Edelweiss launches Zurich-HCMC air service

Switzerland’s leading leisure airline Edelweiss has started operating direct flights between Zurich and HCMC as part of a plan to expand its network to Asia.

The maiden flight of Edelweiss from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC took off on the morning of November 16.

The carrier’s Airbus A340-300 aircraft fly nonstop twice a week between Zurich and HCMC. The aircraft is equipped with 27 business class, fully lie-flat seats; 76 Economy Max comfortable seats; and 211 economy class seats, as well as an inflight entertainment system featuring HD touchscreens.

As scheduled, the Edelweiss flights will depart from Zurich Airport on Mondays and Thursdays and from Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Tuesdays and Fridays. The flight schedule listed on flyedelweiss.com shows flights will depart from Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 8:10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays and land in Zurich at 3:15 p.m. (local time) on the same days.

The airline said on its website that passengers can book tickets for flights between Zurich and HCMC for travel between November 2018 and April 2019 and between October and November next year.     

The first direct air service enables travelers from Switzerland and other European countries to reach Vietnam with ease and in comfort. Meanwhile, business and leisure travelers from HCMC are provided with convenient flights to Zurich and onward flight options offered by Swiss International Air Lines from the heart of Europe to other European cities and worldwide destinations.

Swiss Consul General in HCMC Martin Maier told the launch ceremony for the air route at Tan Son Nhat International Airport that the direct air service was expected to boost travel and trade links between Switzerland and Vietnam.

In a statement released in May this year, Edelweiss CEO Bernd Bauer pointed out the popularity of Vietnam and its countless leisure activities among Swiss tourists as one of the reasons behind launch of seasonal flights connecting Zurich and HCMC. “Swiss vacationers tend to spend more time and money than visitors from other countries,” Bauer said.

The airline noted on flyedelweiss.com that Vietnam is one of the nicest travel destinations in Southeast Asia. “Splendid beaches, stunning nature and an impressive culture cater to a wide spectrum of holidaymakers’ needs.”

Ivan Breiter, director, Southeast Asia, of Switzerland Tourism, told representatives of travel agencies at a VIP dinner in HCMC last Tuesday that the European country had much more to offer than just breathtaking landscapes and watches.        

In recent years, more Vietnamese people have started traveling to Switzerland to enjoy the snow-capped mountains and glaciers, scenic trains, tranquil lakes and rivers and shopping, according to the Swiss National Tourism Board. In 2017, Vietnamese guests spent more than 15,000 nights in the European country, and the organization projected a continuous growth of 10%-12% per year until 2022.

A number of major travel firms in Vietnam have prepared multiple packages combining airfares and land tours in Switzerland to cater to Vietnamese guests, especially after the launch of the Zurich-HCMC air service.

Edelweiss is an affiliate of Swiss International Air Lines and a member of the Lufthansa Group. At present, the airline based in Zurich Airport conducts flights to 70 destinations in 34 countries throughout the world. It operates four Airbus A340-313 and two Airbus A330-300 aircraft for long-haul services, as well as nine Airbus A320 airplanes for short- and medium-haul routes.

Viet Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will auction over 13.44 million shares of its holding in Viet Nam Transport and Chartering Joint Stock Company (Vitranschart) on December 5, the Ha Noi Stock Exchange has announced.

The shares, accounting for a 22.03 per cent stake of Vitranschart, will be auctioned at the Ha Noi bourse at the starting price of VND1,200 (5 US cents) a share.

Vinalines is currently Vitranschart’s parent shareholder with a total of 35.4 million shares, equivalent to 58 per cent of the firm’s voting shares in circulation.

Currently, Vitranschart is trading at VND700 per share, and there is almost no matched stock in recent sessions.

Vitranschart reported a loss of more than VND182 billion in the first nine months of 2018. Although this figure was VND40 billion lower than in the same period last year, the loss contributed to raising the accumulated loss to VND1.485 trillion (US$63.54 million) and a negative equity of VND860 billion.

This is the seventh consecutive year Vitranschart recorded a loss since the crisis in the marine transport sector in 2012. The loss was attributed to costs being higher than revenues, the rise of expenses due to interest rates and exchange rate differences.

Till date, the company’s total assets were nearly VND1.37 trillion and liabilities were up to approximately VND2.23 trillion, surpassing 63 per cent of total assets.

This year, Vitranschart set a business target of losing VND302.2 billion. 

Vietnam to attend world’s largest food, beverage expo in UAE

As many as 20 Vietnamese enterprises operating in the agro-fishery-forestry, processed food and beverage sectors will attend the 24th edition of Gulfood, the world's largest annual food & beverage trade exhibition, in the United Arab Emirates from February 17-21, 2019.

This exhibition will comprise 120 national pavilions, with more than 5,000 exhibitors. The five-day event is expected to attract over 90,000 commercial visitors from more 170 countries and territories across the world.

The Agricultural Trade Promotion Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is assigned to organise the Vietnam pavilion at the Gulfood 2019.

Twenty prestigious exporters, including the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk), the Hanoi Trade Joint Stock Corporation (Hapro) and the Vietnam Hanfimex Corporation have so far registered to take part in the exhibition.

The event is expected to offer a good chance for Vietnamese enterprises to seek consumers, sign export contracts, and expand their market share in the Middle East, Asia and Southwest Asia.

They can also introduce Vietnamese agricultural products, food and beverages as well as promote the Vietnamese brands to foreign visitors, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Forum: Latin America promising market for Vietnam

The Latin America is a promising market for Vietnamese firms, as heard the Vietnam – Latin America trade and investment forum held in Ho Chi Minh City recently. 

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said Latin America’s economic growth ranks second globally, only behind Asia. In recent years, the region has become an important trade partner of Vietnam with an annual growth of nearly 20 percent. 

Two-way trade hit 13.49 billion USD last year, 7.91 billion USD of which was Vietnam’s exports. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile have their trade with Vietnam surpassing 1 billion USD. 

Deputy head of the trade ministry’s Department of European – American Markets Vo Hong Anh said trade between Vietnam and Latin America remains modest compared to potential. She pointed out that the region’s total trade topped 2 trillion USD per year, but Vietnam’s export to the region stood at only about 8 billion USD. 

Vietnam has invested hundreds of millions USD in oil and gas exploration and exploitation in Peru, telecommunication in Haiti and Peru, and instant noodle production in Brazil. 

According to experts, the great geographical distance between both sides is the largest obstacle to trade due to high transportation cost. Moreover, both sides lack information about each other’s markets and partners while trade protectionism is common in several Latin American countries. 

Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of Long Long Chemicals company which is investing in Latin America, said the region boasts a population of more than 650 million people and an average income per capita of 15,000 – 16,000 USD per year so that demand for consumer goods is huge, including those of Vietnam’s strength such as rice, footwear, apparel, aquaculture, wooden furniture and computers. 

On the other hand, Latin America is an important supply source of materials for Vietnam’s for export production.

Chilean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaime Chomali said many Vietnamese products are now popular in the country. 

He suggested that Vietnam should boost the export of tra fish, leather, footwear, tea and coffee to Chile. 

Chilean firms want to learn more about business opportunities in Vietnam, he said. 

Peruvian Ambassador to Vietnam Augusto Morelli Salgado said the potential of bilateral cooperation remains huge because the two economies are supplementary to each other. 

He asked for tapping business opportunities to make breakthrough in Vietnam – Latin America economic and trade ties.

Vietnam set the goal of lifting two-way trade to 15-18 billion USD and attracting 3 billion USD in investment from Latin America by 2021. 

PVN hands over industrial park to Tien Giang

State-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) has transferred the 285-hectare Soai Rap Petroleum Industrial Park in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang to the provincial authority.

Nguyen Dinh Thong, deputy director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, confirmed the news with the Saigon Times today, November 12, saying PVN and the province had agreed to all of the financial obligations associated with the park before its handover. This was regarded as key to resolving the bottlenecks in the handover process.

The local government is now considering steps to call for investors in the industrial park. Thong noted that the park specialized in the oil and gas sector. However, following the handover, the province will make investment adjustments in line with its development goals.

The 285-hectare park is in a prime location, suitable for developing the marine economy, especially the oil and gas industry.

PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC), a subsidiary of PetroVietnam, obtained an investment certificate to set up the industrial park in March 2011. However, the park only had one project, to build a welded steel pipe plant, in late 2014.

Therefore, the Government agreed in principle to hand over the park to the provincial government in line with a master plan for developing industrial parks until 2015 with a vision toward 2020 in October 2014.

The State Securities Commission has approved Vinaconex’s request to lock its ceiling foreign ownership ratio at zero per cent, saying the move complies with regulations.

Earlier, Viet Nam Construction and Import-Export JSC (Vinaconex) asked for permission to adjust its foreign ownership limit to zero per cent from the current 49 per cent to prepare for a share offload by the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) and Viettel.

Both SCIC and Viettel will sell their entire stakes, collectively 79 per cent, in Vinaconex worth VND7.43 trillion (US$317.6 million), in a public auction on November 22 on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

With the lock, foreign investors will be ineligible to participate in the auction.

Foreign shareholders owned a combined 10.86 per cent of Vinaconex’s capital as of November 9, including PYN Elite Fund (7.1 per cent) and Market Vector Vietnam ETF (1.79 per cent). These investors will have to sell their holdings to meet the company’s new policy.

According to Do Trong Quynh, a member of Vinaconex’s management board, this decision is to ensure compliance with State regulations on foreign ownership prior to the auction.

In its business registration, Vinaconex had some sectors subject to foreign investment restriction including labour export and construction and operation of large power plants which allow no foreign investment as per 2014 Law on Investment, Quynh was quoted as saying on ndh.vn.

Regarding whether foreign shareholders are required to sell their shares immediately or gradually, Quynh said guidance was needed from the State Securities Commission.

Vinaconex underperformed this year with nine-month revenue decreasing 4 per cent on-year to VND6.4 trillion while its profit after tax dropped 41 per cent to VND368 billion.

Its shares, with the sticker VCG, are trading at around VND18,000 ($0.77) per share on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange. 

State budget collection hits 1.1 quadrillion VND in 10 months

The Finance Ministry reported on November 12 that total State budget collection was estimated at 1.12 quadrillion VND in the January-October period, equivalent to 84.9 percent of the yearly estimates, and up 15.1 percent from the same time of 2017.

The figure included over 896 trillion VND sourced from domestic revenues, which represented 81.6 percent of the yearly estimates, and showed a rise of 15.8 percent year on year. 

Excluding the sum gained from land use, lottery, dividends and post-profit of State enterprises, and the retrieval of State investment invested in economic organization and others, the domestic revenues was estimated at 682.2 trillion VND, equaling 78.6 percent of the yearly estimates, and rising by 13 percent from the same time of 2017. 

During the reviewed period, State budget spending reached 1.103 quadrillion VND, or 72.4 percent of the yearly estimates, and up 9.4 percent from the same time last year.

As by November 26, Government bonds worth 141.9 trillion VND were issued.

The ministry said relevant agencies need to double their efforts to manage prices to ensure market stability and combat smuggling and trade frauds.

The agencies need to be proactively monitoring petroleum prices in the world market and drastically implement Party, State and Government instructions and resolutions on the fight against smuggling and trade frauds, it said.

The ministry asked localities and sectors to increase the management of budget collection to prevent tax evasion, trade fraud, and transfer pricing so the State budget collection task for 2018 will be fulfilled.

Seminar dissects Vietnam’s competitiveness

Renovating its growth model and improving productivity are among the key requirements to improve Vietnam’s economic competitiveness, heard a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

Dr Pham Thi Thu Hang, former General Secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the country’s economic competitiveness remained low.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, Vietnam dropped three places in the ranking this year to 77th out of 140 economies.

Hang said an analysis of the factors that measure the economy’s competitiveness showed infrastructure to be one of the weakest points in Vietnam’s competitiveness index, especially the quality of roads, seaports, airports and power supply.

Infrastructure and utility services do not keep pace with the economic growth and urbanization, she said, adding that labour productivity remains low.

Vietnam was considered to have abundant human resources but there was a supply-demand mismatch in many industries, Hang said.

Vocational standards had been promulgated but were not comprehensive, lacking consistency and incompatible with international professional standards.

Besides, Vietnam lacked a reliable and consistent labour market forecast model and statistical and analytical experts, she said.

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said the issue of competitiveness is increasingly receiving attention from governments in many nations, and raising Vietnam’s competitiveness is also a major goal of the Party and Government.

The Government had issued a resolution on improving the business environment and enhancing national competitiveness to make Vietnam one of the four most competitive countries in the ASEAN bloc by 2020, he said.

The country’s economic competitiveness was mainly based on existing and non-renewable factors and not innovation, he said.

Productivity was among the core factors determining the competitiveness of enterprises and the economy, he said.

Luu Dinh Vinh of the College of Economics of HCM City said improving labour productivity required a change in thinking: Instead of working overtime, businesses should invest in training human resources to instil working skills.

Experts also said businesses should have a mechanism to promote talent and usher in a creative culture to encourage employees to maximise their potential.

Besides knowledge, technology is also a factor affecting labour productivity, production and the efficiency of enterprises, they said.

Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the link between domestic and FDI enterprises to learn and adopt advanced global models and technologies, they said.

To enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, Vu Kim Hanh, Director of the Business Study and Assistance Centre, said enterprises must attach importance to quality and value addition, embrace technology and regularly update themselves on the market.

But they usually lack market information, and so one of the important things the State management agencies have to do to support enterprises is to provide them with market information, she said.

Loc said: “It is time for Vietnam to adopt drastic solutions to improve its competitiveness.”

Besides the World Bank and World Economic Forum criteria, the country should also consider the 17 UN sustainable development goals to improve its competitiveness, he suggested.

The “Competitiveness of the economy: current status, potential and challenges" seminar was organised by the VCCI and the University of Economics and Law.

Binh Thuan seeks solar policy extension     

Some provinces have called for preferential solar power prices to be extended to the end of 2020 instead of June 30, 2019.

Most recently, the southern province of Binh Thuan sent a proposal to the Prime Minister asking for such an extension to remove difficulties and create favourable conditions for investors of solar power projects.

To encourage the development of renewable energy in Viet Nam, the Prime Minister issued Decision 11/2017/QD-TTg dated April 11, 2017, about mechanisms to encourage solar power projects, which took effect on June 1, 2017 and lasts until June 30, 2019.

Accordingly, for solar power projects which were connected to the national power grid before June 30, 2019, Viet Nam Electricity (EVN) would buy the entire power output at VND2,086 (9.35 US cents) per kWh for 20 years.

This means that if solar power projects are not connected to the grid before the June 30, 2019 deadline, the purchasing price of electricity could be lower and won’t be fixed for 20 years.

According to Binh Thuan Province People’s Committee, there were 113 areas in the southern province with the potential for developing solar power projects over a total area of 14,198 hectares and potential output of 11,648 MWp.

While Binh Thuan Province’s solar power development planning project to 2020 was waiting for approval from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, some 90 solar projects were registered in the province with total output of 5,341 MWp, total area of 6,720 hectares and total capital of VND137.2 trillion (US$5.97 billion).

Of them, 28 projects with a total capacity of 1,475 MWp were added to the national and provincial power development plan. Twenty three projects were granted licences and investors pledged to start construction by the end of 2018 and generate power before June 30, 2019.

For other projects, investors were preparing for their investment licences.

The province, however, said that it was difficult for solar power projects in the province to be completed and generate power before the June 30, 2019 deadline because many of them were located in areas of national titanium reserves and must wait for approval from the Prime Minister before implementation.

Thus, Binh Thuan Province asked that the deadline be extended to the end of 2020 to give investors time to complete the projects.

Binh Thuan Province’s proposal was raised after the Prime Minister agreed to extend the deadline to the end of 2020 for solar power projects with capacities of more than 2,000 MW in Ninh Thuan Province.

Energy experts were concerned that other provinces, like Khanh Hoa and Binh Phuoc, could also ask for the extension.

Khanh Hoa Province now has 17 solar power projects to be developed with a total capacity of 700MWp and Binh Phuoc has 22 projects with capacity of 2,500 MWp in total.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade in September required localities to evaluate the compliance with planning of 205 registered solar power projects with a total capacity of 16,500 MWp nationwide.

These projects did not include more than 70 others with a total capacity of 3,000 MWp already approved to be added to the power development planning and pledged to be put into operation before June 30, 2019.

As of the end of September, EVN signed 35 power purchase agreements with solar power investors with a total capacity of 2,271 MW. 

Seoul-based Mirae Financial Group and Naver have acquired two logistics centres in Viet Nam for 53 billion won (US$47.01 million), said industry sources on Friday.

The two companies acquired the logistics centres in Yen Phong Industrial Park, located near Ha Noi, through their 50:50 joint venture Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund. Of the total, 30 billion won will be funded by the joint venture while the rest will be provided by the Vietnamese unit of Shinhan Investment through refinancing and tenant deposits.

According to sources, Mirae Asset and Naver invested in the logistics centres because they forecast the fast-growing Vietnamese economy would develop as a logistics hub. They thought it is crucial to grab some market share as infrastructure is key for logistics businesses.

Earlier in March, the two firms created a 200 billion won joint fund to invest in promising Asian start-ups focusing on e-commerce, internet platforms, healthcare, consumer and logistics.

Most recently in August, it invested $150 million in Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab.

Seminar dissects Viet Nam’s competitiveness, verdict is ‘low’     

Renovating its growth model and improving productivity are among the key requirements to improve Viet Nam’s economic competitiveness, a seminar heard in HCM City on Friday.

Dr Pham Thi Thu Hang, former general secretary of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the country’s economic competitiveness remained low.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, Viet Nam dropped three places in the ranking this year to 77th out of 140 economies.

Hang said an analysis of the factors that measure the economy’s competitiveness showed infrastructure to be one of the weakest points in Viet Nam’s competitiveness index, especially the quality of roads, seaports, airports and power supply.

“Infrastructure and utility services do not keep pace with the economic growth and urbanisation.”

Labour productivity remains low, she said.

Viet Nam was considered to have abundant human resources but there was a supply-demand mismatch in many industries, she said.

Vocational standards had been promulgated but were not comprehensive, lacking consistency and incompatible with international professional standards.

Besides, Viet Nam lacked a reliable and consistent labour market forecast model and statistical and analytical experts, she said.

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said the issue of competitiveness is increasingly receiving attention from governments in many nations, and raising Viet Nam’s competitiveness is also a major goal of the Party and Government.

The Government had issued a resolution on improving the business environment and enhancing national competitiveness to make Viet Nam one of the four most competitive countries in the ASEAN bloc by 2020, he said.

The country’s economic competitiveness was mainly based on existing and non-renewable factors and not innovation, he said.

Productivity was among the core factors determining the competitiveness of enterprises and the economy, he said.

Luu Dinh Vinh of the College of Economics of HCM City said improving labour productivity required a change in thinking: Instead of working overtime, businesses should invest in the training human resources to instil working skills.

Experts also said businesses should have a mechanism to promote talent and usher in a creative culture to encourage employees to maximise their potential.

Besides knowledge, technology is also a factor affecting labour productivity, production and the efficiency of enterprises, they said.

Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the link between domestic and FDI enterprises to learn and adopt advanced global models and technologies, they said.

To enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, Vu Kim Hanh, director of the Business Study and Assistance Centre, said enterprises must attach importance to quality and value addition, embrace technology and regularly update themselves on the market.

But they usually lack market information, and so one of the important things the State management agencies have to do to support enterprises is to provide them with market information, she said.

Loc said: “It is time for Viet Nam to adopt drastic solutions to improve its competitiveness.”

Besides World Bank and World Economic Forum criteria, the country should also consider the 17 UN sustainable development goals to improve its competitiveness, he suggested.

The “Competitiveness of the economy: current status, potential and challenges" seminar was organised by the VCCI and the University of Economics and Law.

Cuba top five luring Viet Nam investment     

Cuba was among the top five countries attracting Vietnamese investment in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency.

The agency, under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), reported that Vietnamese firms registered investments of US$20 million in Cuba in the first 10 months of 2018.

Although the figure was modest, it demonstrates that Vietnamese companies have begun to pay attention to Cuba, which is in the first stages of opening its market, promising more opportunities for investment and business cooperation in the future.

Forecasts once stated that after Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, Cuba would emerge as a top investment destination because of its significant potential. The Cuban government has called on Vietnamese businesses to invest in the country, according to the agency.

Viet Nam’s existing projects in Cuba include PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP)’s petroleum exploration project and Thai Binh Investment and Trade JSC’s diaper and detergent production project in the Mariel Special Development Zone.

Meanwhile, Hanel and its Cuban partner plan to build a five-star hotel and office for rent and Vico is scheduled to develop a detergent production project. Viglacera is eyeing a joint pottery venture and Hung Thang Company plans to produce bottled water.

Viet Nam and Cuba are negotiating a new bilateral trade agreement to open more opportunities in investment and business, marking Cuba’s first deal with an Asian partner. This agreement is expected to boost trade between the two countries to $500 million a year by 2022, doubling the average for the past five years.

According to the agency, in the first 10 months of this year, Viet Nam’s companies invested a total of $344 million abroad. Meanwhile, they registered an increase of $47.1 million in total for 26 existing projects in foreign countries. So far this year, Viet Nam’s total investment capital abroad reached over $22 billion.

Water sector promotes investment attraction

The great demand of financing for Vietnam’s water supply and sewerage systems has attracted further foreign investments.

Up to now, the water and electricity supply sectors have ranked third in attracting investment capital to 117 projects totally capitalized at US$22.8 billion including 71 water supply and wastewater treatment projects worth US$2.6 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Addressing the press conference to announce the 10th International Water Supply, Sanitation, Water Resources and Purification Event (VIETWATER2018), Chairman of the Vietnam Water Supply & Sewerage Association (VWSA) Cao Lai Quang said up to June 30, 70% of urban water supply systems have ensured sufficient services of safer water round-the-clock. Currently, the country’s urban water supply systems have a total design capacity of 8.7 million cubic metres per day/night.

However, Vietnam’s water sector is facing numerous challenges in the urbanization process. The old water distribution systems and poor management have led to the loss of a large volume of water.

Water supply and sanilation businesses from Taiwan, the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Denmark, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, are currently very keen on the Vietnamese market.

Hanoi authorities have also called on foreign enterprises to pour further investments in safe water supply to disadvantaged areas. 

Minh Phu Seafood to remove non-core businesses to ease foreign ownership     

Viet Nam’s leading shrimp exporter Minh Phu Seafood Corporation has approved a plan to remove some of its non-core businesses to pave the way for foreign investors to buy more shares in the company.

During a shareholders’ meeting on Saturday, the company’s management board agreed to abolish its real estate, civil works, road freight and motor vehicle rental operations.

The move aims to allow foreign investors to own more than 51 per cent of its capital.

Minh Phu plans to issue nearly 76 million shares to investors through a private placement to raise its charter capital to VND2.16 trillion (US$92.3 million) from VND1.4 trillion.

The offering price will be no lower than the book value of the company in its latest financial statement and no less than the average closing price for 10 consecutive days prior to its filing to the State Securities Commission.

The share issue is expected in 2018-19. The proceeds will be used to strengthen the company’s financial position as well as add more capital for production and business activities.

According to Le Van Quang, Minh Phu Seafood Corp’s chairman cum CEO, many investors had expressed an interest in the company’s shares with ratios of 35 per cent, 30 per cent and 15 per cent.

One investor even wanted to buy 35.1 per cent of the company’s capital and 15 per cent of his family’s ownership to hold a 51 per cent stake. However, according to Quang, the investor was not satisfied with the share price, which he hoped to be at least 20-30 per cent higher than the market value.

Minh Phu’s shares are being traded at around VND47,000 ($2) on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM).

The company had established a goods production and processing process but was rather weak in B2C (business to consumer) activities, Quang said, adding that the company was seeking strategic investors with strong financial capacity to help expand its markets.

He disclosed two investors from the United States and Japan who wanted to invest in the company.

According to the company, China-US trade tensions were pushing breaded shrimp imports from China to the US from a zero tariff to a 10 per cent fee that will rise to 25 per cent by the year-end. Many US customers have asked Minh Phu to increase its sales to the US to offset falling imports from China.

The company has decided to build a $250-300 million breaded shrimp processing factory with annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes in Hau Giang Province. This factory, expected to be operational by 2020, will contribute more than 20 per cent to the company’s total profits.

In addition, due to the overloaded cold warehouse situation in the US, the company is planning to build a 10,000 pallet cold storage facility in Los Angeles and another 10,000 pallet facility in New York to reduce costs. The company posted a nine-month revenue of VND12.6 trillion and net profit of VND681 billion, up 15 per cent in revenue and 58 per cent in profit compared to the same period last year.

It is planning to shift its listing to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange early next year. 

Agribank to sell OCB shares late this month     

Agribank will sell more than 468,000 Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) shares at auction on November 29.

At a starting price of VND18,130 (77 US cents) per share, the bank is estimated to earn some VND8.5 billion if the auction succeeds.

OCB shares are traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) market at a price of VND15,000-17,000 apiece, lower than Agribank’s offered price.

As for Agribank, it is stepping up the divestment from its non-core business sector. The bank’s chairman Trinh Ngoc Khanh announced that his bank will complete the corporate valuation process by the end of the year before launching an initial public offering (IPO) in 2020.

Agribank hasn’t so far released its nine-month business results, but its pre-tax profit was positive in the first half, rising 37 per cent to VND3.8 trillion.

By the end of June, Agribank’s total assets were 3.9 per cent higher than at the beginning of the year, reaching VND1,197 trillion. The bank’s total outstanding loans increased by 5.6 per cent to VND925.21 trillion while mobilised capital climbed 2.5 per cent to VND1,053 trillion.

According to OCB general director Nguyen Dinh Tung, OCB will meet its profit target of VND2 trillion this year as the bank posted profit of VND1.84 trillion in the first three quarters of the year, up 133 per cent against the same period last year. 

Danang merges three industry, trade centers

The Department of Industry and Trade of Danang City has announced plans to set up a municipal Industry and Trade Promotion Center by merging three units under the department — the Danang Trade Promotion Center, the Danang Industrial Development Consulting and Industry Promotion Center and the Management Board of the Danang Fair and Exhibition Center.

The merger is part of the city’s plan to streamline organizational structures at State-run administrative units as well as optimize industry and trade activities, said Phan Van Kha, director of the department.

Besides this, Le Thanh Ha, former director of the Danang Industrial Development Consulting and Industry Promotion Center, has been appointed as director of the newly founded center, in addition to two new deputy directors and specialized divisions.

The new center is in charge of organizing and participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, conventions and trade promotion events. These tasks were previously conducted by the Danang Market and Fair Exhibition Management Company, which managed the Management Board of the Danang Fair and Exhibition Center.

Earlier, the municipal Department of Culture and Sports released an announcement, establishing a Culture and Movie Center as the result of merging three agencies: the Danang Event and Festival Organizing Center, the Danang Culture Center and the Danang Motion Picture Distribution Center.

In addition, the culture and sport department merged the Heritage Management Center into the Danang Museum. Moreover, the Center of Employment Service, under the municipal Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Job Placement Center, under the Management Board of Industrial and Processing Parks, were combined into one unit.

Following a scheme on rearranging and streamlining organizational structures at public units under the municipal government during the 2018-2021 period, Danang will make efforts to eliminate 28 public agencies, along with at least 2,000 public servants by 2021 by increasing autonomy in management and shifting the use of the State budget for regular expenses to funding collected from services.

Efforts made to strengthen presence of Vietnamese products in foreign retail

A number of Vietnamese goods weeks have been held abroad this year, with the aim to offer Vietnamese firms a chance to directly export goods to big foreign distribution systems, such as Big C, Aeon, Lotte, and Emart.

A Vietnam goods and tourism week was recently organised at the Central World Trade centre in the Thai capital of Bangkok, drawing over 15,000 visitors.

Vice Director of the Hanoi Centre for Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion Nguyen Thi Mai Anh said that the centre coordinated with the Central Group in order to select products and enterprises for the event that were most suitable to the Thai market.

Throughout the week, many Hanoi firms signed contracts with new partners. After the event, Central Group’s purchase teams will visit Vietnam to explore the Vietnamese market and work with specific firms, thus putting Vietnamese goods into the group’s retail system in Vietnam, Thailand, as well as the world.

According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai, a recently approved and implemented project, hoping to encourage Vietnamese businesses to directly engage in foreign distribution systems by 2020, has benefited both producers and distributors.

For Vietnamese enterprises, directly joining foreign distribution networks will help them to gain a better understanding of customers’ demand and quality management, thus working towards meeting the export standards of world-leading brands, while also  being presented with more opportunities to develop their trademarks.

For distributors, directly meeting with Vietnamese enterprises will help them diversify their sources, thus improving the quality of their products, especially in the agro-forestry-fishery sector. 

Le Thi Mai Linh, Executive Vice President of the Department of Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility at Central Group Vietnam, said that the group hopes to sell more Vietnamese products around the world through the Big C supermarket system. 

However, many Vietnamese products have yet to meet international standards or lack the conditions to make their presence felt at foreign distribution systems.

In order to implement the project in an effective and systematic manner, it is necessary to foster coordination among relevant parties, as well as strengthen the efforts of enterprises in improving the quality and competiveness of their products.

Meanwhile, businesses should actively seek market information and join trade promotion activities to introduce Vietnamese products and bring them into foreign distribution networks in a stable and sustainable manner. 

Conference on Sino-U.S. trade war to take place in HCMC

A conference on the impact of the Sino-American trade war and the measures local enterprises should adopt to cope with them is slated to kick off on November 23 in HCMC’s District 1.

The ongoing Sino-American trade war will likely have heavy consequences for Vietnam's manufacturing, services and trade sectors. Many said the trade conflict had positively affected the country over the short term. However, if the war continues, local firms may become vulnerable as the global economy cannot avoid the chaos.

Accordingly, the Saigon Times Group and Bluescope Vietnam, one of the leading suppliers of steel products and solutions, co-organized the conference, themed, “Sino-U.S. trade war: What is the outlook for Vietnamese enterprises?” to help local firms gain deep insights into the trade friction and prepare responses to cope with the economic impact of the conflict.

At the conference, associate professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics and currently a member of the Prime Minister’s economic consulting team, will give an overview of the Sino-American trade war, along with its impact on the Vietnamese economy in general, and local firms in particular.

In addition, Thien will share with participants which sectors will be vulnerable to the war and which ones can reap benefits from it.

With in-depth knowledge of the trade row’s effects on enterprises, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the WTO Center under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), will talk about how local firms can leverage advantages and minimize obstacles in the context of the trade war.

Apart from this, the conference will gather many speakers operating businesses in various fields such as Vo Minh Nhut, general director of NS Bluescope, and Ho Duc Lam, chairman of the Vietnam Plastics Association and chairman of the board of directors at Rang Dong Plastic company. They will give vivid examples of the effects of the trade conflict on their sectors and measures to deal with these effects.

Meanwhile, Vu Quang Thinh, managing director of Dynam Capital, which manages the Vietnam Holding investment fund, will serve as the event’s moderator. He has deep insights on domestic companies’ and the local economy’s changes, brought about by the trade war.

Besides this, the event’s master of ceremonies (MC) is Tran Quoc Khanh, a professional MC who hosts prestigious economic conferences.

The conference will start at 8 a.m. on Friday, November 23, at Adora Dynasty Convention Center, located at No.1 Ton That Tung in HCMC’s District 1.

Interested attendees should contact Truc Nhu, executive of the External Affairs Division at the Saigon Times Group, via email at trucnhu@kinhtesaigon.vn or mobile phone 0902.525.180, or on the approved Google link before Wednesday, November 21. Participants will receive an invitation letter after registering through the given link.

The event offers free admission and has limited seats, so interested attendees should make a reservation as soon as possible.

Coal imports for power generation on the rise     

The import of coal for electricity generation looks set to increase in the near future, said deputy general director of Viet Nam Electricity (EVN) Ngo Son Hai.

Hai told the Coaltrans conference on emerging Asian coal markets in Ha Noi on Wednesday that the total power capacity by the end of 2017 was more than 45,000MW, 38 per cent of which was coal-fired power generation.

According to the National Power Master Plan VII for 2011 to 2020 with a vision to 2030, coal-fired power would comprise a big portion in the country’s power supply.

The total coal-fired power capacity would reach 26,000MW by 2020, accounting for 42.7 per cent of the total and 55,300MW by 2030, or 42.6 per cent.

The demand for coal for power generation would be on the rise in the upcoming time. The amount of coal used for power generation in 2017 was 5.4 times higher than in 2007.

In addition to local coal, demand for imported coal would also be higher as coal-fired power plants such as Duyen Hai 3 and Quang Trach 1 come into operation.

He said that last year EVN began importing coal for power generation.

However, he said its power corporations have faced difficulties with coal imports, as relevant policies have not been completed. On the other hand, the anthracite coal source is increasingly scarce, and the quality of bituminous and sub-bitumen coal is unstable.

From 2019, EVN would have to import more anthracite coal to offset the domestic coal shortage.

The shortcomings of coal port infrastructure, transport capacity of shipping vessels and adverse weather conditions have also been significant challenges in the coal import for power generation.

To ensure national energy security, EVN has taken some steps to resolve the coal issue for power generation such as building medium- and long-term coal procurement contracts and holding open bidding to select qualified suppliers. In the upcoming time, EVN would also study of free on board (FOB) coal transportation methods.