Plant-based faux meats become popular in HCM City

Plant-based ‘fake’ meat products are becoming more and more popular in HCM City despite costing more than actual meat.

A start-up, Bien Phuong Commercial and Service Co Ltd has been garnering a great deal of success from its vegan sausage and vegan fish paste made from soy, flour, vegetarian seasoning, and vegetable oil.

Traditional ‘vegetarian’ meat has always been a part of Vietnamese cuisine, served at vegetarian restaurants and sold as a substitute for meat to certain demographics, but their texture is often not similar to that of real meat.

The newer plant-based products have textures very similar to meat due to modern processing technologies. But they could cost up to VND300,000 (US$13.09) per kilogramme, or three times the price of, for instance, chicken breast. Beyond Meat, a US brand, costs up to VND1.8 million.

Shares decline on Dec. 10 after three days of gaining

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the market benchmark VN-Index lost 0.30 per cent to end at 1,463.54 points. The index had gained 3.8 per cent in the last three sessions. The market's breadth was negative with 169 gainers and 275 losers.

As many as 798.3 million shares were traded on the southern bourse, worth nearly VND23 trillion (US$1 billion).

The VN30-Index, tracking the 30 biggest stocks on HoSE, declined 0.66 per cent, to end at 1,519.46 points. Twenty out of 30 stocks in the VN30 basket posted losses, while 10 increased.

On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index lost 0.39 per cent, to 450.75 points. During the session, investors poured over VND2.7 trillion into the market, equivalent to a trading volume of 103.3 million shares. 

Petrol prices drop over VND1,000 per litre 

The retail prices of oil and petrol were revised down starting from 3 pm on December 10 following the latest adjustment by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

Accordingly, the retail price of E5RON92 bio-fuel decreased 1,101 VND to a maximum of 22,082 VND per litre (around 1 USD) while that of RON95-III was also down 835 VND to 23,801 VND per litre, down for the second consecutive time.

The prices saw the strongest drop this time since late March 2020, after hikes throughout three months in a row to a record high in seven years. In the past year, petrol prices posted 18 hikes and five declines.

The two ministries review fuel prices every 15 days to adjust the prices in accordance with fluctuations on the world market. 

First MICE tourists arrive in Da Nang after social distancing

Da Nang welcomed the first 500 MICE tourists on December 10 after a long social distancing period triggered by the COVID-19 resurgence. This is also the first group of tourists coming to Da Nang after it reopened to travellers.

The visitors come to attend a national surgery and endoscopy conference, which takes place both in person and via videoconference on December 10 - 11, with more than 1,000 delegates, including about 500 participating in the event in Da Nang.

It is considered a positive sign for Da Nang’s travel sector and also the start of the MICE tourism season in late 2021 and early 2022.

Vietnam Export Promotion Forum 2021 to open next week

The Vietnam Export Promotion Forum 2021 will be held on December 15 in both in-person and virtual forms to seek ways to boost export for economic recovery.

The forum will be chaired by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and attract the participation of representatives from relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies, along with export businesses.

The forum, an annual activity of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), will comprise two sessions that focus on opportunities and challenges of some export markets in the post-COVID-19 period, the national strategy of the Swiss Federal Economic Commission for the 2021-2025 period and orientations for coordination with partners in the field of trade in Vietnam. 

Mekong Connect 2021 to open on December 17

The Mekong Connect 2021 forum will take place in Ho Chi Minh City for the first time on December 17.

Themed “Economic recovery and development connectivity in new normal”, the forum will be held both online and offline and is expected to draw about 250 delegates, including businesspeople, farmers, leaders of ministries and agencies, and experts at home and abroad.

They will look into economic recovery and development connectivity in the new normal situation between Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong Delta cities and provinces.

Following the opening ceremony will be an online forum sharing experience in investing in agriculture by businesspeople from Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

VinFast invests in Israeli auto security startup

Karamba Security, an Israel-based security startup, has announced that it received additional 10 million USD in the series B round led by Vietnamese auto maker VinFast.

The round also saw the participation of other major investors such as SVIC, YL Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Presidio Ventures, Glenrock, Paladin Group, Asgent and Liberty Mutual. The round has brought Karamba’s total funding to 27 million USD.

VinFast Deputy CEO Pham Thuy Linh was quoted as saying Karamba could help VinFast, and other OEMs and IoT device manufacturers, comply with the new cyber security regulations, something that is essential for its expansion plans into the European and US markets.

HCM City’s budget collection surpasses target

The city recorded an estimated 370.483 trillion VND ($16 billion) in budget revenue this year, equivalent to 101.3 percent of the target. Basing on that result, HCM City targets next year’s budget revenue at 386.568 trillion VND, up 5.9 percent from the 2021 target and 4.3 percent from the figure obtained this year.

To assist enterprises, local authorities have reduced taxes and extended tax payment deadlines. As a result, the budget collection has gradually decreased since May. Notably, the revenue dropped strongly year on year in August and September.

Facing that fact, relevant agencies have worked to support businesses and people. Besides, the positive business results of real estate and financial - banking firms in the year’s first half and effect of the tax payment deadline extension have helped boost the budget collection in 2021.

Hanoi Gift Show 2021 promotes local handicraft products

A wide variety of handicraft and gift products have been put on show across 470 stalls both in-person and in online forms at the Hanoi Gift Show 2021, which is organized on December 9-12 in Hanoi.

An award ceremony will be held as a design contest for the handicraft products during the event with six first-place prizes, 18 second-place prizes, 24 third-place prizes, and 42 consolation prizes.

The Hanoi Gift Show is organised by the capital’s Department of Industry and Trade and was first held back in 2011. The 10th version of the event this year marks the largest number of participating traders, with 470 stalls through in-person and online forms due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

VN farmers face large fruit inventory as China tightens import rules

Vietnamese farmers are facing difficulties selling over one million tonnes of fruits after China, which is the country's biggest agricultural products importer, is tightening its import activities.

On November 29, authorities of Lang Son sent letters to farmers and export companies in some provinces with information that China has tightened its import regulations for Covid-19 prevention and thousands of trucks carrying agriculture products have been stuck at some local border gates.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen said that they had been informed that China would halt import activities for at least six weeks around the Lunar New Year Festival. The official suggested that farmers and firms should try to sell their products in the domestic market during this time and look for opportunities to export their products to other countries including the US and Japan.

Sembcorp, BCG Energy partner up for renewable energy projects in Vietnam

Sembcorp Utilities, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries and BCG Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bamboo Capital Group inked an agreement for the development of renewable projects in Vietnam on December 9, 2021.

Under the collaboration, Sembcorp and BCGE will leverage each other’s strengths and resources to identify and jointly develop a pipeline of up to 1.5GW of wind and solar projects in Vietnam.

Mizuho Bank to invest $170 million in M-Service

Japanese megabank Mizuho Bank is reported to invest around $170 million to acquire a 7.5 per cent stake in M-Service, the company behind e-wallet MoMo.

This is in line with Mizuho Bank’s strategic approach to ramp up its presence in Vietnam. Mizuho Bank, reported Nikkei Asia, has been lagging behind its counterparts (SMFG, MUFG) in terms of international investment, but it intends to start actively tapping into Asian growth regions.

In early November, MoMo was reported to raise between $100-200 million to become Vietnam’s latest unicorn (startup with a valuation of at least $1 billion). As of July, MoMo claimed it made up 60 per cent of Vietnam’s mobile payment market share, handling $14 billion in transactions each year for more than 25 million customers.

Hanoi has the highest energy efficiency rate in Vietnam

According to preliminary assessment results of 17 provinces and cities nationwide, the total energy saved in 2021 was 284.1 kTOE (energy conversion unit), in which, Hanoi was the locality with the highest level of energy efficiency in 2021 with 122.4 kTOE.

However, some localities have not yet been allocated funds to implement the national programme on economical and efficient use of energy, the awareness of the community and businesses are still limited, not ready to access information about technology and energy saving solutions.

In 2022, the Steering Committee on Energy Efficiency will continue to review, develop and perfect mechanisms and policies on economical and efficient use of energy.

Construction of $30 million industrial cluster in Nam Dinh kicked off

Ground-breaking ceremony held on December 10 for the Thanh Coi industrial cluster. With a total investment of nearly 600 billion VND (26 million USD) by 379 Construction – Trading JSC, the project covers an area of 49.79 ha in Tam Thanh commune, Nam Dinh.

It is designed as a multi-industrial cluster, including mechanics, wood processing, electronics, and textile auxiliaries.

Two more land lots in Thu Thiem auctioned successfully

Besides the 3-5 and 3-8 land lots which were auctioned successfully on the morning of December 10, the 3-9 and 3-12 land lots in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area in HCMC’s Thu Duc City also found owners in afternoon auctions.

The 3-9 and 3-12 land lots with a respective area of over 5,000 and 10,000 square meters were auctioned successfully at more than VND5 trillion and VND24.5 trillion, seven and 8.3 times higher than the starting prices, respectively.

The starting prices of the two land lots were over VND728.6 billion and over VND2.9 trillion, respectively.

Binh Minh Investment Development and Trading Co., Ltd beat 13 other companies to win the auction for the 3-9 land lot, while Viet Star Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd was the auction winner for the 3-12 land lot after overcoming 14 other enterprises.

The two land lots were planned to be used to develop compounds with residential, trading and service areas.

Booster shots to be given to HCMC workers

The HCMC Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority Businesses Association (HBA) has proposed that Covid-19 vaccine booster shots be administered to 320,000 workers of 17 export processing, industrial and hi-tech zones.

Nguyen Van Be, president of HBA, said that booster shots should be prioritized for workers who recovered from Covid six months ago, and those with underlying health conditions and a weakened immune system who could be at risk of infection. Besides, over 300,000 workers had received two shots and most of them are eligible to get the next shot.

Be sad that the Covid transmission risk at export processing zones, industrial zones, and hi-tech parks remains high, as factories there have enclosed space, and some manufacturing areas cannot practice social distancing. Further, workers usually live in cramped boarding houses, which could increase the transmission risk.

Over 45% of businesses offer higher salaries to bring workers back

Over 45% of businesses said they are offering higher salaries than before the Covid-19 pandemic to bring workers back to work, according to a survey of the Private Economic Development Research Board.

Some 30% of the enterprises said they are struggling with recruitment, especially for highly skilled workers. Over 45% of respondents said they have to offer higher salaries to attract laborers.

Besides the labor shortage, businesses are facing many other challenges, such as the soaring input price for production (56% of respondents), low consumption demand (43%), and Covid testing costs for employees (41%).

Based on these findings, as well as recommendations from nearly 40 business associations, the Private Economic Development Research Board suggested the Government create a safer business environment and enhance the healthcare and health issue response capacity of enterprises.

M&A deals reach nearly US$9 billion in Jan-Oct 2021

Despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam reached US$8.8 billion from January to October 2021, increasing 18% compared with the same period last year.

In Vietnam, consumer goods, real estate, finance and renewable energy are the industries that have seen the largest number of M&A deals.

According to KPMG Vietnam, there were over 500 M&A deals from January to October, with investors mainly coming from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Singapore.

US$1.6 billion of the total M&A value was made by domestic investors. Of the figure, US$1.13 billion came from 11 deals made by five leading corporations of the country, including Vingroup, Masan, NovaLand, Hoa Phat and Vinamilk.

Vietnam, Australia strengthen cooperation for Industry 4.0

Representatives of the Vietnamese and Australian governments committed to fostering cooperation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) transformation at the second Australia-Vietnam Collaboration on Industry 4.0 roundtable on December 8.

As part of the event, RMIT University signed an aide-memoire with the Vietnam Institute of Science Technology and Innovation. This new agreement will promote the bilateral partnership within the framework of science, technology and innovation programs, tasks, and projects at the national and other levels.

The second Australia-Vietnam Collaboration on Industry 4.0 roundtable was jointly held by RMIT University and VISTI. It expanded on the foundation laid by the inaugural roundtable in December 2020, which focused on cooperation for the digitalization of the manufacturing industry and related supply chains in Vietnam.

Ring Road No.3 to be built under public investment form

The Ministry of Transport has just agreed with the proposal of HCMC and proposed the Government Office to report to the Prime Minister to consider assigning the HCMC People’s Committee as the organ preparing for the investment and implementing the Ring Road No.3 under public investment form.

Previously, the Municipal People's Committee said that the first phase of the Ring Road No.3 project will be implemented with a total investment of around 83,290 billion (US$3.6 billion) excluding loan interest, including nearly VND47,000 billion (US$2 billion) for site clearance.

In the first phase, the project has the total length of 76.34 kilometers with a design of four-lane expressway.

Commercial real estate rental market in HCMC heats up again

The data of the Cho Tot Nha website showed that business premise rental in December reduced 70 percent compared with the price May but surged over 300 percent over September.

According to Jones Lang Lasalle Vietnam (JLL Vietnam), the customers are still waiting for finding leasing opportunities at affordable prices. In the medium and long term of the vaccine coverage and new normalcy, HCM City is expected to be the top destination for international brand names which would promote the leasing activities in the upcoming time.

JLL Vietnam predicted that the house leasing offer would be stable while the leasing price could be increased as the owners would remove some preferential policies and deals when the department stores are re-opened.

Meanwhile, the commercial real estate leasing report of Savills Vietnam in HCMC showed that the medium and small customers had faced obstacles when they had to terminate the rental contracts or halt to re-sign the contracts due to strict social distancing regulations in the third quarter of 2021. 

Euro 5 emission standards to be rolled out for new cars in Vietnam early 2022

All types of new cars in Vietnam must meet Euro 5 emission standards from January 1, 2022 under a decision issued by the Prime Minister.

Cars and motorcycles are among major sources of emissions like carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, particle pollution, and toxins in fuel, such as benzene. These cause air pollution, especially urban air pollution, directly affecting people’s health.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said its members have been ready to follow the new roadmap.

VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS DECEMBER 10

Vietnam's tra fish export to hit $1.54 billion in 2021