Deputy PM orders tightening of public spending

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has ordered the Ministry of Finance to strictly respect the public spending discipline as specified in the Politburo’s Resolution 07.

His order came at a conference held in Hanoi on July 4 on financial issues and State budget in the first six months and tasks for the second half of this year. 

“We have to strengthen discipline in public spending and investment, and improve management of public debt and assets. The Politburo’s Resolution 07 says cutting budget spending is a national policy priority,” Hue said.   He told provinces and cities to make sure that they will not overspend. “Ministries, agencies and localities have to mull solutions if their budget collections are lower than targeted; otherwise, they must cut spending correspondingly,” he said.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung shared Hue’s view, saying that it is a must to cut unnecessary expenditures.

Dung said VND50 trillion proceeds from government bond sales allocated to ministries, agencies and localities this year would be taken away if they are slow in completing procedures for disbursement.

Dung said only VND5 trillion out of the VND50 trillion was realized in the first half of this year and that there were some days left for registration.

Dung was concerned that it is difficult for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to reach VND5,100 trillion (US$224 billion) this year though the Government is resolved to achieve the GDP growth target of 6.7%. This makes budget projections tough, he said. 

“The Government, agencies… should cut spending. This should be done consistently,” Dung said.

He pledged the ministry will enhance discipline in State budget usage, limit the issuance of new policies that would potentially lead to budget revenues falling, and do away with unnecessary spending. At the same time, the ministry will propose measures to step up budget collections and practice thrift to slash budget deficit.

Nguyen Huu Quang, deputy head of the National Assembly’s Financial and Budgetary Committee, told the conference that rising regular expenditures over the years have led budget deficit to balloon.

A Ministry of Finance report showed budget collections in the January-June period amounted to VND563.5 trillion, up 13.9% over the year-earlier period. Meanwhile, budget spending in the period inched up 8.3% year-on-year to almost VND583 trillion.

Prices of goods to be revised due to low inflation

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said prices of certain goods and services will be adjusted this year since inflation is projected to stay very low.

“We will continue to effectively control inflation (this year),” Hue told the conference.

Hue added the Government has worked out three scenarios for inflation in 2017 with the worst-case one putting this year’s core inflation at 3.5% and average inflation at 3.42%.

Hue said the goal for pricing management this year is to speed up the road map that allows prices of certain goods to gradually reach market levels besides inflation control. “We have an opportunity to do this.”

The goods and services include fuels, electricity, healthcare and educational services.

The National Financial Supervisory Committee estimated this year’s average inflation at 2.4%.

The committee said in a report sent to the Government that inflation would continue falling towards the end of 2017, backed by stable prices of food and dining services. So, inflation will be around 2.4% this year if there is no upsurge in prices of goods on the world market and higher prices of public services mulled later this year are excluded.

The committee calculated that if prices of public services are revised up as in the first half of 2016, inflation will add 1.8-2 percentage points. Inflation will increase by a further 0.17 percentage point if the U.S. dollar strengthens against Vietnam dong by 1% and 0.3-0.4 percentage point if power tariffs are adjusted up 8-10%.   

Data of the General Statistics Office indicated the country’s core inflation grew 1.52% in the first half compared to the same period last year.

Despite the low inflation projection, the Deputy PM told the Ministry of Finance to work with the Ministry of Transport over early fee cuts at 44 tollgates for road BOT projects nationwide in accordance with a conclusion of the State Audit of Vietnam.

“Priority should be given to lowering tolls rather than shortening toll collection periods at BOT projects,” Hue said. “Enterprises are grappling with high input costs.”

HCMC to seal fuel pump meters to curb tax losses

Authorities in HCMC will start a project in September to seal fuel pump meters at gas stations citywide to prevent tax losses and fraud.

The city government on Tuesday approved a plan for strengthening the capacity of fuel tax management.

In the plan, the Tax Department of the city will propose establishing a unit responsible for issuing and managing seals in accordance with the law. Fuel trading enterprises will get a notice five days before the pump meters at their gas stations are sealed.

The Tax Department will conduct snap inspections into gas stations to make sure the seals are intact. The department will inform the Department of Science and Technology of violations and propose sanctions.

The plan is aimed at improving fuel trade and tax collections, raising awareness of compliance with regulations, creating a level playing field for fuel traders and protecting the interests of consumers.

The city currently has 532 gas stations. The city will have an additional 372 gas stations by 2030.

The Department of Industry and Trade has forecast that the city will consume 2.3 million cubic meters of fuels by 2020, 3.3 million cubic meters by 2025 and 4.3 million cubic meters by 2030.

Hi-tech agriculture encounters multiple obstacles

Hi-tech agriculture, though identified as the right thing to do with the agricultural sector, is facing a slew of barriers like limited access to markets and loans.

Mere investments in hi-tech agriculture are insufficient to enhance the competitiveness of agricultural products, Le Thanh, head of the Institute of Vietnam Organic Agricultural Economics, said at a seminar in Hanoi on Tuesday.

He stressed hi-tech agriculture is technically a production method, not an economic model, so it should be treated as part of the value chain.

If investors inject a staggering VND3-4 trillion into hi-tech agriculture without having outlets, it would become a heavy burden for enterprises and banks, he explained.

Tran Van Tan, deputy head of the Credit Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, said the application of advanced technology to produce clean products is unprecedented in Vietnam, so there are potential risks associated with hi-tech agriculture projects.

Besides, he said, these projects require hefty investments, hence high product prices. Producers are still grappling with difficulties in selling their products. He urged investors to find buyers for their products and secure deals with suppliers.

The hi-tech value chain will be commercially viable if investors receive orders from large corporations, he added.

A representative of the central bank said investors of greenhouses and net houses have yet to be granted certificates of property ownership on agricultural land. This has made it impossible for enterprises to borrow from banks.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, head of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said investors have difficulty gaining access to the VND100-trillion credit package for high-tech agriculture.

Nguyen Quoc Hung, head of the Credit Department of Economic Sectors under the central bank, proposed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment implement the Government’s resolution on revision of regulations on the issuance of certificates for land use rights and ownership of houses and landed assets in a timely manner.

He added the ministry should provide guidelines on the granting of certificates of ownership of property on agricultural land, and create favorable conditions for enterprises to borrow from banks.

He also petitioned the ministries of agriculture-rural development and industry-trade to give forecasts on hi-tech produce demand, organize more promotion programs, and help enterprises find consumption markets.

Ministries urged to facilitate trade

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on ministries and agencies to speed up implementation of the national one-door system and the ASEAN one-stop mechanism, and trade facilitation.

A recent directive of the Government leader requires ministries to review and improve legal documents and administrative procedures to boost the national one-door system and the ASEAN one-stop mechanism. They will have to make sure that technology, human resources and finances are in place to perform the system and the mechanism smoothly.     

The Prime Minister calls for full deployment and fulfillment of the tasks specified in Decision 2026 issued in 2015 to make checks on import and export goods more efficient. In addition, agencies should take effective risk management measures for inspections, simplify procedures to cut customs clearance time, and increase the efficiency of post-customs-clearance checks.

The Prime Minister sets December 2017 as the deadline for the Ministry of Finance to work with relevant agencies over ways to enhance the performance of the national steering committee for the national one-door system, the ASEAN one-stop mechanism and trade facilitation.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance should improve the legal framework for the efficiency of the system and mechanism as well as checks in a view to reducing procedures and connecting to the ASEAN one-stop mechanism, and exchange electronic documents with partners in December this year.  

The ministries of science-technology, agriculture-rural development, health, natural resources-environment, industry-trade, transport and information-communications are tasked with issuing lists of import and export goods subject to pre-customs clearance inspections in October this year.

The checks should be reduced and consistent, according to the directive.

Every six months, ministries and agencies will have to send their reports on implementation of the tasks to the General Department of Customs for compilation and submission to the Government. 

Meanwhile, the national steering committee, which was established in October 2016 and is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, is assigned to inspect how ministries and agencies observe the directive. Local governments should do the same inspection for agencies in their localities.

A number of ministries have been slow in executing the national one-door system and the ASEAN one-stop mechanism while overlapping checks by different agencies on import and export goods have led business costs to go up.

Construction in Ca Mau province delayed due to increased sand price

Hike in sand price since April has significantly affected constructions of state companies and private companies in the Mekong delta province of Ca Mau, said Chairman of People’s Committee Nguyen Tien Hai at the fourth session of the province People’s Council yesterday.

The delay of construction leads to stagnant consumption of other materials such as iron, steel and cement.

The supply of sand in the local market mainly comes from outside because the province limited sand exploitation for environment protection.

Accordingly, province authorities advised people to use alternative materials stone or dust from thermal power plants or soil from dredging canals and rivers.

Additionally, the province administration petitioned the government to have special policies to subsidize or adjust bidding contracts and have alternative materials.

Ha Noi eyes fresh fruit market     

Ha Noi’s municipal Department of Industry and Trade is implementing a pilot project to enhance the management of fresh fruit stores in the downtown districts of the city.

The project is focussed on ensuring product quality, food hygiene and safety.

Accordingly, all products on the shelves must have their origins specified, while processed products must have adequate information about the processors, packagers, as well as food safety standards.

All stores must register their businesses by following the established regulations and ensure they have adequate facilities for the preservation of fruits.

The focus will be on individual business households, small-sized stores, vendors, wholesale markets and traditional markets, where the majority of fruits on the shelves are of unspecified origins, and which do not have adequate facilities for storage or preservation.

The department said that certificates would be granted to those who met the requirements.

Statistics have shown that only 30 per cent of the fruit stores in the capital city had preservation equipment, while 50 per cent had showcases.

In addition to these, most salespersons did not have proper knowledge about food safety.

According to Le Hong Thang, Director of Ha Noi Department of Industry and Trade, the project would divide fresh fruit sellers into categories, such as supermarkets, wholesale markets and retail markets, and small shops and vendors.

The city authorities expect that by 2018, all fruits on the shop shelves must have their origins specified, while ensuring quality and food safety. 

VBI cooperates with PwC on IT consulting project     

VietinBank Insurance (VBI) and PwC Viet Nam signed an agreement on strategic IT consulting on Wednesday.

Accordingly, PwC will deploy a consulting package that includes modelling future IT systems, building a development plan, implementing advanced IT solutions in the next five years and evaluating the maturity level of IT security at VBI.

Through this project, PwC will assist VBI in developing a proper and feasible IT advancement plan to meet VBI’s future operation, strategy and development needs.

VBI is currently one of the few businesses in the market to develop electronic certificates and invoices for customers.

VBI has proposed a detailed strategic development plan over the 2017-20 period, which includes accelerating growth in the retail market, targeting IT-based SMEs and meeting international standards.

“We highly appreciate VBI’s initiative to invest in IT and data security systems to improve business operations and customer services.

This is particularly significant considering that emerging Fintech companies are taking up a larger market share in the finance, banking and insurance industries, even as cyber security becomes a major challenge, forcing organisations to change their mindset from incident response to proactive protection,” Dinh Thi Quynh Van, general director of PwC Viet Nam, said.

“With our in-depth knowledge of technology in finance and insurance, as well as experience from similar projects, we are committed to providing VBI with a comprehensive consulting service from strategic planning to implementation to deliver sustainable values to customers,” she added. 

PM prescribes remedies for pharmaceutical sector

The lack of a master plan has been blamed for Vietnam having to import up to 80 percent of its processed pharmaceutical materials although the country has an abundant source of pharmaceutical materials and was one of top exporters of raw pharmaceutical materials in the 1980s.

Professor Dau Xuan Canh, Director of Vietnam Institute of Traditional Medicine, said Vietnam’s climate was believed to be very favourable for growing many categories of medicinal plants.

However, scattered development could result in losing the opportunity to fully develop the potential of the country’s pharmaceutical sector, he added. He spoke at a recent meeting on boosting the growth of the national pharmaceutical industry, as reported by Thoi bao kinh doanh (Business Times) newspaper.

For example, Vietnam is failing to exploit the potential of cinnamon trees that are widely planted in our country, he said. “We could turn it into processed pharmaceutical material to serve the domestic pharmaceutical industry, but we do not,” he said.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) ranks Vietnam in the third of five levels of pharmaceutical sector development, reflecting the fact that the domestic pharmaceutical sector imports most of the processed pharmaceutical materials it needs.

Data from the Ministry of Investment and Planning showed that Vietnam ranks 16 of 22 countries in terms of pharmaceutical industry development, based on its total drug consumption worth about 4.8 billion USD each year. The Vietnam pharmaceutical market was also assessed to have the highest growth rate in the Southeast Asia region, equal to 17 percent each year, projected to reach around 10 billion USD by 2020.

However, most domestic pharmaceutical producers are small-scale and scattered in various areas of the country, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said. Only seven of 170 producers manufactured chemicals for the local pharmaceutical industry.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien also admitted the paradox of the domestic pharmaceutical industry. She said Vietnam was an agricultural country with an abundant source of pharmaceutical materials, including minerals, animals and medicinal plants.

A report issued by the health ministry last year said Vietnam has 206 medicinal plants that could grow and provide 10,000-20,000 tonnes of pharmaceutical materials each year.

But sadly, most of processed pharmaceutical materials now are imported, Tien said.

Vietnam also imports all its anti-cancer chemicals at exorbitant prices while it has many trees containing anti-cancer drug precursors, such as red pine (taxus wallichiana zucc) and Madagascar periwinkle (catharanthus roseus), she said.

At a recent workshop on development of the national pharmaceutical industry, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced three major directions.

First, the role of pharmaceutical materials should be re-assessed on a national and provincial scale, and then a detailed plan should be formulated to boost it. "Developing the domestic pharmaceutical sector by domestic pharmaceutical materials should be a strategy of the health sector,” he said.

Second, the pharmaceutical sector was asked to serve domestic demand before turning to export. Authorised agencies were tasked with creating favouable conditions to encourage businesses to participate in the pharmaceutical sector, he said.

Last, the national pharmaceutical sector needs to be restructured, especially focusing on the processing and production stages, he said.

The PM ordered the health ministry to co-operate with the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association to make a list of 100 medicinal plants for extensive growing on a large scale.

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development was tasked with responsibility to provide appropriate seedlings.

A supply chain consisting of farmers, businesses, scientists, State managerial agencies and commercial banks should be established so that the national pharmaceutical sector can be better developed, he said.

Kien Giang rakes in 170 million USD from exports

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang earned 170 million USD from exports in the first six months of this year, accounting for 42 percent of the annual target and up 2.6 percent from the same period last year, reported the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

The growth was buoyed by increases in the exports of frozen fish (up 30 percent), frozen squid and octopus (up 30.5 percent) and frozen shrimps (up 14 percent) thanks to the growing demands in traditional markets, namely Japan, the Republic of Korea and the European Union.

The export of other products, including instant noodle, canned fish and cooking oil, to Cambodia also enjoyed a growth rate of 31 percent as compared to the same period last year.

Many local exporters have taken the initiative in seeking foreign partners and stepped up the application of technology to better meet product quality requirements of import markets.

Trade and investment promotion activities have been organised both at home and abroad, while local enterprises have been supported to join domestic and overseas trade fairs, such as Australia Day, THAIEX in Thailand, Vietnam-Israel Business Forum in Ho Chi Minh City, and the International Agricultural Festival of the Mekong Delta 2017 in Can Tho city.

In the remaining months of this year, Kien Giang will continue implementing comprehensive measures to boost exports, in a bid to surpass the year’s target by 400 million USD.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Vu Hong said trade promotion activities will be increased, particularly in traditional markets while seeking new potential markets for its products.

More investment will be put in key production areas in order to produce clean and high- quality agricultural products, particularly rice and shrimps to ensure sufficient supply for processing and export.

Financial assistance will be offered to needy local exporters so that they can apply technologies in processing to increase added values of products with high competitiveness.

The province will also ensure material supply for processing, human resources and preferential loans to promote exports during the upcoming Christmas season and New Year and lunar New Year festivals.

Taiwan seeks partnerships in machine tools industry     

With over 60 years of experience, Taiwanese machine tool companies are targeting to expand operations in many countries, including Việt Nam, where demand in the industry is increasing.

Jen-Ni Yang, director general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that the Taiwanese machine tool industry has been playing a key role in the global market.

The Taiwanese companies make industrial machines mostly for export.

“Eighty per cent of Taiwan’s total machine tool turnout, valued around $4 million annually in the past three years, is exported to more than 138 countries, making Taiwan the fifth largest machine tool export country behind Germany, Japan, Italy and China,” Yang said.

In the 4.0 industrial revolution, machine tools will be indispensable, with Taiwan developing into a global manufacturing hub.

To gain entry to the Vietnamese market, the Taiwan Trade Centre (TAITRA) and Corporate Synergy Development Centre jointly organised a pavilion at the Machine Tools and Metalworking Exhibition and Conference, which is being held in HCM City.

At the pavilion, many leading companies in the machine tool industry of Taiwan are showing the latest, advanced technologies in an aim to approach the Vietnamese market as the demand has increased in the country.

Companies including Tongtai Group, Yeong Chin Machinery Industries Company Ltd and Hiwin Technologies Corporation have introduced new items used in the auto industry and virtual reality as well many new technologies, including intelligent transmission components and robotic arms.

“The Taiwanese machine tool industry has developed for over 60 years. The industry has a complete supply chain with high-quality products and services,” said Chang Shiao Chien, deputy director of the market development office under TAITRA.

She said the Taiwanese machine tool industry in addition to its information technologies would help Vietnamese companies diversify the machines tools market.

During the event, a conference named “Taiwan Machine Tools – Shaping the World” was organised.

At the conference, Taiwanese companies introduced their key products which they said “have high-quality, competitive price and good service” that will help Vietnamese companies’ production growth.

Gong Rong Nan, head of TAITRA, said Taiwan is now the fifth largest trade partner of Việt Nam. It also remains the fourth biggest investor in the country.

Last year, bilateral trade reached US$12 billion.

Since the beginning of this year, Taiwan export revenue earned in Viet Nam has been $4.9 billion, an increase of 11 per cent year-on-year. Taiwan in this period poured $1 billion in imports from Việt Nam.

About 4,000 companies from Taiwan are investing in Việt Nam. They mostly operate in the industries of garments, textiles and machinery. 

EVN builds smart electricity network

The Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) has focused on creating a smart electricity network in accordance with Resolution 36a/NQ-CP on building electronic government.

All of the corporation’s units aim to have at least 60 percent of 220kV and all 110kV transformer stations operating without human surveillance by 2020.

By the end of 2016, 38 out of 704 stations were operating without surveillance and 57 others reduced personnel by half. Another 200 stations are set to run without surveillance by the end of this year.

EVN said its subsidiaries had installed 7.27 million electronic meters nationwide, 29 percent of the total number. Of which, 5.71 million can be measured remotely.

Project supports women’s startup

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a project to support women’s startups for 2017-2025, aiming to raise women’s awareness of the Party and State’s laws and policies on startups and encourage the realisation of their ideas.

The project is part of efforts to fulfil national targets on enterprise development and the national strategy on gender equality.

The project’s goals by 2025 include 90 percent of officials in women’s unions at all levels joining the project equipped with methods to support women’s business development, 70 percent of women accessing communications to raise their awareness of employment, supporting 20,000 women to launch a business or startup, setting up 1,200 cooperatives managed by women and assisting 100,000 new firms owned by women.

The project will prioritise poor and disabled women, those from disadvantaged areas and ethnic minority groups. 

It will also choose feasibile ideas and models for implementation and multiplication, while helping business owners improve their capacity.

A women’s startups column will be launched in the online portal of the Vietnam Women’s Union and Phu nu Viet Nam (Vietnamese Women) Newspaper, while pilot communications models will be conducted in 10 provinces.

Funds for the project will be sourced from the State budget, other programmes and projects it’s associated with and other resources.

The Vietnam Women’s Union Central Committee will be responsible for implementing the project, focusing on building plans at central level, while the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities will support the Women’s Union at all levels during the implementation.

HCM City: over 500 startup projects launched

More than 500 startup projects have been launched in Ho Chi Minh City in the first six months of this year, heard a recent conference of the municipal Party Committee. 

In the first half of this year, the city provided support in terms of finance, administrative procedures, technologies and personnel training for 439 startup projects. 

According to Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem, the city aims to have 500,000 enterprises by 2020. 

HCM City has paid attention to innovation and startups to improve economic growth quality, he said, adding that the southern economic hub issued regulations supporting startups, rolled out plans completing the startup ecosystem and assisted small-and medium-sized enterprises. 

There are 13 venture investment funds connected with the city to aid local startups, Liem said.

The HCM City Young Businesspeople Association said it will support 1,000 startup projects during 2016-2020. 

During January-June, the city’s economy grew 7.76 percent, compared with 7.47 percent in the same period last year. 

Tay Ninh invests over 1.1 trillion VND in border belt road

The southern province of Tay Ninh will spend more than 1.1 trillion VND (48.4 million USD) on constructing a border belt road to develop the border trade with Cambodia and ensure defence.

Director of the provincial Department of Transport Nguyen Tan Tai said that the project is part of a local strategy on the traffic system during 2013-2020.

Of the total capital, which is mobilised from government bonds, 886.7 billion VND (39 million USD) will be spent on road construction and 28 billion VND (1.2 million USD) for land clearance.

The 130 kilometre road will connect Xa Mat International Border Gate with Phuoc Chi commune in Trang Bang district, running through four border districts of Tan Bien, Chau Thanh, Ben Cau and Trang Bang. 

Land clearance will made on 397,500 square metres of rice cultivating area and 318,000 square metres of forest land. 

The locality plans to start building the road in November. Upon completion in 2020, the road will facilitate trade activities between Vietnam and Cambodia.

SHB Cambodia Bank honoured as outstanding foreign bank 

SHB Cambodia Bank, Vietnamese Sai Gon–Ha Noi Bank (SHB)’s wholly-owned subsidiary, has been honoured as the outstanding small-and-medium sized enterprise (SME) 2017 with the best bank products and services.

The awards, which were given by the National Bank of Cambodia and International Data Group (IDG), aimed to honour the prestigious foreign banks that are contributing to the country’s economy in general and the banking sector in particular.

SHB which has headquarter in Viet Nam and SHB Cambodia are aiming to become a leading modern retail bank, and is thus focussing on diversifying the products and services.

SHB Cambodia has launched many products and services with different supporting policies for SMEs.

In addition to these, SHB has focussed on market researches and customers’ demands to build credit packages with suitable interest rates for businesses.

IDG has also highly valued SHB Cambodia for its saving products.

Pham Xuan Son, SHB Cambodia’s director, said that after four years of operation, the bank has reported stable business results, contributing to the co-operation between Viet Nam and Cambodia in the economic sector. This has helped create an investment wave into Cambodia by Vietnamese firms.

Established in September 2016, the SHB Cambodia was approved by the Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam, Le Minh Hung, to increase its chartered capital from US$50 million to $75 million. The capital is expected to help SHB Cambodia improve its financial ability and implement the finance and banking activities. 

Viet Capital Securities to list in HCM City     

Viet Captial Securities will list on the HCM City stock exchange on July 7 following initial public offering in June.

It will list 103.2 million shares at a reference price of VND48,000.

VCSC was launched in 2007 with a registered capital of VND360 billion ($15.8 million).

Now, a decade later, it stands at VND1.2 trillion ($52.6 million).

Between 2008 and last year the company achieved annual growth of 27 per cent a year and after-tax profit growth of 52 per cent a year.

Last year its revenues were worth VND894 billion ($39 million) and after-tax profit, VND338 billion ($14.8 million).

VCSC, a leader in investment banking, provides services like investment banking, institutional brokerage, retail brokerage, and research.

It has advised both local and foreign investors and most of Viet Nam’s major private and capital market transactions like the IPO and listings of PV Gas, Mobile World, Masan, Novaland, and VietJet Air; placements for Vinamilk, Techcombank and PV Drilling; M&A deals for Big C, Nguyen Kim and Petrovietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals Corp.

To Hai, the company’s director owns nearly 23 million shares, equivalent to 22.25 per cent.

Around 19 per cent of the shares is owned foreigners. 

BCG inks deal with Unisun Energy, Coara Solar to build solar plant     

Bamboo Capital JSC, Hong Kong’s Unisun Energy Group and Germany’s Coara Solar have signed an agreement to develop a US$40 million solar power plant in Long An, BCG’s second in the province.

Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of next year, and the plant will begin to generate electricity in the second quarter of 2019.

With its experience in renewable energy development and construction, Coara Solar will be the EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) contractor, providing technology and technical consultancy and carrying out the construction.

Unisun will fund the project, while BCG will obtain the licence and negotiate a power purchase contract with Electricity of Viet Nam, the country’s sole power distributor.

Last month BCG Bang Duong Joint Venture and South Korea’s Hanwha Group signed an agreement to set up a $100 million solar power plant in Long An.

The province has agreed to hand over 175ha of land to build the two plants.

Nguyen Ho Nam, chairman of BCG, said: “The involvement of famous global groups like Unisun Energy, Coara Solar and Hanwha would help BCG develop quickly in the renewables sector, which is growing rapidly in Viet Nam.”

With its target to become one of leaders in renewables, BCG also plans to carry out other power projects in Quang Nam and Gia Lai Provinces. 

HCM City to host Vietnam MA forum 2017     

Vietnam M&A forum 2017, an annual event of mergers and acquisitions for companies and investors from Viet Nam and other countries, will take place at GEM Conference Centre in HCM City on August 10.

The event has been co-organised by Vietnam Investment Review (VIR) and AVM Vietnam since 2009 under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Under the theme “Seeking a big push,” the forum will be the place to exchange suggestions, introduce opportunities and share experiences to create a breakthrough in the market.

The forum will feature activities such as a conference on M&A pursuits in Viet Nam, a Deal Awards ceremony to honour the best M&A deals of 2016-2017, the issuance of the Vietnam M&A Outlook 2017 Special Publication and a post-conference master class on merger and acquisition strategy.

In 2017, the Vietnamese merger and acquisition scene is predicted to be exciting and stellar deals are expected to take place. To ensure new deals are successful, the market needs a big push in terms of mechanism and policies to eliminate persisting bottlenecks, creating an attractive stock of supply and attracting ample capital from in and outside the country.

According to statistics of the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances, which is reported by VIR, Viet Nam made a record US$5.2 billion in merger and acquisition value in 2015 in the previous 10 years. In 2016, the figure reached $5.1 billion.

The value this year is expected to not exceed the figures of the two previous years unless there is a breakthrough.

Last year, the busiest areas were retail, consumption goods production and real estate. The finance and banking sector was relatively quiet.

The foreign investment bloc played an important role in merger and acquisition in Viet Nam through large transactions. Japan continued to be strategic partners with giant State-owned enterprises such as Vietnam Airlines and Petrolimex. Meanwhile, South Korea entered industrial fields and Singapore focused on real estate in the Vietnamese market. 

Rong Viet reach VND71 billion in profit in first half of year     

Rong Viet Securities Company (VDS) has had a pre-tax profit of VND71 billion (US$3.1 million) in the first half of the year, jumping by 163 per cent over the same period last year.

The pre-tax profit in the first quarter was VND30 billion ($1.5 million), surging to VND40.9 ($2 million) billion in the second quarter.

In the first half of 2017, VDS had revenue of over VND166 billion ($7.2 million), up by 78 per cent year-on-year.

Most of the revenue was earned by brokers’ services, the company said.

VDS reported that with the result it had fulfilled 54 per cent of its annual plan in revenue, including 71 per cent of targeted profit.

The HCM City Stock Exchange (HoSE) recently accepted to list 70 million shares of VDS. It is expected that the first trading day will be July 19.

Previously, VDS shares were traded on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange. The company explained that it wanted to list on HoSE to increase the equity of the shares as well as to mobilize more capital from different sources.

VDS shares will end trading on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange next Monday (July 10).

The company targets increasing capital from VND700 billion to VNĐ910 billion this year.

Rice export to hit four million tons in 2030

Vietnam strives to export four million tons of rice by 2030, according to a rice export market development strategy approved by the Prime Minister in the phase of 2017-2020 with visions till 2030.

Of the four million tons, white rice will account for 25 percent in which low and medium quality varieties will not exceed 10 percent of total export volume. Fragrant and specialty rice will make up 40 percent and sticky rice about 25 percent.

By 2030, the Asian market will account for 50 percent of Vietnam’s rice export turnover, Africa 25 percent, the Middle East 5 percent, Europe 6 percent and America 10 percent.

According to the strategy, the country will effort to gradually reduce commercial rice export volume but keep stable or increase value and hike the ratio of directly exported rice under Vietnamese brand names.

International Travel Expo HCM City 2017 to open in September

The International Travel Expo (ITE) HCM City 2017 themed ‘Your Gateway To tourism in Asia’ will take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre on September 7-9.

Director of HCM City’s Department of Tourism, Bui Ta Hoang Vu said ITE HCM City 2017 expects to attract the participation of more international travel agencies, 20% more than last year’s figure. 

He predicted that some 300 travel companies from 50 major markets in the world will seek business opportunities during this year’s expo.

Currently, travel agencies from Lower Mekong basin, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and others have registered to participate in the expo.

Foreign visitors will have an opportunity to experience tourist attractions near HCM City such as Can Gio Mangrove Forest, Can Tho and Da Lat cities and learn about typical tourism forms in Vietnam such as resort and cultural tourism.

On Consumer Day on September 9, visitors will have a chance to buy discount tours with gifts and enjoy art performances of artists from different countries.

The ITE 2016 attracted 26,000 business persons and other visitors.

Prohibited imports seized at Cát Lái Port

Customs officials at HCM City’s Cát Lái Port on Wednesday seized a container of used refrigeration products and electronic devices transported from Japan.

The used goods, including air conditioners, rice cookers, fridges and gas stoves, are on Việt Nam’s list of prohibited imports.

The Nguyễn Tấn Import Export Commodity Logistics Co Ltd in Bình Dương Province, the consignee, declared the shipment as fabric.

On June 15, the company was found importing three containers of similar goods worth over VNĐ3 billion (US$134,000).

Ben Tre calls for investment in 63 prioritised projects

The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre is inviting investment in 63 priority projects in 2017-2020, said Truong Duy Hai, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on July 7.

The official said the projects are in the fields of construction of infrastructure for industrial zones, tourism, markets, shopping centres, urban and residential areas, agriculture and rural development, along with renewable energy, education, water supply system and solid waste treatment.

Ben Tre will organise an investment promotion conference and launch a start-up community on July 19-20 to introduce the province’s strengths and investment policies.

Through the event, the province hopes to attract investment in its strong fields such as ecological and resort tourism, processing industry, hi-tech agriculture as well as promote start-up movement and business development.

Nguyen Minh Canh, Director of the province’s Department of Planning and Investment said Ben Tre plans to grant investment certificates for 37 projects with total investment worth over 30 trillion VND (1.32 billion USD).

Ben Tre currently has two industrial zones of Giao Long and An Hiep, covering 240ha, which have been fully occupied. The province is home to 54 valid foreign-invested projects with registered capital worth more than 823 million USD and 137 domestic ones worth nearly 13.7 trillion VND (602.4 million USD).

In the first six months of 2017, the province lured over 10.4 trillion VND (457.6 million USD) and 192 million USD from new domestic and foreign-invested projects, respectively.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNEVET