concentrated IT parks prescribed in a Government decree.

Lam Dong, Nam Dinh and Tien Giang provinces have expressed interest in centralized IT parks under the umbrella of the QTSC model. Specifically, another QTSC has been planned in Dalat City of Lam Dong Province.

QTSC will play the leading role in promoting the QTSC brand. IT and software parks are encouraged to join QTSC chain voluntarily and will be offered incentives applicable to centralized IT and hi-tech parks.
During the operation, QTSC is entitled to admit new members meeting QTSC standards.

QTSC CEO Lam Nguyen Hai Long said QTSC is the first software city chain in Vietnam. QTSC and the chain’s members will learn from the model of software city chains in other countries, organize training courses, develop key products, carry out investment promotion programs and promote QTSC brand.

The QTSC chain has four members, namely QTSC, QTSC 2, Vietnam National University of HCMC’s IT Park, and Quang Trung-Dalat software park in Lam Dong Province. The chain expects to obtain total revenue of VND9-11 trillion from members and service revenue of VND15-17 trillion, and employ 35,000-40,000 people by 2020.

Domestic cement consumption declines

Domestic cement consumption has declined while outbound sales have risen in the year to date, the Government news website reports.

Data of the Building Materials Department under the Ministry of Construction shows the total cement consumption has reached an estimated 62.89 million tons in the ten-month period, rising by a slight 2% year-on-year and accounting for around 79% of the full-year target.

Of this total, domestic cement sales have fallen 3% year-on-year to around 47.2 million tons, while outbound sales have shot up by a staggering 20% year-on-year to 15.6 million tons.

Industry insiders ascribed the decline to unfavorable weather conditions like heavy rains which affect construction work, resulting in domestic demand shrinking.

The situation may improve in the remainder of the year, as many large construction projects will get off the ground.

Lotte gets blessing for smart complex in Thu Thiem

The HCMC government has awarded South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group an investment registration certificate to develop Eco Smart City in Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2 with a total investment of more than US$885 million, capping months of negotiations.

Lottle Group will spend six years developing the project into a sprawling complex over some 7.5 hectares comprising commercial, financial and residential facilities.

The license is good news for the Korean group, which has pursued this project since 2009. Lotte currently holds a diverse investment portfolio in Vietnam.

Lotte started to sound out opportunities for the project in 2009 and in 2013, it proposed developing the smart complex project in Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2.

In late April, the municipal government picked a consortium comprising Lotte’s four affiliates, namely Lotte Asset Development Co. Ltd, Lotte Shopping Co. Ltd, Hotel Lotte Co. Ltd and Lotte Engineering and Construction Co Ltd. to build the smart city project in Thu Thiem. At the signing ceremony, Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong Bin said the group would develop Eco Smart City into a new landmark in the city.

The project plays an important role in developing a finance, commerce, and services complex, and a multi-functional residential area. The project will apply information technology into the operational management and the improvement of living standards, according to Investment & Construction Authority for Thu Thiem New Urban Area (Thu Thiem ICA).

Of the total area of 7.45 hectares allocated for the project, the investor will develop various buildings and auxiliary facilities on five hectares, while roughly 2.4 hectares will be set aside for technical and traffic infrastructure.

Chairman Shin Dong Bin earlier told local media that the group started doing business in Vietnam in 1996 through a confectionary manufacturing project. The group has expanded its investment portfolio to many other sectors, including commercial center, supermarket, hotel and cinema businesses with total investment capital of US$2 billion and employing about 24,000 people.

In a related development, HCMC took the lead in FDI attraction in the year to October with total capital pledges of US$5.03 billion, accounting for 17.8% of the country’s total, followed by the northern province of Bac Ninh with US$3.19 billion (11.3%), and Thanh Hoa Province with US$3.16 billion (11.2%).

Vietjet Thailand unveils new aircraft livery

Vietjet Thailand on Wednesday unveiled its new aircraft livery on the first day of The Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018 campaign. 

This is one of the main activities in the cooperation framework between Vietjet Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to promote tourism in Thailand in 2018, enhancing the slogan “Unique Thai Local Experience”.

The campaign aims to promote tourism and create added value among domestic and international tourists and to help them enjoy their trips and discover unforgettable experiences in Thailand.

“As part of the Vietjet group, Vietjet Thailand will be the point of connectivity for tourism between Thailand and Việt Nam. We are always willing to contribute to the growth of Thailand’s tourism and economy as a whole, through various activities promoting the destination, culture and tourism of the country, Nguyễn Thị Thúy Bình, CEO of Vietjet Thailand, said.

“The second aircraft with a logo of  The Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018 will be a part of the campaign throughout all journeys. Together with the Thailand Tourism campaign, we will further extend our flight network not only to domestic Thailand, but also to international destinations in Việt Nam and in the region, allowing more local & inbound travelers to enjoy the amazing journeys here,” Bình said.

At the event, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, Thailand, said she believed that the collboration with Vietjet will positively contribute to the growth of tourism and the economies of Thailand and Việt Nam.

“With the campaign Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018, we will further establish better connectivity between country and country, people and people,” she said.

To deliver its commitment in further promoting Thailand, the Vietjet Group recently introduced two new international routes connecting Phuket and Chiang Mai with Việt Nam’s largest tourism and economic hub of HCM City. The new routes, which will be in operation from December 2017, are expected to meet the increasing travel demand between the two countries.

Bluffs Hồ Tràm Strip wins best golf course

The Bluffs Hồ Tràm Strip won the award for best golf course in Việt Nam in 2017, announced in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

With seven rounds of voting, the “Voting for Best Golf Course in Việt Nam” event is organised by the Việt Nam Golf Magazine in co-ordination with the Việt Nam Golf Association (VGA), the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism and the General Department of Sports. The voting is aimed at highlighting Việt Nam’s golf courses and promoting Việt Nam as an attractive destination for tourism and golf.

The award has received the attention of the golf community and Vietnamese and foreign golf investors, as well as the support of the media and communication agencies.

The seventh round voting lasted from January 1, 2017 to August 31, 2017, and voters cast their votes online at www.vietnamgolfmagazine.net. Those competing are 18-hole courses, launched and operated officially before January 2017.

After collecting online votes, members of the judges panel visited most of the golf courses for accurate evaluation and rating. The votes of each of the judges were then reported to the judges panel and international golf experts.

According to the latest count of the judges panel, there were over 86,000 votes this year to award “Best Golf Course in Việt Nam 2017” and 18 other titles, reflecting the interest of the golfing community and the development of the golf industry in Việt Nam.

“In two years, many high-end golf courses have been launched, bringing an interesting experience for golfers. This voting will promote strongly the development of the Việt Nam golf industry”, Đoàn Mạnh Giao, chairman of the judges panel and VGA’s chairman, said.

Sam Thomas, manager of the Golf Environment Organisation, said environmental protection is an aspect the judges panel paid special attention to at this year’s voting.

Beside the quality of facilities, services and benefits, golf courses also need to conserve resources, create community values and enhance the long-term sustainability of golf.

The best golf course award was launched in 2007. This year, 30 out of 43 operating courses in Việt Nam participated in the vote. Many new golf courses also took part this year and received awards such as FLC Sầm Sơn Golf Links with best championship course 2017 and FLC Quy Nhơn Golf Links with best challenging experience course 2017.