VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES JUNE 29

01:04

Reform must focus on removing inconsistencies, overlaps in business regulations: VCCI

It is critical for Vietnam to focus on removing inconsistencies and overlaps in business regulations to create a favourable climate for enterprises, attendees heard at a conference held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Hanoi on June 24.

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said that the business community was highly expectant of the Government’s new wave of reforms, making regulations stronger and more practical. The Government carried out two waves of reforms in the past five years. The first was in 2016 with the highlighted requirement that no business prerequisites were raised in decrees and the second was in 2018 with the focus on simplifying and removing business prerequisites.

The third reform wave should be removing overlapping and inconsistent regulations, Loc stressed, adding that the management agencies needed to make greater efforts to create a favourable environment for businesses.

Some ministries reported that around 60 percent of business prerequisites under their management were removed or simplified, however, the figure was only on paper, Loc said. In fact, businesses felt that the simplification or removal of business prerequisites was not that much, at only around 30-40 percent, according to the VCCI.

The VCCI said that the current legal system of business and investment still had a number of problems. Many business lines which required prerequistes needed to be abolished or simplified, Loc said, adding that complicated procedures for joining the market remained barriers to small- and medium-sized enterprises.

After reviewing 411 legal documents on business prerequisites, the VCCI also raised 106 proposals, including amendments to 93 legal documents, 32 laws, 51 decrees and 10 circulars, Dau Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI’s Legal Department said.

The VCCI also planned to carry out a more comprehensive review of existing legal documents with a focus on regulations about market entry and enterprise operation management.

Recently, the VCCI proposed the Government to tackle 25 points of overlaps and inconsistencies in the existing regulations.
Tuan said that the business environment could not improve if business prerequisites remained in place.

Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said he felt that ministries were still slow in carrying out reforms although the Government issued resolutions about improving the business and investment climate every year.

For example, in seafood processing and export, Vietnam had some standards which were even stricter than the US, causing a lot of difficulties for firms, Nam said.

Le Net from law firm LNT & Partners said it was necessary to announce the list of business lines which required prerequisites for foreign investors to participate in./.

Singapore launches new licence conditions for employment agencies

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) of Singapore has issued a new regulation requiring employment agencies in the country to meet new licence conditions to strengthen fair hiring practices.

The nearly 3,900 employment agencies licensed by MOM must not in any way abet discriminatory hiring by their clients, such as by withholding applications based on age, race, nationality, gender and disability.

They must also turn down requests or instructions from clients to carry out discriminatory hiring, it added.

In addition to helping clients fulfil job advertising requirements, employment agencies must also "make reasonable efforts" to attract Singaporeans for vacancies and consider all applicants based on merit, said MOM.

These licence conditions take effect from October, and those that do not comply may have their licence revoked or suspended, or be issued demerit points.

The new regulation came amid the increasing unemployment rate in the city state due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The rate is forecast to jump to 4 percent in late 2020, from 2.6 percent recorded last year. This is considered a next step of the Singaporean government to address employment for local residents as the general election is approaching./.

Vietnam railway sector forecasted to face USD60.86-million loss

The Vietnam Railways Corporation (VNR) would suffer from a total loss of VND1.39 trillion (USD60.86 million) this year, down 23% on-year.

Of the total figure, up to VND618 million is the loss of Hanoi Railway Transport Company and Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company.

The loss is mostly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the repair of Hanoi-HCM City railway route which is expected to cost up to VND7 trillion (USD304.34 million).

This year, the firm plans to invest around VND1.01 trillion (USD44.17 million) into train equipment.

The railway sector has to face rising competition from local budget airlines.

Meanwhile, investment in railway infrastructure has been modest. The railway sector has only received 40% of state capital allocated for its business and production activities.

Vietnam is now home to over 3,000 kilometres of railway tracks, none of them capable of running high-speed services./.

Industrial zones nationwide attract US$6 billion in FDI

The first half of the year saw Vietnam attract 335 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into industrial zones (IZs) and economic zones (EZs), with newly registered and added capital reaching US$6 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

The MPI reports the number of FDI projects up to June stood at approximately 9,835 capitalised at roughly US$197.8 billion of which about 72.3% has been disbursed.

In terms of domestic investment projects, both IZs and EZs located throughout the country have attracted some 282 projects in six months with total newly registered and increased capital hitting US$2.7 billion.

They brought the cumulative number of domestic investment projects to 9,650, boasting a total investment figure of about US$99.6 million with disbursed investment capital making up 46.3%.

By the end of June, 336 industrial zones have been established in Vietnam, covering a total area of 98,000ha, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Planning and Investment./.

Businesses eye consumer trends to penetrate ASEAN market

Local enterprises are being urged to strictly follow consumer trends, strive to improve product quality, and ensure reasonable prices in the face of fierce competition from other countries within the ASEAN bloc.

With Vietnam taking on the role of ASEAN Chair for 2020, the position is expected to create a range of opportunities to elevate the country’s profile regionally and internationally, while simultaneously expanding trade and investment activities with other members of the bloc.

ASEAN represents the nation’s fourth largest export market with a turnover of nearly US$24 billion last year. During the first five months of the year the country’s exports to other ASEAN members reached only US$9.8 billion, with this disappointing figure being put down to the negative impact caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.

Aside from causing numerous difficulties, the COVID-19 epidemic has also served to create plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese agricultural products to conquer regional markets such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.

According to the Vietnamese trade office in Singapore, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic has led to the trade office actively strengthening connectivity with associations and businesses in an effort to boost the export of agricultural products and food items to Singapore.

Indeed, March alone saw the trade office help firms to place more than 20 orders for agricultural products.

Since the beginning of this year, fruit and vegetable exports to Thailand have increased sharply. Most notably, the first four months saw fruit and vegetable exports to the Thai market enjoy an annual rise of over 244% to US$58 million.

According to economic experts, the ASEAN Economic Community has been presented with opportunities, whilst a number of challenges are being posed for the country which will face fierce competition from other nations in the bloc.

Experts have therefore advised enterprises to restructure their production activities and change their business mindset in an effort to meet market demand and ensure sustainable development.

With regard to the export of rice to the Philippines, Nguyen Van Thanh, director of Phat Thanh VI Company, recommends that domestic businesses try to improve product quality whilst ensuring a reasonable price in order to compete with regional rivals.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, general director of Quy Phuc Manufacturing and Trading Co., Ltd, emphasised that as a means of making inroads into the ASEAN market, local enterprises have been urged to devise a business strategy in order to follow consumer trends and connect with reputable domestic distributors.

Fukunari Kimura, Chief Economist of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, suggested that firms give priority to consumers’ tastes and largely focus on the application of technology in the new era of digitalisation to boost trade and investment activities./.

RoK expert highlights RCEP’s role in dealing with protectionism

An expert of the Republic of Korea (RoK) has highlighted the role of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in dealing with protectionism, especially in his country.

In a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Seoul, Dr. Lee Jaehyon, director of the Center for ASEAN and Oceania Studies at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that as the Korean economy is so much dependent on trade, a regional multilateral free trade agreement is in principle good for Korea and its economy.

“On top of that RCEP has long been on agenda of regional economic cooperation. It is better for Korea to conclude it sooner than later. A further delay might have reduced the momentum for the free trade agreement,” he said.

According to the expert, as for the RoK, RCEP is supposed to be one of the achievements of the New Southern Policy since it could further remove the trade barrier between ASEAN countries and the RoK.

As COVID-19 puts serious restraints on people and good movement and incurs protectionist tendencies by countries, the agreement is helpful to fight against the negative symptoms brought by the Covid-19.

Regarding Vietnam’s efforts towards the conclusion of the RCEP negotiation, Lee said as ASEAN Chair in 2020, Vietnam has a heavy burden of getting all the signing done this year (hopefully with India’s joining).

“It will not be an easy task since regional countries are so much pre-occupied with Covid-19. But, if Vietnam persuades regional countries strongly with an argument that RCEP is an effective instrument to fight against the protectionist movements by some countries which put further constraints on regional economies on top of the negative impacts of the pandemic,” he stated.

He went on to say that nobody can tell if countries will finish signing the agreement this year or not. Obviously, things do not bode well due to COVID-19 – the protectionist impulses of the regional countries.

Emphasising that the utility of RCEP is clearer than ever, he said he wishes the ratification is all done by countries./.

Vinh Phuc province promises impressive summer for tourists

A wide range of special cultural and tourism activities are awaiting travellers in the northern province of Vinh Phuc this summer.

At a ceremony kicking off the local travel season on June 25, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Vu Chi Giang said this was an important event as part of the National Tourism Year 2020 and the “Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam” campaign, launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to stimulate domestic travel demand in the “new normal” context after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the province’s travel season this year, visitors will have chances to visit the traditional snake farming village of Vinh Son, Ha Pagoda, the Temple of Literature, and many other famous destinations.

They can also taste local specialities at the culinary festival organised by the Vinh Phuc restaurants’ association or enjoy folk music like “cheo”, “xam” and “van” singing.

Organisers believe that this will also be an opportunity for Vinh Phuc to boost cultural and tourism cooperation with other localities in Vietnam, thus helping to promote the province as a safe, attractive, civilised and friendly destination.

Vinh Phuc, home to a number of renowned tourist sites like Tam Dao, Tay Thien and Dai Lai, has recorded breakthroughs in tourism development over the past years.

Tourist arrivals here grew by 15 percent annually between 2015 and 2018, and exceeded 6.2 million in 2019, earning the province 1.92 trillion VND (82.6 million USD) in tourism revenue./.

Exhibition spotlights advanced advertising technologies

The Vietnam International Advertising Equipment and Technology Exhibition (VIETAD 2020) is underway at the Hanoi International Exhibition Center, introducing latest technologies of the industry.

The annual event, organised by the Vietnam Advertising Association, the HCM City Advertising Association and the Dong Nam Advertising and Commercial Promotion JSC, is taking place in conjunction with the Vietnam International Packaging, Label, Thermal Transfer, Printing Technology Equipment and Supplies Exhibition 2020 (VPSE 2020).

Both exhibitions consist of 180 stalls that display and run demos of advanced machines and equipment.

According to the organiser, the 11th VIETAD this year aims at catering to information demand of firms across sectors. It offers a good opportunity for domestic and foreign organisations and enterprises to seek partners, transfer technologies, and develop business, contributing to increasing the quality and competitiveness of products.

It lasts until June 28 and is scheduled to run at the Phu Tho Indoor Sports Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City from August 6 to 9./.

Vietnam plays proactive role in RCEP negotiations: Indian scholar

Vietnam is playing a very proactive and responsible role in pushing up the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) forward, Associate Prof. Dr. Faisal Ahmed from India’s FORE School of Management has said.

Ahmed also told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on June 25 that Vietnam is performing a significant role in strengthening regional integration and creating a cohesive environment within the ASEAN to adapt to and promote the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He highlighted Vietnam’s crucial economic and strategic role in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prior to the ongoing 36th ASEAN summit, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh chaired a meeting of ministers from RCEP negotiating members, he continued.

Regarding India’s possibility to return to the RCEP negotiations, Ahmed said the joint media statement of the 10th RCEP Ministerial Meeting that took place online on June 23 has emphasised that the RCEP remains open for India.

Earlier, there had been some concerns over India not joining the RCEP, he said, adding: “But I feel that joining RCEP will be beneficial for India, and will give a boost to ‘Make in India’ programme also.”

“I think India will be in a better position to re-consider joining RCEP only after the result of the US presidential elections to be held in November this year,” he said./.

Vinh Phuc province promises impressive summer for tourists

A wide range of special cultural and tourism activities are awaiting travellers in the northern province of Vinh Phuc this summer.

They can also taste local specialities at the culinary festival organised by the Vinh Phuc restaurants’ association or enjoy folk music like “cheo”, “xam” and “van” singing.

Vinh Phuc, home to a number of renowned tourist sites like Tam Dao, Tay Thien and Dai Lai, has recorded breakthroughs in tourism development over the past years.

Tourist arrivals here grew by 15 percent annually between 2015 and 2018, and exceeded 6.2 million in 2019, earning the province 1.92 trillion VND (82.6 million USD) in tourism revenue./.

US provides nearly 56 million USD to support Cambodia’s social-economic growth

The US Government has signed an agreement to offer Cambodia about 56 million USD to support its social and economy development programmes across four sectors in 2020.

The Royal Government of Cambodia, through the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), and the US Government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), signed the pact on June 25.

Per the agreement, 38 million USD will be earmarked for health and education programmes and approximately 18 million USD for agriculture and environment programmes.

CDC Vice-Chairman Chin Bun Sean said that bilateral development cooperation is an important pillar in promoting and strengthening the cooperation and partnership between the two countries.

W. Patrick Murphy, US Ambassador to Cambodia, said the US Government is committed to continuing its support for the Cambodian people towards sustainable, inclusive, and equitable socio-economic development.

In March, the US Government provided Cambodia with 11 million USD to support the Southeast Asian country’s COVID-19 response.

Since 1994, the US’s assistance for Cambodian people has exceeded over 1 billion USD.

LBP to move listing to HOSE this year

Top officials of LienVietPostBank (LPB) have pledged to move the stock listing to the Hochiminh Stock Exchange from the market for unlisted public enterprises or UPCoM within this year to improve LPB's prestige and trademark with local and international investors and customers and ensure LPB shares see better liquidity, thus benefiting shareholders.

Speaking at an annual general meeting on June 25, Pham Doan Son, general director of the bank, said the plan had moved at a slow pace in the past due to unfavorable financial conditions. However, it will be completed within this year as a consulting unit has been found.

At present, the LPB share price is some VND9,000, way below the par value. Meanwhile, it has a book value of up to VND14,000.

In the first six months of this year, LPB saw VND1 trillion in profit, most likely meeting this year’s goal at some VND1.7 trillion. In 2020, the State Bank of Vietnam allocated the bank a credit growth rate quota from 10% to 10.75%.

At the meeting, shareholders of LPB approved the expansion of foreign ownership limit from 5% to 9.99%, allowing the bank to issue shares for qualified foreign investors via private placement.

Besides this, LPB had plans to issue shares for existing shareholders at a ratio of 10%, raising its chartered capital to some VND10.7 trillion.

This year, customer support programs amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may cut into the lender’s profit by some VND300 to VND400 billion. The bank will focus on stabilizing the manpower network to reduce operating costs in the next few years./.

Cambodia bans import of six agricultural products from Vietnam

Six Vietnamese farm products including cabbages, broccoli, okra, pumpkins, limes and chives have been banned for import by Cambodia after they were found containing pesticide residues that exceeded the permissible quantity.

Cambodia’s authorities checked the quality of over 20 types of fruits and vegetables imported from Vietnam, according to Vo Thi Gai Nho, deputy head of the customs agency at Khanh Binh border gate under the An Giang Department of Customs.

The test results found harmful residues in six farm products; so the Cambodian General Department of Customs and agencies at Chrey Thom international border gate in Kandal Province imposed a ban on importing these agricultural products from Vietnam.

The entire batch of the six types of vegetables was confiscated and destroyed.

Between January and May, bilateral trade revenue between Vietnam and Cambodia reached US$1.2 billion, down 8.1% year-on-year. Vietnam exported goods worth US$1.7 billion to Cambodia, inching down by 6%.

Over the five-month period, Vietnam’s exports of farm produce to the neighboring country skyrocketed by 312% year-on-year./.

ADB, HDBank partner to boost trade in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank’s Trade Finance Program (TFP) and Vietnam-based HCMC Development Commercial Bank (HDBank) signed a credit agreement on Wednesday to bolster trade in the Southeast Asian country.

“We have had a relationship with HDBank since 2016 and we are pleased to be able to both deepen that relationship and further our commitment to boost trade in Vietnam,” stated ADB Relationship Manager for Vietnam Can Sutken.

“This credit agreement will enable HDBank to access trade finance from ADB, which is expected to support the import and export activities of our customers as well as further promote trade activities in Vietnam,” noted CEO of HDBank, Pham Quoc Thanh.

Since 2004, TFP has supported US$13.5 billion in trade in Vietnam through 13,530 transactions covering both guarantees and direct funding, nearly two-thirds of which supports small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

TFP works with 14 commercial banks in Vietnam.

Backed by ADB’s AAA credit rating, TFP provides guarantees and loans to over 200 partner banks to support trade, enabling more companies throughout Asia and the Pacific to engage in import and export activities.

Since 2009, ADB’s TFP has supported some 20,000 SMEs across Asia through over 26,000 transactions valued at over US$41 billion in sectors ranging from commodities and capital goods to medical supplies and consumer goods.

TFP complements its financial support with knowledge products including a study that quantifies market gaps for trade finance, fleshes out initiatives to increase the role of women in banking, improves efforts to enhance environmental safeguards and lists out initiatives to fight crime through greater transparency in the global financial system.

TFP also provides workshops and seminars to increase knowledge and expertise in matters related to finance, trade, risk management and fraud prevention.

HDBank is one of the emerging banks in Vietnam, with a client base including SMEs, retail and consumers. It is committed to sustainable development, regional reach, integration of international financial markets, being a trusted partner for investors and customers and contributing actively to the country's economic development.

Meanwhile, ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Founded in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, with 49 from the region./.

Australia, WB commit additional AUD5 million for Vietnam’s post-Covid-19 recovery

The Australian Government and World Bank Vietnam have committed to contributing an additional AUD5 million to the Australia-World Bank Strategic Partnership – Phase 2 to support Vietnam’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

The agreement was signed by Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie and World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione on June 24, according to the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.

The additional funding will protect the most vulnerable from the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and support Vietnam’s economic recovery in various ways including through digitizing social protection systems, providing world-class advice on economic reforms and stimulus, facilitating sustainable infrastructure development and ensuring a strong focus on gender equality and social inclusion.

“By providing support in key areas, the program aims to help the country’s economy gain back its full potential in the fastest and most sustainable way,” Dione stated.

“Vietnam should be very proud of how it has tackled Covid-19. The next challenge for Vietnam and for Australia will be to replicate the success of the health response in the economic response,” Mudie noted.

“I am proud of the role the Australia-World Bank Group Strategic Partnership is playing in Vietnam’s economic recovery. It will continue providing world class economic advice and analysis for Vietnam’s leaders and policymakers to accelerate economic recovery, with an increasingly strong focus on gender equality and social protection,” she added.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam has been effective in containing the Covid-19 pandemic with a limited number of cases and no registered deaths. However, the pandemic has shaken the country’s traditional resilience to external shocks, with economic growth in the first quarter reaching only 3.8% compared to the projected growth of 6.5% prior to the crisis.

In order to mitigate the economic and social impacts of Covid-19, it is critical for the government to target sectors and activities that create jobs and improve long-term productivity and growth, such as infrastructure, innovation, social protection, health and education.

The additional AUD5 million takes forward part of the AUD10.5 million commitment from Australia toward Vietnam’s Covid-19 recovery efforts, discussed at a meeting between Mudie and Vietnam’s Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung on June 5, 2020.

The ongoing Australia-World Bank Strategic Partnership – Phase 2, signed in April 2017, aims to support Vietnam’s key national reforms, which are intended to gradually benefit millions of Vietnamese people and help the country reach its ambition of becoming a high-income economy by 2045./.

U.S. begins anti-subsidy probe into auto tires from Vietnam

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into auto tires made in Vietnam, according to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam.

During the investigation, which is set to last 12 months, the DOC can announce preliminary results and adopt temporary anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures.

On May 13, the United States received a request to begin anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into Vietnam’s tire products.

Data from the U.S. customs agency indicated that in 2019, Vietnam exported tire products worth some US$525 million to the United States.

In July last year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a high-level warning that the tire products might be subject to trade defense investigations in some foreign countries.

After being notified of the investigation into Vietnamese tires, the ministry immediately took action to support enterprises and exporters including discussing and consulting with relevant associations.

To ensure the effectiveness of the investigation, the ministry has encouraged local auto tire exporters to proactively cooperate with the United States side and provide them with sufficient information./.

Eximbank announces new chairman

Vietnam Export Import Bank (Eximbank) appointed Vice Chairman Yasuhiro Saitoh as its new chairman on June 25, replacing Cao Xuan Ninh following his resignation over personal reasons.

Eximbank told VnExpress that Ninh tendered his resignation to the board of the bank and the letter was approved even before its annual shareholder meeting on June 30.

Despite the post of Eximbank chairman being changed continuously, the bank asserted that it is performing stably and effectively.

During his tenure, Ninh completed his duties and effectively managed the bank’s operations, according to Eximbank.

In 2019, Eximbank achieved positive results, smoothing the path for its performance in the first quarter of 2020. The bank’s before-tax profit in the first quarter of 2020 soared by 31% year-on-year, while its operation costs reduced by 7%, VietnamPlus news site reported.

Cao Xuan Ninh, 58, took the helm at Eximbank in late May last year, replacing Le Minh Quoc. Meanwhile, at the same time, Yasuhiro Saitoh tendered his resignation to the Eximbank board, but the approval was delayed./.

Slow disbursement hinders construction of HCMC’s metro projects

The construction of two metro projects in HCMC is still moving at a snail’s pace, as the capital earmarked for the projects has not yet been duly disbursed, participants stated during an online conference organized by the Ministry of Finance today, June 25.

According to the HCMC Urban Railway Management Board, the first metro project linking Ben Thanh with Suoi Tien has a total investment of over VND43.7 trillion. Once completed in the fourth quarter of 2021, the route will stretch 19.7 kilometers with three underground stations and 11 elevated stations.

Meanwhile, the second metro project will span 48 kilometers from Ben Thanh to Tham Luong. The two projects have been funded by foreign organizations such as JICA, ADB and EIB but are still far behind schedule.

Commenting on the foreign capital disbursement situation in the country earlier, the Finance Ministry said that HCMC has reported a disbursement rate of some 4.13%. It is now facing obstacles in the progress of three projects including the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro, the water environment improvement (second phase), and another environmental plan worth VND4.6 trillion.

If local authorities and relevant ministries coordinate over completing the disbursement for the first metro project, the overall disbursement rate in the city will rise to some 40%, the ministry noted.

Pham Thi Hong Ha, director of the HCMC Finance Department, said the city is developing nine projects using foreign funds, with a combined capital of VND122 trillion. However, only VND1.6 trillion or 10.3% of this year's disbursement target has been disbursed so far.

Explaining the low figure, Ha noted that the local government is seeking approval to revise the construction time and designs of the two metro projects. Currently, the city is reselecting contractors for certain components and renegotiating the signed contracts.

Besides this, foreign experts have yet to join the projects due to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The second metro project has also seen slow site clearance issues, the official said./.

Sovico won't buy 59% stake in Hoa Binh Construction Group: board chairman

Le Viet Hai, chairman of the board of Hoa Binh Construction Group, refuted a rumor stating that Sovico Group will buy a 59% stake in Hoa Binh, at the group’s 2020 general meeting of shareholders on June 24.

Hai said some of the firm's customers, including real estate companies, have expressed their interest in becoming Hoa Binh’s strategic shareholders. “However, Hoa Binh cannot issue shares to raise capital at the moment for several reasons,” he noted.

According to Hai, Hoa Binh does not intend to invite a real estate company to become its strategic shareholder because this will reduce collaborative opportunities and result in a conflict of interest.

The construction group’s board chairman also rebutted a rumor stating that an investment fund will buy Hoa Binh's shares to take over the group.

“Some Hoa Binh shareholders are the group’s customers. However, their stakes are not as high as the rumors indicate,” Hai stated.

“Hoa Binh currently has more than 40 real estate companies as customers. We will not let any of them acquire and take over the group,” he added.

Hoa Binh Construction Group, the biggest real estate group in Vietnam, posted over VND18.6 trillion in net revenue in 2019, up 1.7% year-on-year. However, its after-tax profit was estimated at just some VND417 billion, falling by 34% compared with 2018 and only meeting 58% of the entire year’s target.

Hai said the construction sector has recently faced several challenges and Hoa Binh is no exception.

The group initially expected to earn VND20 trillion in revenue and VND720 billion in profit this year. However, it has lowered its expectations to VND12.5 trillion in revenue and VND125 billion in profit due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic./.

Vietnam's footwear firms forced to lay off workers due to Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic has left tremendous impact on Vietnam's footwear industry, with the lack of production orders and the consequent drop in exports forcing them to lay off employees. The situation would worsen if the coronavirus is not put under control in Europe and the United States.

That Hue Phong Leather Shoes Co., Ltd. and PouYuen Vietnam Co., Ltd. have recently fired 2,220 workers and some 2,790 workers, respectively, indicating the severe impact of Covid-19 on their business.

As a major business in HCMC’s Go Vap District with some 4,700 workers, Hue Phong has had to lay off thousands of employees and scale down operations due to declining orders. PouYuen Vietnam has also experienced a similar situation.

Despite measures such as adjusting production and shifts to ensure work for their employees, the limited number of orders in the second half of the year has forced these enterprises to lay off workers.

Many other businesses in the field are also cutting staff or asking them to take unpaid leave.

Nguyen Xuan Tu, director of Phuoc Thanh Export, Import, Trading and Production Co., said that some 90% of the company’s production output is for export to Europe. Since Covid-19 broke out in the continent, there has been no demand from the firm's clients in Poland, Austria and Sweden, Tu added.

“Normally, at this time of the year, we receive orders for three months or even till the end of the year, but there have been no orders from this region so far,” Tu said.

With no direct orders, Tu sought to outsource orders to retain his workers but even this was not enough, forcing his firm to lay off 30% of its employees.

Though the pandemic in Vietnam is essentially under control, the main footwear markets such as the United States and Europe are still struggling with the disease, leading to a lack of demand.

The prolonged suspension of imports in the EU and U.S. markets has severely hit domestic footwear firms, which employ a large number of manual workers. The firms admitted it is impossible to survive or retain staff without orders.

According to Nguyen Chi Trung, chairman of Gia Dinh Group Joint Stock Company, his firm still has some orders for April-June but has seen no new orders from American and European importers, compelling the firm to lay off or give unpaid leave to some 60% of its employees.

Trung said that such difficulties could lead to thousands of people being laid off.

The United States and the EU have been the two major markets of Vietnam’s footwear over the past years and accounted for some 65% of the country’s total export turnover last year.

Massive layoffs have also been seen in the textile-garment and woodwork industries. As there are no orders and import markets are yet to recover, it is impossible to resume production and ensure enough jobs for workers.

Though a large number of workers will be needed once the pandemic is over, businesses are still unable to retain workers amid the current difficulties./.

Dong Thap seeks VND900 billion aid to cope with natural disasters

Dong Thap Province has sought Government aid worth some VND902 billion to execute urgent projects aimed at proactively responding to natural disasters and minimizing damages amid the gradual worsening of landslides and a limited local budget.

Vo Thanh Ngoan, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agricultural and Rural Development, submitted the proposal during a meeting with a working team of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control today, June 24, in Dong Thap.

If the Mekong Delta province receives the funding, it will invest in projects to handle landslides along the Tien River in the province’s Hong Ngu Town and an area in Cao Lanh District’s Binh Hang Commune, with a total investment of an estimated VND555 billion, Ngoan said.

It will also tap VND110 billion from the funding to urgently tackle landslides along the Cai Vung River with a total length of 1,600 meters.

Besides this, the province will build six residential zones and evacuate some 1,190 households from the affected localities to safe areas, which requires some VND347 billion.

During this year to date, the province reported a landslide incident in Thanh Binh District’s An Phong Commune, according to a report of the provincial Committee for Disaster Response and Search and Rescue.

Landslides also hit the inner areas of rice paddies in the three districts of Cao Lanh, Thanh Binh and Chau Thanh, with the total affected length being 213 meters, directly impacting five local households and causing damages worth over VND950 million./.

Calling for cryptocurrency investment is illegal: official

A former top police official asked local residents to stay clear of persons calling for investments in cryptocurrencies to avoid being cheated, as drives to mobilize capital for the crypto business are unlawful in Vietnam.

Besides breaking Vietnamese laws, investors in cryptocurrencies could also face risks. Cryptocurrencies or virtual money and payments made using such money are not legally recognized in the country, according to Vu Hoang Kien, former deputy head of the Criminal Police Department, under the Ministry of Public Security.

The police have cracked down on many crypto rings so far. Many investors have been lured through the simple investment procedures and interest rate as high as 90% per month, and have been consequently defrauded for up to hundreds of billion of dong. Some swindlers have even offered an astounding interest rate of 120% per month to attract investors.

Kien advised locals not to be tempted by the high interest rates in the crypto business, as this could mean going against Vietnamese laws and lead to substatial debt for themselves, their families and friends.

According to Nguyen Nam Hao from the Police Department for Corruption, Smuggling and Economic Crimes, despite the many warnings issued on the matter, many locals are still investing in cryptocurrencies.

To date, only the Government’s Decree 96 stipulates administrative fines at VND150 million-VND200 million for individuals that issue, supply and use unlawful payment methods, including Bitcoins and other virtual currencies, noted Hao.

Given the scores of crypto-related fraud cases in the country, the official stated that more stringent and specific regulations need to be issued to minimize the negative impacts associated with cryptocurrency./.

Binh Chanh begins demolishing Tram Chim resort

After a long period of suspension due to the Tet holiday and the coronavirus pandemic, Binh Chanh District in HCMC on June 23 restarted tearing down numerous facilities at Gia Trang Quan, also known as the Tram Chim Resort, which was illegally developed in Tan Quy Tay Commune.

A representative from the government of the commune told Thanh Nien Online that the large-scale commercial complex was developed on land which is for agricultural purposes only.

The demolition is aimed at forcing Tran Thi Minh Trang, the owner of the resort, to restore the status of the land covering an area of over 7,260 square meters.

The authorities had earlier demanded that Trang demolish the illegal portions of the resort but she remained defiant, the representative added.

At 8.00 a.m. today, a working team of 200 people and vehicles were dispatched to the resort for the demolition, which is expected to be completed within one week.

Tram Chim Resort, which was built in 2015, comprises 65 guest rooms, 16 karaoke rooms, 13 sauna rooms and many other facilities.

Following a decision to demolish Tram Chim Resort, the Binh Chanh government on November 19, 2019, asked 17 individuals concerned to practice self-criticism as they failed to closely cooperate and address the illegal construction, thus prolonging the entire process.

When the Binh Chanh government began demolishing the construction work at the resort, Tran Thi Minh Trang filed a lawsuit against the district government and demanded that it revoke the Binh Chanh chairman’s decision demanding the illegal facilities at the resort be destroyed. Trang said the demolition has caused heavy losses for her.

Work on Can Gio Bridge to start in 2022

Work on the Can Gio bridge project connecting HCMC’s two outlying districts of Nha Be and Can Gio is set to begin at the end of the first quarter of 2022.

Bui Hoa An, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Transport, said that if the site clearance process goes well, a tender will be opened in early 2022 to select investors for the project.

The bridge is slated for completion in late 2025 or early 2026, An told a meeting between HCMC Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan and the National Assembly deputies of HCMC along with the voters of Can Gio District on June 22.

In March last year, the HCMC government chose a design for the Can Gio bridge project in which the cable-stayed bridge would be supported by a pillar shaped like a mangrove tree, a typical type of plant in Can Gio, in addition to other pillars.

Apart from this, the bridge railing would take the shape of waves.

The 3.4-kilometer bridge, which is designed to have four lanes, is expected to replace the Binh Khanh ferry effectively when it is put into operation. The project requires an estimated investment of some VND5.3 trillion.

Can Gio Bridge will start at the intersection between Street 15B and Street No. 2 in Nha Be District’s Phu Xuan urban area and connect with Rung Sac, 1.8 kilometers south of the Binh Khanh ferry in Binh Khanh Commune, Can Gio District.

The project was initially expected to be executed under either the build-operate-transfer or the build-transfer format, so work on the project would start in September or October 2021.

However, at the ninth sitting in June, the National Assembly passed the Law on Public Private Partnership Investment and eliminated the BT format. As such, it will take the city six more months to adjust the investment plan for the project.

HOSE listing to boost ACB price

The Asia Commercial Bank's (ACB) share price is expected to jump this year, as the lender will move its listing from the Hanoi Stock Exchange to the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, following approval from its shareholders.

And after being traded on the HCMC market for six months, the bank stock is expected to be added to indexes such as VN30, VNDiamond, VNFIN Select and VNFIN Lead, stated Bao Viet Securities Company (BVSC) in a recent report.

Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, ACB is at a higher advantage than other listed banks as it focuses on credit for individuals and families, not vulnerable sectors such as construction, real estate, tourism, hotels and transport.

This year, ACB targets to gain over VND7.6 trillion in pretax profit, up a slight 2% compared with 2019, while credit is expected to rise 11.75% and mobilization may increase 12%. The bank would strive to maintain the bad debt ratio under 2%.

Despite the modest outlook for 2020, BVSC said, ACB might make a strong recovery in 2021, buoyed by the listing on the HCMC market. Further, an exclusive bancassurance deal, expected to be signed this year, will fetch an abnormal profit and the divestment out of the ACB Securities Company will help boost the share price.

In the first five months of this year, ACB earned some VND3.5 trillion in consolidated pretax profit, meeting 45.8% of this year’s target, with the credit growth rate pegged at 4%./.

Quang Nam to house first recreational complex with casino

Hoi An South Development JSC has unveiled its plan to open a recreational center consisting of a casino, a hotel and a golf course on June 28, 2020, as part of its US$4-billion Hoiana complex covering some 1,000ha in Quang Nam Province.

On that day, guests can enjoy cutting-edge entertainment and gaming facilities by Hoiana Suncity, play at Vietnam’s first Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Hoiana Shores Golf Club or indulge in the first of four luxurious hotels managed by the Rosewood Hotel Group – the Hoiana Hotel & Suites.

Rosewood is managing the renowned New World Saigon Hotel in HCMC.

“With easy access from Danang International Airport and the region’s popular landmarks, we are confident that Hoiana will flourish as a premium lifestyle destination for both domestic and international visitors. With this resort, we will harmoniously blend Vietnam’s rich culture, dynamic energy and genuine hospitality with world-class service and entertainment that the Suncity Group and the Rosewood Hotel Group are known for,” said Steve Wolstenholme, Chief Executive Officer of Hoiana.

According to Hoiana, other parts of the complex are in different investment and construction stages.

The Hoiana complex was granted a revised investment certificate in 2015, with the main investors being the VMS Investment Group, Sun City and VinaCapital./.

Vingroup breaks ground on US$1 billion theme park

Vietnam's private conglomerate Vingroup has begun construction on the VinWonders theme park on Vu Yen island off the northern city of Haiphong at an investment of US$1 billion.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held on June 21 and attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

As part of an entertainment, housing and eco-park project, VinWonders Vu Yen will cover an area of 50 hectares with six indoor and outdoor entertainment zones. The children's area will have science, sports, virtual reality and thrilling games, while an outdoor water park will be designed to complement the three rivers surrounding the island.

A safari with many rare species will also be built, the first one in the north. Apart from that, VinWonders Vu Yen will also have designated areas for shopping and restaurants.

Addressing the event, Nguyen Viet Quang, vice chairman and general director of Vingroup, said that once completed, the theme park is expected to offer a significant travel experience for local and foreign tourists, as well as help boost the tourism industry of Haiphong in particular and Vietnam as a whole.

Locals have been looking forward to VinWonders Vu Yen for years now, as it will be the city's first large-scale theme park. It is Vingroup’s fourth theme park in the country and the first VinWonders-branded property in the north, noted a Vingroup representative./.

Hanoi 2020: pioneering investment attraction post-pandemic

Hanoi needs to be a pioneer in attracting foreign-invested capital inflows post-pandemic, building on its success in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak to forge new momentum for breakthrough growth.

This was suggested by Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) at the “Hanoi 2020 – Investment and Development Cooperation” conference organised at the National Convention Centre (NCC) on June 27.

According to Loc, the three key words (investment, development, and cooperation) in the slogan of the event show the vision and strategy of Hanoi in attracting investment capital. It shows the aim to lure stable investment capital based on cooperation and connection with each other.

“The event is organised in the context of Vietnam preparing to handle new investment inflows, thus it is necessary to make Hanoi a pioneer,” Loc said.

So far, Hanoi has prepared favourable conditions to welcome investment projects from both foreign and local investors. The city reported a breakthrough in the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) with a 40-point soar to stay at the top 10 cities and provinces having the highest PCI. In addition, Hanoi and Quang Ninh are pioneers in developing projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. It came in at second place in the 2019 Public Administration Reform Index (PAR Index) for the third year in a row with 84.64 per cent. Furthermore, administrative reforms and the implementation of online registration is highly appreciated by investors and enterprises.

At the event, representatives of Hanoi People’s Committee and enterprises signed MoUs with the investment capital of more than $26.07 billion, which are high-quality projects and will create breakthrough growth for Hanoi once implemented.

“However, in order to disburse the entirety of the registered capital and be a pioneer, it is important for city leaders to take good care of existing investors because they are the best emissaries to promote and introduce Hanoi as an investment environment to other global investors,” Loc said.

In the upcoming time, Hanoi should also establish a private task force to co-operate with the government’s task force to implement investment promotion activities as well as other policies to guide and handle new investment.

Hanoi attracted $1.05 billion in foreign-invested capital in the first five months of this year.

VNN

COVID-19: The truth is always the strongest argument

02:00

International experts and media have been trying to explain Vietnam’s extraordinary success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam has gone more than 70 days with no new community transmissions, almost all of its COVID-19 patients have recovered, and there has not been a single COVID-19 death in Vietnam. The truth refutes those who try to deny Vietnam’s achievements.

Most international media use phrases like “amazing Vietnam” and “role model” to describe Vietnam's successful battle against COVID-19, but there are a few who want to deny Vietnam’s undeniable achievements.

A tweet posted by Professor Steve Hanke of John Hopkins University on June 10 named Vietnam among a list of countries that "do not report COVID-19 data”, rejecting the statistics reported by worldometers.info.

Former BBC reporter Bill Hayton criticized Vietnam’s epidemic measures as a restriction of human rights.

The facts

The opinions of the American professor and the BBC reporter are at odds with those of international organizations who have direct access to information in Vietnam.

The WHO and CDC praise Vietnam's transparency in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: WHO/VNA)

Making public up-to-date information about the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the factors in Vietnam’s success. The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say Vietnam has been transparent in its handling of the pandemic. CDC Director in Southeast Asia John MacArthur affirms there is no evidence that the numbers reported by Vietnam are not accurate. He said transparency and political determination are what made Vietnam a role model in fighting the disease.

The website Eastasiaforum.org said Vietnam has kept the public informed through TV news and text messages sent to mobile phones.

Germany’s Der Spiegel said the Vietnamese Health Ministry has sent daily messages to all mobile phone subscribers and used public loudspeakers to keep people informed about preventive measures to protect themselves.

David Hutt, a Southeast Asia columnist with The Diplomat, said the Vietnamese Party and State have been open in sharing up-to-date COVID-19 information, have acted responsibly, and have made public health their top priority.

The government’s quick, firm actions to control the epidemic and threat infected individuals have made people feel that they are protected and no one will be left behind. A global survey in May by Singapore’s Blackbox Research found that 94% of respondents said transparent information about the pandemic increased their trust in the government.

Undeniable success

Mark Ashwill, an educator who has lived in Vietnam for 15 years, called BillHayton’s criticism of Vietnam’s preventive measures a distortion by someone who knows nothing about Vietnam in 2020. Ashwill said that before discussing Vietnam’s epidemic prevention policy, Bill Hayton should have read an article in The Diplomat, which attributed Vietnam’s successful control of COVID-19 to its social cohesiveness and ability to mobilize resources quickly.

The Nation said Vietnam achieved the most effective response to COVID-19 through rapid mobilization of its health care system, public employees, and security forces, combined with an effective and creative public education campaign.

Eastasiaforum.org said the military and the police inspired public cooperation by empathizing with them in the fight against the pandemic.

These assessments were borne out by statistics from daliaresearch.com in Berlin which showed that Vietnam has the highest percentage of people who say they believe in their government’s epidemic prevention policy.

A survey by YouGov, a British market research and data analytics firm, showed that Vietnam has had the best public response to the epidemic and that 95% of its citizens are happy with the government’s public health policies.

Facts and figures posted by widely-respected media outlets refute the few skeptical or unfriendly denials of Vietnam’s successful fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.

VOV5

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES JUNE 30

02:04

HCMC hotels suffer despite big discounts

Tourists cross the street in downtown HCMC. Hotels in HCMC are still unable to recoup from the Covid-19-induced losses - PHOTO: VGP

Despite the modest number of domestic guests and discounts of 30%-40% or higher on offer, hotels in HCMC are still unable to recoup from the Covid-19-induced losses and the subsequent travel restrictions around the world, as they mainly rely on international travelers.

Although Vietnam has contained the coronavirus pandemic, multiple hotels are yet to reopen, while some chains have scaled down their businesses or are lowering prices to attract customers.

A sales director of a five-star hotel in the city said the room rate is currently at US$90 per night, compared to the previous rate of over US$120.

The regular room rate at four-star hotels is US$100 per night. Many hotels are offering services at lower prices to attract domestic guests, who mainly come to the city for business purposes. There could be further cuts on room rates but the number of guests is not expected to improve, he added.

Tran Thi Thanh Tam, owner of the Chez Mimosa small hotel chain, said that of the five Chez Mimosa-branded hotels, she had to give up the site of one hotel, while only one of the other four is operational as there are no international arrivals and only a handful of local guests.

Current revenues are just enough to pay rentals, salaries, electricity and water bills. The chain cannot afford to cover other fees, Tam noted.

Similarly, a seven-property hotel chain is operating only two facilities in District 1, with a major focus on the domestic segment but it rarely reaches the breakeven point. The chain has furloughed most of its staff and can only resume regular operations once travel restrictions are lifted, said its marketing director.

Data from CBRE Vietnam indicated that the revenue per available room (RevPAR) earned by four- to five-star hotels in the first quarter of the year was a mere US$46.3, down a sharp 48% over the same period last year. The RevPAR could be severely affected this quarter due to travel restrictions and low travel demand from local people./.

Samsung to shift major portion of monitor production from China to HCMC

Samsung Vina Electronics announced on June 19 that a major portion of Samsung’s monitor production would be shifted from China to the Samsung HCMC CE Complex at the Saigon Hi-tech Park in District 9, HCMC, this year.

The South Korean tech giant is developing a production chain for over 40 monitor models at its factory in HCMC. Once the shift is complete, Vietnam will become one of the largest suppliers of Samsung monitors in the world, according to Tuoi Tre newspaper.

A Samsung representative said the shift will help Vietnamese consumers become the first to use the company’s latest monitors, while the country will also help Samsung monitors increase their market presence in Southeast Asia.

Data from global market intelligence firm IDC indicated that Samsung is the leading producer of monitors in Vietnam, with Samsung monitors of 24 inches or larger accounting for 34% of the Vietnamese market in the first quarter of 2020./.

Lack of demand forces HCMC to lower bus advertising charges

With the introduction of a variety of new advertising media, the declining popularity of bus advertising and four failed tenders for the same advertising packages, the HCMC Department of Transport is now planning on decreasing the prices of bus advertising.

Vo Khanh Hung, deputy director of the municipal Department of Transport, told the local media on June 19 that among the previous tenders, only one found a winner, while no enterprises submitted bids for the other tenders.

Hung attributed the failure of the four previous auctions for rights to advertise on buses and at bus stop lounges to the popularity of various new forms of advertising including LED-based outdoor advertising boards.

As such, the department proposed reducing the prices of bus advertising packages to attract investors and advertising firms and submitted a plan in this regard to the HCMC government for consideration and approval.

The demand for outdoor advertising was high 10 years ago, but has dropped by 30% as clients are gradually switching to online advertising, noted Dang Van Son, director of Phuoc Son Advertising Company.

Apart from this, many buses in HCMC have become old and worn out, while the prices of bus advertising are higher than those in other localities and of online advertising, Son added.

Son suggested the authorities assign bus firms and transport cooperatives to look out for advertising contracts and pay the costs of maintaining and upgrading buses to attract more advertisers and make bus advertising more effective./.

Vingroup breaks ground on US$1 billion theme park

Vietnam's private conglomerate Vingroup has begun construction on the VinWonders theme park on Vu Yen island off the northern city of Haiphong at an investment of US$1 billion.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held on June 21 and attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

A safari with many rare species will also be built, the first one in the north. Apart from that, VinWonders Vu Yen will also have designated areas for shopping and restaurants.

Con Dao to lease over 888 hectares of land for ecotourism development

Con Dao National Park in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province will lease 888.23 hectares of forest land by 2030 to develop ecotourism projects, with the rent not lower than 1% of the annual revenue earned by the lessee, in line with the provincial government’s Decision 1668 approving a scheme to manage the national park in a sustainable manner until 2030.

The area offered for the lease, which accounts for some 15% of the park’s total area preserved for ecotourism development, includes some 720 hectares from the park’s service administrative zone, while the rest is from the ecosystem restoration zone.

The maximum lease term is 30 years. After that, if the lessee wishes to extend the lease, the lessor will consider the extension upon reviewing the lease contract every five years.

Through the lease, the southern province aims to develop scores of ecotourism products in Con Dao island in keeping with national and international standards.

According to the scheme, while developing ecotourism in the province is a crucial move to raise the economic benefits, the original state of the ecosystem and the landscape of the park must remain unchanged.

The resolve of the province not to trade the pristine beauty of the park for economic gains is a major criterion while selecting investors that can develop environmentally-responsible tourism products.

There will be an estimated 17 ecotourism routes, with a wide selection of tourism products at the park, such as sports tourism, nature discovery, and wildlife watching and rescuing.

Con Dao island has emerged as an attractive destination over the past few years. In 2019, the island welcomed some 394,000 tourists, up over 31% year-on-year. Travelers now can visit Con Dao by air or ship departing from Vung Tau City, Soc Trang and Can Tho. The island is expected to serve some 500,000-700,000 tourists per year until 2030./.

Car manufacturers recall thousands of cars in Vietnam

Foreign and local car manufacturers Ford, Honda, Mitsubishi and VinFast recently announced the recall of thousands of faulty cars in Vietnam, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

Honda has announced that it will recall some 20,000 City, Jazz, HR-V, Civic, CR-V and Accord cars assembled or manufactured between 2018 and 2019 to check and replace faulty fuel pumps.

Vietnamese carmaker VinFast also launched a campaign to recall roughly 12,500 Cruze, Orlando and Trax cars manufactured between 2014 and 2018

Ford Everest car owners received an email this month stating that Ford Vietnam is recalling over 3,300 Ford Everest cars manufactured between December 15, 2017, and October 12, 2019, to update the transmission control module and power-train control module.

Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam, which has planned to build a second car assembly plant in Binh Dinh Province, is recalling 13 Lancer cars manufactured between 2009 and 2011 to fix the sunroof and auto tensioner.

Representatives of these carmakers said they have sent emails and messages or called up car users to inform them about the recall campaigns.

Car users can bring their cars to authorized dealerships for free checks and repairs. They have been advised to bring along the recall announcement as well./.

Vietnam is Indonesia’s competitor in foreign investment attraction: Minister

Vietnam and Bangladesh are considered the most potential competitors of Indonesia in attracting foreign investment after COVID-19, according to Indonesian Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono.

To welcome the wave of foreign investment shifting from China, Indonesia has prepared land areas to draw investors, he said.

The minister added that President Joko Widodo has repeatedly expressed concern about Indonesia’s weaker attraction of foreign investment than neighbouring countries.

Therefore, Indonesian government agencies have quickly adjusted a number of policies to create the optimal conditions for overseas investors to operate in the Southeast Asian country.

The government has pushed the policy of building industrial parks to welcome US and Japanese investors.

Indonesia is now home to 103 active industrial parks covering 55,000 hectares./.

Vietjet to seize all opportunities for sustainable development

Amid the global crisis sparked by COVID-19, Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (HOSE: VJC) has created a foundation for recovery and will look to seize all opportunities for sustainable development from 2020 thanks to the resources of a robust management system, the airline’s modern fleet and flexible business strategies, especially its strong financial capacity.

The plan was announced by Vietjet during its 2020 Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting (AGM) to review business results from 2019 as well as vote for the approval of audited financial statement and discuss the company’s development plan for 2020 in HCM City on June 27.

According to Vietjet, since the beginning of this year, the domestic aviation industry has been impacted severely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the country has quickly resumed all domestic operations ahead of most other countries in the world.

As soon as the domestic market resumed, Vietjet quickly implemented a campaign called "Returning to the sky” and inaugurated eight new routes, increasing the domestic flight network to a total of 53 routes. Thai Vietjet - a joint venture between Vietjet and Thai airline Kan Air - is also the first airline to reopen operations in Phuket Airport, expanding its network with five new domestic routes in Thailand.

After completing the resumption and expansion of the domestic flight network, Vietjet and the local aviation industry are ready to return to international skies from July with careful preparations to control the epidemic and ensure medical safety for its passengers and staff while contributing significantly to economic and investment recovery.

Currently, the Vietnamese Government is implementing many practical programmes and solutions to support airlines such as tax and fee reductions and loans with low rates. Based on this reality, Vietjet is striving to operate 90 aircraft with more than 118,000 flights and transport more than 20 million passengers by the end of 2020.

To this end, Vietjet will concentrate on carrying out cost-optimising solutions such as fostering its cargo service, aircraft purchase, diversifying credit loans solutions and expanding self-serving ground operation, and aim for the air transport, its core business, to reach break-even point by the end of 2020.

The carrier will also continue to strongly grow its loyal customer base and boost the effectiveness of financial activities and applications on e-commerce platforms while digitally transforming operating systems and procedure by applying advanced management software and programmes in operation as well as thoroughly arranging flight routes and fleet.

At the meeting, Vietjet shareholders agreed to pay a dividend of 2019 up to 50 percent per share. This is the result of the financial accumulation gained from the airline’s sustainable, safe and effective development in recent time.

According to the Executive Board’s report from the AGM, 2019 continued to reveal the airline’s strong growth and sustainable development with positive business results. Also, 2019 marked an important milestone in the new-age carrier’s journey as the airline celebrated transporting 100 million passengers.

In 2019, Vietjet's audited air transport revenue reached more than 41.25 trillion VND (1.77 billion USD), up 22 percent year-on-year while its pre-tax profit hit over 3.86 trillion VND (166 million USD), a yearly hike of 27 percent.

As per the report, Vietjet’s consolidated pre-tax revenue and profit in 2019 topped 50.6 trillion VND and 4.56 trillion VND respectively.

Noticeably, the carrier's ancillary revenue saw a significant rise of 36 percent to 11.34 trillion VND in 2019. The portion of ancillary revenue in the airline’s total air transportation revenue also increased from 25.3 percent in 2018 to 30.4 percent in 2019, making Vietjet one of the top ranking airlines globally in terms of ancillary revenue over total revenue ratio.

Last year, Vietjet opened 34 new routes, increasing the flight network to 139, including domestic routes and 95 international routes. Also in 2019, it transported more than 25 million passengers, reaching the accumulated transported passenger up to 100 million, creating a solid base for Vietjet’s post-pandemic rebound.

In the same year, Vietjet Aviation Academy continued to invest, aware that expansion will play a critical role in the airline’s sustainable development plan. The airline’s academy is now one of the region's leading modern-scale, specialised institutions for aviation training.

Vietjet was also honored to receive a number of prestigious awards in 2019 such as ASEAN’s Best Aviation Enterprise Award from ASIAN-BAC. The airline was also named ‘Asia Pacific Low Cost Carrier of the Year’ by CAPA and one of Vietnam's 50 best listed companies in 2019 by Forbes. The airline was also listed in the Top 50 airlines for healthy financing and operations for the second consecutive year by AirFinance Journal.

All of these successes achieved in 2019 have helped Vietjet become a major airline that significantly contributes to the development of Vietnam’s aviation industry as well as both the national and global economic recovery./.

Vinamilk sees revenue and profit up despite COVID-19

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, dairy producer Vinamilk’s total revenue and profit in the first half of 2020 still rose 3-7 percent on-year, CEO Mai Kieu Lien has said.

In the first six months of 2020, Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) earned 14.6 trillion VND (628.7 million USD) worth of total revenue and 2.9 trillion VND (124.9 million USD) worth of profit.

Modest earnings growth this year was attributed to the downturn of income brought by the school milk programme as schools were shut to cope with the pandemic, Lien told the firm’s annual shareholder meeting on June 26.

"When schools re-opened in May, the situation became better but performance was still below the expectation," she said, adding that "Earnings may improve in the last two quarters of the year."

Vinamilk targets 59.6 trillion VND in total revenue this year, up 5.7 percent on-year, and profit is forecast to gain only 1 percent on-year to 10.69 trillion VND.

In the first quarter of 2020, Vinamilk reported total revenue rose 7 percent on-year to 14.2 trillion VND and profit was down slightly to 2.78 trillion VND.

A 50 percent cash dividend is set for 2020, divided into three separate tranches. Two advance tranches will be made in October 2020 and February 2021, with corresponding pay-out ratios of 20 percent and 10 percent. The schedule and pay-out ratio for the third tranche will be decided in the 2021 annual general meeting of shareholders.

The cash dividend pay-out rate for 2019 was 45 percent.

The largest dairy producer by market value will also issue 348 million shares to shareholders this year at a five-to-one ratio, meaning every shareholder will receive one new share for every five shares they have.

The share issuance will raise Vinamilk’s charter capital by 3.38 trillion VND to 17.4 trillion VND.

A new cattle farm in Quang Ngai province will come into operation this year and Vinamilk is planning to build more in Dong Nai province, the centrally-run city of Can Tho, and Laos.

New products for dietary customers will also be studied and developed.

Vinamilk this year is planning to launch a coffee and dining store chain with the brand “Hi-Café”. A store was opened in 2019 at the firm’s headquarters in District 7, HCM City. The chain will be enlarged this year.

The chain would be developed based on Vinamilk’s milk retail system with 430 stores being allocated across the country, Lien said.

Vinamilk and consumer staples firm Kido have recently announced a partnership deal that establishes a joint-venture business, in which Vinamilk holds 51 percent of the capital.

Revenue of the joint-venture will be accounted by Vinamilk and Kido will enjoy the net profit on its part.

The joint-venture is expected to help both firms step in the beverage sector.

The two firms were hiring an independent auditor to value their products before the joint-venture begins operating, Lien said./.

Phu Yen to build VND263bn waste treatment plant

Phu Yen People's Committee has approved to rent out a 100,000-square-metre land to build a waste treatment plant in Tuy Hoa City.

Phu Yen People's Committee will rent a 100,000-square-metre land to T-Tech Vietnam Company to build Tuy Hoa Waste Treatment Plant. The contract will expire on May 15, 2067. T-Tech Vietnam Company was asked to use the land per the registered purposes, follow environment protection regulations and not affect the households living nearby.

Tuy Hoa Waste Treatment Plant will have the capacity to deal with 240 tonnes of rubbish per day from Tuy Hoa City and nearby districts. Its estimated investment is over VND263bn (USD11m). All processes are going smoothing since the land is empty and they don't have to pay clearance compensation. Incentives were also offered to the investor including preferential corporate income taxes and import duties.

The plan was approved as the amount of rubbish in Phu Yen Province is increasing while the treatment system still has many shortcomings. It is hoped that the construction will be started on August 30 to reduce solid waste pollution, recycling and producing secondary products.

There will be a section for recycling nylon bags, making fertiliser and bricks./.

Concentrated national promotion month to begin from July 1

A concentrated national promotion month entitled ‘Vietnam Grand Sale 2020’ will be held from July 1 to 31 by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under theMinistry of Industry and Trade in a bid to stimulate domestic consumption.
The information was announced at a press briefing heldby the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency in Hanoi on June 25.

According to the Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency Vu Ba Phu, the concentrated national promotion month will be organised concurrently on a national scale, combining traditional trade and e-commerce and is expected to create a spillover effect and attract the participation of a large number of enterprises across various aspects.

At this event, enterprises can offer promotions of up to 100% instead of 50% as prescribed, Phu noted.

Throughout the promotional month, various activities will be held, aligned with the organisation of trade fairs, traditional festivals and the display of local products at localities, contributing to boosting and restoring tourism, Phu said.

Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Le Viet Nga expressed her hope that the promotional month will attract a large number of consumers, stimulate domestic consumption and promote retail sales in Vietnam./.

Carbon market plans offer real hope for sustainable Vietnam

Vietnam is working on a roadmap that lays out policy proposals for implementing market-based carbon pricing instruments, giving hope to enterprises towards sustainable development.

As a country heavily suffering from climate change and discharging over 120 million tonnes of solid waste per year, along with its infamous traffic jams, Vietnam has been regulating varying policies along with striving to build a carbon crediting market, in an attempt to cut emissions along with global wishes.

So far, Vietnam has developed a portfolio for a strong clean development mechanism (CDM) and established a functioning governance framework from a very early stage.

Under the Kyoto Protocol’s definitions, the CDM allows a country with a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment to implement an related project in developing countries like Vietnam. Such projects can earn saleable Certified Emissions Reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2 which can be counted towards meeting the Kyoto targets.

While CDM projects play an important role in sustainable socio-economic development as well as in environmental protection, they are still relatively new to Vietnam.

CDMs exist to help developed countries achieve their climate commitments while assisting developing countries in achieving sustainable development. However, nations have thus far struggled to update rules for a new international carbon trading system under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), Vietnam boasts great potential for developing CDM projects in at least 15 sectors. These include improving energy efficiency, exploitation and application of renewable energy sources, forestation and reforestation, change from the use of fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, recovery of methane from garbage landfills and coal mining pits for disposal or for power generation or daily-life use, recovery and use of associated gas from oil fields, and more besides.

Investors from any economic sector which brings about GHG emissions reductions are permitted to invest in a CDM project. So far the country has hosted over 255 CDM projects and 10 CDM programmes of activities registered by the CDM Executive Board.

Dr. Oliver Massmann, general director at Duane Morris Vietnam LLC, said that the country has more chances to join the global CDM market but the highest challenge it faces is to make actual CDM ideas economically feasible.

“Over the last few years, Vietnam has made the transition from a predominantly agricultural to a mixed economy with considerable advancement of commercial and mechanical exercises. Fast development of people’s lives, in conjunction with the government’s exertion regarding accessing electricity nationwide, have increased the demand for power,” he said.

“This presently postures a major challenge for Vietnam to preserve supported development of the control segment and to realise vitality security.”

According to Massmann, while Vietnam’s power demand is increasing exponentially, application of CDM in the renewable energy sector will help handle challenges of climate change. Thus far, solid waste and the steel sector are the two piloted fields for Vietnam joining the carbon market.

Vu Ngoc Anh, director of the Science Technology and Environment Department under the Ministry of Construction, said currently there are about 660 solid waste dumping sites with an area of at least one hectare, only 130 of which are hygienic.

Most household solid waste is used to make compost, or is buried or burned – a method of handling waste that creates the largest amount of GHG emissions.

“The target through the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) trust fund is reducing GHG in a way that is suitable with carbon crediting in solid waste management,” Anh said. “Along with that, market instruments in solid waste management will begin to be applied after 2020.”

Meanwhile, data from the Vietnam Steel Association shows that the sector is a power-intensive one. Currently, the whole sector consumes over 6,500 tonnes of oil equivalent per year, which can be reduced drastically thanks to renovating technologies that help to effectively save energy. The association has suggested that enterprises enhance management solutions to reduce power energy, particularly in regards to electricity.

According to the Paris Agreement, Vietnam commits to reducing at least 8 per cent of GHG emissions by 2030, and up to 25 per cent if it receives effective support from the international community.

Tang The Cuong, director of the Climate Change Department under the MoNRE, asserted that being aware of carbon pricing as an effective tool, Vietnam had participated in the PMR at the beginning of the programme. The results of co-operation with trust fund are currently being further developed and improved.

“As a country receiving technical assistance from the PMR, Vietnam not only receives direct benefits through capacity building, but also has the opportunity to participate in a forum to share knowledge and experiences from many countries,” he said.

Related projects focus on studying policies, mechanism promoting activities, and building Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action policies for both the steel industry and solid waste, in which carbon pricing is an instrument that captures the external costs that the public pays for.

The World Bank admitted that the future of the carbon market is very complicated. For developing countries like Vietnam, joining the market is not only lining up with the world’s target of reducing GHG but also creating income and receiving modern technologies with fewer carbon emissions.

Besides this, the bank says, if developing countries including Vietnam cannot harmonise state policy with international policy, they will not be able to overcome barriers of finance and technologies in the process of participating in a low carbon market./.

Binh Thuan pushes up sustainable farming of dragon fruit

To help unlock its competitive advantages, the southern province of Binh Thuan is actively taking steps for the sustainable, safe, and quality-oriented production of dragon fruit.

Along with improving dragon fruit farming, the province is promoting communications activities for local people on the role and importance of VietGAP-based dragon fruit farming and systematic organisation of production steps, from farming, packing, and preliminary processing to storage for export purposes. At the same time, more dragon fruit will be grown under GLOBALG.A.P standards to expand and diversify destination markets such as Japan, Korea, and Europe.

Signing co-operation agreements with leading agricultural enterprises, such as Nafoods Group JSC, for output market stability is also a sound approach taken by Binh Thuan province.

Under an MoU on investment co-operation between Chairman of Binh Thuan People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Hai and chairman of the Board of Management of Nafoods Group JSC Nguyen Manh Hung signed in March 2019, the two sides agreed to jointly establish and develop organic dragon fruit farms in the province with a minimum of 10,000 hectares per farm.

In the framework of this co-operation on the establishment of organic dragon fruit farms in line with global standards, Nafoods will team up with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank Group – to organise training sessions on this standard for 1,000 farmer households.

Binh Thuan is considered Vietnam’s dragon fruit capital with annual production approximating 600,000 tonnes, equal to 80 per cent of national output.

The training sessions are scheduled to be held from June to October 2020 in collaboration with Binh Thuan Sub-department of Crop Production and Plant Protection. In the short-term, 30 eligible households will submit applications for GLOBALG.A.P certification, and more farmers are expected to be certified based on market demands and the actual business performance of enterprises.

This positive step forward will create incentives and strongly drive the expansion of GLOBALG.A.P-certified dragon fruit farms. Such farms will provide organic dragon fruit as inputs for production and build farmers’ understanding of the role and economic efficiency of organic dragon fruit farming, including satisfying new food safety requirements. This will also build stronger linkages between businesses and farmers in the farming, processing, and marketing of dragon fruit for sustainable production.

Binh Thuan is considered Vietnam’s dragon fruit capital. With a total farming area exceeding 37,000ha across key districts of Ham Thuan Nam, Ham Thuan Bac, and Bac Binh, its annual production reached nearly 600,000 tonnes (equal to 80 per cent of the national output). Yet, only 10,000ha was certified as meeting VietGAP standards.

China is the main export destination for Vietnam’s dragon fruit through cross-border trade characterised by price fluctuations. In particular, with dragon fruit production focused on meeting requests from small-scale Chinese businesses, little attention has been paid to food safety and fruit quality.

As a result, Binh Thuan’s dragon fruit has made little inroads into demanding markets with high quality and food safety standards. Moreover, wider-scale production of this fruit in other countries, especially China, also poses challenges to Binh Thuan./.

EVFTA widens horizon for logistics expansion

The forthcoming official entry of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreem ent is set to offer a new horizon of development to Vietnam’s logistics industry.
Russell Reed, managing director of UPS Vietnam and Thailand, said that the agreements represent a breakthrough in Vietnam’s progress as a trading powerhouse, and will help to further unlock the country’s vast economic potential in the coming years. Vietnamese exports to the EU have grown consistently in recent years, hitting a total of $41.7 billion in 2019, representing annual average growth of 13 per cent since 2014.

As a global provider of logistics services, UPS sees these agreements as providing a great deal more latitude for their customers to expand their key imports, as well as helping to simplify processes while encouraging more long-term investment and strategic business partnerships.

According to Reed, Vietnam is an exceptionally competitive manufacturing market, which has been one of the major contributors to the country’s economic growth. This growth has created a rapidly expanding middle class – one that is increasingly international in its outlook and interested in purchasing imported products, such as those coming out of the EU.

“At the same time, we continue to see sustained volume in Vietnamese exports to the bloc, and have made enhancements to our network to help Vietnamese businesses, particularly in high-tech and retail, maintain their competitive edge,” he added. “With the upcoming official entry of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in 2020, we look forward to working with more small- and medium-sized enterprises and large multinationals across a range of industries to help them enter and succeed in the EU – a market which now has even greater accessibility for Vietnamese businesses of all.”

On the same note, Tran Viet Huy, managing director of Tracimexco - Supply Chains and Agency Services J.S Company (TRA-SAS), told VIR that Vietnam has committed to open the logistics market under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). However, the EVFTA is expected to create a new driving force for Vietnam’s logistics industry.

According to Huy, the EVFTA may affect the development of logistics industry in three aspects including stronger commitment to open markets of Vietnam and EU in the field of transport and transport services; creating added-value services for freight brokerage, sampling, inspections; and stronger commitments in areas improving logistics service market such as scale, service quality, open demand, wide capacity, and service performance.

Meanwhile, the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) shall provide a solid legal background for EU investors where they have more tools and inter-country commitments to protect and run EU businesses in Vietnam. “It is no doubt that those effects will make positive influences to EU investors in investment to Vietnam’s logistics industry in both expanding their current business and making new investment via either mergers and acquisitions activities or green-field investment,” Huy said.

Beside current segments which may be more interesting, EU logistics investors will have new opportunities to enter new segments of Vietnamese government procurement, such as some logistics services which require deep experience and techniques in storage/management of pharmaceuticals, warehousing of dangerous chemicals, and transportation of oversized equipment for government infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese logistics providers have more chances in bidding on logistics services for official development assistance projects funded by the EU.

Research by the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that Vietnam’s export turnover to the EU will increase by 20 per cent in 2020, 42.7 per cent by late 2025, and 44.37 per cent by late 2030. Thus, increasing trade as well as investment activities between Europe and Vietnam will create plenty of opportunities for the logistics industry.

Commenting on the prospect of Vietnam’s logistics industry after the EVFTA comes into force, Tobias Gruemmer, area head of operations of Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk, said that manufacturing and logistics in Vietnam have changed but the situation is still not entirely clear. Similar to the EU with a population of about 500 million, Southeast Asia with a population of 600 million (of which Vietnam is nearly 100 million) is considered a consumer market of high potential.

Previously, Vietnam focused on exports with the establishment of many export processing zones, but imports and domestic production have increased significantly. The main reason is due to the rise of the middle class, causing consumer habits to change and leading to shifts in the supply chain.

“The demand for storage and transportation has increased sharply, resulting in diversified warehousing and delivery solutions and attracting many businesses to participate. Logistics will be considered a hotbed for investors in the near future,” he said./.

Hanoi has 275 more municipal-level OCOP products

Hanoi recently announced 275 products meeting standards of the “One Commune – One Product” (OCOP) programme at the municipal level in 2019, raising the total number of such products here to 301.

According to the local coordinating office for new-style countryside building, Hanoi classified 301 products last year, including six rated five stars, 207 others four stars, and 88 three stars. The city also stepped up promoting OCOP products, thus helping to improve consumers’ recognition of and trust in local goods.

During the first half of 2020, it has continued to enhance communication about the OCOP programme and issued temporary guidance on the management and use of OCOP marks and star ratings on labels and packages of products with at least three stars in the programme.

Meanwhile, local districts and towns have also selected products for classification at the district level.

Hanoi aims to rate about 800 – 1,000 OCOP products by the end of this year.

Addressing a recent show of local OCOP products, Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chu Phu My said the OCOP programme has created a fair platform for healthy competition among producers and for craft villages to bring into play their potential values.

It has also created stable jobs and helped raise labourers’ income, thus practically contributing to the implementation of the national target programme for new-style rural area building. OCOP producers have also gained chances to improve their knowledge of business laws and have open dialogue with partners and State agencies, he noted.

Last year, Hanoi announced it would spend 265 billion VND (11.4 million USD) on implementing the local OCOP programme for the 2019 – 2020 period.

According to the plan, 100 percent of OCOP programme managers at commune-, district, and municipal level public agencies as well as at organizations, businesses and cooperatives registering for the programme will have to undergo training to improve their building capacity.

The capital city has set a goal of developing at least two eco-craft village models. It will look to improve the local origin tracing system for agro-forestry-fishery goods (https://hn.check.net.vn) and website serving State management and demand-supply connectivity related to Hanoi’s OCOP products (http://nongthonmoihanoi.gov.vn/).

Initially, Hanoi’s OCOP programme will focus on a number of goods groups, including food, beverage, herbs, fabrics and apparel, souvenir – home decoration, and agricultural tourism.

Participating organisations will receive support to invest in machines and equipment for production; design and register their brand; obtain capital; hire experts, and distribute goods.

The OCOP was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following the model of Japan’s “One Village, One Product” and Thailand’s “One Town, One Product”. It is an economic development programme for rural areas focusing on increasing internal power and values, which is also meant to help with the national target programme on new-style rural area building.

The classifications of goods and services defined in the programme include food (fresh and processed farm produce); beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinking); medicinal herbs (products made from herbal plants); fabric and textiles (products made from cotton and yarn); souvenirs, furniture, and decorations (products made from wood, fibres, rattan, metal, and ceramics); and rural tourism services and sales (services for sightseeing, tourism, study, and research).

The overall objective of the programme is to develop stable and sustainable forms of production for organisations and businesses (with priority given to developing cooperatives and small- and medium-sized enterprises), towards producing traditional products and improving services with high competitiveness on the domestic and international markets, thus promoting rural economy and national agriculture industrialisation and modernisation.

In 2013, Quang Ninh was the first province in Vietnam to pilot the programme./.

Petrolimex targets revenue and profit drops

The Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex or PLX) forecast a drop in both revenue and profit this year due to the decline in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The information was released during its Annual General Meeting of shareholders held in Hanoi last week.

The group targets to earn 122 trillion VND (5.3 million USD) in revenue, equivalent to 64 percent of that recorded in 2019. Pre-tax profit is expected to reach 1.57 trillion VND, equalling 28 percent of last year’s figure.

Petrolimex plans to sell 11.47 million cubic meters of petrol this year, equivalent to 83 percent of the selling output in 2019. Dividend payout ratio for 2020 is forecast at 12 percent.

The group’s general director Pham Duc Thang said the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had caused a sharp decline in oil consumption worldwide due to blockades and travel restrictions.

“The oversupply of oil, rampant production by producers and an exhaustion of storage capacity drove West Texas Intermediate crude to a negative price for the first time in history, closing at -37.63 USD per parrel on April 20,” he said.

From January 1, the use of new marine fuels will comply with the provisions of the World Maritime Organisation (IMO), causing the price of new fuels to increase by 50 per cent, making sea transport costs rise sharply in 2020 compared to 2019, Thang said.

He added that in 2020, the group is focuses on the acceleration of the My Giang Power Center project to carry out trial operations in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The group will also develop a plan to reduce State capital to 51 percent, reducing its holding in Petrolimex Insurance Joint Stock Company to 35.1 percent and successfully merging PGBank and HDBank.

“In the past eight years operating as a joint stock company, Petrolimex has consistently achieve higher production and business results through years. However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted business and production activities of Vietnamese enterprises, including Petrolimex,” Ho Sy Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Committee for State Capital Management told the meeting.

“It is necessary for Petrolimex to adjust the business targets in 2020. The Committee for State Capital Management will accompany and assist Petrolimex in carrying out the tasks of production, business and development investment in 2020,” Hung said./.

Viet Nam Grand Sale 2020 to open next month

A national promotion month entitled ‘Viet Nam Grand Sale 2020’ will be held from July 1 to 31 by the Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to stimulate domestic consumption.

The promotion month will be held at the same time on a national scale, combining traditional trade and e-commerce, Vietrade director Vu Ba Phu said in a briefing in Ha Noi on Thursday.

The event is expected to draw a large number of enterprises, he said.

During the month, participating enterprises can offer promotions of up to 100 per cent instead of 50 per cent as prescribed, Phu added.

For her part, deputy director of the ministry's Domestic Market Department Le Viet Nga said she hoped the promotional month would attract a large number of consumers, stimulate domestic consumption and promote retail sales.

The nations' total revenue of retail trade and services exceeded VND1.91 quadrillion (US$82.36 billion) in the first five months of this year, down 4 per cent year-on-year, a report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed.

Retail sales of goods during the period were estimated at VND1.54 quadrillion, representing a modest rise of 1.2 per cent year-on-year or accounting for 80.6 per cent of total revenue./.

IFC supports Hanoi to attract high value-added investments

IFC will work with Hanoi to formulate a new-generation FDI strategy in response to the government’s master plan on foreign investment promotion toward 2030.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today [June 27] signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the People’s Committee of Hanoi to support its efforts to attract new-generation foreign direct investment (FDI) and diversify its funding sources, thereby sustaining the city’s rapid economic development, competitiveness, and inclusive prosperity.

As one of the fastest growing cities in Asia and home to over eight million inhabitants, Hanoi accounts for one-fifth of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Hanoi attracted US$8.45 billion in FDI in 2019, highest among the country’s 63 cities and provinces. Three areas namely property development, processing and manufacturing, and telecommunication and information drew the largest shares of FDI.

To sustain robust socioeconomic development, Hanoi aims to attract higher-quality streams of FDI. This will support the city’s strategy of developing high-tech and high value-added industries, increasing local sourcing, and creating more and better jobs.

“Strategic FDI as guided in the Politburo’s Resolution 50/2019 on orientations to finalize policies and mechanisms to promote FDI quality and effectiveness toward 2030 plays an essential role in sustaining Hanoi’s sustainable economic and employment growth and in realizing its industrialization and modernization plan toward 2030,” said Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hanoi.

“We welcome IFC’s support in developing a new investment strategy and diversifying funding sources as well as mobilizing quality investors through its global network,” Chung added.

Under the MoU framework, IFC will work with Hanoi to formulate a new-generation FDI strategy in response to the government’s master plan on foreign investment promotion toward 2030. Where possible, IFC will also assist Hanoi in diversifying its funding sources. The overall effort will leverage IFC’s global network of clients and partners, with benefits to potential key sectors including financial markets, infrastructure, logistics, and health and education.

“Hanoi already possesses many key factors that are attractive to higher quality FDI. The current environment of global supply chain changes — as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic — provides a good opportunity for the city to further prioritize FDI inflows in line with its development strategy,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Regional Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao.

“This includes FDI with increased local value-addition, with increased technology focus, to strengthen foreign-local firm linkages and help enhance local supply chain opportunities, foster improved job opportunities, and boost the overall competitiveness of the city.”

Promoting private sector development, IFC has been supporting Vietnam to improve business competitiveness and attract international investors over the past two decades. Most recently, IFC worked with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on recommendations for Vietnam’s new national FDI approach. It is also helping Vietnamese manufacturers improve capacity and supply to multinationals through a pilot Vietnam Supplier Development Program.

VNN

Patents in Vietnam increase 56 percent

02:38

The number of patents has increased by 56.7 per cent in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Ben Tre Province’s green Xiem coconut, which received Geographical Indication certification from the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam.

The number of patents has increased by 56.7 per cent in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Dinh Huu Phi, director-general of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam, revealed the number at a recent working session with Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh on solutions to improve intellectual property work.

The office has carried out many activities to make intellectual property a tool for socio-economic development.

It issued nine certificates for geographical indication registration and 280 certificates for registration of collective marks and marks of local typical products last year.

The office has also deployed a project to build the national geographical indication (GI) logo, co-ordinated in building and managing GI between the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade and participated in the National Brand Programme and others for national and local key products.

In international relations, the office has participated in international co-operation forums and organisations such as APEC, ASEAN, WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and negotiated IP content in international trade agreements including the CPTPP and EVFTA.

Speaking at the meeting, Anh said he appreciated the efforts and success of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam.

The minister asked the office and related agencies to develop a plan to enforce the amended IP Law and the IP Strategy to achieve set goals, and study measures to shorten the time to process IP registrations.

VNS

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES JULY 1

02:23

Local farming production needs reforms for higher export value

Foreign countries tightening import regulations would affect Viet Nam's exports of farming products, especially fruits, forcing the local agricultural industry to reorganise production, according to experts.

China is boosting food safety inspection, quarantine and traceability for imported goods, especially on fresh, chilled and processed agricultural products, meat and seafood for prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has a list of requirements for enterprises exporting food.

This is a temporary control solution for this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If Vietnamese enterprises do not meet those requirements, they will struggle to export local farming and food products to those markets, especially fresh fruits, according to experts.

Nguyen Manh Hung, chairman of the Board of Directors of Nafoods Joint Stock Company, a firm that exports processed fruits to 60 markets, said Viet Nam’s enterprises must have a strategy to overcome trade barriers.

Hung said Viet Nam wanted to become an agricultural product supplier on the world market and to reach the target, the agricultural sector must build a value chain system to link all stages together, especially the processing stage. The sector also must digitise material regions for efficient traceability.

In addition, Hung said the sector should change farmers’ mindset in terms of production. Meanwhile, large enterprises needed to help farmers and co-operatives standardise agricultural production processes.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, chairman and CEO of Vina T&T Group, said his company and others were promoting the development of material regions to produce clean farming products, aiming to improve export value and increase their domestic market shares.

Agricultural expert Dang Kim Son said there was a high demand for agricultural products at home and abroad. Therefore, during the pandemic, enterprises needed to find solutions to maintain production and to promote links with farmers. This would help them overcome the difficult period at present and be able to restore trading of farm produce once the pandemic ends in the world.

He recommended enterprises focus on building links among processing plants and raw material regions to ensure quality by using high technology in production and processing.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development aims to improve the quality of market forecast to help localities and businesses devise suitable production and business plans.

As one of the major fruit exporters, Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, director of the Chanh Thu Import Export Co, Ltd in Ben Tre Province, said Chanh Thu exported a small volume of dragon fruits to Australia per year because it was a demanding market.

Businesses that export fruits to this market must purchase fruits from GlobalGAP-certified farms to ensure they are free of pesticide residue according to Australian regulations, according to Hong.

Therefore, Viet Nam’s fruit production industry needs to expand the material region supplying fruits meeting international standards for quality and food safety. The industry must also implement requirements of plant quarantine and traceability. The best way is to build a production chain from production to consumption.

Le Son Ha, head of Plant Quarantine Department under the Plant Protection Department, said Vietnamese fruits had been exported to many strict markets such as the US, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Japan, accounting for more than 30 per cent of national fruit exports.

However, local fruit faced competition from other countries. For instance, Cambodia had promoted exports of mango to South Korea while China had expanded dragon fruit production.

That had forced the Vietnamese fruit industry to work towards large-scale production and ensuring food hygiene and safety requirements on global markets, Ha said./.

Accommodation in Da Nang bounces back after COVID-19

Many accommodation providers in Da Nang have reopened after being forced to close by the COVID-19 pandemic and business has been good, proving that the local tourism industry is on the road to recovery.

There are 550 hotels in Da Nang that have reopened their doors and are actively participating in promotional programmes run by the city’s Tourism Department. Room tariffs at some have been discounted by 30 to 50%.

According to the city’s Department of Tourism, occupancy at local 3 to 5-star hotels now stands at 30% and 80-100% on weekends. Guests are primarily from Hanoi and HCM City.

In the wake of the “new normal” following COVID-19, efforts by accommodation providers in Da Nang to reopen and resume operations have been tremendous. Thanks to offering discounts and improved service quality, many providers have attracted large numbers of visitors and bolstered Da Nang’s profile among domestic tourists./.

Shan tea gives people a means to escape from poverty

Grown at an altitude of 800-1,000 metres above sea level, the Shan tea from Na Hang district in Tuyen Quang province boasts a great flavour and has won the hearts of tea lovers far and wide. The trees also give local people a way out of poverty.

Pac Cung hamlet in Thuong Nong commune, Na Hang district, Tuyen Quang province is home to 8 ha of shan tea trees, many of which are from 30 to 36 years old. Their leaves are large and thick and have a strong flavour as the trees are grown at an altitude of 800-1,000 metres above sea level.

With four harvests each year and a stable sales price of around 14 USD per kilo, tea trees have become key to the San Chi ethnic minority people in Pac Cung hamlet escaping from poverty. Technical barriers and limited traffic infrastructure, however, still hinder local people from taking full advantage of growing tea.

Na Hang district has over 1,100 shan tea trees, cared for by 15 local households along with companies and cooperatives. With a view to providing sustainable incomes by improving quality, local authorities have also been encouraging people to produce tea under standardised processing procedures.

In order to sustainably develop the Shan tea areas, Na Hang district has adopted a scheme for developing specialty tea trees in the 2021-2025 period and vision to 2030. The scheme focuses on creating jobs for nearly 5,000 workers through tea processing and trading, increasing local incomes and developing the district’s economy while protecting its ecosystem./.

AEON promotes consumption of Vietnamese agricultural products

The first batch of fresh Vietnamese lychees exported to Japan was sold in AEON's store system, including 250 AEON General Merchandise Stores and Supermarkets and AEON Style stores in Japan.

In December 2019, the import restriction on Vietnam’s fruits was lifted. This is the first batch of fresh Vietnamese lychees exported to Japan. AEON is the first retailer to sell this fruit to Japanese consumers.

Fresh lychees were shipped by air between the end of May and the end of June without being frozen to ensure the quality and taste of the product.

Besides lychees, many other special Vietnamese agricultural products such as mango, dragon fruit and coffee have also been exported and sold in AEON’s supermarkets in Japan since 2015.

The successful export and distribution of Vietnamese agricultural products in AEON's retail system in Japan is the result of efforts of companies under the AEON Group in Vietnam.

AEON has cooperated with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to organise activities to help Vietnamese suppliers improve the quality of their products, aiming to export to foreign markets, especially Japan.

Total export revenue of Vietnamese products through the AEON system has increased strongly over the past years, from nearly 250 million USD in 2017 to 370 million USD last year. The figure is expected to top 450 million USD this year.

AEON Vietnam Co., Ltd. also implements activities to support the consumption of agricultural products in the domestic market and organises trade promotion programmes through its General Merchandise Store & Supermarket system nationwide.

In February, during the COVID-19 pandemic, AEON Vietnam joined hands with others to support the consumption of more than 18 tonnes of dragon fruits and more than 58 tonnes of watermelon in only four to five days through its store system in HCM City and Hanoi.

In addition, AEON Vietnam cooperates with the MOIT, and departments of Industry and Trade of provinces and cities to organise business matching activities, fairs and exhibitions to boost consumption of domestically-made products./.

Quality needed to boost agricultural, aquatic exports

Vietnamese enterprises need to improve product quality, build their brands, and ensure product traceability to increase the exports of agricultural and aquatic products, experts said at a recent seminar held in HCM City.

Exports of agricultural and aquatic products in the first five months of the year were 15.49 billion USD, down by 4.1 percent compared with the same period last year because of the negative impacts of COVID-19 on Vietnam’s key export markets such as China, the US, Japan and EU.

In the first months of the year, Vietnam’s agriculture sector faced other challenges in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, including trade tensions and worse climate change.

The recently signed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) are expected to help the country increase its agricultural and fisheries output. However, with the technical barriers and strict food safety and hygiene standards, Vietnam’s agricultural production face many challenges because it has still been done mostly on a small scale.

However, with commitments under these FTAs, import tariffs will be reduced or eliminated in various markets, creating favourable conditions for Vietnam’s agricultural exports, said Mai Xuan Thanh, deputy director-General of the Vietnam General Department of Customs.

The EU market is very demanding, which requires products to be done in compliance with high standards to protect consumers.

The EU is the largest importer of Vietnamese agricultural products as compared with other major markets like the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Its consumers value high-quality products with special characteristics such as organic, fair trade and geographical indications, experts said.

To expand to new markets, Vietnamese export products should meet good agricultural practice (GAP) standards such as VietGAP and Global GAP in order to meet the market demand and improve farmers’ incomes.

In addition, businesses need to improve the added value of goods by applying technology in processing and preserving products, experts said./.

Quang Ninh working hard to revive tourism

Quang Ninh provincial authorities have introduced a range of stimulus programmes in order for the local tourism sector to recover from the impact of COVID-19.

For just around 9 USD, you can now enjoy a speedboat trip out to Co To, a beautiful island off the coast of Quang Ninh province. Tickets have been discounted 30% compared to before the pandemic.

The lower tickets have attracted a host of visitors to the island. It has been welcoming 300 to 800 tourists each day in recent times, according to the Co To District People’s Committee - proving that the local stimulus programmes are having an effect.

Quang Ninh is among the pioneers in introducing stimulus programmes to revive its tourism sector. In addition to discounts and promotions, the province is also focusing on improving infrastructure and diversifying tourism products to attract more visitors.

The province remains on high alert even though COVID-19 has been basically contained, which has found favour among tourists.

Tourism is a spearhead economic sector in Vietnam, with over 40,000 companies contributing 9.2% to GDP and generating millions of jobs./.

Indonesia’s central bank ready to finance more fiscal deficit for COVID-19 fight

Indonesia's central bank (BI) is ready to further finance the government's budget deficit and "share the burden" in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said on June 27.

During an online seminar, Warjiyo said he and Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati had agreed to accelerate budget deficit financing for responding to COVID-19.

The BI and the finance ministry are in their final stage of agreement for the deficit financing scheme and they would work with parliament's finance commission and the Audit Board of Indonesia to ensure accountability, Warjiyo said.

He reiterated at the seminar that BI has scope to trim its main policy rate further.

Since the beginning of this year, BI has so far bought 40 trillion rupiah (2.83 billion USD) of government bonds directly in auctions. It has also purchased 166.2 trillion rupiah of bonds in the secondary market.

In total it has injected 614.8 trillion rupiah of liquidity into the financial system, including via bond buying operations, the governor said.

Indonesia’s fiscal deficit this year is expected to be 6.3 percent of its GDP, up from an initial plan of 1.8 percent, with the government forecasting a 10 percent drop in revenue and allocating nearly 50 billion USD for the COVID-19 budget.

Malaysia: Palm-oil industry urges gov’t to let foreign workers return

Owners of palm plantations in Malaysia have urged the government to let foreign workers return.

The Malaysian Estate Owners’ Association proposed the government consider the survival and sustainability of the sector, and allow companies that have been unable to recruit locally to hire foreign workers immediately.

Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer and exporter of palm oil, is facing a serious labour shortage.

Its palm-oil industry relies on foreigners for 70 percent of the plantation workforce, mainly from Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Thousands have left the plantations for home due to border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic./.

Toyota Indonesia’s car exports likely to fall 40-50 percent in 2020

Toyota's vehicle exports from its manufacturing facilities in Indonesia are forecast to drop by 40-50 percent in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at an online workshop in Jakarta this week, President Director of PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) Warih Andang Tjahjono said the COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the firm’s car production since April when domestic and export demand plummeted.

According to the Indonesian automobile manufacturers association (Gaikindo), the domestic consumption has decreased by 40 percent in 2020 to about 600,000 units, compared to 1.03 million units in 2019.

Meanwhile, exports have also declined as importing countries in the Middle East, South America and Africa have been also affected by the pandemic. It is estimated that the volume of exported cars will drop by 40 percent compared to 2019, reaching only 208,000 units.

TMMIN hoped that the Indonesian government will take measures to encourage its people to buy cars, as well as directly support the automotive industry such as reducing PPh21 tax to 30 percent so that the domestic market can grow in the two remaining quarters of 2020./.

Vietnam is Indonesia’s competitor in foreign investment attraction: Minister

To welcome the wave of foreign investment shifting from China, Indonesia has prepared land areas to draw investors, he said.

The minister added that President Joko Widodo has repeatedly expressed concern about Indonesia’s weaker attraction of foreign investment than neighbouring countries.

Therefore, Indonesian government agencies have quickly adjusted a number of policies to create the optimal conditions for overseas investors to operate in the Southeast Asian country.

The government has pushed the policy of building industrial parks to welcome US and Japanese investors.

Indonesia is now home to 103 active industrial parks covering 55,000 hectares./.

Malaysia’s tourism, cultural sectors lose 10.5 billion USD due to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused losses of about 45 billion ringgit (around 10.5 billion USD) to Malaysia’s tourism and cultural industries in the first half of 2020, Bernama news agency has reported.

Speaking with reporters on June 27, Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Nancy Shukri said tourism is one of the hardest-hit economic sectors and is expected to be the last to recover.

To support the sector, she said the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would strengthen the domestic tourism initiatives under the Cuti-Cuti Malaysia campaign.

The ministry will intensify public relation activities to boost the confidence of tourists to travel again.

Notably, small- and medium-sized tourism entrepreneurs (SMEs) will enjoy soft loans with a minimum of 50,000 ringgit and a maximum of 10 million ringgit managed by SME Bank.

Last year, Malaysia welcomed a total of 26.1 million tourists, raking in more than 86 billion ringgit./.

Philippine economy predicted to face recession

The Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) will likely shrink by 5.7-6.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020, much higher than the 0.2 percent contraction in the first quarter, according to Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipnas (BSP) Benjamin Diokno.

The two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction due to the full impact of the tight lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will put the Philippines’ economy in recession, he said.

Diokno stressed that the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis is harsher than what was originally predicted.

Economic managers through the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) have forecasted that the country’s GDP will fall by 2-3.4 percent this year from a growth rate of 6 percent last year.

Previously, S&P Global Ratings announced a deeper GDP contraction of 3 percent instead of 0.2 percent this year after the Philippines implemented one of the world’s longest tight lockdowns to combat COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded the Philippines’ GDP to a 3.6 percent decrease instead of growing by 0.6 percent this year as it sees the global economy shrinking by 4.9 percent instead of 3 percent due to the pandemic./.