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UK-Vietnam agreed a joint statement

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As part of events to welcome the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UK and Vietnam, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh paid an official visit to the UK from 9 – 10 October 2018.

The Deputy Prime Minister had official talks with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, David Lidington, Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox and paid courtesy calls on HRH the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, and Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Fowler.

During the visit, he also attended the UK-Vietnam Economic Forum and met some major UK companies.

UK-Vietnam Joint Statement

According to a press release by UK.GOV, on the occasion of the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister’s visit, the UK and Vietnam note the growing importance of collaboration in the UN, on peacekeeping, global security, international law and the illegal wildlife trade. They highly appreciate and welcome the transition of the provision of the UN Level 2 Hospital in South Sudan from UK to Vietnamese peacekeepers, and a commitment to exchange expertise in peacekeeping-related military engineering.

The UK and Vietnam are strong advocates of free trade in Europe and Asia and actively promote the early signing of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade agreement (EVFTA) in 2018. The UK and Vietnam look forward to maintaining smooth trade relations as the UK leaves the EU, including through ensuring continuity for business by transitioning the prospective EU Vietnam Free Trade agreement during the Brexit transition. Both sides also agree to consult further on the prospects of the UK joining the CPTPP.

Both sides look forward to a deeper and closer relationship between the UK and ASEAN after the UK leaves the EU. They welcome further UK funding for expertise exchanges with Vietnam on anti-corruption, culture, health, civil service capacity building and reform, infrastructure, smart cities and low carbon, maritime security, peaceful settlement of international disputes.

Both sides reiterate their commitment to the UN sanctions regime to encourage DPRK to take steps to denuclearize fully and verifiably. They reinforce the importance of maintaining the ban on the use of chemical weapons globally. They agree that adherence to international law is the foundation for peace and stability and renew their commitment to upholding existing Arbitrations and to freedom of navigation and overflight. They hold the view that countries should resolve all disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law and through existing legal mechanisms.

Both sides acknowledge the key role of education in the relationship including our strengthened science partnership on research, innovation and antimicrobial resistance. In pursuit of these goals, the Decision establishing the educational and cultural status of the British Council in Vietnam has been renewed. They also emphasize the importance of enhancing cooperation on bilateral cultural diplomacy so as to help strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Both sides express their support for the 2018 London Conference on IWT and agree on the importance of efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade.

The UK and Vietnam have a mutual commitment to regular Ministerial visits to both countries. They agree that the next round of the Strategic Dialogue between the two countries should take place in early 2019

Read full press release on GOV.UK

Vietnam education is very good, on paper

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Schools beeing judged by their exam results, but the fact is good exam results alone will not prepare pupils for the next industrial revolution

The second-year students at Nguyen Hue specialized high school in Hanoi are an unusually motivated bunch.

According to a report by John Reed on Financial Times, Entrance exams for university are coming up in a year. Then there is the matter of their parents’ high expectations, competition from other children in this elite school, and the tests of various kinds they are given every week.

Nguyen Phuong Thao, 16. who wants to become a journalist said “Everybody here is so talented, it makes me feel pressure”, but her favorite subject is maths, which she says her parents “forced” her to study when she was a young girl.

Another second-year student is Nguyen Tung Chi, who wants to work in marketing said “My first goal is to get into a good university in Vietnam. All the classmates are obsessed with getting good grades.”

Vietnam outperforms neighboring countries in south-east Asia on education rankings, and does well globally too. Its high test scores contributed to its place in the World Bank human capital index — 48th — the highest rating for any lower middle-income country. It stands out relative to its wealth.

The country spends the equivalent of nearly 6 per cent of its GDP on education — high by global standards, and a greater proportion than most of its neighbors. Apart from the government’s investment in schools, observers of Vietnamese culture attribute children’s strong test scores to cultural and historical factors. These include the work ethic prized under Confucianism and the need to rebuild the country after the war.

Vietnam’s current generation of under-20s are an unusually large demographic cohort who will be competing for university places and jobs in an economy that is going through major transformation as the manufacturing jobs on which it relies undergo profound change.

Hoang Kim Ngoc, 24, an English teacher at the Nguyen Hue school told us that “The generation of their and my parents needed to work hard, and they realized the fastest way to develop the country was to study. The demands of the current workforce are so high,” she adds. “We are going through the fourth industrial revolution, where we not only expect to compete with machines, but we need to control them.”

Pham Hiep, a researcher based in Hanoi who specializes in university education, attributes Vietnam’s strong international test rankings in part to a well-designed curriculum for maths and science. “Shadow education” — extra tutoring in maths and other subjects outside school — is also common, he says.

Another factor, Mr Hiep says — echoing the children at Nguyen Hue school — is intense competition for university places as the country undergoes a demographic boom. “We don’t have enough places in tertiary education,” he says. “The supply doesn’t meet the demand.” The private universities in Vietnam, he says, account for only about 15 per cent of total enrolment, low compared to Vietnam’s regional neighbors, including the Philippines, Malaysia, and China.

There is little doubt that Vietnam’s education system is good at teaching children to do well on tests, especially in maths and science. But is it teaching them to think and reason too? And how reliable are the test scores themselves?

The World Bank’s rankings for Vietnam are based on the Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests, run by the OECD, and involving international tests taken by 15-year-olds. However, one critical observer tells the FT the results are influenced by a sampling issue that makes Vietnam’s results look better than they are because about half of children have left school by age 15.

As the school leavers tend to be poorer and lower-achieving than average, the wealthier and more studious ones who are tested push the overall results up.

“The Pisa sample for Vietnam is skewed, [as] it only includes the richer, higher-achieving kids,” says John Jerrim, a lecturer at University College London’s Institute of Education. “This is a significant part of the explanation why Vietnam does well.”

Mr Jerrim says that Vietnam will face a “paradox” moving forward, as improving education means more and more children remain in school. Its Pisa scores are likely to decline rather than increase.

However, he adds, even taking the statistical anomalies into account, “Vietnam probably does quite well compared to other countries with similar levels of development”. The Vietnamese government has been pursuing educational reforms for more than a decade, focused on reducing students’ workloads, boosting private investment in higher education, and improving vocational training. The results so far have been limited.

The children at Nguyen Hue school, while benefiting from some of the best secondary education Vietnam has to offer, have a few cavils of their own.

“We focus on how to be a good worker and a good citizen rather than developing our own skills and learning to chase our dreams,” says To Duc Manh.

“How we judge students to get a job: [is] not based on who we are, but the test numbers.”

Read full article on Financial Times

Vietnam Pharmaceutical Market Outlook To 2022

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According to a report by Ken Research, Vietnam Pharmaceutical Market is Expected to Reach around USD 10.1 Billion in 2022

Vietnam Pharmaceutical market by Generic and Patented drugs, by Prescribed Drugs and OTC Drugs and Therapeutic Drugs (Metabolism and Nutritional Medicine, Cardiovascular, Central Nervous System, System Infection, Oncology, Musculoskeletal, Respiratory and Others) along with company profiles of DHG Pharma, Traphaco, Pymepharco, Ha Tey Pharmaceutical, Mekophar, Domesco, Imexpharma, OPC, Sanofi, GSK, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Roche, Pfizer, MSD and Bayer

Rise in generic drug usage and growth in self-medication in Vietnam will foster the growth of Pharmaceutical industry in Vietnam.
Government initiative to produce higher quality pharmaceuticals in Vietnam will impact the market positively.

Government has focused on developing research facilities and training of local talent. Under the biotechnology drive target by 2020, government is helping pharmaceutical producers to develop expertise through foreign assistance. Government’s push for production and utilization of locally produced generic drugs will boost usage of generic drugs. Therapeutic segments such as oncology and diabetes management will continue to witness high demand for patented drugs. Rise in number of drug manufacturers will also aid in rise of generic drug usage. Trend in self-medication culture will continue to drive OTC drugs sector at least in the near future. Antibiotics, Vitamins and dietary supplements will continue to attract heavy demand through OTC channel.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication “Vietnam Pharmaceutical Market Outlook To 2022 – by Generic and Patented drugs, by Prescribed Drugs and OTC Drugs and Therapeutic Drugs (Metabolism and Nutritional Medicine, Cardiovascular, Central Nervous System, System Infection, Oncology, Musculoskeletal, Respiratory” believe that incline in demand for hepatic treatment, rise in health supplements and increasing demand for traditional / herbal medicines will have positive impact on market.

Vietnam Pharmaceutical market is expected to register positive CAGR of around 15.6% during the period 2017-2022. R&D investment and investment in local production of APIs will have positive impact on the demand for Pharmaceutical products.

Public procurement of drugs is done through bidding in which any company is free to submit proposal. Domestic manufacturers in the country produce generics with very less investment in R&D activities, presenting low barriers to entry for any new player. The government has increasingly favored generic drugs produced locally in the recent procurement biddings. Foreign companies are increasingly investing in developing manufacturing capabilities in Vietnam.

For more information on the research report, refer to below link:
https://www.kenresearch.com/healthcare/pharmaceuticals/vietnam-pharmaceutical-market/143605-91.html

https://www.kenresearch.com/healthcare/general-healthcare/saudi-arabia-healthcare-market-research-report/1106-91.html

Contact:
Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
Sales@kenresearch.com | +91-9015378249

Irish tourist in Vietnam taking selfie while driving motorcycle crashes

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An Irish tourist taking a selfie while driving a motorcycle in Vietnam crashes after his friend slams his back wheel.

Accoriding to a report in Maildaily, a man taking a selfie while riding a motorcycle has filmed himself crashing. He was riding with friends in Vietnam when his mate came up behind him.

The pair can be seen in the footage rolling off their bikes after the collision. Selfie-related accidents have been rising, sparking selfie bans at tourist spots.

The man who posted the video said ‘the video shows my friend filming a selfie video unaware that his friend was about to crash into him.’

‘Myself and 15 of my friends went on a backpacking holiday to Asia; when we were in Vietnam we tried the ‘Top Gear’ experience, which involved a six-hour motorcycle journey through the mountains.’

He said the group had little experience riding motorcycle.

Selfie-related accidents have been escalating for many years, prompting a number of popular tourist spots to implement a selfie-ban.

About 250 people have been killed across the globe while taking selfies, according to a study published in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

Selfie-related accidents have been escalating for many years, sparking a number of popular tourist spots to implement a selfie-ban. The study shows that men account for seven out of 10 of these fatalities, while millennial daredevils – those aged 20-29 – make up almost half of selfie deaths.

In Vietnam, according to a report by the National Committee for Traffic Safety, 13,242 traffic accidents occurred in the past nine months, 2018, killing 6,012 people and injuring 10,319 others.

Researchers conducted the largest ever review of fatalities caused by posing for self-shot photographs.

Almost half of all selfie deaths occurred in 20 to 29 age group, followed by 36 per cent of deaths in 10 to 19 age group.

The highest number of deaths has been reported in India – with the state of Goa bringing in official ‘no selfie’ zones in June this year – followed by Russia, the USA, and Pakistan.

E-card programme for BRT route starts in Hanoi

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The e-card pilot programme for BRT buses has started in Hanoi on October 10 on the Kim Ma-Yen Nghia route, Dtinews reported.

According to Hanoi Transport and Services Corporation (Transerco), the e-cards will help link the public bus system with other types of public transport in the future.

Passengers can contact employees at bus stations on Kim Ma, Nui Truc, Hoang Dao Thuy streets and Yen Nghia Station for information on how to acquire a card and recharge their accounts. They can also register online to save time.

One-time passengers can buy separate e-tickets and scan the tickets at bus stops. Since the pilot programme is being carried out on one route only, inter-district monthly-pass holders will get a QR code stamp pasted onto their cards to try the programme.

The pilot programme will be implemented from six months to a year. If the results are positive, the model will be implemented on the whole rapid bus system in Hanoi as well as the regular buses and the metro system.

The minimum bus fare is VND7,000 (30 US cents) but the cost for short trips is halved with the e-cards.

Some photos of the day:

Many passengers are trying out the new cards

Bamboo Airways failed to launch its first flight

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Bamboo Airways – the Fledgling Vietnamese carrier failed to launch its first flight as planned as it had not obtained the required license from the government.

In July, 2018, Chief Executive Officer of the airline had said that Bamboo Airways would launch its maiden flight on October 10 to join the country’s fast-growing aviation industry dominated by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Aviation.

Bamboo Airways plans to make its first commercial flight later this year.

Vo Huy Cuong, Officer of Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Administration confirmed with the local media on Wednesday that, Bamboo Airways can’t start its operations until it gets the license from the Ministry of Transport.

Bamboo Airways signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for up to 24 A320neo narrow-bodies in March as well as a provisional deal to buy 20 Boeing 787-9 wide-body jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices in July, 2018.

VinFast financed US$950 million, guaranteed by Euler Hermes and German Export Credit Agency

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VinFast – subsidiary company of Vietnam’s Vingroup has entered into a US$950 million financing agreement guaranteed by Euler Hermes and the German Export Credit Agency (ECA), to support the country’s first automotive and motorcycle manufacturing complex.

The complex, Vinfast’s primary manufacturing base, is located in Hai Phong city, at an industrial park.

Credit Suisse and HSBC are the Joint Mandated Lead Arrangers of this guaranteed term loan. The agreement is also supported by Credit Suisse AG (Credit Suisse) and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC).

This landmark transaction is the first ECA-supported facility extended to a private sector company in Vietnam, further enhancing Vingroup’s track record of pioneering international capital markets transactions.

The financing package is an up to 12-year $950 million Hermes-covered Buyers’ Credit facility for the payment of machinery and equipment from nine German suppliers. The loan allows for an extended tenor and large financing amount at a highly competitive pricing.

Anh Le, Managing Director of Investment Banking and Capital Markets, Credit Suisse said: “Credit Suisse is pleased to jointly lead and arrange this significant transaction for VinFast. The capital raised through this financing supports VinFast on its inspiring journey to position itself as a global automotive manufacturer.”

The CEO of HSBC Vietnam, Mr. Pham, Hong Hai said: “We are proud to be part of this landmark deal with VinFast to support their journey to introduce the first made in Vietnam cars.”

In August 2018, VinFast also completed syndication of a debut $400 million term loan facility led by four international banks. The syndication was well participated by over ten Asian and European banks, further strengthening VinFast’s position in the international capital markets.

Read full article on VNS

Made-in-Vietnam toys struggle for market share

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Vietnam’s toy products compete well with Chinese counterparts in quality and prices, but domestic manufacturers are weak at diversifying products and slow in launching new products.

Le Quynh Hoa, an office worker in Hanoi, said she bought a Vietnamese-made decorative lantern for her daughter to play in the full-moon festival, rather than a Chinese product, Vietnamnet reported.

She noted that at some supermarket chains, only Vietnam’s lanterns were available, while Chinese products were absent from the shelves.

“Vietnamese parents now prefer Vietnam’s lanterns because they are safe for children,” she said.

However, Hoa admitted that traditional lanterns were the only Vietnam-made toys she has bought. “I could not find other Vietnamese high-quality products. I have to buy imports, though they were really expensive,” she explained.

A market survey conducted by FTA, a market analysis firm, found that 52 percent of polled mothers said they would buy domestically made toys for children.

A market survey conducted by FTA, a market analysis firm, found that 52 percent of polled mothers said they would buy domestically made toys for children.

However, in the market of 3-5 million customers, 90 percent of the demand is fed by imports and the rest by Vietnamese companies.

Foreign products now flood the domestic toy market. Besides high-end products from the US, Japan, Germany and France displayed at luxury shops and shopping malls, there are more common products, mostly from China.

Retailers and toy shop owners said that Vietnam-made toys can’t compete with Chinese products in the low-cost market segment, and they are inferior to imported products in the high-end segment.

Experts said that the problem doesn’t lie in the production capacity of Vietnamese enterprises. The products churned out by them have been exported to many choosy markets such as the US, Europe and Japan, with the average annual growth rate of 20 percent.

According to the General Department of Customs (GDC), the export of toys and sport equipment brought turnover of $235.7 million in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 18.8 percent over the same period of 2016.

The exports to the Netherlands soared by 102 percent, to Spain by 98 percent, Germany 52 percent and Belgium 42 percent.

Asked why he doesn’t focus on the domestic market, the director of a wooden-toy enterprise said his company once invested in production lines to manufacture toys for the local market, but the sales were unsatisfactory.

Vietnam’s toy products have strong advantages over Chinese ones in quality and price. But a manufacturer complained that it takes enterprises too much time to follow procedures when launching new products and to have products examined.

Here’s Good News: Business booming in Vietnam

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Foreign companies have been flocking to Vietnam.

Earlier this year, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms Warburg Pincus added banking and logistics to its Vietnam portfolio, pushing its total investment into the country over the $1 billion mark.

Auto players like JAC Motors of China, as well as Kamaz, the largest truck maker in Russia, have recently turned to Vietnam. The Southeast Asian country is seeing money pour in from all over the globe, whether it’s Indonesia’s Gojek in ride-hailing, or Qatar’s Ooredoo in telecommunications.

With a trade war rippling across the Pacific and fears of interest rate contagion in emerging markets, much of Asia looks bleak. So why is the economy in communist Vietnam such a bright spot?

A VIB’s bank employee checks Vietnamese dong banknotes

Stability is key

Gross domestic product is forecast to expand 7 percent this year. The currency and inflation are stable. Growth is expected in exports, manufacturing, foreign direct investment, and other indicators that show Vietnam outpacing rivals in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“Vietnam is likely to remain the fastest-growing ASEAN economy in 2018 and 2019, as in 2017,” said Chidu Narayanan, Asia economist at Standard Chartered Bank. “We remain positive on Vietnam’s growth medium term on strong manufacturing activity, as FDI inflows to electronics manufacturing remain strong.”

The bank predicts a current account surplus of 3.7 percent of GDP for 2018, meaning Vietnam takes in more money through trade and investment than it sends abroad. That includes an increase in income from services, such as IT outsourcing.

Vietnam chosen as the most alluring investment destination in Asia | Image source: gbs.com.vn

To explain why the country of 100 million people is outperforming peers, it helps to look at factors like trade, consumer spending, and politics.

On the surface, Vietnam’s communist system would not sound like an appeal for investors. But many actually cite the political stability, albeit through one-party government, as a reason to come here. And in reality most businesses operate in a free market, with some state controls.

Political stability contributes to economic stability, and it helped Vietnam weather a leadership transition that in other countries could spell volatility. Stock markets were not rattled when the president, Tran Dai Quang, died suddenly of illness last month while in office. He will be succeeded by Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, a man known for maintaining the status quo.

“There will be no major change in Vietnam’s economic strategy or political system as a result of the passing of President Tran Dai Quang,” said Carl Thayer, emeritus politics professor, the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defense Force Academy.

Vietnam likes trade deals

That economic strategy has been characterized by trade deals with as many countries as possible. Through ASEAN, Vietnam has trade pacts with Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. It also signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as well as separate agreements with Russia and the European Union.

This could be part of the reason that investor optimism jumped 6 percentage points between the first and second quarters of 2018, according to a European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam survey released Oct. 3.

“These results show once again that European companies and investors remain confident in Vietnam,” chamber co-chair Nicolas Audier said. “On the cusp of this historic [EU-Vietnam free trade] deal, which would boost trade and investment on both sides, we hope this positive message from EuroCham and its members will inspire the government to continue opening its markets to foreign investment.”

Also drawing in businesses are Vietnamese shoppers. Consumer confidence was higher in Vietnam than in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, market researcher Nielsen reported in March. As citizens’ incomes rise, their spending attracts brands in all manner of products.

Spanish fashion retailer Zara has opened outlets here, while Apple in September appointed its first premium reseller in the country, EDigi, authorized to do official repairs of iPhones and Macs. Vingroup, a conglomerate founded by Vietnam’s richest man, launched a line of cars this month with some promotional juice from soccer star David Beckham.

FILE – English former footballer David Beckham poses for photographers.

No economy is perfect

It’s not all coming up roses, of course. Economists say Vietnam needs to keep an eye on borrowing: consumers are using more credit cards, the government is close to its debt ceiling, and banks have more non-performing loans than desired. The real estate sector is also cooling, and the country wants to avoid any of the flak that comes from the trade war between the U.S. and China.

That trade war has made investors bearish on Asia’s biggest economy. Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia is fighting to hold the value of its currency, as investors abscond to take advantage of higher U.S. interest rates.

Philippine inflation is approaching 7 percent, the highest in nearly a decade. In Myanmar, the economic potential that once seemed sky-high is now taking a back seat as that state allows ethnic violence and jails journalists.

Vietnam is not far away but has been spared many of those problems for now.

Reporting by Ha Nguyen, read original article on VOA.

Vietnam to remove ownership cap for foreign investors on listed companies

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Banking and aviation limits also expected to be raised, but not above 50%

Vietnam plans to remove restrictions on foreign ownership of state-owned and listed companies by the end of 2019, as Hanoi looks to open its capital-hungry economy further in order to sustain rapid growth.

The Finance Ministry is drafting an overhaul for the nation’s securities law, the first major amendment since 2010.

The planned amendments signal Hanoi’s desire to see Vietnamese shares become part of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which would bring an influx of capital into local exchanges.

Foreigners would in principle be able to acquire a majority stake in public companies in sectors not considered critical to national security. These include privately owned listed companies and state-owned enterprises that were privatized, with or without listing on the stock markets.

The move is expected to open business opportunities in the world’s 14th-most-populated country with over 92 million people and a median age of 30. PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts Vietnam to be among the world’s 20 biggest economies based on purchasing power parity by 2050.

The proposed change would leave decisions on foreign ownership in the hands of managers and shareholders. Foreign ownership is now capped at 49% in general, with some sectors such as banking and aviation limited to 30%. These latter sectors may also see caps raised, but they will remain on a list of so-called conditional businesses, which the government is not willing to let foreigners take full ownership of.

Removing the ownership cap “would be a very encouraging sign for foreign investors,” said Thuan Nguyen, the CEO of StoxPlus, a local financial data provider.

“However, the impact will be limited as shareholders’ approval at annual general meetings is still needed if a company wants to lift the [allowed ownership] ratio to 100%,” the CEO said.

“Vietnam is in a competition with rivals such as the Philippines and Myanmar to be the next destination of investment in Asia, following China and Thailand,” said Junya Ishii, senior analyst at Sumitomo Corporation Global Research, a Japanese thinktank. “Opening up to foreign investment will give them access to advanced technology, which they believe will help them in that race.”

Foreign investors owned 23.33% of Vietnamese stocks as of Sept. 30, compared with 21.6% at the end of 2017. Vietnamese authorities report that the value of foreign investors’ portfolios reached $34.2 billion at the end of July.

Vietnam has around 1,500 public companies, including about 740 listed on the two main stock exchanges in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. More than 780 public companies are listed on a second-tier market or remained unlisted.

As for initial public offerings, the planned amendments will require that at least a 20% stake of the company with charter capital of 30 billion dong ($1.29 million) be sold to a minimum of 100 investors — those who do not own more than 1% of the company.

The ratio decreases to a 15% stake at companies with more than 100 billion dong in charter capital and 10% when this capital tops 1 trillion dong.

Market watchers say more needs to be done to lower barriers to investment in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

“The government needs to shorten the conditional list” of sectors considered sensitive or critical to national security to make the foreign ownership changes more feasible, said Phuong Hoang, an analyst at Saigon Securities Research. Local media report that Hanoi is considering relaxing foreign ownership in telecom companies.

A StoxPlus survey found the greatest anticipation for freeing up foreign ownership in the industries of health care, retail and food and beverages.

Vietnam’s securities law was issued in 2006 and amended in 2010, but did not cite foreign ownership limits. The highest legal document providing for these limits was a Vietnamese prime minister’s decision issued in 2009 to ban foreign investors from holding more than a 49% stake in a public company.

This decision, meant to protect domestic investors, remained in force until 2015 when Hanoi started relaxing foreign ownership rules to attract capital and support local companies going overseas.

A government decree let public businesses operating in unconditional sectors remove the foreign ownership limits if they do not conflict with the company’s charter.

The move helped some listed companies gradually seek shareholders to remove the limit, led by Saigon Securities in 2015. Two dozen followed including Vietnam Dairy Products or Vinamilk, Domesco Medical Import Export, Bao Minh Insurance and DHG Pharma.

Vietnam continues to fall short of upgrading its status to an emerging stock market from a frontier market. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are included in this index, while Vietnam remains in the same classification as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The government began to work toward that goal in 2013 but missed a chance for an MSCI review in 2017, even as mainland Chinese A-shares moved onto the Emerging Markets Index this year.

Vietnamese financial authorities have been told by the government to accelerate work on modernizing the legal framework needed for an open and transparent stock market, in line with international standards.

(Nikkei)

Vietnam Clinical Laboratory Market is Expected to Reach over USD 200 Million

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Vietnam Clinical Laboratory Market is Expected to Reach over USD 200 Million by 2022: Ken Research

Vietnam Clinical Laboratory Market by Labs (Hospital Labs, Independent Labs and Physician Office Labs) and Type of Tests (Lab Test, X-Ray, Ultrasound and CT Scan) along with company profiles of Medic Lab, VietLife and Hoan My.

Increasing insurance coverage will drive the clinical laboratory market in Vietnam in future.
Infrastructure upgrade is expected to make a positive impact on the clinical laboratory market in Vietnam.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication “Vietnam Clinical Laboratory Market Outlook to 2022- by Labs (Hospital Labs, Independent Labs and Physician Office Labs) and Type of Tests (Lab Test, X-Ray, Ultrasound and CT Scan)” believe that Obtaining ISO lab accreditation and local accreditation from VILAS, optimizing the number of qualified lab personnel and negotiating improved terms with medical device companies and reducing complexity in procurement will have positive impact on market.

The government will continue to invest in UHC to cover the Vietnamese population with an insurance plan. Vietnam intends to provide health insurance for its major population by 2020. Owing to increase in insurance coverage, clinical laboratories, especially hospital laboratories will witness a rise in clinical lab tests. The government’s focus on specific non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer prevention will continue. Hospitals will develop satellite departments to relieve the burden of over crowdedness. Primary care clinics are expanding within clinical testing in Vietnam by upgrading their testing equipment and offering more testing options, while leveraging their network of chain clinics to capture a wider consumer market.

Vietnam Clinical Laboratory market is expected to register positive CAGR of around 10.8% during the period 2017-2022. Rise in demand for screening of infectious diseases and Clinical test outsourcing to independent labs are expected to have positive impact on the demand for clinical tests.

Vietnam Clinical Laboratory Market Outlook to 2022

Government’s and private spending on establishing new hospitals coupled with rise in hospitals expenditure on replacing obsolete imaging and diagnostic instruments have positively augmented the market for clinical laboratories. There has been a rise in incidence of communicable diseases such as HIV, TB, Hep-B and Hep-C due to lack of awareness, delayed vaccination in children. Vietnam is in need of rapid testing for Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), with lab development supported by the government and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Since incidence and prevalence of AIDS is high in Vietnam, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention initiated development of key central and provincial labs for HIV testing. Rise in disease awareness campaigns about the advent, cause and prevention of common diseases have led to people proactively opting for clinical lab tests to ascertain diseases.

To know more on research methodology, price and other report related information, refer to below link:-

https://www.kenresearch.com/healthcare/diagnostics/vietnam-diagnostic-lab-market/143767-91.html

Related Reports:

Contact:

Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
Sales@kenresearch.com |+91-9015378249

BOT toll stations will be closed if investors don’t fix roads: Transport Minister

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Toll stations on roads built under Build-Operation-Transfer (BOT) contracts could be closed if investors behind the projects delayed repairs, Transport Minister Nguyễn Văn Thể said on Monday after receiving complaints about poor-quality BOT roads in the central province of Bình Định.

He asked relevant agencies to regularly inspect and assess damage to the roads and propose measures to fix the issues.

Phan Cao Thắng, vice chairman of Bình Định Province People’s Committee said people were very concerned about the quality of parts of National Highway No.1 that runs through the province.

The road was upgraded and re-opened in 2015, but the road surface soon became uneven and potholes appeared.

Lê Kim Thành, director of the ministry’s Department of Construction Management and Quality, said that the 118 km of National Highway No.1 running through Bình Định Province was divided into three parts. The first 28.7 km and the last 40.66 km were built under BOT contracts while the 60.6 km section in the middle was built with Government bonds

Thành said that the road was damaged by frequent flooding and rain. Moreover, the stone used for the road construction was allegedly of poor quality and not adhesive to asphalt.

“Road repairs are merely conducted to ensure traffic runs smoothly,” he said, adding that further work was being carried out to fix the problems.

“By the end of this year, the work will be completed,” Thành said.

Provincial vice chairman Thắng said the first part of National Highway No.1 in Bình Định Province was over 28 km, but the investor upgraded just 23 km, while the third part was over 40.6 km but the investor upgraded about 35 km. However, they opened two BOT toll stations at both ends of the road.

Thắng said investors behind the road delayed a reduction in toll fees despite the province’s policy on toll fee reduction.

“Road users complained about the quality and the toll fees imposed on BOT roads such as National Highway No.1 and No.19,” Thắng said.

Minister Thể said that toll collection must follow current regulations and the project’s finance. He asked for completion of the roadwork by the end of this year.

Also at the meeting with Bình Định Province leaders, Thể asked relevant agencies to develop planning for Phù Cát Airport, Nhơn Hội Port and Quy Nhơn Railway Station.

Source: Vietnamnews

Mixed bag: VinFast’s new cars cause excitement, skepticism

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Vietnamese are excited about the first ever cars to be made in their country but also concerned about their price and quality.
Nguyen Duy Hung, chairman of the Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI), posted on his Facebook page that he was “lucky” to have his order of five VinFast cars approved.

VinFast, a subsidiary of Vingroup, showed off two cars, a sedan and an SUV, at the Paris Motor Show in France Tuesday just a year after its incorporation, grabbing the attention of the local and international media.

Hung said he would be one of the first people to get the cars.

“Who doesn’t want to be one of the first to own a car made by a Vietnamese brand?”

Tran Phuong Anh, an office worker in Hanoi, was excited to see Vietnam’s first cars revealed in Paris.

She was impressed to see the “shiny and luxurious” new sedan introduced on stage by former England footballer David Beckham.

“It was a moment of pride for Vietnam’s auto industry,” she told VnExpress International.

Vu Ta Thang, a car salesperson in Hanoi, said the looks of the two vehicles would surely attract young people.

“The cars look like a BMW with a Vietnamese brand,” he said.

But many people are concerned the car would be costly and uncertain about its quality.

Le Anh, an automobile expert, believes the sedan will be priced at VND1.4 billion ($60,869) and the SUV at VND1.8 billion ($78,260).

A VnExpress poll of over 1,200 people found 50 percent expecting the cars to cost less than VND1 billion ($42,550). Only 6 percent said they would cost more than VND1.5 billion ($64,200).

One reader identified as Tung Le said the sedan should be priced at VND700 million ($29,780) and the SUV at VND850 million ($36,170), adding it would be “much harder [to sell]” if the prices go higher.

Mike Dunne, an independent industry analyst who has spent more than three decades in Asia, was concerned whether VinFast cars would have demand in a country with an average income of $2,385 last year.

Vietnam’s population is around 93 million, larger than Korea’s, but car consumption is only around 300,000 units a year, he told U.S. media CNBC.

While there is little doubt the market would grow, it won’t happen fast enough to absorb VinFast’s production, planned at 250,000 vehicles annually, he said.

Thang, the car salesperson, said Vietnamese only buy cars with good resale value.

Durability and reliability are why they love Japanese cars, and people in their 40s and 50s would wait for at least one or two years to evaluate VinFast quality, he said.

“Customers would prefer to invest a large amount of money in other brands that have a longer history in the country.”

Bui Ngoc Huyen, chairman of Vinaxuki, which tried to produce a car but ceased production just before its first car was to be released in 2012, said Vingroup’s deep pockets would help, but warned that building a brand takes time.

“You have to move from producing small and cheap cars to luxury ones,” he told Reuters. “It will take several years for a new carmaker to fine tune its products and win the confidence of consumers. It will take between 10 and 20 years.”

Other experts are concerned that VinFast will have trouble establishing a brand in Vietnam where the supporting industry is weak.

There are only 358 businesses in the auto industry in Vietnam compared to 2,500 in Thailand, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Over 90 percent of auto parts are imported, it added.

Source: Vnexpress

Banks expect better business performance in 2018

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A majority of credit institutions in the country expect an upward trend in their business this year, according to a survey released on Monday by the State Bank of Việt Nam.

Under the business sentiment survey conducted last month, which covered domestic and foreign commercial banks operating in the country, 88.3 per cent of the respondents expected their profits this year would be higher than last year. Only 5.3 per cent of the respondents forecast their profit to remain unchanged and 6.4 per cent were concerned about a profit decline.

The respondents forecast that profits for the entire banking system in 2018 would increase by 18.63 per cent against last year, higher than the 13.63 per cent reported in the previous survey conducted in the same period last year.

A total of 72.6 per cent estimated that their business performance in Q3 would be improved in the third quarter, while 80 per cent hoped for continuous improvement in Q4. Of this, 15.8 per cent and 23 per cent anticipated “significant improvement” in Q3 and Q4, respectively.

The survey also showed that many banks expected customer demand for banking services in the second half of 2018 and the entire year to increase compared to last year.

Banks expected the banking system’s credit growth to reach 4.52 per cent in the fourth quarter and 15.22 per cent for the entire year.

The respondents also anticipated capital mobilisation of the entire banking system this year would reach 15.34 per cent, of which the increase in the last quarter was anticipated to be 5.83 per cent.

Banks also said the liquidity of the banking system in both Vietnamese đồng and foreign currencies was currently “good” and that the positive status would continue for the rest of the year.

With optimism about growth prospects for 2018, banks also forecast the industry’s labour market to see positive changes in the coming months.

Despite more recruitment in the first three quarters of this year, many banks said they are still short of employees, with 61.46 per cent of the respondents saying that they planned to recruit more in the fourth quarter of this year.

VNS

Vietnam suffers high gastric cancer rates

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Vietnam stands the 18th among countries with the highest rates of gastric cancer in the world, and most of gastric cancer patients in Vietnam are late diagnosed.
The information was recently given by Associate. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Truong Khanh, head of Gastroenterology Department at Bach Mai Hospital at an International Symposium on liver and gallbladder digestion in Hanoi.

According to Khanh, a high salt intake, staying up late, sedentary lifestyle and HP bacteria infections were the main reasons for gastric cancer rise in Vietnam.

“We are working to provide statistics on Vietnamese people who face the risk of gastric cancer. The best method for the early detection of the disease is endoscopy,” Khanh said.

Professor Hidemi Goto from Nagoya University said that over the past years, experts from the university have helped Bach Mai Hospital with the transfer of endoscopic and surgical techniques to treat gastrointestinal cancer, while many doctors of Bach Mai Hospital have been sent to Japan to gain experience in this area.

In Japan, most of patients with gastric cancer are diagnosed early so the treatment is quite effective. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the disease diagnosis is often late, affecting the treatment efficiency. That is why gastric cancer patients in Vietnam have to use operations or chemotherapy.

Vietnam sees around 126,000 new cancer patients and 94,000 cancer deaths per year, up to nine times higher than the number of traffic accident-caused fatalities.

Early cancer diagnosis treatment fees are not covered by health insurance. In the coming time, the fees for some kinds of cancer such as breast, live and digestive cancers will be paid by health insurance.

Source: Dtinews