Domestic businesses should equip themselves with necessary knowledge in order to tap opportunities from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), advised experts.

The RCEP, which was signed during the 37th ASEAN Summit in Mid-November, involves 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as the Republic of Korea (RoK), China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It is the biggest-ever trade agreement in the world with combined GDP of member economies accounting for 30.2 percent of global GDP, equivalent to about 32 trillion USD, and a market comprising of 47.5 percent of the world population.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, a representative from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Vietnam is one of the countries that benefit the most from the deal as the country has many products meeting the demand of the majority of signatories of the agreement.

The RCEP will help form a stable and long-term export market for ASEAN member countries amid the recent instable supply chains, while creating a fair playground in the region via a binding legal framework on policies on trade, investment, intellectual property and e-commerce, she said.

Thanks to the harmonisation of origin regulations within the RCEP, Vietnam’s export products can meet all conditions to enjoy preferential tax rates, thus increasing the country’s exports to regional markets, especially Japan, the RoK, Australia and New Zealand, said Trang.

Meanwhile, Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association said that the RCEP is hoped to bring about numerous benefits for garment and textile sector with the opening of a giant 2-billion-strong market. It will help domestic firms overcome challenges in materials supply, he added.

However, according to Giang, it is necessary to design solutions and development strategy for the 2030-2040 period, which should identify key areas and products for development. He added that more investment in industrial parks or water treatment plants meeting environmental protection standards is needed to meet standards set by the RCEP.

At the same time, lawyer Tran Van Tien from Dong Doi law agent said that together with other trade deals, the RCEP will continue helping promote Vietnam’s reform efforts along more progressive and positive directions.

Therefore, the investment and business environment in the country will rapidly be completed, motivating socio-economic development and enhancing the competitiveness of local enterprises, especially small and medium-sized firms, he said.

He pointed out that along with the deeper integration into the world economy, Vietnamese firms are facing more international legal disputes with foreign rivals, while their legal awareness has remained modest.

Tien advised domestic companies to equip themselves with knowledge about international legal regulations to minimise risks and latent challenges during the signing and implementation of contracts with foreign partners./.

Tra fish export value expected to hit 1.5 billion USD this year

Revenue from tra fish export is expected to reach 1.5 billion USD this year, reported the Vietnam Pangasius Association (VPA).

China and Hong Kong (China) have become the largest importer with 33.4 percent, followed by the US with 16.6 percent, ASEAN 9.9 percent and the European Union 9.4 percent.

In the recent decade, China has imported tra fish mostly from Vietnam and sold them to Russia and Europe.

Vice Chairman of An Giang province’s People’s Committee Tran Anh Thu said An Giang had held fact-finding trips to tra fish breeding countries. Compared to India, China and Bangladesh, Vietnam fared better in terms of both quantity and quality of tra fish.

However, Vietnam’s export of the fish are facing several obstacles, including a loose connection between processing and trading businesses and farmers, while many farmers fail to meet firms’ requirements for food hygiene and safety.

According to the VPA, another problem for the tra fish sector is a decline in the quality of fries, low water levels in rivers in Mekong Delta localities and saltwater intrusion in coastal provinces.

At the same time, trade and technical barriers remain, for example new regulations in the Chinese market, and stipulations in the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

VPA Vice President Vo Hung Dung said the EVFTA will enable the Vietnamese fisheries sector, including tra fish, to expand export markets and enhance competitiveness.

To develop the sustainability of tra fish sector, the VPA urged firms to improve product quality, comply with tra fish breeding and processing requirements in line with the Government’s Decree No.55/2017/ND-CP.

They were advised to build trademark for Vietnamese tra fish, and develop new selling channels in both domestic and international markets.

To navigate demanding markets such as Europe, the US and the Middle East, An Giang has formed a 600ha intensive farming zone using advanced technologies, and is working on three other zones.

Due to the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam only earned nearly 1.04 billion USD from tra fish export in nine months of this year.

As of late October, over 1.5 billion fries were released in the Mekong Delta. Fry prices also increased in October after falling in the past nine months.

Foreign fund to quit Gemadept

Vietnam Invest Fund II has put its entire holding of 42.87 million shares of the logistics firm Gemadept up for sale in an attempt to make a complete divestment.

If successful, the fund will slash its stake at Gemadept to zero from 14.44 per cent.

The transactions are expected to occur from November 21 to December 17.

Gemadept shares, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange with code GMD, were flat at VND26,900 (US$1.15) per share on Friday.

The stock has gained as much as 25.8 per cent in the last three trading weeks.

In the first nine months, Gemadept posted a 4.8 per cent annual decline in total revenue, which scaled back to VND1.9 trillion.

Its nine-month pre-tax profit dropped 31.9 per cent year-on-year to VND372.5 billion.

In 2020, the company hopes to earn VND2.15 trillion in total revenue and VND500 billion in total pre-tax profit if Viet Nam’s economy grows by 4.8 per cent.

The figures are equal to 81 per cent and 71 per cent of last year’s earnings.

If the country’s GDP growth in 2020 is 4 per cent, total revenue is expected to decrease by 24 per cent year-on-year to VND2 trillion and pre-tax profit may drop 39 per cent year-on-year to VND430 billion.

As of September 30, the company posted a 2.9 per cent annual reduction in total assets, down to VND9.83 trillion.

Of the total assets, the value of cash and financial investments jumped 15.7 per cent in nine months to VND265.8 billion.

In addition, total short-term and long-term loans slid 6 per cent or VND125.5 billion between January and September to VND1.95 trillion. 

Viet Nam set to create value in global supply chains, CEOs tell forum

Viet Nam is set to play the role of “value-creating” partner in the global supply chain by continuing to upskill its workforce, invest in infrastructure and enforce stringent governance standards after the pandemic ends, speakers said at a forum for CEOs held in HCM City on Thursday.

Speaking at the 2020 Viet Nam CEO Forum, Duong Anh Duc, vice chairman of the city People’s Committee, said Viet Nam would play a more valuable role in the context of rapidly changing global value chains due to the pandemic.

To play such a role, businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the backbone of the economy and the drivers of growth, must update their thinking, speed up their digital transformation, and become more competitive.

“It’s also essential to diversify global supply chains to achieve inclusive growth and attract investment,” he noted.

The Government has shown strong commitment to improving the business environment, he pointed out.

Lam Ngoc Minh, chairman of the HCM City Young Entrepreneurs Association, said the global economy has experienced rapid changes due to the pandemic and other problems.

With trade levels already very high, Viet Nam needs further economic reforms to enable it to create more value in the global supply chain and become more competitive.

Vo Tri Thanh, director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy, said the pandemic is a test of endurance of businesses and motivates them to improve their strengths to overcome the challenges it poses.

A number of recent surveys show that factories plan to move out of China to Southeast Asia, Mexico and the US.

Viet Nam has to compete with many other countries in the Southeast Asia to become a leading alternative manufacturing choice.

In addition to building export processing zones and industrial parks for investors, the country must also ensure better roads and other infrastructure.

In the last three months Vietnamese enterprises have received more than 2,000 export orders due to the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement, mainly in the agricultural sector.

Don Lam, co-founder and CEO of VinaCapital, said by the end of 2021 many investors are expected to shift from supply chains in China to Southeast Asia, especially Viet Nam.

Vietnamese enterprises must meet international standards to join global supply chains, and would lose their brand names in the market unless they improve their competitiveness, he warned.

Businesses should focus on their own strengths and “ensure management of cash flow and market risk”, he noted.

Other experts said Viet Nam should accelerate the adoption of automation and digital technologies, and diversify supply chains to attract foreign investment.

The country needs high-quality human resources, good infrastructure and new technologies, they said.

The Government also needs to offer support to businesses to help them overcome difficulties related to innovation, technology application and human resource training, they added.

Viet Nam’s participation in global value chains remains limited despite being one of the most open economies, being 1.5 times and five times more open than Thailand and China.

The country has gradually improved its business environment to become an attractive destination for investors, but locally produced content in products remains low.

More than 1,000 CEOs attended the event.

The forum has been held since 2012 by HCM City’s Young Business Association, the 2030 Businessmen’s Club, the Leading Business Club, and the Business Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Products. 

Real estate inventories see decline: MoC

Inventories in the real estate market have been on the decrease thanks to increasing liquidity, according to the Ministry of Construction (MoC).

The ministry recently announced a report on the country’s housing and property market in the third quarter of the year.

Statistics from the ministry showed the total estate inventories of listed property firms in Ha Noi and HCM City by the end of 2019 were estimated at VND18.8 trillion (US$809.9 million). The inventories have been mainly in the high-end segment, condotel, resettlement houses and projects located far from the city centres and lack of synchronous infrastructure.

“However, the investors have been gradually from the beginning of the year,” the ministry said.

The MoC added that figures from 56 out of 63 cities and provinces showed there were 36,884 successful transactions in the real estate market in the third quarter of the year.

Ha Noi and HCM City posted 2,966 and 6,722 transactions respectively in the third quarter, up 119 per cent and 70.6 per cent from the previous quarter.

The successful property transactions were mainly in the mid-end segment while the number of high-end estate transactions fell from the previous quarter.

The ministry said the increasing number of property transactions in the third quarter was because property developers have quickly adapted to the new context while closely following the Government’s support policies after social distancing.

In addition, tourism and resort areas have resumed operations and used promotional programmes to attract local tourists.

The ministry’s report also revealed the number of licenced tourism and resort estate projects in July-September sharply decreased by 46.7 per cent from the previous quarter.

However, the number of such projects licenced in the central region surged with 37 new projects, six times higher than the previous quarter.

In the third quarter, the country had 49 resort projects with 3,772 condotels, 3,505 tourism villas and 48 officetel apartments.

Notably, no resort projects in the south were licensed in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the region had 78 projects licenced for resort property in Kien Giang Province alone.

The central region continued to be the bright spot in the market segment despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were 44 new projects in the region with 3,440 condotels and 3,484 tourism villas while other 91 projects were under construction with 18,652 condotels and 6,065 tourism villas.

The northern region saw stability without big changes as the number of resort projects slightly reduced from the previous quarter.

There were five projects with 332 condotels, 46 officetels and 21 tourism villas licenced in the third quarter, down one project from the previous quarter.

The tourism sector saw recovery signs in the end of the second quarter of the beginning of the third quarter this year as the Government launched the tourism stimulus package, making the number of local tourists surge.

However, the second wave of COVID-19 in July continued to cause shocks for the hotel and resort segments.

The real estate trading activities nationwide have seen improvements with positive signs. There would be stronger recovery in the market in the year-end months, the ministry said. 

Digital transformation optimises productivity and reduce costs and time

With synchronous and solid investment in technology, businesses could quickly transform operations into a digital enterprise model to optimise productivity, reduce costs and time, attendees heard at FPT Techday 2020 in HCM City on Thursday.

Based on implementing digital transformation products and solutions for customers in Viet Nam and globally, FPT experts calculate that digital transformation could help businesses cut costs by up to 60 per cent and even save up to 90 per cent in time in some processes compared to pre-digitisation.

With the desire to bring breakthrough perspectives on trends and how technology could create a better world, FPT Techday has become an annual event attracting the attention of numerous businesses, organisations and technology-loving communities.

The event attracted more than 1,000 attendees who were leaders of large enterprises, consulting firms, technology experts and thousands of online viewers.

This is an annual technology event organised by FPT Corporation, bringing together new trends and technologies to help shape and create the future from leading domestic and foreign experts.

It also shares lessons, experiences and practical solutions to help businesses, organisations and countries quickly transform into the digital model of the future.

Nguyen Van Khoa, FPT director general, said that technology and digital transformation play an important role.

"We believe in the power of technology and always believe that technology can change the situation, bring new opportunities and create greater values,” said Khoa.

Experts said that the collaboration between people and machines would explore breakthrough values ​​for Vietnamese businesses. This would also be a fundamental solution for promoting sustainable development in the booming context of the fourth industrial revolution.

The corporation also affirmed that its product ecosystem was suitable for all sizes and fields of business.

“We will continue to accompany and co-operate with the Vietnamese business community to help each business optimise its performance, and furthermore, gradually transform the operating model from traditional to digital, creating a breakthrough for businesses and boosting the country's digital economy,” said an FPT representative. 

National programme targets sustainable production and consumption

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has summarised the past 10 years of implementing the cleaner production strategy in industry and launched the National Action Programme on Sustainable Production and Consumption for 2021-2030.

Accordingly, the programme targets to further reduce the consumption of raw materials by 5-10% in the relevant industries, while building 20-30 models on sustainable production.

The target programme also strives to have 85-100% of supermarkets and trade centres across the nation using environmentally friendly products and packaging, with 70-90% of localities to develop plans to integrate the programme into their socio-economic development projects.

The programme is built on the success of the National Strategy for Cleaner Production in Industry to 2020, endorsed by the Prime Minister on September 7, 2009, targeting cleaner production to be widely applied in industrial production establishments to improve efficiency in the use of natural resources, fuels and raw materials, while reducing emissions, limiting pollution, and protecting and improving environmental quality and human health towards sustainable development.

Over the past 10 years, the total funding for the programme has reached about VND141.8 billion, helping 68.5% of enterprises to be aware of the benefits of adopting clean production, an increase of 20.5% compared to 2010, with nearly 47% of establishments have applying clean production, up 35.9%.

First e-commerce pavilion for Danish brands launched

An exclusive pavilion selling Danish products on online shopping platform Lazada was launched on Thursday, November 19, following the signing of a memorandum of understandum between Kim Højlund Christensen, the Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, and James Z. Dong, CEO of Lazada Vietnam.

There are now seven Danish brands showcasing their products on the e-commerce platform—Bang & Olufsen, Danisa, JYSK, Lego, ScanCom, Royal Copenhagen and Trollbeads.

The signing was witnessed by representatives from the Southern Office of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, the People’s Committee of HCMC, the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, the Vietnam E-Commerce Association, Danish companies, and local distributors for various Danish brands.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Christensen said, “With the cooperation, we do not intend to promote any single product or brand but aim to build a long-term cooperation between Danish businesses and the Vietnamese market.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a new normal stage, pushing individuals and e-commerce enterprises including those from Denmark to change to adapt to the situation. E-commerce is recognized as part of the new normal.

Dong of Lazada said 2020 is a challenging year and the pandemic has transformed consumer habits from offline to online. “Through this strategic partnership with the Danish Embassy in Vietnam, we want to enable shoppers to find and buy authentic Danish goods in LazMall easily as well as support Danish brands that are well-loved by Vietnamese consumers,” he said.

With the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement entering into force from August 2020, Vietnam has become an increasingly attractive market for Danish companies. The Danish pavilion on Lazada will create a great opportunity for Danish businesses to introduce their products and expand their services to many more customers in Vietnam.

Cooperation between HCMC, northeast region serves as leverage for domestic tourism

As many as 27 firms active in the tourism industry in HCMC and the northeast region of Vietnam, a number of local tourism associations and three local airlines—Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways and VietJet Air— cut deals on November 20 to exchange travelers, develop tourism products and promote tourism in order to create new leverage for tourism growth amid the current hardships triggered by Covid-19.

Through the cooperation, various new tourism products at reasonable prices and with better services will be offered to tourists from HCMC and several northeastern provinces, including Bac Can, Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang and Vinh Phuc.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said that the tourism connection between large tourism hubs such as HCMC and some tourism regions would open a wider opportunity for tourism to develop.

Tour operators will not only receive more customers but can also easily access and cooperate with local partners and introduce their products, he added.

“HCMC has been at the forefront of the tourism connection for development, while Hanoi City is starting to conduct tourism links,” Hung said, adding that the cooperation would help further develop the tourism sector during the hardship.

Vietnam is predicted to remain closed to international tourists from now until next year, so many local travel firms are rushing to find partners to promote the domestic tourism market, according to many firms. The connection events and activities are expected to smooth the path for local firms to further tap the local market.

Tran Nguyen, sales director of Sun World under Sun Group, stated that the firm forecast that it would welcome no international tourists in 2021, so it was planning to attract more domestic travelers, especially from major source markets such as HCMC.

In the past, the number of tourists from HCMC traveling to the northeastern region was low. However, the number will increase significantly as traffic infrastructure has been improved and the tourism connection has been established.

“HCMC has some nine million people. If the northeastern region attracts one-third of HCMC residents, it succeeds,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen Minh Man, director of marketing and communications at TST Tourist, which is one of the HCMC-based travel firms to join the signing of the tourism connection deals, said that the partners in the northeastern region have committed to cut the prices of services by 15%-30% so that TST Tourist can offer full-package tours from HCMC and southern Vietnam to the region.

Through the cooperation, the firm can also seize opportunities to attract more tourists from the northeast region, he added.

The largest number of tourists there can come from many major firms and groups, he said, adding that tours to HCMC and its neighboring provinces are popular among visitors.

TST Tourist has served two first groups of tourists from Quang Ninh Province who visited HCMC through a tourism development and connection program.

Vo Anh Tai, deputy general director of Saigontourist Holding Company, told The Saigon Times Online that the firm would offer various products and services as well as train human resources to serve tourists from/to the northeast region in the coming months.

“The firm aims to ramp up the number of visitors to the region by over 20% per year,” he said.

State agencies try to increase hog herds for Tet holiday consumer demand

As Tet holidays ( the Lunar New Year) nears, but the African swine fever is striking some localities causing worries amongst breeders. Replenishing their decimated hog herds hit by African swine fever is urgent task.

Eight outbreaks of the African swine fever in 40 households in the Mekong Delta Province of Tien Giang. From October till now, 20 households the province have had pigs contract the dangerous virus with most cases in Tan Phu Dong District. The local administration has announced the epidemic in Tan Thoi Commune.

Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Tien Giang Province Nguyen van Man said that competent state agencies are spraying disinfectants to prevent the pandemic and increase supervision to curb wide spread.

In the mean time, Bac Tuan Kiet, head of the center for disease control under the Department of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries in Dong Thap Province said that the African swine fever is attacking herds of hogs in communes including Binh Thanh, Tan Binh, Tan Long, Binh Thanh, Hoa An in Cao Lanh Town. Around 84 pigs have been killed. The local government has disinfected the area where outbreaks of the disease occurred.

Breeder Huynh Van Hon in Tan Phu Trung Commune in Chau Thanh District, in Dong Thap province said that residents in the commune produce rice powder and farmers have made use of by-products to raise pigs.

Since the African swine fever outbreaks re-occurred, agricultural agencies have run refresher course on biosecurity of pigs at the farm level - the set of practical measures taken to help pig farmers prevent entrance of infection into a pig farm and control the spread of infection within that their farms. Accordingly, despite of re-occurrence of the African swine fever, just a few of pigs in farms were killed.

Being considered a center for pig farms in the South region, Dong Nai Province is expected to supply enough pork for Tet holidays.

Presently, more than 2.1 million hogs are raised in the province, a year-on-year increase of 10.76 percent to provide approximately 35.489 tons of pork in local markets.

This proves small-scaled farms have well reorganized pig raising, prevented the disease and restore piglets for farms to satisfy meat consumption in the special holiday.

Deputy Chairman of the Livestock Association in Dong Nai Nguyen Kim Doan said that the province targeted to restore around 2.5 millions of pigs like before the outbreaks of the African swine fever to ensure supply of meat for local markets in the special holiday.

However, amid the African swine fever outbreaks and flood devastation in the Central region, the supply of meat may not meet consumer demand.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, port is an subsidized items; therefore, the Department will work with related units and large farms to assess the situation to keep suitable price in the special holiday.

Worse, due to impact of the African swine fever, some localities have been suffering shortage of piglets despite pig price surge to VND3 million (US$129) a piglet. Traders in some places sold pig without clear indication of origin but farmers still buy for re-raising– this easily leads to spread of the pandemic.

Additionally, some pig farmers switched to breed another animal for fear of the African swine fever while others were short of capital to re-raise; hence , hog herds in the Mekong Delta region reduced much.

A leader of Department of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries in Dong Thap Province said that the number of hogs in the province dipped from 300,000 – 500,000 yearly to 70,000 – 80,000 annually. Dong Thap authorities have had to purchase pigs from other provinces for consumption daily.

At the same time, a leader of the Department of animal husbandry and animal health in Ca Mai revealed about 84,480 hogs in the province can satisfy half of consumer demand.

There is no choice but the province will have to buy pigs from neighboring provinces. It is inevitable that the province will buy pigs from other places in the Lunar New Year when the consumer demand is higher than normal days.

Five export commodity groups reach export turnover of over US$10 billion

The General Department of Vietnam Customs reported that by the end of October, the total value of Vietnam's merchandise exports reached US$229.79 billion, an increase of five percent which was equivalent to US$10.85 billion over the same period in 2019.  

Notably, the country had five groups of commodities obtaining at least US$10 billion export turnover each. They comprised mobile phones and accessories ranking first with the export turnover of US$42.2 billion. It was followed by computers, electronic products and components with US$36.4 billion, textiles and garments with US$24.7 billion, machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts with US$21.2 billion and footwear with US$13.5 billion.

At the same time, the category of gemstones, precious metals and relevant products reached US$2.54 billion, an increase of 30.2 percent over the same period in 2019. 

Particularly, the Vietnam’s export turnover to the Hong Kong (China) market touched US$2.03 billion, up nearly US$2 billion which is 45 times the number during the same period in 2019. 

Hanoi-HCM City ranks second among the world's busiest domestic air routes

Asia is home to the top 10 busiest domestic air routes in November 2020.

Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City air route has been ranked second among the world’s top 10 busiest routes in this November, according to OAG Aviation Worldwide, the aviation research market firm. 

The air route between Vietnam’s two largest cities had over 892,800 seats in November 2020, just behind the largest, Jeju International - Seoul Gimpo (South Korea).

This month, all of the world’s top 10 busiest domestic routes are in Asia, including four in China, four in Japan and the remaining two in South Korea and Vietnam.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit hard the aviation industry in Vietnam and the world in general. International flights have suffered most due to border closures and mandatory quarantine requirements. 

However, domestic air services in Vietnam have recovered as Vietnamese are generally able to move more freely within national borders.

According to the Airports Council International, the annual World Airport Traffic Report 2018 listed Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the top 10 fastest growing airports between 2007 and 2017.

Vietnam is forecast to be the fastest growing country in terms of air passengers in the 2017-2040 period.

Vietnam startups urged to focus on business integrity

Startups that fully comply with business integrity, including financial transparency, would have higher chances of attracting investors.

As the number of startups in Vietnam is increasing every year, experts raise concern that the majority only focus on developing their products or solutions, but not on corporate governance and internal control, key factors of business integrity.

Recently, a score of startups went bankrupt after an ephemeral period of operation. Even startups with successful business models are now struggling for profit or unable to find investors to maintain operation.

For example, in May, Vietnam-based e-commerce startup Leflair filed for bankruptcy after having closed its local business. The company was alleged to owe US$2 million in liabilities to about 500 suppliers and customers.

In every season of the famous investment reality show Shark Tank Vietnam, dozens of startups received financial commitments from investors, but only half of them actually got the fund afterwards. While there are many issues for this, the most common one was that they made false statements regarding their real finance or operational practices, which were all revealed during the due diligence process.

Statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed during the 2016 – 2019 period, Vietnam has over 126,000 newly established enterprises annually, a 1.6-fold increase against the previous five-year period.

A report from the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) stated Vietnam has the third highest rate for startups in Southeast Asia, in which the number grew rapidly from from 400 in 2012 to nearly 1,800 in 2015 and 3,000 in 2017.

However, despite the fast-growing number of startups, Vietnam remains among the world’s 20 countries with the lowest rate of startups having successfully realized their business models, at just 3%.

A survey conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in late 2019 noted the successful rate of startups in Vietnam was less than 10%, in which the lack of integrity is among major issues.

In this context, the VCCI in July released a business integrity toolkit for investors and startups.

Chairwoman of Vietnam Business Angel Network and also the author of this toolkit Nguyen Phi Van said most of startup founders are young people in the age group of 18 – 34. Ms. Van said while they are good at developing products, most of them are lacking essential skills in managing enterprises that are related to administrative procedures, tax policies or intellectual property rights, among others.

Integrity is key

According to experts, startups that fully comply with business integrity, including  financial transparency, would have higher chances of attracting investors.

Ms. Van stressed the key requirement for investors pour money into a business is integrity, as this is the only way they can build trust among their partners, shareholders, investors and customers.

British Embassy Hanoi Second Secretary Stephen Taylor said the UK government supports young entrepreneurs to access information and toolkit that help them ensure integrity during their operations.

For Vietnam, Mr. Taylor suggested there should be an effective legal framework to prevent corruption and promote e-government for greater transparency and fairness.

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said the Covid-19 is a wake-up call that could help promote integrity among the business community. In a post-Covid-19 world, responsible business conduct would be the first criteria for enterprises that look for sustainable development.

Google’s advice for Vietnam to boost innovative startups

Many challenges are causing a delay in the development of a startup ecosystem in Vietnam.

Three factors that Vietnam should focus on to boost innovative startups are capital, human resources and legal framework, according to Nguyen Quynh Tram, Google country director for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam has a dynamic economy and provides a good environment for piloting new technologies, said Ms. Tram at the ASEAN Startup Forum 2020 held recently in Hanoi, adding the country’s digital economy is estimated at US$9 billion in 2018 and there is still enormous potential for further development.

To further aid startup development in Vietnam, Google has been organizing events to connect investors, small and medium enterprises and experts. In 2019, over 11,000 developers and over 2.200 students joined events held by Google, she noted.

This year, Google continues to provide support for startups regarding cloud computing, machine learning, or artificial intelligence, as well as two initiatives in Vietnam Online Hackathon and QuanQuanGCP.

In the current context, however, Ms. Van noted many challenges are causing delay in the development of a startup ecosystem in Vietnam.

The first is startups' lack of financial support in their early stage of development. Most of unicorns only receive funds after they have established certain reputation in the market. Therefore, startups should be able to access funds, maybe via venture capital, to help them overcome difficulties at the beginning.

The second is manpower. Ms. Tram said current education system has not provided students with the skills needed to meet requirements of enterprises. As such, there should be more cooperation in the form of public-private partnership in training manpower for enterprises.

The third is the lack of legal framework for innovative startups. Vietnam currently does not have an effective legal framework to manage innovative business models, therefore, Ms. Tram urged policymakers to soon provide support policies which are friendly to innovative startups.

Huge investment potential for Vietnam coastal industrial zones

Coastal areas in Vietnam are set to receive attention from investors similar to those in China and Thailand, according to CBRE.

Vietnam’s coastal economic and industrial zones are set to become potential investment destinations for both local and foreign enterprises looking to expand their operations.

A recent study on industrial real estate from CBRE suggested there is huge investment demand for coastal economic and industrial zones in China and Thailand. As such, coastal areas in Vietnam are set to receive the same attention in the near future.

Under this context, Vietnam’s coastal localities such as Hai Phong and Quang Ninh in the North are focusing on expanding the industrial land resources.

Recently, Hai Phong, one of the largest industrial centers in Vietnam, is home to major industrial estate development projects, including the construction of industrial parks DEEP C Hai Phong II and III, as well as those from Vinhomes, the real estate arm of conglomerate Vingroup.

Quang Ninh, on the other hand, has emerged as a coastal industrial province, with a focus on manufacturing and processing. Investors of industrial parks in the province are receiving the best tax incentives, as well as receiving financial support to train their workforce within the first two years of receiving the investment license.

Owners of industrial parks are entitled to enjoying the lowest rate of land rental fee in the first five years, 30% of advanced payment in compensation fee for site clearance process, and 30% of financial support for the construction of waste water treatment system.

At present, Quang Ninh's authorities are speeding up the construction of the Van Don – Mong Cai expressway to reduce the travel time to nearly three hours to China’s border gate, which is set to be completed by end-2021.

Meanwhile, other expressways connecting Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, major ports and international airports have all been completed.

Attractive investment channel in post-crisis period

In the Southeast Asian region, Vietnam is considered to have high potential for tourism development, thanks to the country’s long and beautiful coastal lines. As the Covid-19 pandemic is gradually contained, the number of foreign and domestic tourists to coastal provinces are predicted to surge once inter-provincial transport infrastructure systems are upgraded along with high living standards.

An executive of Danh Khoi Real Estate Service Company said it is an inevitable trend that demand for coastal real estate would go up, referring to recent investments by major corporations such as Vingroup, Sungroup, FLC, and Phat Dat, among others, in coastal real estate in the central region.

Over the time, landed property remains an attractive investment channel, especially as the real estate market has witnessed investors reaping huge benefits in the post-crisis period.

Vietnam’s coronavirus success story excites real estate developers

Foreign real estate investors are believed to see a safe shelter for their money.

Vietnam’s containment of Covid-19 has pinned hope among foreign real estate investors who see a safe shelter to allocate their money.

The sentiment among the real estate developers has become strong following the encouragement by the governments in their own countries after a large number of multinational attempted to relocate manufacturing bases out of China.

Foreign experts attribute the sentiment to the safety that the government of Vietnam has fight for in the battle against the pandemic.

South China Morning Post believes that Vietnam is set to get a second round of tonic from global companies diversifying their production bases in the region as the coronavirus outbreak exposes the concentration risk in China.

The situation in Vietnam burnishes its appeal as an alternative to China since giant companies like Apple, Samsung and their suppliers switched out to limit the damage caused by higher tariffs in the US-China trade war.

Meanwhile, global real estate and investment management firm JLL believed that Vietnam, with relatively developed infrastructure and proximity to China, has attracted the majority of those who wanted to diversify their manufacturing portfolio outside China.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic is currently causing difficulties for investment decisions or relocation activities, industrial park developers remain confident of increasing land prices as they were well aware of long-term potential in Vietnam’s industrial segment, sending land prices soaring in the northern industrial market, JLL explained.

Demand for industrial land remained strong in the first quarter this year thanks to Vietnam’s good industrial fundamentals, the consultancy company noted.

Analysts say industrial and residential property in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are likely to get another tailwind after the pandemic lockdown disrupted supply chains and escalated trade and political tension between China and other economic powerhouses.

Sunny Hoang Ha, sales director at SPG Land Vietnam, part of a group that controls Greenland Hong Kong Holdings, affirmed that this Covid-19 outbreak is forcing many companies to re-evaluate their supply chain strategy and Vietnam is primed to benefit.

Jeremy Williams, chief business officer at PropertyGuru, explained that demand for accommodation for both foreign and local staff is set to grow thanks to the influx of foreign industrialists. He noted that the residential segment will see an increase in demand, providing an uplift to prices.

In reality, putting the virus under control has enabled Vietnam to become one of the first countries to restart its economy.

For that reason, property developers, private equity funds and analysts are still betting on the prospects of Vietnam’s real estate market in which foreigners and foreign organizations are eligible to own houses in the country in a tenure of 50 years.

A latest move from Japan will instigate a rush to Vietnam and elsewhere to shift their manufacturing facilities out of China.

Officials from the US and the EU have also indicated their willingness to reduce their dependencies on other countries and Vietnam is expected to be a good choice.

Indeed, foreign direct investment (FDI) rose for seventh straight year as suppliers to Apple, Nintendo, Samsung build new bases.

In the first three quarter this year, FDI to real estate projects ranked third among sectors in Vietnam (behind manufacturing drawing US$9.9 billion and electricity US$4.4 billion) with US$3.2 billion out of total US$21.2 billion in the period, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Another reason is that Vietnam’s young population provides a ready pool of talented professionals, adding to its investment appeal.

Vietnam Airlines ranked top of healthiest national brands

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines retained its top spot in a ranking of Vietnam’s national brands by UK-based reputable international Internet-based market research and data analytics company YouGov.

This is the second consecutive year Vietnam Airlines has led the ranking, confirming the success of the airline in providing high quality services and meeting customers’ needs even amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vietnam Airlines brand wins the trust of customers thanks to its relentless efforts in performing national tasks, spreading human values and contributing to socio-economic development of the country.

YouGov's BrandIndex Rankings is based on scores from the YouGov BrandIndex solution - a methodology that measures the health of brands. The online survey was conducted from October 2019 to September 2020 in order to collect consumers' reviews of 251 brands in Vietnam, which were ranked based on the index score, calculated from the average of reputation, quality, value, impression, satisfaction, and recommend.

Overcoming difficulties posed by the pandemic, Vietnam Airlines is still maintaining its production and business activities as well as the strength of its brand name.

Recently, it has continuously received noble titles awarded by organisations as well as domestic and international customers, such as No. 1 in the Top 10 Most Famous Brands in Vietnam in 2020 awarded by the Vietnam Intellectual Property Association.

Vietnam Airlines was also honoured as the "Best Customer Experience Brand in Vietnam" by KPMG, "World's Leading Cultural Airlines" and "World's Leading Airlines for Premium Economy class" by World Travel Awards.

Besides, for the first time, Vietnam Airlines was also in the top 10 most valuable brands in Vietnam in a survey by Campaign Asia-Pacific, an organisation specialising in national brand communication, in cooperation with the market research company Nielsen./.

Programme started to boost Phu Quoc tourism

A tourism promotion programme has been recently held in Phu Quoc island district, the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, as part of a bigger programme aiming to stimulate the domestic tourism sector.

According to Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration, Phu Quoc is the first place to be selected for the implementation of such programme.

Participating travel firms introduced potential of Phu Quoc, dubbed as a “pearl island”, and famous people talked about their experiences in the locality during the programme.

Sieu expressed his hope that the event will give a boost to Phu Quoc tourism during the closing months of this year, while promoting activities in other localities nationwide.

Kien Giang plans to develop high-quality tourism products and train human resources in the sector in order to improve service quality.

The province will also invest in road infrastructure to connect tourist sites in and outside the locality, as well as in seaport infrastructure to ensure safety for holiday-makers.

According to the provincial Department of Tourism, the local sector is expected to earn more than 8 trillion VND (343.52 million USD) this year, down 12 trillion VND.

In the first 10 months of this year, Kien Giang welcomed about 5.2 million visitors, a drop of 40.7 percent year-on-year, including 184,000 international tourists, down 74 percent.

Phu Quoc has become a top tourist destination after it built an international airport in 2012 and the Government rolled out a 30-day visa-free policy for foreigners in 2014.

100 stalls introduce farm produce at AEON Mall Ha Dong

The Hanoi Agriculture Fair 2020 is being organised at AEON Mall Ha Dong in Hanoi from November 20 to 23.

Held by the Hanoi Investment-Trade-Tourism Promotion Agency (HPA), the fair has attracted 80 enterprises from Hanoi and the provinces of Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Nam, Quang Tri, Nghe An, Tuyen Quang, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Lam Dong, Lao Cai, Bac Giang, Ha Tinh, Hai Duong, Thai Nguyen, Quang Nam, Dong Thap, Cao Bang, Son La, and Tuyen Quang and Hai Phong city, with 100 stalls introducing thousands of types of farm produce and “One Commune, One Product” goods to Hanoi consumers.

HPA Deputy Director Nguyen Thi Mai Anh said the fairs organised by the agency make it easier for Vietnamese companies to improve their access to major distributors.

This fair was also held to realise an MoU signed between the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Hanoi People’s Committee, and AEON Japan Group.

The parties agreed to achieve the goal of shipping Vietnamese goods worth 500 million USD to the AEON supermarket chain this year and 1 billion USD by 2025.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR