The document said that as the company still needs to update its current charter capital, which is the capital after issuing shares to convert bonds, it has not been approved to issue bonus shares.

CII's headquarters in District 1, HCM City. — Photo cafef.vn

Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment JSC, with a ticker symbol on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) of CII, will have to submit the share bonus plan again at the next General Meeting of Shareholders, according to a document issued by the State Securities Commission (SSC).

The document said that as the company still needs to update its current charter capital, which is the capital after issuing shares to convert bonds, it has not been approved to issue bonus shares.

Previously, CII issued 707,598 shares to convert into 18,116 convertible bonds for the third phase on May 4.

On August 19, it announced the common stock dividend at a rate of 14 per cent, meaning shareholders owning 100 shares will receive 14 new shares, and the payment of the 2022 cash dividend at a rate of 12 per cent, meaning shareholders owning one share will receive VNĐ1,200 (US$0.048).

For bonus shares, the company has previously submitted a dossier to the SSC. It will carry out the plan after it gets the committee's approval, expected at the end of August. But with the new announcement from SSC, the share bonus will not have a specific implementation date.

For the first nine months of the year, the company recorded a rise of 75 per cent in revenue to more than VNĐ3.8 trillion, while the profit after tax surged by 577 per cent to VNĐ852.4 billion.

Fruit and vegetable exports to China skyrocket in October

Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports to the Chinese market in October surged by 44.2% to US$151.7 million on-year, according to statistics released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

October witnessed the country rake in US$309.7 million from fruit and vegetable exports, thereby representing a rise of 22.9% compared to the previous year and an increase of 28.1% against October, 2021.

During the past 10 months of the year, the export value of fruit and vegetables  reached US$2.75 billion, a decline of 8% against the same period from last year.

Furthermore, fruit and vegetable exports enjoyed strong exports in October, especially to China, duly bringing exports to the Chinese market over the 10-month period to US$1.2 billion, down 25.8% on-year.

Most notably, there is positive outlook ahead for the export of fruit and vegetables to the Chinese market, particularly as local durians have been exported through official channels to China since September.

Moreover, there are a wealth of opportunities ahead for the export of local bananas to China moving forward, particularly as both China and Vietnam have recently signed a protocol relating to exporting fresh bananas.

Meanwhile, fruit and vegetable exports throughout the reviewed period to other foreign markets such as the United States, Thailand, and Japan also increased remarkably by 18.8%, 26.4%, and 6% to US$219 million, US$153.4 million, and US$141.3 million, respectively.

Simultaneously, China increased imports of bananas from the Vietnamese market during the past nine months of the year, with a turnover reaching US$213.3 million, up 49.2% on-year.

New growth drivers under consideration amid global economic fluctuations

Vietnam’s economy continued to witness trends towards recovery in the first ten months of 2022, with inflation remaining under control. Drivers of growth, however, have been showing signs of decline due to negative impacts from the global economy.

After expecting a strong recovery since the second quarter of this year, many businesses are now facing difficulties as fluctuations in exchange rates and interest rates increase, putting pressure on production and business activities.

Figures from the Ministry of Planning and Investment show that Vietnam’s economy continued to see recovery in the first ten months, with inflation being kept under control. Compared with the same period last year, foreign investment has increased 15.2%, trade turnover 5.7%, and the number of newly-registered and re-registered enterprises, 38.3%, or 1.3 times higher than the number of those closing down. However, analysts said, the economy remains under considerable pressure from external factors.

Analysts believe that in the context of driving forces such as industrial production, services, and exports depending heavily on the global economy, public investment and government spending will act as new drivers to sustain growth.

Quang Tri requests clarity on Hai Lang LNG power centre plans

Quang Tri People’s Committee requires the investor of the $2.35 billion Hai Lang LNG power centre – phase 1 – to build plans to adjust the project’s area and complete a feasibility report.

At a working session on November 17 with the project’s investor, the permanent vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee Ha Sy Dong listened to the project’s process.

According to the investor report, the land clearance of Hai Lang LNG is behind plan due to many issues. The revoked land area is vast, requiring many households to be resettled. It is a challenge to complete the land clearance before December 21, as was the previous commitment.

The project’s phase 1 has a total investment of $2.3 billion, with the contribution of T&T being 40 per cent. Meanwhile, Korean partners contribute 60 per cent.
Thus, the investor has proposed adjusting the project's total area, including the construction area for the Hai Lang LNG power centre.

Ha Sy Dong asked the Quang Tri Economic Zone Authority, in collaboration with departments and relevant authorities, to review the plans to adjust the project’s overall area.

“The investor has to accelerate to complete the feasibility report, environmental impact assessment report, and relevant procedures. At the same time, investors have to cooperate with authorities to complete the land clearance and compensation and procedure to change the forest use purpose to implement the project on time,” Dong said.

The investor of the first phase of the Hai Lang LNG power plant is a consortium of Vietnamese conglomerate T&T Group, Korea Gas Corporation, Hanwha Energy Corporation, and Korea Southern Power.

The project’s phase 1 has a total investment of $2.3 billion, with the contribution of T&T being 40 per cent. Meanwhile, Korean partners contribute 60 per cent.

Hai Lang LNG Power Centre combines a 120-hectare Hai Lang LNG terminal warehouse (phase 1) with a receiving capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, and a power centre with a capacity of 1,500MW (phase 1).

The investor organised the ground-breaking ceremony in mid-January this year and expects to complete it in 2026-2027.

Shares to recover amid bargain purchases
     
Investors are considering buying in amid the current correction movements, as recent slumps have sent good fundamentals to attractive price areas.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index finished Friday at 969.33 points, an increase of 0.07 points, or 0.01 per cent. It had risen 1.55 per cent last week.

The Vietnam Foreign Trade Bank Securities Company Limited (VCBS) said that the recovery since the middle of the last trading week has somewhat eased the anxiety among investors, especially when underpinned by an improvement in liquidity.

VNDIRECT Securities Joint Stock Company said more and more information supporting the market had appeared. On the international market, October inflation in the US increased less than forecast, raising the possibility that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may raise operating interest rates by only 50 percentage points at the next meeting in December, which means interest rate hikes will slow down. The dollar showed signs of correction after creating a peak.

As a result, the international stock market has had positive movements in recent weeks. Domestically, the Government is considering solutions to support the real estate market and corporate bonds. For example, the Government has recently established a working group to remove obstacles and difficulties in the implementation of real estate projects. In addition, foreign investors continued to be strong net buyers. Therefore, VNDIRECT Securities expects the market to maintain its recovering trend this week.

Foreign investors had the second consecutive week of net buying on the two exchanges with a total net buying value of VND5.1 trillion. In terms of net volume, STB was the stock that was bought the most with a volume of 50.2 million shares. It was followed by Hoa Phat Group (HPG) and SSI Securities Inc (SSI) with 46.2 million shares and 26.4 million shares, respectively. On the other side, Military Bank (MBB) was the stock that was sold the most with 5.7 million shares.

With a strong recovery momentum in the last three sessions of last week, it is possible that VN-Index will break the old downtrend and change its status to more active movement. VN30-Index also has a similar tendency.

From a medium-term perspective, from August 2022 to now, the market has fallen quite deeply and now the VN-Index has returned to the same level as before the COVID-19 pandemic and the current score range of 900-1,000 points can give hope that the market will stop its downward momentum and start an accumulation and recovery cycle, said Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities Co.

The market's upturn slowed down due to short-term profit-taking pressure. However, the market still maintained a positive sentiment, as shown by VN-Index and VN30-Index closing slightly up and the effort of cash flow to absorb supply, said Viet Dragon Securities Co.

Programme helps startups join global market

A “Google for Startups” programme to support innovative businesses and start-ups in the northern region in attracting investment capital and joining the global market was jointly hosted by the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) and Google from November 14-18.

According to NIC Director Vu Quoc Huy, the two sides will select typical enterprises among the 500 pioneering innovative ones to support in the coming time.  

“Google for Startups” is one of the key development programmes launched by Google in 2011. It has been deployed in many developed countries around the world, where innovation and startup ecosystems have strongly developed.

This is the first time the programme has been implemented in Vietnam, with the aim of supporting potential startups operating in education, health, agriculture, finance, digital content, and retail to address challenges of growing business. 

It is designed to help accelerate the innovation and growth of startups by connecting experts, resources and expertise of Google and NIC to the needs of startups. Nearly 200 prominent businesses of the startup community in Vietnam registered to attend the programme.

Thye Yeow Bok, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Asia-Pacific at Google, said the programme gives startups an opportunity to connect with investors, participate in networking with experts and businesses as well as the global Google for Startups community.

The best startups selected from the two programmes will be introduced to participate in the Vietnam Venture Summit hosted by NIC on December 19, 2022. 

NIC will continue to support in performing activities under the Vietnam Innovation Initiative (InnovateVN) and the Vietnam Innovation Challenge, Bok said.

Bac Lieu looks to become nation’s renewable energy center

Bac Lieu Province has opted for a green growth and sustainable model to restructure its economy in recent years, aiming to become a renewable-energy center in the Mekong Delta region and the country.

According to the local orientation, renewable energy, including wind and solar energy and liquefied natural gas, is the priority investment sector and one of the five socioeconomic development pillars of the province.

In late 2016, Bac Lieu proposed the Government withdraw the Cai Cung thermal power plant project from the comprehensive power planning VII due to its potential risks to the province’s environment. Since then, Bac Lieu has focused on clean energy development to move toward a long-term environmental protection strategy.

Since 2021, many renewable energy projects in the province have been put into service.

According to the Bac Lieu Province’s Department of Industry and Trade, the province now has eight operating wind energy farms onshore and offshore with a total capacity of 469,2 MW, ranking third in the country’s total wind energy output at 2.0 billion kWh.

These wind energy farms are estimated to help reduce over 1,691 million tons of CO2 emissions. Moreover, they have contributed around VND450 billion to the annual provincial budget.

Several wind power projects are being executed in the province, including the Bac Lieu wind power project – phase 3 with a capacity of 141 MW, the Japan – Bac Lieu wind power project – phase 1 with a capacity of 50 MW and the Bac Lieu liquefied natural gas with a total capacity of 3,200 MW.

Network operators encroach on camera market

The rate of camera usage per capita is still low in Việt Nam, therefore, the camera market still has potential for network operators.

A representative of MobiFone said that more than 90 per cent of cameras in Việt Nam originated from China and all have code in the software to synchronise with the server.

Therefore, for cameras, the possibility of revealing personal information to the outside is very high, unless all cameras are manufactured by companies in Việt Nam.

Nguyễn Minh Đức, CEO of Cyradar, said that surveillance cameras were not only used in households, but smart cities also planned to install them.

It was time for State management agencies to set safety standards and organise evaluation and licensing for cameras circulating in the market, said Đức.

Sharing about this issue, Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, chairman of the board of directors of Lumi Việt Nam JSC, said that for Vietnamese brands, if they researched and invested in product development by themselves, then surely all were aimed at ensuring the safety and security of customers.

Nguyễn Việt Bằng, deputy general director of VNPT Technology, said that with the fact that there were more and more personal image leaks from surveillance cameras and the general technology knowledge of internet users was getting better and better, users tended to choose Made-in-Việt Nam security solutions products, from reputable suppliers.

Recently, MobiFone Global has also announced it will jump into the smart camera market. The company's representative said that the participation in the market was due to the need for security, the need for remote control, when the broadband internet connection infrastructure developed strongly, allowing the connection of high quality real-time video services.

MobiFone Global analysed that the camera penetration density was at a very low level in Việt Nam, about three cameras per 100 people, and most equipment was provided by foreign suppliers.

Thirty per cent of the current cameras are at risk of insecurity and data leakage. MobiFone currently has 2.6 million Home Accounts, which will be a set of potential customers to use its cameras as a product in the service ecosystem in the household.

A representative of Viettel High-Tech Corporation said that the company was currently in the process of testing camera products to bring to the market. Viettel's products target the household market and smart traffic. 

Vietnam’s exports to Germany up 30.5% in 10 months

Vietnam’s export turnover to Germany enjoyed a year-on-year surge of 30.5% to 7.6 billion USD in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Meanwhile, the import value was 2.96 billion USD, a slight decrease compared to the same period of last year.

In the period, two-way trade reached nearly 10.6 billion USD, up 17.6% year-on-year.

Vietnam mainly shipped machinery, component parts, automobile, footwear, garment and textiles, coffee and aquatic products to Germany, while importing machines, components, parts, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and automobile spare parts to the European country.

Germany is currently Vietnam’s biggest trade partner in Europe, accounting for 20% of the Southeast Asian country’s total trade value to the EU.

European firms interested in various sectors in Central Highlands

Tourism, agriculture, and renewable energy, which have high potential in the Central Highlands, are sectors that European enterprises are interested in, said Alain Cany, President of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham).

Cany was speaking at a conference on November 20 to launch the Government’s action plan realising the Politburo’s Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW dated October 6, 2022, on orientations for socio-economic development, national defence and security in the Central Highlands by 2030 with a vision towards 2045.

He said that as EuroCham has committed to supporting the development of Vietnam’s tourism industry, he supports the resolution.

The official said the adjustments of visa policies and the exemption of visa for European visitors will help increase the number of European tourists to Vietnam.

By strategically combining its resources, EuroCham will be able to accelerate the recovery of Vietnam's tourism industry and enhance the reputation of the Central Highlands, he stated.

Cany noted the region has about 5.5 million hectares of agricultural land, which produced many world-famous products such as coffee, pepper, avocado, lemon, and passion fruit.

EuroCham is committed to supporting agricultural enterprises in the Central Highlands to take full advantage of the advantages brought by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), he said, stressing that there is still much to do to improve the agribusiness environment and make these products more popular in Europe.

Cany announced that many European companies are investing in renewable energy in the Central Highlands.

However, he pointed out that an investment corridor is needed to attract more foreign investment to the Central Highlands renewable energy industry, along with a clear legal mechanism to attract capital.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes