Vietnam’s Textile and Garment Industry In 2019

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In 2018, listed companies in textile and garment sectors experienced a positive business results due to advantages in Free Trade Agreements (VJEPA, CPTPP and EVFTA) and moving orders from China to Vietnam which boosted export turnover growth. The consensus view shows that the industry would continue to benefit in 2019 with 3 main reasons:

Global demand of textile and garment is expected to grow 3.5% in 2019-2020. About 90% of Vietnam’s total products are exported. Therefore, it is important that global demand continue to improve, especially in U.S and EU 28 contributing 47% and 14% of total Vietnam’s textile and garment export in 2017 respectively.

Proportion of Vietnam’s textile & garment exports in 2017 by market (%)

Potential ability to improve market shares globally. Due to China’s policy of shifting economic structure to focus high value-added industries such as consumption and technology production, its huge market share piece in textile and garment industry attracts many other countries. Vietnam get advantages in the race, reasons: (1) lower wage gap of textile worker between Vietnam and other low labour cost countries; (2) FTA helps Vietnam improve its tax gap against some other competitors such as Cambodia, Bangladesh; (3) advantage location which makes owners easier to move their factories from China to Vietnam. According to BSC, if Vietnam able to take 1% of China garment market share which exports to the U.S, Vietnam’s export turnover will increase by 70%.

Minimum wage level for garment workers in 2017 (USD per month)
Advantages from Free Trade Agreements: CPTPP and EVFTA.

· CPTPP: Vietnam would not benefit from in short term, however, in the long term, joining CPTPP would improve Vietnam’s potential to expand the market shares such as Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia.

· EVFTA: Vietnam – Europe Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to have a positive impact in the medium – long term. EVFTA has completed its legal review and will undergo the internal approval process of its members, which can be approved as soon as possible in the National Assembly session June 7, 2019 and take effect after 1 month. The EU is the second largest export market of Vietnam textile and apparel industry, with 42.5% of tariff lines applied to textile products will be reduced to 0% as soon as the Agreement comes into effect which help Vietnamese goods become more competitive than Cambodia or Bangladesh.

Overall, we expect good business results from textile and garments companies in 2019. Our analyst’s top picks for this sector are: Song Hong Garment JSC (HoSE: MSH) and Century Synthetic Fiber JSC (HoSE: STK). On January 18, MSH was trading at VND44,800/share and STK was trading at VND17,550/share, 34% upside including VND4,000 cash dividend and 38% upside respectively. Please feel free to contact our textile and garment’s analyst to get further information.

WORLD BANK: EVN, PVN, ALTHOUGH STILL PLAYING AN IMPORTANT ROLE, BUT MOST OF THE NEW INVESTMENT IN THE ELECTRICITY AND GAS INDUSTRY WILL HAVE TO COME FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR.

The World Bank noted that private capital will be the main factor for Vietnam to develop the energy market. Accordingly, the Government needs to deal with bottlenecks that hinder domestic and foreign capital inflows into this sector.

According to the World Bank’s calculations, from now to 2030, on average, Vietnam’s electricity industry needs new investment of about US $ 10 billion each year, focusing at the beginning of the period, higher than the average of US $ 8 billion / year in the 2011- period. 2015. Meanwhile, the development of the gas industry is expected to require a cumulative investment of about US $ 20 billion in the period from 2015 to 2035.

Although Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) are assessed to continue to play an important role in the new infrastructure development, the report said that the majority of investment New to the electricity industry and the gas industry will have to come from the private sector. This direction is in line with the strategy and financial goals for future energy development of the Government.

In order to remove the bottlenecks and mobilize maximum funding for investment in the electricity and gas industry in Vietnam, the World Bank proposes a well-coordinated policy around three pillars.

· The first is to develop a PPP / IPP program to develop new power sources, which is a part of the National Power Development Plan 8 to build investor confidence.

· The second is to improve the financial position and credit rating of EVN and PVN so that these two businesses can access commercial finance in the absence of government support.

· The third is to improve the availability of domestic financing – an important source of financing for both project financing and corporate financing.

Vietnam midfielder Hai’s goal leads votes for best in Asian Cup group stage

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Nguyen Quang Hai’s goal off a free kick has been named one of the best in the group stage of the Asian Cup 2019.

The midfielder’s wonderful goal against Yemen in the ongoing tournament has polled the most votes from fans (273,132) on the Asian Football Confederation’s website. The left footer curled perfectly over the Yemen wall and into the top corner, as Vietnam won 2-0 and qualified for the next round.

Behind Hai’s goal are Chinese forward Wu Lei’s volley into the Philippine net (259,740 votes) and Iranian midfielder Saman Ghoddos (121,123 votes) long-range shot against Yemen.

Nguyen Quang Hai’s goal is currently leading the votes on AFC website. Photo by AFC

The Asian Football Confederation has been criticized for making Hai’s shot morph into a missile exploding into Yemen’s goal.

Yemen has been fighting a brutal invasion since 2015, and the video AFC uploaded on Facebook was considered offensive and insensitive.

They have since deleted the video and uploaded the original video.

Ninety six goals were scored in 36 games in the group stage, a ratio of 2.67 per game.

Vietnam play Jordan in the round of 16 at 6 p.m. (Hanoi time) today.

Source: Vnexpress

Momo received a very large investment from American private equity firm

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Momo, a Vietnam-based FinTech company that provides users with digital payment options, has reportedly received a very large Series C investment from American private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

The exact size of the investment isn’t being released, but Pham Thanh Duc, CEO of M-Service, which is Momo’s parent company, said the amount sets a new record for funding. One report says the deal could be worth as much as $100 million, but Pham declined to comment on the amount. pymnts.com reports

Southeast Asia has lately been a hotspot for global investing, and companies like Alibaba and Tencent have dropped hundreds of millions of dollars in the region.

Although the numbers have not been disclosed for many big Vietnam FinTech deals, one of the biggest last year was $50 million to eCommerce outfit Tiki, from the Chinese company JD.com. Vietnam has a market of almost 100 million people, about 25 percent of whom are under 25 years old.

Accoring to pymnts.com, Momo began by offering simple digital payments in an electronic wallet app, but it has expanded into bill payments and mobile top-up. It’s also grown into more recreational areas like movie tickets and travel, and allows for payments at 100,000 points around the country.

Pham said the company is working on a credit scoring system to help introduce users to financial services, in tandem with financial institutions. He added that he based the direction of the app on Alibaba’s popular Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay services, which started as payment apps and expanded into more.

Momo works with Facebook and Google to allow payments, and the company is in talks with Apple, Pham said. Right now, he wants to keep the app in Vietnam.

“For the next two to three years, we are still very focused on the domestic market,” Pham said in an interview. “There’s no short-term plan to expand to other countries, [and] our main effort is focused on user base expansion in Vietnam.”

VDSC Weekly Market Recap: Vietnam highlights – CPTPP, Watsons, Amazon

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The CPTPP agreement officially took effect with Vietnam

The National Assembly passed a Resolution on ratifying the CPTPP Agreement and related documents on November 12, 2018. Accordingly, the Agreement wouldcome into effect for Vietnam from 14 January 2019.

With comprehensive commitments, high standards and balances, the CPTPP Agreement will help strengthen the mutually beneficial link between member economies and boost trade, investment and economic growth in the Asia – Pacific region.

Basically, the CPTPP Agreement keeps the contents of the TPP Agreement (including 30 chapters and 9 appendices) but allows member countries to postpone 20 groups of obligations to ensure the balance of rights and obligations of Member States in the context of the US withdrawal from the TPP Agreement.

Watsons retail chain of billionaire Ly Gia Thanh landed in Vietnam

According to information from InsideRetail Asia, Hong Kong and Watsons retail stores of health and beauty products will launch their first store in Vietnam tomorrow. It is known that this store is located in a commercial center in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Watsons is a member of AS Watsons, a subsidiary of giant retail and telecommunications group Hutchison CK. Famous billionaire Ly Gia Thanh is the founder of CK Hutchinson and he is the second richest person in Asia, only after Alibaba’s owner Jack Ma.

As of now, AS Watsons has about 6,800 stores in 12 countries across Europe and Asia including Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Not long ago, Watsons has just opened its 500th store in Thailand.

Besides, AS Watsons owns other retail brands such as Drogas, Superdrug and Watsons’ Wine with more than 14,500 stores in 24 different markets around the world.

According to the initial comment, Watsons’ most significant competitor in the Vietnam market is the Guardian health and beauty retail chain also from Hong Kong. This brand is owned by Dairy Farm International and has launched its first store in Ho Chi Minh City in 2011. Up to now, Guardian has about 60 stores in many provinces of Vietnam.

Thus, after the information that Amazon officially entered Vietnam market, domestic retail businesses will continue to face a big rival. The retail market promises to be more exciting in the coming years.

Amazon giant jumps into Vietnam

Amazon officially set foot in Vietnam market (VN), opening up great business opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to sell around the world.

On January 14, 2019, the Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) signed a cooperation agreement with Amazon Global Selling. Director of the Trade Promotion Department, Mr. Vu Ba Phu said that the two sides agreed to coordinate the implementation of the main contents such as supporting Vietnamese enterprises; which prioritizes small and medium enterprises, access to the world market with Amazon.com; brand development of Vietnamese businesses and goods in the e-commerce environment of Amazon.com; training program for Vietnamese small and medium enterprises on e-commerce to promote trade, export goods and learn global sales skills on Amazon.com.

Currently, Vietnam has more than 700,000 enterprises, of which 98% are small and medium-sized enterprises. Leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in addition to traditional trade promotion methods such as trade and foreign trade, promoting e-commerce is essential. Meanwhile, Amazon is a big market with more than 300 million customers, including more than 100 million Prime customers in various markets of Amazon, as well as millions of wholesale buying agents in the US, Europe and Japan. Copy. However, since it is only sold in some markets (without Vietnam), many people in Vietnam are forced to choose an ordering solution on Amazon in the US and then ask for ship services to transport goods from the US to Vietnam, leading to a relatively high cost increase.

Entrance fees proposed for Ly Son Island

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Authorities of the central province of Quang Ngai have proposed a charge for visitors to Ly Son Island.
The provincial people’s committee has recommended two charges for the island.

Tickets for Hang Cau (Cau Cave), Hang Pagoda, To Vo Arch, Thoi Loi Mountain will be VND10,000 per visitor; while VND20,000 would be charged for other sites in An Binh Commune.

For the second one, visitors will have to pay the fee of VND50,000 to visit landscapes, historical sites, museums and cultural sites in An Hai and An Ninh communes.

Children aged below six, the disabled and those who are living and working in the island will be exempted from the fees. Meanwhile, children aged between 6 and 15, the elderly and students will enjoy a 50% discount.

The fee recommendation is expected to be considered at the upcoming meeting of the Quang Ngai People’s Council.

According to local authorities, charges are intended to raise funds to pay for the island’s infrastructure. More tourists have come to Ly Son; however, the island’s tourism potential not yet been fully tapped.

Dtinews

Will foreign investors relocate to Vietnam during the US-China trade war?

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Multinationals will have to think carefully about whether to relocate to Vietnam to avoid any negative impact from the US-China trade war, experts say.

International and Vietnamese experts have predicted that there will be a wave of ‘US-China trade war refugees’ coming to Vietnam.

As the US has imposed higher taxes, Chinese goods have become less competitive in price in the US market. In such a context, manufacturers can continue making products in Vietnam for export to the US without having to bear high tax rates.

Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper quoted Takahisa Onose from the Japanese Entrepreneurs Association in HCM City as saying that most Japanese enterprises intend to scale up their operation in Vietnam as they see the business environment here getting better.

He also said that the escalation of the US-China trade war has accelerated the move of Japanese enterprises’ production bases from China to Vietnam.

Vietnamese experts think that foreign investors will flock to Vietnam in the context of the trade war but wonder if Vietnam is capable of absorbing the huge investment capital flow in the time to come.

In its latest report about economic prospects in 2019, the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF) pointed out that while the tax rates on some Chinese export items to the US will increase by 10-15 percent only, the production costs would increase by 25-30 percent if manufacturers relocated production bases to Vietnam.

Vietnam has emerged as a preferred destination for foreign manufacturers, but they will have to think carefully about what they may face in Vietnam, from low productivity to limited labor force quality.

“The problems lie in the fact that the labor productivity is still low and the business efficiency is not high, while Vietnam’s business environment is not really more advantageous than Thailand or Indonesia,” Tran Toan Thang from NCIF said.

International press have reported that up to one third of US businesses are considering leaving China. However, NCIF said that they would still have to consider thoroughly as business in China still can bring certain benefits to enterprises, and China itself remains a link in the global value chain.

Though the US has announced high taxation on over 6,000 tariff lines, especially products related to ‘Made in China 2025’ programs, the US trade deficit with China increased from $50.1 billion in July 2018 to $55.5 billion in October 2018, NCIF said.

The trade deficit in the first nine months of the year climbed to $305.4 billion, compared to $276.6 billion in the same period last year.

Source: VNN

Missing British man found in Vietnam mortuary

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A British man reported missing last week was found in a local mortuary in southern Vietnam, the Nottinghamshire Live reported Thursday.
 Steve Bush, from Nottinghamshire County, England, was reported missing by his family after disappearing from a local hotel last Sunday.

He has lived in Vietnam for at least 10 years, reportedly residing in a hotel in the southern beach town of Vung Tau.

His sister, Amanda Bush, told BBC the family was alerted of the situation Sunday via social media by his girlfriend, who had not seen him for three days. The girlfriend was not identified.

He was last seen put into a taxi from his hotel Monday, Amanda told Nottinghamshire Live. On Tuesday, the hotel had called Steve’s girlfriend and said he owed six months’ rent, and that she needed to pick him up because he was sick and the hotel wasn’t prepared to pay hospital bills, she added.

The Englishman’s nephew, Freddie Booth, told BBC that the hotel said they had put Steve in a taxi to go to a local hospital since he was sick.

“Yet the taxi company do not acknowledge picking him up and the hospital says they have not treated an English person,” Booth said.

A family friend in the area went to investigate and found Steve’s passport, phone and laptop still in his hotel room. Steve’s visa had also expired.

On Thursday, one of Steve’s friends was informed about a body in a local mortuary and had gone to identify it. It was Steve Bush’s body, his sister said.

Lincolnshire police said the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office was looking into the incident.

Source: Vnexpress

VietNamGo travel app launched

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New app launched by VNAT and VNPT at ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019 in Ha Long city.

Within the framework of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2019 taking place in Ha Long city, on January 16 the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) cooperated with the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) to introduce a tourism app for smartphones called VietNamGo.

VietNamGo is the official app of Vietnamese tourism and supervised by VNAT, with features including travel information handbooks on transport, climate, prominent destinations, and food at destinations such as Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, Lao Cai, Ninh Binh, Phu Quoc Island, and Ho Chi Minh City. The app is in English and Vietnamese and supports modern technologies such as 360-degree photos and 3D and VR tours.

According to Mr. Ngo Dien Hy, General Manager of the VNPT-IT Company, the app has already been introduced in 27 cities and provinces nationwide.

“VietNamGo is a national application for tourism and will help to connect tourism data within cities and provinces,” he said. “Through city and provincial departments of culture, sports and tourism, tourism figures will be updated and made public on the app. Understanding the importance of technology is behind VNPT joining hands with VNAT.”

It is expected that more information on tourist destinations and additional languages such as Chinese, Russian and Korean will be added to VietNamGo this year. Other smart utilities will include information on restaurants, hotels, traffic, digital maps, audio guides, 360-degree videos, 3D, VR / AR, and data integration for data analysis.

Source: Vneconomictimes

Vietnam to revive $58bn high-speed rail project

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TOMOYA ONISHI, Nikkei staff writer

Vietnam has resurrected a high-speed rail project intended to link the country’s north and south, but the fiscal concerns that killed the proposal earlier this decade continue to haunt government efforts to fund the $58 billion plan.

The express railway would connect the capital of Hanoi in the north with commercial center Ho Chi Minh City in the south, slashing travel time from over 30 hours by conventional rail to five and a half hours via trains capable of traveling 350 kph. A one-way trip would cost $50 to $90, a source said, or about half the price of a plane ticket.

The roughly 1,560-km line would open in stages as soon as 2030, starting with a 280-km link between Hanoi and Vinh as well as a 360-km portion connecting Ho Chi Minh City and coastal Nha Trang. The rest of the line would be constructed gradually using revenue from the sections in service, with the project expected to be completed in 2045.

Most travelers between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City opt for flights. About 7 million people yearly use the roughly 50 daily flights between the two cities, creating the busiest domestic route in Southeast Asia and the seventh busiest in the world, U.K.-based research firm OAG says. But a high-speed connection could revive the economies of cities along the line and draw tourists to those locations.

Vietnam’s government plans to submit relevant bills to the National Assembly in October. Consultants hired by the Transport Ministry completed a feasibility study by the end of last year. Japan’s government is cooperating with the study, hoping to sell shinkansen trains for the project. The Transport Ministry has teamed with other agencies such as the finance and planning ministries to determine how to secure funding.

The country first proposed the high-speed line in the early 2000s, aiming to break ground in 2014 and start service everywhere in 2035. The railway not only offered an answer to demand from growing flocks of tourists, it also would symbolize unity in a country torn apart by the Vietnam War.

Japan provided help in developing the project at the time, and Vietnam had planned to use shinkansen technology. But the total costs, estimated then at $56 billion, proved too much for the government’s finances. The National Assembly rejected the proposal in 2010.

A later proposal called for slower trains running between 160 kph and 200 kph. But that alternative still carried a hefty price tag, and the whole rail project was put on ice.

In Vietnam’s one-party state, it is nearly unheard of for the National Assembly to reject legislation coming from the cabinet. The rejection apparently stemmed in part from an intraparty power struggle.

But in October, Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was sworn in to his concurrent role as president. This greater sense of political stability has helped revive the rail project.

Yet the cost remains a barrier to completion. The central government is to foot 80% of the bill, while the private sector handles the rest. But Vietnam has set a sovereign debt ceiling at 65% of gross domestic product, and the public liability is nearing that limit. Hanoi has put curbs on public works projects and delayed their budget allocations. New projects financed by foreign development loans have essentially ceased.

Building the north-south rail line might require the state to incorporate a greater share of private funding or raise the 65% debt ceiling. Tokyo wishes to support the project through official development assistance financing, but such an offer faces strong resistance from Vietnam’s fiscal hawks.

Japan’s public and private sector remain interested in the rail project, including the government-backed Japan International Cooperation Agency, which assisted in the initial feasibility study, as well as trading corporations and train manufacturers.

“We have worked closely with the Vietnamese government up to now, and we would like to make this into a reality,” said a Japanese government insider.

Read full article on Nikkei

Bank proposes 4.8 percent interest for social housing loans

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The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has submitted proposals to the Prime Minister on the interest rates for preferential loans to rent and buy social housing or build, upgrade, and repair houses in 2019, with the suggested annual rate of 4.8 percent.

According to VBSP Deputy General Director Nguyen Lan Phuong, the Government Office is gathering ideas from ministries and sectors, as well as the VBSP to issue a decision on the rate as soon as possible.

Phuong said that the capital planned for the social housing programme in 2019 is over 1.32 trillion VND (56.76 million USD), including 663 billion from the State budget, while the remaining 50 percent will be mobilised by the VBSP.

In 2018, the bank was allocated 500 billion VND and mobilised a similar amount to increase the total resources for preferential loans to 1 trillion VND (43 million USD).

As of December 31, 2018, 59 cities and provinces completed their assigned targets in loan distribution, led by Hanoi with 62 billion VND and followed by Ha Tinh with 54 billion VND; Khanh Hoa, 52 billion VND; Quang Nam, 50 billion VND; and Da Nang, 50 billion VND.

The programme to provide social housing loans follows the Government’s Decree No.100/2015/ND-CP which has been implemented since April 2018.

Source: VNA

H’Hen Nie voted in top 10 Timeless Beauty by Missosology

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Top 5 Miss Universe 2018, H’Hen Nie is leading the list of Timeless Beauty 2018 finalists by Missosology.

The online beauty pageant magazine that covers Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth have announced the results and three Vietnamese beauties, H’Hen Nie, Phuong Khanh and Minh Tu were in top 25.

H’Hen Nie leads the top 10 with 4,373 points along with many likes and shares on Facebook and Instagram. Miss Earth 2018 Phuong Khanh was ranked fifth with 4,082 points and Top 10 Miss Supranational Minh Tu was ranked 15th with 3,718 points.

On the second place is the 1st runner up in Miss International 2018 Maria Ahtisa Manalo, followed by Miss Earth Portugal Telma Madeira.

Select members of the Missosology forum voted for 112 beauties from five major beauty pageants in 2018. Their votes, along with the online poll conducted on Missosology’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts will determine who will be the winners.

H’Hen Nie is the first person from an ethnic minority to be crowned Miss Universe in Vietnam. Nie was crowned Vietnam Miss Universe in 2017. Her top five finish is the best Vietnam has yet achieved at a Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Source: Dtinews

Stock market 2019: Worry, but not too much, experts say

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Finance and securities analysts are not overly concerned about stock market prospects in 2019, despite the recent downward trend.

2018 was a tough year for securities investors, though many of them made a profit. Vietnam, which was the fastest growing market in the first months of 2018, turned bearish on the last days of the year.

Analysts say that short-term factors are not promising for the stock market.

HSBC Private Banking (HPB) predicted that global GDP will slightly decrease to 2.6 percent in 2019 and 2.4 percent in 2020. China’s policy on continuing the fiscal policy acceleration and the US’s continued growth are expected to help prolong the growth cycle of the global economy.

Fan Cheuk Wan from HPB commented that that investors feel overly pessimistic about an economic recession. She predicted that the global stock market would maintain a 10 percent growth rate.

Vietnamese analysts think that the world’s economy is entering the final stage of the growth cycle, so 2019 won’t be an easy year for the global stock market. Vietnam’s economy needs to be cautious with their investments in 2019.

The interest rate increases and credit tightening can be seen in many countries and Vietnam as well.

As interest rates are on the rise in developed economies, the year 2018 witnessed the biggest wave of foreign investors withdrawing their capital from Vietnam.

Rong Viet Securities, after analyzing the US FED’s moves, believes that the interest rate is not likely to rise sharply. The capital flow may come back to Vietnam, but it will take time because investors need to recover.

In such conditions, according to Rong Viet Securities, the key to success will be choosing the right securities to invest in.

“There will still be specific opportunities in a lackluster market. Thus, choosing good stocks to invest in will be the most important factor for investors in 2019,” the company said in a report.

Rong Viet predicted that the total revenue and profit of 61 listed firms, which make up 61 percent of total capitalization value of the HCMC and Hanoi Stock Exchanges, would increase by 14 percent and 21 percent, respectively, in 2019.

Asked about the securities to buy in 2019, a broker mentioned two groups of shares. First, shares of companies with good production and business base, with a high liquidity level and low leverage rate. The second includes shares of companies which enjoy benefits from FTAs (free trade agreements) and trade disputes.

Source: VNN

Vietnam’s millionaire population growth among world’s fastest

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Vietnam ranks fourth among the world’s top 10 countries with the fastest millionaire population growth, a new report says.
 The country’s High Net Worth (HNW) population is set to grow by 10.1 percent each year in the 2018-2023 period, says wealth research firm Wealth-X.

This growth rate is only lower than Nigeria at 16.3 percent, Egypt, 12.5 percent and Bangladesh, 11.4 percent, says the report, which covered over 540,000 HNW individuals in the world.

The report defines HNW population as those with a net worth between $1 million and $30 million.

The world’s HNW population grew by 1.9 percent last year from 2017 to 22.4 million people with a combined wealth of $61.3 trillion.

About 25 percent of the world’s HNW population were located in Asia last year, and their total wealth was $15.48 trillion.

Although the region’s GDP went up 8 percent last year, its stock markets plunged by more than 11 percent, partly explaining why Asia’s HNW population and total wealth remained virtually unchanged from last year, the report said.

It also said that the top 10 countries accounted for over 75.2 percent of the global HNW population and 73.8 percent of total HNW wealth last year.

U.S. topped the list with over 8.6 million people, following by China with 1.8 million, Japan, 1.6 million and Germany over 1 million.

In another report published last September, Wealth-X said that the number of ultra wealthy population, those with a net worth of over $30 million, has increased by 12.7 percent in Vietnam from 2012 to 2017, making it the third fastest growing country in the world in this category.

Vnexpress

VIB: Pretax profit 2018 nearly doubles to 2.74t dong with 48 percent y/y revenue growth

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  • Total assets at nearly 140t dong
  • Deposits grow at 22.7% y/y; lending, 17.5%
  • Bad debt ratio at 2.2%
  • No details on 2019 fiscal targets given

Impressive profit growth
Vietnam International Bank announced its financial statements for the full year 2018. Accordingly, profit before tax reached VND 2,741 billion, growing by 95% compared to 2017 and 37% higher than the figure assigned by the Shareholders General Meeting from the beginning of this year. This is the second consecutive year that VIB’s profit growth rate gained approximately 100% per year.

VIB’s revenue increased by 48% compared to last year, in which interest income and non–interest income increased by 40% and 92% respectively. Non-interest income rapidly grew by boosting service activities and diversifying revenue, therefore currently contributed 20% to revenue. Significant surge in revenue and well-managed expense helped cost to income ratio (CIR) meet effective level of 44%, decreasing by 13%. Return on equity (ROE) sharply increased to 22.5%, among banks with highest ROE. Retail banking business continued making key contribution to VIB’s growth with revenue from this business up by 90% versus last year. Wholesale banking and Treasury banking businesses also gained significantly growth in which profit increased by 22% and 49% compared to 2017.

Provision expense was VND 661 billion, 73% higher than 2017 because VIB bought back all bad debts sold to VAMC, made provisions and moved most of these debts to off-balance sheet.

Robust balance sheet, high CAR
As at 31 Dec 2018, total asset of the bank reached nearly VND 140,000 billion. Deposit rose by 22.7% versus last year. Lending balance reached VND 98,933 billion, up 17.5%. Of which, retail lending balance amounted to VND 74,300, rising by 48% in 2018 after having risen by 83% in 2017.

Thanks to this impressive growth rate, VIB surpassed many big joint stock banks in terms of retail lending balance and affirmed its position as one of joint stock banks with high retail lending market share.

VIB’s safety ratios were effectively managed and complied with State regulations. Specifically, ratio of short-term deposits used for long-term loans stood at 36.5% (maximum 45%). Capital adequacy ratio (CAR) under Circular 36 reached 13.0% compared to minimum of 9%. VIB was one of first five banks no longer has bad debts at VAMC, non–performing loan ratio (NPL) at low level of 2.2%.

AFC Asian Cup highlights: Vietnam beat Yemen 2-0, Quang Hai shines to give Golden Dragons hope

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Yemen are out of the Asian Cup after Vietnam secured a Group D win to seal third spot and a potential knockout place.

Vietnam gave themselves a chance of progression at the Asian Cup with a 2-0 victory over Yemen that sees them finish third in Group D.

Nguyen Quang Hai fired home the first goal of the game with a 30-yard free-kick, helping Vietnam to a crucial three points that could see them finish as one the best four third-placed sides.

Quang Hai’s effort was a rare moment of quality in a scrappy encounter between two sides who had lost both of their opening matches in the United Arab Emirates.

– Goal.com

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