Market Focus: Shares Pushing Higher 7.23% Over the Last Month: Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK)

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After a recent market scan, we can see that Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK) shares have moved 7.23% higher over the past month. Tracking performance over the last 5 sessions, shares have moved 2.30%. Over the last half-year, shares have changed 1.14%. Over the last full year, shares have moved -7.29% – Reported by Newberry Journal.

Investors may be taking a closer look stock market trends as we move into the second half of the year. Investors often have to grapple with the timing of selling a stock. After all the research is done and the portfolio is rounded out, the time will eventually come when decisions need to be made about whether to hold a winner or sell to lock up some profits. Often times, investors will hold on to a certain stock for much too long letting profits erode. Thinking that a hot stock will keep going higher and higher, may lead to lost profits further down the road. On the flip side, investors may become emotionally attached to a stock and not be able to part ways when the time has come. Avoiding the trap of waiting for a stock to bounce back and just break even can lead to the undoing of the portfolio. The belief that a particular stock will definitely come back to the buying level may leave investors out in the cold. Being able to keep the emotions in check and stay focused on the pertinent data, may help the stock portfolio thrive into the future.

Currently, the 14-day ADX for Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK) is sitting at 19.26. Generally speaking, an ADX value from 0-25 would indicate an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would identify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would lead to an extremely strong trend. ADX is used to gauge trend strength but not trend direction. Traders often add the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to identify the direction of a trend.

Technical traders may be looking at recent indicator levels on shares of Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK). After a recent check, the 50-day Moving Average is 0.42, the 200-day Moving Average is 0.44, and the 7-day is noted at 0.44. Moving averages have the ability to be used as a powerful indicator for technical stock analysis. Following multiple time frames using moving averages can help investors figure out where the stock has been and help determine where it may be possibly going. The simple moving average is a mathematical calculation that takes the average price (mean) for a given amount of time.

Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK)’s Williams Percent Range or 14 day Williams %R is sitting at 0.00. Typically, if the value heads above -20, the stock may be considered to be overbought. On the flip side, if the indicator goes under -80, this may signal that the stock is oversold.

Technical traders often make a point of keeping an eye on the ATR or Average True Range of a particular equity. Currently, Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK) has a 14-day ATR of 0.01. The Average True Range is an investor tool used to measure stock volatility. The ATR is not used to figure out price direction, just to measure volatility. The ATR is an indicator developed by J. Welles Wilder. Wilder has developed multiple indicators that are still quite popular in today’s investing landscape. The general interpretation of the ATR is the higher the ATR value, the higher the volatility.

Traders may be leaning on technical stock analysis to help with investing decisions. Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Ltd (0422.HK) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 125.64. Despite the name, CCI can be used on other investment tools such as stocks. The CCI was designed to typically stay within the reading of -100 to +100. Traders may use the indicator to determine stock trends or to identify overbought/oversold conditions. A CCI reading above +100 would imply that the stock is overbought and possibly ready for a correction. On the other hand, a reading of -100 would imply that the stock is oversold and possibly set for a rally.

Siam Cement takes over stalled $5.4bn Vietnam petrochemical project

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Thai conglomerate now sees 2023 start to production at Long Son – Nikkei Asian Reported

Thai industrial conglomerate Siam Cement Group has taken full ownership of a long-delayed petrochemical project in Vietnam after buying out its local partner in the $5.4 billion endeavor to build the Southeast Asian country’s first such complex.

SCG bought 29% of the shares in Long Son petrochemical complex from Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, or PetroVietnam, for 2.9 billion baht ($90.2 million).

Roongrote Rangsiyopash, SCG’s chief executive, said the acquisition was made through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Vina SCG Chemicals, as is expected to be completed by the end of June.

“The commencement of engineering, procurement and construction activities for this project will be in the third quarter of 2018, with the targeted commercial operation by the first half of 2023,” Roongrote said in a statement, placing the project about four years behind its original schedule.

As sole owner, SCG should have more flexibility taking the investment forward. “SCG will be able to capitalize on the rising trend of global petrochemical business that would bring in growth in the long run,” said an analyst at Asia Plus Securities.

The delay caused by shareholding issues has pushed estimated construction costs to $5.4 billion from the $4.5 billion budgeted four years ago when the project had three investors: SCG with 46%; Qatar Petroleum subsidiary QPI Vietnam with 25%; and PetroVietnam with 29%.

The Qatari partner withdrew from the southern Vietnamese project in 2015 after global oil prices plummeted, and SCG bought its stake last year.

SCG’s 2017 net profit fell 2% on the year to 55.04 billion baht ($1.73 billion), on a 6% jump in sales to 450 billion baht, the group reported on Wednesday. It cited intensifying competition in cement and building materials.

Revenue from cement and building materials accounted for around 39% of the group’s total, while petrochemicals made up 46%. Sales in Southeast Asian countries, excluding Thailand, increased by 9% year on year to 106 billion baht, representing 24% of the group’s total.

SCG shares closed at 452 baht on Wednesday, down 2.59% from Monday. Tuesday was a public holiday in Thailand.

By APORNRATH PHOONPHONGPHIPHAT

Government issues warning on router-hacking virus

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HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Information and Telecommunications’ Authority of Information Security on Tuesday warned that routers and storages in Việt Nam have been exposed to the VPNFilter virus.

The virus has affected over 500,000 routers and storages in many countries, including Việt Nam, it said.

The most vulnerable devices are Internet-connected routers and storages produced by popular brands like Linksys, Mikro Tik, Netgear, and TP-Link.

A research by the Cisco Talos group run by Cisco showed VNPFilter as a multi-phrase cyber-espionage virus capable of stealing information from websites and spying on the industrial command domain, such as those of power networks or industrial infrastructure.

An effected device will be restarted and reset, during which the /var/run/vnpfilterw link will be created.

The Authority said users should reset their devices to default mode to erase the malware while updating the firmware as soon as possible if they think their devices have been infected by the virus.

The Authority has warned about lopes and weaknesses in the information security sector over the past few years. Last week, international organisations announced they have discovered at least 327 security holes that could spark attacks affecting Vietnamese users. — VNS

Source: VNS

First double-decker bus for sightseeing in Hanoi

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The open-top double-decker bus began taking tourists on a city tour on May 30.

The first double-decker bus was put into service on May 30 with hop-on and hop-off at 13 stops, running through 25 streets and taking tourists to 30 attractions in the capital city of Hanoi.

According to Hanoi Transport Service Company (Transerco) the company has launched the Hop on – Hop off bus service after thorough preparation.
The double-decker bus runs through 25 streets with hop-on and hop-off at 13 stops and ferry tourists to 30 attractions in Hanoi. The bus arrives every 30 minutes from 9am to 6:10pm every day.
An information counter is located near tourist attractions.
The bus follows the Euro 4 emission standards, creating favourable conditions for the elderly, children and the people with disabilities.
The bus is connected to 4G, Wifi, USB port, refrigerator, camera to help visitors take photos during their journey.
The introduction of the City Tour double-decker bus aims to promote urban tourism making tourism spearhead industry. Voice over service is provided at the selected tourist attractions.

Source: VOV

Halong Bay: A journey into the dragon’s jaws

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Halong Bay, Vietnam: In 1994, UNESCO declared Halong Bay a World Heritage Site. Since then, researchers have discovered 14 plant species and no less than 60 species of animals that are endemic to Halong.

(CNN) — Captain Tho Pham first went out to sea when he was 14 years old. Now, he’s been a junk skipper in Halong Bay for more than a decade.
He knows his way through the tangle of islands that cover Halong as well as anyone alive.
“Long ago, our forefathers were fighting to resist an invasion — just one of the many we’ve fought off over the centuries,” says Captain Tho as he guides his 55-meter junk boat between rearing limestone outcrops.
“Legend has it that the gods sent a family of giant dragons to help us. The dragons spat great blocks of jade, the size of mountains, which formed this barricade of islands and blocked the invasion.”
According to legend, Halong Bay is made up of blocks of jade spat out by a family of giant dragons.
Mark Eveleigh
Wherever you travel in Vietnam, complex legends and myths are commonplace, so it doesn’t surprise me to hear there’s more to this tale.
“Once the invasion was repelled, the dragon family decided to settle in the bay,” the captain continues. “Halong means ‘where the dragon descends to the sea’, and this is where the mother dragon came to live.
“Bai Tu Long is where her children settled and the fearsome currents around Bạch Long Vĩ island are caused by mischievous baby dragons thrashing their tails — bạch means ‘white’ from the color of the foam, long means ‘dragon’ and vĩ means ‘tail’.”

Across the backs of dragons

According to UNESCO, which inscribed Halong on the World Heritage List in 1994, there are about 1,600 limestone islands and islets here.
It’s probable that Captain Tho has come about as close as anyone ever has to visiting them all.
Standing beside him on the bridge of the Heritage Jasmine, it occurs to me that we could indeed be sailing amongst the massively scaled backs of an entire horde of dragons.
Ahead of us the limestone karsts rise above the swirling currents, jungle dripping from their peaks like tangled seaweed.
Hai Au Airlines operates Vietnam’s first commercial seaplane service out of Hanoi.
Mark Eveleigh
My first view of Halong, the morning before, was from high above — through the window of a banking Hai Au Aviation seaplane.
That first sight of this spectacular landscape is hard to describe.
Even Ho Chi Minh — rarely at a loss for words — struggled to depict it: “It’s a wonder that one cannot impart to others,” he said humbly.
The islands stretch farther than the eye can see, and the jade-colored peaks do indeed form what seems to be an impenetrable barrier.
Made fresh daily, bia hoi is a popular type of Vietnamese draft beer. The cost? Less than 25 cents a glass.
The Cessna Grand Caravan slipped smoothly down through the ocean haze and, as she skipped to a halt on the rippled surface of the Gulf of Tonkin, I looked down to see surprised fish flapping on the plane’s pontoons.
It was a poignant sign of how rich in sea life these tropical waters must be and how they could have provided rich pickings for fishing communities for thousands of years.

Luxury junk tours: Cruising Halong in style

I boarded the Heritage Jasmine in the early afternoon and after toasting our arrival in Ha Long with Bia Hà Nội (Hanoi Beer) and a meal of delicious phở bo (beef noodles infused with delicate herbs) I slept well in my Heritage Line superior cabin.
Junk boats are the most popular way to tour Halong Bay.
Mark Eveleigh
Far from being just a floating vantage point, the best of Halong’s junks bring important income to local people and are adept at steering clear of crowded waters.
They provide luxury access to some of Vietnam’s most unexpected adventures and can be more active that you might imagine a typical cruise to be.
Over the course of the next few days we would kayak through flooded caverns into hidden lagoons, cycle to isolated rice-farming villages and search for rare Cat Ba langurs — some of the world’s most endangered monkeys, found nowhere else in the world and with only an estimated 70 remaining.
On our last morning we woke to find the Jasmine already anchored near the floating village of Cua Van. While the bay once supported many fishing villages, its protected status means that only around 200 people live in these floating communities today.
About 200 Buddhist fishermen live and work in their floating communities in the heart of Halong Bay.
Mark Eveleigh
The fishermen of Cua Van supplement their income by paddling tourists among the floating pontoon houses in their iconic flat-ended sampan boats.
As the seasons change and the fish drift, the number of houses also fluctuates — ebbing and flowing like flotsam on the tide. Settlement in these islands was limited up until the 19th century by flotillas of rampaging Chinese and Vietnamese pirates.
With peace has come other pressures in the form of a new invasion: The traditional inhabitants are now outnumbered by the 300 or so junks (some carrying more than 60 guests) that are said to operate in the bay these days.
Even before they formed their little floating communities the fishermen lived in the great cave complex, which honeycombs the center of Cai Tai islet.
Archaeologists believe that Tien Ong was occupied by settlers of the Hoabinhian culture who lived here 10,000 years ago. The modern inhabitants of Halong still take shelter in the caves from time to time.
“Over in the corner there’s a little ‘honeymoon alcove’,” says our guide. “Many of the locals claim that it was where they were conceived. There’s still a tradition that this is where the fishermen go when they want… Well, how can I say this? When they want to make new Halong Bay fishermen.”
Asia experts Backyard travel offer a four-day tour taking in Hanoi and a Halong Bay Junk cruise from US$447 per person
By Mark Eveleigh, CNN

A Capital Airlines flight from China to Vietnam was forced to turn around after cracks appeared in a window

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Flight JD421 from the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou to Nha Trang on Vietnam’s coast turned back one hour into the journey on Tuesday afternoon, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Capital Airlines said cracks had appeared in a window but not the windshield as some passengers had claimed, the agency reported, citing a company statement.

A video circulating on Chinese social media showed a Capital Airlines staff member telling passengers there were cracks in the windshield.

The aircraft was an Airbus A321, according to plane tracking website Flightradar24.

Beijing-based Capital Airlines, a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, and Airbus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Earlier this month, a Sichuan Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a cockpit window blew out.

Also in May, a Southwest Airlines plane made an emergency landing after a window pane cracked in flight.

Vietnamese group wins Japonica rice export contracts to RoK

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Vietnam’s Tan Long Group has won three contracts to sell 50,000 tonnes of Japonica rice to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp of the Republic of Korea, 70 percent of the bidding volume. Vietnam Plus reported.

Tan Long has entered the rice export market in recent years.

Its rice processing plant is located in Lap Vo district in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap with capacity of 180,000 – 200,000 tonnes of rice per year.

The company’s traditional markets are the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Recently, it has been able to access the Republic of Korea – a choosy market with strict regulations on quality and date of delivery.

Japonica is a high-quality round grain variety, which has been cultivated in the Mekong Delta for the past 10 years.

Since late 2016, Tan Long Group has won bids to provide this kind of rice to the RoK.

In 2017, the group won two contracts to export more than 41,000 tonnes of rice to the market.

The outcomes were attributed to the company’s efforts to build a rice production chain in the Mekong Delta – the rice bowl of Vietnam.

It aims to connect farmers with rice processing plants to expand the production of high-quality rice for exports by applying new modern technology.

Vietnam earned 1.1 billion USD from exporting 2.16 million tonnes of rice in the first four months of 2018, up 35.7 percent in value and 21.7 percent in volume.

China remained the biggest rice importer of Vietnam with 29.1 percent of the rice market share, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Average export price for rice showed a year-on-year rise of 15 percent to touch 501 USD per tonne, thanks largely to improved quality.

High-quality rice comprised up to 81 percent of rice export volume, the ministry said, forecasting the world’s rice market will see a decrease in supply and increase in demand in the near future.

In 2018, Vietnam is forecast to ship 6.5 million tonnes of rice abroad, up 700,000 tonnes compared to 2017.

According to Vietnam’s Rice Market Development Strategy, one of the country’s goals is to gradually reduce the rice export volume but increase the value of exported rice.

Vietnamese rice is now exported to more than 130 markets worldwide.

Best Western plans new beach resort in Vietnam

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Best Western Hotels & Resorts has entered yet another exciting destination in Vietnam with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a new upscale beach resort in Dong Hoi, on the country’s stunning north-central coast. Trade Arabia reported.

Scheduled to open in 2020, Best Western Premier Quang Binh will be an impressive international resort overlooking the East Sea. Dong Hoi, which is set on a 12km-long coastline with white sandy beaches, is the capital of Vietnam’s Quang Binh province. It is also the gateway to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a Unesco World Heritage-listed landscape that houses Son Doong, the world’s largest cave.

This prime beachfront property will feature 501 upscale rooms and suites, all equipped with spacious bathrooms, workspaces and complimentary wi-fi, and will be supported by Best Western’s famous service standards. Many of the rooms will offer uninterrupted sea views, and guests in the executive rooms and suites will be offered unlimited access to a chic beachfront lounge, with a series of exclusive services and privileges.

Surrounded by a wealth of world-class tourism and leisure facilities, this exciting project will help elevate this emerging region, creating a new upmarket destination for local and international visitors.

“We are excited to bring the Best Western Premier Quang Binh to the beautiful seaside city of Dong Hoi,” said Ron Pohl, senior vice president and chief operations officer for Best Western Hotels & Resorts. “The signing of this exceptional hotel marks the latest phase of our brand’s expansion to premier beach destinations in Vietnam, following the signings of upscale resorts in Cam Ranh, Vung Tau and Phu Quoc. Best Western will continue to seek opportunities to bring world-class hospitality to even more parts of Vietnam, further enhancing the country’s blossoming tourism industry.”

“Vietnam has over 3,400 km of coastline, much of which is only just opening up to tourism. With its dramatic landscapes and pristine seafront, Quang Binh is one of the country’s most spectacular provinces and looks set to become a highly desirable destination,” said Olivier Berrivin, Best Western’s managing director of International Operations – Asia.

“Best Western Premier Quang Binh is the latest in a series of major upscale properties for Best Western in Vietnam, which we have identified as a priority market. I am delighted with the quality of these projects, and the fact that we are now bringing international hospitality to exciting new parts of the country. The future is bright for Best Western in Vietnam,” Olivier added.

Developed by FLC Quang Binh One Member Co. Ltd., Best Western Premier Quang Binh will feature two wings dramatically connected by a glass sky bridge, overlooking tropical lagoon pools, expansive sundecks, palm trees and the golden beach.

Facilities will include a bright restaurant, outdoor infinity pools, a serene spa, children’s playground and a modern gym. A business center and meeting rooms will also be available for special events and corporate gatherings, and executive guests will be offered access to the resort’s Beach Club – an exclusive club lounge where guests can relax in style, gazing out over the turquoise sea.

Best Western Premier Quang Binh will form part of a major new development by FLC, which also includes a golf course, premium retail complex, restaurants, bars and a marina. This upscale beachfront complex is set to transform Dong Hoi into a premium tourism destination.

Nestled on the coast in north-central Vietnam, approximately 150km north of Hue, Dong Hoi is the gateway to one of the country’s most intriguing and alluring regions. Guests can head out and explore the breathtaking limestone landscapes of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, discover the dramatic sand dunes of Quang Phu Cat Hill, or simply lie back and relax on a series of stunning sandy beaches.

The area is accessible via Dong Hoi Airport, which offers regular direct connections to and from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, plus seasonal services to other Vietnamese cities. In August last year, Jetstar Pacific launched Dong Hoi’s first international route, connecting the coastal city with Chiang Mai, Thailand. This service now runs twice a week (Mondays and Fridays).

 

 

McDermott Awarded Transportation and Installation Subcontract in Vietnam

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  • McDermott has been awarded a transportation and installation subcontract by PTSC Offshore Service Joint Stock Company for the Sao Vang and Dai Nguyet gas and condensate field developments in Vietnam
  • Installation work scheduled to be carried out from 2019 to 2021
  • McDermott’s experience in installing large central processing platforms and topside float-overs in Vietnam led to the award of this contract

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE: MDR) announced today it has been awarded a sizeable* transportation and installation subcontract by PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) Offshore Service Joint Stock Company for the Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (IKC) Sao Vang and Dai Nguyet gas and condensate field developments in the Nam Con Son Basin, located offshore Vietnam.

The scope-of-work is expected to cover transportation and installation services for the central processing platform jacket, topside float-over, wellhead platform, flexible pipelines, subsea power cables and auxiliary services. Installation will be carried out at water depths of between 110 meters (360 feet) and 130 meters (430 feet).

McDermott plans to use resources from Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Houston for project management and engineering. The work will be performed from 2019 to 2021.

“McDermott has a strong track record in executing offshore projects in Vietnam and in delivering solutions for PTSC,” said McDermott Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific, Ian Prescott. “In the last two decades, we have provided engineering, procurement, construction and installation work for large, central processing platforms to pipeline installations in the region. This award enhances our position as a leading integrated oil and gas service provider in the region and reinforces that our experience and local knowledge will ensure project certainty with quality results.”

The contract award will be reflected in McDermott’s second quarter 2018 backlog.

* – McDermott defines a sizable contract as between USD $1 million and USD $50 million.

About McDermott

McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of technology, engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. For more than a century, customers have trusted McDermott to design and build end-to-end infrastructure and technology solutions—from the wellhead to the storage tank—to transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. Our proprietary technologies, integrated expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. Customers rely on McDermott to deliver certainty to the most complex projects, from concept to commissioning. It is called the “One McDermott Way.” Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott’s locally focused and globally-integrated resources include approximately 40,000 employees and engineers, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Air conditioner makers battle for Vietnam’s red-hot market

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Ascendant middle class gravitates toward high-performance models

Air conditioner manufacturers around the world are locking horns in Vietnam, whose market has become the second largest in Southeast Asia as rapid economic growth supports a burgeoning middle class.

According to a report by Nikkei, Vietnam’s market for the cooling systems ranked as Asia’s eighth largest in 2011, excluding Japan and China, with about 660,000 units sold. But the country surpassed Thailand in 2015, and sales of 1.98 million units in 2016 lifted the nation into third behind India and Indonesia.

The Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association reported that the global market grew 2.5% from 2011 to 2016, but surged 34.3% in Asia over that span, with Vietnamese sales tripling to 150 billion yen ($1.35 billion at current rates).

Rising wealth in Vietnam has fueled steep expansion in the air conditioner market. The country’s economy has been growing at the fastest clip in Southeast Asia, around 7% a year. Refrigerators and washing machines are usually the first white goods to catch on in a developing market, with a sharp increase in demand for air conditioners once gross domestic product per capita hits $3,000.

Vietnam’s per-capita GDP totaled about $2,300 in 2017, but topped $4,000 in Ho Chi Minh City and reached the upper $3,000 range in Hanoi. Demand is booming among first-time buyers in major cities and other locations.

Companies like Daikin Industries have taken notice and are working to boost local production. The Japanese business invested 10 billion yen to build a factory with an annual output of 1 million units that opened Friday on the outskirts of Hanoi. It will use know-how cultivated in India to introduce a cutting-edge production line that reduces inventory and shortens wait times. The company also operates a Thai plant with an annual output of 2.5 million units and a Malaysian facility that can produce 1 million units.

The Hanoi plant also boasts a training center to prepare up to 10,000 local technicians for production, installation and maintenance by 2020. Some of the technicians likely will be sent to Japan. The company plans to accept most of its trainees from local retailers, but is also exploring partnerships with local technical colleges to secure more top talent.

The factory modularizes major tasks such as welding and assembly with uniform work stations that can be brought online simply by attaching such lines as a power source. This allows production lines to be quickly reorganized like Lego blocks, improving the response to swings in air conditioner demand tied to the weather. Daikin opened a megafactory in Texas last May that uses the same system.

The plant also will tap “internet of things” technology by using sensors to check work speeds in real time and detect faulty equipment or delays. Daikin wants to introduce this system to its production facilities worldwide, and likely will use technicians trained in Vietnam to do so.

Daikin plans to improve its sales and service network as well, roughly tripling its number of dealers to 2,000 and repair centers to 25 by 2020. The company aims to double Vietnamese sales to 100 billion yen in fiscal 2022 from 50 billion in fiscal 2017.

In the air conditioner industry, especially in developed countries, companies are often judged on how well they provide after-sales service such as repairs. Daikin looks to invest 10 billion yen in 2020 to build a training center and showroom as part of its new local headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. The company wants the facility to serve as a center for exporting talent in maintenance and other services.

Daikin expects to increase sales in Asia, excluding China, by 9% for the year ending in March to 274 billion yen. That accounts for only a little over 10% of its air conditioning business, but the company has labeled the region a key market along with the U.S.

“Air conditioning demand will be robust in the long term given the growth of middle-class households,” Daikin President and CEO Masanori Togawa said. “We will expand our sales network in both cities and local areas as well as increase supply ahead of our competitors.”

Other Asian companies are following suit. South Korea’s LG Electronics has invested $1.5 billion to raise production by 2028 at a factory in the northern city of Haiphong that makes displays and air conditioners. Japan’s Panasonic is increasing output at its Malaysian factory to expand supply to Vietnam.

Daikin and Panasonic each control about 25% of Vietnam’s air conditioner market, followed by LG, Samsung Electronics of South Korea and Sweden’s Electrolux. The popularity of Japanese brands is rising in Vietnam as consumers increasingly value energy efficiency and performance over low prices.

Daikin has continued sales growth over 30% in Vietnam thanks largely to the release of highly efficient air conditioner models with inverter technology, which controls the speed of the compressor motor so as to continuously regulate the temperature. Though the price of a unit with an inverter is 12.7 million dong ($558) — 30% higher than competitor LG and 80% more than Chinese products — the manager of a local electronics store in Hanoi said Daikin was still the shop’s top seller.

A 64-year-old man in Hanoi said he recently bought two Daikin air conditioners because his LG unit was too loud. He researched the quietest and most energy-efficient models on social networking sites beforehand.

With a population of 93 million, among the highest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Vietnam is seen as having a more promising air conditioner market than Malaysia and Thailand, whose markets are reaching maturity. With only about 17% of Vietnamese households owning an air conditioner last year, according to British research firm Euromonitor International, the market is expected to grow further.

By ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA and DAISUKE ITO, Nikkei staff writers

IT Outsourcing Hotspot: Vietnam, A Small But Mighty Powerhouse

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India reigned for years as the world’s most dominant business process outsourcing (BPO) destination, but times have changed. According to trade association Nasscom, the Indian BPO industry has just seen its largest employment drop in seven years, while its information technology (IT) sector saw its second year of increasing unemployment. As India adjusts to changing expectations and demand, new regions are emerging as powerful IT outsourcing hubs.

One such country, known as a small but mighty outsourcing powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific, is Vietnam. It’s a country few would think to equate with Silicon Valley but one with a tech spirit and talented population that reminds many of the industrious beginnings of America’s storied technology epicenter. Forbes reported

The History Of Global IT Outsourcing In Vietnam

The fact is, IT outsourcing in Vietnam is fairly young. More than a decade ago, Harvey Nash, the company where I have worked since 2005 — and a few other multinational technology corporations, including Intel and Oracle — began tapping into the growing tech workforce in Vietnam. In addition to developing new policies that appealed to tech businesses, the Vietnamese government had invested heavily in STEM education, and the result was a workforce rich in skilled technologists.

Since then, the Vietnamese tech and outsourcing industries have grown steadily. In 2017, Vietnam rose by five places in the Global Services Location Index, a ranking of software outsourcing services from consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The country’s outsourcing success has become a competitive concern for its Indian counterpart as companies like Intel, IBM, Samsung Display, Nokia and Microsoft continue to invest in Vietnam.

What Surprises Outsiders?

In my experience, some Western business leaders expect rigidness from Vietnamese outsourcing providers. Sometimes it’s assumed based on what they think operations must be like in a socialist republic with a history of Communist political influence. Sometimes it’s a lack of insight into the Vietnamese culture. What they find inside Vietnam, however, is a highly adaptive approach to work and tech.

Rapid change has defined the Vietnamese economy, which has evolved from its agrarian foundation to become a modern, business-driven marketplace. Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007 and has striven to make it easier for Western companies to establish a footprint in Vietnam. Western investment is widely seen as good for economic growth, and over the last 10 years, I have seen firsthand how the cultural comfort with change has yielded a highly adaptive IT workforce. Technology specialists in Vietnam are comfortable with quickly becoming a natural extension of global clients, ready to challenge norms and bring innovative ideas to the table. The education system is striving to ensure that “English becomes a second language at universities rather than just a foreign language,” sending a strong signal that English proficiency is important for Vietnam.

However, there is a cultural rigidity in Vietnam that affects the workplace: loyalty. Vietnamese employees are usually very loyal to their employers, reflecting the powerful loyalty the culture places on family bonds. Vietnam workers are expected not only to provide for their immediate families but also give support to their extended families. It’s a cultural distinction that often keeps Vietnamese professionals close to home and loyal to good employers. Where in India, the Philippines, and Malaysia, professionals often leave their home countries and pursue career advancement abroad, Vietnamese professionals are more likely to stay close to home.

Local Workforce Facts

Vietnam is working to grow its highly skilled workforce in order to compete with regional neighbors Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, and it’s committed to higher education and STEM learning. Cornell University, for example, is advising on the development of a world-class university in Hanoi, while Fulbright University will soon open a campus in Ho Chi Minh City. With this kind of continued investment in research and the sciences at the university level, Vietnam is ensuring that the majority of its college graduates will have STEM degrees.

Gender diversity in the tech sector in Vietnam is also impressive. At Harvey Nash, we employ more women than men currently, and women are leading and promoted at the same rate as men.

Challenges And Opportunities

Vietnam is a hub of business process outsourcing along with IT outsourcing. It’s an excellent complement for multinational corporations managing big datasets and looking for data cleansing ahead of software development. Based on my firsthand experience in this area, the sectors most frequently leveraging outsourced IT talent in Vietnam include technology, financial services, media, gaming, software integrators and businesses looking to cost-effectively explore emerging trends such as AI, machine learning and blockchain.

For most businesses, the main IT outsourcing challenge in Vietnam is adapting to having a skilled innovation team that sits 5,000 to 10,000 miles away. It’s an adjustment best overcome with training and communication. Training an offshore team in the same way an internal staff is trained sets a foundation for success, establishing common processes for collaborative work.

Success requires establishing smart communication protocols so that despite time and distance, teams are working fluidly and smartly together. The key is to use timezone differences to a productivity advantage. For example, instead of playing catch-up with the remote team, businesses should proactively plan workloads. The work a remote team does the night before should feed the local team the next day. That is the beauty of outsourcing to Asia-Pac for Western businesses: a near 24-hour cycle of productivity. The software development life cycle can fold effectively into this structure with offshore teams testing overnight what has been developed during the day.

The Outsourcing Outlook In Vietnam

While India is experiencing some bumps on the outsourcing road, areas like Vietnam continue to see growth. As with other Asia-Pac outsourcing hotspots like Cambodia and Thailand, Vietnam needs to maintain its diligence in cultivating talent. Sustained government investment in STEM education and expanding the footprint of multinational corporations will fuel both the workforce and marketplace in Vietnam. It’s a trend I will explore in future articles as I share my real-world experience in other global outsourcing hotspots, including Australia and Singapore.

By Anna Frazzetto, Forbes Councils

Vietnam should remove all discount limits: industry insiders

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Businesses want the government to raise discount limits from the current 50 percent cap to 100 percent.
The new decree, issued last week, freed products and services sales orchestrated by the government within a specific time period from discount limits.

But business owners say the current 50 percent discount limit, placed in 2006 to promote healthy competition, has outlived its purpose and is actually stifling Vietnamese firms.

Dang Quynh Doan, director of a Vietnamese fashion firm, told the Thanh Nien newspaper that the current discount limit was impeding Vietnamese businesses, especially in the fashion industry. She said products of this industry are constantly changing, and the leftover inventories can only be cleared with high discounts.

“The government should abolish the current discount limit and allow businesses to decide on the discounts themselves. This would benefit the customers as well,” Doan said.

Echoing Doan, a director of a HCMC supermarket said without a discount limit, businesses would be able to decide on their own discounts more freely, and it would breed healthier competition.

Head of Vietnam Advertising Association said the current discount limit was originally established to promote healthy competition, but now that Vietnam already has its own laws on business competition, the discount limit is no longer necessary, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

Agreeing with the opinions, Truong Thanh Duc, a lawyer, said that increasing the discount limit for sales events orchestrated by the government is unfair, and that many other businesses are already discounting their products over the limit without being caught.

“There are currently many businesses which discount their products by 80-90 percent. I’ve even bought some of them, but I don’t see any authority trying to shut them down,” he said.

The new decree is set to take effect on July 15.

Source: Vnexpress

VNG takes loss from Tiki in stride

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Despite the value of VNG Corporation’s investment dropping like a stone, VNG plans to take the blow and wait out brighter times, as Tiki and ZaloPay are part of its long-term development plan.

In May 2016, VNG Corporation completed a VND383-billion ($17.02 million) deal to acquire a 38 per cent stake in Tiki. Accordingly, VNG spent VND104,000 ($4.57) per share, with the expectation to benefit from holding one of the largest e-commercial platforms in Vietnam.

However, in 2017 VNG reported a loss of VND125.3 billion ($5.5 million) from Tiki, 34 per cent more than in the previous year. The value of VNG’s investment as of the end of 2017 was VND165.7 billion ($7.27 million) only, VND218.7 billion ($9.6 million) less than the initial investment value.

According to Le Hong Minh, chairman of VNG, the e-commerce sector in Vietnam is in the developing phase, thus firms are willing to take losses.

In reality, numerous e-commerce platforms, like Amazon and JD.com had been reporting losses for numerous consecutive years before getting profit. Besides, before establishing their market-leading positions, Grab and Uber burned massive amounts of money on promotion programmes to lure in customers.

After receiving investment from VNG, Tiki has seen increase in the value of goods. In 2017, the total value of goods in circulation on the Tiki platform was four times higher than in 2016. According to statistics from Euromonitor, Tiki ranked sixth among the online shopping sites in Vietnam in 2017 with the visitor volume of 15.08 million.

Tiki CEO Tran Ngoc Thai Son also stated that the losses are part of the firm’s long-term development plan. Tiki is expanding its scale of operations via investing in infrastructure, warehouses, human resources, and technology.

ZaloPay to be the ace in the hole for VNG

According to Minh, mobile payments have only made up 1 per cent of all payment transactions in Vietnam, thus, there is great potential to exploit. VNG will continue to invest in technology in this key business sector to bring positive experiences for customers and then step-by-step expand the ZaloPay customer base.

Tom Herron, Business Development director of VNG, shared about VNG’s vision in the mobile payment sector: “Despite VNG having the advantage with a large customer volume who are using VNG services, VNG will not rush promoting ZaloPay. Instead, the firm will focus on developing the product’s quality to offer customers the most convenient product with the highest quality,” Tom Herron said.

According to the plan, ZaloPay will be connected with partners (restaurants, banks, and transport firms) to create numerous benefits to meet the payment demands of customers from shopping and entertainment to transport.

As an e-commerce platform using QR payment, ZaloPay was launched in 2016. At present, ZaloPay commands a double-digit market share and ranks among the top five largest payment channels in Vietnam.

Source: VIR

Land price surge raises concerns in Vietnam’s coastal province

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Investors with deep pockets have flocked to a coastal area in the south-central province of Phu Yen, offering to buy seaside land at unreasonably high prices, sparking concerns of a possible land fever that may well lead to a real estate bubble.

The buyers, reportedly hailing from Hanoi and other northern provinces, are willing to pay three to five times the market price to purchase a piece of land in the coastal town of Hoa Hiep Trung in Dong Hoa District.

“Different groups of buyers have visited every house located near the beach, with the latecomers offering higher prices than the early birds,” a local named Binh recalled.

Binh said local residents at first thought the buyers were joking when they made the offers with unbelievable prices.

“But after seeing some of them actually made successful purchases and paid by cash, ‘to sell or not to sell’ [our land] soon became the talk of the town,” he added.

Vo Thi Mi, a Hoa Hiep Trung resident, said one buyer has recently offered to buy her 266-square-meter piece of land for VND1.3 billion (US$56,875), or nearly VND5.1 million ($223) per square meter, almost three times the government rate of only VND1.8 million ($78) per square meter.

The lucrative offer has in fact given Mi more worries than joy.

“I have been in two minds since they made such a suggestion,” she said.

“I really want to sell the land to have money to afford treatment for my illness and share the fortune with my children, but on the other hand, I am concerned if this is nothing but a fraud.”

Mi said she has yet to accept any offer to buy her land as she heard that “Chinese people are behind this land-buying spree.”

Tourism development?

In early May, a group of people, introducing themselves as coming from Hanoi and Nam Dinh Province, rented a house to open an ‘office’ in Phu Tho Quarter in Hoa Hiep Trung.

A sign was then put up at the ‘office,’ reading “Information about coastal land and houses in Phu Yen,” with the contact information of the group’s leader, Vu Ha.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reached Ha on Monday, and was told that the investors only want to buy local land plots for tourism development.

The coastal area has emerged as an attractive destination thanks to the many tourism attractions of Phu Yen, and its close proximity to Van Phong, one of Vietnam’s three planned special administrative and economic zones, located in the neighboring province of Khanh Hoa, Ha explained.

Ha said she wanted to buy five to ten pieces of land to develop a ‘homestay village,’ adding to the list of tourism products of Phu Yen.

However, Ha underlined that she had only managed to buy one land plot before prices began to surge.

“Local residents were the first to ask higher for their land, and real estate brokers also joined in, causing prices to skyrocket,” she said.

“Why would we want to increase land prices?”

Price manipulation

Tran Dinh Quy, member of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association, said a group of “professional brokers” is behind the land price surge in Phu Yen.

These brokers have formulated a sophisticated plan to create false demand for land in the area, he elaborated.

“They are manipulating land prices by sending ‘false’ buyers to the market, duping residents into thinking that their land is valuable and prices will continue to soar.

“Other investors may jump in the race to buy land, and these brokers will make the final move – selling the properties at whopping prices and disappearing.

“The bubble will then burst and the final investors to buy the land will get the biggest blow.”

Nguyen Chi Hieu, deputy chairman of the Phu Yen administration, said local police and relevant agencies have been tasked with looking into the issue.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Vietnamese people may have to miss World Cup 2018

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The 2018 football World Cup will start in three weeks, but Vietnam has yet to officially announce to own broadcasting rights. Will Vietnamese people miss the event that comes around only once every four years?

According to thethaovanhoa.vn, information from Vietnam Television (VTV) on May 22 affirmed that the television owns the $8-million TV rights to broadcast the 2018 World Cup. However, one day later, on May 23, Nguyen Thanh Luong, deputy general director of VTV, completely denied this to zing.vn: “Information about Vietnam owning the TV rights for the World Cup is incorrect.”

Luong also said that the made up information has hugely affected the price of TV rights that is currently being negotiated between VTV and Infront Sports & Media AG.

“The negotiation is difficult because the price is higher than what VTV can afford,” Luong added.

Newswire thethaovanhoa.vn stated that the distributor of the World Cup’s TV rights, Infront Sports & Media AG, has asked for $10.3 million from the Vietnamese television company. This price is widely claimed to be too high and many televisions have been negotiating with the company to reach a reasonable price but failed.

Four years ago, Infront Sport & Media used to ask for $14 million for broadcasting rights of the 2014 World Cup, but VTV paid only $7 million after eight months of negotiation.

Buying the TV rights for major football leagues is difficult for Vietnamese televisions, not only due to the high price, but the high number of illegal parties distributing, recording, and broadcasting the matches.

In March, Vietnam’s K+ television announced to have bought the rights to broadcast three seasons of UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League (2018-2021) at reasonable prices.

However, on March 7, while K+ was broadcasting UEFA’s first match, a website illegally live streamed its broadcast of the match. The issue was discovered and handled by local authorities.

Previously, VTVcab also faced similar troubles and had twice sent documents to the Ministry of Information and Communications to handle websites illegally broadcasting UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Source: VIR

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