VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 5

02:11

Industrial production index growth at lowest level for many years

Industrial production index inched up 2.6 percent in the first seven months of 2020, the lowest level recorded in many years due to COVID-19, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The processing-manufacturing sector recorded a 4.2 percent growth; electricity production and distribution 2.1 percent; and water supply, waste and wastewater management and treatment 3.3 percent. Meanwhile, the mining industry contracted 7.8 percent.

Pham Dinh Thuy, Director of the GSO’s Industrial Statistics Department, said complex developments of COVID-19 worldwide disrupted the supply of input materials for industrial production.

Support services for mining and ore exploitation went deep down by 42.7 percent; motorised vehicle production 15.4 percent; and crude oil and natural gas extraction 11.3 percent.

However, some industries still recorded fair growth such as medicine, pharmaceutical chemical product, and herbal material manufacturing (27.1 percent), coke and refined petroleum product production (15.9 percent), and metal ore mining (15.7 percent).

Some key products that followed the downward trend were sugar (23.1 percent), automobiles (22.3 percent), beer (14.9 percent), and crude oil (14.1 percent).

By contrast, other key goods like oil and gas, television, and cellphone components still recorded growth between 10 and 19 percent.

In July alone, the industrial production index growth was 3.6 percent against June and 1.1 percent against the same month last year.

The GSO said the number of employees at industrial firms on July 1 went up 1.3 percent month on month and down 1.8 percent year on year./.

Export turnover sees slight rise in 7 months

Vietnam’s export turnover in the first seven months of 2020 hit an estimated 145.79 billion USD, up 0.2 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The export value in July alone reached 23 billion USD, up 1.9 percent compared to the previous month and 0.3 percent over the same period last year.

The domestic economic sector was seen as a key contributor to the national export growth in the Jan-July period, bringing home 50.76 billion USD, up 13.5 percent. Meanwhile, the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) raked in 95.03 billion USD, down 5.7 percent year-on-year.

The US remained the largest importer of Vietnamese goods, with a turnover of 37.9 billion USD in the last seven months, up 15 percent compared to same period last year. China was the runner-up with 23.5 billion USD, surging 18.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the markets that saw decreased export turnover included the EU (down 5.9 percent), ASEAN (15.4 percent), Japan (5 percent), and the Republic of Korea (0.4 percent).

Vietnam spent 139.33 billion USD on imports in the reviewed period, down 2.9 percent year-on-year. China was the biggest exporter to Vietnam with an estimated turnover of 41.6 billion USD, down 1.8 percent.

As a result, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of 6.5 billion USD in the last seven months, the GSO said./.

India reviews continuation of FTA with ASEAN

The government is reviewing the continuation of the free trade agreement (FTA) with ASEAN in the wake of the trading bloc’s reluctance to address India’s concerns over what it believes are asymmetries in the trade pact during the last ten years.

According to Times of India, the country’s main grouse is the rising trade deficit with the 10–country bloc.

The Indian government is looking to revamp its strategy on FTAs with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 31 hinting that New Delhi will demand "reciprocal" agreements with countries where it is open to the market.

The Narendra Modi government has blamed the trade agreements worked out by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for a large part of the problem of trade deficit, arguing that the agreements with ASEAN, the Republic of Korea and Japan were signed in haste and India’s interests were not adequately protected.

As a result, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has been demanding renegotiation of certain provisions under a review mechanism, something that ASEAN has so far refused to accept.

At least three high-ranking officials in the administration said that the government was looking at the option of exiting some of the FTAs, especially the one with ASEAN, if the terms of engagement were not in India’s favour.

In recent years, starting with the threat to block a WTO agreement on trade facilitation in 2015 to walking out of negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), India has hardened its stance in global engagements.

Sitharaman, Goyal and Bibek Debroy, who heads the Economic Advisory Council to PM, are looking at the options to strengthen India’s trade engagements and a review of existing FTAs./.

Malaysia launches credit programme to promote consumer spending

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) of Malaysia has launched a credit programme worth 750 million RM (179 million USD), aiming at boosting consumer spending in the country as one of initiatives under the Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA).

According to Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, under the ePENJANA programme, each eligible applicant will receive 50-RM ePENJANA credits beginning on July 31.

Three e-Wallet service providers, namely, Boost, GrabPay and Touch ‘n Go eWallet have been selected for the implementation of this initiative, he said, adding that this programme will be launched in collaboration with the MySejahtera COVID-19 contact tracing app.

To apply for the credits, he said every applicant is required to download one of the three e-Wallets, as well as download and use the MySejahtera app.

The initiative is open to Malaysians aged 18 years and above, earning less than 100,000 RM annually.

The eligible applicant will also receive additional matching incentives worth 50 RM in the form of cash back, vouchers and/or points throughout the campaign period, he noted.

The programme will last until August 24, and the deadline for spending the ePENJANA credits is on Sept 30./.

VCCI Can Tho launches website to explain EU free trade deal

The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Can Tho branch (VCCI Can Tho) has launched an online portal and consultancy on the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement for the benefit of businesses in the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta) region.

Speaking at a ceremony held to announce it in the delta city on Friday, Nguyen Phuong Lam, director of the branch, said the trade deal (EVFTA), which takes effect on Saturday, offers many opportunities as well as challenges to businesses, especially in the delta.

It would help increase Viet Nam's exports to EU member countries by 45 per cent by 2030 and the country's GDP by an additional 7 per cent in 2029-33, he said.

The new portal would help local businesses thoroughly understand the contents of the agreement, he promised.

It would offer consultancy by independent experts in each specific area of the agreement such as tariff commitments, goods origin rules, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements, intellectual property rights, registering for and protecting geographical indication (GI), and how to enter the EU market, he listed.

It would also provide up-to-date information about policies, laws and other related content, enabling businesses to take advantage of opportunities and avoid risks, he said.

The experts in the portal advisory board will answer businesses’ queries within three working days besides which all questions will be aggregated and posted on the website, according to the VCCI Can Tho./.

Doing business in Vietnam becomes easier as EVFTA comes into force: EC

Doing business in Vietnam will become easier for European companies as the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) comes into force today [August 1], according to the European Commission (EC).

European firms would now be able to invest and pitch for government contracts with equal chances to their local competitors, said the EC in a statement.

The EVFTA, officially signed last June after six years of negotiations, has been dubbed “the most ambitious” FTA the EU has ever reached with a developing country, according to the EC. It includes not only the almost full elimination of bilateral tariffs, but also a substantial reduction of non-tariff barriers. Moreover, it includes provisions to protect intellectual property, labor, environmental standards, and fair competition, while promoting regulatory coherence.

“Trade agreements, such as the one becoming effective with Vietnam today, offer our companies a chance to access new emerging markets and create jobs for Europeans. I strongly believe this agreement will also become an opportunity for people of Vietnam to enjoy a more prosperous economy and witness a positive change and stronger rights as workers and citizens in their home country,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EC.

"Vietnam is now part of a club of 77 countries doing trade with the EU under bilaterally agreed preferential conditions,” added Phil Hogan, commissioner for Trade.

Hogan said while the deal strengthens EU economic links with the dynamic region of Southeast Asia, it will continue to encourage Vietnam to pursue “its most needed reforms.”

The EU-Vietnam agreement is the most comprehensive trade agreement the EU has concluded with a developing country. It takes fully into account Vietnam's development needs by giving Vietnam a longer, 10-year period to eliminate its duties on EU imports.

At the same time, the trade agreement sets high standards of labor, environmental and consumer protection and ensures that there is no 'race to the bottom' to promote trade or attract investment.

Vietnam is the EU's second largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Singapore, with trade in goods worth US$53.6 billion in 2019.

The EU's main exports to Vietnam are high-tech products, including electrical machinery and equipment, aircrafts, vehicles, and pharmaceutical products. Vietnam's main exports to the EU are electronic products, footwear, textiles and clothing, as well as coffee, rice, seafood, and furniture.

With a total foreign direct investment stock of US$8.71 billion (2018), the EU is one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam. Most EU investments are in industrial processing and manufacturing.

The agreement with Vietnam is the second trade agreement the EU has concluded with an ASEAN member state, following the recent agreement with Singapore. It represents an important milestone in the EU's engagement with Asia, adding to the already existing agreements with Japan and South Korea.

A pre-Covid-19 study from Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment suggested the EVFTA and EVIPA would help Vietnam’s GDP grow an additional 4.6% and boost the country’s exports to the EU by 42.7% by 2025.

Meanwhile, the EC estimated the bloc’s GDP would be added US$29.5 billion by 2035, along with additional growth of 29% in exports to Vietnam./.

Vietnam transport ministry plans over US$17 billion to build expressways in 5 years

The move would help form a network of expressways connecting vital routes.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) has asked for funding of VND400 trillion (US$17.4 billion) from state budget to build a network of expressways across the country in the 2021 – 2025 period.

The construction of new expressways would help connect vital routes including expressways from Can Tho to Ca Mau, Hanoi – Huu Nghi border gate, Hoa Binh – Moc Chau – Son La, as well as expressways to Bac Kan and Mong Cai, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on July 30.

To ensure the timely implementation of those projects, the MoT has instructed project management units to draft feasibility study reports, The added.

A report from the MoT revealed as of June 30, the agency disbursed 33.7% of the target of VND39.76 trillion (US$1.73 billion) in public investment for this year, higher than the average national disbursement rate of 28.9%.

By the end of July, the MoT is set to disburse 41.7% of the target, including 48.5% from the domestic funds and 34.3% from foreign sources.

Vice Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong said one of the main bottlenecks to speeding up disbursement rate is the slow progress in site clearance, while complicated administrative procedures are making it hard for the MoT to accelerate the construction progress.

Among measures to boost disbursement of public investment in the remaining months of this year, the MoT suggested the government address issues related to site clearance.

At the meeting, Deputy PM Dung requested the MoT to speed up the construction of major projects, including the North – South expressway, Trung Luong – My Thuan expressway, My Thuan bridge, Cat Linh – Ha Dong urban railway, among others.

Public spending with a focus on greater disbursement of public investment is considered key measures to help Vietnam’s economy recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year, the Vietnamese government targets to disburse VND700 trillion (US$30 billion), more than double the actual amount in 2019 at VND312 trillion (US$13.4 billion)./.

LG Electronics to build additional R&D centre in Vietnam

Major home appliance maker LG Electronics Inc. is considering building a new research and development (R&D) centre in Vietnam, while simultaneously expanding its existing facility in Haiphong.

This was announced by a representative of LG Electronics at a meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and South Korean companies on July 29.

Industry insiders said LG's plan to build an additional R&D centre appears to be aimed at boosting the competitiveness of its Vietnam plant.

LG said it is currently looking for candidate sites in Vietnam but has not confirmed detailed plans for the new centre, such as its research field, size, and construction timeline.

Regarding the plan to expand its existing facility, most recently, chairman of Haiphong People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tung reported that the city is looking for the government’s approval to expand Dinh Vu-Cat Hai and Trang Due industrial parks to serve LG’s expansion.

LG entered the Vietnamese market in 1995 under the name LG Sel Electronics. It opened its first factory in Hung Yen with an investment capital of $13 million and a production line capable of producing 550,000 units per year.

In March 2015, LG launched a high-tech plant to manufacture an assortment of products in Trang Due, Haiphong with a total investment of $1.5 billion. It is the largest LG facility of its type in the region at 800,000 square meters, playing a key role in the development strategy of LG globally.

The plant has a capacity of 16 million products per year. It produces and assembles high-tech products such as televisions, mobile phones, washing machines, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, and digital devices for automobiles.

South Korea's No.2 electronics company already runs an R&D centre focused on its vehicle component solutions business in Hanoi./.

ASEAN market expansion represents a positive step

With Vietnam seeing total import-export turnover with ASEAN in 2019 reach US$57.3 billion, representing a year- on- year rise of 1.1%, the group has developed into the country’s fourth largest export region, only behind the United States, the EU, and China.

Since Vietnam officially became a member of ASEAN in 1995 , two-way trade between the nation and the regional bloc have come on leaps and bounds with the country's exports to the group rising by 1.5% to US$25.2 billion in 2019, accounting for 9.6% of total Vietnamese export turnover.

Furthermore, the nation’s import turnover from ASEAN grew to US$32.1 billion, up 0.9%, making up 12.7% of the country's total import turnover, whilst the Vietnamese trade deficit with the region was US$6.85 billion, down 1.3% compared to 2018.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the nation’s exports to the ASEAN market in 2019 have enjoyed strong growth, with efforts mainly focusing on Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Most notably, the main export groups include local goods such as iron and steel of all kinds, telephones and components, computers, electronic products and components, machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts, along with apparel and textiles.

Vu Ho, head of the ASEAN Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the country’s integration process into the bloc has been implemented in an effective manner to promote economic growth over the past two decades.

A notable occasion occurred in 1995 when Vietnam joined the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and negotiated the signing of the ASEAN Preferential Tariff Agreement. Since joining the AFTA, the nation has enjoyed numerous benefits through gaining an advantage when promoting trade and economic links and creating greater motivation in terms of production and business development, Vu Ho noted.

Moves towards trade balance and a reduced trade deficit

According to the MoIT, ASEAN represents a market that is close to Vietnam both geographically and in terms of similarities in culture and consumption habits. With a total population of 636 million and GDP of US$2,760 billion, there remains plenty of room for the region to stimulate the export growth of many domestic goods.

Recent years has seen the country’s exports to ASEAN primarily focus on farm produce, aquatic products, and minerals, all of which enjoy preferential import duties under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.

Specifically, Vietnamese agricultural and fishery exports to the region in 2019 reached US$2.69 billion, up 0.9%, of which fruit and vegetable exports enjoyed growth of 68.8%, seafood by 2.3%, rice by 8.6%, and tea by 16.9%.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, ASEAN is currently one of the most important export markets for the local fisheries sector. Thanks to preferential treatment offered by the AFTA and other related agreements, a number of seafood products such as shrimp, tuna, and pangasius are witnessing growth both in terms of volume and value.

Staple imports from ASEAN over the past year have mainly consisted of raw materials for production, such as computers, electronic products and components at US$ 3.9 billion, gasoline of all kinds at US$3 billion, other machines, equipment, tools and spare parts at US$2.6 billion, material plastic at US$1.6 billion, other common metals at US$1.17 billion, and chemicals at US$1 billion.

In the context of several manufacturing industries not having control over input materials, the ASEAN market has created opportunities for domestic businesses to have access to an abundant supply of raw materials at reasonable prices. In addition, local firms are also able to simultaneously access capital sources and high technologies, thereby helping them lower prices and improve overall product quality.

As for the apparel and textile industry, export turnover in 2019 reached US$1.5 billion, up 21.4% on-year.

Truong Van Cam, vice chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said that the sector is likely to increase exports to ASEAN ahead in the coming years, particularly when tariff lines continue to be reduced thanks to FTAs and advantages relating to geographical distance and cultural similarities.

Upon assessing the ASEAN market, Nguyen Cam Trang, deputy director of the Import-Export Department under the MoIT, stated that due to difficulties in exporting to the US and European markets, promoting expansion into the ASEAN market is seen as a right step for many local businesses. This therefore represents a stable plan for expanding export markets, while also avoiding dependence on a select few markets./.

Tien Giang revives durian orchards hit by saltwater intrusion

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has stepped up measures to recover durian orchards damaged by severe saltwater intrusion and drought in the 2019 – 2020 dry season.

The province, which is the country’s largest fruit producer, has more than 13,500ha of durian, accounting for 14.7 percent of the province’s total fruit areas, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Nguyen Van Man, director of the department, said severe saltwater intrusion and drought in the 2019 – 2020 dry season damaged 5,343ha of fruits, including 4,500ha of durian orchards in the province’s western area.

Many orchards were damaged up to 70 percent, the rate at which the orchards are considered lost, according to farmers.

In Cai Lay district’s Tam Binh commune, the province’s largest durian growing area, many farmers are cutting down dead durian trees.

Saltwater intrusion occurred at the end of last year and lasted for more than six months, damaging durian orchards in the commune.

The highest salinity rate during the period was nearly 10 grammes per litre, 10 times higher than the rate tolerated by durian trees.

Nguyen Tan Nhu, Secretary of the Tam Bình Commune Party Committee, said nearly 1,000ha of durian in Tam Binh, or 70 percent of the commune’s total durian area, has died, causing severe losses for farmers.

Durian is a perennial tree with high economic value, but cannot tolerate high salinity and inclement weather which occurred in the 2019 – 2020 dry season, he said.

Huynh Thi Kim Trinh in Tam Binh’s Binh Hoa A hamlet said one of her two durian orchards is damaged and the other is being rehabilitated.

The province is entering the rainy season, but the aftermath of severe saltwater intrusion and drought in the last dry season saturated the soil, injuring or killing durian trees.

To save injured trees, the provincial People’s Committee has ordered the department in co-operation with research institutes and relevant agencies to evaluate the causes and show farmers how to recover their orchards.

Durian orchards are applying advanced techniques to rehabilitate affected trees after the end of saltwater intrusion and drought, and to adapt to saltwater intrusion in Tam Binh and Ngu Hiep communes.

Dr. Le Quoc Dien of the Southern Horticultural Research Institute said under the models, farmers follow five steps to rehabilitate soil.

The steps are to wash out salt, rehabilitate the root and leaf systems of durian trees, support leaf and roof development, and increase nutrient absorption and photosynthesis capacity of trees.

Le Van Tieu, who is rehabilitating his durian orchard in Ngu Hiep, said leaf development has improved considerably.

In the 2019 - 2020 dry season, saltwater intrusion and drought occurred in all of the province’s districts and towns, damaging agricultural production./.

Hanoi urged to improve infrastructure system, administrative reforms

Hanoi should focus on improving its infrastructure system while hastening administrative reforms to attract investors eyeing Vietnam amid the global production shift, experts have said.

According to Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Huu Nghia, Hanoi plays an important role in the northern key economic region and in improving regional links.

It was necessary for the capital city to promote regional economic development, Nghia said, adding that the focus should be placed on attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) on offer due to the global shift of value chains pushed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An important factor was developing the urban infrastructure system, said Tran Quoc Cuong, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs.

Cuong said Hanoi had seen considerable infrastructure development in recent years, mostly in the capital city’s northern and western parts. Cuong said more attention should be paid to developing the infrastructure system in the city’s south.

He said that Hanoi should consider building an airport in the southern region to reduce the pressure on Noi Bai International Airport and contribute to developing the economic triangles Hanoi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh and Hanoi – Thanh Hoa – Nghe An.

Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, said what was important to Hanoi now was not how much FDI the city attracted but the quality of the investment.

To compete with other countries in attracting FDI, Mai said Hanoi in particular and Vietnam must hasten administrative reforms to create favourable conditions for investors.

In addition, Hanoi must focus on developing a skilled labour force and tackling traffic congestion and environment pollution, Mai said.

Besides, attention should be paid to improving the infrastructure system and building industrial zones with developed infrastructure systems and logistics services.

According to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, the capital city is now more selective in attracting FDI.

The capital city is developing FDI attraction strategies for specific markets, with the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, the US, the EU, Australia and New Zealand key target markets.

“Hanoi will focus on calling for FDI in large-scale projects and highly competitive products and those which promote small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in the global value chains of multinational corporations, through which, the city will receive technology transfer and could develop the support industries,” said Nguyen Manh Quyen, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment.

Hanoi aims to attract 30-40 billion USD in registered FDI in 2021-2025 period with the disbursed capital of around 20-30 billion USD. Projects which used advanced technologies to increase operational efficiency and protect the environment are set to make up 50 percent in 2025 and 100 percent by 2030. The local procurement rate is expected to increase to more than 30 percent in 2025 and 40 percent in 2030.

Quyen said the capital would enhance investment promotion, support investors in implementing their projects and protect their rights.

In addition, e-government would be developed to reduce time and costs for enterprises while the city would act to increase investors’ access to land.

He said the city was speeding up the construction of infrastructure in industrial zones and industrial clusters. Statistics showed the city had 17 industrial zones and 107 industrial clusters.

Hanoi has been among top localities in attracting FDI in recent years. In 2018 and 2019, the capital city ranked first out of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam in FDI attraction with registered capital of 7.5 billion USD and 8.67 billion USD, respectively.

In the first seven months of this year, Hanoi attracted around 2.82 billion USD in FDI and the city expects to attract 5 billion USD for the full year./.

Czech expert lauds changes in Vietnam’s foreign investment attraction policy

David Jarkulisch, an economic diplomat from the Czech Republic, has spoke highly of positive changes in Vietnam’s revised Law on Investment which aims to attract and bolster efficiency of foreign investment.

In an article published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, he noted that the revised law, which is to take effect at the beginning of 2021, will improve conditions and incentives for foreign investors.
The law aims to make Vietnam’s business climate more appealing to foreign investors and attract new investment in high technology, Jarkulisch said.

Although Vietnam is among the most attractive investment destinations in Asia, foreign investment in the country so far has primarily targeted low tech sectors, he added.

As a result, the Vietnamese Government decided to adjust its foreign investment attraction strategy last year to support innovative and high-tech industry sectors, the diplomat noted. An important factor of this strategy is to change investment incentives.

The Government emphasises that a majority of the incentives and changes in the new investment law reflect the demands of large multinational companies that have long sought to enter the Vietnamese market.

The author also underlined that despite the negative impacts of COVID-19, Vietnam remains attractive to investors and drew a total of 18.8 billion USD in foreign investment in the first seven months of 2020, a year-on-year decline of only 7 percent./.

Maximum 130,700 USD fine for listing violations: Draft decree

Public companies may receive a penalty of 2-3 billion VND (87,120-130,700 USD) for falsifying share listing and trading documents under a proposal from the Ministry of Finance.

The companies would have to file to trade shares at the stock exchanges within a maximum of 60 days.

The penalty was proposed in a draft decree regulating fines for administrative violations in the securities sector.

A fine of 400-500 million VND would be imposed if the company delivers false information in its listing documents or covering false information on purpose.

The company would be fined 100-200 million VND for not correcting and supplementing information in its listing documents, or missing key information required by market regulators.

Public companies may also receive a fine of 70-100 million VND if they do not adjust the details of share listing and trading and if they fail to register and trade shares on time in accordance with existing rules.

A company would suffer a maximum fine of 500 million VND for using false information in its profile or covering false information when it files for listing shares on overseas markets. The minimum penalty for the violation is 400 million VND.

If the company does not report to the State Securities Commission about issuing new shares and registering to the overseas market’s depository agency, the fine would be 150-200 million VND.

Not correcting the profile and supplementing required information in its overseas listing documents would be penalised between 100 million VND and 200 million VND.

The finance ministry is collecting feedback from market regulators, analysts and securities companies on the draft.

The full version of the draft decree is available on the Government’s portal chinhphu.vn./.

Infrastructure system, administrative reforms important to attract FDI

Ha Noi should focus on improving its infrastructure system while hastening administrative reforms to attract investors eyeing Viet Nam amid the global production shift, experts have said.

According to Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee Economic Commission Nguyen Huu Nghia, Ha Noi plays an important role in the northern key economic region and in improving regional links.

An important factor was developing the urban infrastructure system, said Tran Quoc Cuong, Deputy Head of the Central Commission for Internal Affairs.

Cuong said Ha Noi had seen considerable infrastructure development in recent years, mostly in the capital city’s northern and western parts. Cuong said more attention should be paid to developing the infrastructure system in the city’s south.

He said that Ha Noi should consider building an airport in the southern region to reduce the pressure on Noi Bai International Airport and contribute to developing the economic triangles Ha Noi – Hai Phong – Quang Ninh and Ha Noi – Thanh Hoa – Nghe An.

Nguyen Mai, Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Foreign Investment Enterprises, said what was important to Ha Noi now was not how much FDI the city attracted but the quality of the investment.

To compete with other countries in attracting FDI, Mai said Ha Noi in particular and Viet Nam must hasten administrative reforms to create favourable conditions for investors.

In addition, Ha Noi must focus on developing a skilled labour force and tackling traffic congestion and environment pollution, Mai aid.

Besides, attention should be paid to improving the infrastructure system and building industrial zones with developed infrastructure systems and logistics services.

According to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, the capital city is now more selective in attracting FDI.

The capital city is developing FDI attraction strategies for specific markets, with the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, the US, the EU, Australia and New Zealand key target markets.

“Ha Noi will focus on calling for FDI in large-scale projects and highly competitive products and those which promote small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in the global value chains of multinational corporations, through which, the city will receive technology transfer and could develop the support industries,” Nguyen Manh Quyen, Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, said.

Ha Noi aims to attract US$30-40 billion in registered FDI in 2021-25 period with the disbursed capital of around $20-30 billion. Projects which used advanced technologies to increase operational efficiency and protect the environment are set to make up 50 per cent in 2025 and 100 per cent by 2030. The local procurement rate is expected to increase to more than 30 per cent in 2025 and 40 per cent in 2030.

Quyen said the capital would enhance investment promotion, support investors in implementing their projects and protect their rights.

In addition, e-government would be developed to reduce time and costs for enterprises while the city would act to increase investors’ access to land.

He said the city was speeding up the construction of infrastructure in industrial zones and industrial clusters. Statistics showed the city had 17 industrial zones and 107 industrial clusters.

Ha Noi has been among top localities in attracting FDI in recent years. In 2018 and 2019, the capital city ranked first out of 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam in FDI attraction with registered capital of $7.5 billion and $8.67 billion, respectively.

In the first seven months of this year, Ha Noi attracted around $2.82 billion in FDI and the city expects to attract $5 billion for the full year./.

The PAN Group revenues up, but profits plummet

The PAN Group (HOSE: PAN) has released its financial statements for the second quarter, which shows a 5 per cent year-on-year increase in net revenues to VND1.839 trillion (US$79.3 million).

Net profit was VND66.7 billion ($2.87 million), down 34 per cent mainly due to higher costs because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and an extraordinary loss from transfer of land at its Northern Bibica confectionery factory.

First half revenues and profits were VND3.122 trillion ($134.67 million) and VND95.4 billion ($4.1 million), 41 per cent and 31 per cent of targets.

In its agricultural business, flower exports faced difficulties since demand declined in Japan and logistics costs increased.

But the seed market improved with net revenues increasing by 6 per cent and profits by 24 per cent thanks to cost saving measures.

Its packaged rice products have also been well received in the market.

Shrimp exports remained steady and profits rose by 2.3 per cent, thanks to a new 90ha shrimp farm and 6000-tonne cold storage.

Revenues and profits from pangasius exports continued to decline due to a sharp decrease in export prices, but this is only expected to be temporary.

In the long term the pangasius segment has great prospects thanks to the value-added products that have won over customers in fastidious markets like Japan and the EU.

Revenues from confectionery were down 18 per cent because it was the low season and the pandemic had an impact.

Revenue in the nuts segment grew by 25 per cent thanks to excellent sales campaigns, but since costs also increased, profits remained unchanged.

In the third quarter, its dried fruit products will be officially introduced to the market and have some export orders already.

If the pandemic situation does not worsen, the company is confident of achieving the year’s targets./.

HDBank maintains high growth, keeps bad debts at below 1.1%

The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HOSE: HDB) achieved excellent results in the first half of the year, with pre-tax profit increasing by 31.5 per cent year-on-year to VND 2.908 trillion (US$125.03 million), and meeting 51.4 per cent of the 2020 target.

Its asset quality was among the best in the industry with its non-performing loan ratio at just 1.1per cent, the lowest in the banking industry.

It has redeemed all the bonds it sold to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) before schedule.

In addition to maintaining the quality of its assets, the bank also strengthened its financial health with its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) easily meeting Basel II standards after increasing from 10.6 per cent to 11.5 per cent.

Its deposits were worth VND312.923 trillion ($13.45 billion) and total outstanding loans were VND168.772 trillion ($7.26 billion), an increase of 10.3 per cent year-on-year.

Its total consolidated operating income was VND6.346 trillion ($237.19 million), up 22.7 per cent, of with net interest income being worth VND5.664 trillion ($243.08 million), up 30.1 per cent.

It also achieved positive growth in its services and securities business investment.

Its operating expenses were effectively managed at VND2.738 trillion, helping to reduce the cost-to-income ratio from 47 per cent in the same period last year to 43.1 per cent.

In the first six months of the year the bank increased its risk provision to settle the debts it had sold to the VAMC and added resources for dealing with credit risk if incurred. Provisions increased by VND168 billion to VND700 billion.

Return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) were 21.6 per cent and 1.97 per cent, sharp increases from the same period last year.

The ratio of short-term capital to medium- and long-term loans was only 21 per cent, which continued to place it in the group of banks with the highest capital adequacy and liquidity rates.

HDBank opened eight new branches and transaction offices in the first half, increasing the number to 294.

HD SAISON expanded its distribution system to 18,025 transaction points, maintaining its leading position among consumer finance companies in terms of distribution network.

Joining community to overcome pandemic, achieve sustainable growth

HDBank enjoyed rapid yet sustainable business growth despite the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and other unfavourable factors, proving its solid foundation, proactive nature and flexibility in responding to challenges.

At a time when the economy has entered a new normal stage, HDBank has undertaken risk management programmes to ensure its operational safety, and at the same time offered credit packages at preferential interest rates and reduced or waived fees to help customers overcome difficulties caused by the pandemic.

The bank has earmarked VND24 trillion ($1.03 billion) to lend to SMEs, VND10 trillion ($430.48 million) for micro businesses, individual business households and individual customers to expand production and trading, invest in high-tech agriculture, clean agriculture, renewable energy, and others.

In addition to credit products, the bank has also deployed many modern technology-based services to add more utilities on its mobile banking and internet banking platforms, and digitized its internal and transaction processes towards transforming into a digital and paperless bank.

It is a pioneer in opening business accounts online with digital signatures, and was also the first bank in Viet Nam to join the TradeAssets Trade Finance E-marketplace to connect and process trade finance transactions on the blockchain application platform.

Recently, it has launched international money transfer query services via Swift GPI, helping customers update information quickly and accurately about the status of their transactions.

HDBank was recently named one of the Best Companies to Work for in Asia by HR Asia, one of Asia’s leading publications for HR professionals, for a third consecutive year.

Vietnam's top importers in first seven months

The US, China, EU, ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea were the biggest importers of Vietnamese goods in the first seven months this year, according to the General Statistics Office.

The export value to these markets amounted to US$115.3 billion.

Specifically, export turnover to the US and China rose by 15% and 18.4% to US$37.9 billion and US$23.5 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile export volume to the EU, ASEAN, Japan and the Republic of Korea respectively dipped by 5.9% to US$19.5 billion, 15.4% to US$12.8 billion, 5% to US$10.9 billion, and 0.4% to US$10.7 billion./.

VNN

How are SOEs’ outward investment projects performing?

01:47

State-owned economic groups had registered 114 outward investment projects as of the end of 2019 with registered capital of $13.8 billion, according to the MInistry of Public Investment.

The ministry cited a report from CMSC (The Committee for the Management of State Capital) as showing that eight state-owned economic groups and general corporations put under the committee’s management are running investment projects overseas.

Of the 15 projects developed by the eight investors, only six projects are operating on schedule, two behind schedule, five projects are in difficulties, and two others cannot be implemented.

The total investment capital transferred abroad had reached $312 million by the end of 2019, while the profit had reached $599 million.

The subsidiaries belonging to three economic groups and general corporations have invested in 56 projects, of which two projects are behind schedule, and four are in difficulties or cannot be implemented.

State-owned economic groups had registered 114 outward investment projects as of the end of 2019 with registered capital of $13.8 billion, according to the MInistry of Public Investment.

The total investment capital transferred abroad reached $3.8 billion and the profit $270 million.

PetroVietnam

This is the biggest outward investor with 27 projects licensed so far, capitalized at $7.1 billion. It mostly injects money into oil and gas exploration and exploitation projects.

Of the 27 projects registered by PetroVietnam and its subsidiaries, 11 projects are running on schedule, six are behind schedule, 12 are facing difficulties and seven others cannot be implemented.

PetroVietnam has transferred $3.12 billion worth of capital abroad to implement the projects so far, mostly in 2008-2013. The national oil and gas group has made a profit of $2 billion.

Vietnam Airlines

After contributing $49 million to Cambodia Angkor (CCA) to hold 49 percent of shares of the airline 10 years ago, Vietnam Airlines decided to withdraw capital from the airline. However, the divestment still has not been completed.

In the first phase of investment, CCA reported revenue of $676 million and post-tax profit of nearly 1 million in 2009-2012. Since then, the airline has been taking loss.

Vinachem

The chemicals corporations is stuck with a project on exploiting and processing potassium mined salt capitalized at $522.5 million. The potassium price in the world has been falling for a long time and the project cannot bring the expected profits.

Vinacomin

The coal and mining group has five outward investment projects, including three in Cambodia and two in Laos.

Of these, two projects have stopped because of ineffectiveness and the transfer of the projects have been completed. As for the other three, capitalized at $21 million, the reserves are low, not enough for commercial development.

Viettel

The military telecom group and its subsidiary VIettel Global have invested in 10 telecom projects in Cambodia, Laos, Mozambique, East Timor, Cameroon, Burundi, Tanzania, Haiti, Myanmar, Peru and 3 R&D in France, the US and Russia.

The projects in Laos and Cambodia have brought profit of $265 million.

VNN/Linh Ha

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 7

02:15

Lao Cai asked to finalise proposal for construction of Sa Pa Airport

A mock-up of Sa Pa Airport in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. (Photo: baogiaothong.vn)

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has urged the People’s Committee of northern Lao Cai province to finalise its proposal for construction of Sa Pa Airport, with opinions of relevant ministries and agencies taken into account.

The proposal must be submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for review before it would be approved in-principle, Dung said in an official dispatch sent to the Lao Cai People’s Committee on August 3.

In 2018, Lao Cai proposed building an airport in Sa Pa resort town at a total cost of nearly 5.8 trillion VND (252 million USD) to the Ministry of Transport.

The airport will cover 371ha in Cam Con commune, Bao Yen district. Its construction will last four years under a public-private partnership. Once completed, it will be capable of serving 3 million passengers per year.

Located on the economic corridor of Kunming – Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong, Lao Cai is an economic belt based on trade development among provinces in Southwest China.

Currently, the province’s transport system incorporates only roads and railways. Therefore, an airport is viewed as crucial to improve local transport network, creating new engine for the development of Lao Cai and the northwest mountainous region at large./.

Domestic gold prices break new record peak amid global uncertainties

The domestic price of gold surged to reach an all-time high of VND59.85 million per tael on the morning of August 6 after the precious metal skyrocketed to US$2,055.1 per ounce in the global market.

The opening of the market saw one tael of SJC gold at the Saigon Gold, Silver and Gemstone joint stock company being purchased for VND58.6 million per tael and sold at VND59.85 million per tael, marking an increase of between VND700,000 to VND750,000 per tael in comparison to trading on August 5.

Simultaneously, the DOJI Gold and Gems Group were trading at VND58.4 million for buying and 59.5 million for selling per tael, representing a similar rise of VND650,000 per tael from the previous day.

Elsewhere, gold firm Bao Tin Minh Chau at 10:38am listed its prices for the precious metal at VND58.75 million for buying and VND59.60 million for selling.

The recent fluctuations occurring in domestic gold prices can largely be attributed to the impact of the global gold market which has seen prices witness a sharp rise of 0.9% to US$2,035.8 per ounce, with prices even reaching US$2,055.1 per ounce during the opening session of August 6./.

HCMC rejects Saigon Co.op’s capital rise

The HCMC Department of Planning and Investment has rejected Saigon Co.op’s 34th business registration certificate, in which the cooperative raised its chartered capital from VND3.2 trillion to VND6.797 trillion.

The department did not accept the additional capital of VND3.597 trillion, which was contributed by 20 member cooperatives of Saigon Co.op, and, as such, recovered the 33rd business registration certificate, following which the cooperative’s chartered capital is now VND3.2 trillion.

A leader of Saigon Co.op said the cooperative has been informed of the decision. The additional capital of VND3.597 trillion has not been used so the decision will not affect the operations of the cooperative.

On July 27, the HCMC Inspectorate unearthed a number of violations at Saigon Co.op, including wrongdoings in raising its capital.

The inspectorate announced that Saigon Co.op did not comply with the Cooperative Law while raising its chartered capital in 2020.

At its members general meeting on January 30, Saigon Co.op adopted a resolution to raise its chartered capital from VND3.2 trillion to VND6.797 trillion. Twenty of 26 Saigon Co.op’s member cooperatives contributed VND3.597 trillion.

However, some member cooperatives that posted an after-tax profit of approximately VND5-6 billion between 2018 and 2019 did not contribute capital, while member cooperatives with a trivial after-tax profit ranging between VND24 and VND500 million contributed hundreds of billions of dong.

According to the HCMC Inspectorate, some member cooperatives of Saigon Co.op mobilized capital from sources that are not members of Saigon Co.op, going against the cooperative’s resolution at the January 30 members general meeting.

Moreover, Saigon Co.op’s member cooperatives contributed capital before they completed the certification registration, violating article 1, clause 28 of the Cooperative Law and did not provide documents relating to the capital contribution, violating article 2, clause 61 of the Cooperative Law.

Besides this, signs of capital appropriation at Saigon Co.op since the cooperative was founded infringed the retained asset ownership rights, affecting the economic security of HCMC and the country as a whole.

Founded in 1989, Saigon Co.op is currently one of the leading retailers in HCMC. The cooperative’s revenue in 2019 reached more than VND35 trillion./.

Hoa Phat steel sales surge in July

Leading steel manufacturer Hoa Phat Group sold 300,000 tonnes of construction steel in July, a rise of 19 percent over that in June and 27.5 percent year on year.

According to the firm, last month it exported 53,500 tonnes of steel, doubling the volume recorded in the same period last year.

Sales in the southern region rose two times year on year to 75,000 tonnes, mostly thanks to civil construction works. The launching of public infrastructure projects also helped push Hoa Phat’s steel sales up.

In the first seven months of 2020, Hoa Phat supplied to the market 1.81 million tonnes of construction steel, up 14.5 percent year on year, including 256,500 tonnes shipped to foreign markets, an increase of 73.3 percent and equivalent to the total export volume in the whole year of 2019.

Major export markets of Hoa Phat steel included Japan, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Along with ready-to-use steel, Hoa Phat also sold 1 million tonnes of steel billets for construction steel production in seven months, with 169,000 tonnes in July alone.

The completion of Hoa Phat Dung Quat port also made great contributions to the transport of Hoa Phat steel, thus promoting its sales. Recently, the port received a 176,000 tonne capsize vessel, the biggest of its kind it had ever served./.

HD Bank’s profit up 31.5 pct. in H1

The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HD Bank) reported impressive results on August 3 for the first half of 2020, with pre-tax profit growing 31.5 percent year-on-year to over 2.9 trillion VND (124.3 million USD).

Its non-performing loan ratio was kept firmly under control, at 1.1 percent, the lowest among all the domestic banks.

Several indicators for the first half posted strong growth. Total mobilised capital, for instance, reached close to 213.94 trillion VND, a year-on-year increase of 18.2 percent, while total outstanding loans rose 10.3 percent to more than 168.77 trillion VND.

The bank also recorded a 22.7 percent increase in total consolidated operating income, exceeding 6.34 trillion VND. This included over 5.66 trillion VND in net interest income; 30.1 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Operating costs were well-managed and stood at2.74 trillion VND, making its cost income ratio (CIR) fall to 43.1 percent from last year’s 47 percent.

Its return on equity (ROE) and return on asset (ROA) stood at 21.6 percent and 1.97 percent, respectively; much higher than a year earlier.

In the face of COVID-19, HD Bank has designed credit packages to support affected borrowers, including a preferential credit package worth 24 trillion VND for small- and medium-sized enterprises and a 10 trillion VND soft credit package for individuals and micro enterprises./.

Indonesia to provide cash transfers, working loans for 12 mln MSMEs

The Indonesian government is set to provide cash transfers and working capital loans for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in its latest bid to boost economic growth amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who is also head of the national economic recovery task force, said on July 29 that the government would provide 2.4 million rupiah (165 USD) in cash each for 10 to 12 million MSMEs, as well as working capital loans of 2 million rupiah for MSMEs.

The assistance is expected to maintain people’s income and be used as working capital to support their businesses, he told reporters during a press briefing. The government will also add working capital loans with low interest for those who have already started businesses.

President Joko Widodo has asked the national economic recovery task force to focus on boosting economic growth in the third quarter of 2020, as well as to maintain employment and income levels to prevent a recession this year, Budi went on to say.

MSMEs have been particularly hit hard by the economic downturn, as the government expects the economy to grow by 1 percent at best or shrink by 0.4 percent at worst this year. It also forecasts a contraction of around 5 percent in the year’s second quarter due to large-scale social restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The government has allocated 695.2 trillion rupiah to strengthen the country’s virus response and boost economic growth, expanding the fiscal deficit to 6.34 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

On the same day, the government also guaranteed working capital loans worth 100 trillion rupiah for labour-intensive businesses to help them survive the pandemic.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated that to be eligible for the loan guarantee programme, firms are required to employ at least 300 individuals, prove that their activities have been affected by the pandemic, and have a good track record of paying back loans, according to the minister.

Amid the uncertainty about how long the COVID-19 pandemic battle will need to be fought, the government has announced that it will raise its 2021 state budget deficit assumption to 5.2 percent of GDP. The change will be proposed to the House of Representatives, which previously agreed to the government’s proposal of a deficit between 4.17 percent and 4.7 percent of GDP./.

Indonesia allows oil and gas investors to choose contract options

The Indonesian government has announced that it had revised a 2017 law that will give oil and gas investors more flexibility when choosing their contract options for exploration, according to Reuters.

The revisions, which came into effect on July 16, allow contractors to choose between different sharing contracts including the “cost recovery” and “gross split” systems in an effort to boost investment.

Indonesia adopted the “gross split” scheme for oil and gas production deals in 2017, in which contractors shoulder the cost of exploration and production in exchange for retaining a bigger portion of the oil and gas they recover.

That represented a shift from the “cost recovery” scheme used previously, in which the government reimbursed the exploration and production costs borne by the contractors in exchange for a higher share of companies’ oil and gas earnings.

Under the revised law, expiring contracts no longer have to be converted to gross split production sharing contracts from cost recovery contracts.

In the case where state oil company PT Pertamina or its affiliates are appointed, the ministry will determine the cooperation contract./.

Cambodia extends tax breaks for tourism-dependent businesses

The Cambodian government has decided to extend tax breaks for another two months for tourism-dependent businesses to overcome difficulties during the COVID-19 crisis, the Ministry of Tourism said on August 3.

The exemption, which takes effect in August and September, is granted to hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and tour companies in capital Phnom Penh and in Siem Reap, Sihanouk, Kep and Kampot provinces, as well as in Bavet and Poipet cities, according to the ministry.

It added that the government will continue transferring 40 USD per month for staff and workers in the tourism sector for another two months.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said over 3,000 tourism-related businesses in Cambodia have been closed due to COVID-19, leaving more than 50,000 workers unemployed.

Last weekend, the government announced that it will continue supporting unemployed workers in the garment-textile sector for another two months. Each will receive 40 USD per month from August to September 2020 and additional 30 USD per month from their employer./.

PMIs in Southeast Asia see normalisation but far from sustainability

Gradual improvement in the purchasing managing indices (PMIs) across Southeast Asia shows some return to normalisation, but a sustained recovery is still far away, according to a report released by Barclays Research on August 3.

PMIs continue to be capped by still-weak demand, the report said, adding that confidence about the business environment in the near-term remains low, mirrored in the employment sub-index, which remains deep in contraction territory for all of Southeast Asia.

According to the report, it is likely that business sentiment is largely impacted by external demand conditions - the export orders sub-index remains materially below pre-COVID-19 levels, even for countries that showed large month-to-month improvement in the index reading.

The PMI reading for July in Indonesia and Thailand showed improvement over June's data following some lifting of restrictions last month, Barclays noted.

However, it said the improvement in Thailand has been much slower than expected, despite the country urgently re-opened its economy.

Meanwhile, the Philippines' manufacturing PMI declined to 48.4 points, down from 49.6 in June, due to impacts of tightening rules to prevent COVID-19 in some parts of the country such as Cebu, it said.

As Manila moves back into a tighter lockdown from August 4, Barclays said it is expecting the Philippines' PMI to fall deeper into contraction territory in August.

For now, Malaysia is the only country in Southeast Asia that has its PMI to be around 50-point level, reaching 51 in June and 50 in July./.

'One-trillion-dong profit club' led by Vinhomes JSC

Twenty-five companies have entered the “one-trillion-dong profit club” for January-June, despite the economy being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leading the chart is residential real estate firm Vinhomes JSC – a member of conglomerate Vingroup JSC.

Vinhomes in the first six months recorded 11.45 trillion VND (490.2 million USD) of post-tax profit, up slightly from last year’s figure, though post-tax profit in the second quarter dropped 55 percent year-on-year to 3.8 trillion VND.

The real estate company attributed the growth of post-tax profit in January-June to successful sales of real estate projects, especially in the first quarter when coronavirus hardly had any impact on the Vietnamese economy.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) ranked second with a six-month post-tax profit of nearly 8.8 trillion VND.

The figure was down 3 percent year-on-year.

Five companies which had post-tax profits of between 4 trillion VND and 6 trillion VND are PetroVietnam Gas (PV Gas), steel producer Hoa Phat, the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VP Bank), the Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), the Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk), and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank).

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) recorded post-tax profits in the first six months of 3.06 trillion VND and 3.47 trillion VND, respectively.

The HCM City Development Joint Stock Bank (HD Bank) announced its post-tax profit in the first half of the year was 2 trillion VND.

Other companies such as PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), real estate firm Novaland, Saigon-Hanoi Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SHB), brewer Sabeco and Vingroup JSC reported post-tax profits ranged from 1 trillion VND to 1.93 trillion VND.

Banks continued performing well in the first half of the year despite the impact of the pandemic as half of the 21 companies in the “one-trillion-dong profit club” are in the banking sector.

The securities sector had one representative, Techcombank Securities Co (TCBS), recording a 1 trillion VND post-tax profit in the first six months./.

Local businesses promise there will be no shortage of essential goods as COVID-19 returns

Producers and distributors of essential goods are striving to ensure sufficient supply amid the return of COVID-19.

Retailers in Viet Nam are increasing their stocks of essential goods to ensure they can meet the rising demand during the fresh COVID-19 outbreak.

The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has, for instance, worked with large food producers and retailers to ensure there is no supply shortfall, while the businesses are increasing their output and stocks of raw materials.

Currently fresh farm produce, face masks, hand gels, and instant noodles are the most in demand at supermarkets.

Retailers such as Saigon Co.op and Big C have increased their stocks of essential goods to ensure there is sufficient supply.

Saigon Co.op, for instance, has enough stocks to last five months, including 2.5 million medical masks, 10 million antibacterial cloth masks and 100,000 bottles of hand sanitisers.

Nguyen Anh Duc, Saigon Co.op's general director, told Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper that the company is working with its suppliers to offer discounts and promotions, organise mobile selling trips to remote areas and industrial zones and promote online shopping to reduce the number of visitors to its stores.

Masan Group, which operates 3,000 VinMart and VinMart+ stores across Viet Nam and is hoping to ensure sufficient supply until December, has in stock over 2.5 million antibacterial cloth masks and three million bottles of hand sanitisers, which will last through September.

The company has also promised not to increase the prices of essential items.

MM Mega Market is increasing its supply of masks to Da Nang and offering promotions./.

Vietinbank posted US$319.6 million before-tax profit

Vietinbank, listed as CTG, posted pre-tax profit of more than VND7.4 trillion (US$319.6 million) in the first half of the year, representing a 40 per cent year-on-year increase.

Vietinbank has announced its financial report, saying that in the context of weak growth in net interest income due to the reduction of lending interest rates to support customers, its non-credit business segment showed positive growth results.

In the first six months of 2020, the bank’s net interest income only increased by 0.2 per cent over the same period to VND16.2 trillion.

In return, the bank shifted its income structure, boosting non-credit income to bring positive results. Profit from service activities in the period increased by 10.5 per cent over the same period, reaching VND2.16 trillion. Profit from foreign exchange trading increased by 31.7 per cent to VND1 trillion.

Earnings from securities trading increased by 185 per cent to VND389 billion. Other operating profit also increased strongly by 36 per cent to VND470 billion.

In the first half of the year, interest from non-credit activities contributed 21.5 per cent to the bank's total operating income, up from 17.3 per cent in the same period of 2019.

Similar to many other banks, VietinBank began tightening operating expenses, down 3.8 per cent in the period, to VND6.6 trillion.

Risk provision expense decreased by 10.6 per cent to VND6.6 trillion.

As of June 30, VietinBank's loan balance is VND941.4 trillion, up by 0.7 per cent from the same period last year. Its total assets reached nearly VND1.24 quadrillion, down slightly by 0.1 per cent compared to the beginning of the year. Customer deposits increased by 2.3 per cent to VND913.3 trillion.

VietinBank's bad debt on June 30 was VND15.9 trillion, accounting for 1.7 per cent of total loans.

In the first six months, the bank bought over VND6 trillion of bad debts at Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC), bringing the total value of debt purchased to date (after about 1.5 years) to nearly VND6.8 trillion. VietinBank also made a risk provision of about 50 per cent of the debt value, speeding up the restructuring plan associated with handling bad debts in the period of 2016-20./.

Industrial production expands at the lowest rate in many years

Industrial production struggled in July, expanding at just 3.6 per cent over June and 1.1 per cent over the same period last year, the lowest rate since 2013, latest updates of the General Statistics Office (GSO) revealed.

For the January-July period, the index of industrial production (IIP) increased by 2.6 per cent, much lower than the expansion of 9.4 per cent recorded in the same period of 2019 and also the lowest rate in many years.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 together with the reoccurrence in some provinces and cities of Việt Nam in the past two weeks pushed industrial production activities into difficulties again, causing disruptions in supply chains, despite a robust growth in June when the virus was successfully contained. In comparison, IIP in June expanded by 10.3 per cent against May and 7.2 per cent against the same period last year.

For the seven-month period, the manufacturing and processing industry rose by 4.2 per cent, compared to 10.7 per cent of the same period last year, electricity production and distribution up 2.1 per cent, water supply and waste treatment up 3.3 per cent.

Several industries saw significant drops. The mining industry production fell by 7.8 per cent, causing a drop of 1.2 percentage point in overall IIP expansion rate.

The production of motor vehicles dropped by 15.4 per cent, crude oil and gas down by 11.3 per cent and beverage products by 6.3 per cent.

Of note, the production of medicine, pharmaceutical chemicals and medicinal materials was up by 27.1 per cent.

The number of labourers woking in industrial production companies as of July 1 was 1.3 per cent higher the previous month but 1.8 per cent lower than the same period last year.

Experts predicted that the industrial production might continue to struggle in the remaining months of this year, especially when COVID-19 community transmissions have reoccured in Việt Nam and the Government must strive to contain the virus./.

ETFs attracts capital despite COVID-19 resurgence

Despite the COVID-19 resurgence, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) still attracted hundreds of billions of dong in the second half of July.

The Viet Nam's stock market has faced a gloomy period since the resurgence of community COVID-19 transmission in Da Nang City on July 24.

The VN-Index has fallen sharply from 870 points to below 800 points, equivalent to a decline of more than 8 per cent in just half a month.

Still, the major ETFs on the market such as Vaneck Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM ETF), FTSE Vietnam ETF, VFMVN30 ETF, VFMVN Diamond ETF and SSIAM VNFin Lead ETF drew nearly VND500 billion (U$21.3 million).

VNM ETF attracted $9.16 million. The proportion of Vietnamese stocks currently accounts for about 70 per cent of VNM ETF’s portfolio, so it is estimated that the fund net bought $6.4 million of Vietnamese stocks over the past two weeks.

FTSE Vietnam ETF also lured $2.8 million in the second half of July. This fund drew $6.3 million in the whole month.

The largest domestic ETF in the market, VFMVN30 ETF, also attracted capital of $2.8 million in the second half of July.

Other domestic ETFs such as VFMVN Diamond ETF and SSIAM VNFin Lead ETF drew $3.2 million and $4.3 million in the second half of July, respectively.

With the ETFs attracting capital and the inception of new funds such as SSIAM VN30 ETF or VinaCapital VN100 ETF, market sentiment can be improved in the context of complicated COVID-19 pandemic./.

ACB get nod to raise charter capital

The State Bank of Viet Nam has approved Asia Commercial Bank (ACB)’s plan to raise its charter capital from VND16.6 trillion (US$721 million) to VND21.6 trillion.

The plan will be implemented via dividend payment in shares to shareholders.

ACB plans to issue 498.8 million shares to pay the dividend, equivalent to a total value of VND4.98 trillion.

The payment ratio is 30 per cent, meaning every shareholder will receive three new shares for every 10 they hold.

The expected issuance time is the fourth quarter of this year.

Previously, ACB planned to pay a 2019 dividend in shares and cash. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Bank required banks to use resources to reduce interest rates, support businesses and not pay dividends in cash.

ACB also plans to pay the 2020 dividend at a rate of not less than 20 per cent.

In the first six months of this year, ACB recorded a consolidated pre-tax profit of VND3.8 trillion, up 5.4 per cent over the same period last year.

The bank plans to earn a pre-tax profit of VND7.6 trillion this year./.

Viettel Global posts US$50.7 million before-tax profit

Viettel Global, a foreign investment unit of telecoms giant Viettel, posted a before-tax profit of VND1.17 trillion (US$50.7 million) in the first half of this year, equivalent to the same period last year.

Viettel’s Global revenue rose 9.7 per cent to VND8.6 trillion in the period thanks to growth in its three markets of Southern Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its gross profit increased by nearly 19 per cent to VND3.3 trillion.

A total of 51 per cent of its revenue came from Southeast Asia, where its partner companies Viettel Myanmar, Star Telecom (Laos) and Metcom (Cambodia) saw double-digit growth in revenue.

Net revenue from business activities increased by 6 per cent to VND4.3 trillion the second quarter alone due to major currency fluctuations in its markets caused by the pandemic.

As of June 30, Viettel Global's total assets and owner's equities were VND59.3 trillion and VND29.4 trillion respectively.

Established in 2006, Viettel Global currently operates in Cambodia, Laos, Timor Leste, Mozambique, Burundi, Haiti, Peru, Cameroon, Tanzania and Myanmar./.

Japan to promote trade document digitalization platform to ASEAN

The Japanese Government plans to promote a platform to member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for digitalizing all trade-related documents, Kyodo News cited sources close to the matter as reporting on August 5.

Japan expects the platform to strengthen the supply chain in the region where many Japanese companies have production bases while deepening economic ties with the 10-member bloc, they said.

The digitalization platform, currently being developed by a consortium of 18 Japanese companies, utilizes a blockchain technology to prevent data hacking, the sources said.

The consortium, whose participants include NTT Data Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and Nippon Express Co., will run a trial of the platform this year in Vietnam, the chair of ASEAN for 2020, the sources said.

By eliminating massive exchanges of paper between trade stakeholders, the platform is expected to sharply reduce the costs and time required for customs documentation work. It can also digitalize procedures for credit letter issuance by banks and trade insurance contracts.

As the system accumulates data, it can help search for alternative suppliers based on past trade and credit histories in the event of supply chain disruptions, the sources said.

The platform's development comes as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is providing funding for creation of new businesses through digitalization projects in Asian countries.

ASEAN groups 10 members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.

Vietnam works to boost longan exports to China

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh on August 5 worked with Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam Hu Suo Jin to boost exports of farm produce, especially longan, to China.

Doanh said the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam has been closely working with the ministry to remove difficulties in the shipment of Vietnamese agricultural products to China.

In the recent time, the export and import of agro-forestry-fishery products between the two countries have been declining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

The Deputy Minister hoped the Chinese Embassy and relevant agencies will continue addressing difficulties in the field since the pandenic remains complicated.

Vietnam wants to boost longan and lychee exports to China as these fruits could be processed into many other products, he added.

Hu said China is a major and traditional market of Vietnam which is also the biggest trade partner of China in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Vietnam has shipped many fruits to China, he said, adding that China has purchased over 60,000 tonnes of lychees from the northern province of Bac Giang – the largest lychee producer in Vietnam.

For longan, Hu said he had worked with the Department of Industry and Trade of Hung Yen – which is well-known for this specialty fruit – and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to boost exports.

The Chinese Embassy is willing to coordinate with Vietnamese relevant agencies to remove difficulties such as holding virtual meetings, contacting with major businesses in China, and facilitating the shipment of Vietnamese longan, he promised./.

Thailand backs economic recovery projects

Thailand’s cabinet on August 4 approved a budget of 884.62 million baht (28.5 million USD) to fund 157 economic recovery projects in 57 out of 77 provinces nationwide that have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said the money would be allotted to support many farming businesses, including organic agriculture, goat farms and mulberry farms. Some of it would also be used to promote businesses linked to tourism in the provinces, he added.

For the first time since 2014, the Thai economy has decreased by 1.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020.

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has just estimated that the Southeast Asia's second largest economy could see a record drop of 13 percent in the second quarter of this year when economic activities are delayed due to restriction measures against COVID-19./.

Vietsovpetro exploits 500 million cubic metres of gas at Thien Ung field

The Russia-Vietnam oil and gas joint venture (Vietsovpetro) has pumped up 500 million cubic metres of gas from Thien Ung field, which has been in operation since late 2016.

The Thien Ung field development project, 270 km southeast of Vung Tau city, is a component project under the gas development plan of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

As planned, exploited products from Thien Ung will be brought offshore via the Nam Con Son 2 pipeline - Phase 2.

Vietsovpetro will drill new fields to provide recipients with an estimated gas output of up to 2 million cubic metres per day.

The operation of the BK-TNG rig at the Thien Ung field aims to create infrastructure connectivity and promote the exploration and exploitation of gas-condensate fields in the Nam Con Son basin area and the southern continental shelf of Vietnam, as well as contribute to ensuring national energy security and asserting national sovereignty over seas and islands./.

Indonesia's economy contracts for first time in two decades

Indonesia's economy contracted in the second quarter for the first time in more than two decades as it was slammed by coronavirus restrictions, with warnings that the recovery could be among the weakest in Southeast Asia.

Output in the region's biggest economy slumped 5.3 percent on-year in April-June, the country’s statistics agency said. That marked Indonesia's first contraction since the first quarter of 1999 during the Asian financial crisis.

“Economic activity in Indonesia collapsed in the second quarter," research house Capital Economics said in note after the figures were published. "A failure to contain the virus effectively and inadequate policy support means the recovery is likely to be one of the slowest in the region," it added.

Last month, Indonesia's central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time this year in a bid to boost the struggling economy. The country has announced a stimulus package worth more than 48 billion USD to help offset the impact of the virus, which forced a large-scale shutdown that hammered growth.

Indonesia, home to nearly 270 million people, has been easing movement restrictions in a bid to head off economic collapse but COVID-19 infections are mounting, with cases topping 115,000 with and more than 5,300 deaths./.

Binh Duong’s wood exports up slightly in first half

Wood and wooden product exports in the southern province of Binh Duong hit more than 1.7 billion USD in the first half of 2020, up 0.6 percent year-on-year and accounting for 14.5 percent of the local total export value of 11.9 billion USD.

Local companies producing wooden products are expected to benefit from the opportunities the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) offers and have targeted growth in the remaining months of the year.

According to the Binh Duong Furniture Association (BIFA), many companies had to limit production because of the COVID-19 pandemic and have seen a decline in new export orders.

BIFA Chairman Dien Quang Hiep said Binh Duong is home to 1,600 furniture enterprises, or 40 percent of those found nationwide.

Amid the difficulties caused by the pandemic, local businesses are making every effort to seek domestic raw material resources to replace imports, while promoting sales via e-commerce platforms.

Hiep added that nearly 50 percent of total export orders held by local businesses are reported to have been placed through e-commerce platforms.

The country’s exports of wood and wooden products in the first four months of 2020 were worth nearly 3.2 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent, according to the General Department of Customs.

Thanks to its efficient pandemic control, Vietnam has become an attractive investment destination for many wood processing companies, with turnover in billions of dollars.

The country expects wood processing exports to top 12.5 billion USD this year, up 10 percent against last year, according to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFORES)./.

ASEAN+3 countries discuss financial cooperation

The ASEAN+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting (AFCDM+3) was held via video conferencing on August 5 under the chair of Vietnam and Japan.

This is an important meeting in a series of ASEAN and ASEAN+3 financial cooperation events chaired by Vietnam this year to prepare for the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting slated for September.

Deputy Finance Ministers and Deputy Governors of the central banks of ASEAN member states and China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan discussed the region’s financial cooperation initiatives, such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI), and approved policies and plans for the mid-term operations of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

Participants expressed their appreciation of the progress made in the continuous completion of the CMIM to meet new requirements in the financial market and to be in accordance with a coordination mechanism between CMIM and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

They spoke highly of efforts made by AMRO to carry out macro-economic supervision and to support member states in improving their policy-making capacity.

They also hailed the achievements made by ABMI working groups in researching measures to better the investment environment, developing new investment tools, completing the legal framework, upgrading infrastructure for the bond market, and carrying out technical assistance programmes to improve the bond markets of member economies.

In the hope of intensifying regional economic and financial stability, delegates considered the pace of implementation of new initiatives within the framework of the Strategic Directions of ASEAN+3 Finance Process.

During this meeting, the Deputy Finance Ministers and Deputy Governors of central banks had a special discussion session to share policy measures in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to update the situation in and assess the macro-economic prospects of regional countries./.

Hai Duong longan to conquer global tastes

Some 250 tonnes of longan from the northern province of Hai Duong are now ready to be shipped to demanding markets such as Europe, Australia, and Singapore.

The province’s Chi Linh city has 673 ha of longan trees, primarily in Hoang Tan, Hoang Tien, Le Loi, and Hoang Hoa Tham wards and communes.

According to Nguyen Van Ha, deputy head of the city’s economic bureau, agencies have granted four longan growing area codes in the city, covering 43 ha, while providing training on longan growing to local farmers.

Nguyen Van Vien from Hoang Tien ward is one of 60 farmers in Chi Linh receiving a longan growing area code for export to Australia.

Unlike previous crops, longan grown this year by Vien and other farmers was observed closely by agricultural scientists.

He harvested 3 tonnes from his 3 ha this year, with each kilo selling for 15,000 VND (0.65 USD) - double the market price.

Hai Duong is home to 2,100 ha of longan, of which more than 50 ha meet international standards. This year’s output is expected to reach 10,000 tonnes, with 250 tonnes standardised for export to fastidious markets.

In addition to providing technical training, the provincial plant protection sub-department has also worked to link exporters with farmers.

The Red Dragon Service Trading Manufacture Co. has purchased between three and eight tonnes of longan a day for export to Singapore, Australia, and Europe via sea./.

Licensed housing projects rise in Q2

The number of licensed housing projects rose sharply in the second quarter, the Ministry of Construction announced on August 4.

During the period, there were 325 licensed projects with more than 70,300 apartments, 1,425 underway projects with over 246,000 apartments, and 73 others completed with 8,901 apartments.

Hanoi was home to eight lisenced projects while Ho Chi Minh City had four. Both cities had no licensed projects in the first quarter.

The number of tourism property projects also increased quarter-on-quarter,with 92 projects licensed, 91 under construction and 12 completed.

The progress of construction was better than the previous quarter.

Successful real estate transactions were equivalent to about 130-140 percent from those in the first quarter.

There were 29,600 successful deals in the second quarter, including over 1,300 in Hanoi and 3,900 in Ho Chi Minh City, up 40.6 percent and 16 percent from the first quarter, respectively.

Despite difficulties, the real estate market still sees development opportunities, the ministry said./.

EVFTA expected to help boost Vietnam-Czech trade ties

The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade’s website mpo.cz has recently published an article titled “The Vietnamese market is opening up, a free trade agreement can save millions of crowns for Czech companies.”

It said the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) entered into force on August 1, after eight years of negotiations, gradually eliminating up to 99 percent of all mutual duties.

"This opens up new opportunities for the Czech Republic in the rapidly growing market of almost one hundred million in the attractive region of Southeast Asia. In contrast to current protectionist trends, the agreement can be seen as a positive signal towards open international trade based on rules," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček was quoted as saying.

"According to preliminary estimates, 100 million Czech crowns, an even higher amount will be saved by the removal of non-tariff barriers. The biggest opportunities will open up for Czech companies in the automotive, engineering and electrical engineering industries,” he added.

According to Minister of State for EU and Foreign Trade Martin Tauberová, after the experience of the pandemic, the agreement may also greatly help efforts to diversify supply, which could in the future make it possible to better deal with any similar global crises.

The newly agreed framework has the potential to revive trade between the Czech Republic and Vietnam, which is currently the Czech Republic's 25th largest trading partner in the world.

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the article said, adding that the country's economy has grown steadily by 6 to 7 percent a year over the past decade.

In addition, Vietnam has a young, active population, which gives its economy the potential for further rapid prosperity.

Vietnam’s economic situation does not seem to be dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam has not resorted to a blanket curfew, but has targeted measures at specific areas with the disease, keeping the economy going.

According to the World Bank's forecasts, the local economy should grow by up to 4 percent this year as well. In addition to favourable economic indicators, Czech businesses can also benefit from human capital. Close historical ties between the two countries gave rise to a significant Vietnamese minority in the Czech Republic and a large group of Vietnamese who, thanks to studies in the former Czechoslovakia, still speak Czech after returning to their home country.

The newly agreed trade framework has the potential to develop trade relations between the two countries, the article said.

The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade affirmed that it is ready to advise entrepreneurs.

EVFTA will also be one of the main topics of the next meeting of the MIT Expert Team on Free Trade Agreements, which will be convened during the autumn. In the following period, the evaluation of the real impacts of EVFTA on the Czech Republic is also planned, according to the article./.

Vietnam Motor Show 2020 cancelled due to COVID-19

The Vietnam Motor Show 2020, scheduled for October 29 – November 1, will be cancelled due to the complicated developments of COVID-19, announced the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) and the Vehicles Importers Vietnam Association (VIVA) on August 4.

The next edition of the event is scheduled for October 2021 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC).

VAMA and VIVA will continue to choose the Asia Trade Fair and Business Promotion JSC (ATFA) – Vinalink alliance as a co-organiser of the event./.

RoK fashion firms expected to benefit from EVFTA: KITA

The Republic of Korea’s fashion firms based in Vietnam are expected to benefit from the free trade agreement between the Southeast Asian country and the European Union (EVFTA), which came into effect this month.

Under the agreement, clothes producers based in Vietnam can enjoy the benefit of the latest free trade agreement for goods made with materials of the RoK, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said in its report.

The RoK implemented its own FTA with the EU in 2015.

Vietnam's imports of the RoK’s materials to produce clothes reached 1.7 billion USD in 2019, accounting for 11.5 percent of the total.

KITA said exports of the RoK’s materials to the Vietnam may also increase down the road on the back of the EVFTA.

According to the association, the EVFTA is expected to increase demand for Vietnamese clothes in Europe as well.

Vietnam was the third-largest export destination for the RoK - Asia's No. 4 economy - in 2019./.

PM: EVFTA like an expressway bringing EU, Vietnam closer

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired a video conference on August 6 regarding the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), during which he described the deal as a broad and modern expressway bringing the EU and Vietnam closer together.

He emphasised that Vietnam has signed 13 free trade agreements (FTAs) but one of the country’s greatest shortcomings is that local businesses have limited awareness about these deals and have failed to take advantage of the opportunities they present.

Many bodies have been slow in preparing relevant legal documents, while overlaps in enforcement guidance are hampering businesses, he noted.

He highlighted the importance of communications on international economic integration in general and FTAs in particular, as well as improvements in human resources.

Noting that the requirement on sustainable development is an important part of the EVFTA, the PM said there are higher standards on increasing economic efficiency and stricter requirements on social responsibility, labour, employment, and environmental protection.

He also recalled the technical assistance offered to Vietnam by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during their phone call on July 29, saying that this represents valuable support for the country.

The Vietnamese Government has adopted a plan of action with five groups of missions and 41 specific tasks for ministries, sectors, localities and the business community, he said, requiring proactive implementation by all concerned parties.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in normal circumstances the agreement can help Vietnam’s GDP increase by 3.2 percent in the first five years, by 5.3 percent in the next five years, and by up to 7.72 percent in the subsequent five-year period.

With the EU’s commitment to remove nearly 100 percent of import tariffs, the EVFTA is expected to help Vietnam’s export turnover to the bloc rise 42 percent by 2025 and nearly 45 percent by 2030.

The agreement was signed by both sides on June 30, 2019, and officially came into effect on August 1, 2020./.

State Bank of Vietnam cuts some interest rates

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on August 6 announced its decision on cutting some policy rates with immediate effect, the second time this year following the adjustment on March 16.

Accordingly, the interest rate of compulsory reserves in VND at banks will be 0.5 percent per annum, and the interest rate on dong deposits from banks that exceed the minimum 3 percent requirement will be zero percent per annum, down 0.5 percent compared to the rates stipulated in a decision on March 16 this year.

Meanwhile, the interest rate for deposits in VND by the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) and Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), both state-owned banks; People's Credit Funds and microfinance institutions will be reduced by 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent per annum.

The interest rate for deposits of the State Treasury, and the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam with the SBV is revised down to 0.8 percent per annum, down 0.2 percent.

The SBV said the adjustment was made based on macro-economic developments and the level of interest rates in the market./.

CPTPP countries discuss post-pandemic recovery plan

Economic and trade ministers of signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) met online on August 5 to discuss how best to intensify cooperation and prepare a plan of action to boost post-pandemic economic recovery.

The third meeting of the CPTPP Commission was held via video conference under the chair of Mexico’s Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez Colín and reported on issues relating to the implementation of the agreement.

The ministers issued a joint statement supporting trade liberalisation as a driving force for economic growth, especially in face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement also highlights the importance of maintaining a strong, rules-based multilateral trading system so as to ensure sustainable development.

Participants also agreed on the establishment of an office in charge of developing the digital economy, while calling on Brunei, Malaysia, Peru, and Chile to soon ratify the agreement so it may be implemented fully.

The CPTPP comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Together they have a combined economy of 13.5 trillion USD./.

VNN

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 8

01:16

Industrial production declines in HCM City in seven months

The index of industrial production (IIP) in Ho Chi Minh City went down 5.5 percent year-on-year in seven months of this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

In July alone, the index rose by 8.6 percent month-on-month, including manufacturing and processing up 9 percent, electricity production and distribution up 3.9 percent.

However, four key industries saw a 0.9 percent decrease in seven months but moved up more than 4.6 percentage point from the IIP, including electronics up 18.6 percent, and chemicals and pharmaceuticals up 7.3 percent.

According to local enterprises, domestic industrial production is facing pressure caused by imports.

Deputy Director of the department Nguyen Phuong Dong highlighted a need to issue breakthrough solutions and policies to support enterprises as a number of markets have yet to open their doors due to the pandemic.

Dong said local exports via border gates nationwide rose by 5.8 percent to 24.7 billion USD in seven months. However, its shipments to European markets joining the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement only reached over 2.74 billion USD, down 7 percent year-on-year.

China remains the city’s largest importer with a value of over 6 billion USD, up 44.7 percent annually, followed by the US and Japan.

The total retail of goods and services surpassed 718.1 trillion VND, down 3.8 percent annually during the period, including accommodation and dining services down 45.1 percent and travelling down 74.9 percent.

At the same time, inventory in the manufacturing and processing sector also increased by 5.5 percent year-on-year.

In the current context, experts suggested firms grasp of opportunities from domestic and foreign markets by meeting technical requirements such as origin of products and intellectual property protection./.

Deputy PM demands faster SOE equitisation, State capital divestment

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh on August 6 requested the utmost effort from ministries, sectors, and State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to achieve the best result possible in equitising SOEs and divesting State capital from businesses.

At its meeting in Hanoi, the steering committee for enterprise reform and development reported that from 2016 to June 2020, more than 218 trillion VND (9.4 billion USD) was collected from SOE equitisation and State capital divestment, up 2.79-fold against the figure recorded in the 2011-2015 period as a whole, of about 78 trillion VND.

State capital divestment, however, is still behind schedule, it said, pointing out that under the PM-approved plan for 2017-2020, divestment at 348 enterprises is to be completed within the period but has been carried out at just 92, or only 26.4 percent.

Also head of the steering committee, Binh blamed the problem on the slow revision of regulations on equitisation and divestment as well as the lax implementation of the land law and the law on the management and use of public assets, while noting that many enterprises waited until the equitisation process began before beginning to address land-related issues.

Some ministries, sectors, localities, and SOEs haven’t been serious in completing the task, he said, adding that the COVID-19 outbreak has had an adverse impact in every socio-economic regard, including equitisation, divestment, and the stock market, not to mention certain existing barriers to the private sector development.

Noting that the remaining months of this year is also the final period for implementing the equitisation and divestment plan for 2016-2020, Binh asked ministries, sectors, and SOEs to exert every effort to restructure SOEs while accelerating equitisation and divestment to record the best possible results./.

Localities set out COVID-19 preventive plans

An Giang, Quảng Ninh, Quảng Trị and Vĩnh Phúc provinces are urgently stepping up measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as Đà Nẵng City faces an outbreak of the disease.

The People's Committee of An Giang Province in the Mekong Delta sent an urgent dispatch to ask authorities of districts, especially border areas, to strengthen COVID-19 preventive measures on Tuesday afternoon.

Vice-Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Lê Văn Phước said the committee warned district authorities to focus on preventing illegal entry through the border area.

It also requested leaders of departments, agencies and district People’s Committees to strictly direct the implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures.

The provincial People's Committee asked local authorities to work with police and health authorities to classify local citizens returning from Đà Nẵng since July 1, and take appropriate quarantine measures.

The localities need to conduct medical supervision and testing for all F1 cases, said Phước.

The Department of Health and provincial Border Guard Command were asked to prepare human resources and medical equipment to ensure quarantine and treatment.

Provincial police will prosecute all individuals and groups organising illegal entry into Việt Nam.

Quảng Ninh Provincial People's Committee on Tuesday asked the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Steering Committee in co-ordination with the Health Department to finish health declaration forms for all citizens before August 10.

The health department will check and monitor all those with underlying medical conditions and those with COVID-19 symptoms.

Concentrated isolation facilities in the province must be ready to receive F1 cases from community transmission.

Ninh Văn Chủ, Director of Quảng Ninh Centre for Disease Control, said the number of flights bringing people returning from abroad through Vân Đồn airport brings the risk of many patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 entering the area.

Therefore, the province must control trails, cross-border areas and strictly conduct health declaration forms.

Quảng Trị Province has reopened all medical isolation facilities to be ready to receive suspected COVID-19 cases.

These facilities included Quảng Trị General Hospital, Triệu Hải General Hospital, and eight health centres.

Quảng Trị has tested all local citizens returning from coronavirus hotspots via quick testing and the provincial People's Committee has spent VNĐ2.1 billion to buy 15,000 test kits.

Vĩnh Phúc Province, home to numerous industrial zones, has asked enterprises to seriously implement COVID-19 prevention measures.

Enterprises must constantly monitor the number of labourers returning from pandemic-hit areas./.

Leading tour operator reports loss of US$3.4 mln

With COVID-19 precluding travel, Vietravel reported a first-half loss of VND80 billion (US$3.4 million), down from a profit of VND30 billion in the year-ago period.

The giant tour company suffered a loss of over VND38 billion in the second quarter, its third quarterly loss in a row, according to its latest consolidated financial statement. Revenues were down 90% year-on-year to VND206 billion.

First half revenues fell 72% to VND995 billion.

The company blamed the losses on the pandemic's severe impact on the tourism industry, with Vietnam curbing international travel since March and closing all tourist destinations in April 1 to 22 for a social distancing campaign.

With its revenues depending mainly on selling tours, Vietravel is one of the tour companies to be hardest hit.

Vietravel has invested nearly VND27 billion in its Vietravel Airlines. It was originally planned for its first commercial flight to take off in early 2021./.

VNPT to sell stakes in three companies

The Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) will auction a total of 514,000 shares it currently holds in three companies.

The firms are Baclieu Telecommunication Construction & Investment JSC, Dongthap Telecommunication Investment And Construction JSC and Camau Post-telecoms Assemblage And Services JSC.

VNPT plans to sell all 168,000 of its shares in Baclieu Telecommunication Construction & Investment JSC, equivalent to 48 per cent of the company’s charter capital, with an initial price of VND17,493 per share. VNPT expects to collect VND2.9 billion (US$125,100) from the sale.

Baclieu JSC was established in 2004 and operates in the fields of electrical system installation, construction of power grid projects and construction of other works.

It recorded net revenue of nearly VND4.4 billion last year and a post-tax profit of more than VND141 million, respectively up 53 per cent and down 11 per cent compared to 2018.

For the divestment from Dongthap Telecommunication Investment and Construction JSC, VNPT will auction 320,000 shares, equivalent to 32 per cent of Dongthap’s charter capital.

With a starting price of VND87,372 per share, VNPT expects to earn nearly VND28 billion from the sale.

The company was established in late 2004. It operates in the fields of construction of railways and roads, consulting for telecommunication construction projects, industrial works, civil transportation and other constructions.

Dongthap achieved a net revenue of nearly VND65 billion and after-tax profit of VND1.4 billion last year, up 36 per cent and 96 per cent compared to the previous year.

At Camau Post-telecoms Assemblage And Services JSC, VNPT will auction 26,000 shares, equivalent to 43.33 per cent of the company’s charter capital with an initial price of VND506,056 per share. VNPT expects to earn VND13 billion from the sale.

Camau JSC was established in 2006. The company operates in the fields of communication equipment production, inland and waterway passenger transport. The company reported net revenue of VND18.7 billion and a post-tax profit of more than VND814 million last year./.

CVS eKYC start-up receives US$500,000 investment

NextTech Group and Next100.tech fund on Tuesday officially announced their investment of US$500,000 into Computer Vision Vietnam (CVS eKYC) – a start-up providing artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision solutions for financial technology companies (fintech).

The investment aimed to maximise convenience for companies in electronic Know Your Customer, or eKYC, thus promoting digital transformation in the finance and banking sector.

Established only three months ago, CVS eKYC has offered AI to recognise face and characters; detecting invalid papers and faces to provide a complete and fully automated eKYC solution.

CVS solution is based on intelligent image processing technology, providing identification and customer verification solutions for fintech and banks.

CVS eKYC has the ability to extract information from photos to help fintech companies automatically process customer records more quickly and systematically. In addition, the project also includes many solutions related to images such as searching a database of millions of related images of customers for businesses, face attendance, licence plate recognition and analysing facial features.

With this technology, CVS' partners could fully control customer identification through photos or videos of selfies, collating with ID documents as a basis for making decisions on opening trading accounts for customers.

Computer vision has been applied widely around the world in recent years. However, the market is quite new in Viet Nam.

Nguyen Van Viet, CEO and Co-Founder of Computer Vision Vietnam, said: “Customers choose CVS because we always try to understand their problems and solve them in the best way. CVS actually solves customers' core business.”

After only three months of establishment, CVS has many customers such as Fiin (Fintech), Mofin (Fintech), BPech (software solution), Cozrum (hotel management).

With the investment, CVS would continue to invest to upgrading their current products and develop new services for fintech and digital transformation. In addition, it would co-operate with members of NextTech’s ecosystem to promote access to customers in fintech, banking, insurance, security, network providers, data digitalisation and automated check-in industries.

CVS is implementing its expansion to the southern region and Southeast Asian countries.

It targeted to become one of the leading companies in the sectors of eKYC, fintech, digital transformation using AI and Big Data in Viet Nam and Southeast Asia.

Shark Nguyen Hoa Binh, CEO of NextTech Group, said eKYC is a necessary foundation for digitalising transactions in the finance and banking sector.

He said eKYC could bring huge benefits to finance and banking institutions by maximising human resources, reducing risks and costs for customers.

“With the investment from Next100 and support from NextTech Group’s ecosystem, we expect that CVS would bring a modern technology solution for fintech and banks in improving service quality as well as convenience for Vietnamese people,” he added./.

PetroVietnam subsidiaries ink deal on projects

Three subsidiaries of the State-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) signed a business cooperation contract (BCC) on August 3 to carry out a chain of gas, power, and service port projects.

The three are the PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), the PetroVietnam Power Joint Stock Corporation (PV Power), and the PetroVietnam Technical Service Joint Stock Corporation (PTSC).

PTSC General Director Le Manh Cuong said the contract is to implement a chain of gas, power, and service port projects on the basis of business performance-based risk and profit sharing along with the optimisation of financial resources, personnel, and technical infrastructure.

In the first phase, the three companies will invest in new infrastructure to supply re-gasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Nhon Trach 1 and Nhon Trach 1A power plants.

They will continue to consider investment in the Nhon Trach 5 power project in the second phase, with an expected capital contribution of 51 percent by PV Gas, 34 percent by PTSC, and 15 percent by PV Power.

General Director of PetroVietnam Le Manh Hung said the BCC will help consolidate the group’s business model and fully capitalise on every resource of its subsidiaries, thereby improving its competitiveness and prestige.

Following that, PV Gas and the PetroVietnam Chemical and Services Joint Stock Corporation (PV Chem) also inked a cooperation contract.

Under this deal, PV Gas will support PV Chem’s provision of products and technical and industrial services of the latter’s strength for the former’s production and business activities and projects.

PV Gas agreed in principle to supply cold energy from its LNG warehouse projects to industrial gas plants of PV Chem and its partners. The two will also look into plans to use cold energy from PV Gas’s LNG warehouses to enhance the economic benefits of LNG projects and environmental protection efforts.

The signing of the contracts is a step towards implementing PetroVietnam’s package of measures in response to the recent “twin crises” of COVID-19 and tumbling oil prices./.

Plan issued for implementing Vietnam – Cuba trade agreement

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a plan for implementing a trade agreement between Vietnam and Cuba.

The plan outlines the tasks for ministries, ministerial-agencies, State agencies and localities, one of which is to promote the dissemination of information related to the agreement through the media, websites, training courses, and seminars.

Information and forecasts related to import, export, trade and investment should be updated to Vietnamese enterprises, helping them understand more about Cuba’s technical requirements, rules on management of goods import and export, as well the market’s demand.

Regarding policy and institutions building work, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must consult related parties in the process.

Ministries and sectors were asked to continue coordination with the Cuban side to develop and complete necessary institutions for the implementation of the agreement.

Attention should be paid to building market development programmes for Vietnam’s potential export items and training enterprises in specific commitments related to the agreement.

The Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement was signed on November 9, 2018 after two years of negotiation. The Agreement replaces the earlier deal between the two governments on trade exchange and other economic cooperation forms signed on April 8, 1996.

It features 14 chapters, covering the trade of goods, rules of origin, customs administration and trade facilitation, trade remedies, technical standards and regulations and conformity assessment procedures (STRACAP), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, trade of services, economic and trade cooperation, review and management, and dispute resolution.

In addition, the agreement, which officially took effect on April 1 this year, also contains annexes, mainly related to commitments on market opening.

Under the pact, the two sides have pledged to eliminate or reduce tariffs on nearly all commodities currently traded between them over the next five years.

The Vietnamese Government recently issued Decree No.39/2020/ND-CP on a list of Vietnam’s special preferential import tariffs to implement the trade agreement with Cuba from now until 2023.

Accordingly, import tariffs on 514 items from Cuba, including some types of shrimp, fish, honey and fruit, cement, chromium ore, disinfectants, protective suits and wireless internet devices have been slashed to zero percent.

For the 49 remaining tariff lines, tax rates will be cut gradually. Commodities such as sugar and unprocessed tobacco will have their tariff rates reduced to 15 percent in four years, cigarettes and cigars to 70 percent, and liquor and alcohol to 20 percent./.

Kien Giang sees surge in tourist arrivals in July

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang welcomed nearly 1 million visitors in July, a surge of 75.3 percent compared to the previous month.

Amidst the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Tourism requested accommodation facilities in the province to strictly apply preventive measures against the pandemic following guidelines of the Health Ministry, especially those in health declarations.

Local travel firms have been asked to cancel all tours to pandemic-hit localities, while entertainment centres and tourist destinations have been equipped with hand sanitizer.

In the coming time, the province will continue to launch tourism promotion programmes in parallel with the implementation of preventive measures, thus ensuring safety for tourists./.

Thua Thien-Hue adopts strict measures to keep tourists safe amid COVID-19

Adjacent to Da Nang, which has become a COVID-19 hotspot, Thua Thien-Hue province has been implementing strict measures to protect visitors against the disease.

Since the new outbreak was first reported in neighbouring Da Nang city, all accommodation facilities in Thua Thien-Hue have prepared hand sanitiser and face masks for visitors, asked them to complete health declarations, and arranged for them to have their temperature taken every day. Some hotels have even gone the extra mile by setting up a quarantine zone for suspected cases.

All entertainment services are now suspended in the province, and wearing face masks is compulsory for tourists./.

IFC helps Vietnamese bank aid SMEs amid COVID-19

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank Group – will provide another 40 million USD for the Orient Commercial Bank (OCB) to help with the support of COVID-hit clients, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The one-year renewable senior loan will offer OCB additional liquidity to continue lending to businesses as it is offering payment relief to its borrowers at the same time.

OCB will prioritise clients working in sectors facing direct impact of COVID-19 like tourism and production as well as those related to disease response activities.

“Our experience from past shocks, including the global financial crisis 2008, has taught us that micro, small and medium enterprises are especially impacted by the current crisis. Keeping them solvent is therefore key to saving jobs and limiting the economic damage,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

He noted the IFC’s support to OCB will not only help the bank extend payment relief to clients but also enable it to offer new loans to SMEs, supporting continued operations and preserving jobs, thereby accelerating Vietnam’s economic recovery.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of OCB, said the bank is reviewing and adjusting its credit programmes to make them more suitable for the current situation while continuing the implementation of preferential policies for firms to access capital and restore operation, thus helping with the recovery of the national economy./.

ADB provides 1.5 billion USD loan to help Thailand fight COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on August 4 that it will provide a loan worth 1.5 billion USD to support Thailand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said that the loan will help reduce the pandemic’s social and economic impacts on the Southeast Asian country.

“Our budget support will help fund the government’s relief packages, which aim to better prepare the country’s health care system for possible future waves of COVID-19; protect the vulnerable; support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in industries most affected by the outbreak such as tourism and manufacturing; and provide overall economic stimulus,” he said in a statement.

Thailand has one of the more developed health care systems in Southeast Asia, but the country remains highly vulnerable to the pandemic due to its deep integration with regional and global economies.

ADB forecast Thailand’s economy to contract by 6.5 percent in 2020, in contrast with its December 2019 projection of a 3 percent growth.

The ADB said the loan to Thailand is funded through its COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) under its Countercyclical Support Facility.

CPRO was established as part of the bank's 20 billion USD expanded assistance for developing members to respond to COVID-19, announced on April 13./.

Philippine economy may shrink 8 percent in Q2: Moody’s Analytics

The Philippine economy may contract by 8 percent in the second quarter of 2020 due to containment measures against COVID-19, according to Moody’s Analytics.

That will follow the GDP decline of 0.2 percent in Q1, ending 84 straight quarters of positive growth since Q4 of 1998.

Steven Cochrane, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Moody’s Analytics, said the country’s GDP is seen sinking by 4.5 percent in 2020.

Meanwhile, economic managers, through the Development Budget Coordination Committee, forecast the GDP of this archipelago nation may contract between 2 and 3.4 percent this year.

The last time the country’s economy contracted was in 1998 with 0.5 percent due to the Asian financial crisis.

Cochrane warned that if the lockdowns continue well into Q3 of 2020, the risks to the outlook for both 2020 and 2021 are clearly to the downside./.

Ca Mau’s socio-economic activities recovering

The socio-economic situation in the southernmost province of Ca Mau is recovering, with many major targets reached, according to the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tien Hai.

Over the past seven months, the province’s aquatic product output reached 343,500 tonnes, up 2.7 percent year-on-year, including 115,000 tonnes of shrimp, up 5 percent. In July alone, shrimp output was 50,500 tonnes, 1 percent higher than in June.

The industrial production index rose 1.6 percent, while total retail sales and service revenue inched up 1.1 percent to over 4.8 trillion VND (208 million USD), and export value increased 1.9 percent month-on-month to 85 million USD in July.

State budget collections also rose 14 percent year-on-year, Hai added.

Limitations remain, however, such as falling output at the Ca Mau Gas-Power-Fertilizer Complex and a year-on-year decline of 10 percent in export turnover, along with slow public investment disbursement, especially official development assistance (ODA) and capital for the national target programme, and a rise in traffic accidents.

To fulfil the targets set for this year, the People’s Committee has called for greater effort from departments, agencies and localities, especially in public investment disbursement, focusing on infrastructure facilities in service of natural disaster response, major projects, and those using ODA and foreign preferential loans.

During the closing months of this year, Ca Mau will continue with agricultural restructuring in tandem with the national target programme on new-style rural area building.

It will duplicate production models adaptive to climate change and using high-technologies, while paying attention to intensive industrial production in order to turn out competitive products.

The People’s Committee will also seriously observe instructions on COVID-19 prevention and control, Hai said./.

Remittances to Cambodia to plunge by millions of US dollars this year: ABD

Cambodia could lose more than 15 percent of its international remittances this year under the worst-case scenario because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Based on the country’s total remittances of 2.8 billion USD in 2019, more than 420 million USD will not be sent home in 2020 – mostly from Thailand – because hundreds of thousands of workers have returned home.

In its report on “COVID-19 Impact on International Migration, Remittance, and Recipient Households in Developing Asia”, the ADB said that the economic recession caused by COVID-19 threatens the job security and wellbeing of more than 91 million international migrants from Asia and the Pacific.

Total remittances to Asia are expected to drop between 31.4 billion USD (baseline scenario) and 54.3 billion USD (worst-case scenario) this year, equivalent to 11.5 percent and 19.8 percent of money sent home, respectively, according to the report.

Among developing Southeast Asian economies, the Philippines is the most affected, with remittances falling more than 20 percent and others such as Cambodia in excess of 15 percent, the report said.

Cambodian migrant workers from the Republic of Korea and Japan sent home 12.91 million USD via ACLEDA Bank Plc in the first haft of this year, a decline of 1.41million USD from the same period last year, according to figures from the financial institution.

Last year, 1.2 million Cambodian workers, employed in Thailand, the RoK, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, sent home some 2.8 billion USD in remittances, an increase from 1.4 billion USD in 2018, according to figures from the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training./.

Footwear exports likely to bounce back at year’s end

Footwear exports were estimated to hit 9.53 billion USD in the first seven months of 2020, a year-on-year decline of 7.9 percent, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The sector is among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with garment-textile and manufacturing.

Europe is the leading export market of Vietnam’s leather and footwear, yielding nearly 6 billion USD annually and holding a lion’s share of nearly 30 percent.

As the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect on August 1, footwear exports are expected to re-bounce in the remaining quarters, offsetting losses in the beginning of the year./.

Cassava exports increase over seven-month period

Vietnam exported 1.6 million tonnes of cassava and cassava-based products with a value of US$542 million during the opening seven months of the year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The latest statistics represent an annual increase of 15.2% in volume and 3% in value. China remains the main export market for Vietnamese cassava and cassava-based products.

Most notably, cassava chip exports enjoyed a sharp rise due to the increasing demand from the northern neighbor. The average export price of cassava chips increased 7% to US$227.3 per tonne compared to US$211.5 per tonne recorded in July 2019.

However, the average export price of cassava and cassava-based products throughout the reviewed period fell 11% to at an estimated US$345 per tonne .

Exports of cassava starch also suffered a decrease with the average export price reaching US$396 per tonne, representing a fall of 7% on-year.

The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority anticipated that the export price of cassava chips will continue to rise in the near future due to supply shortages and rising demand from China./.

Local businesses told to upgrade upon entering EU market

With the EU representing a meticulous market, there is no room for impatient businesses that show a lack of creativity or have poor-quality goods, meaning that local firms must be proactively innovative with their product quality and strive to meet high standards set on goods and services.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the remarks at a teleconference on August 6 to discuss the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA),

During his address, the Government chief described the recent trade deal as a new generation agreement which sets comprehensive high standards, whilst also boasting a large openness that balances the interests of both sides.

Most notably for the country, a study by the Ministry of Planning and Investment indicates that under normal circumstances, the EVFTA has the potential to contribute to an average GDP increase of up to 3.2% over the first five years of its implementation. Indeed, this average GDP increase will rise to 5.3% over the subsequent five years and up to 7.72% ahead in the following five years.

With a strong commitment to open markets and eliminating almost all import taxes on EU tariffs, the EVFTA is expected to provide a widow of opportunity for local enterprises to increase export turnover to the EU by 42% in 2025 and to nearly 45% in 2030 in comparison to the scenario without the agreement in place. In addition, the agreement will serve to increase the nation’s potential to attract greater FDI investment.

Furthermore, the Agreement also serves to create approximately 150,000 jobs annually whilst helping between 800,000 and 1 million people escape from poverty by 2030, according to a report compiled by the World Bank.

PM Phuc said the EVFTA offers plenty of opportunities for the country to innovate its growth model, motivate domestic businesses to strive for improvements, whilst also accepting stricter new rules in order to progress with higher values in the EU, along with global supply and distribution chains.

The implementation of the trade deal is also important for the nation in the context of several major EU groups shifting their investment to the country by diversifying their production supply chains, the PM said.

Amid global economic growth being affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic and the EU suffering an economic slowdown, PM Phuc believes the EVFTA promises to bring optimistic forecasts regarding export growth in the near future.

With the trade deal entering into effect, several Vietnamese products must now compete with EU products in the domestic market due to the removal of protection barriers.

As a result of this increased level of competition, the Government and local businesses must take steps to effectively manage the market whilst creating a healthy business environment in order to be able to meet the requirements set by the EU market.

PM Phuc added that EU and Vietnamese goods can be considered to be supplementary for each other due to their differences in geography and development level./.

Rice exports to EU remain modest due to limited quota

Vietnam witnessed modest earnings from rice exports to the EU market as a result of high import duties and restrictions caused by limited rice quotas provided by the EU, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the MoIT’s Import and Export Department, said the country’s rice export volume to the EU last year remained at a low level, reaching approximately 20,000 tonnes worth US$10.7 million.

Meanwhile, the EU’s average rice consumption hovered at roughly 2.5 million tonnes per year in the 2016 to 2020 period.

This situation can be attributed to the fact that the nation has only been granted limited rice quotas by the EU, therefore making it difficult to compete with other countries such as Thailand, the United States, and Australia, all of which have received higher tariff quotas.

Furthermore, underdeveloped regional countries including Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar are exempt from import duties and enjoy quota-free access for all of their export goods to the EU market.

In line with the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which came into force on August 1, the EU has pledged to provide an annual rice quota of 80,000 tonnes to the nation, including tariffs on rice products being slashed to 0% over the next three to five years.

Despite these pledges, the EU is expected to allocate a significant rice quota to European enterprises, therefore Vietnamese rice exporters have been advised to contact these firms in order to do business with them.

With regard to jasmine rice, the EVFTA requires additional documents from Vietnamese authorities who must finalise all legal documents as a means of meeting the requirements set by the EU market in the near future./.

SCG latest operating results highlight agility and strategies to overcome COVID-19

SCG, a leading conglomerate in the ASEAN region, has amped up business strategies to triumph in the dragged out COVID-19 battle with agility and solid business continuity management.

The group will continue to focus on maintaining long-term business stability with developments of total solutions and innovations to fulfill needs in the new normal, leveraging digital channels to push online purchases to shine in the ASEAN market.

SCG’s profit in the second quarter of 2020 reached VND6.860 trillion ($297.83 million), up 33 per cent on-year, due to the improved performance at all three of SCG’s key business units – cement-building materials, chemicals, and packaging – driven by cost optimisation efforts and business continuity. Additionally, it reported an increase of 35 per cent on-quarter mainly attributed to improved chemicals business performance.

The group’s sales revenue for the first half of 2020, however, dropped 9 per cent on-year to VND148.6 trillion ($6.46 billion), due to lower chemicals prices. Profit for the period declined by 13 per cent on-year to VND12.052 trillion ($524 Million), which is mainly attributed to decreased chemicals margins during the first quarter.

SCG’s revenue from sales of high-value-added products and services (HVA) for the first half of 2020 reached VND67.062 trillion ($2.9 billion) or 45 per cent of its total sales revenue.

As of June 30, 2020, the total assets of SCG amounted to VND530.5 trillion ($23 billion), while the total assets of SCG in the ASEAN (ex-Thailand) amounted to VND192 trillion ($ 8.35 billion), which is 36 per cent of SCG’s total consolidated assets.

Based on its recently-released second-quarter report, SCG in Vietnam owned VND88.8 trillion ($3.86 billion) worth of total asset, an increase of 59 per cent on-year mainly from its chemicals business.

During the period, the group reported sales revenue of VND6.976 trillion ($303.3 million) which includes sales from both operation in the country and imports from the Thai operations. This represents a decrease of 6 per cent on-year. For the first half of this year, SCG’s Vietnamese market reported revenue from sales of VND13.086 trillion ($568.96 million), down 5 per cent on-year mainly from all businesses.

Regarding to the current COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, SCG have been continuing on implementing full-blown business continuity management. To keep employees and their family safe from COVID-19, SCG has applied a new way of work called “Hybrid Workplace” that allows much greater flexibility for employees.

They can work on site, work from home, or work from anywhere the company considers safe and apply physical distancing guidelines. Furthermore, SCG and its subsidiaries realise that the health and safety of stakeholders are the most important aspect of having a good quality of life in times of COVID-19 pandemic, and so they continuously support communities across the nation by donating 400 tonnes of cement to build 45 playgrounds in the central province of Quang Binh and provided mobile clinics for health checks and safe transportation education programmes for communities in Long Son commune and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in southern Vietnam.

Notably, SCG’s subsidiary Binh Minh Plastic was ranked amongst the Top 50 Best-Performing Companies on the Vietnamese stock exchange in 2019 by by Nhip Cau Dau Tu Magazine for in financial results for three fiscal years in a row, based on three indicators: revenue, return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS).

Roongrote Rangsiyopash, president and CEO of SCG, said, "Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while SCG isn’t in industries severely affected like tourism or airlines, the group has constantly monitored and assessed the situations to stay atop in an environment of high uncertainties.”

SCG has put in place more-focused business strategies ranging from Prepare for the Worst by setting up sales plans and transport arrangements for possible lockdown and Plan for the Best by optimising production capacity to meet the growing demand to Digital Transformation to implement the group's Optimisation Model.

Furthermore, the group has taken a dynamic approach by offering solutions, products, and services that better fulfill the needs and capture the untapped market in the wake of growing trends of e-commerce, on-demand food delivery service, and health and wellness. As a result, the operating results for the second quarter and the first half of this year were relatively less affected by the global economic slowdown.

The Packaging Business remains strong with upside potential due to the merger and partnership with Fajar Surya Wisesa Tbk, a leading Indonesian packaging paper company, Visy Packaging (Thailand) Ltd., and the planned acquisition of Bien Hoa Packaging JSC or SOVI in Vietnam. The moves have contributed to a strengthening of the company's portfolio in the ASEAN market as well as better satisfying customer needs.

For business continuity management, Packaging Business focuses on optimising manufacturing process in Thailand and ASEAN countries, namely, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia to streamline processes as well as introduce new standards in countries where the company operates to ensure the safety of staff, customers, and partners.

Packaging business also works closely with clients throughout the supply chain to ensure reliable raw material sourcing and logistics management as well as enforce strict hygiene practices in delivering packaging solutions.

The Chemicals Business has executed its business continuity management to ensure maximum production capacity and seize business opportunities in a challenging market environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group has made efforts to ensure the safety of staffs such as providing accommodation, facilitating transportation, arranging working groups and area divisions at the plant, and maintaining high standards in quality control and cleanliness. Meanwhile, with production flexibility, the business could cater to rapid change in demand and secured increased sales volume amid market volatility.

SCG will continue to expand the proportion of high value added products and services to improve competitiveness, ride a market upturn, and meet customers’ needs.

Furthermore, Long Son Petrochemicals (LSP) in Vietnam has progressed as planned. The project remains under construction and has reached 45 per cent completion.

The Cement-Building Materials Business has also faced challenging market conditions. The business has taken adaptive approach by focusing on offering product and services with total solutions and developing Active Omni-Channel to increase retail sales and construction innovation that help improve the convenience, precision and efficiency of construction.

SCG began its business operations in Vietnam since 1992 with trading business and gradually expanded investment in diversifying business in the cement-building materials, chemicals, and packaging sectors./.

Pork imports double on-year in first seven months

In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam imported 93,248 tonnes of pork, doubling the figure from the same period last year, with Canada, Germany, Brazil, and the US accounting for almost the entire volume.

According to statistics published by the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in the past seven months, 130 Vietnamese businesses imported 93,248 tonnes of pork, up 223 per cent on-year.

Regarding breeding pigs, 27 enterprises registered to quarantine 292,590 imported pigs, 15 of which have so far brought in 16,537 animals almost entirely from the US, Canada, Thailand, and Taiwan.

As of now, Vietnam allowed more than 800 enterprises from 19 countries to import into Vietnam pork and goods processed from pork. Between June 12 and August 1, 36 traders registered to quarantine 4.7 million pigs imported from Thailand. However, only 75,334 pigs were brought to Vietnam by 15 enterprises to be processed into food.

In the morning of August 4, the selling price of pigs was VND87-90,000 ($3.80-3.90) per kilogramme.

The African swine fever (ASF), which decimated the pig population across the region in 2019, returned to 235 districts of 44 cities and provinces, forcing farmers and authorities to destroy 39,000 pigs (2,000 tonnes) by the end of July.

Phung Duc Tien, deputy minister of the MARD, ensuring biological safety is the most important task for the pig breeding sector in the context of the ASF breakout as there is no vaccine or effective medication available yet./.

Sabeco sees recovery in second quarter after dual pressures

Vietnamese brewer Sabeco began to regain some of its lost momentum in the second quarter, after being set behind by COVID-19 and tough local drink-driving laws earlier this year. However, future pandemic uncertainties could slow down recovery in the whole sector.

Vietnam Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) has just announced its business results for the second quarter, with both revenue and profit much higher than the first quarter's VND5 trillion ($217.39 million) of revenue and VND 700 billion ($30.43 million) of profit. This shows that the effects of Decree No.100/2019/ND-CP on sanctions for drink-driving and the COVID-19 epidemic are softening.

In the second quarter of this year, net revenue went up 45 per cent on-quarter while earnings rose by 66 per cent, supported by improving sales in May and June following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Neo Gim Siong Bennett, general director of Sabeco said the company's performance has improved as the market gradually recovers from the pandemic.

However, throughout the first six months, Sabeco's revenue and profit dropped on-year, reaching VND12.044 trillion ($523.65 million) and VND1.933 trillion ($84 million), respectively. Sabeco adjusted its business plan to better align with market conditions. Accordingly, the company has fulfilled 51 per cent of its revenue plan and 59 per cent of the profit plan for the year.

In a recent e-mail interview with VIR, Sabeco said, “While it is difficult to provide forecasts due to uncertainty, particularly with regards to COVID-19, we have been seeing some positive signs of recovery as of late. This is in large part attributable to the Vietnamese government’s swift and effective actions to prevent and contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, this has helped put the country’s economy in a great position to recover faster, and we believe that this bodes well also for our industry and our company."

Sabeco added that the pandemic has altered consumption habits. "For instance," they wrote, "we see off-premise as potentially becoming the new norm after COVID-19. The pandemic has also accelerated people’s move towards online shopping and home delivery. We at Sabeco are working to adapt to these developments, including planning how to structure our processes, employees, logistics and supply chain."

For instance, the corporation plans to continue focusing on developing the "home delivery" channels it set up when Vietnam introduced strict social distancing initiatives.

Meanwhile, regarding Decree 100, Sabeco said, "We at Sabeco fully understand the good intentions of the government’s policy in line with the campaign to reduce drink-related accidents. Sabeco, along with other members of the Vietnam Beverage Association (VBA), is continuing to engage relevant authorities to identify effective ways to promote and encourage responsible consumption, in line with the government’s objective."

Given these challenges, the company feels it is especially important for it to double-down on meeting the needs of consumers and adapting to new market demands.

Bao Viet Securities (BVSC) predicted that 2020 would be a challenging year for beer and beverage firms who are experiencing two main sources of headwinds in the new decree and the coronavirus outbreak which are expected to continue slowing down beer and alcohol consumption in Vietnam in the foreseeable future./.

MPI proposes four groups of solutions for EVFTA implementation

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung submitted an action plan of four groups of solutions to ensure the smooth implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) at a video conference in Hanoi on August 6.

The Minister of Planning and Investment outlining the solutions to implement the EVFTA
The Minister of Planning and Investment laid out the action plan at a video conference on August 6 to ensure the smooth implementation of the EVFTA and that both sides can maximise benefits from the agreement.

The minister outlined four groups of solutions. Notably, the first solution group would increase the organisation of investment promotion programmes and conferences to disseminate Vietnam’s commitment to local authorities and the business community.

The investment promotion programmes would aim to increase the awarness of foreign investors, particularly EU enterprises about Vietnam’s commitments to open its market and liberalise investment.

These investment promotion events will be based on Resolution No.50-NQ/TW on orientations to perfect institutions and policies and to improve the quality and effectiveness of foreign investment cooperation until 2030. Accordingly, Vietnam will focus on attracting investment in sectors where EU investors have an advantage or a particular strength, including manufacturing and processing, renewable energy, or sectors which can connect Vietnam’s supporting industries with global supply chains.

The second group of solutions revolves around completing policies and regulations to improve the investment and trading environment as well as to ensure that Vietnam’s commitments are met.

“In to order to implement the EVFTA, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has cooperated with the Ministry of Justice of Vietnam and relevant authorities to check related regulations and propose adding new regulations where it was necessary. The result shows that almost all EVFTA commitments relating to state management suit existing regulations,” Dung said.

“In order to maximally take advantages of the EVFTA and the EVIPA, the ministry will continue completing the regulatory system. One of our major missions is to build a decree guiding the implementation of the laws on Investment, Enterprises and PPP Investment so that all three can come into effect on time from January 1, 2021,” Dung said.

The third group of solutions is to rapidly implement plans to improve the competitive capacity of the economy. The MPI submitted the prime minister the national programme about supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, and innovations to join global value chains in the 2021-2025 period for approval. In addition, the ministry will accelerate taking the National Innovation Centre into operation to support these SMEs. Furthermore, the MPI is also building a policy to encourage and support enterprises to embrace digital transformation.

Building and completing policies to control and prevent disputes between the state and investors is the last solution. Notably, it is necessary to accompany investors after they implement their projects to deal with arising difficulties and problems to avoid disputes./.

Vietnam, Japan foster cooperation in industry, trade, energy

The 4th meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Committee on Cooperation in Industry, Trade and Energy was held in Hanoi on August 7 in the form of video conferencing.

The meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kajiyama Hiroshi.

The ministers rejoiced at cooperation outcomes between the two sides since the 3rd meeting, especially collaboration within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as well as cooperation in energy, automobile and chemical industries and industrial workforce training.

They reiterated the significance of the joint committee in removing difficulties for businesses and promoting cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They shared the view that Vietnam-Japan cooperation in trade, industry and energy should go with targets set in the ASEAN-Japan Economic Ministers’ Joint Statement on Initiatives on Economic Resilience in Response to the Coronavirus Disease, and the ASEAN-Japan Economic Resilience Action Plan.

Hiroshi lauded the leadership of Vietnam as ASEAN Chair 2020, and committed to further coordination with the country.

The two ministers highlighted diversity, transparency, and sustainability in building a firm supply chain in the industrial sector.

Anh said the Vietnamese Government pledges to perfect the investment environment in the time ahead to facilitate the operation of foreign investors in general and those from Japan in particular.

He appreciated Japan’s technical assistance in personnel development in the industrial sector over the past years.

The minister expressed his delight at projects in Vietnam included in Japan’s initiative on personnel development in the sphere of auto control software in ASEAN, to be rolled out for the first time this year.

He suggested applying Japan’s KOSEN model in personnel development in training facilities of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade in order to improve capacity and create more added values for a number of key industries in Vietnam like chemicals, garment-textile, auto and supporting industries.

Both ministers pledged to make efforts for a free, fair, transparent, stable and foreseeable trade and investment environment in Asia-Pacific.

They reiterated commitments to promoting economic integration in Asia-Pacific, and agreed to support each other and closely coordinate at multilateral economic and trade cooperation frameworks of which the two countries are members.

They also discussed other issues like digital transformation, the fourth Industrial Revolution and the free flow of data with trust.

In the field of energy, they said the Nghi Son oil refinery is significant to both sides, and suggested the Vietnamese and Japanese governments facilitate the implementation of the project.

It is necessary to diversify energy resources, step up oil and gas cooperation and promote energy-related policies to meet the increasing demand for energy, they said.

The two countries will also foster collaboration in addressing global challenges like climate change, while mobilising financial resources, including private investment, for energy infrastructure projects and projects on free and competitive energy market development in Indo-Pacific through multilateral frameworks./.

VNN

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 9

01:06

Provisions now in place via EVFTA for Vietnamese labour advances

Although the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement may greatly benefit businesses from both sides, they must first abide by labour and social standards set out in the deal to reap the various advantages.

The new agreement (EVFTA) includes commitments to implement the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) core standards as well as the UN conventions relating to, for example, the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, deputy chairwoman and general secretary of the Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association said, “This is an important agreement to Vietnam’s export industry. For the leather and footwear industry, it is necessary to focus on labour and environmental criteria, such as improving capacities to meet and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the EVFTA.”

Xuan also warned that businesses could lose orders from the EU if they do not ensure their labourers’ rights.

“Sustainable development and the circular economy are now a trend. Many importers require each pair of exported shoes to be accompanied by a certificate, which must clearly state how the shoes can be recycled after use,” Xuan said. “Importers also require businesses to demonstrate their environmental, employment, and labour regimes, as well as how they handle carbon emissions. If businesses do not meet these requirements, they will not be able to participate in the global value chain.”

In the EVFTA, provisions related to social and environmental development can be found in Chapter 13, on trade and sustainable development. The provision on multilateral labour standards and agreements is of particular interest as it stresses the commitment of both parties to the fundamental rights at work, in accordance with obligations stemming from their participation in the ILO.

Four rights are pinpointed – the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; the effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination with respect to employment and occupation.

In addition, Chapter 13 also provides for the obligation of both parties to make sustained efforts towards ratifying the fundamental ILO conventions, which cover the four aforementioned rights as well. This issue is to be monitored closely considering that only some of them are currently in force in Vietnam, according to the European Papers Jean Monnet Network.

However, the country has already made progress on some of these commitments as Vietnam ratified the ILO Convention 98 on collective bargaining and adopted the revised Labour Code in November 2019. The nation also confirmed a timeline for the ratification of the remaining two fundamental ILO conventions on freedom of association and on forced labour./.

Hoa Sen move hinders Ca Na progress

Hoa Sen Group is looking to transfer its involvement in the $10 billion Ca Na steel complex project in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, posing new questions as to who could take over the troublesome venture.

The group wants to sell two of the six companies involved with the steel complex venture, citing a now-incompatible plan and new wishes to focus on other fields such as plastic and corrugated iron. The remaining businesses would be dissolved.

In 2016, the group established the subsidiaries with the total investment capital of VND250 billion ($11.23 million) to support implementation of the Ca Na project. At that time, thanks to a favourable steel sheet market and production capacity, Hoa Sen recorded revenues of VND18 trillion ($782.6 million), while profits eventually tripled to reach VND1.5 trillion ($65.2 million), making it the number one group in galvanised steel market share.

The company’s shares also doubled, leading to chairman Le Phuoc Vu entering the list of top 15 richest people in Vietnam. With great successes, Hoa Sen considered expanding production to continue its ambition to dominate the Vietnamese steel sheet market and compete with rival Hoa Phat Group.

The complex was planned to help Hoa Sen overtake Hoa Phat as the largest Vietnamese steel producer, following only Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co., Ltd., which has an annual capacity of 7.5 million of tonnes in its first phase.

The Ca Na complex is set to be carried out towards 2031 in multiple stages and will have final capacity of 16 million tonnes a year, including long steel and flat steel.

The project was initially licensed in 2008 with investment of Malaysia’s Lion Group and Vietnam’s notorious Vinashin which is now Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, with the scheme becoming the biggest foreign-invested project ever licensed in the country at the time. The project started construction that year – however, due to financial difficulties the progress was slow and Lion Group withdrew, leading to long delays.

Consequently, in 2011 Ninh Thuan authorities revoked the project’s investment certificate before Hoa Sen took over.

According to mergers and acquisitions analysts, even before the current pandemic situation, along with the long and complicated trade war between major economies, Vietnam’s steel market was becoming heavily affected, causing damage to export and import activities. The domestic demand decreased in the context of real estate projects having difficulty.

“In the context of the real estate segment gradually peaking due to oversupply, along with credit tightening policies and the continuing pandemic, investing in a steel project will not be feasible,” one industry insider remarked, adding that it was also not easy to find international investors to acquire projects in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Ca Na initiative itself has previously faced mixed opinions concerning environmental issues due to heightened possibility of a disaster similar to the one caused by Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh some years ago. Thus there have been calls for clarification on planning issues, environmental plans, monitoring responsibilities, and other areas of transparency.

In 2017, the prime minister requested the suspension of the Ca Na project in order to “clarify some issues related to the environment and technology.” He said that there would not be a trade-off between the project and the environment.

Shareholders are expecting that the upcoming extraordinary general meeting this month will answer questions on who could take over the project and the additional plans for Hoa Sen in the coming time./.

Philippines-based Ayala Corporation boosts investment in local energy market

The Philippines-based Ayala Corporation has set eyes on the Vietnamese energy market after its plans in Australia have been thwarted when Infigen Energy refused its take-over offer.

The central province of Quang Binh's People’s Committee has lately informed that the VND8.9 trillion ($387 million) B&T wind energy complex now officially belongs to AMI AC Renewables – a joint venture between Philippines-based AC Energy and local AC Renewables, the former being a member of the Philippines-based multisector company Ayala Corporation.

The energy complex will be built on a 2,244-hectare land, including 156ha of indigo tree forests in the two districts of Quang Ninh and Le Thuy. The project will consist of two parts, the 100.8MW B&T 1 which is estimated to put into operation in December 2020 and the 151.2MW B&T 2 which will be launched in next June.

Aiming to assure the project timeline, the provincial People’s Committee on March 11 issued Document No.346/UBND-KT on accelerating the implementation of the B&T project to finish before October 2020.

The act took place as Ayala failed to obtain Australian company Infigen Energy in the middle of July. Newswire Reuters stated that the Filipino conglomerate gave up on acquiring Infigen after a month-long bidding war. The withdrawal came right after its rival Spanish power generation company Iberdrola announced that its offer for Infigen was now unconditional. Infigen has asked its shareholders to reject the Ayala bid.

In late June, Ayala offered a whopping $542 million for the deal, showing its ambitions in Australia. Previously, the company stated that the investment in Infigen was a part of its blueprint in the Asia-Pacific, focusing on the four markets of the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, and India.

Thus, the reason behind Ayala's boosting of investment in Vietnamese energy projects is likely the setback it experienced in Australia with Infigen.

AC Energy is a member of Ayala Corp. According to its website, as of 2018, AC Energy held investments in plenty of wind and solar energy projects in Vietnam, with the capacity of 500MW. AC Energy and other members of Ayala Corporation now hold stakes in several local firms, including CII, SII, BOO Thu Duc Water, and BIM Energy.

B&T Wind Energy JSC was established in August 2017 with the charter capital of VND10 billion ($434,780) and three main shareholders, including Bolat Duisenov (51 per cent), Nguyen Nam Thang (44 per cent), and general director Duong Dinh Tich (5 per cent).

As of the end of 2017, Bolat Duisenov withdrew his entire capital from B&T. At the same time, Thang and Tich also reduced their ownership rates to 0.01 per cent each.

Moreover, the legal representative of the company is currently Roman Miguel De Jesus, head of Commercial Operations at AC Energy, showing the Filipino investor's long-time ambition at B&T./.

Support a prerequisite for Vietnamese groups to make major mark in Singapore

International integration has been developing remarkably, in Vietnam and Singapore in particular. As two countries in the ASEAN, the international relationship among them has become closer so as to assist each other for mutual development.

As a result, the two countries have opened their door for more funding from domestic enterprises and become promising investment destinations. However, apart from advantages of this, the enterprises of one country investing in the other also face difficulties because of legal and culture differences among countries. Therefore, solutions need to be recommended to deal with these problems.

Singapore has a huge investment in Vietnam and has one of the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Vietnam. Specifically, in 2017, Vietnam attracted strong FDI from Singapore, ranked third behind South Korea and Japan in the primary sectors of infrastructure, consumption and processing, agriculture, and food.

In the first seven months of 2020, there were 104 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, and Singapore has risen to become the largest investor in Vietnam with the total investment capital of $4.57 billion (accounted for 53.1 per cent of the total investment capital into Vietnam), compared to the second place South Korea with $984 million.

This shows that Singapore is highly focusing on investment to develop industries and fields in Vietnam. Moreover, Singaporean companies have quickly integrated into the business community in Vietnam and are strictly complying with the law, since they have a good management team and market research, as well as risk warning teams.

The companies’ projects also showed their effectiveness of investment when they have contributed to the development of science and technology because they also bring many new technologies, as well as contributed to economic development and created many jobs for Vietnamese workers.

One of the special projects is the development of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) in Vietnam. These have paved the way for many Singaporean enterprises to invest into Vietnam and created jobs for more than 250,000 workers.

Besides that, in real estate, CapitaLand and Keppel Land are typical examples of successful investments with green urban and high-rise buildings projects.

Furthermore, since participating in new-generation free trade agreements, Singapore also considers Vietnam as a bridge for enterprises to invest in these markets. Since joining, many laws have been amended to meet the international needs in Vietnam such as laws on enterprises, investment, and land, creating a transparent environment and more investment directions for Singaporean enterprises.

It can be seen that mergers and acquisitions (M&A), processing, and real estate are the areas where Singapore focuses on investment.

For Vietnam, outward investment has been on an upward trend in recent years, but the majority of capital mostly concentrates in Laos and Cambodia in the ASEAN. Vietnam has a close relationship with Singapore and increasingly investing in this country. Significant examples are FPT Group investing in IT, and Petrolimex pouring money into oil and gas. They are typical companies that have successfully invested in Singapore but are still small- and medium-sized, which shows that Vietnam has not had much capital to invest in Singapore.

There is a huge difference between the investment of Singapore into Vietnam and vice versa. This is because Singapore has a dynamic and transparent business environment; therefore, Vietnamese enterprises have to compete fairly with others.

However, because Vietnamese enterprises do not have an abundant finance and high-tech system – while Singapore businesses boast abundant capital, high-tech development, and a logistics system – Vietnamese enterprises do not have many opportunities to compete with the enterprises of Singapore or even with enterprises from other countries.

In addition, Vietnamese groups prefer using Singapore as a hub for receiving investment from international companies into their projects in Vietnam.

For example, in fund raising, in order to receive investment from foreign investors, Vietnamese enterprises are required to open a company in Singapore where they put all fund and finance there.

Then, the new Singaporean company shall invest again into the Vietnamese enterprises.

Not only that, there is a clear difference in business cultures and laws between Vietnam and Singapore. Hence, this can make it hard for Vietnamese enterprises to adapt, which may lead to unwanted conflicts and affect project implementation.

Therefore, if Vietnamese enterprises want to invest to Singapore, they still need a lot of supportive and prompting policies from government to expand business investment aboard. In addition, they need to improve their financial and managerial capacity, as well as understand deeply about the culture and law system of Singapore to enhance adaptability when investing in the country.

Along with the good political relations and the expansion in economic, trade, and other fields, the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Singapore is constantly developing.

With the efforts of the two sides, the strategic relationship between two will achieve good results, complementing each other for further development./.

Everpia JSC joins forces with Hyojung Soft Tech JSC to enrol fintech

Everpia JSC, known for its matress brands Everon and Kingkoil, has invested in Hyojung Soft Tech JSC in a move to boost its growth and turn it into a leading company in one of the most promising industries in Vietnam.

The signing ceremony of the strategic partnership between Everpia JSC and Hyojung Soft Tech JSC
Hyojung Soft Tech is a fast-growing financial technology and banking services company driving innovation in POS system and payment services. It provides a total POS solution to retail stores with advanced Korean technology.

Hyojung is well-known for its services spanning from POS (Payment), PCPOS, PROGRAM, and SI (System Integration). Currently operating in more than 500 stores throughout Vietnam, Hyojung helps merchants in analysing customer behaviour and provides deep assistance and advice based on big data from POS system and payment services.

Lee Jae Eun, CEO of Everpia JSC said that, “This investment marks our first strategic partnership with a tech-based firm. As digitalisation takes place in various aspects for Vietnamese consumers, our partnership with Hyojung at its early stage will help us understand Vietnamese consumers on a deeper level.”

“We also hope to assist the Vietnamese government in its plan to reduce cash usage in payment methods to under 10 per cent by 2030,” he noted.

Park Jung Gyu, CEO of Hyojung Soft Tech said: “We are delighted to establish a strategic partnership with Everpia. Our technology will foster the digital transformation of Everpia’s wide network of 600 franchise stores and showrooms throughout Vietnam.”

All Everon stores will be equipped with advanced fintech technologies ranging from financial services, POS, and card bank services (zeropay, giftcon, and virtual account services) to customer management services.

Furthermore, big data analysis from all transactions occurring at Everon stores will help Everpia to effectively curate its product portfolio and efficiently manage its production and distribution system. From 2021, Hyojung Soft Tech and Everpia will develop and distribute an integrated payment platform that suits companies with nationwide retail network systems in Vietnam./.

Matsuoka Corporation highlights Vietnam's appeal to Japanese PPE manufacturers

Vietnam is in the crosshairs at dozens of Japanese businesses led by Matsuoka Corporation who are looking to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to produce medical gear and personal protective equipment (PPE) in Vietnam.

Vietnam is fast emerging as an international production hub for medical gear and PPE
COVID-19 has been the doom of many a production sector. However, some have been put into a favourable position and have been rising to prominence to attract great flows of foreign investment. One of these sectors is medical mask and PPE production, an area where Vietnam is now recognised as a reputable supplier.

Matsuoka Corporation, one of 30 companies that have just received support from the Japanese government to leave China, has decided to move operations to Vietnam.

According to NNA Business News, a representative of Matsuoka Corporation said that the corporation will pour around $28 million into An Nam Matsuoka Garment Co., Ltd., a Vietnamese subsidiary, to set up a new facility to produce protective wear and other items in the coming months.

Matsuoka Corporation established the subsidiary in last November, before the COVID-19 outbreak, as part of the corporation's plan to diversify production locations in Southeast Asia (supplementing existing production in Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh). The new factory of An Nam Matsuoka Garment is based in VSIP Nghe An and is the fourth facility of Matsuoka Corporation in Vietnam, after the ones in Phu Tho, Bac Giang, and Binh Duong provinces.

In the 2018 fiscal year (ending in March 2019), the corporation's revenues from Chinese factories made up 60 per cent of its total overseas income, while Bangladesh and Vietnam contributed 25 and 10 per cent, respectively.

At the end of 2019, company spokesperson Michihiro Fukagawa said that the upcoming factory in Vietnam is expected to decrease the revenue contribution from China to 50 per cent by March 2021. He also highlighted that Vietnam is a major location for garment production for export to Japan and China.

Recently, JETRO announced the list of Japanese businesses which will receive aid to leave China. Most of those specialising in producing protective gear and health products like Able Yamauchi, Showa International, Techno Global, Hashimoto, Nikkiso, and Matsuoka Corporation are choosing Vietnam as their new destination.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, as of June 2020, Vietnam exported 557 million medical masks to the US, the EU, Japan, and South Korea. Catching up with the new trends and the increasing demand of domestic and overseas markets, a lot of local businesses have been purchasing modern machines to make high-quality products, matching the requirements of the US and the EU, and offset a part of their losses from the global health crisis.

Along with its initial success in preventing and controlling the novel coronavirus, Vietnam is emerging as a reputable source of medical equipment, drawing in foreign investors to produce PPE and medical gear./.

Moody’s confirmed stable rating for FE Credit in latest review assessment

Moody’s Investors Service has recently confirmed the long-term ratings of FE Credit at B1, after putting it up for review due to the impacts of COVID-19.

This reinitiated stable outlook concludes Moody’s review for downgrade initiated on April 7, 2020 which also took in the assessment of two other finance companies, namely Home Credit Vietnam Finance (HCV) and SHB Finance and two banks – VP Bank (the parent company of FE Credit) and SHB.

Moody's rational for keeping the stable outlook for FE Credit includes the agency's expectation that FE Credit will remain able to mitigate the solvency and liquidity risks caused by the coronavirus thanks to three factors.

Moody’s concluded that the FE Credit’s funding and liquidity positions were stable during the review period supported by ample international and domestic liquidity.
First is the early reopening of the Vietnamese economy due to the successful control of the outbreak. Second is the stabilising financing conditions supported by ample liquidity following supportive domestic and global measures and third is the company’s ability to manage credit and liquidity risks amid disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak.

Moody’s concluded that FE Credit’s funding and liquidity positions were stable during the review period, supported by ample international and domestic liquidity. This helped the company to roll over their existing funding and access new funding.

The credit rating service also noted that the company has diversified its funding sources and reduced their funding costs during the period. However, a note of caution was also issued regarding the reliance on wholesale funding and limited balance sheet liquidity, which remains a weakness for credit profiles.

Overall, the short duration of the economic disruptions in Vietnam has helped the company to manage delinquencies and collections within the historical range. While Moody’s has observed early signs of stress in delinquencies and collections, especially in April due to social distancing measures, collections recovered and delinquencies dropped in the rest of the second quarter of 2020.

FE Credit has shown prudent risk management, such as tightening underwriting criteria against the backdrop of slowing economic growth.

Samsung seeks shift to Vietnam

South Korean tech giant Samsung will end its personal computer (PC) production in China as it looks to shift the production to Vietnam to cut costs and remain competitive in the PC business.

Samsung Electronics is planning to shut down its plant in China’s Suzhou City this month. A part of the facility is set to be turned into a product research and development center, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

A representative of Samsung Electronics said that the firm would shift its PC production line to its operational plant in Vietnam after the shutdown.

The South Korean tech giant had earlier run three smartphone production factories in China. However, it ended all of its smartphone production activities there in late 2019 and shifted the production lines to its other branches, including Vietnam./.

Visa sees contactless payments grow 500% in first half in Vietnam

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, on August 3 announced that its contactless transactions in Vietnam grew more than 500% year on year in the first six months of 2020, with the total value of transactions increasing more than 600%.

Contactless payments, where consumers simply tap their card or phone against the POS terminal to pay, have become more popular as consumers and merchants look for a fast, convenient and safe way to pay.

These benefits are more apparent than ever as the Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges and merchants are looking for ways to serve their customers safely.

Findings from the recent Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study showed that 37% of Vietnamese consumers are now using contactless card payments, while 42% are currently using mobile contactless payments. Of those that use contactless card payments, 85% shared that they use them often—at least once a week.

With contactless payments, consumers can tap to pay at checkout counters anywhere they see the contactless symbol without handing their cards to the cashier staff.

Contactless payments are secured with dynamic EMV® Chip technology. The cards have a tiny antenna, which can be read by POS terminals when they are 4cm away or less from the terminal.

During the payment process, the card never needs to leave the cardholder’s hand, and POS terminals can typically read a contactless card or device in less than half a second. Shoppers can even pay with their mobile phones, using PINs, passwords or biometrics for extra security.

“At Visa, we’re incredibly excited to be working with our partners in Vietnam to help bring this new payment technology to more consumers and businesses across the country,” said Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos./.

Deo Ca Group keen to invest in expy project

Deo Ca Group has expressed interest in investing in the An Huu-Cao Lanh expressway project linking Tien Giang and Dong Thap provinces in the Mekong Delta under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Tran Tri Quang, director of the Dong Thap Department of Transport, told The Saigon Times on August 5 that even though Deo Ca Group had proposed developing the project under the PPP format, the project is under the authority of the Ministry of Transport, so the department could only receive the proposal and report it to the provincial government.

Quang noted that the projected expressway is set to run parallel to the existing National Highway 30.

Earlier, at a working session between the Dong Thap government and a delegation from the National Assembly, Nguyen Van Duong, chairman of the provincial government, said that if the project was funded by the State, it would require a total investment of VND5.38 trillion.

However, if the project is developed under the PPP format with a build-operate-transfer contract, over VND5.6 trillion would be needed due to bank loan interest payments.

Project Management Board No. 7 is currently studying both investment formats and will report their conclusions to the Ministry of Transport, according to the Dong Thap chairman.

Duong, however, said that under the PPP format, the project is likely to take longer to be completed due to cumbersome legal procedures. Moreover, private investors will contribute a mere 29.4% to the total amount of VND5.6 trillion since they are allowed to operate the project for no longer than 18 years. As such, the investment efficiency will not be high.

Accordingly, the provincial government proposed that central State agencies approve the public investment format for the An Huu-Cao Lanh expressway project.

Dong Thap and Tien Giang provinces will extract some VND2.1 trillion from their budgets to pour into the project, which is set to run through the two Mekong Delta localities, while the remaining VND3.2 trillion, or 60% of the total cost, will come from the central State budget.

Addressing the working session, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that members of the NA Standing Committee supported the province’s proposal.

Once in place, the 30-kilometer expressway project will play a key role as it will connect the Mekong Delta localities with the HCMC-Can Tho Expressway and Cambodia, stated Le Minh Hoan, provincial Party chief of Dong Thap./.

Business conditions deteriorate in July after a rebound in June

After returning to growth in June, the Vietnamese manufacturing sector took a step back in July, seeing declines in output and new orders as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact business conditions, according to a report released by IHS Markit on August 3.

Employment decreased again, while purchasing activity reduced. The rate of input cost inflation remained muted, while competitive pressures led to firms lowering their output prices, the London-based global information provider stated in the report.

The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dipped back below the 50 no-change mark in July, posting 47.6 from 51.1 in June. Business conditions also deteriorated in five of the past six months.

The July data showed a modest reduction in manufacturing output, after a return to growth had been registered in the previous month. However, the fall was much softer than that seen during the worst of the recent downturn.

Respondents said the pandemic continued to impact operations, with new orders reportedly lower. Both the intermediate and investment goods sectors recorded falls in output, while the production of consumer goods increased.

In line with the picture for output, new orders fell following a rise in June. Total new business was undermined by a sharp contraction in new export orders, linked to restrictions on travel and falling demand in export markets due to Covid-19.

With new orders taking a step back, firms were able to deplete their backlogs of work again in July. Outstanding business decreased for the sixth month running, and to a greater extent than during the prior survey period.

The lack of work reportedly led to a further reduction in employment, with some workers reportedly deciding to leave in search of opportunities elsewhere. Employment fell at a solid pace.

Apart from seeing staffing levels decrease, manufacturers scaled back their purchasing activity, stocks of inputs and finished goods inventories at the start of the third quarter. In all cases, falls in July followed rises in June and were linked to a reduction in new orders.

Suppliers’ delivery times lengthened for the eighth time in as many months. Difficulties receiving items from suppliers in China and issues with sea transportation were reportedly behind the latest instance of lead time lengthening.

The scarcity of raw materials contributed to a second successive monthly increase in input costs during July. That said, the rate of inflation remained muted.

Meanwhile, output prices were reduced for the sixth month running. The latest fall was modest, but sharper than that seen in June.

Despite a drop in output in July, firms remained confident in the 12-month outlook for production. Sentiments were down only slightly from that seen in the previous month. According to respondents, expected improvements in market demand and new orders were behind the positive outlook for output./.

Philippines suffers reduction in June manufacturing production

The Philippines’ manufacturing production slumped in June due to negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the country’s Statistics Authority (PSA).

Based on the preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI), the PSA said the year-on-year value of production index (VaPI) and the volume of production index (VoPI) declined 22.5 percent and 19.3 percent in June 2020, respectively.

According to the authority, the VaPI for the manufacturing sector contracted at a slower rate of 22.5 percent in June compared to the 31.2 percent decrease in May 2020.VaPI dropped for the fourth month in a row this June 2020.

Prior to the rebound, the PSA said VaPI had negative growth for 17 consecutive months for petroleum products, and seven months of negative growth for wood and wood products.

The PSA also said that the VoPI in June 2020 likewise shrank by 19.3 percent year-on-year but the decline was slower compared to the previous month's drop of 28.5 percent.

MISSI is a monthly report that monitors the production, net sales, inventories, and capacity utilisation of selected manufacturing establishments to provide flash indicators on the performance of the manufacturing sector./.

Cashew nut exports up 1 percent in H1

Despite the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s cashew exports in the first half of the year increased by 16 percent in volume year-on-year and 1 percent in value to 232,000 tonnes and nearly 1.53 billion USD, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS).

The US, EU and China had been the biggest markets.

Exports to the US increased by nearly 10 percent in terms of value and accounted for 32 percent of the total.

Exports to China fell by nearly 44 percent and accounted for 8 percent.

Average prices were 14 percent down.

According to experts, due to falling prices, some customers sought to renegotiate them and also demanded more in terms of quality and traceability.

This year too domestic prices were higher than export prices at some certain times, causing difficulties for businesses, they said.

Exports remained good in the first half, but the rest of the year is a big question since cashew is not an essential or irreplaceable product and no one knows how the pandemic situation would pan out, they added.

The association said: “The cashew industry targets exports of 450,000 tonnes this year for 3.2 billion USD. VINACAS always hopes to exceed export targets.”

Vietnam imported 635,000 tonnes of raw cashew for processing in the first half, a year-on-year decrease of 12 percent mainly due to a delay in transporting it from West Africa countries to Vietnam because of the pandemic and lower demand.

VINACAS continues to pursue a policy of reducing quantity and increasing quality in imports of raw nuts and exports of processed products.

According to figures the International Nut and Fried Fruit Council and the Global Cashew Council announced at an online conference in June, global output in the 2020-21 crop is estimated to reach 3.72 million tonnes, 21,000 tonnes down from the previous one./.

Bamboo Airways leads in seven-month on-time performance

Bamboo Airways led local airlines in punctuality in the last seven months, according to a recent report released by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).

The report on the flight on time performance (OTP) as well as delayed and cancelled flights across Vietnam in the reviewed period showed that Bamboo Airways has a punctuality rate of 95.4 percent.

Specifically, Bamboo Airways operated 16,501 flights, including 15,739 on-time.

It was followed by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, and Vietjet Air with respective average OTP rates at 90.4 percent and 86.2 percent.

Jetstar Pacific was at the bottom of the list with an average OTP rate of 85 percent.

According to the CAAV, 59.8 percent of the delayed and cancelled flights was due to late returns of aircraft, 26.8 percent was from the airlines and 7.3 percent was due to equipment and services at the port./.

T&T Group purchases Ivory Coast’s entire stock of raw cashew nuts

Vietnam’s multi-sector T&T Group has purchased the Ivory Coast’s entire stock of raw cashew nuts, or 150,000 tonnes, under a contract signed with the African country late last month.

The major deal comes after the group’s world-record purchase of 176,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts from Tanzania last year.

A portion of the imported nuts will be processed by the T&T Group for export, while the remainder will be distributed to other domestic producers.

The purchase is expected to help stabilise prices and fuel the growth of cashew nut processing in Vietnam.

Cooperation with the T&T Group brings opportunities and timely support to cashew nut exporters in the Ivory Coast, according to Adama Coulibaly, Director General of the Ivory Coast Cashew & Cotton Council.

Tanzania and the Ivory Coast are now Vietnam’s main suppliers of raw cashew nuts.

The T&T Group has been the country’s biggest trader of cashew nuts, importing raw products and re-exporting processed products. It traded more than 260,000 tonnes with foreign partners last year, accounting for roughly 13 percent of Vietnam’s total.

In the first seven months of this year it imported and exported close to 337,000 tonnes, or more than 40 percent of the volume nationally.

It plans to import an additional 120,000 to 150,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts by the end of this year.

The group is committed to building a processing facility in the Ivory Coast, with a designed capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts per year./.

Vinatex’s revenue nosedives 36 percent in Q2

The COVID-19 pandemic dragged down the revenue of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) by 36 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, to just over 3.08 trillion VND (133 million USD).

Profit stood at 280 billion VND, down 36 percent against the same period last year, according to Vinatex Director General Le Tien Truong.

The State-owned group earned more than 7.04 trillion VND in revenue in the first half and posted 276 billion VND in profit, year-on-year falls of 24.5 percent and 20.7 percent, respectively.

Most of Vinatex’s subsidiaries have also seen revenue and profit plummet, Truong said, adding that the pandemic has slashed the stock price of two of its member companies - the Viet Tien Garment JSC and the Phu Bai Spinning Mill JSC - by half and one quarter, respectively.

The worst is yet to come, he went on, with the third and fourth quarters of the year likely to present the greatest challenges to the textile and garment industry.

The company has not had any orders for three months and there has been a fall in the number of orders for masks, with prices sinking to a level that is just enough to cover costs, he said.

Production of masks and personal protective equipment rescued many domestic manufacturers in the second quarter of the year, he noted, but now prices are going down as a result of global oversupply./.

Annual cashew nut export goal lowered to 3.2 billion USD

The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has decided to lower the cashew nut export target to 3.2 billion USD this year, down from the 4 billion USD set in late 2019, given the impact of COVID-19.

Exports reached 232,000 tonnes in the first half, up more than 16 percent year-on-year, while value rose just 1 percent to 1.53 billion USD, as export prices slumped by nearly 14 percent.

Demand in China fell nearly 30 percent in volume and while value was down 44 percent. The US and European markets, however, still performed well.

Vinacas Chairman Pham Van Cong said export inventories remain high while trade disputes are on the rise due to falling prices.

According to the association, it is difficult to accurately forecast demand for cashew nuts between now and year’s end. Consumption at accommodation facilities and restaurants has fallen strongly due to the introduction of social distancing measures.

The importation of raw cashew nut materials was also hit by COVID-19, with importers not only facing a delay in delivery but also receiving lower-quality products compared to previous crops.

Vinacas has proposed companies import and export better quality cashew nuts to overcome the ongoing difficulties./.

CPTPP countries discuss post-pandemic recovery plan

The CPTPP comprises Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Together they have a combined economy of 13.5 trillion USD./.

Singapore signs digital economy pact with Australia

Singapore and Australia have signed a digital economy agreement that will open up economic opportunities for both countries during a virtual ceremony on August 6.

The deal was inked by Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing and Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham.

The Singapore-Australia Digital Economy Agreement (Sadea) will facilitate digitalisation of trade processes and make it easier and more cost-effective for Singapore companies to engage in cross-border business activities with Australia.

The agreement builds on Singapore and Australia's strong bilateral trade and investment flows to enhance economic opportunities in the digital realm, said a joint statement issued by Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Communications and Information, and Infocomm Media Development Authority.

Singapore, along with Australia and Japan, is a co-convener of the Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The Sadea will enable trusted cross-border data flows without unnecessary and costly requirements such as data localisation. It will also protect consumers' privacy and businesses' proprietary information.

It is the second digital economy pact that Singapore has signed, following the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement with Chile and New Zealand in June.

Singapore has also launched negotiations on a digital partnership agreement with the Republic of Korea./.

Digital banking platform Timo gets new partner

After five years of development, Timo, the first digital banking platform in Vietnam, has decided to join forces with a new banking partner - VietCapitalBank - to deliver more rapid innovation and a better experience for customers.

The new app is called Timo Plus, an improved version of Timo that will continue to be the leading digital banking platform in the country when it launches in September, Timo said in its press release.

With an intuitive and user-friendly interface of Timo Plus, users can conveniently send and receive payments, manage savings and investments, borrow money, and create financial plans.

The transition is expected to be completed on September 8, 2020. After this date, Timo customers will no longer have use of the current app./.

VNN

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 10

01:22

Rubberwood panels temporarily taxed at zero

Deputy Director of the Viet Nam Customs, Luu Manh Tuong, at the meeting. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

A delegation led by Deputy Director of the Viet Nam Customs Luu Manh Tuong had a dialogue with enterprises, business associations and agencies to determine the HS code application for rubberwood panels on Wednesday.

Concluding the meeting, Tuong said the customs office continued to clearly define the production and processing process of the product in a specific, public, transparent and fair manner to determine the appropriate HS code.

The classification and application of tax rates must comply with the provisions of law, and the latest provision is Circular 65/2017 on Viet Nam's list of import and export goods and the tariff in accordance with the provisions of the Government and related legal documents, said Tuong.

The application of HS codes must comply with international customs standards, he said.

If they did not comply strictly, the management agency arbitrarily applied the wrong HS code so enterprises did not have to pay taxes which would violate regulations and customs officers would be disciplined, while enterprises will be subject to tax arrears, he noted.

However, to help enterprises solve problems, the deputy director proposed Dong Nai Customs Department help businesses to export goods as usual, firstly for businesses to enjoy the tax rate of 0 per cent.

A representative of the Tax Policy Department under the Ministry of Finance said Viet Nam was a member of the World Customs Organisation, therefore customs offices must comply with regulations on goods classification.

The handling of problems with enterprises needs to be focused on, with an improved spirit of co-operation between State management agencies and enterprises, ensuring compliance with the provisions of law, said the representative.

Earlier, the Viet Nam Timber and Forest Product Association (Viforest) sent an urgent petition to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade about congestion of wooden planks set for export at ports.

The congestion was attributed to Document No. 4250/TB-TCHQ issued by Viet Nam Customs on June 24.

"The wooden plank products have been subject to HS 4418 so far, however, with the latest announcement of the Viet Nam Customs, this product will be subject to HS 4407 with an export tax rate of 25 per cent,” said Viforest Chairman Do Xuan Lap.

Viforest has proposed the Ministry of Finance tell customs offices in localities to allow the products to be exported with a tax rate of 0 per cent and immediately review and cancel Document No. 4250/TB-TCHQ./.

State Bank of Vietnam cuts some interest rates

The State Bank of Vietnam on August 6 announced its decision on cutting some policy rates with immediate effect, the second time this year following the adjustment on March 16.

The interest rate for deposits of the State Treasury, and the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam with the central bank is revised down to 0.8 percent per annum, down 0.2 percent.

The bank said the adjustment was made based on macro-economic developments and the level of interest rates in the market./.

Tien Giang attractive to both domestic and foreign investors

As a gateway linking the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City, and the southeastern region, Tien Giang province with its role as an important part of the southern key economic region is becoming increasingly attractive to domestic and foreign investors.

Capital flows from non-State economic sectors play an important role in local socio-economic development. The locality has issued a number of policies to draw investment, upgrade infrastructure and stay ready to capitalise on new investment opportunities.

It also has modern roads and maritime routes, as well as an abundant workforce with over 1.13 million at the working age.

The Prime Minister has given the green light to the zoning of seven local industrial parks covering a total area of over 2,000ha in Tien Giang. The province is also home to 27 industrial clusters under planning, four of them now operational, and over 5,900 operating companies, 454 of which are new.

Tien Giang drew 24 new projects worth over 9.5 trillion VND (413 million USD) in seven months of this year, raising the total revenue to more than 10.3 trillion VND - 93.6 percent of the same period last year.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Anh Tuan said Tien Giang has so far issued nearly 240 documents to step up administrative reform in the fields of construction, land, investment, business and health care, and set up a team to approve projects using non-State capital.

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, authorities handled 99.93 percent of investment procedures ahead of schedule and 0.06 percent of others on schedule in seven months of this year.

The province also issued a resolution on urban-economic development for three regions till 2020 with orientations to 2030.

The eastern region, including Go Cong township, Go Cong Dong and Go Cong Tay districts, holds the potential for maritime economy, shipbuilding, seaports, maritime transportation, processing of aquatic products, tourism, and fishing logistics services.

The western region, including Cai Lay township, districts of Cai Lay, Cai Be and Tan Phuoc, is strong in food production, especially fruits in combination with farm produce processing and services, and tourism.

The central region, with My Tho city, Chau Thanh and Cho Gao districts, plays an important role in promoting socio-economic development and integration with the southern key economic region, urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta.

Tuan said the province prioritises competitive projects using advanced pollution treatment technology.

Between now and the year’s end, as well as years to come, Tien Giang will lure in projects in clean industry with high added value, mostly hi-tech aquaculture and agriculture in Tan Phuoc, Chau Thanh, Tan Phu Dong districts.

It will also pitch for investment in waterway tourism in Cai Be district, sea tourism in Go Cong Dong and Tan Phu Dong districts, ecological and spiritual tourism in Tan Phuoc district, finance-banking in My Tho city, and logistics in Go Cong Dong district.

Acting Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Dinh Thong said Tien Giang has set the goal of attracting 30 projects worth over 11.1 trillion VND into three key economic-urban regions.

Attention will be paid for supporting production and trade, trademark building, consumption expansion, and especially facilitating start-ups amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first half of this year, the public investment disbursement reached over 77 percent - the second highest rate nationwide. The figure is expected to hit 100 percent in late November.

This year, Tien Giang has over 5.71 trillion VND in public investment capital, up 37.4 percent year-on-year.

Chairman of the Management Board of the Dong Giao Foodstuff Export JSC (DOVECO) Dinh Cao Khue said the company plans to build a plant to preserve and package fresh fruits for export, as well as a processing plant in My Phuoc commune, Tan Phuoc district, Tien Giang province with a designed annual capacity of around 200,000 tonnes of fresh fruits and 150,000 processed products./.

CPTPP members reiterate backing of trade liberalisation

The CPTPP Commission’s third meeting was held on August 6 and ended with the approval of a ministerial joint statement reiterating the members’ commitment to back trade liberalization, and multilateral trade.

The meeting was held in the form of video conferencing under the chair of Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez Colin. The Vietnamese delegation at the event was led by Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh.

The member countries also committed to working together to reboot the regional economy post COVID-19.

The participating ministers underlined the importance of improving the efficiency of the agreement’s implementation, and pushing ahead with the CPTPP ratification by the remaining four countries.

They also discussed the possibility of expanding the deal in the future, along with global economic issues.

Vietnam pledged to join efforts in implementing measures in line with international commitments so as to facilitate the flows of commodities and services, especially essential ones.

The country will also work to enhance connectivity among CPTPP members to consolidate the regional supply chain and strengthen its resilience to external impacts.

The next meeting of the CPTPP Commission is scheduled for 2021 in Japan.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam./.

Singapore allows 265,000 foreign workers to return

About 265,000 foreign workers in construction, marine shipyard and processing sectors have been given the green light to return to work in Singapore, said the country’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Of these, 180,000 are residents in dormitories, the ministry said in a statement on August 4.

The Singaporean Ministry of Health added that the authorities remain on track to clear all foreign worker dormitories of Covid-19 by August 7.

But 17 standalone blocks in eight purpose-built dormitories will continue to serve as quarantine facilities. They currently house about 9,700 workers, the authorities said.

By August 3, about 273,000 foreign workers, or close to 90 percent of dorm residents, had either recovered or have been tested and found to be free of COVID-19.

Many of them are staying in cleared dormitories or blocks for recovered workers, and can resume work once dormitory operators, employers and workers have made the necessary preparations to minimise the risk of new infections, said MOM.

A worker allowed to resume work will see a green access code on his SGWorkPass app, after taking specified steps. These include downloading an app to update his health status.

The same day, Cambodian media also reported that Thai authorities have prepared to welcome back workers from Cambodia when the country is entering Phase 7 of its plan to ease COVID-19-induced lockdown measures./.

U-shaped recovery expected in ASEAN+3: AMRO

A gradual U-shaped recovery is expected for the ASEAN+3 region, which includes ten ASEAN member states, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, according to an updated forecast by ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

Regional growth is expected to slow sharply this year to zero percent, from 4.8 percent in 2019, before rebounding strongly to 6.0 percent in 2021, AMRO said in a statement.

Nine of the 14 ASEAN+3 members are expected to contract this year, while economies projected to record positive growth rates are China and smaller ASEAN economies – Brunei, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Strict containment measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading have caused economies to come to a standstill, leading to massive increases in unemployment, disruptions to businesses, and widespread collapse in domestic demand.

Additionally, bans on international travel have decimated the region's all-important tourism sector.

AMRO said the resurgence in infections in some parts of the region had heightened caution about another spate of lockdowns, which the ASEAN+3 economies can ill-afford, even though most still have some fiscal and monetary space to provide support if needed.

Li Lian Ong, AMRO group head and lead specialist for financial surveillance and acting group head for regional surveillance, said the biggest challenge facing the regional policymakers in the second half of 2020 would be balancing the trade-off between easing restrictions to revive their economies and risking another wave of infections.

AMRO said its growth trajectory was predicated on the effective containment of the COVID-19, both regionally and globally./.

Thai Vietjet commences 10th domestic service in Thailand

Thai Vietjet has inaugurated its maiden flight VZ330 from capital city of Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport) to Nakhon Si Thammarat, an administrative center of southern Thailand and one of the most ancient cities of the country.

The debut flight took off with guests of honour onboard - Siripat Phatthakun, Governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat and safely landed with lively greetings by water salute and flowers to passengers from Nakhon Si Thammarat Airport and Tourism Authority of Thailand Nakhon Si Thammarat Office.

Celebrating the inaugural flight, Thai Vietjet delivered an enjoyable experience surprised with an in-flight entertainment performed by Thai singer “GunGun”, along with corporate souvenirs gifted to all passengers.

Thai Vietjet’s latest service operates from August 6 with one return flight daily and increases to four flights daily within October, with flight duration of around 1 hour 15 minutes. Having received excellent response from the market for this new route to Nakhon Si Thammarat, the airline has also completed its operational readiness for up to five flights daily by end of the year.

The new route’s tickets are available for booking on website www.vietjetair.com and “Vietjet Air” mobile app, starting from 199 THB (6.4 USD), excluding tax and fees, for one-way fare.
Online check-in service for domestic passengers travelling out of Suvarnabhumi airport are now available for more convenience. All Vietjet flights are in alignment with all global standards and guidelines from the local authorities, including aircraft disinfection.

Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. As Vietnam’s largest private carrier, the airline was awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars in 2018 and 2019 by the world’s only safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com and listed as one of the world's 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in 2018 and 2019. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organizations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others.

Thai Vietjet is cooperating with Vietjet to extend its flight network and provide more opportunities for travellers in the world to discover Thailand and many other countries. Currently the airline operates 13 domestic routes from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Krabi, Udon Thani, Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ubon Ratchathani, Surat Thani plus the direct flights from Chiang Rai to Phuket, Udon Thani, Hat Yai 8, and routes connecting Thailand and Vietnam such as Bangkok to Da Lat/ Da Nang, and more international routes from Thailand to mainland China./.

Thailand allows longer stay for migrant workers

The Thai cabinet has approved a plan of the Ministry of Labour to allow more than 500,000 foreign workers with legal documents to stay longer for working in the Southeast Asian country until March 2022.

Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said the approval was given according to the government's new guidelines on the management of migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry’s guidelines aim to ensure the country maintains the labour force needed to strengthen the economy, but also reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections spreading from foreign nationals.

Rachada said the cabinet has decided to allow migrant workers holding passports, certificates of identity and other travel documents, excluding border passes, to continue working from the end of October this year when their permits expire, until March 31, 2022.

There are about 650,000 workers who fall in this group, she added./.

Plans to expand Khuyến Lương Port

The Ministry of Transport has recently proposed an expansion project for Khuyến Lương Port, one of the capital city's four key ports.

Under the project, Khuyến Lương Port will be expanded by 8ha with an investment of more than VNĐ500 billion (US$21.5 million).

The plan is to create three more wharfs and increase the goods loading capacity by 1.2-1.5 million tonnes per year.

The port will be capable of receiving 1,000-tonne ships and container barges of 128 TEU (a TEU equivalent to 20-feet container).

Once completed, the port will have six wharfs with a total length of 306m with loading capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of goods a year.

The Hà Nội Transport Department agreed with the ministry on opening it to private investment to relieve pressure on the State budget.

According to the department, expanding Khuyến Lương Port from 9.9ha to 17.9ha falls into the city’s plan on economic development.

As one of the key ports of the city, Khuyến Lương Port should be set up as a logistic centre and be responsible for domestic goods clearance, the representative said./.

Revenue of retail sales and services rises in July

Viet Nam’s revenue of retail sales and services in July was estimated at VND431.9 trillion (US$18.6 billion), up 3.3 per cent over the previous month and up 4.3 per cent from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Trade and service activities in July continued to increase due to policies on stimulating domestic consumption and tourism, along with government support packages to help people reduce the burden of spending.

This was also the month during the summer vacation of students, so many families travelled in the country.

Revenue reached VND333.8 trillion from retail sales, up 2.6 per cent month on month and up 7 per cent year on year; VND48.2 trillion from accommodation and food services, up 9.2 per cent month on month but down 4.4 per cent year on year; and VND1.5 trillion from tourism, up 29.6 per cent month on month but down 59.7 per cent year on year.

In the first seven months of this year, total revenue of retail sales and services was VND2.8 quadrillion, down 0.4 per cent over the same period last year.

If excluding the price factor, the total revenue decreased by 4.8 per cent year on year while in the first seven months of last year, it gained an increase of 9 per cent year on year.

Of which, the revenue of retail sales in the first seven months reached VND2.2 quadrillion, accounting for 79.2 per cent of the total. It rose by 3.6 per cent over the same period last year because July was a promotional month to stimulate domestic consumption, increase market shares and restore the domestic economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The revenue of accommodation and catering services in the first seven months was estimated to reach VND280.9 trillion, accounting for 10 per cent of the total. It was down 16.6 per cent over the same period last year.

Localities having strong reductions in revenue of accommodation and catering services included Khanh Hoa (59.1 per cent), Ba Ria-Vung Tau (46.5 per cent), HCM City (45.1 per cent), Can Tho (27.5 per cent), Da Nang (24.5 per cent), Thanh Hoa (21.5 per cent) and Ha Noi (18.9 per cent).

The tourism revenue in the seven months was estimated at VND11.1 trillion, down 55.4 per cent over the same period last year.

Some localities had a sharp decrease in tourism revenue included Khanh Hoa (76.4 per cent), HCM City (74.9 per cent), Ba Ria - Vung Tau (63.3 per cent), Da Nang (58.6 per cent), Can Tho (57.1 per cent), Quang Ninh (50.5 per cent), Quang Binh (48.6 per cent), Ha Noi (38.6 per cent), Thanh Hoa (38.5 per cent), Binh Dinh (38 per cent) and Hai Phong (23.7 per cent)./.

Ca Mau focuses on developing robust marine economy

The southernmost province of Ca Mau has mapped out plans to develop a robust marine economy commensurate with its potential and advantages through 2030 with a vision until 2045.

In its socio-economic development plan, the province has set a target to achieve average annual growth rate of 7 per cent. The marine economic sector will contribute about 30-35 per cent of the province’s total budget revenue.

The average per capita income is about US$3,320 in the period of 2021-25 and about $4,500 – 4,700 in the 2026-30 period.

The province targets gaining $1.45 billion from seafood exports by 2025 based on fostering hi-tech shrimp farming and focusing on developing processed seafood products with high added value.

Ca Mau will strive to meet criteria for a sustainable marine economic development by 2045. By then, the marine economic sector will have developed towards modernisation and become a driving force for the province’s socio-economic growth, said Pham Bach Dang, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee.

The living standards and cultural and spiritual life of the people in coastal areas continue to improve. Marine and island resources are managed and exploited appropriately and sustainably and are adaptive to climate change.

The provincial Party Committee has identified a number of important breakthroughs to realise its targets as well as boost the province’s strong marine economic development in the future in line with its available potential and strengths, he said.

Specifically, the province will focus on developing Song Doc and Nam Can urban areas into grade-III urban centres by 2025, with Song Doc urban area to become the province’ s services, trade and marine economic centre.

In addition, the province will foster the development of the marine economic sector, besides other key economic sectors such as fisheries, oil and gas, renewable energy, marine tourism and mechanical engineering industries, with a focus on investment in wind, solar and gas power, eco-tourism and marine tourism projects.

The province aims to complete the Hon Da Bac Tourist Area investment project by 2022, and the master plans for Mui Ca Mau National Tourist Area and U Minh Ha National Park Tourist Area by 2030.

It also aims to become the electricity centre of the Cuu Long (Mekong) delta region by 2030.

The province is completing procedures to call for investment in building the Hon Khoai general seaport and will ask the central Government to invest in upgrading Nam Can port and dredging Bo De sea gate to facilitate the transportation of goods in and out of Nam Can Economic Zone.

Song Doc port is planned to become a cargo port in combination with a port to serve tourists.

Endowed with a 254-km coastline, Ca Mau has a strategic location for defence, security and marine economic development. In particular, Hon Khoai island cluster is close to international maritime routes, which is favourable for maritime economic development.

Ca Mau sea is also known as one of the country’s four key fishing grounds, with abundant and diverse aquatic resources, of which many have high economic value./.

OCB gets loan from Work Bank affiliate to support small businesses

Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has received a US$40 million loan from the IFC, a member of the World Bank, to support small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money is expected to help the bank increase its liquidity to keep lending and extend repayment periods for existing business customers.

OCB said the “timely” loan would play an important part in helping its customers face the unprecedented crisis.

It would support the development of SMEs and the recovery of the economy, it said.

The bank plans to lend to businesses in sectors severely impacted by the pandemic such as tourism and manufacturing and those like drug and healthcare equipment producers.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, its CEO, said to support small and medium-sized enterprises, the bank has been reviewing the situation.

The IFC said the pandemic has severely affected businesses in Viet Nam, especially small and medium-sized ones, which have been a major driver of economic growth over the last two decades.

The IFC loan is for one year.

Since the outbreak began, OCB has had many programmes to help companies stabilise their production, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including packages with preferential interest rates, free money-transaction rate, free MeInvoice by MISA to new customers, and OCB SME e-Lending.

OCB, established in 2996, is the first bank in Viet Nam to meet Basel II standards./.

Hanoi spends over US$2.4 billion on rural growth in five years

Hanoi spent over VND56.5 trillion (US$2.4 billion) on the development of agriculture, new-style rural areas, and farmers’ living standards between January 2016 and June 2020.

The information was reported at a working session on August 6 between a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam and the steering board for the Hanoi Party Committee’s Programme 2 on The information was reported at a working session on August 6 between a delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam and the steering board for the Hanoi Party Committee’s Programme 2 on rural development for 2016-2020.

At the function, Chu Phu My, director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in spite of African swine fever and COVID-19, the city’s agro-forestry-fishery in the first half of 2020 grew 1.61% year-on-year.

According to him, Hanoi has so far carried out land allocation on 79,454 hectares. It is home to 164 high-tech farming models and 141 agricultural production connection models. As a result, local farmers are following more sustainable practices to turn out branded products and forming links with enterprises to ensure a stable distribution market.

Meanwhile, the city has six districts recognised as new-style rural areas, namely Dan Phuong, Dong Anh, Thanh Tri, Hoai Duc, Quoc Oai, and Gia Lam.

To date, local authorities recognised 355 out of its 382 communes (92.9%) as new-style rural areas, and 13 as advanced ones. Of the remainder, 24 communes have fulfilled between 15 and 18 of the criteria.

In 2020, Hanoi aims to have Son Tay town and six more districts meeting the criteria, while selecting Dan Phuong and Hong Van communes to propel toward becoming model new-style rural areas.

The national target programme on building new-styled rural areas was initiated by the Government in 2010 with the aim of developing rural regions. The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.

At the meeting, Nam lauded such achievements, stressing that the goal of the national target programme is to improving people’s living standards.

He noted income gap remains between the city’s urban and rural districts, adding that measures to increase local income is important to Hanoi. for 2016-2020.

Meanwhile, the city has six districts recognised as new-style rural areas, namely Dan Phuong, Dong Anh, Thanh Tri, Hoai Duc, Quoc Oai, and Gia Lam.

In 2020, Hanoi aims to have Son Tay town and six more districts meeting the criteria, while selecting Dan Phuong and Hong Van communes to propel toward becoming model new-style rural areas.

At the meeting, Nam lauded such achievements, stressing that the goal of the national target programme is to improving people’s living standards.

He noted income gap remains between the city’s urban and rural districts, adding that measures to increase local income is important to Hanoi./.

Wood exports witness rebound over seven months

Vietnam’s timber and wood exports during the seven months of the year enjoyed a surge of 6.2% to US$6.09 billion against the same period last year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The reviewed period saw the United States, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (RoK) remain as the country’s largest importers.

Furthermore, July alone saw the nation rake in US$1.05 million from exporting timber and wood products after enduring negative growth in May as a result of the negative impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Moreover, Vietnamese plywood has experienced robust growth over the past five years, recording average annual growth of 31%. Indeed, since 2015, 42 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects have been poured into the local plywood industry, according to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (AgroTrade).

Despite Vietnamese plywood exports to the US and other major markets growing sharply in recent times, it also poses a range of possible risks of probes and anti-dumping lawsuits being launched by foreign markets.

This comes after the RoK’s Ministry of Economy and Finance recently imposed anti-dumping duties of 10.54% on plywood imported from the nation, while domestic plywood products are also facing an anti-circumvention investigation from the US Department of Commerce.

AgroTrade therefore stated that the local timber industry should strive to optimise a range of benefits brought about by the substantial reduction of import duties in line with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which took effect on August 1, as a means of increasing exports in the near future./.

Derivatives market sees liquidity rise in July

Transactions on the derivatives market in July increased compared to June with average trading volume up by 18.59 per cent to about 212,623 contracts per session, according to statistics from the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX).

The session on July 29 had the highest trading volume during the month – also the highest level since the inception of the derivatives market – reaching nearly 356,033 contracts.

The open interest (OI) – the total number of open or outstanding options and futures contracts – surged by 40.43 per cent from the previous month. By the end of July 31, the OI volume of the market reached 38,001 contracts.

The number of derivatives trading accounts continued to increase. At the end of July, the figure reached 132,274 accounts, up 4.86 per cent over the previous month.

In April, transactions carried out by individual domestic investors accounted for a large proportion and stayed at the same level as previous months, at 85.94 per cent of total derivatives trading volume.

The proportion of transactions carried out by domestic institutional investors, excluding self-trading, also stayed almost flat, reaching 13.47 per cent.

As for self-trading, the trading value of this group slumped compared to June, reaching only 0.66 per cent.

Transactions by foreign investors in July decreased according to the general trend of the stock market, accounting for 0.59 per cent of the total trading volume of the whole market.

The trading volume of derivatives rose in July, in contrast to the sluggishness of the underlying market.

When the underlying market falls, investors theoretically seek opportunities to make a profit on the derivatives market, because it allows them to earn profits even as the underlying market declines.

The liquidity of the derivatives market often soars when the underlying market fluctuates. Thus, the derivatives market is an effective solution to retain investors, helping avoid a situation in which they withdraw from the stock market and cause collapses./.

Vinacas targets cashew exports of US$3.2 billion

The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has set an export target of 450,000 tons worth US$3.3 billion for the local cashew industry this year, said Pham Van Cong, chairman of the association.

Vietnam exported 232,000 tons of cashew nuts worth some US$1.53 billion in the first half of the year, rising 16% in volume and 1% in value versus the 2019 figures, even though the country was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic uncertainties.

The mild increase in the export turnover was attributed to the plunging export price of the product during the first half, which reached an average US$6,606 per ton, down almost 14% compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Vinacas forecast that the industry would import 1.3 tons of cashew materials this year to be processed for export. Specifically, from January to June, the country purchased 635,000 tons of cashew worth over US$781 million, both down some 12% in volume and 22% in value over the figures a year ago.

The association explained that the negative impacts of the pandemic led to frequent delays in the time needed to transport the commodity from Western Africa to Vietnam. Moreover, the demand for cashew imports of local firms remained lower than in previous years, thus sending cashew imports down.

As for domestic production, data from the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council indicated that the volume of Vietnam’s raw cashew this year was on the rise thanks to improved productivity but the incomes of local cashew farmers had fallen due to market volatility./.

Van Phong Economic Zone attracts billion-dollar project

Millennium Vietnam Company, a member of the U.S.-based Millennium Petroleum Group, plans to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired power plant project worth up to US$15 billion in the Van Phong Economic Zone in Khanh Hoa Province.

The project is expected to help Van Phong become the largest LNG hub in Southeast Asia and contribute to the socioeconomic development of Khanh Hoa Province and of Vietnam as a whole.

At a recent meeting with leaders of the south-central province, Millennium Vietnam chairman Sam Chan said that the project would have an electricity generation capacity of 9,600 MW and cover 600 hectares in Ninh Phuoc Commune or Ninh Hai Ward, Ninh Hoa Town.

Khanh Hoa Province chairman Nguyen Tan Tuan asked the management of Van Phong Economic Zone to allow Millennium Vietnam to survey the location and conduct further research.

Besides this project, the management of Van Phong Economic Zone said the Southern Van Phong area has attracted a number of other LNG projects.

Vietnam National Petroleum Group and Vietnam Electricity Group are working to commence an oil refining and petrochemical project. In the first phase, they will construct two power plants with a total capacity of 3,000 MW and the Van Phong LNG Terminal with a storage capacity of 180,000 cubic meters. In the second phase, they will build two more power plants with a capacity equivalent to the first phase.

In addition, Tuan Dung Joint Venture has planned to build an LNG-fired power plant covering 200 hectares in Ninh Phuoc Ward, Ninh Hoa Town.

Hoang Dinh Phi, head of the Van Phong Economic Zone authority, said that the advantage of the area is that it gathers many large projects and has a deep-sea port capable of receiving big vessels. The area prioritizes industrial development, especially seaports and petrochemistry as well as sea tourism./.

Transport trading floors operate ineffectively

One of the big shortcomings, weakening the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods not only in foreign markets but also in the domestic market, is the high transportation costs. This needs to be resolved immediately when several free trade agreements between Vietnam and many countries take effect.

Establishing a transport trading floor is a good idea. And authorities had expected that this idea would attract the participation of both shippers and vehicle owners. However, so far, most of the transport exchanges through the websites and the apps have not been successful, the number of users is quite small. Many transport trading floors even have stopped working.

VinaTrucking, Vietnam’s first transport trading floor, officially operating from December 2015, was expected to help shippers to save 30 percent of shipping costs and help transporters to increase at least 30-50 percent of revenues and reduce waste because up to nearly 50 percent of trucks were empty due to a shortage of goods. However, according to the reporter’s finding, over the past time, on the VinaTrucking exchange, there were only 23 vehicle codes registered to search for freight.

Of which, the four codes CX-1274, CX-1275, CX-1276, and CX-1277 register for container trucks from Binh Duong Province to Phu Quoc Island from January 31, 2018, to October 28, 2020. Some other vehicle codes registered to go from Hai An District in Hai Phong City to Viet Tri City in Phu Tho Province from October 31, 2016, to October 30, 2020. Meanwhile, the list of consignments to be transported is blank. This shows that there are vehicles registering but the source of freight is not available, meaning that the floor has not made any transactions for the vehicle owners yet.

At the same time, at the sanvanchuyen.vn transport trading floor, the statistics posted on the website on February 18, 2019, were 805 registered transport companies; the number of transactions was 202; the amount of money traded via floor was VND505 million. However, currently, the website of this floor is sometimes accessible, sometimes inaccessible.

According to Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, the owner of a transport company with 158 trucks and container trucks specializing in transporting fruits from the South to Northern provinces, there are many delicate issues that he feels uncomfortable to talk about, but the bottom line is that transport trading floors have not met the needs of transporters.

Mr. Tran Thanh Tai, director of a transport company in Ho Chi Minh City, said that after participating on the floor for a while, he saw that the limitation of the transport trading floor is the lack of prestigious and big transport enterprises. Information that enterprises put on the floor cannot be controlled. Freights are often of high value, if losses occur, who will be responsible for them?

According to Mr. Bui Van Quan, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Goods Transport Association, many members of the association have participated in the transport floor. However, many customers trading on the floor offered unreasonable prices. Moreover, payment procedures were cumbersome, so many enterprises did not trade on the floor anymore. And yet, most of the exchanges were established by some private companies with the main purpose of providing services on commission. These companies "avoid" all the issues related to legality and the transaction procedures between shippers and transporters. So, if there is a risk, who will take responsibility for it?

With the opinions of the transport businesses, Mr. Ta Cong Thuan, General Director of Vinatrucking Transport Trading Floor, said that in the first one or two years, on average, the floor had 300-400 visits, received and handled dozens of orders every day. However, after having had the contacts of each other, shippers and transporters made the agreements by themselves, not through the floor anymore. This is an economic transaction, the two sides agree on their own without any binding mechanism, nor sanctions so the floor cannot do anything.

‘For the exchange to operate effectively, it is necessary to establish a logistics chain. With only a trading floor playing as an intermediary, it is not feasible,’ said Mr. Thuan. When being asked whether the operations of the transport trading floor will continue to be maintained, he answered that they were also considering that.

Objectively, many transport experts said that the State needs to provide more support mechanisms, such as propaganda, building a legal corridor for the floor to operate. In the past time, most of the transactions between shippers and transporters were done in the old way, which is connected stably and has certain benefits to each other. Therefore, changing the method and putting these transactions on the floor is not easy, it takes time and the support of management tools for enterprises to get used to the new method, creating motivation in the initial time.

SGGP/VNA/VIR/VNS/VOV/Dtinews

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 11

02:35

Fierce competition in retail market

The Vietnamese retail market has seen some exciting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in addition to electronic commerce in 2019 and early 2020 resulting in fierce competition in the market.

Soon after Vietnam participated in the World Trade Organization, the Southeast Asian country has been ranked as one of the most attractive retail markets. With its population of nearly 100 million people, 70 percent of them at the working age and 34 percent of them in urban areas and the fastest-growing middle class in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has become an ideal market; therefore, giant retail corporations such as Metro Cash & Carry, Casino Group, Parkson, Auchan, 7-Eleven, Aeon, Lotte Mart have flocked to the Southeast Asian country.

Locally, in addition to familiar brand names including Saigon Co.op – investor of Co.opmart, Co.op Food, The Gioi Di Dong, Nguyen Kim, FPT Shop, Hapro Mart, newcomers namely VinGroup with Vinmart, Vinmart+, Bach hoa Xanh ( Green Grocery) jumped into the market.

The presence of local and international retailers has changed the market dramatically. Commercial centers and supermarkets have been booming gradually replacing traditional business.

However, some retailers are exhausted in the intense competition leading to many mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with high value; specifically, Pakson (Malaysia), Metro Cash & Carry (German), Casino Group (France), and Maximark (Vietnam)...

In 2019, Saigon Co.op has bought out French company Auchan Retail’s operations in Việt Nam, which include 15 retail stores and an e-commerce platform. Private conglomerate Vingroup acquired supermarket chain Queenland Mart in last September. Especially, in December, 2019, Masan took over Vingroup retail subsidiary including VinMart, VinMart+ and VinEco.

Along with mergers and acquisitions, many enterprises have operated sporadically with low growth; for instance, 7-Eleven expected to open 100 outlets by 2020 but it has opened just 30 stores in Vietnam and GS25 planned to open 2,500 stores countrywide ten years after January 19, 2018 when it opened first outlet; but in fact, it has opened more than 50 stores so far.

First months of 2020, retailers raced relentlessly to open online business because of social distancing due to Covid-19 crisis.

For sustainable development, retailing systems such as Co.opmart, Big C, Vinmart, Aeon, Emart have spent more on e-commerce. Each supermarket all has hot line so that customers can order commodities through phone.

Statistically, revenue from online sale in first six months has risen by 20 percent -40 percent compared to the same period last year; particularly, turnover of food and foodstuff, cosmetic has skyrocketed by 100 percent.

Distribution stores of state-owned food processor Vissan not only sell goods through phones and portal but also cooperates with e-commerce platform like Sendo and Now to diversify its distribution channels.

Additionally, supermarkets have sold more commodities and combined entertainment areas to satisfy demand of customers of all age. For example, Shopping Mall, Omni-channel have been favorite places for shoppers because they offer customers’ shopping and entertainment demand.

part from that, convenience store to provide food and foodstuff, essential commodities also meet consumers’ needs. Take Saigon Co.op as an example. Saigon Co.op is focusing on investment in Co.opmart supermarket chains and retail stores including Co.op Food, Co.op Smile.

The competition in retail industry has been more fierce in the time when consumers tighten their spending due to Covid-19 impacts. To compete each other, retailers will renovate continuously comprising using IT and having business strategies to attract customers./.

Vietnam food, drink and textile manufacturers among largest beneficiaries of EVFTA

This is the second FTA that the EU has ever made with a Southeast Asian country, after Singapore.

Food, drink and textile exporters in Vietnam and the EU will be some of the largest beneficiaries of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) that came into effect on August 1, according to Fitch Solutions, a subsidiary of Fitch Group.

The EU Parliament ratified the trade deal and the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) in February 2020 and the Vietnamese parliament did so on June 8, paving the way for the EVFTA to become effective in August.

This is the second FTA that the EU has ever made with a Southeast Asian country, the first being Singapore.

The terms of the EVFTA mean that the EU will eliminate approximately 71% of duties on imports from Vietnam, from day one, while 99% of all products and services will enter duty-free after seven years. Vietnam will lift 49% of its import duties on EU exports from day one and will phase out the rest over the next 10 years.

In terms of tariff eliminations by the EU for Vietnam's products, fishery products will see a reduction from the current 60.2% to 1.9% by 2027. Similarly, processed agricultural products have tariff reduction from the current 37.2% to 2.1% by 2027. There are also favorable market access preferences, in the form of duty-free tariff rate quotas, granted by the EU to Vietnam, stated Fitch Solutions.

For manufacturers in clothing and footwear industries, the EU will eliminate duties with longer staging periods (up to seven years) for some sensitive products, especially in the textile apparel and footwear sectors.

To benefit from the preferential access, the strict rules of origin for garments will require the use of fabrics produced in Vietnam, with the only exception being of fabrics produced in South Korea (another FTA partner of the EU).

Regarding alcoholic drinks, the wine and spirit sectors of both EU and Vietnam’s markets will be liberalized after seven years.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese seafood will improved market access via duty-free tariff rate quotas or full liberalization. This includes surimi (500 tons); canned, fresh and chilled tuna (11,500 tons); non-processed shrimp will be liberalized from day one; and catfish will be liberalized in three years.

Meanwhile, the European Commission estimated the bloc’s GDP would be added US$29.5 billion by 2035, along with additional growth of 29% in exports to Vietnam./.

Vietnam GDP growth predicted to expand 3.1% in 2020: AMRO

AMRO remains optimistic about the Vietnam's outlook, thanks to the country's effective anti-virus measures and favorable structural economy.

Vietnam’s GDP growth for this year is predicted at 3.1% in 2020 and bounce back to 7% in next year, according to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), a regional macroeconomic surveillance organization in the ASEAN+3 region (plus China, Japan and South Korea).

These figures are significantly lower than AMRO’s previous prediction in March at corresponding 6.6% and 6.8%, but remained highest in the region.

Hoe Ee Khor, AMRO’s chief economist, said at the online launch of the report on August 6 that while the GDP growth forecast for Vietnam did not take into account the recent Covid-19 resurgence in Danang, the office remains positive about Vietnam’s outlook, given its efficient measures against the pandemic and the 100-day period without any new Covid-19 cases.

Vietnam’s structural economy is different to countries like Thailand, set to suffer a contraction of 7.8% this year, for which the latter’s two main driving forces of tourism and auto industry have been badly hit by the pandemic.

According to Khor, some major industries in Vietnam, including electronics production and textile are less affected by the pandemic. Additionally, the country continues to receive large amount of foreign direct investment and is among major beneficiaries of a shift in investment capital from China.

However, it remains to be seen how the outbreak in Danang turns out, he added.

The World Bank in late July predicted Vietnam’s economic growth at 2.8% this year, the fifth fastest-growing economy globally.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause severe economic impacts among countries in the region. The average GDP growth rates of ASEAN+3 in this year and next have been revised down to 0.1% and 6% compared to 4.2% and 5% reported in March.

The recovery is anticipated to follow a gradual U-shape, led by China, which is projected to grow by 2.3% this year compared to 6.1% in 2019, while nine of the 14 ASEAN+3 member economies are expected to contract in 2020, including Japan and South Korea, stated the report.

Countries that are expected to maintain positive economic growth this year are China, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

However, this trajectory assumes that any unwinding of policy measures proceeds smoothly, and is predicated on the effective containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, both regionally and globally, it added.

AMRO’s report stated the biggest challenge facing ASEAN+3 policymakers will be balancing the tradeoff between easing restrictions to revive the economy and risking a second or even third wave of infections.

For the region to open up fully, the virus must be fully contained in all countries. Otherwise, it will spread from the infected countries to others, and there will be another round of lockdowns, which the region can surely ill-afford, the report asserted./.

Hanoi to call for EU investment in pharmaceutical and hi-tech industries: Mayor

The EVFTA is an opportunity for Hanoi to boost cooperation in trade and investment with EU member countries, said Hanoi’s mayor Nguyen Duc Chung.

As the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has come into force, Hanoi plans to promote investment from European countries, focusing on pharmaceutical, supporting and hi-tech industries, according to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung.

The trade deal is an opportunity for Hanoi to boost cooperation in trade and investment with EU member countries, Mr. Chung said at an online conference regarding the implementation of the EVFTA on August 6.

According to Mr. Chung, 23 out of 27 EU countries are investing in Hanoi with registered capital of a combined US$4.16 billion, or 10% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the city to date.

The majority of European businesses in Hanoi are operating in the supporting industries and manufacture of hi-tech products, Mr. Chung informed.

In the anticipation of the EVFTA, Mr. Chung said Hanoi has drafted an action plan for comprehensive investment and cooperation programs between Hanoi and EU countries, especially those with a long-standing relations with the capital city.

To continue attracting FDI from EU, Hanoi would focus on reforming administrative procedures and the business environment, Mr. Chung suggested.

Mr. Chung noted one of the city’s priorities is to support local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in taking part in technology transfer, acquiring new technologies and joining the Industry 4.0 for higher quality of products and services.

While the tourism industry has been severely affected by the pandemic, Hanoi identifies the EU as a major market and would continue to attract European tourists in the post-Covid-19 period, Mr. Chung added.

Over the past two years, while the rate of goods and products from foreign-invested enterprises exported to the EU market has gone down from 55% to 46%, that of Hanoi’s firms has increased from 46% to 54.5%. This suggested enterprises in Hanoi have been investing in technologies and renovating their production methods to adapt to requirements of EU market, Mr. Chung asserted.

Hanoi’s authorities would continue to support local enterprises in enhancing competitiveness to meet the EU’s strict requirements, Mr. Chung stated.

The EVFTA took effect on August 1 following the green light from the European Parliament on February 12 and a similar decision from Vietnam’s National Assembly on June 8.

The EVFTA, officially signed last June after six years of negotiations, has been dubbed the most ambitious FTA the EU has ever reached with a developing country, according to the European Commission. It not only includes the almost full elimination of bilateral tariffs, but also a substantial reduction of non-tariff barriers. Moreover, it includes provisions to protect intellectual property, labor, environmental standards, and fair competition, while promoting regulatory coherence./.

IFC provides US$140 million to help VN’s firms affected by COVID-19

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is extending US$140 million in total financing to two Vietnamese commercial banks to help them support businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), that have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IFC will provide US$100 million to VPBank and another US$40 million to Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) in one-year, renewable senior loans to enable local businesses with disrupted cash flows to sustain operations and maintain jobs.

The development finance institution is also partnering with international lenders, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to raise additional financing to expand VPBank’s lending capacity further. AIIB will co-finance up to US$100 million to support VPBank’s COVID-19 relief initiatives to its business customers.

“SMEs are strategic client segment to VPBank and we have continuously offered various solutions to their needs given the ongoing pandemic, said Nguyen Duc Vinh, CEO of VPBank.

Abour 20% of the working capital line for VPBank is expected to be earmarked for women-led SMEs, with blended finance funding provided by the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility, a first-of-its-kind global finance facility for women entrepreneurs launched by IFC and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Woman.

|SMEs are “the backbone of Viet Nam’s economy”, said Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of OCB, adding that as they struggle amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation, IFC’s timely and rapid support will play a significant role in helping them cope with this unprecedented global crisis, contributing to an economy recovery process that is resilient and sustainable.

The loans to VPBank and OCB are part of IFC’s US$8 billion fast-track financing to support its private-sector clients during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our experience from past shocks, including the global financial crisis 2008, has taught us that micro, small and medium enterprises are especially impacted by the current crisis. Keeping them solvent it, therefore, key to saving jobs and limiting the economic damage”, said IFC country manager for Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos, Kyle Kelhofer.

Both VPBank and OCB are exiting clients of IFC. The World Bank Group’s investment arm extended US$212.5 million financing package to VPBank in January this year and US$100 million funding to OCB earlier.

According to the General Department of Statistics’ survey results of assessing the impact of COVID-19 on production and business activities of enterprises in Viet Nam, there were 85.7% of enterprises nationwide affected by COVID-19.

57.7% of those thought that the consumption market went down sharply. 22.1% of respondents were in shortage of inputs. 45.4% of respondents were in shortage of financing for their business operations.

The survey was conducted from 10 April to 20 April 2020 in the online manner, with 126,565 responding firms, accounting for 20% of the total operating enterprises./.

Revenue of retail sales and services rises in July

Vietnam’s revenue of retail sales and services in July was estimated at 431.9 trillion VND (18.6 billion USD), up 3.3 percent over the previous month and up 4.3 percent from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

This was also the month during the summer vacation of students, so many families travelled in the country.

Revenue reached 333.8 trillion VND from retail sales, up 2.6 percent month on month and up 7 percent year on year; 48.2 trillion VND from accommodation and food services, up 9.2 percent month on month but down 4.4 percent year on year; and 1.5 trillion VND from tourism, up 29.6 percent month on month but down 59.7 percent year on year.

In the first seven months of this year, total revenue of retail sales and services was 2.8 quadrillion VND, down 0.4 percent over the same period last year.

If excluding the price factor, the total revenue decreased by 4.8 percent year on year while in the first seven months of last year, it gained an increase of 9 percent year on year.

Of which, the revenue of retail sales in the first seven months reached 2.2 quadrillion VND, accounting for 79.2 percent of the total. It rose by 3.6 percent over the same period last year because July was a promotional month to stimulate domestic consumption, increase market shares and restore the domestic economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The revenue of accommodation and catering services in the first seven months was estimated to reach 280.9 trillion VND, accounting for 10 percent of the total. It was down 16.6 percent over the same period last year.

Localities having strong reductions in revenue of accommodation and catering services included Khanh Hoa (59.1 percent), Ba Ria-Vung Tau (46.5 percent), HCM City (45.1 percent), Can Tho (27.5 percent), Da Nang (24.5 percent), Thanh Hoa (21.5 percent) and Hanoi (18.9 percent).

The tourism revenue in the seven months was estimated at 11.1 trillion VND, down 55.4 percent over the same period last year.

Some localities had a sharp decrease in tourism revenue included Khanh Hoa (76.4 percent), HCM City (74.9 percent), Ba Ria - Vung Tau (63.3 percent), Da Nang (58.6 percent), Can Tho (57.1 percent), Quang Ninh (50.5 percent), Quang Binh (48.6 percent), Hanoi (38.6 percent), Thanh Hoa (38.5 percent), Binh Dinh (38 percent) and Hai Phong (23.7 percent)./.

Wood, wooden product exports rise 6.2 pct.

Wood and wooden product exports hit 1.05 billion USD in July, bringing the figure to 6.09 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 6.2 percent, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has revealed.

Imports by the sector neared 1.31 billion USD in the seven-month period, down 10.3 percent compared to the same period last year. It therefore posted a surplus of 4.78 billion USD.

The US, China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea remained the top four export destinations, accounting for the lion’s share at 84 percent.

Vietnam’s plywood industry has grown at an average rate of 31 percent annually in the last five years, according to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority at MARD. There are now 42 FDI projects in the country’s plywood industry.

With the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement having taken effect in August, Vietnam expects to see wood and wooden product export revenues increase 17 percent as tariffs are lifted./.

Vietnam exports nearly 4m tonnes of rice in seven months

Việt Nam exported 3.9 million tonnes of rice, earning US$1.9 billion, in the first seven months of this year, according to the Department of Agro Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Export volume fell 1.4 per cent but increased by 10.9 per cent in value over the same period last year.

The department also said that in the first half of this year, the Philippines ranked first in Việt Nam's rice export market with nearly 37 per cent of total rice exports.

Việt Nam exported 1.4 million tonnes of rice to the Philippines, earning $635 million, up 13.3 per cent and 30.5 per cent, respectively, over the same period last year.

Other markets with strong growth in rice exports included Senegal (up 19.6 times), Indonesia (2.8 times) and China (nearly 90 per cent).

Việt Nam’s average rice export price in the first six months hit $487.6 per tonne, 13 per cent higher than the same period in 2019, reported Tiền phong (Vanguard) newspaper.

According to the department, on the world market, the export price of Thai rice in July fluctuated between $440-515 per tonne. Việt Nam’s rice export prices in the month were between $415 – 457 per tonne. The export prices of Indian rice were between $373 and 382 per tonne./.

19 VN businesses join ASEAN Online Sale Day 2020

As many as 215 businesses from 10 ASEAN countries, including 19 from Vietnam will take part in the ASEAN Online Sale Day 2020, the first of its kind to be held in the region on August 8, to mark the 53rd founding anniversary of the group.

Joining the event will be major Vietnamese electronic trading floors such as Lazada, Shopee, Fado, Tiki, Thegioididong, Accesstrade, Viettel Post, VNPay, ZaloPay, Bibica, Bitis, and Sunhouse.

Customers have the chance to purchase typical products such as tea, coffee and silk which will be shipped across the region free of charge.

Notably, Lazada, Shopee, Fado and Tiki are poised to launch special promotion sales on this occasion to welcome the regional online shopping event.

ASEAN Online Sale Day is designed to realize the ASEAN Agreement on E-commerce, creating a prerequisite for the development of cross-border e-commerce.

The event aims to help businesses in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries to popularize the online shopping model during the epidemic time. It will be held annually to promote cross-border e-commerce./.

58 containers of pepper re-exported from Nepal

Vietnamese businesses have been granted permission to receive back 58 containers of pepper after they had been left stuck in Birgunj port in Nepal and Kolkata port in India.

The Nepal Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies submitted a document requesting that the Customs Department of Nepal permit Vietnam to re-export the consignment of pepper.

Since the submission of the document, the majority of pepper shipments have been granted the No Objection Certificate by the Customs Department of Nepal.

Previously, a number of Vietnamese pepper exporters had faced difficulties in attempting to export the product to Nepal. Indeed, many of their items didn’t receive clearance after it emerged that the firms based in Nepal had failed to apply for import permits while also refusing to receive the shipments.

Vietnamese businesses are now contacting Nepali shipping agents in order to get the shipments from Nepal, with the clearance of the containers expected to put an end to the storage costs incurred by the enterprises.

Once the shipments return, they will be able to continue being exported to other markets in order to take advantage of the high price for pepper exports at present./.

Public debt of Laos predicted to increase amid COVID-19

The public debt of Laos may increase to as much as 65 to 68 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 following a sharp fall in national revenue collection alongside an increase in loans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vientiane Times reported.

Revenue collection by Laos in 2020 will decrease by about 6.32 trillion kip (696 million USD), Finance Minister and Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somdy Douangdy said at the recent ninth session of the eight National Assembly.

The value of exports during the first six months of 2020 were at a low level of around 2.6 billion USD, a decreased of 5.1 percent compared to the same period of 2019, according to an assessment by an agency of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Important sectors, especially processing industries and construction, showed a decreasing trend. This included falls in cement, gold and copper production.

The exports of several products, such as clothes, cassava, bananas, coffee, wood pulp, paper and electronic equipment, are expected to be heavily impacted.

Investments are expected to decrease. The value of approved investments through the concession system in the first five months of 2020 was only 151 million USD, as against 2.38 billion USD for the same period of 2019.

The tourism sector too is expected to be further impacted during the last six months of the year, as the number of tourist arrivals in Laos in the first six months was only 887,447, a decrease of 60 percent compared to the same period of 2019./.

Philippines' economy plunges into technical recession

The Philippines has plunged into a technical recession as the economy dropped 16.5 percent in the second quarter of 2020, the lowest recorded quarterly growth since 1981.

In an online meeting on August 6, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the economy contracted by 16.5 percent during the April to June period, following the downward-revised -0.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, and 5.4 percent in the second quarter of 2019.

According to the PSA, in the second quarter, both industry and services declined 22.9 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.

The main contributors to the decline were manufacturing, 21.3 percent; construction, 33.5 percent; and transportation and storage, 59.2 percent.

Among the major economic sectors, agriculture, forestry, and fishing increased with 1.6 percent growth.

According to experts, the economic slowdown was partly because of the April - May coronavirus lockdown.

In mid-March, the Philippines imposed a lockdown in Metro Manila and other parts of the country to curb the spread of the virus./.

EVFTA offers new prospects to European economies

The EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which came into effect on August 1, not only opens up opportunities to spur Vietnam's economy but also offers new prospects to European economies at a time of global financial uncertainties, according to the German press agency DPA.

In a recent article, the agency quoted Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as saying that the deal "opens up opportunities" to boost Vietnam's economy.

In an opening speech at a video conference to optimise the deal, PM Phuc urged authorities to ensure international labour standards are met and measures are taken to protect the environment. He also expressed hope that the agreement will ensure Vietnam's products meet European standards and increase jobs.

Jean-Jacques Bouflet, Vice Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, was also cited as saying that in a recent survey, 74 percent of European business leaders said the EVFTA will have a positive impact.

"Currently, worldwide business activities are seriously affected by COVID-19," Bouflet said at a trade forum on July 31. "The EVFTA will promote trade and investment, create long-term opportunities and shape the relationship between the EU and Vietnam over the next ten years."

He added that the EVFTA will provide EU enterprises with the chance to access one of the most vibrant consumer markets in Southeast Asia and compete on equal terms with other countries that have signed free trade agreements with Vietnam like Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK), the article said.

The EVFTA has also made headlines in newspapers in Europe, which stressed great opportunities for European firms to access Southeast Asia.

Austria’s Industriemagazin.at magazine cited Secretary General of the Austrian Federation of Industrialists Christoph Neumayer as saying the agreement is another building block for domestic and European companies to gain access to important future markets. This applies in particular to Vietnam, which is part of the fast-growing ASEAN region with more than 600 million people.

Other news sites and newspapers of Germany like onvista.de, nuernberger-blatt.de and Neues Deutschland also ran articles highlighting the deal, and trade ties between Vietnam and the EU./.

Planning on Red River banks needs work

Hanoi has created urban development plans for the banks of the Hong (Red) River, yet problems remain due to lack of flood and dyke planning.

Planners have been seeking solutions to balance sustainable development with land and water resources.

In 2006, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development submitted a plan to the Government on flood prevention and control and dyke system reinforcement on the Red and Thai Binh rivers, reported Kinh Te Do Thi (Economy and City) newspaper.

Under the plan, it was necessary to move 855,993 people who lived on an area of 12,504ha on riverbanks to ensure safe flood discharging.

The areas for housing were below 15 percent of the river banks in Tam Xa- Xuan Canh and Long Bien-Cu Khoi areas in Hanoi.

The plan, which was approved but has not yet been carried out, was estimated to cost 113 trillion VND (4.9 billion USD). Along with funding from the State budget, revenue was to be drawn from the auction of land use rights in the river bank or investment in the public-private partnership (PPP) form.

This meant money collected from using the land would be used for flood drainage, so the area for flood drainage would be reduced to be used as housing, making flood drainage less safe.

The flood drainage corridor which was built by French irrigation engineers in 1905 has been degrading yearly.

For example, before merging with Hanoi, Ha Tay province allocated tens of thousands of hectares of land in the flood drainage corridor to real estate developers.

At present, many rivers in Hanoi and other provinces in the Red River Delta have been seriously polluted, which has caused a shortage of water for farming.

These issues have left Hanoians awaiting proper planning along the Red River to effectively use land and water for sustainable agriculture.

The section of the Red River flowing through Hanoi is more than 120km.

The riverbank is a large area so Hanoi could choose 1 or 2km alongside the river to carry out a trial planning project.

Recently, a group of Vietnamese and international urban planners proposed a plan for zoning a safe area which could ensure sustainable development for urban areas, farming and the environment.

The safe area would be protected by a concrete dyke system.

Residents currently living nearby the mudflats would be reallocated to at least 20m above sea level, freeing up the entire ground space and creating an extra 50-80ha for drainage in the flood season.

The river mudflats, which feature beautiful trees, would become a new park among hundreds of hectares of water surface of the river.

In the dry season, this place would be a safe and green park while in the flood season, it would be a training field for militia and youth volunteers to practice swimming and rescuing activities.

The plan is expected to create public assets worth billions of dollars, increase dynamism for the local economy and generate millions of new jobs for Hanoi and neighbouring provinces.

The same plan was carried out in some riverside cities of China like Wuhan, said the newspaper.

Additionally, the solution meets the essential requirements of flood prevention and dyke protection, adapting to extreme climate change at the highest level.

At present, wastewater does not flow into the city’s sewers but directly into the Red River, meaning Hanoi needs to plan for wastewater collection to eliminate pollution source in the river./.

Bac Lieu expands sustainable shrimp farming

Aquaculture production in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Bạc Liêu, particularly high-tech shrimp cultivation, has developed well in recent years because of investments in several kinds of farming models, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The province has 13 companies that have invested in high-tech shrimp farming models such as intensive farming under Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards and super-intensive shrimp farming.

Other models like rotating the breeding of shrimp in the dry season and growing rice in the rainy season on the same rice field, and the breeding of shrimp in mangrove forests, have been efficient and have helped to protect the environment.

The province bred or caught a total of 403,000 tonnes of seafood in the first seven months of the year, including 203,000 tonnes of shrimp, meeting more than its target for the period, according to the province’s People’s Committee.

Bạc Liêu has 131,000ha of aquaculture, including more than 123,000ha of shrimp.

With a coastline of 56 kilometres, the province has brackish and fresh water areas suited for breeding aquatic species.

However, agriculture production still faces the impact of climate change, rising sea levels and disease outbreaks, according to the People’s Committee.

During a meeting with a working group from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Bạc Liêu on Wednesday (July 29), Vương Phương Nam, deputy chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said that besides rice, aquaculture has conditions for sustainable development and contributes an important role in socio-economic development.

The province is planning to build a high-quality shrimp fry production centre and aims to become the country’s high-tech shrimp farming hub, according to Nam.

Hoàng Lưu Ly, director of the department, has petitioned MARD to invest in two ship lock combined sluices on the Cà Mau – Bạc Liêu Canal that would take water to breed shrimp south of National Highway No.1A in the dry season.

The province needed MARD’s support in research and transfer techniques for treating waste from shrimp farming under super-intensive, intensive and semi-intensive farming models to reduce pollution on a large scale, he said.

It has asked MARD for funds to invest in infrastructure for areas where the three farming models are being implemented and for an aquatic fry species production area south of National Highway No.1A.

Phùng Đức Tiến, Deputy Minister of MARD, praised the province for preventing disease in aquaculture and developing disease - free shrimp breeding establishments for exports.

He said the province should improve the management of aquatic fry species as well as food, medicine and bio-products used for aquaculture.

It should also raise public awareness among local residents about diseases and strictly punish violators of regulations, he said./.

Long An farmers using high-tech production see higher incomes

The use of advanced technologies in Long An Province has improved profits for farmers, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

For the last five years, the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has applied high-tech methods to cultivate 2,082ha of dragon fruit, 15,075ha of rice, 1,476ha of vegetables and 4,000 cows for meat.

The products are produced under Vietnamese or Global Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP or GlobalGAP) standards.

Phan Quốc Chinh, who has 1ha of dragon fruit under GlobalGAP standards in Châu Thành District, said he had invested in automatic drip and spray irrigation systems for his orchard. The systems use irrigation water and fertiliser effectively, he said.

Rice, dragon fruit, vegetables and cows are the province's key agriculture products. Shrimp is expected to be a key agriculture product for export in the future.

Many co-operatives and co-operative groups in the province are engaged in high – tech shrimp farming.

In Cần Giuộc District, for instance, five co-operatives and 42 co-operative groups are involved in the model. Each farmer spends an initial cost of VNĐ200 – 300 million (US$8,600 – 12,900) for equipment per 1,000 sq.m of shrimp ponds. The model saves labour costs, reduces the shrimp death rate and produces quality shrimp.

Farmers can harvest about 3 tonnes of shrimp per 1,000 sq.m pond after three months of breeding and earn a profit of VNĐ100 million ($4,300).

Nguyễn Thanh Điền in Cần Giuộc’s Phước Vĩnh Đông Commune said he harvested 5 – 7 tonnes per 2,000 sq.m from this high – tech shrimp pond. The profit was two to three times higher than traditional farming methods, he said.

The province plans to have more than 6,800ha of brackish shrimp this year, including 200ha using high-tech farming.

Đinh Thị Phương Khanh, deputy director of the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said that brackish shrimp farming areas combined with high – tech shrimp farming would breed three to four shrimp crops a year.

This would increase yield and quality, protect the environment and develop sustainable production, she said.

To produce products of even quality and size and in large amounts, the province has created favourable conditions for agriculture co-operatives. The province helps them access advanced farming techniques and develop value chains for their products.

It has also promoted linkages among farmers and companies to produce and buy agricultural produce, especially high – tech products.

With the province’s support, the Tâm Nông Việt High - Tech Agriculture Co-operative in Cần Giuộc District has received an automatic irrigation system to grow honeydew melon in poly-greenhouses.

According to Đinh Bạt Quy, director of Tâm Nông Việt, the co-operative produces clean produce and has stable outlets. It also grows vegetables in poly-greenhouses.

The Mười Hai Clean Vegetable Co-operative in Cần Đước District plants 40 kinds of VietGAP-quality vegetables on a total area of 163ha and sells to supermarkets in and outside the province.

Lê Văn Giấy, director of Mười Hai, said the co-operative planted vegetables in net houses and used drip and spray irrigation systems.

The co-operative invested in warehouses to preserve harvested vegetables according to the requirements of its purchasing partners, he said./.

Vietnam holds huge potential for IT development: Indian expert

Vietnam holds tremendous potential for information technology (IT) development thanks to its young and talented human resources and attractive investment climate, thereby becoming one of the brightest investment destinations for Indian firms, an Indian expert has said.

Sanjay Gupta, Corporate Vice President at HCL Technologies, made the remark during a virtual seminar on Vietnam’s key macroeconomic policies to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and potential sectors for long-term investors held by the Vietnamese Embassy in India on August 7.

The event drew the participation of about 100 businesses, investors, experts and scholars of the two countries.

At the event, Vietnamese delegates updated their Indian counterparts about the Vietnamese Government’s policies in the context of COVID-19 and potential sectors for investment, stressing that the country has become a bright spot in both economic recovery and fighting the pandemic.

With an open economy and favourable business climate, Vietnam boasts potential to become of the nations with the fastest economic growth in the world in the post-pandemic period.

Gupta also spoke highly of the Southeast Asian country’s incentives in IT development.

He noted that the number of Indian companies invested in Vietnam’s IT field, standing at only 23 so far, has yet to match with the potential of the sector and the cooperation potential between the two countries.

HCL Technologies is working on a major investment plan worth hundreds of millions of USD in Vietnam, he said, which may employ 8,000 people in the upcoming fiscal year especially in the software and service sectors.

The Indian company also eyes the establishment of one of its largest hubs in Southeast Asia in Vietnam, he added.

HCL Technologies, a multinational IT service and consulting company, is the third largest IT firm in India with 150,000 employees working in 47 countries and territories across the world./.

Dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese longan enter Australia over past few weeks

Dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese longans have been exported to Australia and distributed in the states of South Australia and Western Australia over the past few weeks.

The most recent was the shipment of 7.5 tonnes of longans from the Mekong Delta provinces which arrived in Australia on August 6 and the 9-tonne batch departing from the northern province of Hai Duong on August 8 will join a promotional event, titled “Nhan Viet Nam minh” (Vietnamese longans), to be held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia.

Both batches were imported by 4 Ways Fresh – a Australia-based agribusiness founded in early 1993.

According to 4 Ways Fresh CEO Ly Hoang Duy, Vietnamese fresh longans have gained good impression and favours from local consumers. Vietnamese longans are sold at lower prices compared to those grown in Australia, Duy said, adding that though the longans are small, they have special flavours and very sweet.

Since the beginning of 2020, 4 Ways Fresh has imported about 30 tonnes of longans from Vietnam, mostly the Mekong Delta. After the shipment of 9 tonnes of longans from Hai Duong arrived in Australian, the company plans to raise the weekly import to 10 tonnes to meet increasing demand.

The event “Vietnamese longans” will last until the harvest season ends in Vietnam, according to head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia Nguyen Phu Hoa. It will include promotional activities on social networks, he added.

In 2019, longan has become the fourth Vietnamese fruit to gain permission to enter Australian market after lychee, mango and dragon fruit./.

HCM City suggested to collect infrastructure fees at ports

Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Transport has recommended that the People’s Committee should collect infrastructure fees at ports to fund improvements to their facilities.

The volume of cargo handled by them is growing at 5 percent a year, with the goods brought mainly by road, meaning the number of container trucks going in and out of the ports is huge.

On average, 26,000 vehicles come to the ports every day but the road network around them has not developed commensurately, resulting in prolonged congestion, according to the department.

The city has been investing large amounts of money every year in transport networks, infrastructure and public services at or near ports that serve foreign trade.

But funds are limited and so fees should be collected from users of public facilities, the department said.

According to figures from the Association of Vietnam Seaports, HCM City ports’ throughput in 2018 was 6 million TEUs and Hai Phong ports’ was 2 million TEUs.

But Hai Phong collects fees at its ports, with the northern city’s People’s Council saying they amounted to 1.29 trillion VND (56 million USD) in 2018.

Revenue from the fees could also be used to invest in infrastructure for business activities, which would help make HCM City a smart city and improve its logistics services, according to the department./.

Vietnam, Japan foster cooperation in industry, trade, energy

The 4th meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Committee on Cooperation in Industry, Trade and Energy was held in Hanoi on August 7 in the form of video conferencing.

Hanoi – The 4th meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Committee on Cooperation in Industry, Trade and Energy was held in Hanoi on August 7 in the form of video conferencing.

The meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kajiyama Hiroshi.

Hiroshi lauded the leadership of Vietnam as ASEAN Chair 2020, and committed to further coordination with the country.

The two ministers highlighted persity, transparency, and sustainability in building a firm supply chain in the industrial sector.

Anh said the Vietnamese Government pledges to perfect the investment environment in the time ahead to facilitate the operation of foreign investors in general and those from Japan in particular.

He appreciated Japan’s technical assistance in personnel development in the industrial sector over the past years.

Both ministers pledged to make efforts for a free, fair, transparent, stable and foreseeable trade and investment environment in Asia-Pacific.

They also discussed other issues like digital transformation, the fourth Industrial Revolution and the free flow of data with trust.

In the field of energy, they said the Nghi Son oil refinery is significant to both sides, and suggested the Vietnamese and Japanese governments facilitate the implementation of the project.

It is necessary to persify energy resources, step up oil and gas cooperation and promote energy-related policies to meet the increasing demand for energy, they said.

Meeting discusses amendments to decrees on SOE equitisation

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh chaired a meeting on August 10 to review draft decrees that amend and supplement a number of Government decrees on equitising State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and divesting State capital from businesses.

To clear legal barriers and speed up the equitisation and divestment processes, the Government and Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to draft decrees amending and supplementing Government Decrees No 126/2017/ND-CP, 91/2015/ND-CP, and 32/2018/ND-CP.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Finance proposed measures for land rearrangement and use during the SOE equitisation and discussed State capital divestment at enterprises with demand for increasing their capital.

It also suggested clarifying cultural and historical values in the initial price transfer of State capital, among other issues.

Binh directed the ministry to continue examining and adjusting the decrees to tackle obstacles related to financial mechanisms and policies.

Changes must be in line with the law on the management and use of public assets, he said, stressing that SOEs work with local authorities to set prices for public assets or return them to localities in line with the law, in the spirit of not letting assets on land go to waste.

Ninety-three SOEs must complete their equitisation by the end of this year under Decision No 26/2019/QD-TTg issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in August 2019. Thirty-eight are based in HCM City and 13 in Hanoi./.

VNN

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 12

02:24

Foreign firms to gain greater footing in petrol retail market

New policies are in the making to allow foreign firms to gain greater footing in Vietnam's petrol retail market, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Government Decision 83/2014/ND-CP, for the first time, considers giving the green light to domestic petrol retail firms to sell up to 34 percent of their shares to foreign buyers. The sales must also be inspected and approved by the MoIT before taking effect.

In recent years, as domestic firms pushed for equitisation many have become part-owned by foreign firms including the Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) with 8 percent owned by foreign partners, PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) 20 percent and Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical 34 percent.

Tran Duy Dong, head of the MoIT's domestic market department, said while the country encouraged foreign firms to invest in the domestic market, the Government must reserve the role of market management, explaining the MoIT must inspect and approve sales of shares by domestic firms.

The 34 percent ceiling posed little threat to national energy security as domestic firms would still control the businesses, said expert Dr Dinh Trong Thinh. Meanwhile, having foreign firms in the petrol market is one of the fastest ways for Vietnam to build a market economy.

Vu Vinh Phu, former deputy director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade, said the 34 percent ceiling allows firms to attract foreign investments and along with them, modern technologies to improve the quality of products and services while maintaining control of the market.

Phu said there was a need to improve transparency and fairness to encourage foreign firms and the Government must ensure a level playing field for all. He also called for petrol prices to be adjusted more frequently (down to a 10-day cycle or fewer compared to the current 15-day) to better reflect the international market's price movement.

Ministry of Construction eyes building low-cost housing

The Ministry of Construction is completing a draft resolution to encourage the development of low-cost commercial apartments to submit to the Government in the third quarter of this year.

The low-cost commercial apartments would have self-contained designs with an area of less than 70sq.m and selling price of under 857 USD per spq.m, The maximum value of an apartment must not exceed 64 USD (including VAT).

The resolution would provide many preferential policies on land use fees, taxes, construction investment procedures and capital mobilisation mechanisms to create favourable conditions for developers to invest in such projects.

Homebuyers would have more opportunities to buy commercial housing at reasonable prices, helping address people's housing needs.

The country has mobilised more 2.6 billion USD to support estate developers to build social housing projects and lend to people in buying and renting such apartments./.

Vietnamese longan make inroads into fastidious markets

The northern province of Hai Duong is expected to ship a batch of 250 tonnes of longan to choosy markets such as Europe, Australia, and Singapore this year.

Nguyen Van Phu in An Mo village, Le Loi commune is now planting longan on an area of over 3,200 sq m, all of which meet VietGap standards. In recent days he has followed a strict process to ensure his longan meet requirements for export to Australia, Singapore, and the US. They are now ready for shipping.

Chi Linh city has 673 ha of growing area specifically for longan, with four codes, equal to 43 ha, having been granted for exports to demanding markets around the globe.

Sample testing for pesticide residue is one of the stringent requirements set out by these demanding markets.

Hai Duong province is home to approximately 2,100 ha of longan trees, with this year’s output set to reach over 10,000 tonnes.

This year it boasts more than 50 ha eligible for export to fastidious markets./.

Thai economy worst-hit by COVID-19 in ASEAN+3: AMRO

Thailand's economic growth is likely to fall 7.8 percent, the biggest projected drop in the region, due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism and service sectors, according to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

AMRO's chief economist Hoe Ee Khor said that ASEANs economic growth could drop from 4.6 percent to minus 2.6 percent due to the impacts of the pandemic.

For ASEAN and its Plus Three partners of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the average growth could drop from 4.8 percent last year to 0 percent this year, he added.

Many countries are slipping into recession, depending on their economic structures and how successful they were in containing COVID-19, he said.

However, even with the most successful countries like Thailand, he continued, a negative growth of 7.8 percent is expected because its economy depends on tourism and services, which were hit very badly.

He noted that if ASEAN+3 quickly controlled the outbreak, they could grow by as much as 6 percent next year.

The Thai cabinet recently approved the Finance Ministry's proposal to borrow 1.5 billion USD from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to stimulate and rehabilitate the economy.

The borrowing scheme is part of the government's plan to issue a royal decree to borrow 1 trillion baht (32 billion USD) to revive the virus-hit economy./.

Public debt of Laos predicted to increase amid COVID-19

Important sectors, especially processing industries and construction, showed a decreasing trend. This included falls in cement, gold and copper production.

The exports of several products, such as clothes, cassava, bananas, coffee, wood pulp, paper and electronic equipment, are expected to be heavily impacted.

Vietnam gains ground over China in apparel exports to US

Vietnam’s market share in US apparel imports is now equal to that of China, which was the largest supplier of products for fashion companies in the US just seven months ago.

Vietnam is now on par with China in terms of apparel exports to the US in the first six months of 2020, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

SCMP cited data from the US Department of Commerce that US apparel imports from China, by value, dropped from almost 30% in 2019 to 20% during the period, while Vietnam improved its market share from 16% to China’s level over the same period.

Seven months ago, China was still the largest supplier of products for fashion companies in the US but its significant advantage over Vietnam has since evaporated because of the coronavirus and the decoupling tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, according to SCMP.

The erosion of the Chinese position in the US fashion supply chain partially reflects growing tensions, as American fashion firms are forced to reduce their exposure to Chinese suppliers in response to the trade war, the coronavirus pandemic and deteriorating bilateral relations.

A survey by the US Fashion Industry Association, which polled 25 executives from leading fashion companies in the second quarter, found that while most imported from a mixture of countries, including China and Vietnam, 29% said they sourced more from Vietnam than China this year, up from 25% last year.

“Should US-China trade tensions continue to escalate, it is likely that US fashion companies will substantially cut their China sourcing further, even if it is not a preferred choice economically,” Sheng Lu, associate professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, was quoted by SCMP as saying.

The worsening ties between the US and China has also accelerated the move already underway by Chinese manufacturers and exporters to shift some productions out of China to nearby countries to take advantage of lower labour costs and avoid American import tariffs. However, the shift has been slowed this year due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

“Foreign investments have truly played a critical role in helping Vietnam develop and expand its garment production capacity,” added Lu from the University of Delaware.

Over the past three decades, foreign direct investment flowing into Vietnam’s textile and garment industry totaled US$19.5 billion, with South Korea being the top source, followed by Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Vietnam./.

HCM City supports tourism businesses in face of COVID-19

Authorities of the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City are continuously taking preventive measures to ensure safety for tourists while supporting travel businesses to overcome difficulties and devising policies to promote tourism for the post-pandemic period.

As the disease broke out again in Da Nang in July, many enterprises in HCM City have delayed or cancelled their tourism programmes in the central coastal city.

Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the municipal Department of Tourism, said the department will continue assessing losses caused by the pandemic and propose solutions to the municipal People’s Committee to deal with setbacks and maintain operation for enterprises.

The department is studying scenarios to resume the tourism industry after the pandemic is brought under control and to continue investment so as to improve the quality of tourism products and services, he added.

According to the municipal Department of Health, more than 36,000 people returning from Da Nang have made health declarations. However, airlines’ statistics show that 140,000 people were on flights from Da Nang to HCM City in July and this keeps the risk of COVID-19 infections in the community high.

So far, HCM City has recorded a total of 71 COVID-19 cases, including 62 recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health./.

Malaysia promotes cheap sales to spur economic growth

The Malaysian government has allowed traders to hold unlimited cheap sales in a bid to fuel consumer spending, thereby boosting the country's economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the New Straits Times, traders in Malaysia were previously allowed to organise cheap sales four times a year, thrice stipulated by the government and another period and date chosen by business operators.

The government’s new initiative now enables them to hold unlimited cheap sales without quotas.

Professor Dr Yeah Kim Leng from the Sunway University Business School of Economics said such a move could spur growth and improve the country's economy, noting that the normalisation of consumer spending is crucial to the country's sustained economic recovery.

It is especially important during the current COVID-19-induced downturn in reviving the domestic economy, especially in the affected industries such as hospitality, restaurant, food, retail and tourism that sustain the livelihood of a large number of employees and small businesses, according to him.

Echoing Yeah, Bank Islam chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said consumer spending had always been the major driver for growth, which accounted for more than 50 percent of the Malaysian economy, and its boom could be seen from May when restrictions were relaxed and the economy was reopened.

The government's move to allow cheap sales should help to steer consumer spending more steadily, he added.

Like many other countries, the Malaysian economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past months, the country’s government has issued several stimulus packages to help the domestic economy weather difficulties./.

Cambodia speeds up formation of state property management bill

Cambodia’s draft law on state property management, which was reviewed by the country’s National Assembly at the request of the government, has been handed over to an expert committee for further study.

The Khmer Times reported that the Cambodian Council of Ministers adopted the draft law, which contains 12 chapters and 90 articles, at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen on July 3.

A statement from the Council of Ministers said that the bill is based on Article 58 of the 1993 Cambodian Constitution.

This article states that state property includes land, underground, mountains, seas, seabed, undersea, under-seabed, beach, air spaces, islands, rivers, creek, lakes, tributaries, forests, natural resources, economic and cultural centres, national defence bases and other buildings are designated as state-owned and managed by Cambodian law.

The National Assembly permanent committee noted in a statement that the draft law is designed to strengthen the legal framework, institutional structure and enhance the institutional capacity in managing state assets.

It includes identifying types of state asset sources, strengthening legal systems, managing property and inventory of state property, transfer of asset tenure, development, use of state property, inspection and audit, incentives and penalties for violations of the law regarding such, the statement added.

Executive director of Transparency International Cambodia Pech Pisey said the formation of the law on state property is a positive move because Cambodia has yet to have such specific laws covering the matter./.

Vietnam’s rice exports to Africa continue to rise

Vietnam’s rice exports to Africa rose sharply in the first six months of 2020 and are expected to continue surging in the remainder of the year and in 2021, according to Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Algeria Hoang Duc Nhuan.

Africa is one of the biggest rice importers in the world. Each year, the region imports about 12-13 million tonnes of rice. In 2019, Vietnam shipped rice worth nearly 630 million USD to 35 out of the total 55 African countries, including major markets such as Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Cameroon, Gabon, Tanzania, and Egypt.

Notably in January-June, Vietnam exported 41,150 tonnes of rice with turnover of 14.58 million USD, up 28.5 times in volume and 19.5 times in value.

The Vietnamese Trade Office in Algeria, which is also in charge of Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia, has been updating adjustments in their trade policies and rice import regulations to promptly inform to the Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as introduce businesses opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises.

Besides rice, Vietnam could boost exports of other farm produce such as coffee, pepper, cashew nut, fruit and vegetable, confectionery, cereal and aquatic products, as well as industrial products such as garment-textile, footwear, computers, electronic products and spare parts.

Vice versa, Vietnam could continue purchasing raw materials with reasonable prices from the markets to serve the processing and producing sectors at home.

From mid-July to early August 2020, Mali, Niger and Senegal have re-opened some air and land routes after controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. This would help resume trade and investment exchanges with other countries, including Vietnam./.

Thailand devises three scenarios for tourism recovery

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has envisioned three scenarios for the recovery pace of the country’s tourism next year, with the worst case being a contraction of revenue from international visitors to 296 billion THB (about 9.5 billion USD).

Local media quoted TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn as saying that the worst-case scenario, in which the country only allows international commercial flights to resume in the last quarter of 2021 amid a prolonged pandemic and global economic downturn, will see Thailand welcome just 6.14 million foreign tourists, mostly from Asia.

The worst-case scenario for the domestic market is a nationwide lockdown that forces economic growth to plunge 8 percent year-on-year, resulting in 68.4 million trips for the full year, generating 380 billion THB.

If there is a partial lockdown and an economic contraction of 3 percent, the number of domestic trips is estimated at 76.2 million, contributing 458 billion THB to the country.

The base case is for tourism to start a recovery path by the third quarter, with Thailand initially welcoming tourists from short-haul markets. At that time, tourists from Europe should gradually return during the summer break in July and August 2021, before fully rebounding by the end of the year.

Thailand will receive 12.5 million international travellers and 618 billion THB in revenue in the base-case scenario.

If the country reports zero local infections, while GDP growth is at 5 percent and the consumer confidence index falls 3 percent, there will be 84.92 million domestic trips with 491 billion THB in spending.

In the best-case scenario, total tourism revenue will reach 1.52 trillion THB, with Thailand recovering at the fastest pace in the second quarter.

Yuthasak said the agency estimates 20.5 million tourists coming from Asia and Europe during the summer break, which will generate 977 billion THB. Local travellers will take 89.2 million trips with 548 billion THB in spending if there are appropriate benefits to stimulate the market.

In the first six months of 2020, the number of foreign visitors to this country stood at 6.69 million, a year-on-year decline of 66 percent. The TAT predicted that foreign arrivals this year may plunge to 7 million, compared to the record of 39.8 million in 2019, if Thailand remains closed for international travellers in the fourth quarter of 2020./.

Thailand cuts chicken production as global demand drops

Thai chicken exports rose less than expected in the first half of this year due to COVID-19, according to the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association (TBPEA).

Thailand exported 470,000 tonnes of chicken in the first six months of 2020, representing a year-on-year rise of 2 percent, with export value of 54 billion baht (about 1.73 billion USD), up 1 billion baht.

The local media recently cited TBPEA manager Kukrit Arepagorn as saying the pandemic has caused Thailand’s two main markets, the European Union (EU) and Japan, to cut chicken imports.

Chicken exports to the EU dropped by 10 percent as the COVID-19 situation there is not yet resolved, he said, adding that Thailand expects to export 280,000 tonnes of chicken to the EU this year, down from 330,000 tonnes last year.

Meanwhile, chicken exports to Japan only rose by 2 percent because the virus outbreak had hit tourism and forced the country to postpone the Tokyo Olympic Games, reducing demand.

However, Kukrit said exports to China and Singapore had increased by 100,000 tonnes and 20,000 tonnes respectively in the six-month period./.

Thailand adjusts rice strategy to improve competitiveness

Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit has pledged to speed up adjustment of the country’s rice strategy as quickly as possible as the industry is facing an array of challenges, including a strong baht and rising production costs.

Local media quoted the official as saying after presiding over a recent Thai hom mali fragrant rice fair that rice exports have fared poorly since the beginning of last year because of foreign exchange swings and the ascendant baht, making Thai rice more expensive than competing grains.

The country’s Ministry of Commerce is pursuing a rice strategy to improve competitiveness, covering all systems including marketing, cultivation and R&D of new rice varieties, Jurin said, noting that it is also working to find ways to reduce production costs for farmers to make Thai rice more affordable.

He added it is promoting seven rice products and seed development as part of a marketing-led production strategy for 2020-24 recently announced by the ministry.

Jurin said the ministry will work closely with the Thai Rice Exporters Association to seek new trade partners to expand the export market, as Thai rice remains in strong demand globally given its quality.

The ministry has also ordered commercial ambassadors in various countries to accelerate seeking new markets and promote Thai rice to reach more consumers in overseas markets.

The official confirmed that the strong baht and the coronavirus pandemic are the main obstacles for rice exports this year.

The Thai Rice Exporters Association recently lowered its export forecast for 2020 to 6.5 million tonnes, the lowest in 20 years, from an earlier forecast of 7.5 million due to a host of headwinds./.

Indonesia to expand social aid, incentives for businesses

The Indonesian Government is planning to expand its social aid programme and incentives for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in an effort to boost consumer spending and revive the economy in the second half of this year.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said during a recent online press conference that the government will reallocate around 70.8 trillion Rp (4.85 billion USD) from existing ineffective stimulus packages to fund the social aid expansion and new incentives.

She noted the social aid program period will be extended to December to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the plan, the government will allocate 4.6 trillion Rp to increase the amount of rice for the 10 million recipients of the Family Hope Program to 15 kilograms per month. It will also disburse 500,000 Rp to 10 million Staple Food Card recipients this month.

The Indonesian Government is also preparing aid for workers with salaries lower than 5 million Rp per month and allocating an estimated budget of 31.2 trillion Rp for such aid.

The aid, in the form of direct cash transfers, will be focused on 13.8 million workers registered on the Workers Social Security Agency database who are not civil servants or State-owned enterprises (SOEs) employees, according to SOEs Minister Erick Thohir.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani also said the government will offer electricity and tax incentives for businesses and industries as well as productive aid for ultra-micro and micro businesses to support the supply side and help businesses to reduce their production costs.

It will also disburse aid to 12 million MSMEs with a total budget of 30 trillion Rp, she said, noting that the aid is meant for productive use and not in the form of loans.

Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk 5.32 percent year-on-year in the second quarter as all components, except for net exports, fell annually as a result of the pandemic./.

HCM City firms find ways to cope with Covid-19

Many companies in HCM City have adjusted working hours during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Firms in Vietnam and in HCM City, in particular, have reported continued difficulties following the new Covid-19 outbreak. In order to maintain business and protect their employees, they had to strictly implement preventive measures.

In the past seven months, over 200 employees at Hoang Anh Printing House have mostly worked from home and only need to go to the workplace twice or three times a week. This has resulted in a 30% decline in productivity.

The printing house's director Hoang An said, "Since the start of the first outbreak and after social distancing period, we have always asked employees to wear face masks and wash hands and we also adjusted the work schedules. Some people then told me that I could relax the rules a bit but I think that everyone's health is still the first priority."

Duong Hai Dao from Qui Phuc Company said they had carried out many awareness-raising activities about the outbreak and often disinfect the workplace. All of the employees were asked to wear face masks and wash their hands regularly. At the cafeteria, employees were asked to sit apart.

"We have set up a quick-response team to detect any abnormal issues and carried out suitable actions. We are prepared to deal with problems and to ensure operations," Dao said. "We put up banners and slogans to remind everyone about the on-going outbreak."

Tran Viet Anh, director of Nam Thai Son Company, agreed that awareness must be maintained. After the second wave broke out, all of their employees who had been to Danang were asked to self-isolate. They already have experience so everything went smoothly.

According to Anh, the employees understand the situation and take precautions themselves. That was why it was easy to apply changes.

"If we have to transfer goods to provinces and cities with outbreaks, we often brought the goods to a transit zones and warehouses that are safe and far from central areas. Our transportation system hasn't been disrupted," he said./.

HCM City industrial production falls sharply

HCM City’s index of industrial production for the first seven months of the year declined by 5.5 per cent year-on-year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to its Department of Industry and Trade.

Metal production, wood and bamboo and wooden products, machinery and equipment, pre-fabricated metal products, and beverages saw declines.

Many of Viet Nam’s trading and investment partners have their borders closed, and so businesses have to scale down production, the department said.

Local businesses also explained that industrial production has been facing pressure from imports.

To avoid negative growth in industrial production during the rest of the year, breakthrough solutions and policies to enable businesses to stabilise and expand production and develop markets are needed, Nguyen Phuong Dong, the department’s deputy director, said.

The city’s overland exports rose by 5.8 per cent to US$24.7 billion in the seven months, but shipments to markets with which Viet Nam has free trade agreements decreased.

For instance, exports to Europe were worth only $2.74 billion, a year-on-year fall of 7 per cent.

China remained the largest market at over $6 billion, a 44.7 per cent rise, followed by the US and Japan.

Domestic demand has reduced significantly.

The city’s total retail sales of goods and services in the period were only VND718.1 trillion ($30.8 billion), down 3.8 per cent year-on-year. Sectors that saw strong declines were accommodation and dining services (down 45.1 per cent) and tourism (74.9 per cent).

The manufacturing industry’s inventory index rose by 5.5 per cent, with sectors having high inventories including electrical equipment manufacturing (68.3 per cent), chemicals and pharmaceuticals (50.3 per cent) and metal production (43 per cent).

In the current context, to maintain production and regain growth momentum, businesses need to take advantage of opportunities in both the domestic and export markets, according to experts.

In the domestic market, businesses must focus on improving product quality, being more innovative in developing their products and building their brand names, they said.

In export markets, enterprises need to effectively exploit advantages brought by free trade agreements (FTAs), including the EVFTA, which has taken effect since the beginning this month, to boost exports; and to capitalise on opportunities brought by FTAs, they must be ready to meet requirements such as rule of origin and intellectual property regulations, they added./.

Dozens of tonnes of Vietnamese longan enter Australia over past few weeks

Tonnes of Vietnamese longans have been exported to Australia and distributed in the states of South Australia and Western Australia over the past few weeks.

The most recent shipments saw 7.5 tonnes of longans from the Mekong Delta provinces arrive in Australia on August 6 and a nine-tonne batch departing from the northern province of Hai Duong on August 8.

The fruit will be showcased at a promotional event, titled Nhan Viet Nam minh (Vietnamese longans), to be held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia.

Both batches were imported by 4 Ways Fresh – a Australia-based agribusiness founded in 1993.

According to 4 Ways Fresh CEO Ly Hoang Duy, Vietnamese fresh longans have made a good impression with local consumers. Vietnamese longans are sold at lower prices compared to those grown in Australia, Duy said, adding that though the longans are small, they have special flavours and very sweet.

Since the beginning of 2020, 4 Ways Fresh has imported about 30 tonnes of longans from Viet Nam, mostly from suppliers in the Mekong Delta. After the shipment from Hai Duong, the company plans to raise the weekly import to 10 tonnes to meet increasing demand.

The event “Vietnamese longans” will last until the harvest season ends in Viet Nam, according to head of the Viet Nam Trade Office in Australia Nguyen Phu Hoa. It will include promotional activities on social networks, he added.

In 2019, longan became the fourth Vietnamese fruit to gain permission to enter Australian market after lychee, mango and dragon fruit./.

Pyn Elite Fund becomes CMC Group’s big shareholder

According to the group’s financial report in April to June 2020, its net income rose by 5 per cent from the same period last year to VND1.05 trillion while its after-tax profit was double to VND43 billion.

CMC said the high growth was contributed by solution and technology business (67 per cent year-on-year increase of profit). Its global business started to report profit with a hike of 126 per cent from the same period last year.

CMC is one of the biggest IT and telecom groups in Viet Nam. Established in 1993, CMC operates in three main sectors including technology and solution, global business and telecommunications./.

KDF reaches 94 per cent of annual pre-tax profit target

Kido Foods (KDF), the frozen foods subsidiary of KIDO Group, on Friday said it had reached a growth of 20 per cent in pre-tax profit to VND44 billion (US$189 million) in July.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the company’s pre-tax profit within the first seven months exceeded that of the whole year of 2019, reaching 94 per cent of the growth target set for 2020.

KDF’s net revenue in July was VND158 billion ($6.8 million), down by 8 per cent over the same month last year. Net revenue in the first seven months reached VND832 billion ($35.8 million), down by 11 per cent year-on-year.

In the latest report, KDF said the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected companies operating in the conditional business industry and significantly reduced income and purchasing power of consumers.

When the epidemic broke out again in Viet Nam, the companies continued to be affected by the Government’s anti-epidemic responses, such as cancellation of festivals and closures of tourist areas, restaurants, schools and others.

“As a company directly affected by the external environment, KDF has always been proactive, closely monitoring the market situation. KDF has proactively implemented many measures to boost sales such as shifting the distribution channel, flexibly bringing products closer to consumers, and relocating food cabinets. Grasping the rapidly increasing consumption trend in modern channels such as minimarts, supermarkets and others, KDF continues to promote sales from these channels,” it said.

A sharp decline in income has negatively affected consumer demand and purchasing power. KDF has been analysing, reviewing and optimising its product portfolio. In the meantime, KDF has also been upgrading cabinets drastically, focusing on relocating cabinets to high-performing points, it added.

In the second quarter, the company launched two new ice cream products, namely Celano black sugar bubble milk and Merio strawberry, which were well received by consumers. The company's goal is not only to provide ice cream products to Vietnamese consumers but also to expand to the international market.

In addition, the company continues to closely monitor the market situation and COVID-19 developments to have prompt and timely responses. It is focusing on enhancing distribution channels, bringing products closer to consumers, and launching marketing and promotion campaigns to boost purchasing power./.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam and Shopee team up for Super Brand Day

Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam and e-commerce platform Shopee will work together on selling Enfagrow A+ milk formula products during the Super Brand Day from August 9 to 11.

The online promotion event will provide Shopee customers with greater value such as exclusive deals and promotions, exciting vouchers and gifts with purchases, ensuring mums can continue giving the best to their little Adventure-Ready Heroes.

Products on Shopee Mall come with 7-days free returns, 100 per cent authenticity and free shipping.

“As a global leader in health and hygiene, we are committed to helping the local community grow up safe and healthy. We are honoured to partner with Shopee and tap into their extensive user base to reach a wide audience of parents and help them fortify their children’s development with expert nutrition,” said Soren Bech, General Manager at Mead Johnson Nutrition Vietnam.

“By merging Mead Johnson’s strong portfolio of children’s products and our wealth of insights on online shoppers’ behaviour and preferences, we co-created this campaign to better serve our users. The satisfaction of our users remains our top priority and this partnership builds on our continued effort in ensuring consumer demand for important and essentials items are met,” said Vu Thanh Quynh, Communications Manager at Shopee.

As Viet Nam adjusts to the new normal, it is important for children to develop smarter and stronger immune systems to keep them protected, especially as they start embarking on adventures outside their home./.

Vietnam outlook ‘one of the brightest’ in Asia, UBS economist

Despite COVID-19 challenges, Vietnam is one of the brightest spots in Asia and its economy is likely to rebound soon, Edward Teather, ASEAN economist at UBS Research told CNBC recently.

In its “Squawk Box Asia” show, Edward Teather noted Vietnam has begun to bear the brunt of the pandemic, but “the outlook is looking one of the brightest in the region.”

“Retail sales, imports (and) industrial production were all actually up on the year in the month of June, which is better than you can say for most economies in the region,” he analysed.

According to the economist, while many economies contracted in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period last year, Vietnam’s gross domestic product grew slightly at an estimated 0.36%.

To support his argument, Teather pointed out Vietnam had succeeded in containing the first coronavirus outbreak though it shared a border with China, where the virus outbreak was first reported.

In addition, the enforcement of the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to boost inflows of foreign direct investment into Vietnam.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused foreign direct investment levels to grind to a halt, but Teather believed there is “plenty of activity” in the pipeline, and those investments could pick up in 2021 as border restrictions are eased.

Another advantage for Vietnam is that it is emerging as an alternative manufacturing hub for companies that want to shift production out of China due to tensions between Beijing and Washington that have resulted in rising tariffs.

The expert also said the Government’s incentive policies would also help boost the economy, and the central bank signaled to get credit growth up over 10%.

“Vietnam is growing and is well-positioned to continue to take global market share in terms of exports going forward, so pretty bright prospects in a relative sense in the region,” Teather concluded./.

HCM City puts solutions in place to implement EVFTA

Since the European Commission first gave approval for the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in October, 2018, Ho Chi Minh City has been active in implementing a range of solutions aimed at helping firms seize the opportunities of this agreement.

The remarks by Duong Anh Duc, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People's Committee came during a recent teleconference detailing the implementation of the EVFTA.

The EU can be considered an important trading partner and a traditional export market, making up the third largest export partner, and the second biggest importer, for the southern metropolis.

Over the past three decades, the EU, excluding the UK, has been behind 909 licensed and certified projects throughout Ho Chi Minh City, totaling capital of US$3.17 billion. Most notably during the first half of the year, 54 European projects received newly-granted investment certificates, whilst the first seven months of the year saw the southern city’s export turnover stand at an estimated US$2.7 billion with import turnover at US$1.5 billion.

Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh’s major exports to the EU market include leather and footwear, garments and textiles, and agricultural products, whilst imports are largely made up of modern production machinery and equipment. In terms of import and export structure, products of the two sides face no direct competition, indeed, they can be considered complementary to each other.

Due to the EVFTA’s strong commitments to opening markets and abolishing nearly 100% of import duties through EVFTA tariffs, the nation’s participation in the trade deal will open a wide door for goods from Ho Chi Minh City to gain entry into the EU, a market made up of over 500 million people.

Moreover, Ho Chi Minh City has been always active in organising a range of propaganda seminars as a means of facilitating the EVFTA implementation process of local businesses. Indeed, these events help them to fully grasp the main contents of the trade deal, with a specific emphasis placed on the rules of origin, a key factor to enjoying preferential tax rates from the agreement, Duc added./.

Teleconference to boost Vietnam- Bulgaria trading ties

An upcoming online trade conference to discuss Vietnamese and Bulgarian consumer goods is expected to offer an ideal platform for enterprises to boost linkages whilst seeking greater business opportunities.

The teleconference, set to take place from September 10 to September 11, is to be co-hosted by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade in collaboration with the Embassy of Bulgaria in Vietnam.

The event is designed to help local firms introduce their products and seek potential partners in Bulgaria. In addition, it will also boost trade exchanges with both the Bulgarian and EU markets while gaining greater insights into consumer tastes in order to better select suitable products for export to the Bulgarian market.

Furthermore, local enterprises will have the opportunity to seek high-quality goods from Bulgaria at competitive prices across multiple fields, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, sunflower oil, and consumer goods.

Most notably, the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) on August 1 is anticipated to offer preferential tariffs for products from both sides.

Bulgaria can be considered a gateway for Vietnamese exports to other European markets, largely due to its favourable geographical position.

The Eastern European nation also possesses numerous economic zones with developed infrastructure, which offers tax incentives and the lowest costs throughout the EU.

Featuring two deep-water ports and six commercial airports, Bulgaria has plenty of strengths in terms of logistic services, with convenient routes available for goods to be transported to other EU countries, a factor which is widely expected to facilitate greater investment and more exports to other EU countries for Vietnamese firms.

At present, two-way trade turnover remains low despite numerous advantages. According to statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the total import-export turnover between the two nations reached US$59.14 million during the first half of the year.

Of the figure, Vietnamese exports to Bulgaria hit US$28.53 million, while its imports stood at US$30.62 million./.

PM commits further support to Samsung Vietnam

The Vietnamese Government, ministries, agencies and localities will continue providing all possible support for Korean businesses and corporations, including Samsung, to continue doing business successfully in Vietnam, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

During a reception in Hanoi on August 11 for Samsung Vietnam General Director Choi Joo Ho, PM Phuc lauded the group for launching the construction of a large research and development centre in Hanoi.

He was delighted to know that despite COVID-19, Samsung Vietnam has still ensured production and trade and maintained its export targets. PM suggested Samsung Vietnam continue its COVID-19 prevention and control measures in order to ensure stable production.

The PM proposed that Samsung continue doing long-term business in Vietnam, helping to turn Vietnam into its production hub, develop supporting industries and train high-quality workforce in the country.

Choi, for his part, thanked the Vietnamese Government, the PM, ministries, agencies and localities for their support to Samsung over the past years.

Having presented the company's long-term business plan in Vietnam, he expressed his wish to continue receiving further support and pledged to ensure production, business and export targets, thus helping the Vietnamese Government achieve the dual goal of preventing and controlling COVID-19, and recovering the economy./.

VNN

Banks step up disbursement of capital for green projects

02:04

The proportion of green credit in total outstanding loans has increased from 1.5 percent to 4.1 percent, according to GIZ.

In January 2020, VP Bank signed a green credit contract worth $212.5 million with IFC and prestigious international co-financiers, including Chinese Bocom Bank, German DEG, Chinese ICBC, IIB, South Korean KEB Hana Bank and Thai Kiatnakin Bank Public Co Ltd.

This was the first green syndicated loan in the Vietnamese market, according to Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep.

The major capital sources for green lending are from international funds and the government. Regarding capital from commercial banks, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) estimated that the amount had reached VND317.6 trillion as of June 2019, while the proportion of green credit in total outstanding loans had increased from 1.5 percent to 4.1 percent.

Analysts noted that the disbursement for green projects has increased recently, but green outstanding loans remain modest.

A representative of Vietcombank said green projects mostly have high investment costs.

The business fields related to green growth are new ones in Vietnam, such as solar power, wind power and waste-to-electricity. Meanwhile, the existing mechanisms are not sufficiently encouraging for banks to expand green credit.

The business fields related to green growth are new ones in Vietnam, such as solar power, wind power and waste-to-electricity. Meanwhile, the existing mechanisms are not sufficiently encouraging for banks to expand green credit.

According to Nguyen Quoc Hung, director of SBV’s Credit Department, commercial banks are meeting difficulties when providing green credit because there are no criteria for them to use to select projects, assess projects and provide loans.

It is also impossible to apply international standards in providing green credit because it is difficult to find enterprises that can meet the standards.

The green credit interest rates are not much lower than normal credit interest rates, but borrowers have to follow complicated procedures to get loans.

Nhip Cau Dau Tu reported that in 2017, HSBC committed to disburse $100 billion for green development. In July 2020, when HSBC had disbursed $52 billion worth of green loans globally, HSBC Vietnam disbursed the first green loan to Duy Tan Plastics.

According to Tran Thi Nguyet Oanh from HSBC Vietnam, Duy Tan is using the loan to develop a 65,000 square meter plastic recycling plant, worth $60 million, in Long An province.

It is expected to be the first plant in Vietnam to apply the bottle-to-bottle technology, i.e. recycling scrap bottles into new plastic bottles meeting FDA standards for use as food packaging.

The plant has estimated production capacity of 100,000 tons per annum.

According to Nguyen Bao Quoc, CFO of Duy Tan, in order to access the loan under the green credit program, the company had to have financial and production indexes inspected. When the company commits to join the ‘green credit journey’, it has to accept intervention from a third party during project implementation.

Translated by Mai Lan

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 13

02:12

Nearly 20,000 rooftop solar power projects installed

Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has announced that nearly 20,000 rooftop solar power projects with a combined capacity of 541.66 MWp were installed nationwide in the past seven months.

So far, more than 41,180 of such have been put into operation throughout the country with a total capacity of 925.8 MWp.

In January-July, the company produced and imported 142.47 billion kWh, up 2.09% against the same period last year, of which hydropower was 29.22 billion kWh (down 20.52%), coal thermal power 80.87 billion kWh (up 14.54%), gas turbines 22.4 billion kWh (down 15.36%), oil thermal power 1.03 billion kWh (up 33.11%), and renewable energy (wind power, solar power, and biomass power) 6.33 billion kWh.

The EVN reported that in the seven-month period, the commercial electricity rose 2.3% to 122.69 billion kWh.

It also launched the construction of 81 electricity works and completed the connection of 63 others to the national power grid./.

Garment orders continue to fall sharply

The Ho Chi Minh City Textile and Garment - Embroidery Association said that the number of orders of garment enterprises in the city has continuously declined, merely equal to 40 percent compared to the same period last year.

Due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, traditional markets of the garment industry, such as the US and Europe, which account for up to 70-80 percent of Vietnam’s garment exports, were almost paralyzed while the number of orders from the Asian region was small. Many garment enterprises have not received high-value orders, including suits and high-class shirts, while face masks and protective clothes, which are considered as life-saver for many enterprises, have seen sharp decreases in their prices due to excessive supply worldwide.

According to forecasts, if the situation does not improve soon, there will be about 60-70 percent of micro and medium enterprises facing the risk of closing down. Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas) Vu Duc Giang said that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a change in consumer culture as people have shifted spending on essential products instead of laying too much emphasis on shopping as before. To manage to survive, many garment enterprises are returning to the domestic market, but domestic demand is also weak because people are tightening spending.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first seven months of the year, textile production increased by 1.8 percent, clothing production decreased by 4.6 percent compared to last year. Garment and textile export turnover in the first seven months was estimated at US$16.18 billion, down 12.1 percent; fibers and yarns of all kinds decreased by 20.9 percent over the same period last year. It is forecasted that the total export turnover of the industry this year will be about $32.75 billion, down 16 percent compared to last year.

PVN reports profit of over VND10 trillion despite oil price drop

Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) recorded a profit of over VND10 trillion between January and July despite a plunge in oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past seven months, most of the world’s leading oil and gas firms and groups were incurring losses of US$1.6-21 billion, forcing them to scale down production, while PVN earned over VND10 trillion in profit and paid over VND38 trillion to the State budget due to its quick response to the pandemic and the drop in oil prices, according to PVN.

The group was still maintaining its production and ensuring its supply of strategic items including gas, electricity, fertilizers and fuel to the local market, buoying its growth during the hardship triggered by the pandemic and oil price drops from January and July.

In the second quarter of 2020, global oil prices stood at low levels, even lower than those seen in the first quarter of the year. The average oil price was US$40.2 per barrel in July, while the price averaged out at US$44 per barrel between January and July.

Meanwhile, the group had earlier targeted US$60 per barrel of oil, Le Manh Hung, general director of PVN, said, adding that PVN’s financial results showed a positive performance.

All of the group’s members maintained their production, with Vietsovpetro, PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation and Rusvietpetro, among others, fulfilling their production targets.

In January-July, PVN churned out 12.5 million tons of fuel, well above its seven-month target and meeting 61.5% of the full-year target, while the group generated 12.7 billion kilowatt hours of power, reaching 59% of the full-year target.

The group discovered a large volume of oil at Ken Bau field, 65 kilometers east of Quang Tri, in July, promising to attract investments and smoothen the path for PVN to further develop in various fields including oil exploration and exploitation, processing and oil services in the future./.

Pyn Elite Fund becomes CMC Group’s big shareholder

The Finland-based Pyn Elite Fund has announced it will buy 61,750 shares of CMC Group (CMG) to bring its ownership at the group to 5.08 per cent (equivalent to 5.08 million shares), according to the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE).

According to the group’s financial report in April to June 2020, its net income rose by 5 per cent from the same period last year to VND1.05 trillion while its after-tax profit was double to VND43 billion.

CMC is one of the biggest IT and telecom groups in Viet Nam. Established in 1993, CMC operates in three main sectors including technology and solution, global business and telecommunications./.

Sun Life Financial increases footprint in Asia

Canada-based insurer and asset manager Sun Life Financial is seeking opportunities to acquire Asian companies in a bid to increase its footprint in the region.

Accordingly, Sun Life announced that it has opened a branch in Singapore a few days ago, in anticipation of its upcoming Asia-focus strategy. The newly-opened Singapore subsidiary extends Sun Life’s presence to eight markets in Asia, including China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

The company now provides its services specialising on life, health insurance, and wealth management solutions to more than 23 million customers in Asia. Since 2016, Sun Life’s business in Asia has grown to support 11.5 million new clients and its underlying net income has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent.

Sun Life targets affluent citizens, offering insurance services through international brokers and private banks.

According to Bloomberg, Sun Life is looking to make more acquisitions on the continent after reaching a bancassurance deal in Vietnam last year to sell insurance via privately-held lender Tien Phong Bank (TP Bank), said Leo Grepin, president for Asia.

“We’re very much looking for acquisitions in Asia across our core markets,” Grepin emphasised.

Furthermore, the insurer is mulling over lifting its ownership ratio to 100 per cent in a joint venture with China Everbright Group. Sun Life currently holds 25 per cent stake in the partnership.

“We’re very bullish on China, and over time we’d be interested in increasing our investment, but there’s no short-term plan to do so,” Grepin said. “Obviously, that would require partners to sell down.”/.

VNG hit hard in 2020

This year may not be one of prosperity for VNG as the local unicorn has been constantly beset by adversities in recent months.

VNG JSC – a local game developer with market capitalisation of about $2.2 billion – this month integrated Zalo Shop and Zalo Bank into its Zalo application, allegedly without getting a license to actually launch them.

The legal issue was disclosed by Dang Hoang Hai, head of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), who said that Zalo qualifies as an e-commerce application under Article 3.4 of 2015 Circular No.59/2015/TT-BCT outlining the management of e-commerce activities via applications and mobile equipment.

“Therefore, Zalo is responsible for registering for a licence at the MoIT,” he said.

So far, VNG has integrated six features into its Zalo platform since 2018 – Zalo Food, Zalo Travel, Zalo Taxi, Zalo Bank, e-Government, and Zalo Shop with the aim of becoming an all-in-one application.

However, to date, the legitimacy of several of those features is unclear and VNG has so far refused to react to queries on the matter.

While only bringing the issue to the public now, iDEA had already contacted VNG three times last year and sent its legal representative to the authority to clarify the legal aspects of Zalo’s e-commerce activities, which the firm failed to comply with.

In September 2019 the authority sent Document No.32/TMDT-QL assigning the Department of Cyber Security and Hi-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security to handle the case. The department has been investigating the issue ever since.

The slow progress may be accelerated through iDEA putting the issue into the limelight, especially after receiving confirmation from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) last month that it had yet to grant a license for the Zalo Bank feature, which has partnered up with many banks to offer loan packages over the pastctwo years.

According to SBV regulations, any credit institution that intends to provide bank-related services has to be licensed by the central bank, which essentially renders Zalo Bank’s operation illegal.

In a separate development, the recent failure of a merger deal between Tiki and Sendo has also crossed the expectations of VNG holding 24.6 per cent of shares in Tiki. E-commerce companies have been racking up tremendous losses and have yet to earn a single cent of profit to shareholders. With the deal that was expected to create a force to be reckoned with – and even perhaps break-even numbers – falling through, VNG is looking at a war of attrition in e-commerce that could last for months if not years.

According to VNG’s financial report from last year, the more than VND500 billion ($21.74 million) investment it has poured into Tiki since 2016 has all been lost. To recover at least part of the capital that went into Tiki, the local game developer in 2019 reduced its ownership in the platform from 38 to 24.6 per cent.

However, the ownership rate continued to decline to 22.23 per cent right after Tiki raised its charter capital from VND190.9 billion ($8.3 million) to VND208.3 billion ($9.05 billion), following the latest financial report of VNG.

The legal issues around Zalo and the failed merger deal is not the end of VNG’s troubles. On July 2 the corporation decided to dissolve its subsidiary VNG Data Center Co., Ltd. after four years of operation. The corporation gave up the subsidiary to free up resources to invest in ZaloPay.

Consequently, that may encourage VNG to reconsider its investment in the e-commerce sector and focus on the game business, which currently makes up about 80 per cent of its earnings. The remaining 20 per cent is shared between Zalo and its cloud computing service VNG Cloud, previously VinaData.

According to information published at its shareholders’ meeting in June, before the legal issues around Zalo became public, VNG’s net revenue in 2019 was VND5.178 trillion ($225.13 million), up 20 per cent on-year. The after-tax profit was nearly VND455 billion ($19.8 million), up 36.5 per cent. In 2020, the firm expected to receive about VND6.714 trillion ($291.9 million) in revenue, generating an on-year increase of 20 per cent.

Notwithstanding, it also forecast a negative after-tax profit of VND249 billion ($10.83 million) due to accelerating investment in ZaloPay – its e-wallet application operated by Zion that is also neck-deep in losses.

In 2018, Zion – in which VNG holds 60 per cent – reported a deficit of VND133.4 billion ($5.8 million), as much as seven times its loss in 2017.

Vinatex facing difficulties in past two quarters

Scattered orders along with a saturated market for face masks – which was a temporary lean-to for so many textile and garment firms – have pushed Vietnam National Garment and Textile Group (Vinatex) in the deep in the last two quarters.

This was shared by Vinatex chairman Le Tien Truong at the conference summarising the group's performance in the first six months and discussing plans for the second half of the year.

Accordingly, In the second quarter, the group acquired VND3.08 trillion ($133.9 million) in net revenue, down 36 per cent on-year. Gross profit was VND280 billion ($12.17 million), down 36 per cent.

Regarding the accumulated business results for the first half, Vinatex reported VND7.04 trillion ($306.1 million) in net revenue, a decrease of 24.5 per cent on-year. After-tax profit was VND276 billion ($12 million), down 20.7 per cent on-year. Especially, in April, the group's revenue was nearly zero because of the social distancing and isolation policies.

The group had VND69 billion ($3 million) in revenue from financial activities, increasing by 25 per cent on-year. Meanwhile, net profit was down 22 per cent to VND120 billion ($5.2 million).

The shares of a number of member companies dropped in value, including Viet Tien Garment Corporation and Phu Bai Spinning JSC which shed more than half and a quarter, respectively, compared to their valuation before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Truong, the first half was not all that difficult a period because the number of COVID-19 patients was not overly large. At present, the pandemic returned to Vietnam and promises heavy disruptions. In addition, countries across the globe are struggling to control the epidemic. These situations decreased consumption demand, thus, the third and fourth quarters will be a challenging period for the textile and garment sector, including Vinatex.

At present, the corporation received few orders from overseas for the fourth quarter, which is a challenge for the company. In addition, the selling price of face masks have been decreased to equal production costs, thus the group can no longer acquire profit from this segment.

“In spite of challenges, the group will make an effort and seize every business opportunity, including manufacturing new products in order to maintain operations as well as jobs for employees,” Truong said./.

HCM City has 105,000 job vacancies till year-end

Ho Chi Minh City has about 105,000 job vacancies in the rest of the year, according to the city Human Resources Forecast and Labour Market Information (Falmi) Centre.

The jobs are mostly in the areas of business-trade, service, garment-footwear, food processing, customer services, marketing, construction, IT, office admin, transport-warehouse-port services, and real estate.

Of the total, 84.5 percent need trained workers.

According to the city Department of Labour-Invalids and Social Affairs, the city has so far this year filled 172,561 job vacancies and created 78.651 new employments.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the number of labourers who got employment reduced 5.6 percent, while that of new jobs also dropped 6.72 percent.

Falmi Director Tran Le ThanhTruc said that from Mid-February, the demand for labourers of businesses fell more than 28 percent compared to the same period last year.

A survey by the centre showed that prolonged difficulties facing the firms include those in seeking customers, selling products, transportation, shortage of material for production, and access to support policies.

Truc said that in order to connect labourers and businesses, the centre has increased activities of employment consultations, re-training and job seekingfor labourers in all of its six branches.

Alongside, the centre has held employment transaction sessions twice per month.

So far this year, the centre has organised 20 job transaction sessions, during which 223,360 labourersreceived employment consultations and more than 21,400 got jobs./.

Travel firms suffer losses after tour cancellations due to COVID-19

Travel firms have suffered great losses from thousands of recent tour cancellations due to a new outbreak of COVID-19, according to tourism associations.

Reports from leading travel firms in HCM City show that nearly 40,000 bookings for tour packages, free and easy tours, hotels, air tickets and travel services have been cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19.

Customers have mostly dropped tours to the central city of Da Nang while tours to other popular tourist destinations such as Phu Quoc Island, Nha Trang city, Da Lat city and Hanoi in August and September have also been cancelled.

Nguyen Thi Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City Association of Tourism, said travel firms have been hit hard by many tour cancellations due to fears over the recurrence of COVID-19.

Most customers have requested 100 percent refunds for paid expenses, and only a few have agreed to schedule their trips at a later date.

Many travel firms have made payments to airlines, transport companies, hotels and restaurants, and are not receiving refunds from them, Khanh said.
Many travel firms have seen losses because they have not received refunds for deposits or service payments for airlines, transporters, accommodations and catering services, but have given refunds to their customers.

Airline and tourism service providers have been encouraged not to fine travel firms for tour cancellations and postponement, and offer them refunds.

Khanh also called on customers to share losses with travel firms by accepting postponement of their trips instead of asking for cancellations and full refunds.

Hoang Van Vinh, chairman of Khanh Hoa province’s Tourism Association, said the association had sent notes to tourism service providers in the province, asking them to give refunds to travel firms and remove penalties for breach of contracts./.

Tra Vinh expands lucrative high – tech shrimp farming

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is encouraging farmers in coastal areas to expand high - tech shrimp breeding by using super - intensive farming since the model is sustainable and offers high profits, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Under the model, shrimp breeding ponds are covered with anti-sun nets and plastic sheets on the bed, and are also equipped with oxygen generating facilities.

Other ponds filter water before releasing it into shrimp breeding ponds, while some ponds treat waste water.

In 2017, the province provided the high – tech, intensive model for 110 households who breed a total of 150ha of white - legged shrimp.

The initial cost for investing in one hectare of high – tech shrimp breeding is VNĐ3 billion (US$130,000). Shrimp is bred under a density of 150 – 170 shrimp per square metre.

The households had a yield of 50 – 55 tonnes per hectare a crop and earned a profit of VNĐ2 billion ($86,700), 5 – 10 times higher than extensive and semi-intensive shrimp farming models, according to the department.

The province now has 347ha of super-intensive shrimp farms belonging to 300 households.

Phạm Minh Truyền, director of the department, said super-intensive shrimp farming has advantages in high yield and high quality compared to traditional shrimp farming methods.

However, to receive support from the department and localities, farmers have to strictly follow breeding processes to ensure environmental protection, he said.

The department is co-operating with relevant agencies to provide this model to more farmers, he said.

Under the province’s agriculture restructuring plan, it will produce more than 70,600 tonnes of shrimp bred in brackish and salty water areas this year and 103,300 tonnes in 2030.

The province had more than 24,000ha of shrimp with an annual output of 35,000 tonnes last year.

The province is also planning to mobilise more than VNĐ5 trillion ($216.5 million) to develop shrimp cultivation, including VNĐ3 trillion for infrastructure like irrigation, road and power facilities.

The infrastructure will help farmers switch from traditional shrimp farming methods to the high-tech, super – intensive farming.

To export to more markets, the province’s localities are encouraging farmers to set up co-operatives or co-operative groups to work with companies in shrimp cultivation and consumption.

With a 65km coastline, Trà Vinh has high potential for developing aquaculture, especially shrimp cultivation in brackish and salty water areas. It has a total area of 95,000ha for aquaculture./.

Thailand keeps interest rate unchanged at record low

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) last week decided to keep key interest rate unchanged at a record low for a second straight meeting, as widely expected, on signs of improvement in the economy after the easing of measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Bangkok Post, the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the one-day repurchase rate steady at a record low of 0.50 percent, after having cut it three times this year to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic on tourism and domestic consumption.

The Thai economy is forecast to contract the most on record this year, shrinking 8.1 percent, with any recovery taking as long as almost two years, according to outgoing BoT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob. The economic damage could reach as much as 3 trillion THB because of the hit to Thailand’s growth drivers, tourism and exports.

With the policy rate hovering close to zero, the central bank is running out of conventional monetary policy space to spur the economy and boost prices as deflation sets in. The bank has said it’s studying options like large-scale asset purchases and some form of yield-curve control.

At the same time, authorities are worried about the currency’s gains, which threaten to undermine any recovery in exports. The baht has gained more than 4 percent against the dollar in the past three months, the best performer in Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg./.

Agricultural industry to account for 32 percent of Cambodia’s GDP

The agricultural industry is on track to account for 32 percent of Cambodia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of the year as a large number of the country’s workforce moves into the sector, said a researcher.

Royal Academy of Cambodia economics researcher Ky Sereyvath predicted that the agricultural labour force had ballooned between 30 and 40 percent during the span of the COVID-19 crisis.

“The growth of the agricultural sector is due to the fact that some of the remaining labour force from the services sector turned to agriculture, with the workforce integration leading to a larger production volume,” Sereyvath was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post newspaper as saying.

He said the food processing industry, fruit and vegetable processing are prominent sub-sectors – the top segments after garments. Pepper, mango, fish and meat processing will all absorb a greater market share.

The government predicted that the Cambodian economy will shrink by 1.9 percent this year due to impacts of COVID-19.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon said the government is aiming for a three percent annual growth rate of agricultural value added – the net output of the agricultural sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting the value of intermediate inputs.

He said the government also aspires to increase agricultural labour productivity – the annual output per agricultural worker – from 1,839 USD last year to 4,625 USD by 2030.

The agricultural sector is an important engine of economic growth and could enjoy a one percent surge this year, he said, adding agriculture remains crucial considering the downswing experienced by industry and services.

Cambodian agricultural product exports blossomed from nearly 1 billion USD in 2013 to 1.5 billion USD last year./.

Phu Quoc promotes eco-agriculture in combination with tourism

Phu Quoc district in the southern province of Kien Giang has invested in eco-agriculture in combination with services and tourism, aiming to create more tourism products by 2025, with a vision towards 2030.

Huynh Thanh Minh, head of the district’s economic bureau, said the locality has worked to link agricultural firms with farming households and travel companies to promote the model, while intensifying the communications work to introduce its products to visitors.

Competent agencies have been tasked with signing long-term contracts with businesses and investors in high-tech agriculture and tourism, and facilitating the farmstay model.

Phu Quoc has also promoted collective brand names for its agricultural products and improve personnel quality in service of agriculture-based tourism.

Currently, there are 21 models where science-technology are applied in agricultural and fishery production in Phu Quoc, Minh said, adding that many households have turned local fruits into specialties.

However, rural tourism in Phu Quoc has yet to match its potential and advantages due to the lack of planning, connectivity and investment, the official said./.

Cambodia’s exports to US up 23 percent in H1

Cambodia exported 2.75 billion USD worth of goods to the US in the first half of 2020, up 23 percent year-on-year, according to the US Statistics Bureau.

Cambodia mainly exported textiles, footwear, travel goods and agricultural products to the US.

The country spent 144.6 million USD on imports from the US in the reviewed period, a decrease of 45.43 percent compared to the same period last year.

Secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) Ken Loo said the US remains the priority export market of Cambodia's key exports.

According to Spokesperson of the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training Heng Sour, Cambodia exported 3.784 billion USD worth of garment and footwear to foreign markets in the first six months of 2020, down 5.4 percent year-on-year./.

Indonesia’s forex reserves hit record high in July

Indonesia’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased to 135.1 billion USD in July, the highest level ever, following the government’s move to issue global bonds, Bank Indonesia (BI) has announced.

BI said in a statement that the foreign exchange reserves are adequate, supported by stability and a positive outlook for the economy, in line with various policy responses to push for economic recovery.

The rise in forex reserves in July was driven by the government’s global bonds issuance and government loans, according to the central bank.

Specifically, the government has raised 100 billion JPY (930 million USD) from the issuance of five-tranche samurai bonds to help cover the fiscal deficit and fund the coronavirus pandemic response in early July.

The government previously planned to raise 5.5 billion USD from loans from multilateral organisations in the second half of the year, after raising 1.8 billion USD in the first half from five multilaterals, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)./.

Experts: Malaysian economy can see quick recovery after COVID-19

Penang, Malaysia’s technology hub, is helping drive an economic recovery that could see the country bounce back faster than any of its peers in Southeast Asia, said experts.

The northern state drew 6.8 billion ringgit (1.6 billion USD) of foreign direct investment in the first quarter, almost two-thirds of the country’s total. It attracted new projects even as the pandemic disrupted global supply chains and dampened demand worldwide. Approved investments in Penang in Q1 nearly doubled from the previous three months, according to the InvestPenang investment promotion agency.

Wellian Wiranto, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, said that Malaysia plays a key role in the global semiconductor supply chain, and has benefited from the tentative recovery in the electronics cycle.

The Malaysian government has announced nearly 70 billion USD in stimulus -- equal to about 20 percent of GDP -- to cushion the effects of the pandemic. However, unemployment has surged to 5.3 percent, the highest since at least 1990.

Early signs of a rebound are evident in Malaysia’s exports, which climbed 8.8 percent from a year ago, driven by a 20-month high in electronics sales.

Analysts believe that Malaysia will overcome the difficult period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic better than most other countries in Southeast Asia. The World Bank (WB) predicted that Malaysia's economy will decrease by 3.1 percent in 2020 before increasing 6.9 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that Malaysia’s economy will shrink 3.8 percent this year before growing 6.3 percent next year.

Fitch Ratings said that the demand of Malaysia's middle class, making up 77 percent of total households, will help offset the decline in demand in overseas markets. CGS-CIMB believes that Malaysia's strong monetary and fiscal measures will help its economy recover faster than other Southeast Asian countries./

Policies needed to promote mechanical engineering in agriculture

Vietnam needs policies to promote mechanical engineering in agriculture to increase added value and quality for the farming sector, experts have said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, agricultural mechanisation still had very low levels of adoption in Vietnam with an average of 1.6 horsepower (HP) per hectare, much lower than 4HP per hectare of Thailand, 8HP of China and 10HP of the Republic of Korea,

Vietnam must now import about 70 percent of its agricultural machinery, mainly from China. Domestically-produced agricultural machines cost 15-20 percent more than those imported from China.

Phan Tan Ben, Director of Phan Tan Agricultural Machinery Company Limited, said the local agricultural machinery industry was outdated and was about to come to a dead-end compared to the rapid development of other regional countries.

Agriculture mechanisation was taking place but the machinery was mostly imported while domestically-produced machines were losing their position in the market, Ben said.

The main reason for this situation was that Vietnam had not developed spearheads in mechanical engineering and agricultural mechanism in particular, lacking strategies for the industry's development.

He added there was also a lack of resources for investment in the industry, outdated technologies and a shortage of raw materials. In addition, competition from imported machines from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea was also an issue, he said.

According to Nguyen Chi Sang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Mechanical Enterprises, market demand for each type of agricultural machine remained small, which would not ensure an economy of scale.

Another factor was that mechanical projects required very huge investment, Sang said, adding that most Vietnamese firms lacked such huge capital while the Government’s support remained limited. In addition, the part-supplying industry for the mechanical industry had not been developed.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development forecast Vietnam had significant demand for agricultural machinery by 2025, including 500-1,000 rice planting machines per year and 2,000-3,000 rice combine harvesters annually.

Demand for harvester machines for sugarcane, coffee, corn, been and peanuts would be three to five times higher.

Nguyen The Ha, Director of Bui Van Ngo Technology Institute, said that the Mekong Delta had a large demand for agricultural machinery which was estimated to amount to billions of dollars.

According to Ben, the Government’s support in terms of capital, tax and land policies and human resources was critical for the development of the agricultural machinery industry.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said to develop the mechanical industry, it was necessary to develop policies to encourage large-scale agricultural production.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it was studying a special credit package for the purchase of agricultural machines which would accelerate agricultural mechanisation. The package will be proposed to the Government for consideration./.

Malaysia spends nearly 15 million USD to support pandemic-hit farmers

Malaysia has allocated 62 million RM (14.6 million USD) to farmers' organisations through the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) to help its members affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Ronald Kiandee said that of the total, 50 million RM was given to short-term agrofood programmes (start producing in three to six months) with each farmers’organisation receiving between 100,000-200,000RM.

Ronald said that another 10 million RM was allocated for infrastructure facilities for food storage and distribution purposes as well as crop integration programmes to ensure the food supply value chain is streamlined more efficiently.

Another 2 million RM is also allocated to increase the use of agricultural machinery including tractors and harvester, the minister said.

He affirmed that all departments and agencies under the ministry including the Agriculture Department, Fisheries Department, Veterinary Services Department, Farmers’ Organisation Board (LPP), Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) and Agrobank have been instructed to implement these programmes and initiatives as soon as possible to ensure that the target groups receive the benefits and the government’s goals are achieved./.

Fruit and vegetable exports down over 12 percent in first seven months

Vietnam earned nearly 2 billion USD from fruit and vegetable exports in the first seven months of this year, down 12.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The ministry attributed the decline to falls in the shipments of certain commodities, including dragon fruit, which made up the largest part of total exports at 34 percent, down 6 percent; bananas 9.5 percent; durian 71 percent; and watermelon 38.5 percent.

China was the leading buyer of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables in the period, accounting for 59 percent, but exports to the market fell by some 29 percent. Shipments to Singapore also dropped, by nearly 1 percent.

Vietnam recorded higher fruit and vegetable exports to most of the remaining markets, including the Republic of Korea (up 25.5 percent), Thailand (234 percent), the US (10 percent), and Japan (13 percent).

Between January and July, the country imported 708 million USD worth of fruit and vegetables, down 37.7 percent from a year earlier.

The US, China, and Australia were the largest sources./.

Tien Giang enjoys fruitful agricultural restructuring

The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has been promoting agricultural restructuring towards expansion in both area and production of vegetable farming.

According to Nguyen Van Man, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, incomes from vegetable farming rose to more than 226-271 million VND ((9,711-11,645 USD) per hectare in 2019, much higher than 124.9-143.9 million VND per hectare in 2016.

The central area of Tien Giang has more than 4,500 hectares under vegetable with output of more than 550,000 tonnes per year, making up 50 percent of the province’s total production.

In 2019, the province had 57,753 hectares of vegetable with output of 1.15 million tonnes, surpassing the target by 27.77 percent and 49.5 percent, respectively.

In the 2017-2019 period, Tien Giang saw a 5.69 percent increase in vegetable area and 5.43 percent rise in output. In this period, the province switched about 10,400-11,000 hectares of rice farms into vegetable farms each year, which produced an economic value from 4.7-5.9 times higher than that of rice.

Over the years, Tien Giang has strengthened the transfer of vegetable cultivation techniques to farmers. So far, the province has about 1,000sq.m of poly-green houses and about 10 hectares of net houses for vegetable and fruit cultivation.

Chau Thanh district is Tien Giang’s “vegetable kingdom” with more than 14,000 hectares, producing over 300,000 tonnes of vegetable each year.

Man said that along with the development of vegetable areas, Tien Giang has focused on production organisation and selling. The province has supported the establishment of more than 100 vegetable trading facilities, along with nine cooperation groups and 12 cooperatives for safe vegetable production.

The province also has 20 firms signing contracts to buy vegetable from farmers./.

RoK to export paprika to Vietnam

The Republic of Korea (RoK) said on August 10 that it has completed negotiations with Vietnam to export paprika, a type of bell pepper, to the Southeast Asian country.

The RoK had been negotiating with Vietnam since 2008 on export terms for paprika, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Korean exports of paprika reached 91.5 million USD in 2019, with Japan accounting for 99.7 percent of the volume. Other destinations include Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Russia.

Last year, Vietnam imported 16 million USD worth of Korean pears, followed by strawberries with 6.6 million USD. Grapes and apples were also among the popular Korean agricultural products in Vietnam.

Vietnam was the third-largest export destination for the RoK in 2019, with China and the US standing as the top two.

The RoK’s combined exports to Vietnam in 2019 reached 48 billion USD, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier./.

PV Gas Vung Tau sets new record in daily LPG filling

The PV Gas Vung Tau, a subsidiary of the PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV Gas), has set a new record of the corporation in LPG filling.

The Thi Vai filling station at Vung Tau Terminal, one of the PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV Gas)’s gas depots, has pumped close to 1,448 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day onto 84 tanker trucks for delivery to retailers and end-users, the PV Gas said in a statement last week.

The figure surpassed the previous record of nearly 1,396 tonnes per day set in April 2019.

The PV Gas Vung Tau Terminal is located in Phu My district, the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Operated since 2000, it is the largest storage facility for LPG and condensate in Vietnam.

The terminal stores LPG and condensate produced by Dinh Co Gas Processing Plant, Nam Con Son Gas Plant as well as those imported, and provides them to distributors.

It is capable of storing up to 75,000 tonnes of LPG, accounting for about half of the country’s total storage capacity.

As the operator of the Vung Tau Terminal, PV Gas Vung Tau has led the corporation in business performance for many years./.

PM approves investment plan of Dong Dang-Tra Linh expressway

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on August 10 approved the investment plan of the Dong Dang-Tra Linh expressway under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The 115km expressway connects the northern mountainous provinces of Lang Son and Cao Bang. It will have four lanes and allow vehicles to ply at 80km per hour.

The project will cost nearly 21 trillion VND (895.75 million USD) and comprise of two phases, with the first, from 2020-2024, running from the Tan Thanh border gate in Lang Son province to Phuc Sen commune, Quang Hoa district, Cao Bang province, and the second, after 2025, from Quang Hoa district to the Tra Linh border gate in Cao Bang province.

The project is expected to boost socio-economic development in the two provinces and ensure national defence and security, as well as the country’s border sovereignty.

The PM has assigned the People’s Committee of Cao Bang to sign the contract with the investor of the project./.

Indonesia offers 10 oil and gas projects in 2020

The Indonesian government offers 10 oil and gas working areas in 2020, through direct offers and regular auctions.

Speaking at a recent virtual press conference, acting director general at the Energy and Mineral Resources (EMR) Ministry Ego Syahrial said the 10 oil and gas working areas spread across Kalimantan, Java and Papua Island.

In detail, five direct offering are Merangin III (onshore), Sekayu (onshore), North Kangean (offshore), Cendrawasih VIII (offshore), Mamberamo (onshore and offshore) with potential 1,203.69 million barrels of oil (MMBO) and 586.9 billion cubic feet (Bcf).

The five remaining projects are offered through regular auctions, including West Palmerah (onshore), Wangkas (offshore), Liman (onshore), Bose (onshore and offshore), and Maratua (onshore and offshore) with potential 2,232.75 MMBO and 4,420 Bcf.

He stated that EMR will continue efforts to keep investment and business activity in oil and gas remain positive.

As of July 2020, Indonesia had 99 working areas, consisting of 73 conventional and 26 non-conventional ones.

According to Syahrial, investment in the oil and gas sector in the first half of 2020 was still below the target due to the impact of the pandemic, reaching only 5.6 billion USD or 39 percent of the 14.5-billion-USD target./.

Dong Nai working to develop rooftop solar power

More than 2,500 customers of the Dong Nai Power Company in southern Dong Nai province had installed rooftop solar panels with total capacity of nearly 50.9 million kWp as of the end of July.

So far, Dong Nai has contributed more than 15.2 million kWh of solar power to the grid, the company noted.

The province boasts huge potential for the development of renewable energy, especially solar power and energy from waste.

To Dong Nai, a major industrial hub, energy development is important to its foreign investment attraction as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial activities. Tapping into renewable energy potential will help ensure electricity supply and meet local socio-economic development demand.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Vinh said Dong Nai is home to 32 industrial parks covering 10,200ha of land, along with many hi-tech and large-scale agricultural projects, which are favourable for rooftop solar power development.

As Dong Nai is an industrial province with 75 percent of electricity output used for industrial activities, a figure predicted to grow fast in the years to come, it is necessary to develop renewable energy, he added.

In the time ahead, the province will become one of the localities taking the lead in rooftop solar power development, the Dong Nai Power Company said, adding that it is making an electricity development plan which will also cover rooftop solar power, and this plan will ensure synchronous development of related infrastructure from generation, transmission to distribution facilities.

Dong Nai is the biggest electricity consumer in Vietnam, about 14 billion kWh per year, equivalent to 6 percent of the national electricity output. Local power demand increases by over 7 percent every year./.

Vietnamese shrimp sells like hot cakes in US in H1

Vietnam exported 323.3 million USD worth of shrimp to the US in the first half of this year, up 29 percent year-on-year, statistics show.

The US was the only market where Vietnam experienced positive growth in shrimp export during the period under review.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said the US’s shrimp imports mainly serve retail channels and e-commerce, and suggested Vietnamese exporters focus on intensively processed products and those of added values.

In the first six months, despite the great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam still earned 2 billion USD from shrimp export.

VASEP expected that this year’s revenue will expand 20 percent against the previous year./.

Singapore’s Q2 economy shrinks more than forecast

The Singaporean economy suffered a deeper recession in the second quarter than earlier estimated as it contracted by 13.2 percent year on year, compared to the previous prediction of -12.6 percent.

The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on August 11 that given the fall, it now forecasts this year’s gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink between 7 percent and 5 percent, instead of the previously predicted decline of 4 to 7 percent.

The second-quarter GDP plunge was due to the circuit breaker measures implemented from April 7 to June 1 to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore, as well as weak external demand amid a global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, said MTI in a statement.

Singapore's central bank eased its monetary policy in March, while the government recently pumped in nearly 100 billion SGD (72 billion USD) worth of stimulus to blunt the impact of the pandemic./.

Trade development programme yields results in remote, island areas

A trade development programme in remote, mountainous and island areas brought in positive results during 2015-2020, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai has said.

During a conference in Hanoi on August 11 to review the programme and outline tasks for 2021-2025, Hai said it helped develop special trade policies and mechanisms for several island communes and districts.

It also built a special distribution model in several areas such as Ly Son in Quang Ngai province and Con Dao island district in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, a database of products of strength in remote, mountainous and island localities, and 35 sets of guidelines for specialty products from 35 remote, mountainous and island localities.

Workers were also trained for more than 4,000 enterprises and business households. Over 10 documentaries, nearly 80 reports, and some 2,600 news stories and articles on trade activities have been published.

The portal on products from remote, mountainous and island areas was launched at www.sanphamvungmien.com while a publication entitled “Branded goods from remote, mountainous and island areas” was also released.

Hai said diverse activities over the last five years helped step up goods production and consumption and enhanced capacity in trade development of officials and cadres in communes, districts and provinces, helping to improve lives and ensuring national defence and security in remote, mountainous and island areas.

Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Domestic Market Department Le Viet Nga suggested the Prime Minister approve the programme for the 2021-2025 period.

She also proposed allocating enough funds from the central budget for the programme, including for upgrading wet markets and strengthening regional connectivity to boost consumption.

The Government should issue policies to facilitate the involvement of economic sectors in developing trade infrastructure in remote, mountainous and island areas, she said, adding that localities should also earmark some funding from their budget for the programme each year./.

Fuel prices cut slightly on August 12

Retail prices of some petrol products were reduced slightly in the latest review by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance, with effect from 3pm on August 12.

The two ministries review fuel prices every 15 days to make adjustments in accordance with fluctuations in the global market.

The price of RON95-III was cut by 51 VND per litre to a maximum of 14,922 VND per litre.

The price of E5RON92 remains unchanged at 14,409 VND per litre.

The price of diesel 0.05S and kerosene are now at a maximum of 12,201 VND and 10,207 VND per litre, respectively, down 200 VND and 72 VND per litre.

The price of Mazut 180CST 3.5S is also unchanged, at no more than 11,183 VND per kg.

Amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two ministries have decided to use the petrol price stabilisation fund to keep retail prices of petrol and mazut stable and reduce diesel and kerosene prices.

VNA/VNS/VNN/VOV/VIR/Dtinews/SGT/Hanoitimes/VGP

Former Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong prosecuted

01:08

Former Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong has been prosecuted and arrested for investigation of the acts of violating regulations on the use of state property, causing loss and waste according to Article 219, Penal Code 2015.

Former Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong

According to VietNamNet's source, the Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted Mr. Nguyen Hong Truong, former Deputy Minister of Transport, for breaching the regulations on the use of state assets, causing waste and losses. The investigation agency has also applied procedural measures against 3 other defendants, including former Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang.

Previously, in September 2019, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stripped Truong of his title as former deputy minister of Transport between 2011-2015 and 2016-2017, as a disciplinary measure for his violations of regulations on the equitization of State-owned enterprises under the management of the ministry.

The PM's decision followed the June 2019 action of the Party Secretariat, removing Truong from the Party unit of the Transport Ministry for the 2011-2016 and 2016-2021 tenures.

According to the Secretariat, Truong must be held responsible for the violations and shortcomings of the Party unit during his terms of office as deputy minister of transport and head of the Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development, under the ministry.

Truong is personally accountable for his decisions in approving the corporate value, equitization plans and State capital divestment of many enterprises under the ministry’s management. He even suggested the then-prime minister approve equitization plans, which was beyond his mandate.

Also, he allowed the Vietnam Airlines Corporation to carry out a number of activities that went against the 2013 Enterprise Law and other regulations. Due to a lack of oversight, some businesses which he had overseen were found to have committed grievous errors, causing asset losses for the State. His violations were severe, tarnishing the prestige of the Party unit of the ministry and himself, according to the Party regulator.

Truong had worked as deputy minister of transport for 10 years since 2007. Earlier, he was vice chairman of Nghe An Province, his hometown, in north-central Vietnam. After his retirement, he was appointed president of the Vietnam Traffic Safety Association in late 2017.

VNN/Doan Bong

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 14

01:16

Automobile sales down in first seven months

Sales of automobiles plunged 28 percent year-on-year to 131,248 units in the first seven months of this year, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

Sales of all types fell, with passenger cars down 29 percent, commercial vehicles 23 percent, and special-use vehicles 39 percent.

The July figure hit 24,065 units, up a mere 0.3 percent against June and down 13 percent compared to July 2019.

The sale of domestically-assembled vehicles rose 2 percent month-on-month in July, to 16,088 units, while imports were down 2 percent to 7,977 units.

The figures, however, do not reflect overall consumption in the automobile market, as they exclude sales of manufacturers that are not VAMA members, such as Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Hyundai Thanh Cong.

Hyundai Thanh Cong’s TC Motor sold 7,606 vehicles in July, up 35.5 percent month-on-month and taking the figure for the first seven months to 35,620.

Meanwhile, some 2,210 VinFast automobiles were sold in July. With an average of 2,200 vehicles being sold monthly, the local carmaker’s sales stand at around 15,270 for January-July.

The combined sales of VAMA members, TC Motor, and VinFast reached 33,885 in July, for 182,138 in the first seven months./.

Banks to continually cut costs to aid COVID-19 affected firms

The State Bank of Vietnam has asked banks to further reduce operating costs in the remaining months of the year in order to continue lowering interest rates to support COVID-19 affected firms and individuals.

Under a directive released recently, the State Bank of Vietnam said banks must also cut salary, bonus and profit to further reduce the net lending interest rate for both existing and new loans, which it expected to contribute to the recovery of local production and business in the post-pandemic period.

As the COVID-19 pandemic remains unpredictable, banks have been also directed to promptly update official information on new developments of the pandemic to proactively formulate and apply appropriate response scenarios to ensure the banking system, especially the information technology and payment units, operate safely and smoothly./.

HCM City aims to develop 300 cooperatives to 2030

HCM City has prepared plans to develop 300 cooperatives and five cooperative alliances in the 2021-2030 period, thus reaching the targeted growth of 7 percent in the cooperative economic sector.

Under a collective economic development strategy released recently by the city People’s Committee, the sector is expected to contribute 0.6% to the city’s total GDP.

With policies to encourage the expansion of cooperatives, the sector expects to attract an additional 30,000 workhands.

The city will maintain and enhance the quality of effective agricultural cooperatives and gradually improve those that are ineffective, while encouraging all cooperatives to apply high technology.

At the same time, the city will continue to build the model of advanced and modern agricultural cooperatives in five districts, and will also work to ensure all new-style rural communes have cooperatives and production-sales links.

In the industry and handicraft sectors, the city will develop operating cooperatives while associating the expansion of cooperatives with industry encouragement programmes to support cooperatives and businesses alike.

In the area of trade-services, HCM City will continue to reinforce established cooperatives while broadening the retail network and developing retail cooperatives and forming links among trade and agriculture-agricultural service cooperatives. It will also call for small traders in markets to join cooperatives.

In transport and loading activities, the city will work to increase the scale and reduce the number of transport cooperatives, with priority given to those owning new vehicles using environmentally-friendly fuel.

HCM City will also create the conditions necessary for cooperatives to operate in public transport.

The city will design policies to support the formation of environmental sanitation cooperatives, with a target of all districts having such cooperatives by 2030.

Figures from the city show it currently has more than 610 cooperatives, 526 of which operate in trade-services, industry-handicraft, credit, transport, agriculture, and environmental sanitation.

The number has increased over the years. About 50 new cooperatives have been set up each year since 2016, involving more than 58,600 people. The scale and connectivity of cooperatives have also been on the rise./.

Foreign banks pour capital into Vietnam

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced on August 11 that it will provide a 70 million USD loan to Indo Trans Logistics Corporation (ITL Corp), with the aim of improving logistics, trade and competitiveness in Vietnam’s economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

ITL Corp General Director Ben Anh said the IFC’s long-term loan and expertise will help the company improve the efficiency of its logistics system and expand portfolios to better serve customers.

Bac Giang LGG Garment Corporation, which specialises in personal protective suits, recently received a 63 billion VND (2.7 million USD) loan in a preferential credit package from Standard Chartered in support of Vietnam’s fight against the pandemic.

Standard Chartered launched the package in March for companies specialising in the production and distribution of pharmaceuticals and anti-pandemic products such as ventilators, medical masks, personal protective suits, and hand sanitiser.

General Director of Standard Chartered in Vietnam Nirukt Sapru said the lender wishes to join hands with LGG in the fight against COVID-19.

HSBC Bank Vietnam, meanwhile, became the first foreign bank to issue bonds in Vietnam recently, totalling 600 billion VND. Each bond, worth 100,000 VND, has a three-year maturity and an annual interest rate of 5.8 percent.

HSBC Vietnam General Director Tim Evans said the move marks the bank’s 150th anniversary in Vietnam and affirms its long-term commitment to the country.

It also plans to regularly issue bonds in Vietnam to contribute to the growth of local companies and the country’s capital market, he said./.

Trade development programme yields results in remote, island areas

A trade development programme in remote, mountainous and island areas brought in positive results during 2015-2020, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai has said.

Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Domestic Market Department Le Viet Nga suggested the Prime Minister approve the programme for the 2021-2025 period.

She also proposed allocating enough funds from the central budget for the programme, including for upgrading wet markets and strengthening regional connectivity to boost consumption.

Hoa Phat’s steel pipe exports rise 16 pct in seven months

Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, steel maker Hoa Phat still sold 422,300 tonnes of steel pipes in the first seven months of the year.

Of which, its export volume of the products rose by 16 percent from the same period last year to 10,800 tonnes in the period. Its importers included the US, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Southeast Asia.

In July alone, Hoa Phat Steel Pipe Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Hoa Phat Group, provided 75,200 tonnes of steel pipes to the local market, a 7 percent year-on-year increase. The northern region had the highest growth rate with 18 percent, following by the southern region with 9.3 percent. Hoa Phat steel pipes continued to lead the industry with a market share of 32 percent.

According to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), steel pipe export volume in the first half of the year of its member companies fell by 17.3 percent from the corresponding period last year. However, Hoa Phat steel pipes still had positive results thank to diversified markets and flexible sale policies.

The company has paid attention to investing in improving product quality and introducing new products, especially large pipes with super large diameters. The products have been used for projects across the country.

The products have affirmed the position and stature of the Hoa Phat Steel Pipe Company and contributed to the increase in its sales volume in the first seven months of 2020.

The Hoa Phat Steel Sheet Company Ltd also achieved positive results. Its popular products saw increased market coverage and were highly appreciated by customers. The premium diamond sheet and panel steel products have been initially welcomed by projects.

Hoa Phat's steel sheet unit also recorded positive results with its first export order of more than 10,000 tonnes to the Thai market./.

Malaysia’s economy shows signs of recovery: minister

Malaysia's economic growth is expected to improve in the second quarter of this year and recover in 2021, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed.

He said even though analysts generally opined that the economic performance in the Q2 would experience a contraction due to the COVID-19 impact, however the economic indicators issued by the Statistics Department had shown signs of recovery in stages.

In fact, this was supported by a better labour market in June which registered an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, down 0.4 percentage points compared with 5.3 percent in May 2020.

The number of unemployment had declined from 826,000 persons in May to 773,000 persons in June, according to the Statistics Department.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have forecast Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) to record a growth of 6.3 percent and 6.9 percent respectively for 2021.

The expectation of a V-shaped recovery is following the moves by the Malaysian government which has reopened all economic sectors and implement a economic stimulus package and a recovery plan, he said.

Mustapa explained that taking into account the global economic environment which is very challenging, the country's economic growth would be more focused on the domestic economic activities.

Webinar seeks better regulation for economic growth amid COVID-19

The first webinar of the sixth ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practices Network Meeting took place on August 11.

Titled “Better Regulation for Post COVID-19 Recovery”, the event aimed to exchange viewpoints on reducing regulatory burden, towards better regulation which bolsters economic growth and protect the society.

At the webinar, Minister - Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung voiced his belief that the event, along with experience shared by OECD and ASEAN nations, will help promote administrative reform and abolish unnecessary regulation, thereby helping businesses overcome crisis and recover.

He underlined that Vietnam is determined to implement the dual targets of fighting the pandemic and recovering and maintaining economic growth.

To fulfil the targets, various measures have been put forwards, such as stepping up disbursement of public investment, stimulating domestic consumption and exports, and ensuring social welfare and security-order, Dung noted.

At the same time, administrative agencies have exerted efforts in switching to online public services. Since the start of the year, nearly 3,900 business conditions and over 6,770 types of commodities subject to specialised inspection and 30 related administrative procedures have been removed.

Notably, after more than eight months of operation, the national public service portal offers nearly 1,000 online services, with 56.4 million users.

As Chair of ASEAN and AIPA in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-21 tenure, Vietnam is committed to closely cooperating with countries and regional and international organisations in addressing common challenges, Dung said.

OECD Deputy Secretary-General Jeffrey Schlagenhauf appreciated the ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practices Network as a very effective cooperation programme, adding that COVID-19 has dealt a blow to the socio-economic development of all countries and territories.

For his part, British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward spoke highly of Vietnam’s response and effective measures of OECD and ASEAN countries in dealing with the pandemic.

The organisation of major events in the form of video conferencing demonstrates the solid determination of Vietnam and other countries towards the common goal of reducing administrative procedures and improving business climate regulation, he affirmed./.

Viettel named most influential company in Asia

Vietnamese telecom giant Viettel has been the only company in Vietnam to be recognised as Asia's 'Most Influential Company' at Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability Awards (ACES).

ACES is the award for sustainable and pioneering businesses in Asia that influence people and international relationships. Businesses are selected based on growth, manpower, creativity and brand influence in Asia and commitment to sustainability goals.

Viettel has implemented many digital transformation projects in many countries, including five countries in Asia. In all these countries, Viettel focuses on developing e-government, smart city, digital transformation for health, education and transportation.

It has brought five Asian countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, East Timor and Myanmar to the list of countries with great progress and pioneering in telecommunications and IT in the world.

In the second quarter of 2020, Viettel's data revenue in overseas markets reached 500 million USD, equivalent to 106.2 percent of the plan. E-wallet revenue reached 6 million USD, 127 percent of the plan. The number of e-wallet subscribers reached 154 percent of the set target, accounting for 8 percent of its total subscribers.

In Vietnam, the Viettelpay digital payment ecosystem has been expanding with 300 partners in 15 service industries. Average monthly cash flow is 50 trillion VND with 40 million transactions in 2019 which is ready for providing mobile money service. Viettel is also at the forefront of cybersecurity and has been the core of protection for many important systems of the Government, ministries and large enterprises./.

Over 1,600 households install roof-top solar power system in July

The Central Power Corporation (EVNCPC) saw 1,637 customers installing roof-top solar power systems with a combined capacity of 76.729MWp in July.

The results pushed the total number of customers installing those systems in the first seven months of this year to 4,517 with capacity totalling 197.95MWp, reaching 99 percent of the target.

So far, the EVNCPC has developed 8,732 roof-top solar power projects with 295.7MWp of total capacity transferred to the power grid.

To encourage customers to install roof-top solar power systems, the corporation directed power firms in the central and Central Highlands regions to increase communications and make public information related to connection agreement and investment.

At the same time, the firms created optimal conditions for customers to access information, while choosing suitable places for the installation of the system.

Deputy head of the Communications Department of the EVNCPC Hoang Ngoc Thach said that the corporation has also asked its member companies to speed up the implementation of the projects to upgrade middle-voltage power grids in 2020.

At the same time, the firm is encouraging investors and supporting them in developing roof-top solar power projects, thus avoiding overload at 110kV transformer stations.

Currently, 13 power grid upgrading and investment projects serving roof-top solar power systems are underway at a total cost of 145.5 billion VND. They are scheduled to complete in 2020.

Indonesian economy to contract 2pct in 2020: Fitch Ratings

Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has forecast that Indonesia’s economic growth will contract by 2 percent in 2020, largely attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Fitch, the country’s economy will witness a rebound to 6.6 percent growth in 2021, partly driven by a low-base effect, and expects growth momentum to continue at 5.5 percent in 2022, supported in part by the government’s renewed focus on infrastructure development.

The Indonesia government has responded swiftly to the crisis with a broad range of relief measures to support households and companies, including small- and medium-sized enterprises, it said.

Accordingly, total coronavirus-related government support amounted to 695 trillion Rp (47.93 billion USD), or 4.4 percent of GDP, and included direct cash transfers, provision of basic foods, guarantees and tax incentives.

Fitch believed the Indonesian government is likely to resume adhering to the 3 percent of GDP deficit ceiling by 2023, in line with its stated intention.

The agency rated, higher government spending and lower revenue due to the slowdown should cause the fiscal deficit to rise to around 6.0 percent in 2020 from 2.2 percent in 2019.

Fitch expects the deficit to narrow to 5.0 percent in 2021 and 3.5 percent in 2022, as most of the pandemic-related expenditure should be temporary.

Meanwhile, the general government debt is forecast to rise to 36.7 percent of GDP in 2020 from 30.6 percent of GDP in 2019, and to peak at 39.1 percent of GDP in 2022./.

Cambodia moves to boost domestic tourism

Travel companies in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province have changed their operations to target more domestic tourists.

The move comes after hotels report more than 90 percent occupancy rates for the upcoming Khmer New Year replacement holiday.

Business changes include hotels dropping room rates as well as restaurants and bars offering a more Khmer-friendly atmosphere with live bands, karaoke and local food.

Governor of Siem Reap province Tea Seiha said that his province is preparing to receive more domestic tourists during the upcoming holiday and provincial authorities have organised new programmes to maintain arrivals in the future.

Seiha also announced some of the area’s draft programmes, including more religious events, food competitions, floating market visits as well as adventure programmes such as cycling, boat rides and golf days.

According to the government’s official figures, a total of 740,028 domestic tourists travelled throughout Cambodia in July, representing an increase of 15.2 percent compared with the previous month.

Over the first six months of the year, Siem Reap province recorded 167,061 domestic tourists, representing a drop of 87 percent. It recorded 387,839 international tourists, representing a 68 percent drop compared to the same period last year./.

Vietnam’s EVFTA action plan focuses on industrial sectors, agriculture restructuring

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expected the soon ratification of International Labor Organization Convention No.87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize.

Vietnam’s action plan to implement the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on August 6, would focus on industrial sectors and agriculture restructuring.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved an action plan to implement the EVFTA.
Each government agency is assigned with specific tasks with the aim of implementing the EVFTA efficiently and ensuring the full realization of Vietnam’s commitments in the deal.

Local authorities and agencies are tasked with disseminating information and regulations under the EVFTA as well as those of EU member countries to the business community; perfecting existing institutional frameworks; building up competitiveness and training high quality human resources; speeding up the ratification of International Labor Organization Convention No.87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, among others.

Mr. Phuc expected those under direct impacts of the EVFTA, including farmers, fishermen, business associations and enterprises, among others, should be given priority in receiving information related to the deal.

Meanwhile, Vietnam would continue to promote trade and investment activities in EU countries, so that European investors would have more understandings about business and investment opportunities in Vietnam.

Mr. Phuc requested the Ministry of Industry and Trade, along with other agencies, to continue providing training for micro, small and medium enterprises to enhance competitiveness and set up plans to meet international commitments, so that they could further integrate into global and regional supply chains, as well as taking advantages of the EVFTA.

According to the plan, Vietnam is expected to restructure industrial sectors, creating platforms for further industrialization and modernization; speeding up agricultural restructuring efforts towards greater scientific application and environmentally friendly production; promoting stronger linkages between domestic and foreign-invested enterprises to form new supply chains.

The EVFTA, officially signed last June after six years of negotiations, has been dubbed “the most ambitious” FTA the EU has ever reached with a developing country, according to the European Commission (EC). It includes not only the almost full elimination of bilateral tariffs, but also a substantial reduction of non-tariff barriers. Moreover, it includes provisions to protect intellectual property, labor, environmental standards, and fair competition, while promoting regulatory coherence.

Meanwhile, the EC estimated the bloc’s GDP would be added US$29.5 billion by 2035, along with additional growth of 29% in exports to Vietnam.

Vietnam is the EU's second largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Singapore, with trade in goods worth US$53.6 billion in 2019.

With a total foreign direct investment stock of US$8.71 billion (2018), the EU is one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam. Most EU investments are in industrial processing and manufacturing./.

Vietnam could afford raising public debt to support post-Covid recovery

By the end of 2019, Vietnam’s public debt had significantly dropped to 55% of GDP from 63.7% in 2016.

Vietnam could afford widening public debt by additional 2 – 3 percentage points of GDP to mitigate negative Covid-19 economic impacts, as the ratio of public debt to GDP in this case would still be lower than the limit 65% set by the National Assembly, according to Vo Huu Hien, deputy director of the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Debt Management and External Finance.

Disbursing such an additional amount, equivalent to VND180–240 trillion (US$7.77–10.36 billion), however, would be a major challenge, Mr Hien warned, given the slow disbursement rate to date.

Mr. Hien pointed to the fact that over US$10 billion is funding from official development assistance (ODA) and preferential loans from abroad that has been signed and needs to be disbursed in the coming time under commitments with donors.

By the end of 2019, Vietnam’s public debt had significantly fallen to 55% of GDP from 63.7% in 2016, Mr. Hien informed, adding this has created room for government agencies to maneuver the fiscal policy and helped boost economic resilience against external shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic, without putting pressures on macro-economy and national financial security.

Mr. Hien said depending on growth scenarios, Vietnam’s public debt could rise to 57 – 58% of GDP at the end of this year.

Nevertheless, Mr. Hien suggested the low public debt has partially reflected the slow disbursement of public investment, including projects financed by ODA and foreign preferential loans.

This not only limits the impacts from loans for economic growth, but also puts pressure on the state budget with higher commitment fees, which are charged by a lender to a borrower for an unused credit line or undisbursed loan.

Mr. Hien said in 2020, the government plans to borrow VND501 trillion (US$21.65 billion), including VND394 trillion (US$17.02 billion) from the domestic sources and VND107 trillion (US$4.62 billion) from foreign ones.

From international experiences, Mr. Hien said widening fiscal deficit and public debt, as well as taking part in debt service suspension initiatives from international organizations would cause negative impacts on a country’s credit rating.

For example, Cameroon, Senegal, Pakistan, among others, have all been downgraded by credit rating firms after having expressed their intentions to join G20’s debt service suspension initiative.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a meeting on July 7 said the country could expand fiscal deficit and public debt to provide additional aids for the economy during the Covid-19 crisis.

PM Phuc suggested finance management should not only focus on ensuring the balance of the state budget, but also nurturing sources of revenue and creating driving forces for economic recovery./.

Vietnam Politburo to review progress of US$59-billion North-South express railway

Once completed, the high-speed railway would help reduce travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to around five hours and 20 minutes.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has tasked the Ministry of Transport (MoT) with reporting the progress of the preparation process for the North-South express railway project with an estimated investment of VND1,350 trillion (US$58.7 billion) to the Politburo, the country’s supreme decision-making body.

The MoT in its pre-feasibility study report for the project proposed the upgrade of the existing railway tracks for freight and the construction of a new North-South railway route for passenger transportation from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The railway is expected to allow speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

With an investment of VND567.2 trillion (US$24.47 billion), the first phase of the project, scheduled to be implemented in 2020 – 2032, would be to upgrade the railway transportation infrastructure along the routes Hanoi – Vinh and Nha Trang – Ho Chi Minh City.

The second phase from 2032 – 2050 would focus on the construction of the remaining sections, costing an estimated VND783.1 trillion (US$33.79 billion).

Once completed, the high-speed railway would help reduce travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to around five hours and 20 minutes.

At present, the MoT’s pre-feasibility study report is under the review process of the State Appraisal Council for Investment Projects.

In 2018, the ministry revived the North-South express railway project after it was rejected by the National Assembly in 2010 due to its huge estimated investment, at that time estimated at US$56 billion, more than half of Vietnam’s GDP then./.

First foreign bank to issue bonds in Vietnam

HSBC’s bonds issuance underscores the bank’s long term commitment to Vietnam.

HSBC Vietnam has a total of VND600 billion (US$25.89 million) worth of bonds to the local market, becoming the first ever foreign commercial bank to issue bonds in Vietnam.

HSBC Vietnam has become the first ever foreign commercial bank to issue bonds in Vietnam.
At a par value of VND100,000 (US$4.32), HSBC Vietnam’s Lotus bond, named after Vietnam’s national flower, offers a fixed coupon rate of 5.8% and a tenor of three years, indicated the bank in a statement.

“As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of HSBC’s arrival in Vietnam, this milestone issuance underscores our long-term commitment to this remarkable country,” said Tim Evans, CEO of HSBC Vietnam. “We plan to be a regular issuer as we look to position our franchise to continue to be the leading foreign bank in the market.”

Evans added that proceeds from the issuance will increase HSBC’s operating capital and diversify VND funding sources in order to further accelerate the bank’s business growth in Vietnam sustainably.

In 2014, HSBC Vietnam also successfully helped the Vietnamese government in its offering of new 10-year USD-denominated global bonds with a value of US$1 billion when the bank acted as a joint Bookrunner and Dealer Manager.

Corporate bonds have been one of the fastest growing channels for capital mobilization in Vietnam recently. In the first six months of this year, the combined value of corporate bonds issuance grew by 50% year-on-year to VND159 trillion (US$6.87 billion).

Vietnam’s corporate bonds issuance in 2019 increased by 25% year-on-year to VND280.14 trillion (US$12.12 billion). However, the size of the corporate bond market was modest at just 11.26% of the GDP, significantly lower than that of in South Korea and Singapore which is at 20 – 50% of the GDP, and remained a fraction of bank credit, standing at 138.4% of the GDP at the end of 2019./.

Nissan to sell stake in Indonesian automobile sales joint venture

Nissan Motor Co. will sell its controlling stake in PT Nisan Motor Distributor – a sales joint venture in Indonesia – to a local partner.

Nissan Motor Indonesia said in a recent press release that the two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding on the share transfer.

The move is aimed at forming a strategic partnership with Indomobil to strengthen the Nissan brand in Southeast Asia's largest automobile market, the Japanese carmaker group said.

In Indonesia, Nissan Motor sold 2,798 vehicles in the first half of this year, down 53.3 percent year-on-year.

According to the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries, Nissan’s market share stood at 1 percent, ranking 10th in the Japanese brand-dominated market.

Nissan Motor announced last May it had decided to close an Indonesian plant in a bid to streamline global operations, focusing Southeast Asian production on Thailand.

The company said last month that it would post a net loss of 670 billion yen (6.3 billion USD) in the business year through March 2021, with global car sales dropping 16.3 percent to 4.1 million units amid the economic storm caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic./.

RCEP negotiations enter final round: Indonesian official

The negotiation process on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has entered its final round and the agreement is expected to be signed in the near future, Indonesian Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga said.

He noted that the process requires Indonesian negotiators to exert efforts in protecting national interests as legal scrubbing is an important process.

Legal language can sometimes have multiple interpretations. Therefore, it is important to make sure that this settlement does not change the substance of Indonesia's interests, he explained.

Iman Pambagyo, Chief of the RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee of ASEAN and Director General of International Trade Negotiations at the Trade Ministry of Indonesia, said that with the completion of RCEP’s trade, economic and investment negotiations, Indonesia is hoped to gain access to larger markets and enhance competitiveness.

At the same time, the country needs to improve quality product, branding, logistics and payment systems, he added./.

New coal-fired power plant in Cambodian national park commissioned

The Royal Group, Cambodia’s biggest private firm of tycoon Kith Meng, has secured 168.8 hectares of land in Koh Kong’s Botum Sakor National Park under a leasing agreement to develop a 700 megawatt (MW) coal power plant, according to a government sub-decree.

The sub-decree, signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and released on August 6, states that the government has reclassified the state-public land of the park, in Thmar Sor and Chamlong Kor village, Thmar Sor commune, Botum Sakor district, to state-private land as sustainable use areas.

The agreement is under the Ministry of Environment as the authority to hold state property and in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as the authority to manage the property in accordance with the laws and principles of the government, according to the sub-decree.

The Cambodian National Assembly in March approved a draft provision of a state guarantee for three new power projects, one of which is a 700 MW coal-fired power plant investment undertaken by the Royal Group.

The 1.344 billion USD value project will comprise two generators. One will be a 350 MW generator that is scheduled to generate power in 2023 and the other a 350 MW generator that is scheduled to generate power in 2024.

According to the National Assembly’s approved draft, the project is contracted under a power-purchase agreement with Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC). The agreement is a state guarantee that pays investors if the facilities fail to operate as per the purchase agreement.

An annual report from the Ministry of Mines and Energy shows that Cambodia’s main electricity sources are hydroelectric dams and coal-fired power plants.

Cambodia has seven Chinese-built hydropower dams with a total capacity of 1,328 MW and three coal-fired power plants in Stung Hav district, Preah Sihanouk province, with a combined capacity of 675 MW.

Power supply rose by 28 percent in 2019 to 3,382 MW, according to the report./.

Can Tho City authorities’ efforts for economic revival

Can Tho has taken many measures to combat the Covid-19 epidemic and is determined to achieve the highest possible socio-economic indicators, according to its People’s Committee.

In July, the city’s index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by an estimated 0.24 per cent, retail sales and services by 2.19 per cent and exports by 3.06 per cent, while the consumer price index (CPI) was up by just 0.64 per cent, it said.

But it admitted that most development indexes declined significantly during the period.

The number of visitors fell by 70 per cent and the number staying for more than one night decreased by 68 per cent.

The agricultural sector too faces many difficulties due to the pandemic, Nguyen Tan Nhon, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, explaining demand for some key items such as fruits and Pangasius was down.

Inventories held by seafood processing companies remain large, causing prices to fall sharply.

Businesses have petitioned city authorities to provide funding for those impacted by COVID-19, develop infrastructure for tourism development and push administrative reforms.

Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An Hi-tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company, said the city should urge banks to offer lower loan interest rates to businesses in priority sectors as instructed by the Government and the State Bank of Viet Nam.

Nguyen Thuc Hien, director of the city Department of Planning and Investment, said the department would help the city gain access to credit packages to aid businesses, extend deadlines for taxes, fees, land rents, and social insurance payments and carry out demand stimulation programmes.

Le Quang Manh, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said there would also be promotional policies to stimulate tourism, especially foreign tourism when international flights are allowed in future, and policies to connect producers and consumers of agriculture products./.

Rang Dong tops market with highest earnings per share

Light and vacuum flask producer Rang Dong (HoSE: RAL) topped the stock market as it had the highest earnings per share (EPS) in the first half of the year, cafef.vn reported.

In the first six months, Rang Dong earned VND2.03 trillion (US$87.7 million) in total net revenue, up 13 per cent, and post-tax profit jumped 43 per cent on-year to VND138 billion.

After six months, Rang Dong’s EPS was VND12,024, up from VND8,380 made in the first half of 2019. The company ranked fifth in the list of companies with highest EPS.

Improved sales were attributed to the company’s EPS increase.

Sales revenue increased by nearly 17 per cent on-year to VND929 billion in the January-June period.

That was considered a strong effort of the company as its operations had been disrupted by a big fire in late August 2019 and by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two events had rocked the supply chain, halted the firm’s production and lowered the market’s purchasing power especially in overseas markets.

Rang Dong shares gained 2.6 per cent to end Tuesday at VND94,300 apiece.

Following Rang Dong in the chart was Vinacafe Bien Hoa (HoSE: VCF) – which recorded an EPS of VND9,797.

The coffee company ranked third in the same period last year with EPS of VND9,844.

In January-June, Vinacafe Bien Hoa posted a 7.6 per cent annual decline in total revenue, which was down to VND1.15 trillion.

Its six-month post-tax profit was VND259 billion, slightly down from last year’s figure of VND260 billion.

Vinacafe Bien Hoa shares dropped 2.3 per cent to close Tuesday at VND210,100 apiece.

Lam Dong Investment Hydraulic Construction JSC (HNX: LHC) was the best-improving firm as the company jumped from 10th in last year’s chart to the third position this year.

The company’s EPS in the first six months of 2020 was VND8,832. Last year’s number was VND7,563.

The company’s shares surged 6 per cent to finish Tuesday at VND90,000 apiece.

On the contrary, HCM City-based West Coach Station (HNX: WCS) dropped to the fifth position in this year’s chart from the 1st position last year.

In the first half of 2020, the firm’s EPS was VND7,958 – down nearly 30 per cent on-year from VND11,329 made in the same period of last year.

The company blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for lower performance this year as people were restricted from travelling and the transportation sector suffered a month-long halt in April to fight the coronavirus spread.

Compared to last year, several companies were disqualified from the top-EPS chart such as Tay Ninh Tourist-Trading JSC (HNX: TTT), aquatic producer and exporter Vinh Hoan Corporation (HoSE: VHC), FPT Online JSC (UPCoM: FOC), and industrial park developer Nam Tan Uyen (UPCoM: NTC).

This year’s chart also saw some new names such as consumer staples firm Dabaco (HoSE: DBC), Danameco Medical JSC (HNX: DNM) and Tien Giang Investment and Construction JSC (HoSE: THG).

Dabaco in the first half of the year earned total VND750 billion of post-tax profit, 27 times last year’s figure. The company ranked sixth in the chart with EPS of VND7,825.

Danameco Medical posted an 8.5-times increase in six-month post-tax profit, which reached VND25.5 billion. Its EPS was VND5,836 and the company ranked 10th in the chart./.

Moc Chau Milk to sell 39.2 million shares to GTNfoods and Vinamilk

Moc Chau Milk will issue nearly 39.2 milion shares dedicated to its strategic partners GTNfoods and Vinamilk.

Of the figure, more than 75 per cent of stake will be offered to GTNfoods, listed as GTN on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, and the remainder to Vinamilk, as VNM.

The price is expected at VND30,000 (US$1.3) per share.

Moc Chau Milk currently has a total of 66,800,000 shares, in which Vinamilk owns 51 per cent. If Vinamilk buy all newly-issued shares, it will own 68.1 per cent of charter capital in Moc Chau Milk.

In the first half of this year, Moc Chau Milk recorded revenue of VND1.37 trillion and after-tax profit of VND106.3 billion, up 7.6 per cent and 40.8 per cent year-on-year, respectively. It has completed 74.7 per cent of the profit plan.

The company also paid dividend of VND134.3 billion to shareholders./.

Indonesia: Retail sales improve in June

A survey by the Bank of Indonesia (BI) revealed that retail sales in the country improved in June, though it is still in a contractionary phase.

Real Sales Index (IPR) in June contracted 17.1 percent year-on-year, improving from a contraction of 20.6 percent year-on-year in May.

Sales improvement was seen in almost all commodity groups surveyed, especially for motor vehicle fuels, food, beverages and tobacco, and information and communication equipment, in line with the easing of large-scale social restrictions.

In July, there were indications that retail sales performance will continue to improve, even though it is still contracting. This is reflected in the forecast for July IPR growth of minus 12.3 percent year-on-year, up from minus 17.1 percent in the previous month.

Inflationary pressure is predicted to ease in the third quarter of 2020, and to increase in the second half of the year.
Indications of a decline in price pressure are reflected in the Q3 General Price Expectation Index (GPIE) of 131.5, lower than the previous GPIE of 138.6.

Meanwhile, the GPIE for the next 6 months was recorded at 156.1, higher than the previous GPIE of 142.5. This increase is in line with the predicted increase in activity during the Christmas and year-end holidays.

VNN

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 16

02:39

Trade ministry proposes same price for power consumption

Apart from presenting five electricity rates based on the levels of power consumption, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed applying the same price to daily electricity consumption at VND2,703 per kWh of power or VND2,880 per kWh.

Under its draft on the electricity retail pricing adjustment scheme to amend Decision 28/2014, the ministry has introduced two solutions for the calculation of electricity bills.

In the first solution, the five electricity rates will increase progressively from the first to the fifth price cap, with the first cap set at 0-100 kWh, the second cap at 101-200 kWh, the third at 201-400 kWh, the fourth at 401-700 kWh and the fifth at 701 kWh or more. The number of electricity consumption caps has been slashed from six to five.

As for the second solution, customers can choose to calculate their power bills based on five caps or the same price, which is equivalent to 145% for Solution 2A or 155% for Solution 2B of the average electricity retail price at some VND1,864 per kWh.

Accordingly, the same price of electricity will reach VND2,703 or VND2.889 per kWh, respectively, exclusive of value-added tax.

Under the draft, customers can switch from the electricity prices of five caps to the same price scheme or vice versa after at least one year of selection.

The electricity price of the fifth price cap in the first solution is set to be equal to 168% of the average electricity retail price, while Solution 2A and Solution 2B see the fifth rate stand at 274% and 185% of the average price, respectively. VNA

New rule, portal developed for corporate bond market

The Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) has issued a new rule to run the corporate bond portal to publicise bond deals and give investors more news about the market.

The rule is applied to all joint-stock and limited-liability companies and all individuals and organisations involved in the corporate bond market, both domestic and international.

The portal has been developed upon Decree 163/2018/ND-CP dated December 4, 2018, to receive companies’ filings on their bond issuance.

Since April 2019, companies have publicised the details of their bond deals on the HNX’s website during the development of the portal.

The content posted on the portal includes pre-issuance information disclosure, disclosure on bond conversion and bond buyback, and issuance reporting to serve investors’ need for information and the Ministry of Finance’s request on statistics and data collection.

Companies have to send information to the HNX to be posted on the portal and they are held accountable for the accuracy, transparency and punctuality of the disclosures.

The HNX assesses the filings in three working days and the regulator can ask companies to change the filings. The disclosures are posted on the portal within five days of the final edition being approved.

The HNX will report every six months and every year to the Ministry of Finance and the State Securities Commission on the Vietnamese corporate bond market with companies issuing bonds in both domestic and international markets.

Total corporate bond issuances in the first six months of the year were worth VND159 trillion (US$6.89 billion), up 50 per cent year-on-year with banks and real estate companies the biggest issuers. — VNS

Over 2.5 billion USD in G-bonds sold in July

More than 6.2 trillion VND (267.4 million USD) worth of Government bonds were raised at an auction held by the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) on August 12.

The State Treasury issued bonds worth 7.5 trillion VND of 5-year, 10-year, 15-year and 30-year terms.

One billion VND was mobilised from 5-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 1.7 percent, 0.02 percent lower than the previous auction on August 5.

Meanwhile, over 3.1 trillion VND worth of 10-year bonds were sold with an interest rate of 2.85 percent per annum, 0.03 percent higher than previous bidding.

The 15-year bonds called for 1.3 trillion VND with an annual interest rate of 3.03 percent, up 0.02 percent.

The 30-year bonds raised 500 billion VND with a yearly interest rate of 3.5 percent, equal to that of the previous auction on July 22.

More 250 billion VND were mobilised through the auxiliary auction of the 30-year bonds.

Since the beginning of 2020, the State Treasury has raised over 157.7 trillion VND from G-bond auctions at HNX./. VNA

EU partially withdraws tariff preferences to Cambodia under EBA

Cambodia’s annual 7-billion-USD garment and textile sector is expected to suffer losses from the European Union (EU)’s partial withdrawal of the tariff preferences granted to the Southeast Asian country under the Everything But Arms (EBA) trade agreement from August 12.

The move follows the EU decision made in February 2020 even though the Cambodian government and private sector have been trying to lobby the bloc not to implement or at least delay the withdrawal, according to the local media Khmer Times.

The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) and the Cambodia Footwear Association (CFA) together with the European chamber of commerce have called again for the EU to postpone its partial withdrawal because of the devastating effect of COVID-19 on the industries, it reported.
The EU is Cambodia’s largest trading partner. The EU's decision affects one-fifth (or 1.08 billion USD) of Cambodia’s annual exports to the union./. VNA

Science and technology to advance agriculture in Ninh Thuan

The south-central province of Ninh Thuan has stepped up the application of science and technology in agricultural production in order to boost socio-economic development in tandem with sustainable environmental protection.

According to the provincial Department of Science and Technology, Ninh Thuan will implement 14 tasks and research studies on agricultural production this year at the national and provincial level.

Priorities are given to scientific and technological applications to create new animal and plant varieties adaptive to climate change, improve farming methods, transfer post-harvest technologies, and process typical agro-forestry-fishery products.

Ninh Thuan is calling for resources to support scientific research, while enhancing cooperation with research institutes to push ahead with technology transfer.

Its two research last year on new products from Sargassum and mutton were valued highly by agencies outside of the province that sought to put them to use.

The locality applied science and technology in growing crops such as grapes, apples, aloe, asparagus, and herbs on a total area of 167 ha in rural and mountainous areas and aquaculture on 50 ha.

More than 600 local households received assistance in grape growing, using high-tech equipment, the hydroponic cultivation of vegetables, fruit and vegetable preservation, shrimp farming, and irrigation.

Ninh Thuan also held more than 300 training classes on farming methods and plant protection for over 9,000 local households.

The Nha Ho Research Institute for Cotton and Agricultural Development selected 22 varieties of asparagus, nine of guava and mango, eight of custard apple and jackfruit, and seven of longan for production.

As a coastal locality, Ninh Thuan has also intensified research and production of new fish fries and rolled out industrial fish cage farming using Norwegian technology.

According to Le Van Binh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, these research activities have helped change the mindset of local residents in regard to production, thus creating high-quality products./.VNA

Ba Ria - Vung Tau: Traceability technology adds to farm produce value

The southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau has been working to boost the traceability of its agricultural products, with initial success recorded in the value of those applying the technology.

The province last year first implemented a project promoting and managing an origin tracing system to control the quality of local products, build trust, and encourage people to consume safe food. The move was also considered a solution for raising awareness about information and transparency in production.

According to Trinh Duc Toan, deputy head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s agro-forestry-fishery management agency, the system allows consumers to check the production, processing, and preservation of farm produce using blockchain technology or QR codes. Producers, meanwhile, can save time recording information on their products by using digital apps.

A number of local cooperatives have posted significant gains from applying the system.

As a result of its three-year effort to achieve Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) standards, the Bau May agro-trade-tourism cooperative in Xuyen Moc district’s Hoa Hiep commune exported over 100 tonnes of peppercorn to European nations, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and China, among others, in 2019. Revenue from the shipments was much higher than from normal market prices.

Lam Ngoc Nham, director of the cooperative, which grows 30 ha of pepper, said good standards and clear origin help his products gain easier access to supermarkets and foreign countries.

The Song Xoai pomelo cooperative in Phu My town, meanwhile, has 30 percent of its annual output recognised as having organic origin, which then sell quite quickly and for a price 50 percent higher than market prices.

By 2025, Ba Ria - Vung Tau plans to have at least 20 percent of enterprises operating in production and business using origin bar codes. It will also begin introducing legal documents regulating the origin tracing system and connecting to the national origin tracing portal.

It has prepared plans for trademark development and origin tracking for 1,200 ha of longan, 1,000 ha of custard apple, 500 ha of pomelo, and 300 ha of dragon fruit./.VNA

Vietnamese products hold dominant position in local distribution network

The “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” campaign has helped raise consumer awareness about locally-produced goods and services, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said on August 12.

He made the remarks during a conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in Hanoi to review a project on the development of the domestic market in the 2014-20 period and to put forward new tasks in the time to come.

As vice head of the national steering committee on the campaign, he added that over the last six years the distribution network for Vietnamese goods has grown sustainably, raising the competitiveness of local businesses.

Given that exports are currently hamstrung by COVID-19, Vietnam’s market of nearly 100 million people offers an opportunity for local companies to surmount the challenges, he noted.

Echoing Hai’s view, Director of the Domestic Market Department at MoIT Tran Duy Dong underlined that distribution is among the driving forces of economic growth in the new context.

In the time to come, the campaign will offer more incentives encouraging Vietnamese companies to bolster the application of science and technology and to support industry and e-commerce at home and abroad.

Findings from a public survey show that 67 percent of Vietnamese consumers prioritise Made-in-Vietnam products.

More than 100 points of sale designed for Vietnamese goods have been set up in 61 localities nationwide, and nearly 70 trade promotion activities for such products held around the country.

Vietnamese-made goods are present in up to 90 percent of the country’s distribution network, according to figures from the Domestic Market Department.

Such products also account for more than 60 percent of goods in foreign supermarket chains such as Lotte, AEON, and Big C./.VNA

Can Tho city takes measures to boost economic recovery

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has taken many measures to combat the COVID-19 epidemic and is determined to achieve the highest possible socio-economic indicators, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

In July, the city’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) increased by an estimated 0.24 percent, retail sales and services by 2.19 percent and exports by 3.06 percent, while the consumer price index (CPI) was up by just 0.64 percent, it said.

But it admitted that most development indexes declined significantly during the period. The number of visitors fell by 70 percent and the number staying for more than one night decreased by 68 percent.

Inventories held by seafood processing companies remain large, causing prices to fall sharply.

Businesses have petitioned city authorities to provide funding for those impacted by COVID-19, develop infrastructure for tourism development and push administrative reforms.

Nguyen Thuc Hien, Director of the city's Department of Planning and Investment, said the department would help the city gain access to credit packages to aid businesses, extend deadlines for taxes, fees, land rents, and social insurance payments and carry out demand stimulation programmes.

Le Quang Manh, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said there would also be promotional policies to stimulate tourism, especially foreign tourism when international flights are allowed in future, and policies to connect producers and consumers of agriculture products./.VNA

Singapore’s financial sector creates 22,000 jobs in 2015-2019

Singapore’s financial sector created 22,000 jobs between 2015 and 2019, and of these, three out of the four jobs went to locals, said a top official from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on August 12.

In the first half of this year, employment rose by about 1,500 as well, based on MAS's estimates, said Jacqueline Loh, deputy managing director at the MAS.

Singapore citizens continued to take up at least 75 percent of the jobs created, she added.

Close to 15,000 local jobs created in the period were at salaries within the top 40 percent of 2016 salaries. The median income of locals in the sector last year was 7,600 SGD (5,548 USD), well above the national median of 4,600 SGD, she noted.

The financial sector accounted for 13.3 percent of the country’s GDP in 2019 with the employment of more than 170,000 workers./.VNA

Business Times highlights new opportunities in EU-Vietnam Trade

The Business Times on August 11 posted a story describing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) as a significant economic milestone for Vietnam.

According to the article, the EU is already Vietnam’s second largest export designation. Vietnamese exports to the Eurozone have grown consistently in recent years, hitting a total of 42.5 billion USD in 2018, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 11 percent. They comprise mainly telecommunications equipment, electronics, footwear, textiles, and food products like coffee, rice and seafood.

With the EVFTA having entered into force, 70 percent of Vietnamese exports will now enter the EU’s 26 member states duty free, the article said, adding that the remaining tariff lines’ items will be reduced gradually over seven years.

Many businesses could seek opportunities to diversify or reconfigure their supply chains to deal with current issues, or guard against future risk, according to the article.

As countries around the world cautiously begin to reopen their economies after COVID-19 lockdowns, more companies will seek to build new resilience into their supply chain - and Vietnam’s value proposition is further strengthened by the EVFTA, the article said.

“With Vietnam being one of the first markets in the region to ease lockdown restrictions, the country is in a prime position to capture opportunities from pent-up investment demand and shifting global production trends,” it concluded./.VNA

Domestic tourism booms in Malaysia after travel restrictions lifted

About 51 percent of Malaysians polled have travelled domestically or are planning to do so since the restrictions of the movement control order (MCO) were lifted, Malaymail reported on August 12.

A survey, conducted by market research firm Vase.ai, gauged 1,080 respondents throughout the recovery phase of the movement control order (RMCO) that began on June 10.

It also found that 56 percent of Malaysians have travelled or are planning to travel for leisure while 16 percent said they have travelled or are planning to travel for work.

According to the survey, Malaysians cited visiting family or friends (46 percent) as the top reason for travelling.
Other reasons given included supporting the local economy (39 percent), and because they feel it is a good time to explore Malaysia (27 percent).

It also found that Penang tops the list (31 percent) of places that Malaysians have travelled to or are planning to visit.

Other top destinations include Melaka (28 percent), Kuala Lumpur (25 percent), Terengganu (23 percent) and Kedah (22 percent).

The survey also found that the main draws for Malaysians are local food (51 percent), followed by affordable local attractions (44 percent) and accommodation (40 percent).

Most Malaysians, or 85 percent, have taken or are planning to follow all standard operating procedures (SOP) as stipulated by the government when travelling./.VNA

Some enterprises in Danang’s IPs suspend operations due to coronavirus outbreak

Six enterprises are operating partially, while 22 others have temporarily closed their doors to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at the industrial zones (IZs) in Danang City, according to Pham Truong Son, Head of Danang High-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority (DHPIZA), on August 10.

Up to now, 14 persons have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at some enterprises operating at the IZs in Danang.

Stating that the development of the pandemic has been complicated, affecting the production of businesses, Son said, “On the other hand, some workers have been quarantined, creating further difficulties for enterprises.” He added that DHPIZA encourages and supports businesses in need as much as possible so they can continue doing business comfortably.

He admitted that some enterprises were confused over handling business activities because business leaders could not enter Vietnam.

“We have guided our businesses over immigration procedures,” stated Son.

The total number of workers at IZs in the city is 70,500, accounting for 13.5% of the city’s total workforce.

As The Saigon Times had reported after the latest review of DHPIZA, by August 4, eight cases of Covid-19 were found among the workers at IZs in Danang./. SGT

Tien Giang expands vegetable area, output

Vegetable cultivation in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang has grown in terms of area, yields and incomes, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Nguyễn Văn Mẫn, director of the department, said income from growing vegetables was VNĐ226-271 million (US$9,700-11,700) per hectare last year, up by VNĐ101-127 million ($4,400-5,500) from just three years earlier.

In the period, the average annual increase in area under vegetables was 5.7 per cent while output increased by 5.4 per cent a year, he said.

The province had more than 57,750ha under vegetables and an output of 1.15 million tonnes last year.

Just less than 60 per cent of the vegetable growing areas have automatic irrigation systems.

The department has increasingly taught farmers advanced techniques like hydroponics, net houses and poly greenhouse farming to improve quality and yield.

There are around 80 poly greenhouses and 100 net houses in the province that grow various vegetables and herbs.

The province has zoned areas for growing flowers, leaves, roots and fruits.

Châu Thành District, the largest vegetable growing area, has such specialised areas for 40 types of plants.

It includes 420ha for growing pennywort, 150ha for fish mint and 100ha for basil.

The district has more than 14,000ha under vegetables and annually produces 300,000 tonnes.

Huỳnh Văn Bé Hai, chairman of the district People’s Committee, said more farmers have taken to rotating between vegetables and rice on their fields to increase efficiency.

“Growing vegetables offers two to three times the profit from high-yield rice.”

In the coastal eastern district of Gò Công Đông, authorities have encouraged farmers to expand vegetable farming in rice fields to mitigate the impact of saltwater intrusion and drought in the dry season.

The district plans to add 3,700ha from now until the end of the year, taking its total area under vegetables to 10,700ha.

Vegetable prices have been high in recent times, and thus offer higher profits than rice, according to the district Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Nguyễn Văn Quí, head of the bureau, said the district is shifting its agriculture towards quality and ensuring outlets.

Under the province’s plan for restructuring agriculture production in its eastern districts, Gò Công Đông plans to stop growing rice in the autumn-winter crop and switch to other crops instead.

Its autumn-winter rice crop usually suffers because of saltwater intrusion and drought just before harvest time.

The district has encouraged farmers to set up clean vegetable co-operative groups to ensure they can sell their harvests.

In recent years, the department has focused on developing linkages between production and consumption for this purpose.

It has collaborated with relevant agencies and localities to support the establishment of more than 100 vegetable trading establishments, nine vegetable co-operative groups and 12 co-operatives that grow and sell clean vegetables.

More than 20 of them have signed contracts to supply supermarkets and clean vegetable shops within and outside the province./. - VNS

Vietnam seeks to boost agricultural trade with Venezuela

The Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela held a webinar on Tuesday to introduce the Southeast Asian country’s agricultural potential to Venezuelan partners.

Addressing nearly 60 guests and representatives of the two countries’ businesses, Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela Le Viet Duyen said the Vietnamese Government and people always attach importance to enhancing the two countries’ friendship and co-operation.

Viet Nam is ready to share its development experience with Venezuela, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic’s serious impacts around the world, he said.

In terms of economy and trade, Venezuela is a potential destination for Vietnamese goods as it can help Vietnamese firms expand and diversify their markets, Duyen noted, adding that the countries have opportunities to strengthen bilateral economic and trade ties, contributing to their comprehensive partnership.

Aside from trade, they also boast considerable potential for cooperation in such areas as energy, oil and gas, fisheries, consumer goods, health care, science-technology, and especially agriculture, according to him.

At the event, enterprises introduced their agro-forestry-fishery products, shared experience, and discussed business opportunities.

The South American nation holds huge potential for agricultural development, but this potential remains largely untapped.

Venezuela imports a large volume of food, including about 500,000 tonnes of rice each year, to serve domestic demand, the webinar heard.

Ambassador Duyen said this is a good chance for the two sides’ businesses to boost mutual understanding and seize trade opportunities, particularly in agriculture./. - VNS

Transport firms cheer road maintenance fee reductions

Transportation firms have welcomed the Ministry of Finance’s recent move to reduce road maintenance fees by up to 30 per cent to aid businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Finance early this week issued a circular to cut road maintenance fees for passenger transportation vehicles by 30 per cent and 10 per cent for trucks, tractors and other special vehicles.

The reductions apply from August 10 to the end of this year. From January 1, 2021, road maintenance fees will return to the levels before August 10.

According to Khuc Huu Thanh Hai, director of Dat Cang Transportation, Trading and Services Joint Stock Company, cutting road maintenance fees would be a significant aid to transportation companies amid the pandemic.

With around 400 five-seat cars and 70 47-seat buses, Hai said his company could save a considerable sum from the fees reduction.

Hai, however, said he had expected bigger reductions because the transportation sector had been heavily affected by the pandemic.

Bui Danh Lien, deputy chairman of the Ha Noi Transport Association, said the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the transport industry were severe with a number of transport sectors frozen while companies still have to pay to maintain operations.

The Government’s support was essential in the time of the pandemic, which would help transportation companies overcome difficulties and recover, he said.

In May, the Ministry of Transport asked the Ministry of Finance to exempt and reduce road maintenance fees for transport vehicles and firms affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry pointed out that thousands of firms, co-operatives and household businesses in the transportation sector were falling into difficulties due to the pandemic with more than 310,000 vehicles operating in moderation and hundreds of thousands of workers facing falling incomes.

When nationwide social distancing was in place to cope with the virus, the passenger transportation saw a 75 per cent drop in revenue, the transport ministry said./. - VNS

HVG restricted from trading on UPCoM

The Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) announced that it would restrict trading of Hung Vuong Corporation (HVG) on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) trading system from Thursday.

Accordingly, this company is only allowed to trade on Friday every week.

The number of shares restricted from trading is over 227 million, with a value of more than VND2.27 trillion (US$97.5 million). Each share has a par value of VND10,000.

Before that, the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) issued a decision to delist shares for HVG stock including more than 227 million shares.

HoSE said that HVG has seriously violated the obligation to disclose information, which HoSE and the State Securities Commission (SSC) deems it necessary to cancel listing to protect the interests of investors in accordance with the law.

HVG has not released its separate and consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of this year so far despite many reminders from HoSE.

HVG said that the company was facing a shortage of accountants because people had stopped working or moved to new companies during the social distancing period from April.

Therefore, data provision for the financial statement consolidation was delayed.

Along with that, the letter confirming the debt from abroad is also delayed, so the auditing company does not have enough grounds to issue the audited financial statements of the transition period from October 1 to December 31 last year./. - VNS

Design contest focusing on regenerated products launched

A design contest has been launched on a national scale in the buildup to Vietnam Design Week 2020 in order to provide a platform for contestants to create regenerated products that possess a high value in terms of their design.

The “Designed by Vietnam” contest is running with the theme of “Regeneration” and will be jointly organised by the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, Ashui.com, and ConsMedia Corporation.

Through the various design submissions the contest aims to urge all people to utilise available materials and realise their dreams of a positive future with sustainable development, particular in the context of the world being in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The “Designed by Vietnam” contest is therefore open to all individuals living and working in the nation, including designers, craftsmen, and creative entrepreneurs in inter-related fields. All entries must be original designs by applicants and must never have been submitted to any other prior contests.

The deadline for the application round is on August 28, whilst the preliminary round will be open from the first week of September until the beginning of October. The judging panel will then select 20 designs and co-ordinate with chosen creators to make prototypes of their products.

A vote to select the best design will be held on www.vietnamdesignweek.com between September 7 to October 7.

Following this, the final round and an awards ceremony will take place during the Vietnam Design Week 2020 which is scheduled to run from November 5 to November 10 in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hoi An./. VOV

Vietnam-based Korean firms looking to benefit from EVFTA

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) coming into force on August 1 will benefit Vietnam-based Korean companies exporting goods to the EU.

In the report titled "The Impacts of the EVFTA: Effectuation on Korean companies and Implications" issued on August 5, the Institute for International Trade of the Korea International Trade Association anticipated that Vietnam would take on a greater role and status in the global value chain with the EVFTA going into effect in August, following the entry into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in January 2019.

The report stated, “A high level of market opening is expected as the EU and Vietnam agreed to eliminate around 99 % to 100 % of tariffs based on import bill within 7 years and 10 years, respectively,” and added, “As Vietnam's institutional reform, mitigation of non-tariff barriers, protection of intellectual property rights, and strengthening of labour rights and environmental protection obligations are included in the agreement, it will play a major role in advancing Vietnam's economy as well as expanding overseas investment.”

In particular, Korean textile and fashion firms based in Vietnam are expected to benefit from this FTA. Under the agreement, Vietnam-based Korean clothes manufacturers exporting to the EU can enjoy a preferential duty for goods made from Korean materials as the EU has FTAs with both Vietnam and the Republic of Korea.

In contrast, clothes produced from Chinese materials cannot enjoy the benefits of the EU-Vietnam trade deal, as China does not have an agreement with the EU.

Currently, the EU depends on China for 30 % of its clothes imports, but it imposes tariffs of up to 12 %. These imports will likely be replaced with Vietnamese goods when tariffs are removed.

In addition, the EU-Vietnam agreement is expected to increase demand for high-quality Korean materials. Since tariffs on consumer goods from Vietnam such as shoes and bags are significantly lowered, Korean producers based in Vietnam will be able to expand exports to the EU.

Kim Jung-kyun, a senior researcher at the Korea International Trade Association, said, “Vietnam has been making aggressive moves to open up its markets. It currently holds FTAs with 52 countries and has emerged as the trade hub of the ASEAN region. Korean companies based in Vietnam need to actively utilise the FTA network built by the country and set up mid-to-long-term strategies to expand trade and investment in Vietnam and restructure the supply chain”./. VIR

Vietnamese consumers prefer using cashless payments

The total value of cashless transactions jumped six times in the first half this year against the same period of 2019.

The number of cashless transactions increased more than five times in the first half of 2020 against the same period last year, while the total value of contactless transactions soared six times over the first half of 2019, according to the latest report by Visa.

At the end of June, the number of Visa cards that had recorded at least one contactless transaction within the past three months grew more than three times compared to June 2019.

Findings from the recent Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study showed 37% of Vietnamese consumers are now using contactless payments, while 42% are currently paying through mobile, of those, 85% said that they make contactless payment at least once a week.

Contactless payment methods have already been introduced at some of the biggest retailers, restaurant chains and movie houses, including Lotte Mart, The Pizza Company and BHD, with promotional campaigns that seek to drive up and popularize contactless payments.

Half of all Visa transactions at Starbucks Vietnam, one of the leading food & beverage chains, are now contactless. Similarly, Saigon Co-op has partnered with Visa to offer a range of exciting prizes to cardholders using this payment technology at their outlets.

A research conducted from June 19 to June 23 by Kantar showed that 68% of Vietnamese consumers prefer paying by cards or via mobile apps instead of cash, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this context, Shopee and JCB recently announced a regional agreement, taking effect from July in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, and later Singapore and the Philippines. JCB will offer annual discounts and seasonal promotions for Shopee users, while this e-commerce platform will encourage its stores to take part in JCB’s programs.

According to Terence Pang, CEO of Shopee, the partnership aims to meet the diversity of user habits and preferences, including cashless payments in the new normal after COVID-19.

Earlier, Vinasun, a taxi business, also launched a VNS Prepaid service, of which customers can top up from Payoo or its banking partners, e-wallets, and convenience stores for paying taxi fares.

“It is expected that in the second phase, in addition to paying directly through the Vinasun application, customers can also top up or pay taxi fares directly from MoMo, ZaloPay”, said Ta Long Hy, deputy general director of Vinasun Taxi said./. Hanoitimes

Vietnamese firm seals deal to supply equipment for US medical group

Ecom Net USA, a branch of Vietnam’s personal protective equipment (PPE) provider Ecom Net, on August 14 (US time), inked a contract to become the supplier of facemasks and PPE for the US medical group Spartan’s hospitals across the US.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, which took place at the Spartan headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, general director of Ecom Net USA Ella Nguyen hoped the event would mark a good beginning of a partnership between the sides.

Vince Proffitt, President at Spartan Medical Inc., lauded the quality of medical products made by Ecom Net USA and by Vietnamese firms in general.

He cited an assessment by the US-based Nelson Labs, which said facemasks produced by the Vietnamese company are fireproof, waterproof, and capable of filtering out up to 99.9 percent of the particles in the air.

Spartan, considered a leading provider of a network of more than 360 hospitals, has been secured more than 500 contracts with US federal governments, including multi-year transaction agreements in more than 30 treatment facilities of the US army.

Earlier this month, Ecom Net USA sponsored 10,000 facemasks, which were presented by Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc to Maryland as gifts for the state’s fight against COVID-19./. VNA

Vietnamese goods make up high proportion of domestic supermarket system

Local products account for over 90% of domestic enterprises' distribution systems, while they account for between 60% and 96% for foreign supermarkets, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The data was given during a recent conference held by the MoIT aimed at reviewing plans to develop the domestic market in association with the "Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese goods" campaign for the 2014 to 2020 period. In terms of traditional retail channels, the proportion of locals products at markets and in convenience stores makes up 60% or more, with key products reaching over 80% of the target set out in the plan.

Most notably, beginning early this year amid the spread of the novel coronavirus globally, many businesses have witnessed their export markets become disrupted, resulting in installed raw materials sources and orders. Indeed, the domestic market is viewed as a significant enough playground for local businesses to exploit whilst overcoming the various difficulties and challenges they face.

Statistically, despite the total retail sales of goods and services during the first seven months of the year falling by 0.4% in comparison with the same period in 2019, the total retail sales of goods during the reviewed period still accounts for 79.2%, an annual increase of 3.6%.

Therefore they are able to meet the essential needs of people whilst ensuring a consistent supply of raw materials, fuel, machinery, equipment, and goods to maintain production and business activities with regard to domestic and export markets.

Tran Duy Dong, head of the Domestic Market Department under the MoIT, says that in the context of the Vietnamese economy joining several new generation FTAs, especially the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) which came into effect at the beginning of August, efforts must be made to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products. These moves should be co-ordinated in an efficient manner in the retail system in order to prevent Vietnamese products from being dislodged./. VOV

Philippines bans chicken imports from Brazil over COVID-19 scare

The Philippine government on August 14 said it is imposing a ban on the importation of chickens from Brazil following reports of the coronavirus contamination of imported frozen food, including chicken wings from the South American country.

With the recent reports from China and in compliance with the country's Food Safety Act to regulate food business operators and safeguard Filipino consumers, the temporary ban on the import of chicken meat is imposed, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

It did not say how long the ban would be enforced. Brazil accounts for around 20 percent of the Philippines' poultry meat imports.

Despite the importation ban, the Philippines' Department of Agriculture assured the public that chicken products currently in the local market were safe to eat.

The World Health Organisation said on August 13 that there was no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 virus being spread by food or food packaging./. VNA

First batch of vermicelli from Bac Kan exported to Europe

Over five tonnes of vermicelli produced by Tai Hoan Cooperative of Bac Kan province were successfully exported to the Czech Republic on August 13.

This marks the first time that an agricultural product from Bac Kan province has been exported to the Central European country, a market that typically places strict regulations and high quality standards on imports.

Indeed, the vermicelli produced by Tai Hoan Cooperative met the standards set by the One Commune One Product OCOP programme after being granted four stars.

Dinh Lam Sang, deputy director of the Bac Kan Department of Industry and Trade, said the vermicelli shipment to the Czech Republic will serve to create added motivation for other local businesses to strive to produce high-quality products that can be exported to this market.

Sang added that the department will continue to work alongside other units in an effort to develop OCOP agricultural products that are granted a rating of at least three stars. In line with this strategy, once relevant products meet strict quality and quantity requirements, they will be exported to the European market./. VOV

The island of swallows that welcomes fewer than 300 visitors a day

01:34

Of the 33 islands that are home to the bird nest industry in Khanh Hoa Province, Hon Noi in Nha Trang City is the only one open for tourists, for five months a year.

To preserve the local environment and ensure sustainable development, the number of visitors is limited to 300 people per day.

Situated around 26 kilometres from the centre of Nha Trang City, the island is said to be home to the largest salangane population in the province. The island, with a long history of more than 700 years, began welcoming tourists in 2003 when Nha Trang city authorities organized the first sea festival, which became an annual event.

According to local legend, Le Van Dat, the Rear Admiral of Tran Dynasty (1225-1440), was considered the founder of the salanagne nest production industry in Khanh Hoa. On a trip to the south, he discovered edible salanagne nests on Phu Binh Khang, a part of Khanh Hoa Province today, and then taught locals how to collect the nests. In the festival, a ritual ceremony was performed at the temple of the Governor and Holy Mother of Hon Noi Island to show gratitude and respect to Le Van Dat.

Today, Hon Noi is not only popular for its rich resources of salanagne, but also for its heaven-like nature and landscape. The long white sandy strip with crystal blue sea of Hon Noi Beach has made the island one of the most desired destinations in Khanh Hoa. The water here is so clear that you can easily see corals and colorful fish without diving.

The unique double beach is an outstanding feature of Hon Noi, thanks to its warm and cold water. However, the island has much more to offer visitors.

The island only welcomes guests from April to September as the summer is also the calm sea season.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hai, Director of Sanest Tourist, told VietNamNet that in order to preserve the marine environment and ensure sustainable development, the company serves up to 300 tourists a day, using two boats and two wooden boats. Before going to the island, passengers are asked to dip their shoe soles in disinfectant solution, and not to smoke or stay overnight on the island.

They can visit Hon Sam bird-nest cave to see how swiftlets make their nest and learn about the tradition of the Khanh Hoa bird nest profession. The swiftlets fly away to seek food in early morning and return to their nests in the evening.

According to Hai, swiftlets are distributed mainly in the coastal provinces of the central and southern Vietnam, from Quang Binh to Con Dao and Phu Quoc. Khanh Hoa province has the largest and most stable populations of swiftlets in the country, with about 173 bird nest caves on 33 islands.

Hon Noi has not only swiftlets but also seagulls. There are two species here, white and black seagulls. Seagulls gather on Hon Noi from March to October every year.

Among many islands in Vietnam open for tourists, Hon Noi is outstanding for its wild look. On islands such as Nam Du (Kien Giang province), Ly Son (Quang Ngai province), and Co To (Quang Ninh province), along with the development of tourism, the increase in tourists can bring the risk of pollution. Hon Noi Island, thanks to its rules on restricting the number of visitors and strict implementation of environmental protection measures, is very clean.

Blue tents signal that there are bird nests on the island and there are bird nest exploitation activities.

To preserve the local environment and ensure sustainable development, the number of visitors is limited to 300 people per day.

Seagull on the island of Hon Noi.

The beach on Hon Noi.

VNN/Ngoc Ha

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 18

02:05

Vietnamese goods make up high proportion of domestic supermarket system

Local products account for over 90% of domestic enterprises' distribution systems, while they account for between 60% and 96% for foreign supermarkets, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Local gold prices fall

Local gold prices fell after the weekend and as of 10am on Monday, the prices had fallen to VNĐ55.45 million (US$2,403) per tael.

Compared to the end of last week, the prices decreased by between VNĐ500,000 and VNĐ700,000 per tael.

The Saigon Gold and Jewelry Company rated each tael of SJC gold at VNĐ53.8 million to buy and VNĐ55.45 million for sale (sell-buy).

Doji Group had its buying price at VNĐ54 million with a sales price of VNĐ55.7 million. Rated higher, Phú Quý Group listed each tael of gold at VNĐ54.2 million on the buying side and VNĐ56 million on the selling side.

Bảo Tín Minh Châu Gold Firm in Hà Nội had one of the highest buy prices at VNĐ54.3 million per tael while selling one tael at VNĐ55.9 million.

On August 7, local gold prices increased sharply to reach a record of more than VNĐ62 million per tael.

At the same time, on the gold exchange Kitco, prices fell $4.3 per ounce to close at $1,940 per ounce ($2,337 per tael)./.

Vietnamese shrimp sells like hot cakes in US in H1

Vietnam exported over 323 million USD worth of shrimp to the US in the first half of this year, up 29 percent year-on-year.

The US was the only market where Vietnam experienced positive growth in shrimp export during the period under review.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said the US’s shrimp imports mainly serve retail channels and e-commerce, and suggested Vietnamese exporters focus on intensively processed products and those of added values.

In the first six months, despite the great impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam still earned 2 billion USD from shrimp export.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers expects this year’s revenue will expand 20 percent against the previous year./.

Real estate market adapting to COVID-19

The real estate market saw some signs of recovery in the latter half of the second quarter and early and mid-July before the second wave of COVID-19 struck in late July. The changing situation has forced property companies to adjust their business plans.

This real estate exchange made 2,400 transactions in just three days in mid-July. Staff didn’t even have the chance to celebrate the high sales volume before the second wave of COVID-19 hit not long after. It had to adjust the business approach it developed during the first wave of COVID-19, in which people-to-people transactions were cut.

According to industry insiders, the real estate market was indeed picking up in the second quarter. Transactions in the high-end segment increased 38% against the first quarter while those in the mid-range segment rose 33%.

The recovery was driven not only by the resumption of “business as usual” nationwide but also by strong growth in online transactions.

Local real estate companies have been adapting during the pandemic and look forward to the Government assisting with legal procedures to help them survive these tough times.

The domestic real estate market is expected to fully recover by the end of the year as the pandemic is likely to be contained by that point. Between now and then, real estate companies and their clients must continue to adapt to the changing circumstances./.

Support industries struggling with COVID-19

Dr Can Van Luc from the Research and Training Institute of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) said the country is in the process of extensive and intensive global integration and many production chains such as mobile phones, electronic products, textiles and garments, footwear, farm produce processing, automobile, and oil refining, which are all key export sectors, are feeling the negative impact of COVID-19 due to the suspension of global supply chains and a shortage of materials.

Many production areas in Vietnam are heavily dependent upon material imports from China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan, so support industries have been unable to escape from the impact.

Pham Van Tai, General Director of the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO), the largest automobile maker in Vietnam, revealed that the development of support industries in mechanical engineering is a strategic direction for localisation in global supply chains, enhancing competitiveness and increasing foreign direct investment.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the HCM City support industry development centre Le Nguyen Duy Oanh said there are not many opportunities for businesses in the field due to their limited capacity and low workplace skills. It is also difficult to manufacture diverse products due to a lack of technology.

To address this obstacle, she suggested enterprises push ahead with reforms and change administration mindsets while increasing their competitive edge./.

German newspaper highlights Vietnam as attractive investment destination

German tape manufacturer Tesa plans to build a 55 million EUR (65 million USD) factory in Northern Vietnam in an effort to expand its production as from 2023, according to Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper.

In an article published on August 13, the newspaper said the coronavirus has shown how companies have to face risks as supply chains rely on each single country.

Therefore, Telsa is not alone in choosing Vietnam. In recent years, the Southeast Asian nation has become a popular option for companies that want to expand their production network in Asia.

The virus is intensifying the trend, according to the article. ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, see themselves in a good position to benefit from the trend.

The article cited an analysis by consultancy firm BCG as saying that Southeast Asia is moving towards the centre of globalisation.

The trade volume between Southeast Asia and Europe as well as the America is expected to increase more than 20 billion USD by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the movement of goods between Southeast Asia and China is set to expand more than 40 billion USD.

Vietnam, which has a population of around 100 million, is said to have particularly good prospects of taking advantage of the development.

The International Monetary Fund forecast that the country can expect economic growth of almost 3 percent this year, the article said.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) that has become effective since August 1 is a reason that makes Vietnam more attractive to foreign investors.

The article said Marko Walde, Chief Representative of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Vietnam, expressed his belief that Vietnam will not only become more attractive as an investment destination, but will hold great importance in the development of alternative supply chains.

Apart from Europe, Vietnam has joined countries such as Japan, Canada and Mexico in a free trade area with since 2018 through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The country has also participated in the negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), including China and Australia. Another free trade agreement with the US is also under discussion.

Vietnam's openness to globalisation has helped the country to lure numerous big corporations.

Apple moved around one third of its production of wireless headphones to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Google and Microsoft have accelerated their plans to relocate part of their hardware production to the country. As for Samsung, Vietnam has been an important production location for years as more than half of its phones are made in factories in the country, the article said./.

Agro-tourism models improve farmers' income

Agricultural production combined with tourism is offering higher profits for farmers in the south-central and southern provinces.

In recent years, the agro-tourism models have attracted many visitors and brought economic benefits to farmers and firms, contributing to new-style rural areas in many localities.

The farming model creates additional output for products and produces environmentally-friendly tourism products promoted to visitors.

The farms have become attractive destinations for visitors who like natural scenery and peaceful atmosphere in rural areas and who want to learn about the agricultural production process, and enjoy fresh fruit at farmers' gardens.

Nguyễn Văn Chín, a farmer in the south-central province of Bình Thuận, has 1,700 pillars of dragon fruit grown to VietGAP standards in Hàm Thuận Nam District's Hàm Mỹ Commune.

“I have begun harvesting off-season dragon fruit and have sold them at high prices,” he said.

However, his family has kept some of the fruit on his trees to welcome visitors from HCM City booked for sightseeing at his garden.

“We want visitors to be able to harvest the fruits and gain hands-on experience in farming activities,” Chín said.

In the south-central province of Ninh Thuận, the country's largest grapefruit producer, many farmers have achieved positive results by combining grapefruit farming and eco-tourism.

Nguyễn Văn Mọi with his own brand Ba Mọi Grapefruit, for example, has earned a higher income by growing grapefruit on 2,000sq.m of cultivated land in Ninh Phước District’s Phước Thuận Commune, and has opened his garden for tourists.

Tourists can taste and learn how to take care of fresh grapes and other grape products such as syrup, wine and dried grapes, Mọi said.

“How to identify the differences between local grapes and other imported grapes is shared,” he said.

Each farmer household can earn an average income of more than VNĐ150 million (US$6,500) from growing grapes and tourism activities.

When the 105km coastal route connecting Ninh Thuận and Khánh Hòa provinces is completed, Ninh Thuận Province’s Ninh Hải District is expected to attract more tourists.

The district has encouraged local farmers to develop grapefruit orchards and other tourism products. There are 190ha of grape cultivation combined with eco-tourism in the district.

Taking advantage of fruit, pepper and cashew orchards, the southern province of Đồng Nai has also created favourable conditions for local farmers to expand the combined model of agriculture and tourism.

Lê Văn Thắng, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said many farmer households in Tân Phú, Định Quán and Cẩm Mỹ districts and Long Khánh City are participating in this model.

Besides serving fresh fruit at the garden, most eco-tourism sites also provide food and drink services for visitors.

Long Khánh City has invested in infrastructure to serve a large number of tourists and organised many seminars to equip farmers with basic knowledge about tourism and fruit festivals.

More than 200 households in the city are developing the model. They have welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors in the last two years. The city’s total revenue from eco-tourism was estimated at VNĐ60 billion ($2.5 million).

Farmers can earn an average profit of VNĐ58 million ($2,500) per hectare a year from fruit farming, while they can earn a profit of up to VNĐ130 million ($5,600) per hectare a year from growing fruit in combination with tourism activities.

Many agricultural businesses are also using their farms and processing factories to serve tourism services.

Green Farm of 3T Plus Trading and Service Co Ltd in the coastal southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu covers a 7ha area, including green-skin grapefruit garden, yellow melon cultivation area, wooden houses, stilt houses, a team-building campsite and restaurant.

The farm welcomes about 400 visitors every week. The average revenue is estimated at VNĐ270 million ($11,650) per month. It also links with other farms such as the US farm, Binon Cocoa and Thái Dương Avocado for a closed tour./.

Thailand considers Safe & Sealed plan for foreign tourists

Tour operators in Thailand is planning to speak with the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAT) about lifting restrictions on international commercial flights in the fourth quarter to allow the Safe and Sealed plan to take shape.

Local media cited Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, as saying that state agencies and operators must cooperate to drive the economy forward during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Safe and Sealed plan is the result of collaboration between the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) and 13 tourism industries, including hotels, inbound tour operators and tour bus services.

While the private sector is awaiting a response from the government after proposing the scheme, TCT representatives in each province are working with locals to gain a better understanding of the idea.

Vichit said Phuket shows the strongest potential to receive the first group of international tourists, followed by islands in Krabi and Surat Thani provinces.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Phuket Tourist Association, said operators in Phuket suggested a similar idea by using alternative state quarantine hotels to welcome only long-stay tourists.

Those long-term guests wouldn't be kept in a specific area after completing a 14-day quarantine and would be allowed to travel freely in the country, which should contribute tourism income to other provinces, he said.

Meanwhile, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to propose the opening of five islands to foreign tourists, namely Phuket in Phuket province, Phi Phi in Krabi province, and Samui, Pha Ngan and Tao islands in Surat Thani province as those places could be easily regulated in terms of care, quarantine and monitoring of tourists in different areas to ensure the safety of both the community and the tourists themselves.

However, the CAAT said on August 13 that the ban on international commercial flights is set to continue since the COVID-19 pandemic remains serious in many countries.

CAAT Director Chula Sukmanop said this is an indefinite ban.

Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration noted it would continue to monitor the situation around the world prior to making any decision on when the flights might resume.

In 2019, spending by foreign tourists accounted for 11.4 percent of Thailand’s GDP. In the first six months of 2020, the number of foreign visitors to this country stood at 6.69 million, a year-on-year decline of 66 percent.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand predicted that foreign arrivals this year may plunge to 7 million, compared to the record of 39.8 million in 2019, if Thailand remains closed for international travellers in the fourth quarter of 2020./.

Local businesses continue to suffer negative impact of COVID-19

The ongoing complicated developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic both globally and domestically are causing an array of difficulties for the local business community, with many of them enduring negative growth over the past few months with no positive signs on the horizon.

Many economic experts believe this year will represent a huge challenge for firms and will require local businesses to quickly innovate in order to adapt to the realities of a new situation.

Truong Van Cam, vice chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, states that both the first quarter and second quarter of the year saw the textile and garment industry record a negative growth rate of 2% and 16.67%, respectively. Indeed, these figures can be put down to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the figures moving forward remain unknown.

Furthermore, several experts feel that the third quarter of the year will likely be the time that labour-intensive industries such as the textile and apparel sector will suffer greatly from the true impact of the COVID-19, thereby being a huge challenge for them.

Alongside the manufacturing industry in using a large labour force, the leather and footwear industry since the beginning of the year has had to "struggle" to maintain its operations. Due to difficulties with capital, output for products is still proving to be a burden for many businesses.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, vice president and General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather - Footwear - Handbag Association, says major enterprises have also seen their orders reduced by 50%. As a result, many big enterprises have cut 30% of their labour force, with some even laying off 70% of their employees.

“One of the other difficulties faced by the footwear industry is the capital issue. Footwear businesses have made policy recommendations, but have yet to be able to receive support from the Government. If the pandemic can be brought under control between now and October, businesses will be able to hold out and overcome it. But no one knows when the pandemic will be over. Therefore, both enterprises and the State should outline a response scenario,” Xuan says.

The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic has led to firms switching strategic policies in an unprecedented manner, according to economic experts, as some costs that were once considered fixed by business leaders are now being viewed as variable costs.

Moreover, capital capacity is rapidly being seen as creating a difference as it has now become a necessary condition for operating businesses. Simultaneously, enterprises must continue to balance strategies, cut costs without affecting their production and business activities, in addition to promoting investment shift towards growth factors in order to be fully prepared for future crises.

Ass. Prof. Dr. To Trung Thanh, an economic expert from the National Economics University, describes the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for the country to re-examine mechanisms and institutions relating to the economy and view them with radical longer-term solutions in mind.

It can therefore be viewed as necessary to reshape production, business methods, and production processes, whilst also optimising value chains, and incentivising local firms to carry out a step-by-step digital transformation to ensure the dual goal of preventing and controlling the epidemic whilst also maintaining economic development, Dr. Thanh notes./.

Indonesia to spend over 24 bln USD on stimulus funding in 2021

The Indonesian Government has announced that it will allocate 356.5 trillion Rp (24.04 billion USD) for COVID-19-related stimulus funding next year in an effort to continue supporting the country’s economic recovery and strengthen the health care system, including the provision of a coronavirus vaccine.

In his state of the nation speech to the People’s Consultative Assembly on August 14, Indonesian President Joko Widodo pledged to continue this year’s stimulus allocation until 2021, which will also include funding for social protection and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) support, while fiscal relaxation will be implemented again to support the government’s agenda.

The government will provide 25.4 trillion Rp next year for health care, including the procurement of coronavirus vaccines once they are available and to support laboratories and health care facilities.

It will also provide 110.2 trillion Rp for social aid, including for the Family Hope programme, cash transfers and the pre-employment card programme, among others.

Furthermore, the government will allocate 136.7 trillion Rp for ministries and regional administrations to improve tourism, food security, industrial areas, communication and technology development and provide loans for regions, among other projects.

Some 48.8 trillion Rp is being set aside for MSMEs, 14.9 trillion Rp for state-owned enterprises and corporations and another 20.4 trillion Rp for tax incentives.

Indonesia has allocated 695.2 trillion Rp in stimulus spending this year to support the cooling economy and fund the pandemic response with the state budget deficit expected to come in at 6.34 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The government expects next year’s budget deficit to amount to 971.2 trillion Rp, 5.5 percent of GDP, given the need to further boost the economy and provide social and health care assistance./.

Noi Bai airport planned to welcome 63 million passengers per year

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has submitted to the Ministry of Transport a report on the adjustment of the planning scheme for the already overloaded Noi Bai International Airport which aims to double its capacity to welcome 63 million passengers a year by 2030.

According to the plan, the airport is projected to serve both civil and military purposes and capable of handling large long-haul aircraft such as B777-X, B747-8, B777-300ER and A380.

By 2030, the airport will have an estimated capacity of 63 million passengers and two million tonnes of cargo per year. To this end, the CAAV has proposed building a third runway in the south of the airport. The airport's existing terminal T2 will be expanded so that the combined capacity of terminals T1 and T2 will reach 30-40 million passengers per year, and a new terminal T3 with a capacity of 30 million passengers per year will be built to the south.

By 2050, the CAAV estimates the airport to serve 100 million passengers and handle 5 million tonnes of cargo each year.

The airport's planning scheme will therefore be adjusted with the addition of a fourth runway to the south as well as terminal T4 with an annual capacity of 25 million passengers at the site of the current terminal T1 and a new terminal T5 with a capacity of 25 million passengers when the demand rises.

The airport's land use planning meanwhile will follow the approved master plan for Hanoi, which allocates about 2,230 hectares to the airport to ensure enough land for national defence purposes.

The number of passengers and cargo passing through the Noi Bai Airport has been increasing by an average of 10% per year, with the airport receiving nearly 26 million passengers in 2018 and about 29 million passengers in 2019.

However, the airport is only designed to handle 25 million passengers per year, with the domestic terminal T1 having a capacity of 15 million and the international terminal T2 is servicing the remaining 10 million passengers per year./.

Southeast Asian M&As gathering momentum

Vietnam’s mergers and acquisitions market continues to be a magnet for Southeast Asian buyers, especially those from Thailand and Singapore that are increasingly taking over local assets in the country.

Most recently, Thailand-based Banpu Pcl. acquired the El Wind Mui Dinh Wind Farm in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan. The purchase with a value of about US$66 million is subject to customary approvals and conditions precedents, with completion expected to take place in the fourth quarter.

The investment was made through associate company BRE Singapore Pte., Ltd. (BRES), in which the Thai company holds 50% of shares through Banpu NEXT Co., Ltd. For this project, Banpu secured a feed-in tariff of 8.5 US cents per kilowatt-hour for a period of 20 years, in accordance with the power purchase agreement with Electricity of Vietnam.

Somruedee Chaimongkol, CEO of Banpu said, “The investment in wind in Vietnam is a testament to Banpu’s continuous commitment to our greener and smarter strategy. The El Wind Mui Dinh Wind Farm is our latest addition that helps expand the company’s portfolio of renewable energies and generate more revenue and cashflow for Banpu.”

Thai investors are the most active in Vietnam’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market. As such, ThaiBev – one of Asia’s largest beverage companies – spent nearly US$5 billion in 2017 acquiring stakes in Vietnam’s leading brewer Sabeco.

Central Group made headlines by spending US$1.05 billion on Big C supermarkets, previously owned by the French company Casino Group in 2016. Prior to this deal, TCC Holdings, another conglomerate from Thailand, bought out the wholesaler Metro Vietnam Cash & Carry. The deal was valued at US$800 million.

Commenting on this trend, the representative of the Thai Business Association said that Thailand has expertise in consumer goods production and food processing. Meanwhile, Vietnam has abundant resources and the government is promoting exports. Therefore, the agribusiness industry is a perfect match, similar to consumer goods.

In addition, Thai businesses have expertise and potentials in renewable energy. As Vietnam is promoting green development, it also attracts Thai investors in the respective sectors.

Likewise, Singaporean investors are also interested in M&A deals in Vietnam. For example, state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings and US private equity manager KKR are among a group of investors that acquired a 6% stake in Vietnam’s property developer Vinhomes for VND15.1 trillion (US$650 million) from its parent Vingroup in June. Temasek is very active in Vietnam’s M&A market.

In March 2019, Temasek also invested about US$100 million to become a major shareholder of VNG – the only unicorn to date in Vietnam. Last October, Temasek funded Vietnam-based logistics platform Scommerce, a leading e-logistics services company that is the parent of delivery startups AhaMove and Giaohangnhanh (GHN).

Ong Tiong Hooi, transaction services partner of PwC Vietnam, told VIR that over the past five years, he noticed a significant increase in investments from ASEAN countries, notably Singapore and Thailand.

Specifically, almost all investments made via Thailand have come through corporates looking to expand their value chain both horizontally and vertically into sectors such as beverages, retail, construction, packaging-related materials, and industrial products.

However, investments made via Singapore are mainly sovereign wealth funds into sectors such as last-mile delivery, commercial real estate, financial services, and e-payments.

“In the last two years, some notable deals with values exceeding US$100 million are GIC’s stake acquisition in Vietcombank, VNPay, and VinMart, Temasek’s participation in Scommerce, and Stark Corporation’s stake in Thinh Phat Real Estate Cables JSC,” Hooi said.

Samuel Son Tung Vu, partner at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee Vietnam, said that Singaporean investors have been very active in Vietnam since the early years of the renovation in the 1990s with a strong presence in real estate projects, and industrial zones.

“Vietnamese companies are growing strong in fast-moving consumer goods and services, including finance, technology, and fintech thanks to the large and young population. That, together with steady economic growth, is an attractive feature for Singaporean buyers,” Vu added.

Despite such robust activities, Hooi believed that the scale of investors from the ASEAN has yet to match the diversity and volume of those coming from the Republic of Korea and Japan.

“For most of the ASEAN buyers, our general observation is that they do understand the general business practices in an emerging country, like Vietnam, as most of their countries underwent the same business trajectory before,” Hooi said.

“Nonetheless, with the revelation of financial scandals in Europe in recent years, there is still a sense of caution among global investors – including ASEAN ones. Therefore, it is expected that they look for improvements in corporate governance, reporting standards, and business ethics in the near future.”

With the ongoing pandemic, it has been challenging for foreign investors to enter the country to conduct on-site visits and meetings. Although this has dampened the overall M&A market, there are increased activities by local corporates and funds as they are on-the-ground and able to move around freely.

Nonetheless, according to the PwC expert, it may be interesting to see developments over the coming months, especially as many countries are now facing new COVID-19 waves. Foreign corporates may now need to decide whether to continue expanding value chains or focus domestically on managing internal affairs./.

Thailand urged to increase exports to prevent global food shortage

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has urged Thailand to increase food exports to prevent global shortage.

According to Poj Aramwatthananont, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the OPEC’s recent meeting, which was attended by 21 member countries, had estimated that the COVID-19 outbreak will cause disruptions to the global food supply chain and affect global food security until 2022.

The Nation of Thailand on August 15 quoted Poj as saying that this is a good opportunity for Thai exporters to expand the markets, which will require strict compliance with international food safety standards.

The private sector is preparing to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with ministries of Commerce, Public Health, Agriculture and Cooperative, and Interior to obtain related certifications for Thai products to be exported overseas, to increase the confidence of foreign customers, he added.

He stressed that these MoUs are also a start of aggressive measures to prevent the contamination of food products with the COVID-19 virus and other germs that could unexpectedly disrupt our food industry.

Meanwhile, Anong Phaijitpraphaphorn, director of the National Food Institute, said the institute expects food exports in the second half of 2020 to expand by 3.6 percent year on year to around 519.4 billion THB (16.54 billion USD), as the demand for food will start climbing once economic activities return to normal globally.

Thailand’s total food export revenue in 2020 is expected to hit 1.025 trillion THB, 0.8 percent higher than last year, provided the baht does not get too strong or fluctuates too much, she said./.

Hung Yen promotes sales of agricultural products

Hung Yen province has over the past several years increased trade promotion activities at festivals and trade fairs with the locality's agricultural products securing a stronger foothold in domestic and foreign markets.

In 2020, Hung Yen province has organized several trade promotion conferences where businesses, supermarket managers, and Vietnam Airlines could meet with managers, cooperative members, and gardeners from Hung Yen province.This year, the province organized a longan festival, a seminar on safe, sustainable agricultural production, tourism activities and visits to longan gardens, a week of Hung Yen longans in Hanoi, and a longan competition. These activities have made Hung Yen agricultural products better known around the world.

Hung Yen province’s trade promotion activities are aimed at strengthening the domestic market and expanding the export market. The province has provided local farmers with up-to-date market information, and helped them improve their product quality, expand their export markets, and increase their advertising.

Vice Chairman of the Hung Yen provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Quang said the province has focused on improving the quality of local products to maintain the trust of customers and distributors with the aim of securing firm foothold in the domestic market and expanding the export market."

The province has introduced Hung Yen longans and other agricultural products at safe food and local specialty promotion programs in other cities and provinces.

Thanks to increased application of the VietGAP standard in production, Hung Yen longans have been included in flight menus on domestic and international routes of Vietnam Airlines.

Ngo Hong Minh of Vietnam Airlines elaborated, "Since 2018, we have cooperated with the Department of Industry and Trade to serve longans on flights of Vietnam Airlines. Our passengers really like longans. Applying VietGap production standards qualifies Hung Yen longans to be served on our planes."

Stable consumption thanks to strict application of the quality assurance process has assured Hung Yen farmers a stable income.

"Vietnam Airlines acknowledged the quality of our products and gave us a big order. I’m very happy that farmers have effectively applied the VietGap standard", Nguyen Quang Dien of the Hung Yen Longan Cooperative noted.

Hung Yen province expects to harvest 11,000 tons of longans this year, 3,000 tons more than last year. The yields of other agricultural products like oranges and bananas have also risen now that even the Party Committee and administration of Hung Yen have engaged in trade promotion activities.

The Farmers’ Association has regularly organized events to introduce local products, diversified distribution channels, and helped producers participate in trade fairs and online seminars.

"The Farmers’ Association has asked the vocational training and farmers’ support centers to organize activities to connect farmers with businesses to help expand the market for local agricultural products like vegetables and fruits", said Nguyen Tuan Viet, Chairman of the Hung Yen provincial Farmers’ Association.

The province intends to work with Vietnamese Trade Councilors overseas and participate in international trade promotion events to seek new markets, focus more on building trademarks, brands, packaging, and labels, and promote geographical indications of local products.

With these measures, Hung Yen hopes its agricultural products will find their way to more markets at home and abroad./.

Indonesia spends 3.8 trillion IDR to revise tourism industry

The Indonesian government will allocate 3.8 trillion IDR (257 million USD) from its budget to revive the tourism sector through granting several incentives to tourism operators in the country.

The incentives include subsidy and income tax cut, deputy chief of the presidential office Febry Calvin Tetelepta said at a webinar on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic on August 13.

The tourism industry, including hotels, restaurants, travel companies, and creative economic businesses engaged in advertisement and film production, can benefit from the incentives, he added.

According to the World Tourism Organisation, tourism has been the most-affected sector during the coronavirus crisis.

The Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy expects that the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia will plunge to 5 million this year compared to 16 million last year.

Meanwhile, the number of domestic visitors is predicted to fall to 120 million in 2020 from 303 million last year.

The country's foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector are projected to fall to 15 billion USD from the target of 21 billion USD for this year./.

Singapore investors want to buy Newcastle United

Singaporean entrepreneurs Terence Loh and Nelson Loh are now spearheading a bid to take over the English football club Newcastle United.

The cousins are co-founders of Bellagraph Nova (BN) Group, which owns over 30 entities across 100 countries in major business spheres, including finance, sports, healthcare, luxury goods, entertainment and robotics. The Paris-based group is worth an estimated 12 billion USD.

Bellagraph Nova Group’s founders are at an advanced stage of negotiation after having already provided a Letter of Intent as well as a Proof of Funds earlier this month, said the group’s statement released on August 15.

The group also enlisted help of England captain Alan Shearer and former player Michael Chopra.

Last month, a proposed Saudi takeover for Newcastle United collapsed. If the business deal is sealed, the cousins will become the first Singaporean billionaires to own an English football club./.

Industry firms benefits from HCM City’s investment stimulus programme

In nearly two years since it began, Ho Chi Minh City’s investment stimulus programme for the supporting industries has enabled a number of businesses to acquire new technologies and equipment, upgrade their factories and enter the supply chains of global large corporations, according to the Centre for Supporting Industry Development (CSID).

Trinh Mai Hung, Deputy Director of the CSID, said the programme for 2018-2020 sought to help local companies invest in new technologies and equipment to make products that satisfy the requirements of manufacturing enterprises and take more supporting industrial products into global supply chains.

Under the programme, the city fully subsidises loan interest for eligible businesses. So far 24 projects with a total investment of nearly 1.8 trillion VND (77.4 million USD) have received loans of 1 trillion VND for up to seven years.

“The investment stimulus policy has created conditions for enterprises to boldly invest in renovating machinery and equipment to participate in the supply chains of foreign corporations in Vietnam. Enterprises have risen to become tier- 1, 2 and 3 suppliers.”

The programme has significantly increased investment in priority sectors such as mechanical engineering, chemicals, plastic, rubber, food and foodstuffs, electronics, IT, textiles, and footwear.

In the last two years, the city’s Department of Industry and Trade has directed the CSID to apprise businesses directly and indirectly about policies.

Businesses have numerous benefits from the programme, but also some difficulties in terms of conditions for participating.

To participate in it, a business must have a new factory and machinery and equipment and must get a loan from a bank. The latter is the most important condition, but most supporting industry businesses are small or medium-sized and lack collateral, and so find it hard to obtain loans.

Many also complain about the programme’s time-consuming procedures, which causes them to lose market opportunities and makes them reluctant to participate.
Hung said his centre has suggested measures to the city government to boost the development of supporting industries.

They include allotting land to them, building high-tech industrial clusters and providing more support for industrial development and to innovative start-ups, he said.

At the same time the city regularly organises a programme to connect businesses with banks to ensure credit, develop key products, carry out trade promotion and other activities to promote exports and support businesses in the field to expand their market share in and outside the country./.

Japanese companies shift focus on Southeast Asia: JETRO

More and more Japanese firms are expanding business in Southeast Asia and scaling down operations in China due to its escalating tensions with the US, according to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

The organization’s new trade and investment report quoted its survey conducted late last year as saying that 41 percent of Japanese companies are considering expanding operations in Vietnam in the next three years or so, up 5.5 percentage points from a year earlier, and 36.3 percent of respondents had given a similar answer for Thailand, up 1.5 percentage points.

Meanwhile, 48.1 percent said they would boost business in China, down 7.3 percentage points.

According to the report, since 2018, an intensified confrontation between the US and China has pushed up Japanese companies' investment in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The gap between the amount of Japanese investment into ASEAN and China increased to 20.4 billion JPY (191 million USD) in 2019 from 10.2 billion JPY in 2017.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced Japanese investment in the Asian market, as well.

In the first five months of 2020, Japanese investment in ASEAN dropped by 35.5 percent.

Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/Dtinews

VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 19

02:35

Fruit exporters seek new markets to survive pandemic

Dragon fruit cultivation in Long An Province. Fruit exporters have been urged to seek new export markets instead of depending too much on traditional ones.

Chanh Thu Fruit Import and Export Company Limited in Ben Tre province continues to operate normally despite the resurgence of COVID-19 since it has shifted to new export markets instead of overly depending on traditional ones like China.

Ngo Tuong Vy, its deputy director, said exports of frozen durian have increased by more than 30 percent.

“Frozen durian is popular since the quality is almost fresh after thawing. Frozen durian is also mouth-watering as it is similar to ice cream and the smell is not as strong compared to when it is fresh.”

The company now focuses on exports to the US, she said.

“There is no shortage of durian in the US market, but Vietnamese durian is popular since it is delicious yet reasonably priced.”

This month, despite a significant drop in the prices of dragon fruits, farmers in Long An province’s Chau Thanh and Tan Tru districts were still able to sign a contract with Lavifood, an exporter of processed fruits and vegetables, to sell the fruit at 13,000 VND and 23,000 VND (1 USD) per kilogramme, depending on quality, relatively higher than the market price.

Lavifood buys 80 percent of the fruits grown in Long An.

Dang Ngoc Can, general director of the company, said it has focused on the processing of dragon fruit into juice, dried and frozen products.

The company has a factory in Long An province with an annual capacity of 10,000 tonnes of processed products, and another in Tay Ninh with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes, and could process more than 500 tonnes of dragon fruit per day, he said.

The company plans to increase exports to markets with high demand such as the Republic of Korea, Japan, the US, and Europe, he said.

Nguyen Quoc Trinh, chairman of the Long An Dragon Fruit Association, said his company bought 500 tonnes of the fruits at high prices within 10 days of harvest, making farmers very happy.

“Farmers can export ‘beautiful looking’ dragon fruits and keep the rest for freezing, drying and making juices for domestic consumption.

“The price is based on how the fruits look.”

To sell well, farmers must follow “clean” processes based on VietGAP standards, he said.

Nguyen Dinh Tung, chairman and general director of Vina T&T Group, said the company’s plant could preserve fresh coconuts for 80 days, 20 more than before, and targets new markets like Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea in addition to its traditional market, the US.

“The company exports eight to nine containers of coconuts a week now, compared to only three or four in past years. Each container contains 20,000 coconuts. To get 20,000 good coconuts, the company has to buy 30,000-40,000 from farmers.”

Phung Van Hien, director of Global Fresh Fruit Company Limited (Ben Tre), said the company decided to suspend rambutan exports to the EU a few months ago because of lack of supply due to the saltwater intrusion and drought in the Mekong Delta, and the Covid-19 outbreak, and surge in air freight.

It quickly found new export markets like Japan, Australia and the US for fresh coconuts instead, he said.

It also exports copra to the Netherlands, he said.

“Businesses must now focus on quality and branding their products to ensure sustainability.”

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), exports to China, the country’s largest market, were only worth 1.044 trillion VND (45 million USD) in the first half, down 29.35 percent year-on-year.

It attributed the slump to the fact that cross-border trade has been tightened due to the pandemic, causing shipments of many agricultural products, including dragon fruit, to be stuck at the borders for days.

To survive, businesses have to expand to new export markets and learn to adapt to each market’s tastes and improve quality, packaging and traceability, according to the association.

The agricultural sector is expected to continue facing challenges this year due to the pandemic and unfavourable weather conditions.

Experts said it should continue to adapt to climate change, use technology and improve human resources.

Enterprises need to continue to seek new markets, they added.

The sector has a growth target for the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector for this year of 2.6 – 3 percent, the same as last year, with exports rising to 41 billion USD.

To achieve the target, it should also take advantage of tropical agriculture and develop high-quality specialised areas that meet food safety requirements, the experts said.

It should speed up key projects in agricultural and forestry processing and increase the capacity of existing processing plants to reduce costs and serve domestic and export needs, they said.

Agriculture should be closely linked with the processing industry and preservation, market, export, and global value chains.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said his ministry expects to quickly establish linkages between cropping areas, processing plants and logistics systems to expand export markets and join the global value chain./.

Central bank cuts reserve interest rate to aid the economy

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) on Thursday announced its decision to cut the interest rate it pays on commercial banks' reserves by 0.2-0.5 percentage points as part of its efforts to help the economy weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The adjustment, which took effect immediately, was the second time this year following the cut on March 16.

The rate the SBV pays for the Vietnamese dong-denominated compulsory deposits that commercial banks hold there was cut to 0.5 per cent, and for non-compulsory deposits to zero per cent.

Meanwhile, the interest rate paid for compulsory deposits of the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) and Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP); People's Credit Funds and microfinance institutions at the central bank will be reduced by 0.2 percentage points to 0.8 per cent per annum.

The interest rate for deposits of the State Treasury and the Deposit Insurance of Viet Nam at the SBV is revised down to 0.8 per cent per annum, down 0.2 percentage points.

The SBV said the adjustment was made based on macro-economic developments and the level of interest rates in the market./.

Textile, footwear companies feel confident

Armed with experience from coping with the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, many textile and footwear enterprises are quietly confident they can alter their plans as required and find new markets to cope with the second.

The situation is worsening, according to most companies in the two sectors as the epidemic returns to Vietnam and continues to rage in many countries around the world.

Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, said that in the first six months of the year, though affected a great deal by the COVID-19 pandemic, his company sustained its operations and cash flows thanks to its decision to produce face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE).

But the situation would be very different in the second half since the demand for those products is shrinking rapidly, he said.

The fact that many manufacturers switched to producing PPE has seen supply shoot past demand, he added.

Since the global outbreak began in April, many Vietnamese garment and textile businesses have been told by their US and EU partners that they would temporarily stop taking delivery of goods.

Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting, said this was because governments in the US and EU have declared a state of emergency and tightened border controls due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

“They have asked Vietnamese businesses to suspend delivery, including of those en route, until borders are reopened.”

He said the US and EU are two important textile export markets for the country, while half of all exports from HCM City go to the US and 15-18 percent to the EU.

“Partners in these markets have announced the suspension of deliveries, meaning the market for textiles and garments has narrowed by nearly two-thirds.”

Truong said developing the domestic market is the most feasible way to survive the pandemic.

Though the domestic market accounts for only 10 percent of the industry’s capacity and cannot fully mitigate the unemployment problem, it is still a solution, he said.

Support from the Government in the form of access to cheap credit and deferred tax payment is also imperative, he said.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO), too said though the domestic market is very small, developing it would be a key solution amid the difficulties in exporting.

Nguyen Van Mieng, general director of the Nam Dinh Textile and Garment Corporation, said companies have restructured their markets to sustain jobs. In the past, his company produced 1,100 tonnes of yarn and exported 65 percent of it, but has now cut it to 45 percent.

It produces around 1.2 million metres of fabric per month, but this is likely to decrease to 23,000-300,000 metres in the last two quarters of the year, he said.

The company is seeking to expand its market for new products in the north and taking advantage of dyed fabrics to sell finished products and supply to garment companies, he said.

It also wants to strengthen the yarn-weaving-dyeing links so that all companies in the chain could benefit, he added.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) that took effect on August 1 will reduce import taxes on Vietnam’s garment exports by more than 70 percentage points.

Vietnamese footwear and textile and apparel enterprises will benefit significantly from the EVFTA because of the tariff cuts, according to Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company.

With most other countries that export textile and garments to the EU not having a trade deal with the bloc, the EVFTA would open a great opportunity for Vietnam’s footwear, textile and garment exports if companies enterprises meet origin requirements, it added./.

Face mask exports suffer drop amid COVID-19 second wave

Vietnam’s exports of face masks in July were hit by a decline of approximately 35% in comparison to last month, according to figures released by the General Department of Customs.

A total of 62 Vietnamese companies were able to produce 153.82 million medical face masks throughout July, marking a drop of 82 million items from June.

The past seven months has seen the country export more than 711 million masks of various types to dozens of nations globally, including the United States, Europe, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc gave the green light to export medical face masks without any caps in regard to export volume. This policy was initiated to ensure that Vietnam would not miss out on the opportunity of becoming the largest face mask producer in the world amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Government therefore enacted Resolution No 60/NQ-CP dated April 29 which removes Resolution No 20’s regulations on licenses for the export of medical face masks. In effect, this eases rules and regulations on the product’s exports and means that medical face masks can be freely exported without caps imposed on export volume.

Despite these plans, coupled with complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, plenty of domestic enterprises believe that the demand for different types of face masks, such as medical masks and antibacterial cloth masks, is starting to become saturated.

Evidence for this can be seen as July witnessed a slowdown of national exports of the product due to the second wave of the pandemic showing signs of abating in many countries worldwide.

According to local drugstore owners, the demand for medical and antibacterial masks originally began to decrease due to citizens purchasing a sufficient supply and opting to use cloth masks instead./.

Thai economy sees biggest contraction in more than 20 years

The Thai economy contracted the most in more than two decades due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Economic and Social Development Council announced on August 17 that the country’s GDP dropped by 12.2 percent from a year ago – the biggest decline since the Asian financial crisis in 1998.

The figure, however, is lower than an estimate of a 13 percent contraction in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The second-quarter unemployment rate was at 1.95 percent, and an additional 1.8 million workers may be at risk of losing their jobs.

Thailand has to date reported 3,377 COVID-19 cases, including 58 fatalities. The country has resumed economic activities since August 13./.

Steel consumption down 9.6 pct. in first seven months

Consumption of steel in the first seven months of 2020 fell 9.6 percent year-on-year to 12.37 million tonnes, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Production output was down 6.9 percent year-on-year to 13.7 million tonnes.

Vietnam exported over 2.28 million tonnes during the period, a decline of 19.3 percent against the same period last year, VSA reported.

The global steel market is hoped to improve in the third quarter of the year but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic presents myriad challenges.

Vietnam has met with difficulties in selling steel in international markets due to many countries remaining in lockdown mode and supply chains being interrupted.

The steel industry is also facing the effects of higher raw material prices, which put substantial pressure on the production and business activities as well as the profits of steel enterprises.

The VSA said Vietnamese steel exporters need to be cautious about control over pre-engineered steel products exported to the US, as this item has been given early warning status in regard to trade defence measures.

Such measures will continue to be imposed by foreign markets on imported products, especially steel, it noted.

Apart from meeting requirements in standards, techniques, and origin, Vietnamese steel enterprises are also advised to pay more attention to trade defence provisions when exporting to markets such as the EU and the US./.

Batch of Chilean apples marks first foray into Vietnamese market

The first shipment of Chilean apples recently arrived in Vietnam through Phu Nhuan Food Company, an importer and distributor of high-quality fruit, with the firm set to bring 1,176 cases of Fuji brand apples from Frutera San Fernando S.A of Chile to the local market.

According to Chilean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaime Chomali, the appearance of apples from the South American country will create a fresh milestone in bilateral trade ties between the two nations.

Furthermore, Ambassador Chomali expressed his hopes that Vietnamese consumers will be able to enjoy access to leading Chilean products, with his country working closely with Vietnamese quarantine agencies in an effort to bring Chilean fruit into Vietnam whilst simultaneously sending Vietnamese fruit to Chile. “We are doing our best to promote trade links between the two countries”, the Chilean diplomat added.

The South American nation allocates approximately 35,000 thousand hectares for growing apples and exports an average of 740,000 tonnes per year, making them the fourth largest apple exporter in the world and a major exporter within the southern hemisphere./.

Singaporean firms keen to partner with local enterprises on digital transformation

With Vietnam possessing huge potential for development amid a strong digital transformation process, Singaporean technology firms are increasingly viewing the Vietnamese market as a key area for growth.

Alexander Gold, chairman of Singaporean fintech company Bankograph Pte Limited, shares that Vietnam is regarded as an important strategic market in which to develop cross-border financial supply chains that are capable of connecting Southeast Asia with the rest of the world.

With plenty of opportunities available to enter markets such as the Philippines, India, and Malaysia, Bankograph prioritises Vietnam as the first market in which to expand its operations into, he adds.

After conducting an evaluation and comparison of Bankograph growth models across different developing markets, it can be seen that the nation stands out as a top destination for foreign financiers, not just in the financial sector, but also in a range of other fields. Bankograph is therefore committed to helping the country become a launch pad for the firm’s various subsidiaries in the Asia-Pacific region, Gold underlines.

Furthermore, other fintech company from Singapore such as Finaxar have also partnered with INDOVINA Bank Vietnam in an effort to provide a suitable financial assistance solution for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Southeast Asia.

According to Finaxar, up to 60% of all Vietnamese SMEs, who also account for more than 96% of all enterprises, have difficulty accessing working capital sources.

The financial solution that Finaxar and its partners provides is to offer online and automatic operations in both a convenient and suitable way within a credit limit of VND500 million.

Upon analysing the potential of the Vietnamese market, Le Ngoc Hai, CEO of Doctor Anywhere Vietnam, an online healthcare application from Singapore, concludes that an ideal population demographic, combined with the growth of macroeconomics, the speed of digital transformation, and many technological talents, are all viewed as attractive factors for regional technology companies.

"Vietnam is the first foreign market in which Doctor Anywhere has decided to expand its investment in 2019. Although online medical examination and treatment, known as telehealth is a new field, we see that demand is increasing in Vietnam. In the future, Vietnam will become a key market for Doctor Anywhere in Southeast Asia,” says Hai.

In March, Doctor Anywhere raised US$27 million in a Series B fundraising round for the purpose of using this new capital inflow to invest in human resources, as well as services locally. This will be done to provide optimal health care at affordable prices for Vietnamese people, he adds.

The recent wave of Singaporean businesses investing in the country has received encouragement and support from the Government. Milestones include Enterprise Singapore, a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore, whose role is to support the development of Singapore, officially announcing in 2019 the expansion of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) in the nation.

The alliance has been expanded in order to connect technology start-ups from Singapore to the innovation market locally, as well as promoting co-operation ties between the two countries. In addition, the move creates a wide range of exchanges among students, including internship opportunities for students from Singapore at start-ups and businesses domestically.

Upon discussing the GIA launch ceremony, Png Cheong Boon, CEO of Enterprise Singapore emphasises that Enterprise Singapore incentivises Vietnamese start-ups to take full advantage of the innovative startup ecosystem. Through this they can make progress to connect with multinational corporations and Asia's leading businesses, most of whom are headquartered in the island city-state, to expand their business activities.

Simultaneously, Bankograph is planning to invest in processing infrastructure facilities within the country and is committed to increasing capital whilst co-operating alongside Vietnamese partners to boost comprehensive financial development with efficient consumer credit products at good prices.

With this added investment, Gold voices his hope that the introduction of a Variable Capital Company structure will be an effective tax solution for foreign investors, increasing the number of Singaporean fintech companies who will see the nation as a leading investment market with unique risk premiums compared to other regional markets.

This increased level of co-operation will allow Vietnamese companies and financial institutions to benefit from their partnership with Singaporean fintech company due to the "lion island nation" continuing to secure its standing as an international commercial and financial hub.

The joint efforts of businesses from the two countries promises to create a unique cross-border ecosystem within the financial sector, along with the wider technology sector.

Japanese businesses keen to expand operation in Vietnam

A survey recently carried out by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) indicates that 41% of Japanese companies are considering expanding their operations in Vietnam over the next three years, a 5.5% rise from a year earlier.

The survey, which was originally conducted in November and December, 2019, reached out to 9,975 Japanese firms that are strongly interested in business and investment overseas, of which 3,562, equivalent to 35.7%, responded.

Kyodo News quotes the JETRO report, which was first released on July 30, as saying that an increasing number of enterprises from the Far East nation are making moves to expand their business operations in Southeast Asia. Indeed, many are scaling back their participation in markets such as China due to escalating tensions between Beijing and Washington.

"Since 2018, an intensified confrontation between the United States and China has ramped up investment by Japanese companies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," the report states.

Furthermore, the survey indicates that 36.3% of respondents provided a similar answer when questioned about expansion in Thailand, a rise of 1.5%, while 48.1% said they would look to boost their business operations in China, a decline of 7.3%.

“The gap between the amount of Japanese investment in ASEAN and China expanded to JPY20.4 billion, equivalent to US$191 million, in 2019 from JPY10.2 billion in 2017”, the report notes.

According to JETRO, a maker of steel and nonferrous metal in the Shikoku region in western Japan said it is planning to shift exports bound for Mexico from China to the country./.

Vietnamese logistics in high need of young talent

Vietnam is still lacking high-quality manpower to serve the future growth of the logistics industry, pushing the country to take more action soon.

The Vietnam Young Logistics Talents 2020 contest was officially kicked off in early August and will last until December as part of the effort to deal with the difficulty and to raise people’s awareness about the importance of logistics development in economic development.

According to a recent study from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), from now to 2030, the country will need about 250,000 employees for the logistics service industry to serve business demand and the sector's development.

The aim of the 2020 edition of the contest was to unleash innovative ideas at the semi-final and final rounds.

The four-month tournament will hold the final round in Hanoi, promising a thrilling competition among excellent teams.

The Vietnam Young Logistics Talents competition has been launched in 2018 with support from the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, attracting the interest of students nationwide.

In 2019, the contest attracted 400 teams from 40 universities and colleges and education establishments nationwide. As expected, the number of participating teams will rise further this year, driven by the growth of the industry and due attention from universities and schools in logistics training.

Ngo Huong, a member of Logi team from the Banking Academy, which won last year's competition, said, “Despite being a newly-launched contest, its scale and professionalism has made it an attractive playground for students. Especially, the competition not only welcomes logistics students but also those with a strong interest in logistics. This was a motivation for us to win the award.”

As Vietnam integrates ever-deeper into the global economy, logistics has become one of the sectors with the highest growth in the past years, with 12-14% according the Logistics Vietnam Report 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

At present, local logistics firms are still struggling to seek skilled manpower who have good skills, professionalism, and English skills. This is a challenge for Vietnam amidst the strong development of the industry.

2019 marked an important landmark in logistics training at universities as many universities officially opened a major in logistics. As of October 2019, among the 286 universities nationwide, 28 had a logistics major. However, the improvement has yet to meet the growing demand./.

Kien Giang maps out marine-economy plan

The Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang has been developing a sustainable marine economy in recent years by taking steps to increase the output and value of its marine-based products.

Đỗ Thanh Bình, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said the province has been focusing on building industrial parks as well as urban areas in coastal areas, and promoting renewable energy and other new marine economy sectors.

The marine economy now accounts for nearly 74 per cent of the province’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP).

The province has invested in infrastructure such as the Phú Quốc international airport, coastal roads in rural areas, coastal erosion-prevention projects, and power-supply projects for islands.

It has also built sluice systems that help regulate salt and fresh water for agricultural production in coastal areas.

Bình said: “The building of infrastructure projects in coastal areas and islands has contributed positively to the province’s socio-economic development, especially the marine economy. The spiritual and material lives of residents have improved and the rate of poor households has fallen rapidly."

In recent years, the province has developed offshore fishing and aquaculture in coastal areas, with a catch of 500,000-600,000 tonnes of seafood and an aquaculture output of more than 217,000 tonnes each year.

The province’s seafood catch accounts for 40 per cent of the delta’s total seafood catch and 16 per cent of the national seafood catch.

Nguyễn Văn Tâm, director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province has promoted off-shore fishing but has not increased the number of fishing ships.

The province has either banned or strictly punished fishing activities that violate regulations and cause depletion of seafood resources, and has strengthened protection of near-shore seafood resources, he said.

The province has also provided vocational training to near-shore fishermen and helped them switch to other jobs.

It is completing the installation of black box devices that help monitor trips on nearly 4,000 off-shore fishing ships. The device provides information on permitted fishing areas, supports search and rescue efforts, and traces the origin of caught fish.

The province has zoned aquaculture development by setting up breeding areas in coastal areas and islands, and applying advanced techniques to the farming of aquatic species.

The province breeds mostly marine fish in about 4,500 floating cages at sea, with an output of 3,550 tonnes last year.

Caged aquaculture is located mostly in the island communes of Kiên Hải, Phú Quốc and Kiên Lương districts and Hà Tiên City.

Farmers breed mostly cobia, grouper, red drum and pomfret. The province is also successfully breeding more kinds of marine species like giant trevally and lobsters which have high economic value.

To develop sustainable marine aquaculture, the province will set up suitable breeding zones for each sea area and provide advanced farming techniques to farmers, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Quảng Trọng Thao, deputy director of the department, said the province has made investments to ensure the quality and supply of fish fry of various marine species for breeding.

The province has also promoted cage-bred fish to domestic and foreign markets, and has strengthened research and applied high-technology to marine fish breeding.

Kiên Giang has urged domestic and foreign companies to invest in breeding marine fish with advanced breeding techniques. Investment in breeding high-value aquatic species like lobster, pearl oysters and babylon snails has also been encouraged.

The province has called for investment in renewable energy and other new marine economy sectors like resource exploitation, marine biotechnology, maritime safety and inspection, and high-tech marine products and services.

Renewable energy investment includes wind, gas, wave and solar power. Investment priority is given to renewable energy on islands to serve production and household use.

The province is also developing marine medicinal materials and the cultivation and processing of seaweed, algae and seagrass.

It has plans to develop industrial parks and clusters to attract investment and to develop coastal urban areas.

Bình, chairman of the province’s People’s Committee, said that new technical and social infrastructure would be built in the coastal areas.

Phú Quốc Island will be developed into a sea tourism city that meets national and international standards, he said.

The province will establish urban areas in the island district of Kiên Hải to promote the development of islands, he said.

Rạch Giá City, which will be developed into one of four urban areas in the delta’s key economic zone, is expected to become the delta’s trade and marine economy hub.

With a coastline of more than 200 kilometres and 143 islands, Kiên Giang has great potential for marine economy development.

Under the province's plan, the marine economy will account for 80 per cent of its GRDP by 2030. It also targets having an average income per capita in coastal districts and cities that is 1.5 times higher than the average per capita income of the province.

The province targets an increase of 30-50 per cent of tourists in 2030 compared to 2020, and expects seafood exports to increase by an average of 10 per cent a year in the 2021-30 period. All of its islands with human settlement will have adequate power supply, fresh water, telecommunications, healthcare and education services by 2030./.

Viet Nam promotes measures to manage local sugar market

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has asked agencies to implement measures on trade remedies, import and export management and strengthen market management for sugar products.

The minister requests the Trade Remedies Authority to actively monitor the domestic market and propose use of trade remedies for imported sugar products in accordance with international commitments.

At the same time, this authority would establish a synchronous and accurate database on sugar import, export and production based on information from the relevant authorities to support businesses in preparing trade defence records.

The Import-Export Department is asked this year to complete proposals on management measures for the import-export activities of sugar products.

Meanwhile, the General Department of Market Surveillance this year must submit to the Government a decree replacing Decree 185/2013/ND-CP on providing penalties on administrative violations in commercial activities, production of, trading in counterfeit or banned goods and protection of consumer rights, and Decree 124/2015/ND-CP about amending and supplementing a number of articles to Decree 185/2013/ND-CP.

This general department must strengthen management and inspections to prevent and strictly handle smuggling and commercial fraud for sugar and sweetening products, according to the minister.

The solutions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade are expected to protect domestic sugar production, create a fair business environment and bring more favourable conditions in improving competitiveness of local sugar producers.

Viet Nam produced 7.3 million tonnes of sugarcane and had a total output of about 769,000 tonnes of sugar in the 2019-20 sugarcane crop that ended in May 2020./.

More than $267 million mobilised from G-bonds

The State Treasury raised more than VND6.2 trillion (US$267.4 million) of Government bonds at an auction held by the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) on Wednesday.

The issued bonds were worth VND7.5 trillion on five-year, 10-year, 15-year and 30-year terms.

One billion Vietnamese dong was mobilised from five-year bonds with an annual interest rate of 1.7 per cent, 0.02 per cent lower than the previous auction on August 5.

Meanwhile, more than VND3.1 trillion worth of 10-year bonds were sold with an interest rate of 2.85 per cent per annum, 0.03 per cent higher than the previous bidding.

The 15-year bonds secured VND1.3 trillion with an annual interest rate of 3.03 per cent, up 0.02 per cent.

The 30-year bonds raised VND500 billion with a yearly interest rate of 3.5 per cent, equal to that of the previous auction on July 22.

Another VND250 billion was mobilised through an auxiliary auction of the 30-year bonds.

Since the beginning of this year, the State Treasury has raised more than VND157.7 trillion from G-bond auctions at HNX./.

Companies to pump out bonds as trade will soon be restricted

The corporate bond market will flourish in the third quarter of this year but will then step back in the fourth quarter in anticipation of regulatory amendments which will impose restrictions on bond trading from early September.

The forecast was made by SSI Securities Incorporation (SSI) in the company’s report on Viet Nam’s bond market in the first six months of 2020.

The report said a total of VND122.3 trillion (US$5.3 billion) worth of bonds were issued in January-March, up 69.7 per cent year-on-year. The figure for the first six months was VND171.5 trillion, up 61.3 year-on-year and much higher than the growth of 37 per cent in the same period last year.

Of the total bond value issued during six months, VND10 trillion or 5.8 per cent of the total value was issued by Masan Group to the public. The other 94.2 per cent was issued by 133 enterprises via private placement, divided into 826 tranches.

Regarding the issuance structure in the first six months, the group of real estate businesses issued the largest bond volume worth VND71.6 trillion, accounting for 41.8 per cent of the total issued volume and up by 57.5 per cent year-on-year.

The banking group ranked second with a total issuance value of VND47.3 trillion, accounting for 27.6 per cent and up 31.2 per cent year-on-year.

Energy and minerals group issued VND10.5 trillion, accounting for 6.1 per cent of total issued value and 5.3 times higher than the same period in 2019.

The rest was issued by infrastructure development groups, financial services companies and other businesses.

The size of the corporate bond market has risen 15.6 per cent compared to the end of 2019, reaching VND791 trillion and equal to 12.9 per cent of the country’s total GDP.

Viet Nam’s proportion of corporate bonds in the country's GDP is far ahead of Indonesia, surpassing the Philippines but still far short of Thailand, 23 per cent of GDP; China, 33-35 per cent of GDP; Malaysia, 51 per cent of GDP; and South Korea, 80 per cent of GDP.

According to SSI, compared to other capital mobilisation channels in Viet Nam, the corporate bond channel is still quite modest in scale. The economy still relies heavily on bank credit. The total credit scale as of June 30 reached VND8.48 quadrillion, equivalent to 138.5 per cent of GDP and 10.75 times higher than the corporate bond channel.

SSI noted that the development of the corporate bond market is indispensable to create a balance and improve the quality of Viet Nam's financial market. However, the overheated growth has posed potential risks to the sustainability of the market.

Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Finance has continuously issued warnings about risks which might arise from the abuse of this capital raising channel, giving out recommendations to investors and market participants.

The ministry has made public a draft Decree 81/2020/ND-CP to amend several points of Decree 163/2018/ND-CP about corporate bond issuance for comments, which included amendments of conditions for corporate bond issuance, rates, issuance in domestic and international markets, information disclosure and reporting mechanisms.

Decree 81/2020/ND-CP has been submitted to the Government and is expected to officially take effect in early September.

Under the draft, regulations about bond yields and bond transactions would be tightened.

Accordingly, bond yields would not be allowed to be higher than 20 per cent per year.

This aimed to prevent firms from offering high bond yields which would negatively affect the capital market.

In addition, bonds issued in the domestic market would be restricted from trading among less than 100 investors while under the current regulation, the restriction was applied only in the first year. This aimed to protect bond investors, the ministry said.

Two issuances must be at least six months apart, according to the draft.

Notably, issuing companies must ensure the outstanding value of bonds issued would not exceed three times their charter capital. The Ministry of Finance said that this regulation would help prevent firms from issuing bonds in a too large volume and value which would create risks for both issuers and investors.

SSI experts said companies would accelerate issuing bonds in July and August, before the issuance conditions are tightened./.

Techcombank has new CEO

VN Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) announced the appointment of Jens Lottner as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective August 18, 2020.

Lottner brings more than 28 years of experience in financial services with leading organisations such as McKinsey and BCG, and has spent more than two-thirds of his career in Asia.

He previously served as CFO of Siam Commercial Bank (Thailand), where he designed and led a large-scale digital transformation programme that included the implementation of a new mobile banking platform, redesign of segment business models, and installation of a cloud-based data lake and analytics platform./.

Online shopping spikes amid new pandemic outbreak

Retailers are focusing on online shopping as more and more consumers are seeking to avoid public places amid the new COVID-19 outbreak.

Le Thi Thanh Lam, deputy general director of Sai Gon Food Joint Stock Company, said during the first outbreak, consumers panicked and stocked up on goods, and so online shopping saw impressive growth.

While they are more composed this time, online shopping is still seeing huge growth on Sai Gon Food’s websites since they are familiar with them and they frequently offers good deals, she said.

A spokesperson for online platform Tiki told Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourers) newspaper that ever since the first COVID-19 cases appeared in Da Nang City late last month, demand for health-related products has spiked, especially face masks, demand for which grew 12-fold, and hand sanitisers, which saw sales double.

Other sought-after products have been air filters, school text books, bottled drinks, and canned foods, they said.

Tran Tuan Anh, managing director of Shopee, said his company has been working with suppliers and brands to meet growing demand.

The change in consumer shopping behaviour caused by COVID-19 has forced businesses to focus on their online shopping platform sooner than they had originally planned.

For example, wholesaler MM Mega Market had to launch its shopping website sooner than planned to offer products in demand, and other products will be added later.

Lotte Mart Viet Nam’s shopping website, speedl.vn, saw massive growth during the outbreaks in March and July and had to double its online department payroll.

Many businesses have said that there is a fierce competition to offer the best prices online.

Shopping platforms are also offering sellers advertising packages that are featured more prominently and reach more customers.

According to the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, retail revenues in the first seven months of the year were 8.2 per cent up year-on-year to VND463.45 trillion (US$20 billion).

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

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