Over 37.6 million shares to be offered on HNX in February

In 2018, HNX held 40 auctions; including 10 initial public offerings (IPOs), 29 divestments and one purchasing rights auction. — Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

 The Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) will hold eight auctions in February to sell over 37.6 million shares of companies this month.

The companies include Thai Hoa Water Supply JSC, Dien Chau Water Supply JSC, Cua Lo Water Supply SJC, Quynh Luu Water Supply JSC, Ha Tinh Urban and Environment JSC, Ninh Binh Water Supply and Sewerage SJC, Lilama 69 - 3 JSC and Lilama 10 JSC.

In January, Hai Duong Province People’s Committee divested from Hai Duong Cable Television Joint Stock Company on the HNX.

Of the 692,000 shares on offer, 575,000 were purchased, equal to 83 per cent. As a result, VND7.1 billion (US$303,418) was collected and the share capital surplus reached VND1.4 billion.

In 2018, the HNX held 40 auctions; including 10 initial public offerings (IPOs), 29 divestments and one purchasing rights auction. 

A number of cattle slaughterhouses to be launched in HCMC

HCM City plans to construct several modern livestock and poultry slaughterhouses this year, in addition to facilities being opened by private firms.

From now to September 2019, the city will open six modern industrial-scale cattle slaughterhousees, which will have a total capacity of 13,000 animals per day.

Hoc Mon District will have two slaughterhouses, including the Xuan Thoi Thuong and Tan Hiep Food Processing Plants, with capacity of 2,000 and 3,000 animals per day, respectively.

Cu Chi District will have four facilities in Tan Thanh commune with capacity of 2,000 animals per day, Tan Phu Trung commune with capacity of 3,000 animals per day, one on Vo Van Bich street with capacity of 2,000 animals per day and another in Phuoc Thanh commune with capacity of 1,000 animals per day.

In addition, Vissan Joint Stock Company will open one slaughterhouse in their food processing industrial complex in Ben Luc District in Long An Province, with capacity of 2,500 to 4,000 animals per day.

When these slaughterhouses are put into use, the city will shut all traditional slaughterhouses where hygiene standards are often flaunted. Particularly, Trung Tuyen slaughterhouse located in Can Gio District continues to operate to serve the needs of local people.

The city now has 11 slaughterhouses with total capacity of 6,330 pigs and 82,000 poultry per day.

Also, by the end of this year, the city expects to put into use two slaughterhouses belonging to Pham Ton Co. Ltd and Sai Gon Agriculture One Member Co. Ltd in Cu Chi District.

The city expects that by 2020 the total capacity of these plants will reach 15,530 pigs, 300,000 poultry and 300 cows per day. 

Forestry product exports rise 11 percent in January

Forestry product exports in January is estimated at 903 million USD, a rise of 11 percent over the same period in 2018, reported the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

According to the administration, export revenue of wood and wooden products reaches 852 million USD, a rise of 10 percent year on year, while that of non-wood products is 51 million USD, up 20 percent over the same time of 2018.

In January, forestry sector’s trade surplus is estimated to hit 661 million USD, up 9 percent year on year.

The major markets of the sector are the US, Japan, the EU, China and the Republic of Korea, which consume about 87 percent of the total forestry products of Vietnam.

In the month, many provinces have started their forest planting scheme with a total new area of 2,360 hectares.

The Vietnam Administration of Forestry reported that the period from January to March is the high season for forest planting in the northern and north-central regions. It asked agencies and localities to strengthen communications and give guidelines to organizations, enterprises and individuals to plant, take care of and protect forests in each season, thus completing the development plan for 2019.

A tree planting festival will also be held on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year festival as a tradition initiated by President Ho Chi Minh.

In January, 951 cases of Forestry Law violation are reported across the country, a drop of 332 cases or 26 percent compared to January 2018, damaging 26.3 hectares, down 56 percent over the same time last year.

As part of the efforts to fight deforestation and wildfire, on January 25, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong issued a directive on the strengthening of preventive measures.

The Vietnam Administration of Forestry targets over 10.5 billion USD in wood and forestry products in 2019. It also aims to preserve and sustainably develop the existing forest area and effectively settle violations to legal regulations on forest protection and development, with 10 percent decrease in the number of cases and a drop of at least 20 percent of area damaged compared to 2018.

Petrol prices remain unchanged ahead of Tet holidays

The retail prices of oil and petrol will be kept unchanged for the next 15 days, the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade announced on January 31 

The retail prices of oil and petrol will be kept unchanged for the next 15 days, the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade announced on January 31.

The two ministries reviewed fuel prices every 15 days to keep domestic prices up with swings in the global market.

Accordingly, the retail price of bio-fuel E5 RON 92 will not be higher than 16,272 VND (0.7 USD) per litre, and that of RON 95 not more than 17,603 VND (0.76 USD).

The ceiling prices of diesel and kerosene will be maintained at 14,909 VND and 14,185 VND per litre, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the cost of ethanol E100 which is used to produce E5 petrol stood at 15,458 VND per litre before tax. 

The two ministries decided to maintain the petrol prices to support production of domestic firms and control inflation prior to 2019 Lunar New Year.

This time, subsidies for E5 RON92 are 1,673 VND per litre (previously 1,462 VND per litre), 825 VND per litre for RON95 (previously 645 VND per litre), as well as 1,003 VND per litre for diesel (previously 430 VND per litre).

The falling trend in petrol price stopped after six consecutive downward adjustments. At this level, the petrol price is still 2,500 VND lower than the price at the beginning of 2018.

The average global price of petrol products during the last 15 days to January 31 was at 59.674 USD per barrel for RON 92 and 82.368 USD for diesel.

PVTEX Dinh Vu raises capacity to 12 production lines

A corner of PVTEX Dinh Vu Yarn Plant

The PVTEX Dinh Vu Yarn Plant of PetroVietnam’s Petrochemical and Textile Fiber Joint-Stock Company (PVTEX) on January 31 put two more yarn production lines into operation, lifting the total number of its lines to 12. 

According to General Director of PVTEX Dao Van Ngoc, the plant has produced 2,900 tonnes of draw textured yarn (DTY), and sold 2,500 tonnes of product since April 20, 2018. 

PVTEX signed contracts to sell 1,338 tonnes of DTY to 21 customers with a total value of 49.5 billion VND.

Ngoc added that the firm and its partner An Phat Holdings JSC (APH) are maintaining the remaining DTY production lines, towards lifting the total capacity of the plant to 25 lines in the second quarter of this year. 

PVTEX and APH are working together to build a five-year production cooperation plan and negotiating a collaboration contract, which is expected to be inked in the first quarter of this year. 

PVTEX is also building a capital-restructuring plan in 2019 in accordance with the plan approved by the Prime Minister, Ngoc noted. 

PVTEX, a subsidiary of PetroVietnam with a total investment capital of 325 million USD, started commercial operations in May 2014 with a capacity of 236 tonnes of fibre per day, reaching 48 percent of the designed capacity.

The plant halted operations in September 2015 owing to a huge loss of 1.26 trillion VND (55.3 million USD) and negative equity of 504 billion VND.

It was scheduled to restart in 2016 but failed to do so. Authorities would have considered bankruptcy if the equitisation of the enterprise had been unsuccessful.

PVTEX and APH signed a memorandum of cooperation on producing and trading Dinh Vu polyester fibre in April last year.

Japanese firms seek agricultural cooperation opportunities in Vietnam

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UCA Pham Anh Tuan (standing) speaks at a working session with Japanese business delegation 

A delegation of Japanese businesses had a working session with the Vietnam Cooperative Union of Agricultural Consumption (UCA) in Hanoi on January 31 to seek investment cooperation opportunities in the field of high-tech agriculture.

Miura Mitsuru, head of the delegation, said Japanese firms want to study the reality of agricultural production in Vietnam as well as the country’s potential and advantages to seek partnership opportunities with the UCA in supporting and developing production of cooperatives, and trading Vietnamese safe farm produce.

Le Duc Thinh, Director of the Economic Cooperation and Rural Development Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said his unit is implementing a plan to develop 15,000 cooperatives through 2020.

The UCA will help cooperatives join value chains from production to sale of farm produce as well as remove bottlenecks in production and seeking markets.

The department will support the UCA in training and building policies for value chain connection, Thinh said.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UCA Pham Anh Tuan said its products are closely managed from production to harvesting, processing, packaging, preserving and selling to minimize post-harvest losses and improve the quality and competitiveness of products at home and abroad.

Recognising both opportunities and challenges from the country’s intensive integration into the global economy, the UCA has built a chain of UCAmarts and promote the pilot establishment of a centre linking production and consumption, exporting Vietnamese safe farm produce in the Red River Delta province of Ha Nam, he added.

The union has expanded investment cooperation opportunities with foreign partners, especially those from countries and territories with developed agriculture such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Israel to apply high-tech agricultural technologies in producing varieties, preserving, processing, and logistics.

The cooperation with Japanese businesses will help the agricultural sector increase competitiveness and make inroads into the global market, aiming to build a modern agricultural industry with sustainable development, he added.

Upbeat signs on Vietnam-Czech Republic trade ties

Garment and textiles considered as Vietnam's key exports to the Czech Republic 

Investment and trade ties between Vietnam and the Czech Republic have shown encouraging signs along with the thriving political and diplomatic relations.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Ho Minh Tuan, two-way trade increased unceasingly at about 15 percent in recent years. Import-export turnover between the two nations was reported at some 1.2 billion USD in 2018, doubling the amount recorded in the previous year.

As a member of the European Union which has traditional friendship with Vietnam, the Czech Republic stands ready to cooperate with the Southeast Asian country in the fields of its strength like manufacturing, mining, food processing technology, agriculture and beer production.

The Vietnamese diplomat said that the country sees Vietnam as its potential trade partner, and a bridge to bolster exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thus, the Czech Republic hopes to receive support from competent authorities in Vietnam in finding faithful partners.

Once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) takes effect, Czech enterprises will have more opportunities to land long-term investment in Vietnam as well as enhance exports of such items as machines, equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemical and means of transportation. Meanwhile, the deal will facilitate conditions for Vietnam’s shipments of footwear, garment and textiles, tropical agricultural products, seafood, wood products and industrial products.

Czech Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimir Bartl had an optimistic outlook on the bilateral trade relations, saying that Vietnamese coffee, pepper, fruits, tea, seafood, fine art, footwear and clothes have been exported to the Czech Republic while the European country has shipped electronic products, milk and chemical, among others to Vietnam.

Currently, Vietnam is enjoying a trade surplus of 800 million USD with the Czech Republic, he added.

Czech enterprises have been present in many Vietnamese localities, especially in Da Nang city where the firms are expanding investment in engineering, manufacturing, bio-technology and nano technology.

Retail sales up 12.2% in January

Shoppers at Vinmart in Times City, Ha Noi. The retail value of goods totaled VND305.4 trillion ($13.1 billion), surging 5.2 per cent over last December. 

Total revenue from retail trade and services in Viet Nam reached an estimated VND402.2 trillion (US$17.26 billion) in January, up 4.4 per cent month-on-month and 12.2 per cent year-on-year, the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed.

GSO statisticians attributed the first month’s positive increase to the rising purchasing demand of local people for the upcoming Tet holiday and efforts of enterprises in stockpiling goods to better serve the peak demand.

The retail value of goods totaled VND305.4 trillion, surging 5.2 per cent over last December and 13.1 per cent over the same month last year with significant sale increases seen in food and foodstuffs (13.1 per cent), and textile and garments (13.4 per cent), according to the report.

Among localities nationwide, the capital city posted the highest growth in retail sales of goods at 15.1 per cent. It was followed by the northern port city of Hai Phong at 14.5 per cent; northern Bac Ninh Province at 14 per cent; the central city of Da Nang at 13.1 per cent and HCM City at 13 per cent.

As per the data, retail sales of services topped VND43 trillion, representing a monthly rise of 1.8 per cent and a yearly increase of 7.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, revenue from restaurants, accommodation and catering services was also up 1.4 per cent month-on-month and 7.7 per cent year-on-year to VND49.5 trillion and that from tourism hit VND4.3 trillion, a hike of 8 per cent over last year’s corresponding month.

According to the Viet Nam Institute for Trade Research, the goods retail market is seeing a blooming trend of minimarts and convenience stores.

The institute forecast that convenience stores would see double-digit growth in the next three years and reach 37.4 per cent growth in 2021.

Under the domestic trade development strategy, total sales of goods and services would grow by 13 per cent each year through 2020 and by 14 per cent per year in the 2021-25 period.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s statistics showed the wholesale and retail sector ranked third in attracting foreign direct investment in 2018 with total registered capital of $3.37 billion, accounting for 10.3 per cent of the country’s FDI.

Last year, total retail sales of goods and services in Viet Nam reached nearly VND4.4 quadrillion, representing a rise of 11.7 per cent against the previous year. That reflected strong purchasing power in the domestic market, GSO said. 

Tet specialities for sale in HCM City

A stall selling Ham Yen orange at the Green Tet-Viet Product Market being held at 12 Phung Khac Khoan in HCM City’s District 1 until February 2. 

A lot of speciality foods from around the country are being sold in HCM City for Tet (the Lunar New Year).

They are available from social networks and shopping portals to shops, supermarkets and fairs.

At the Green Tet-Viet Product Market at 12 Phung Khac Khoan in District 1, until February 2, many kinds of specialties from northern and mountainous provinces and safe vegetables and fruits that meet hygiene and food safety standards and have traceable origins will be sold.

There are also shops specialising in northern speciality foods on Dien Bien Phu Street in Binh Thanh District, Chu Manh Trinh Street in District 1 and Tran Quoc Toan Street in District 3. Popular among them are kohlrabi, cabbage, garland chrysanthemum, green onion, carrot and other vegetables, alcohol made of sticky rice, and Van Village wine.

Dried northern specialities include pig tongue-shaped dried bamboo shoot (Tuyen Quang), vau dried bamboo shoot, vermicelli made of arrowroot starch, shiitake mushroom, pork pie, Hang Than green rice flake cake, Tan Cuong tea green bean cake, and candied lotus seeds (Hung Yen Province).

Supermarkets and traditional markets are also selling many kinds of specialities.

Co.opmart and Co.opXtra supermarket chains have stocked nearly 20 tonnes of six kinds of specialties: Canh orange, Dien pomelo, Yen The chicken, Ca Mau dried shrimp with shell, red pomelo and Ngoc Linh ginseng.

Besides northern specialties, many southern specialties like Soc Trang pia cake, Hoa Loc mango, Nam Roi pomelo, Lai Vung mandarin, Tra Vinh banh tet, dried snakehead fish, and others are also available at supermarkets. 

SAPA Thale Group, Dubai FDI to quickly deploy projects in VN and UAE

Fahad Al Gergawi, vice president of the World Investment Association and CEO of Dubai FDI and billionaire Mai Vu Minh (3rd from left), SAPA Thale Group chairman, at the Dubai FDI’s headquarter in Dubai. — Photo courtesy of organiser

 There is huge potential for trade between Viet Nam and Dubai, according to the Dubai Development Investment Agency.

Speaking at a meeting with executives of SAPA Thale Group in Dubai, Fahad Al Gergawi, vice president of the World Investment Association (WAIPA) and CEO of the agency (Dubai FDI), said: “The Dubai Government will create conditions for the sucess of the bilateral investment cooperation programme between SAPA Thale Group and Dubai FDI.

“SAPA Thale Group and Dubai FDI are quickly deploying projects in Viet Nam and the UAE.”

Following an invitation from the Dubai Ministry of Economic Investment and Dubai FDI, SAPA Thale group executives, including Vietnamese-German billionaire Mai Vu Minh, the company’s chairman, visited Dubai from January 25 to 29 to meet with a number of leading business people.

After the meeting with executives of DP World, one of the world’s leading port operators, Minh said: “Our business trip was very effective. DP World sees great potential for seaport and infrastructure development in Viet Nam.”

The bilateral investment cooperation programme was signed last December in HCM City between SAPA Thale Group, WAIPA, Dubai FDI, and the Milcon Gulf Group.

Under the programme, they will enhance co-operation in many fields including finance - banking, technology, infrastructure, energy, transportation, real estate, hospitality, and tourism.

Trade between Viet Nam and Dubai reached US$10 billion last year and is expected to reach $15 billion by 2025.

SAPA Thale Group, established in Germany, specialises in luxury real estate and financial investment.

Hanoi focuses on large-scale firms in FDI attraction strategy

Hanoi, the leading locality nationwide in FDI attraction in 2018, will focus on luring large-scale firms in the future, a move expected to also open up opportunities for small firms to invest in the city.

At a recent working session with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan reported that with 7.5 billion USD in FDI, the city has become the biggest FDI attractor of the country last year.

As of December 31, 2018, Hanoi hosted nearly 4,500 valid projects with total registered investment of 36.6 billion USD, of which 18.9 billion USD was disbursed.

The contributions of the FDI sector to the development of the city include the transfer of advanced technology in sectors such as telecommunications, electronics and industry.

The sector has helped transform the economic structure and enhance the competitiveness of the city by bringing more services to international standards.

Meanwhile, the FDI sector has contributed to promoting administrative reform, creating a favourable business environment. Under statistics released in April 2018, Hanoi ranked 13th out of 63 cities and provinces in the provincial competitiveness index and second in the public administrative reform index. Hanoi also stood second in the level of readiness for applying information-communications technology.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung attributed the results to the city’s efforts in classifying FDI projects into different groups, thus giving them proper support. Municipal leaders have held regular meetings with major investors to discuss promising sectors in the next five years.

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thang, the ministry plans to coordinate with Hanoi in investment promotion through various policies.

Chung said that in the future, Hanoi will concentrate on luring large-scale firms to thereby attract smaller investors from other countries.

In 2019, the city has defined a number of prioritised sectors for attracting investment, including urban infrastructure construction, environment, processing, and areas with high added value such as information technology, tourism, trade and logistics.

Meanwhile, Toan said that Hanoi will build a service-oriented administration, while improving the investment environment, speeding up administrative reform and removing difficulties facing foreign investors.

Almost 6 trillion VND raised from G-bond auction

Almost 6 trillion VND is raised from the auction of Government bonds at the Hanoi Stock Exchange this week (Photo: baodauthau.vn)

About 5.95 trillion VND (256.47 million USD) was mobilised for the State Treasury of Vietnam from the auction of Government bonds at the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) this week.

G-bonds worth a total of 4.5 trillion VND were offered, including 1 trillion VND of five-year bonds, 3 trillion VND of 10-year bonds and 500 billion VND of 20-year bonds.

The auction of five-year bonds successfully raised 1 trillion VND with an annual interest rate of 3.8 percent, down 0.02 percent from the previous auction on January 16.

The State Treasury also raised 3 trillion VND from bonds with 10-year maturity with an annual interest rate of 4.8 percent, down 0.04 percent from the previous auction.

Another 1.5 trillion VND worth of 10-year bonds with the same rate was mobilised in an auxiliary auction.

Meanwhile, 448.5 billion VND were mobilised for the State Treasury through the auction of 20-year bonds. These bonds’ annual rate of 5.59 percent fell 0.01 percent from the last auction.

Since the beginning of 2019, the State Treasury has raised over 36.34 trillion VND through G-bond auctions at the Hanoi Stock Exchange.

Mytel reaches five million subscribers in Myanmar

Viettel signed up five million subscribers in Myanmar after only eight months in the country. 

 Mytel – Viettel’s brand in Myanmar – reached five million subscribers on Thursday just eight months after its launch. Mytel targeted to reach the milestone of 10 million subscribers this year.

Viettel officially inaugurated Mytel in Myanmar on June 9, 2018 – its 10th international mobile phone network. Mytel is the fourth largest network provider in Myanmar and aims to become the biggest in terms of both infrastructure and business results.

Prior to launching Mytel, Viettel Global, an arm of Viettel Group set an ambitious target of reaching 2-3 million customers in 2018. Just one month after launch, however, this target has been changed to four million customers in 2018 and Mytel is expected to be profitable by the end of 2019. Among Mytel’s more than four million active customers, more than 70 per cent are using 4G services. This is also a record for Viettel’s global markets.

A survey on mobile phone use in Myanmar showed that more than 90 per cent of surveyed people were impressed with Mytel. In addition, 94 per cent of respondents knew that Mytel is the fourth operator in Myanmar and was from Viet Nam.

In Myanmar, Mytel is the only telecommunications company that can provide a complete package of mobile, fixed line, transmission line and IT services nationwide.

The high number of business customers was due to careful preparation of infrastructure, mechanisms and services. In addition, Mytel has advantages of co-operating with big distributors, especially Skynet – the biggest TV provider in Myanmar. With more than 400 agents, 130,000 sales locations and over one million customers nationwide, Skynet presented a big opportunity for Mytel in 2018 and following years.

Among Viettel’s 10 international markets, Myanmar is the largest and has the highest potential in terms of growth, although at the beginning of operations, planned losses would be substantial due to high costs and depreciation.

Mytel’s growth rate is rare, especially in the context of slowing development in the international telecommunications market.

Mytel was expected to soon record profit and would contribute significantly to Viettel Global’s profit in the future.

In an interview with Reuters, Le Dang Dung, Chairman of Viettel, said that growth in Myanmar was rare in the telecommunications market and they still have growth potential. He rated Myanmar as one of the most promising markets for Viettel. Viettel wants to double the number of subscribers in Myanmar by the end of 2019 to about 10 million subscribers.

Viettel and its local partners including Myanmar National Holding Public and Star High Public deployed a 4G network worth US$1.5 billion in June 2018.

Dung also revealed that Viettel is negotiating to buy shares in Malaysian and Indonesian telecom firms but refuses to provide more information. 

HP launches premium computer line

HP Vietnam has unveiled its new premium line of consumer and business private computers powered by AMD technology.

The Vietnamese economy is now heavily driven by small and medium businesses (SMBs) and self-employed entrepreneurs, who account for 95 per cent of all firms.

They are looking for products that can meet their needs of productivity and security.

With this in mind, HP’s new premium PC portfolio enables both work and play for consumers and business users, while ensuring security and productivity.

“As the hyper-mobile trend is fuelled by habits of the younger population in Viet Nam, we’ve seen increasing demand for trusted, reliable and easily accessible innovation that meets users’ work and personal needs,” Lim Choon Teck, managing director, HP Vietnam, said.

Equipped with an AMD Ryzen processor and Radeon Vega Graphics, the new portfolio includes the HP ENVY x360 13, HP Desktop Pro A MT and HP EliteBook 705 series G5.

The launch, the company said, also marked the official collaboration between HP Vietnam and AMD.

Peter Chambers, director of sales, AMD Asia Pacific and Japan, said: “We are very pleased to partner with HP to offer AMD Ryzen powered HP PCs to the Vietnamese market.

“With this partnership, we will enable customers to get the most out of their digital lives and at the same time set new standards for security, performance and functionality.”