13 million foreigners spend holidays in Vietnam in 2017

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About 13 million foreigners chose Vietnam as their holiday destination in 2017, which is considered a record of the tourism sector and marked a year-on-year rise of nearly 3 million in the number of foreign visitors for the first time.

Meanwhile, the sector served 73.2 million domestic tourists. It earned 510.9 trillion VND (22.5 billion USD) from visitors this year, according to statistics unveiled at a meeting of the State steering committee for tourism in Hanoi on December 26.

Local tourism accommodation has been developed, surpassing 25,000 establishments with more than 500,000 rooms. There are now 116 five-star hotels with over 33,000 rooms, 259 four-star hotels, and 488 three-star hotels nationwide.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) reported that the tourism sector successfully fulfilled the target of 30-percent rise in the number of foreign visitors.

While promotion activities have been enhanced and reformed, the sector has also attracted much social investment in tourism, especially the high-end segment. Many localities have made efforts to attract investment in tourism and develop tourism products.

Vietnam has also won a number of tourism awards and titles in 2017, which helped promote the country’s image during integration into the world, the ministry noted.

The MCST also admitted certain shortcomings in the industry, including limited services at some tourism areas, low competitiveness, a shortage of strong tourism brand names, and flaws in ensuring security and safety for tourists at some places of interest.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the State steering committee for tourism, applauded the 30-percent increase in the foreign tourist number, noting that more attention should be paid to quality.

He asked the tourism sector to improve products, accommodation facilities, manpower, as well as museum and theme parks, while devising appropriate strategies and plans. It must successfully carry out the plan on restructuring the tourism sector so as to develop tourism into a spearhead economic industry.

Source: VNA

Over 153,000 firms opened in 2017

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The number of newly-established firms and firms resuming operations set a record in 2017 with more than 153,000 companies with total registered capital of 3.16 quadrillion VND (139 billion USD).

The latest statistics of the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that the figure broke the record of 110,000 firms last year.

Accordingly, the total number of new firms was nearly 127,000 with total registered capital of 1.3 quadrillion VND, posting increases of 15.2 percent and 45.4 percent, respectively, compared with last year.

Average registered capital was 10.2 billion VND per company in 2017, increasing 26.2 percent from the previous year.

The number of enterprises resuming their operations was some 26,000 with total additional capital of 1.86 quadrillion VND.

In December alone, the number of newly-established businesses was 10,814 with total registered capital of 164 trillion VND, representing an increase of one percent in number and 49 percent in registered capital from the previous month.

Therefore, average registered capital was 15.2 billion VND per company in December, up 50.8 percent from the previous month.

The country also had 1,245 firms resume operations this month.

“The number of new firms and registered capital has been on an upward trend in the 2011-17 period. The number of new companies in 2017 rose by 1.6 times from 2011, while registered capital increased 2.6 times,” the department said.

It also said the new firms were mostly in wholesale, retail and automobile repair with over 45,400 (36 percent), processing and manufacturing with 16,100 (13 percent) and construction with 16,000 (13 percent).

In term of registered capital, the property sector made up the highest portion with 388.3 trillion VND, accounting for 30 percent of the total. The real estate sector in 2017 attracted a large amount of capital in comparison with other sectors.

It was followed by the wholesale, retail, construction and manufacturing sectors.

The number of workers at new firms in 2017 was more than 1.16 million, reducing 8.4 percent from last year. The manufacturing sector attracted the most workers at 430,622, accounting for 37 percent of the total.

The department added that over 21,600 businesses registered to halt their operations in 2017, increasing nine percent from last year.

Notably, the number of sectors that had more businesses registering to halt their operations included wholesale, retail, construction and processing.

In addition, the number of enterprises waiting for dissolution in 2017 reduced 4.6 percent from last year.

Source: VNA

Jobless Vietnamese millennials would rather stay home than do manual work

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‘What is the point of doing repetitive work? I am a university graduate, not a robot.‘

Some 55.1 percent of 1.11 million unemployed in Vietnam are aged 15 to 24, according to the General Statistics Office’s socio-economic report for Quarter III, 2017.

Youth unemployment stood at 7.8 percent in Q3/2017, much higher than Vietnam’s overall unemployment rate of 2.02 percent.

In Q3/2016, 7.86 percent of young people were jobless.

The bleak numbers underscore the uphill battle young people have been facing in finding jobs that match their aspirations and academic credentials.

They have grown frustrated, either awaiting job offers at home or opting for temporary employment with moderate pay.

“While Vietnam does not experience alarming high youth unemployment as in many other countries, ensuring quality jobs for the young generation remains a great test for the nation,” said the ILO Vietnam Director Change-Hee Lee.

Experts say millennials struggle to find jobs largely because companies tend to favor experienced candidates.

Nguyen Bich Thuy, 28, knows exactly how it feels. The graduate of the Hanoi University of Commerce, has been unable to find an accounting job so she sells fruit and homemade cakes online instead. She earns just enough to cover daily expenses.

“I’m not confident I could find a stable job in the future,” Thuy said after having sent off dozens of application letters over the past few years, but receiving just a few interview invitations. “Without a stable job, without much money, I dare not map out any long-term plans.”

Another reason for high youth unemployment is that millennials, especially college graduates, would rather remain unemployed than take up blue-collar jobs.

There is no shortage of factory jobs. Many enterprises, especially factories in industrial parks of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Hai Duong are struggling to recruit workers.

Mass recruitment events organized by producers of garment, footwear and woodwork in industrial parks outside Hanoi are common, said Vu Quang Thanh, vice head of Hanoi Center of Recruitment Service. But they consistently fail to fill vacancies that can amount to 1,000 positions per firm.

Experts say millennials see factory jobs as lower-class work they don’t want. Even many less-educated youths insist on seeking office jobs.

Deputy labor minister Doan Mau Diep said unemployed people are mostly searching for high-paid, high-skilled jobs in areas such as financial services, business management and human resources.

Tran Duy Long, 25, is desperate for a steady job. He has been mostly unemployed over the past three years since graduating from a technology university in Hanoi near manufacturing hubs where factories make everything from T-shirts and shoes to auto parts and mobile phones. But, Long will not consider applying for a full-time factory job because he thinks that it is beneath a university student like him.

“I have never thought of getting a factory job. What is the point of doing repetitive work? I am a university graduate, not a robot,” he said.

The problem can also be attributed to over-protective parents who continue to look after their children well into adulthood, according to Vu Tuan Anh, managing director of Vietnam Institute of Management.

Young, educated youths without steady jobs like Long hence pose a potentially long-term challenge to social stability.

This internet savvy generation has a tendency to spend on eating out and drinks like bubble tea, rather than save, despite earning little.

HCMC-based market research firm Decision Lab said 56 percent of 16,000 surveyed urban youths earned no money or made less than VND3 million ($132) per month, and only 35 percent of them made between VND3 million and VND7.5 million a month.

But they spent on average VND890,000 ($40) a month eating out.

Source: Ngan Anh

‘Made in Vietnam’ Export Boom Defies Trump’s Trade Threats

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From mobile phones to furniture, Vietnam’s export boom shows no signs of losing steam, defying a gloomy outlook at the beginning of the year when U.S. President Donald Trump persisted with his trade threats.

Furniture maker Xuan Hoa Viet Nam Co. is planning for a 20 percent increase in export orders next year by investing $3 million on equipment to expand production, General Director Le Duy Anh said in an interview. The company, based near Hanoi, makes office tables and cabinets for clients including Ikea.

“I’m quite optimistic about our sales next year,” Anh said. “We have new customers in Europe while our regular clients also sent more orders than last year.”

When Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January, it was seen as a blow to Vietnam, which exports about a fifth of its goods to the world’s largest economy. Instead, a global trade recovery and Vietnam’s young and low-cost workforce have been magnets for international investors like Nestle SA, which have opened factories in the country this year. That’s helping underpin its economy, which economists predict expanded 6.75 percent this year ahead of data due Wednesday, among the fastest in the world.

Coming of Age

“We’ve seen Vietnam’s coming of age this decade with its rapid transformation to a manufacturing powerhouse,” said Eugenia Victorino, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Singapore. “The diversification of products and markets provides a tailwind to exports. We are very bullish on growth, though we remain cautious of structural issues of legacy bad debts.”

Vietnam’s Biggest Export Markets

strength of the U.S. economy bodes well for Vietnam, which was the top exporter of goods last year among Southeast Asian nations.

Nguyen Sy Hoe, deputy general director of Phu Tai Corp., which makes home furniture for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlets in the U.S., forecasts a 30 percent increase in exports next year. Phu Tai, based in a central province of Vietnam, relies on the U.S. for 40 percent of its sales.

Vietnam’s exports surged to a record $177 billion last year, with U.S. customers accounting for about 22 percent of sales. Mobile phones and parts make up the biggest segment at about a fifth. Shipments abroad accounted for 90 percent of GDP in 2015, compared with 64 percent a decade ago, according to the World Bank.

Xuan Hoa is buying three machines that make wooden furniture parts and equipment to make steel cabinets, Anh said. The company is also boosting its workforce by 20 percent with the hiring of 100 more laborers.

“We’ve increased production and are now preparing for the first shipment next quarter,” Anh said. “We’re very prepared.”

Vietnam’s government is counting on those shipments to bolster growth to as much as 6.7 percent in 2018, the same goal for this year.

“There are some potential risks for next year that we need to be mindful of,” said economist Vu Minh Khuong, Associate Professor at National University of Singapore, who is also a member of the newly-formed economic advisory team to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. “Downside factors may come from the U.S. and some other international markets. But for now, the economy is resilient with good indicators.”

— By Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen, With assistance by John Boudreau

Source: Bloomberg

VNPT wants to sell finance subsidiary for VND500 billion

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The Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) wants to sell all the assets of its finance subsidiary Post and Telecommunication Finance Company Limited (PTF) for at least VND500 billion (US$21.9 million).

The public auction for PTF will be held on February 1, 2018.

Participating investors must pay a deposit of VND50 billion.

Withdrawal from PTF is part of the VNPT’s plan to divest from non-core businesses.

Founded in 1998, PTF is Vietnam’s first finance company, wholly owned by VNPT, with charter capital of VND500 billion.

In the first half of this year, PFT reported modest profit of VND2.79 billion. Its assets until the end of the June 2016 were only equal to VND384 billion.

The company reported profits of VND19 billion in 2014, VND21 trillion in 2015 and VND19 trillion in 2016.

At a conference last week, Tran Manh Hung, Chairman of VNPT, said the group expected its restructuring plan and development strategy would get the Prime Minister’s approval early, which was the base for equitising the group in 2019.

He said its development strategy in the 2018-2025 period with a vision to 2030 is aimed at renovating its growth model towards improving productivity and competitiveness.

It report revealed that the group earned revenue of VND144.7 trillion in 20017, rising by 7% over the previous year. Its pre-tax profit reached VND5.1 trillion, up by 21%.

VNPT paid an estimated sum of more than VND4 trillion to the State budget in 2017, up by 9.3%.

It has 34.1 million mobile subscribers and 4.6 million Internet broadband subscribers until the end of 2017.

Source: VNA

Vietnamese sports sector wins 425 golds in 2017

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Vietnamese athletes won 425 gold, 301 silver and 319 bronze medals this year, according to the Vietnam Sports Administration (VSA). 

Of the gold medals, 46 were in world championships, 64 in Asia and 315 in Southeast Asia.

During a meeting in Hanoi on December 25 to review the VSA’s activities and launch tasks for 2018, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien lauded the country’s sporting achievements this year, especially at the 29th Southeast Asian Games.

He suggested the VSA continues refining the amended Law on Physical Training and Sports, preparing for the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD 18) to be held in Indonesia, Olympics qualifying rounds and other tournaments, regional and global.

The sector should step up mass sports movements and strive to perform well at ASIAD 18 and regional, continental and world championships, he said, adding that the sector also needs to work with the media to popularise information related to sports.

VSA Director Vuong Bich Thang said the sector offered feedback on legal regulations in the field and promoted the campaign “All people take exercises following the example of great Uncle Ho”.

On the occasion, Director of the High-Performance Sports Department II Nguyen Trong Ho and head of the Vietnam Sports Hospital’s Surgery Department Nguyen Van Vy received certificates of merit from the Government.

Vice Director of the National Centre for Sports Training in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Van Sung was awarded with the Labour Order, third class.

Source: VNA

Saigon prepares for not one, but four New Year fireworks shows

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Major Vietnamese cities, including Saigon, went fireworks-free last year following the Communist Party’s call for austerity.

Ho Chi Minh City is going to throw four firework parties on New Year’s Eve instead of one as announced last week, pending government approval.

The 15-minute shows are set to take place at Thu Thiem Tunnel that links districts 1 and 2, Dam Sen Park in District 11, Cu Chi Tunnels in Cu Chi District and Rung Sac Square in Can Gio District.

Fireworks are also planned for the Lunar New Year, or Tet, at the above-mentioned locations, as well as the outlying districts of Nha Be and Hoc Mon.

A light show in front of the city’s town hall on Le Thanh Ton Street and a countdown just a short walk away on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1 are also on the list.

The city intends to use private funding to pay for the celebrations.

Major Vietnamese cities, including Saigon, Hanoi and Da Nang, skipped their fireworks shows to celebrate the new year in 2017 following the Communist Party’s call for austerity. The Party asked cities and provinces to reallocate the money planned for fireworks shows to help the poor and the needy, especially those hit hard by natural disasters.

Flooding and storms left 390 people dead or missing in Vietnam in the first 11 months of 2017. The toll surpassed last year’s losses, when disasters killed 264 people.

HCMC also skipped fireworks shows for its Reunification Day on April 30, but brought back the lights for the country’s National Day on September 2, to a lot of fanfare.

Source: Tuoitrenews

Link: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/lifestyle/20171226/ho-chi-minh-city-seeks-permission-for-fireworks-shows-to-mark-new-year/43327.html

Vietnam’s banking sector expects 44 pct surge in profits in 2017

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Bad debts have gone down and the real estate market is warming up.

Successful bad debt cuts and the upbeat real estate market have given Vietnamese banks a good year as they expect net profits to increase 44 percent from 2016.

Returns on assets (ROA) and equity (ROE) in the banking sector have both reached the highest levels in five years, according to a report from the National Financial Supervisory Commission issued Tuesday.

Local banks have managed to clear VND70 trillion or more than $3 billion worth of bad debts in the past year, while the rising property market has boosted credit growth, the report said.

The commission reported an estimated 19 percent credit growth this year, and the sector’s total assets have increased 17.3 percent.

Many bank executives told VnExpress earlier that their pretax profits are going to beat the annual targets by 50-100 percent.

Some are seeing their profits surging tenfold compared to several years ago.

Bad debts in Vietnamese banks, mostly incurred due to a slowdown in the country’s real estate market in the early 2010s, have been cut to 2.34 percent of loans by the end of September 2017, down from 2.46 percent at the end of last year, according to the State Bank of Vietnam. The central bank set up an institution to deal with toxic loans, the Vietnam Asset Management Corp., in late 2013.

Credit ratings agency Moody’s in October upgraded its outlook for Vietnam’s banking system from stable to positive for the next 12-18 months, reflecting the country’s strong economic prospects and positive outlook for most rated banks.

Real estate M&As 2018: golden time for foreign capital

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The M&A deals made in 2017 are expected to have the value of $2 billion, and the same value or higher has been predicted for 2018.

According to Dang Xuan Minh, CEO of AVM Vietnam & Vietnam M&A Forum, the Vietnamese market has been witnessing a second M&A wave since 2015 and it will continue in 2018.

The total value of M&A deals has been increasing year after year. Minh said there are three reasons for him to believe that the current growth will continue in 2018.

First, the equitization of state-owned enterprises has accelerated. Second, the market now sees a strong rise of many private businesses and Vietnamese enterprises making M&A deals.

Third, more foreign investors are showing interest in Vietnam. Since 2016, HCMC has been the investment destination recommended for investors.

Meanwhile, Can Van Luc, a respected economist, pointed out that the enactment of the National Assembly’s Resolution No 42 on bad debt settlement will be a major factor in accelerating M&As in the real estate market.

A report shows that property is the mortgaged asset for most bad debts, which accounts for 62 percent of total mortgaged assets at VAMC (Vietnam Asset Management Company).

Therefore, analysts believe there are great opportunities for M&A activities in the real estate market.

JLL’s investment director Nguyen Thi Van Khanh said foreign investors will be the major driving force for the M&A deals in the time to come, especially those from Asia, including Thailand, Japan and Singapore.

US-based Warburg Pincus has cooperated with VinaCapital to set up a hotel development joint venture worth $300 million. Mapletree from Singapore has taken over Kumho Asiana Plaza Saigon, and Keppel Land plans to develop the land plot in Thu Thien Urban Area.

Son Kim Land has announced it has raised $100 million worth of funds from the international market. Meanwhile, Becamex IDC in September signed a strategic cooperation with Warburg Pincus.

“With high GDP growth rates, open policies and promising capitalization rates, foreign investors want to make investments in Vietnam,” Khanh said.

However, in order to attract foreign capital, the Vietnamese market and real estate developers have to maintain the attractiveness of their projects.

Phan Xuan Can, chair of SohoVietnam, a consultancy firm, noted that the opportunities are not reserved for all.

Habico Tower on Pham Van Dong street in Bac Tu Liem district in Hanoi, for example, has been left idle for the last 10 years because no investor can be found to restart it.

Meanwhile, another project in the same area kicked off after a Vietnamese investor signed a cooperation contract with a foreign investor.

Source: VietNamNet

Vietnam bans sale of soft drinks in schools: PM

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Advertisements of soft drinks and other ‘unhealthy products’ are also being blacklisted, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Soft drinks will be prohibited from all school canteens across Vietnam in an effort to improve children’s health and height.

Advertisements of the sweetened beverage and other “unhealthy products” are also banned from schools, said a new directive signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The nutrition and health conditions of Vietnamese children should have received greater public attention and been taken more seriously, the directive reads.

Nearly a quarter of Vietnamese children are undernourished while the number of overweight kids is rising, especially in big cities, it said, adding that the average height of Vietnamese people is still well under that of many other countries.

The PM also requested schools to closely work with families to ensure student are more physically active, and receive nutritious meals which comprise enough vegetables, fruits and not too much salt.

In September, the Ministry of Finance suggested imposing a special consumption tax rate of 10 or 20 percent on sweetened beverages by 2019, saying the tariff aims at tackling obesity and related illnesses.

A study conducted by the Vietnam National Institute of Nutrition last year found that around 6 percent of children under five years of age in Saigon were undernourished, and the matter was especially serious in rural districts.

The obesity rate hit 19 percent among school-age children last year, according to the city’s health department.

They found that obesity levels have been increasing faster in downtown areas, where the average income and living standards are higher.

The proportion of obese Vietnamese children aged from 2 to 19 had stretched to 6.8 percent, according to another study by the University of Washington released in June.

Source: Minh Nga

E-banking in Vietnam is still treading water

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E-banking, the latest trend in the Vietnamese banking system, has not completely been able to replace conventional banking customs although the majority of baby boomers (those born in 1945-1960) and generation X (1961-1980) show insignificant interest in modern banking services.

A member of the Board of Directors (BOD) at a Vietnam-based commercial financial institution (FI) asserted, “In recent times FIs in Vietnam have put a lot of effort into providing online banking solutions in order to appeal to millennials (those born in 1980-2000) and generation Z, (born after 2000).”

However, “A large number of existing clients of Vietnam-based FIs are middle-aged and senior citizens. Specifically, savings worth $2-3 million with terms of up to 36 months were mainly deposited by customers born in 1945-1970,” he added.

To strengthen their relationship with regular customers, especially senior customers, a remarkable number of FIs launched various loyalty programmes, such as retro music shows, saxophone concerts, and scenic tours especially created for VIP customers.

Besides, the implementation of digital banking in Vietnam has encountered plenty of barriers since the current legal framework does not accommodate the digitalisation of the banking system or incentive policies endorsing electronic banking services.

E-banking has yet to reach the majority of customers

Dang Duc Huy, deputy director of Retail Banking at Sai Gon Commercial Bank (SCB), said “FIs in Vietnam should think twice before restructuring the conventional banking model since such moves would be cost-ineffective and are unlikely to generate an instant stream of income.”

To date, a fair number of FIs in Vietnam have introduced a variety of online banking services, such as the Digital Lab of Vietcombank, Live Bank of TPBank, and the MyVIB application of VIB, aiming to enhance customer experience via electronic transaction channels.

Exceptionally, VPBank promoted the distribution channel as a stand-alone digital-based branch, called Timo, whose products and services as well as sales policies are entirely independent of the parent bank.

Source: Nhue Man

Link: http://www.vir.com.vn/e-banking-in-vietnam-is-still-treading-water.html

Vietnamese restaurateur makes “pho”-nomenal comeback

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After years off the grid, Huynh My Truc Lien, a Vietnamese chef whose restaurants welcomed two former US presidents, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, made a comeback with a signature lobster pho dish priced at VND499,000 ($22), newswire Vnexpress reported.

The Vietnamese chef, who spent years working in the culinary area in the United States before returning to Vietnam to launch the Pho 2000 brand, unveiled that a lobster noodle dish served at a restaurant in Las Vegas was the inspiration behind the new culinary concept. After conducting a taste-test at various pho-serving restaurants across Vietnam, she came up with her own recipe which could be more palatable for local and even foreign customers.

The pho dish (Vietnamese noodle soup) topped with lobster was introduced at a high-end gastronomic outlet owned by Lien and her husband, with the price of half a million dong, aiming to draw the attention of discerning customers.

Additionally, a bowl of lobster pho features typical ingredients such as silken tofu, mushrooms, seafood stock with a touch of garnish, like parsley, sliced red chili, and ground black pepper. The Vietnamese chef added seafood like clams and the signature ingredient, a whole lobster weighing 400 grammes that she hand-picked from the central region of Vietnam.

Before going off the radar, the chef and her husband had failed in their attempts of launching four new restaurants due to bad timing and their inability to maintain consistent quality when simultaneously running a large chain of culinary outlets. Therefore, until now, Lien has only been operating two restaurants situated in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City.

In spite of the thriving business of the pho “industry” in Ho Chi Minh City, Pho 2000 has not witnessed the same popularity as it did in the 2000s.

At the end of 1999, the brand name Pho 2000 was born with its signature pho. During the early years of business, the pho chain was the place to go, especially after former US President Bill Clinton and his daughter had a meal at Pho 2000 Saigon during his official visit in Vietnam as well as the visit of former US President George W. Bush at Vietnam House (another pho shop under the management of Pho 2000) in 1995.

Source: VIR

Link: http://www.vir.com.vn/vietnamese-restaurateur-makes-pho-nomenal-comeback.html

MoIT announces next batch of hot M&A opportunities

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On the heels of the billion-dollar auction of Sabeco, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has just released a list of 10 large enterprises in the industry and trade sectors to conduct state divestment in 2018, attracting the attention of foreign and domestic investors.

Tran Kim Oanh, director of Vietrade’s Centre for Industry and Trade Investment Promotion at MoIT, said that the list of the 10 enterprises to be divested by MoIT in 2018 contains many big names.

Specifically, MoIT is expected to divest at least 24.86 per cent from Petrolimex, 46.75 per cent from Vietnam Electricity Construction Joint Stock Corporation (VNE), 63.54 per cent from Machines and Industrial Equipment Corporation (MIE), 53.48 per cent from Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), and 57.92 per cent from Vietnam Steel Corporation (coded TVN).

The list contains firms from various sectors, such as Foreign Trade Freight Forwarding and Warehousing JSC (Vietrans), General Import-Export and Construction JSC, Vietnam Plastic Corporation (Vinaplast).

Of these, investors are mostly interested in sector-leading enterprises like Petrolimex, Vinatex, TVN, and bigger corporations. However, the representatives of MoIT said that the remaining firms on the list are all operating in highly potential sectors, including processing and manufacturing, construction, agricultural and fisheries production, as well as warehousing and logistics.

Regarding the 2018 M&A market, Nguyen Quoc Viet, deputy general director of AVM Vietnam which provides professional services on investment and business, pegs high hopes on the M&A trend in the industrial sector and said that M&A activities are abuzz, posting significant figures.

Viet said that the industrial sector ranks second among the top five sectors leading the Vietnamese M&A market in 2016 and 2017. Notably, there were 269 M&A deals with a total value of $1.1 billion in this sector in 2016, the brunt of which (118 deals) took place in the consumer goods and retail sector.

“Loosening the ownership limit for foreign investors at public companies will enable the M&A market, especially in the industrial sector,” assessed Viet.

Vu Ba Phu, director general of Vietrade under MoIT, assessed that there are shortcomings in the quantity and nationality of investors taking part in the M&A market as almost all foreign investors come from Asia (mainly Japan, South Korea, and Thailand), keen on taking a slice from the growing consumer goods, financial services, distribution, retail, construction material, and chemicals sectors.

However, North American and European investors have only taken part in such fields as oil and gas as well as consumer goods. Thereby, it is necessary to spur promotion activities and attract investment from these regions.

Source: VIR

Link: http://www.vir.com.vn/moit-announces-next-batch-of-hot-ma-opportunities.html

Saigon to reinstate New Year fireworks show after a thrifty year

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Vietnam went fireworks-free last year after the Communist Party called for austerity to help the poor and flood victims.

Ho Chi Minh City is going to put on a 15-minute fireworks show next week to celebrate the new year after scrapping it in 2017 under a national austerity policy.

The city’s government has announced its programs on the midnight of January 1, 2018, which will include the pyrotechniques performance at Dam Sen Park in District 11, a light show in front of the city’s town hall on Le Thanh Ton Street and a countdown event steps away on the Nguyen Hue walking street.

Many streets and shopping malls in Saigon have already turned on Christmas lights.

Major Vietnamese cities, including Saigon, Hanoi and Da Nang, went fireworks-free last year following the Communist Party’s call for austerity. The Party asked cities and provinces to reallocate the money planned for fireworks shows to help the poor and the needy, especially those hit hard by natural disasters.

Flooding and storms left 390 people dead or missing in Vietnam in the first 11 months of 2017. The toll surpassed last year’s losses, when disasters killed 264 people.

HCMC also skipped fireworks shows for its Reunification Day on April 30, but brought back the lights for the country’s National Day on September 2, to a lot of fanfare.

Source: Trung Son

Mass evacuations in southern Vietnam as Typhoon Tembin nears

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Students have been told to stay at home and around 650,000 people are being evacuated in southern Vietnam.

Typhoon Tembin entered the East Sea, known internationally as the South China Sea, late Saturday and is forecast to hit Vietnam’s Mekong Delta on Monday night.

Tembin is similar in strength to Typhoon Linda, which struck the region 20 years ago, leaving more than 3,000 people dead or missing.

As of 5 a.m. Monday, the typhoon was 330km (105 miles) east of Con Dao Island, with wind speeds at 135kph (84mph).

The typhoon is approaching southern Vietnam at a speed of 25kph, and is forecast to hit provinces from Ba Ria – Vung Tau to Ca Mau carrying winds of around 100kph late night, December 25.

After making landfall, the typhoon is forecast to move west at a speed of 20-25kph. By 4 p.m. on December 26, Tembin will be 100km west of Tho Chu (Kien Giang Province), with maximum wind speeds of 75kph. Afterwards, it will weaken into a tropical depression over the Gulf of Thailand.

Heavy downpours are forecast for coastal areas south of Quang Ngai Province for Monday and Tuesday, with the Mekong Delta experiencing up to 150mm of rain.

Mass evacuations

At a teleconference on Sunday, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc instructed the southern provinces to be cautious and focus on preparing for the coming storm.

“The strong storm combined with high tide could cause disastrous damage if we’re not cautious,” Phuc said.

He instructed provinces to mobilize soldiers, police officers and young people to help reinforce buildings and evacuate residents from dangerous areas while ensuring the safety of workers, officers and oil rigs.

“All unnecessary meetings must be canceled to focus on dealing with the storm,” Phuc said.

Provinces and towns including Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Kien Giang and HCMC are preparing for mass evacuations.

Bac Lieu alone is evacuating about 350,000 people, while Ca Mau is evacuating nearly 100,000, Ba Ria-Vung Tau 78,000 and Tien Giang 40,000.

In Ben Tre, where the storm is expected to make landfall, authorities are evacuating about 20,000 households living along the coast. Meanwhile Ho Chi Minh City is also evacuating 5,000 people in the coastal Can Gio District.

Many provinces have instructed all students and workers to stay at home except for disaster response personnel. All ships at sea are also required to steer to safety.

The changes in the storm’s direction can have major impacts on the most vulnerable areas, said Hoang Van Thang, deputy minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The western coast includes populous areas like Phu Quoc and Nam Du islands, which are heavily reliant on fishing and vulnerable to landslides.

Thang also ordered local authorities to forcefully evacuate communities living in boats and makeshift houses in the Mekong Delta.

“We can consider material damages after the typhoon passes, but we must not allow any human casualties due to late evacuation,” Thang added.

Before entering Vietnamese waters, Typhoon Tembin had already wreaked havoc in the Philippines, killing more than 200 people.

Southern Vietnam is rarely hit by stormy weather, but the memory of Typhoon Linda, which is considered one of the worst disasters to hit Vietnam in the past century, lingers on.

Tran Quang Hoai, director of the National Department of Natural Disasters Prevention and Control, said the region’s lack of experience will increase risks with the coming typhoon.

Hoai said there could be a similar scenario to Typhoon Damrey, which hit the usually gentle Nha Trang in the central coast and its neighbors in November, leaving 108 people dead or missing and causing $1 billion in damage. Officials have blamed the heavy destruction on the near-total lack of experience and preparation.

Flooding and storms left 390 people dead or missing in Vietnam in the first 11 months of the year, and caused damage worth around VND52.2 trillion ($2.34 billion), according to the General Statistics Office.

The toll surpassed last year’s losses, when disasters killed 264 people and caused nearly VND40 trillion ($1.75 billion) in damage.

Source: Staff Reporters

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